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NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Website/Blog Weekly Recap: A few best mid-running teams and more from the 2025 Toyota/Save Smart 350 at Sonoma Raceway

by Sports Benches July 14, 2025

Another week, another win by one of NASCAR’s greatest road course racers right now in Shane Van Gisbergen.

He could have swept all three stage wins except when he chose to pit late in Stage 1 just to ensure he’s good for the rest but SVG never looked out of place since then.

He’s well set up to dominate the Playoffs with the extras in rugby terms like his winning kicking game celebration all the way past the two sticks or grandstands.

Great to see Michael McDowell finish 4th for Spire whose car may not have the same fire as SVG’s but he sure played his cards right with strategy including an extended run for the lead off the back of Stage 3 yellows coming from an experienced road course racer himself.

Same goes with Tyler Reddick too in the No.45 Toyota as the best mid-run Camry for 23XI having backed up another Top 10 road course result 2nd week down in 6th.

Plus, Brad Keselowski was the best mid-run Ford just outside the Top 10 in 11th for RFK Racing where he did the same thing like Tyler and McDowell. He could’ve resisted the temptation of not pitting late on yellows that would have given him a fighting chance up high & instead struggled at the restart. But not bad though with the result & there’s still time for Brad K to stamp a regular season win.

And special shoutout to Ty Dillon in the No.10 Chevy for Kaulig Racing who still found a way to stay in the in-season championship bubble at semi-finals time.

He finished 17th when his previous opponent Alex Bowman by two spots down (19th) as all he has to do is beat John Hunter Nemechek in the semi-final placing next weekend at the short track Dover and he could be in to win it come Indianapolis at the end of the month.

He’s even the only Chevy out there v three other Toyotas like JHN at Legacy, Ty Gibbs of course via his grandfather’s team, and Reddick as always with Denny’s 23XI side.

Maybe someone else should start giving Ty some additional sponsorship like from Polkadot and somehow the $$$ could be spent to help him win that in-season trophy by the time TNT airs its fifth and final race of the mid-summer & NBC takes over from August to the Championship Playoffs leg till November.

Looking at his run today, he was actually really good across the first half which was a boost with stage points. Now he couldn’t quite translate that promising start with his long runs but a few late yellows allowed TD to at least bring the car home.

All in all, another good week of road course racing where the battle of places is there as we go back to ovals on the short tracks.

It would have been extra cool though if the Supercars guys stick around a bit longer including Jack Perkins but then they had their own thing going on in Townsville.

I hear someone at Erebus Motorsport is considering Jesse Love from Childress’ Xfinity team to drive that wildcard Camaro car for the Adelaide finale event once the NASCAR season is over later November even though he could go back to Toyota should Legacy MC able to add a 3rd car.

We’ll see and if he does go to Toyota, there’s always Andretti Walkinshaw or Brad Jones Racing with the new Supras.

Sure there will be more good moments to come at Watkins Glen this September and Charlotte Roval in early/mid October.

July 14, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR Website/Blog Weekly Recap with the few best mid-running teams and more from the 2025 Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course

by Sports Benches July 7, 2025

The king of the Chicago Street Course was here to collect yet another again win both Xfinity and Cup by none other than SVG.

He’s not just fast, he also played his cards right where he outsmarted the whole Cup field and never looked back ever since.

Second Cup win of 2025 btw.

Look further with Tyler Reddick in 3rd for the 23XI Toyota who did indeed dominate the third stage alone as if it did not count towards the final race result but still he had a front row afternoon.

So does Kyle Busch in the No.8 for Childress in 5th where he had a flying start up to 2nd in Stage 1 before he lost his way in between but slowly & surely regained a lot of ground with credit to those 2nd half and late yellows.

And the best mid-running Ford driver of the day goes to Roush-Brad K once again but it’s Ryan Preece in the No.60.

Now Ryan would’ve loved nothing more than a front row finish like his team-mate did last week after Brad K finished a close second to race winner Chase Elliott at Atlanta having gone with his own strategy.

Even though that may not have panned out in spite of 2nd half yellows, Ryan still had a Top 10 car to bring that home all afternoon from 7th to finishing 7th.

All in all, it’s been a huge fight both physically and mentally from start to finish with a series of yellows along the way – despite the last lap yellow flag call which is up for debate after Cody Ware crashed into the wall, and it took a while for NASCAR officials to go with that decision.

Although bummer for pole sitter Michael McDowell over in the No.71 Chevy for Spire when he got away with the Stage 1 win but then had problems once he made his way for a stop and that spelled unlucky not long after with a DNF.

Sometimes it’s just unpredictable when a few Cup regulars are being put to test by another Cup regular that knows about road courses all too well both left and right turns & once SVG hugs the lead lap baton, it’s going to be a much tougher fight getting a grip of him to pass from here.

He will have another opportunity to make it win No.3 when road course racing continues next weekend this time out West at Sonoma Raceway. Love his rugby kick victory lap there with the ball where one random fan gets to take that home whichever it lands off the boot as always.

Going off track now and earlier this week, there were also good news from SVG but not so much though in Daniel Suarez when it comes to solving that selection headache going into 2026 by Trackhouse.

That means, Daniel and Trackhouse reached an agreement to mutually go their separate ways that goes back to its foundations back in 2021. He’s so grateful of the good times they’ve achieved over time with two regular-season wins in 2022 at Sonoma and 2024 during the 1st of two Atlanta races.

At the same time, Trackhouse needed a new direction that focuses more on being one of the new Big 3/4 teams. With that said, it makes sense for Trackhouse to bring young gun & Xfinity Series regular Connor Zilisch onboard in his place, which is expected to happen days to weeks from now.

All the best Daniel Suarez either elsewhere within Cup or back to Xfinity.

Plus, glad to hear that Stellantis has re-upped their performance game lately on top of Ram’s return to Track Series racing next year, with thanks to the returning boss Tim Kuniskis in charge.

Here comes the return of the road-going brand SRT aka Street Racing Technology that will apply across its core brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Trucks.

Don’t know when the first models will come out mainly from Ram and Dodge’s side with the 1500 and Charger respectively but should be in a few months time & who knows if those sales go up?

Just like the win on “Sunday, Sell on Monday” approach if Ram can get the ground running.

July 7, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR: A few best mid-running drivers from the 2025 Quaker State 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway with a bit of Truck racing earlier at Lime Rock Park

by Sports Benches June 29, 2025

Oh so close by Brad Keselowski in the No.6 Ford Mustang for RFK who had a top weekend from practice to race day.

The speed is there a few times throughout the night just need to turn into race wins where Chase Elliott got the better of him at the white flag on what has been a chain-reacted night along with an unreal last-lap finish on the ride home in Atlanta.

On the face of it, those RFK Fords have been fast as of late no doubt; sure they will find a way to get onto victory lane sooner than later even if they make the Playoffs without a win but strong finishes here and there.

Top shelf by the two satellite Toyota Camry cars in Tyler Reddick at 23Xl in 4th and Legacy MC’s Erik Jones 5th.

Erik never gave up & rebound straight from yellows under green while Tyler was trouble-free all night long to Top 5 & stayed battling up front since then.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the one who continues to deliver at caution-filled races with some good late race opportunities finished 6th for the No.47 Chevy at Hyak Motorsports.

Special shoutout elsewhere to TNT Sports who just returned to NASCAR racing to bring you the next five Cup races.

Wish they could bring the Altcast one with Larry McReynolds and Jeff Burton on some extra stream Internationally but that one was only capped to TruTV & Max in the US.

Same with the in-car onboard cameras that was previously available to everyone by NASCAR.com until Max took over that product when the previous 10-year TV deal lapsed at the end of last season.

Meanwhile earlier today at Lime Rock Park in the Craftsman Truck Series, Corey Heim was too good in that No.11 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage, who continues to dominate simply everything once again.

It’s been a while to defending champion Ty Majeski who finished 2nd and so does rookie & fellow Tricon driver in the No.17 Gio Ruggiero after he came home 3rd.

Plus, shoutout to two more: one who came all the way from Supercars just for this occasion and another is an announcer with strong ties to this race track.

It’s Cameron Waters from Tickford Racing where he benefitted off a late yellow & also restart in 5th after running mid-pack for the most part with ThorSport Racing (No.67 Ford F-150) while Mike Joy from FOX NASCAR was there as an honorary guest rather than calling this race when it’s only Cup (usually the first half year).

He could’ve also called the Indy 500 that could make Mike call both 500s all in the one year but only Chris Myers achieved that since he’s always a studio host and Will Buxton from the UK is in good hands.

Wish Cam could stay on for another week but for the Chicago Street Race since there’s no Truck racing for the next few weeks when Will Brown from Triple Eight will be back this time in a part-time Chevy for Kaulig Racing’s Cup team & so does Jack Perkins by surprise but in a Toyota Supra at Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity team.

Maybe Rick Ware Racing should call Cam up right now to have him race the No.01 part-time Ford then? Then somehow we could have three Supercars drivers if not four if you count SVG racing NASCARs all on that one awesome race weekend.

RWR’s future has been secured the other day thanks to new majority owner TJ Puchyr with the eventual goal of running a competitive three-car Cup team in the model of his old team that he co-founded so many years ago at Spire Motorsports.

What they’re doing right now when it comes to their competitive state and the way RWR treats their charters is more to do with just business than anything trying to reach some Top 10s every week.

However, for once, let’s hope TJ can finally help RWR tell the rest of the field that they’re here to win races rather than just sticking themselves at the back.

They could even be a Dodge team at the right time someday with Ram coming back to Trucks as soon as February next year at Daytona.

June 29, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR News Today: Chase Briscoe wins the 2025 The Great American Getaway 400 plus a few best mid-running teams from Pocono Raceway

by Sports Benches June 23, 2025

You just cannot believe what RFK Racing has been up to today where they had all three cars in the Top 10 with Chris Buescher leading the way in 4th.

A win would’ve been all but awesome having started from 2nd.

Even though he may not been able to find a way to outsmart those Toyotas, it’s still a top day though finishing inside Top 5 who deserves a regular season win soon.

Same with team-mates Ryan Preece and Brad K, both of whom also benefited greatly with a mix of yellows and strategy including an extended shot upfront by Brad, when things were up and down earlier on but both finished not bad in 8th and 9th.

And there’s another team out there that usually benefitted from the larger ovals with no need for an intro to Legacy MC.

Top weekend with a top setup where John Hunter Nemechek in the No.42 Toyota went all in for the overall result & JHN caught that one beautifully in 6th.

Your winner today at Pocono is Chase Briscoe also a Toyota but in a top team at Joe Gibbs Racing.

He had a flying start from 6th to 4th Stage 1 where it took figuring out for Chase and his Aussie crew chief James Small to force their No.19 Camry up front. From there off the back of yellows, that effect seems to have worked on their favour and they’ve never looked back ever since – how good!

It could’ve been Denny’s day over in the sister 11 car after he spent the rare weekend off last weekend when NASCAR crossed borders to Mexico City due to the birth of his third child – a baby boy.

But at the end of the day, it’s all about planning that 200mph chess (new term there made by Steve Letarte) right rather than just being fast if it wasn’t for yellows, and also weather plays a big factor too.

That’s how Chase went on to win saying “checkmate” over Denny fair and square.

Not a lot of Chevys down the Top 10 other than just the Hendrick duo of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in between 5th & 7th with Daniel Suarez being the best Chevy mid-pack runner in 5th following a tough afternoon from these cars when it comes to Chevy’s satellite teams.

But the only and only best Chevy moment from the weekend was the Saturday Xfinity race where Connor Zilisch got away the win over Jesse Love only laps before the finish line with Dale Jr. by his side from the pit box for just one race when Connor’s usual crew chief had to sit out by NASCAR officials.

At only 18 soon to be 19 next month, he continues to be one hell of a talent being Chevy’s own Ty Gibbs. Time will tell if he will get his chance full-time next season at Trackhouse at Cup or there’s always Spire or even Hendrick although we know he’s a Red Bull athlete much like SVG and they are both tied to Trackhouse.

Off the back of Daniel’s Xfinity and SVG’s Cup wins at the same Mexico City place last weekend, hate to see either one of them go when Trackhouse isn’t new at having to fit in drivers every year. But here’s hoping Justin Marks will find a compromise somehow that can hopefully help Chevy win championships again.

Can’t wait for the night race for the first time in 2025 when NASCAR returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway and also a first of returns too by TNT coinciding with the all-new in-season knockout competition.

June 23, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR: Shane Van Gisbergen’s phenomenal Cup win at Mexico City now Playoffs bound for the first time in 2025

by Sports Benches June 16, 2025

No need for an introduction when someone like SVG who has done them all in road course racing before & he continues to dominate that with the win once again at Cup level in Mexico City.

Yes, things may be bit different from the start especially from pole & there was rain along the way.

But he simply played his cards right when it’s all about the race win and now SVG will compete in the Playoffs later this year with the trust of Justin Marks at Trackhouse.

I know there’s Connor Zilisch waiting in the wings but to keep some stability, it’s best they hold onto both SVG and the weekend’s Xfinity winner Daniel Suarez at least one more year.

At the end of the day, this wasn’t the first time Trackhouse had to go through this headache, especially when both drivers’ contracts probably expire at season’s end – just ask Zane Smith!

He was a Spire driver last year but on loan from but then largely inconsistent results would mean that Zane had to be released from his contract to make way for SVG.

Zane is back at Front Row Motorsports right now who is no doubt still a capable Cup driver.

Fantastic to see another natural road course specialist Michael McDowell with his first Top 5 of 2025 at Spire in 5th.

A win would be anyone’s best thing all day everyday but at least he had a solid Top 5 car all afternoon & don’t forget there’s always the big tracks he can take advantage of the other way.

Great to hear from Legacy MC also following another good result in a different kind of race track in John Hunter Nemechek where he made a lot of ground plus avoiding yellows in 6th.

Then here comes the best Ford top-finishing driver of the race Cole Custer for the first time Top 10 in 2025 under the one and only brand new Haas team in 8th.

He’s someone who rocked up out of nowhere following an indifferent first half before his long game strategy including dodging yellows at the right time proved that he can secure Top 10s – well played Cole.

And thanks to Mexico City on bringing the electric atmosphere into life including the stadium section that is such a perfect match for hosting major motorsports events including the first overseas points Cup race since 1959/1960.

Once again SVG is rolling road course fever ahead of everyone as the next driver to book in a Playoffs spot following his phenomenal afternoon in the No.88 Chevy.

June 16, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR: A few mid-running teams from the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 in Nashville with Carson Hocevar in 2nd once again this time behind race winner Ryan Blaney

by Sports Benches June 2, 2025

Ryan Blaney may be the race winner but Carson Hocevar is 1st out of the mid-running teams from early Stage 2 cautions to Stage 3 green-flag pit stops where others struggle while he strives for track position.

Lots to be proud from the No.77 with Carson’s 1st career Cup win not too far away as long as he stays Top 10 every week – could’ve been a Spire double Nashville special if you look at Rajah Caruth’s win the other day in Trucks.

Great shift from the Toyota satellite teams like the 23XI pair of Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick who both had the same progress as Carson in between 6th and 9th with Erik Jones able to stay running Top 10 all night long in the No.43 for 7th.

And Kyle Busch after finished 12th having also got away from avoiding yellows that turned into a steady 2nd half run – he’s still hanging in there just within that Top 16 points bubble.

#NASCAR #CrackerBarrel400 #CarsonHocevar #SpireMotorsports #Toyota #23XIRacing #BubbaWallace #TylerReddick #ErikJones #KyleBusch

#LegacyMotorClub #Chevy

#RichardChildressRacing

June 2, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR website/blog update Huge Month of May 2025 full of Cup, Xfinity and also Truck Series racing

by Sports Benches June 1, 2025

NASCAR Trucks: 2025 SpeedyCash.com 250, Corey Heim holds off the win following a night full of cutting infield grasses and bumping into walls at Texas

Saw many getting run over into the wall & so does through the infield grass as the the of the day, brilliant stuff with the win by Toyota’s Tricon Truck star Corey Heim.

He knows there were several front-runners wanting to steal the lead off him but Corey kept himself calm all along and he knew he did exactly that to defend all of that noise on his way (at last via overtime) to the checkered flag.

He also had a better long-run set up where he first took the lead somewhere in Stage 2 and having led the most laps, Corey will want to be the driver to beat every week as the Trucks season goes on.

So close there from Daniel Hemric (2nd) and Spire’s Rajah Caruth (3rd) – that race at Texas just never ends at the hands of yellows but both had solid endings there.

More shoutouts as well to Bayley Currey with his 2nd Top 10 of 2025 in 8th and Rackley W.A.R.’s Dawson Sutton (an 18-year-old rookie) just secured his first career Top 10 at Trucks level in 9th.

NASCAR Xfinity: Kyle Larson wins the 2025 Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 for the injured Connor Zilisch at JR Motorsports

Another spinny crash day but it’s still exciting Xfinity Racing and can’t get enough of Kyle Larson who did the injured Connor Zilisch proud for JR Motorsports.

Connor is a rising star in the making currently tied to Trackhouse while Larson simply wants to make competition so much fun every time he’s in the race car.

He’s got unfinished business with Hendrick in Cup as well as sprint cars on dirt, might race Supercars in Adelaide at some point & has an Indy 500 stint coming up at last later this month.

Here’s a few more highlights:

Great recovery there from Taylor Gray in the No.54 Supra for Gibbs even though he wasn’t able to close in on time at the white flag in 2nd.
Harrison Burton finished 6th in the AM Racing Ford.
And there’s lots more who stood out that will help them stay in that Top 12 Drivers’ Points like Ryan Sieg 8th and Jeb Burton 10th who also came close (2nd) last weekend at Talladega.

2025 NASCAR: A few standout mid-running teams from the weekend at Texas starting with Ross Chastain from Trackhouse

Aside from a Joey Logano win plus two separate car-related issues Sunday at Texas, there’s a few out standout drivers there who benefitted a Stage 3 cut-off of surviving crashes on the run home.

So close from Ross Chastain there in 2nd for Trackhouse – good news that he’s stable above the Top 16 Playoffs line as a win would be lovely for him to focus on a championship guaranteed 100%.

While Legacy MC have may struggled in the normal kind of races but hey, they can be spur us a good moment here and there – especially when it comes to the big and restrictor plate tracks. What’s even better is that they had both Toyota Camrys home in the Top 10 with the No.43 Erik 5th and No.42’s John Hunter Nemechek 8th. They should be proud of themselves and you never know next time? Could be a win that could give them a chance to go further.

There’s a whole lot others who has been more than ready to knock on the front row doors when there’s still plenty of time left ahead of the end of August cut-off.

However, hats off to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being the one-man show for Hyak after he finished 6th and having won races at these kind of tracks before, sure he will be the next man to win one. That way, he can help them punch above their weight in order to say hi to the big teams via VL.

And the same goes with Austin Dillon in the No.3 Chevy for his family-run Childress side following his 7th placed finish the other day. As long as he finishes races cleanly and positively, AD would no doubt be wanting to win the next race again at a bigger track – and RCR could somehow be on the same page as RFK Racing, Trackhouse and 23XI Racing after all.

He is currently 21st behind Spire’s Michael McDowell in Drivers’ Points as of Race 11 out of 36. We’ll see especially with Kyle Busch steering the ship even though he had an unlucky Stage 3 outing also from the other day that saw him finish 20th.

Now we’re off to Kansas Speedway this weekend which is going to be Fox’s last regular season race of 2025 via the FS1 cable sports network with the All-Star race around the corner. Other than Josh Berry in the No.21 two months ago from Las Vegas, who will the next one to celebrate that isn’t a Top-notch or Big 3 team?

Time will tell.

NASCAR Trucks, 2025 Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas: Hocever beats the brush off Layne Riggs for the race win

What a finish it was at the white flag by Carson Hocevar and Layne Riggs where Riggs tried to pass him on the outside, inside but only tagged the rear of him as both of them could’ve hit the wall & Hocevar came out unscathed.

Great night also from Spire’s Truck team with Hendrick Cup regular William Byron 3rd in the “star car” No.07 Truck.

For Corey Heim, a win would’ve been great when an early pit error at the expense of pressure-cooking yellows takes away his flying start away from first – only for him to regain a lot of ground at the end 4th.

As Layne said, sometimes having the best pit strategy and even timing makes the difference where some have sunk or swim.

Carson’s got Cup tomorrow hoping for another Top 10 run so he can stay within Top 16 points & he did guest commentate ARCA the other day where Brenden Queen too good over William Sawalich.

NASCAR: Top 3/4 mid-running teams from the 2025 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway

1️⃣ Josh Berry simply impresses to amaze the Cup field inside that No.21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers even if he had to start from the back. His good Stage 2 even though there were one few yellows in Stage 3 puts him home in 6th – good from someone who has a playoffs berth intact hoping to make a big play later this year.

2️⃣ A top day too by both Roush cars in Ryan Preece No.60 and Chris Buescher No.17 over in 7th and 8th. Preece didn’t complain much all day and Buescher even though would’ve love to turn that short setup into the long stretch for top spot but he wouldn’t mind a great finish also.

3️⃣ Lots of mid-running Fords filling in and out of Top 15 but at least we have a Toyota sitting 10th that is a satellite team with John Hunter Nemechek at Legacy MC. Didn’t hear much from him when it comes to the clean green runs having started 17th; At the end of the day, he simply stayed out of it & finished 10th.

NASCAR Trucks at the 2025 Window World 250: Chandler Smith steers clear past team-mate Riggs and rival Heim for his 2nd race win this season with Front Row Motorsports

Lots to look back at white flag overtime with Corey Heim unlucky being sandwiched towards the outside wall by Layne Riggs at Turn 2 who had a superior No.11 Toyota truck right in front of him.

It’s a shame these yellows really threw him out of the window like it was last weekend (early pit stop issue) in Kansas.

He’s got exceptional talent as sure he will wanna win his 1st championship later this year on top of his excellent Cup/Xfinity part-time cameos – all to do with Corey’s credibility even without JGR’s help.

Meanwhile, top day though by Front Row Motorsports where Chandler Smith is your winner waiting to pounce on the inside with fresher tires & there he goes steering well clear from the Riggs and Heim drama, even though Riggs is his team-mate with a bit of wheelspin finishing 2nd best again.

2025 NASCAR All-Star Race: A few best mid-running teams from Sunday’s main event race at North Wilkesboro Speedway

Yes, it may be a non-points All-Star Race weekend as congrats to Christopher Bell with the win following a thrilling last lap alongside Joey Logano but top night by Ross Chastain also in 3rd for Trackhouse.

Looks like Ross will be the next mid-running team race winner after Josh Berry from Wood Brothers at least during the regular season in 2025 with last year’s championship 4 contender Tyler Reddick not far behind in 7th for 23XI Racing.

Also, great to see Kyle Busch back running Top 10 & he hopes to stay that way ahead of the long Coke 600 race next Sunday.

Same with Chris Buescher even though his No.17 team was fined the other day and special shoutout to Spire who was fortunate enough to sweep those extra All-Star weekend prizes – from the No.71 team winning that fastest pit crew time challenge for Michael McDowell to Carson Hocevar’s win at the open race.

Carson was almost there with improvements in the 2nd half, just unlucky at the final restart from Top 5 to 11th.

Thoughts on Jack Perkins set to make his NASCAR debut later this year in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing at Portland

Great to hear about Jack Perkins able to secure a one-off ride with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity team for the Portland weekend race (road course) on August 30.

Interesting to see Shaw and Partners continue their involvement with racing this time supporting Jack represent JGR’s “star car” No.19 Toyota Supra.

That’s a Toyota Supercars will be about to see for the first time come next season competing against arch rivals Chevy and Ford with the factory Andretti Walkinshaw team (2 cars) and customer-run Brad Jones Racing (4 cars) – exciting times ahead.

We hope he will make the most out of his NASCAR debut at Xfinity level and for now, he’s lucky enough to be in Charlotte this week. He’s just visited the race shop & soon he will be at the speedway visiting the team’s garage trackside and also supporting them for the Coca Cola 600.

NASCAR Trucks: Corey Heim going strength to strength in a mostly clean evening following his win at the 2025 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 in Charlotte

One thing to look at Corey Heim’s win at the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 in Charlotte tonight – brilliant stuff.

He may have been thrown into the hot seat when it comes to the race off pit road especially under caution or in-between stages but boy, he’s fast, extremely fast.

Goes to show he’s more than ready to going the distance than ever who finished ahead of both Niece Chevy trucks:

1️⃣ Cup regular from Trackhouse Ross Chastain even though he makes the most out of his short runs as a mostly clean run tonight meaning he came home 2nd.

2️⃣ Same goes with Kaden Honeycutt off the back of his 3rd placed finish where race craft may not be on par with Heim’s but made some good calls off pit road, however, to keep in a good check of the front row.

On that note, with the Fox’s primary female Truck Series commentator Jamie Little in Indy to report the annual 500 on pit road this weekend, great to hear Kevin Harvick on the call this time as a lead announcer. It’s also on Stan Sport btw for this annual event along with the full IndyCar season races irrespective of Fox taking over NBC as the new TV partner this year.

He’s got his own weekly podcast and vodcast show twice a week where he could’ve been a handy fill-in host with last weekend’s All-Star race but being in the booth suits him better.

He could even be a perfect replacement someday if Mike Joy wants to retire but NASCAR now has at least two new broadcast partners over the next ten Cup races with Amazon Prime & TNT Sports.

And Kevin, enjoy the grand stage of the 500 as a spectator this Sunday – lots of astonishing history right there!

NASCAR Xfinity: William Byron overcomes speeding penalty and chain reacted Stage 3 crashes to finish the race off as the winner at the BetMGM 300 in Charlotte

From winning the first two stages to a speeding penalty and then back following a chain reacted Stage 3 when he got around Justin Allgaier with two to go –

How good from William Byron!

No doubt he will want to win the 600 so badly from 3rd in Cup tomorrow while Allgaier did his best to hold off on older tires which could’ve been his to win if wasn’t for those endless late yellows.

Shoutout also to Nick Sanchez 3rd with a car capable of good results, Dean Thompson 5th from mid-pack to an extended shot at the front row, and Josh Williams was better late than never in 6th.

NASCAR Race Results: Top 3 to 4 mid-running teams from the 2025 Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Lots of mid-run teams with top-notch Coca Cola 600 results after all surviving mid-race yellows that includes one race winner, who successfully nailed down the most lead lap driver of the night, just laps before the finish line over William Byron.

If Ross Chastain may have been disappointed over Corey Heim the other day in Trucks, why not be the top of the crown with the watermelons on it in Cup?

He’s done it just that when William Byron thought he could take home the Cup & Xfinity Charlotte double which didn’t happen but hey, at least everyone had their fair share of wins in each category.

1️⃣ 2nd driver to win after Josh Berry that isn’t a top team goes to Ross Chastain from the way back to way front and never looked back blowing William Byron and Denny Hamlin away so late for 1st.

2️⃣ AJ Allmendinger kept a great eye on the front runners all night long where yes, his No.16 may not be closer to the lead but still a nice and clean Top 4th finish.

3️⃣ 1st Top 5 of 2025 from Brad Keselowski who had to bide his time before he made plenty of ground all the way to the Top 10 then 5th over the last 200 odd laps – that’s a RFK weekend success story with Ryan Preece in 9th.

4️⃣ Another 1st Top 10 also for 2025 by Michael McDowell in first-time Spire colours with a good Stage 1 in 10th where he may have fell back at one stage; fortunately, important adjustments after others drop out saw Michael cruise back as it goes with good 2nd half speed in 7th.

Who will be the next winner that isn’t a top team after the Coke 600? No surprise if a different Trackhouse driver wins the next few either Daniel Suarez or SVG.

The same goes with AJ Allmendinger in the No.16 Chevy for Kaulig and Michael McDowell at Spire, who can use a bit of their specialist & even big oval road course advantage, to lock up one of the next open Playoff spots.

But RFK seems to be the consistent mid-play performer if we go back to normal every week and it could be any of the three drivers to sweep those stakes this summer ahead of the August cut-off.

Also not writing off Stenhouse too who hasn’t yet won this season but he is too a consistent Top 10-15 performer in the lone-run Hyak Chevy – watch this space as long as Ricky can stay being constant.

NASCAR Trucks: Spire’s Rajah Caruth pulls down curtains on Corey Heim and Layne Riggs on time to taste victory at Nashville

Rajah Caruth – gotta credit his pit crew and crew chief on getting that No.71 truck past Corey Heim with the Nashville win.

He had a superior Top 3 truck who was also impressive at restarts & boy, a good balance of being the fastest on pit road and the right adjustments proved to be something that no one else could match but than Rajah & 71 himself.

More good Spire news with shoutout to the No.7 of Corey Day in 5th.

Second best from Heim where the 11 truck was always there no doubt; there were areas that didn’t go his favour, especially after he missed out to Caruth in Stage 3.

Good recovery also from Stage 1 winner Layne Riggs in particular with his long run speed back to 3rd & Daniel Hemric made a lot of ground whose No.19 truck may not be close to Heim & Caruth when it comes to the race for 1st but still great for 4th.

June 1, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR website/blog update April 2025: Charter Complications while we go South East from Darlington to Bristol and Talladega in between the off Easter break

by Sports Benches April 30, 2025

NASCAR: Thoughts on Legacy Motor Club suing Rick Ware Racing over a charter purchase agreement that gone wrong

No secret there from Legacy Motor Club who wants to expand into three full-time cars but it’s a shame that seller Rick Ware Racing has been messing things up lately.

So they decided to bring this up to the courthouse for the judge to decide.

Thought RWR would have taken the chance to improve their on-track performance even more which they haven’t so far this season when Justin Haley moved to Spire along with the other chartered lease to RFK Racing for Ryan Preece.

But if RWR is not serious enough to improve any time soon while making looking to make another quick dime, then they should take the money now (around $40 million USD) before things get ugly.

Not sure what will happen if RWR is gonna do once they’re without charters where maybe might as well they’ll do part-time (see Live Fast Motorsports) but hoping this happens and maybe the No.44 could be back on track potentially as a three-car team with the 42 and 43 so they can go full speed to where they want to be.

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins another race for the Joe Gibbs Toyota Camrys on another week at Darlington Raceway

It’s been another amazing JGR Toyota weekend with another Denny Hamlin win for the second straight week running this time at the Throwback walls of Darlington.

Not only he was Top 3 fastest in qualifying he also took good care of the field too and with his Playoffs berth already intact, all Denny wants to do is keep on running up front every week so he can make the most out of the Championship later this year.

Here’s a few more when others survive those cut-offs of yellow flag mayhem:

One of the RFK Racing Fords goes Top 7 once again by Chris Buescher and so does the Front Row duo of Zane Smith (12th) and Todd Gilliland (14th) – glad Zane’s lifeline opportunity is going well so far.

Ty Dillon following up another solid day also in 16th with the No.10 Chevy for Kaulig Racing including ex-Erebus personnel Andrew Dickeson upstairs.

And at Legacy MC, Erik Jones finished 17th who kept battling hard all day in the 43; Although not so much from JHN in the other 42 when both customer Toyotas didn’t have the best push towards the end.

NASCAR Race 9 of 36 2025: Kyle Larson wins at Bristol with a few Gibbs Toyotas sweeping up the front row results

Other than a dominant Kyle Larson afternoon after 500 laps at short track Bristol, not a bad day from the Toyotas up front – particularly with the Gibbs cars.

So close of going three wins in a row by Denny Hamlin when things were quiet other than just stage pauses and the odd yellow but will take 2nd.

Then there’s Ty Gibbs (No.54) with his first Top 5 of the year in 3rd and so does James Small’s (crew chief) 19 team of Chase Briscoe after he came home 4th.

Here’s some more good Top 10-15 results by a few other Chevy cars like Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain now with 3 x Top 7s in a row in 7th & AJ Allmendinger who brought back the Top 10 for the No.16 team at Kaulig – despite being the first one lapped down with that mini 2nd group lot in 9th.

Thoughts on Dodge rumoured to team up with GMS Racing on their proposed return to NASCAR via Ram at Truck Series level

So there you have it, not only Maury Gallagher’s son Spencer is back on a one-off ride somewhere at ARCA level, but we could see GMS Racing going back to NASCAR after all as a Ram trucks team if Dodge is officially coming back next year.

Not only that, we could see at least two entries to begin with since these engines are spec powered by Ilmor and not built by each of the current manufacturers unless you’re talking the Xfinity Series or Cup.

So no-brainer there for Dodge to get back into the stock car racing business.

Then it’s a matter of when if Dodge does want to re-join and compete the likes of Chevy, Ford and Toyota for the NASCAR Cup Series – could be 2027 or 2028.

Should Legacy Motor Club be able to finalise their purchase with that 3rd charter off Rick Ware Racing, it could be perfect timing for Dodge to team up including “The King” Richard Petty again like it was in the good ol’ past.

Although Jimmie Johnson is the majority owner nowadays with Maury still holding a small cut alongside new member Tom Brady and his investment partner who owns Birmingham City – they just got back into the Championship btw.

I wouldn’t be against it and it’s never been a better time to have Corey Heim onboard ready to battle for a championship for that newly-expanded car (could be the No.44) under Dodge and Legacy MC – pretty sure he will never be picked by Joe Gibbs because of his feud with grandson Ty.

And of course if Erik and John Hunter wanted to stay, I’m sure they will too considering they have families through a wife and a young kid of their own.

At the moment, qualifying pace ain’t bad sometimes but with just a Toyota-powered engine on their own race cars – seems like they will have to do a whole lot of work if Legacy MC was to compete for Top 10s & I mean regularly to stay on top of Playoffs.

NASCAR 2025: Next lot of mid-running team drivers in and out at the end of Top 16 that could change everything after Easter

Ryan Preece is making a solid impact post Stewart-Haas at RFK Racing with one Top 5 and three straight Top 10s so far & he wants more of these good results after Easter to try stay within that Playoffs zone.

Even a regular season win would be nice for Jack Roush and Brad K.

Then there’s the returning AJ Allmendinger who gave Kaulig Racing a much needed boost in that No.16 Chevy with three Top 10s also.

Could a race win be up next? Probably at Mexico City in June if not in the August rush – message being sent to Trackhouse.

And Michael McDowell despite no Top 10 yet is not far from the Top 16 points in 19th where he was closer to Top 10 a few times plus the Las Vegas pole.

Can’t go wrong when he has two talented guys by his side in Justin H. and Carson C at Spire and maybe it’s Michael’s turn this year where Stenhouse couldn’t do but with both in-season win & extended Playoffs.

Those three could change everything much like Josh Berry (fellow ex-Stewart-Haas) who won in Vegas last month at Wood Brothers.

NASCAR, 2025 Jack Links 500 at Talladega: Ryan Preece and Joey Logano DQ promotes Noah Gragson to 4th for Front Row along with two Spire cars within Top 11 by C. Hocevar and M. McDowell

Thought Ryan Preece was 2nd even if he was oh so close behind Austin Cindric but unfortunately, he and Austin’s other Penske team-mate Joey Logano got DQed post-race over a spoiler ride issue.

If one former Stewart-Haas driver’s got talent, Noah Gragson flies the flag at Front Row Ford in the No.4 Mustang also in 4th.

Spire having a solid afternoon with two cars in the top half as looks like they might as well be the next ones into victory lane where Carson finished 6th and McDowell 11th + the fastest lap driver of the day.

Yes, still no Top 10 from the No.71 just yet but also Michael not far from Top 16 drivers’ points bubble with Carson now joining him in 20th.

Because at the end of the day, Spire wants to be the 2nd best Chevy team to affiliate partner Hendrick ahead of Trackhouse and RCR (Childress).

April 30, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR website/blog update March 2025: COTA to Phoenix plus Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami & Martinsville

by Sports Benches March 31, 2025

March 2025 was a big month of NASCAR with our first road course race of the year in the midwest plus the back-to-back West Coast leg and back to East with a mix of hot and cold weather between Homestead-Miami and Martinsville.

NASCAR today’s result: Another dominant Toyota weekend by Christopher Bell courtesy of a sensational race-winning move with six laps to go along with an P22 finish of a tough weekend from John Hunter Nemechek at Legacy MC

Here’s another Toyota race winning weekend and what a sensational drive Christopher Bell has pulled off against both Chevys in William Byron and Kyle Busch right there & never looked back on his second race win of the new year with 6 laps to go on the final stretch at COTA.

Looks like he’s the early favourite tipped to be the next first-time champion at the No.20 Gibbs Camry even though there’s a whole lot of other races to get through after three weeks of 36 or 37 if you count the All-Star non-points weekend.

And yes for Legacy Motor Club, it may not have been the best weekend, especially when racing on a road course & also in qualifying where they rolled off at the back. But at least both cars came home all in one piece with #43 Erik Jones in 27th while #42 John Hunter Nemechek benefitted some yellows to gain some track position there & he finished 22nd – imagine what could happen if JHN started a bit further afield with a fighting chance.

Still lots of time though as he’s been happy with the team’s good progress as of late with first two races being Top 10 & sure he will make it three out of four before he’ll be running after a Top 5 very soon.

NASCAR today’s result: Christopher Bell goes three-in-a row after he defeated Gibbs team-mate Denny Hamlin at the white flag plus more coming from Legacy Motor Club

A bit unlucky there from the No.11 Denny Hamlin but good to see him finish 2nd and how good was Christopher Bell in the No.20 Gibbs Camry once again with another Toyota race win after three races out of four minus the Daytona 500.

Still early days with 2nd chances on the line by everyone else before Bell would want to pull off a Phoenix Raceway clean sweep alongside that championship trophy he long wanted come November for the C’ship 4 finale but so far, so good.

And yes, the same goes to fellow Toyota customer Cup team Legacy MC with a lot to reflect on.

JHN was excellent on the long runs as always like it was last weekend at COTA where he finished in 14th with the exact same difficult circumstances he had to do from the back once again – imagine how serious he could be and the best of this LMC’s on-track results is yet to come.

Erik Jones, meanwhile, may not have been able to hold down a top-half spot especially with a series of yellows holding him back ahead of restarts but not a bad second half session though to sign off at the 43 office in 18th.

NASCAR today’s result: Josh Berry another first time winner who just gifted Wood Brothers Racing’s 101st Cup win and a mixed afternoon in LV from Legacy Motor Club

It’s good to see another Wood Brothers race win in the space of just over six months from their centurion Cup victory and hats off to hard-worker Josh Berry with his first Cup win.

Didn’t know there was another first timer making the big rounds at WBR just like Harrison Burton last year at Daytona & don’t forget Young Ryan Blaney too back in June 2017 at Pocono.

For Legacy MC, kinda of a mixed day with John Hunter Nemechek on another Top 20 afternoon (20th) & Erik Jones 27th.

Erik was off to a flyer thanks to his unreal qualifying run from 5th but then a lot of yellows + his own spin ruined his momentum while JHN effective on the long runs as always & able to keep his car clean that benefitted his track position – wish he had good qualifying car though that can change everything.

From last weekend: Kyle Larson pulls off late move over Alex Bowman for the best of Hendrick at Homestead along with some late progress from Erik Jones in 15th for LMC

It was a brilliant afternoon of NASCAR Cup racing at Homestead last weekend this time during the early season swing rather than later in the year at Playoffs time headlined by a Hendrick 1-2 finish courtesy of 2021 champion Kyle Larson, who made the winning move over team-mate Alex Bowman in the 48 after Alex brushed the wall a wee bit much with only seven laps to go – how good is racing!

Gotta feel for Bubba there who wasn’t far off the lead from Bowman at the time and then he just couldn’t keep up with those two Chevys on the run home, although he finished 3rd as the leading Toyota Camrys for 23XI Racing ahead of two Gibbs cars which ain’t bad.

Meanwhile, unlucky for his best friend Ryan Blaney in the No.12 Penske Ford following a great start but then a poor Stage 3 restart coupled with a blown engine meant he couldn’t go on through the end -you gotta feel for YRB there.

Other than the Hendrick Chevy cars being absolutely top-notch up front, it was also good seeing both RFK Ford cars finish Top 10 like the always consistent No.17 Chris Buescher (6th) and so does the statement driver Ryan Preece in the new No.60 team (9th), along with AJ Allmendinger just inside Top 7 for Kaulig Racing (Chevy).

And last but not least for LMC, yeah don’t know what went wrong when a good qualifying run didn’t quite translate into a satisfactory race result. John Hunter Nemechek had that issue from the line in 7th where he was running outside Top 20 but at least the other car in Erik Jones seems to have the better finish thanks to a series of adjustments including the DNF of Ryan Blaney and he came home in 15th.

What can LMC improve going into Martinsville?

So six races out of 36, LMC has the raw pace as seen in practice and qualifying with back-to-back Top 10s which wasn’t bad for a start. But when it comes the race day form, it seems they are sometimes going all over the place inconsistently from up front to the middle of the field.

One thing they’re good at though is their ability to finish races strong – as long as they steer clear out of the crashed and mechanically defunct cars, they are all good to finish whatever track position they can take towards the checkered flag. Other than that, JHN is 18th and Erik is 23rd in Drivers’ Points so another Top 10-15 run or better is the way to go.

It is still a work in progress as said when Jimmie Johnson made a host of off-season changes and right now, they are currently on the up with still a long way to before the No.42 and No.43 Toyotas can start fighting consistently with the front-runners.

NASCAR Race Results: Denny Hamlin wins his first race of 2025 with a new crew chief along with some good Top 10-15 results from elsewhere all at Martinsville

What a Denny day it has been from the man who led the most laps on his way to his first victory of 2025 earlier today at the paperclip (Martinsville Speedway) & with the Joe Gibbs Toyotas (including Denny’s own 23XI satellite cars) ever so strong up front over the last couple of weeks, no doubt this could be their best year ahead.

What else?

Good to see Ryan Preece back up another Top 10 finish in the No.60 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing in 7th.
Shoutout to Todd Gilliland btw also in a Ford with the No.34 team at Front Row Motorsports and he crossed the line with a Top 10 result in 10th.
There’s a bit more room also when Michael McDowell finished 12th for Spire and Ty Dillon 15th with his Aussie crew chief Andrew Dickeson (ex-Erebus crew from Supercars) calling the shots at Kaulig Racing.

And on Legacy MC, yes, their practice and qualifying laps have no doubt continued to shine. However, they just couldn’t quite translate it into race results unfortunately once again every time yellows hold up every now and then – not even a DQ from Erik Jones has helped so little either and he was busted after post-race inspection.

March 31, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR website/blog update February 2025: From Daytona 500 to the opening Atlanta race of the year

by Sports Benches February 25, 2025

NASCAR is back in full swing to start the new year of 2025 coinciding with the new TV rights deal. This is the opening month of the new season as been looking at one specific team for a start along with an exciting rumor in between that is related with a possible new manufacturer coming back into town.

NASCAR Today’s Results: Jimmie Johnson Carvana-led 84 team finishes third at the 2025 Daytona 500 with John Hunter Nemechek 5th & Erik Jones 12th that caps off a stunning new season start for JJ’s Legacy Motor Club

It was awesome to see Legacy Motor Club begin their 2025 campaign with a bang in their 2nd year using Toyota engines off the back of their huge off-season change of crew and even minority investment thanks to the man of the hour himself Jimmie Johnson.

He still has something to offer whose patience paid off after he came home third even though he races part-time these days, John Hunter Nemechek had a solid Top 5 car all day long other than the late yellows but happy though with 5th & Erik Jones not far off down in 12th – fortunately he was okay.

This is still a team in progress when things will take time but surely they will be more than ready to sweep Top 10-15z every weekend including an odd Playoffs run in possible – time will tell with JJ calling the shots now himself in majority charge.

Plus, happy to see Jimmie’s former team Hendrick celebrating this year’s Daytona 500 win in none other than William Byron.

And shoutout to ex-player Aaron Woods who stopped by at Daytona the other day to promote NRL/Rugby League with the new season opener soon in Las Vegas.

There won’t be a NASCAR race though on the same weekend unlike last year but will they will be back in the middle of March.

Thoughts on Dodge back to NASCAR once again this time from the ground up with the Truck Series starting in 2026

Looks like Dodge wants to go back to NASCAR once more having heard new rumours from the weekend’s Daytona 500 but looks like they would rather start from the bottom at Trucks level under Ram since the engines everyone in this competition use now are spec ones – not too bad to get in at an affordable cost.

Gonna be great seeing more competition with Ram joining Chevy, Toyota and Ford back out on the race track that will make them a decent enough contender to fight for race wins and even championships.

Don’t know which teams will be up for it but shouldn’t be a problem if Dodge under Ram officially comes back.

And yes, they would also wanna go Cup and even Xfinity racing as well at some point as long they find an engine builder but not on their own via in-house.

It’s easy to put in the Charger there since they just got a new generation model last year that also offers an electric & plug in hybrid option and they now both come in a two-door coupe and a four-door sedan.

Watch this space for that and let’s hope the rumors do come out true this time.

NASCAR today’s result: Another Top 10 run by Legacy Motor Club this time from John Hunter Nemechek in the No.42 on what has been a top Toyota afternoon at Atlanta

Fantastic to hear another Legacy Motor Club Top 10 run of 2025 this time at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Race 2/36) by John Hunter Nemechek – who endured a decent No.42 Toyota Camry all afternoon from 22nd to staying right in between Top 10-15 for the most part even though there were multiple yellows where he had the chance at one stage up front – and there goes his solid result for crew chief Travis Mack & his crew on pit road and garage.

Yes, the real test does begin other than the unpredictable restrictor plate races like Daytona 500 last week as he’s 100% right post-race. It goes to show how competitive this can be when going after the regular front-runners for race wins that isn’t Daytona or Talladega but they are getting there though race after race.

You can see how the 77 Spire’s Carson Hocevar was oh so close there particularly at the final restart after he finished 2nd as sure he can go one better sooner rather than later that can mean anything including the Playoffs later this year.

Although unlucky for Erik Jones there in the other Legacy No.43 Camry when he was taken into the wall midway through Stage 2 – wasn’t a team-mate crash though as this was committed by the No.17 Chris Buescher from Ford’s RFK Racing.

But still not a bad weekend to keep themselves through the field from LMC and also Team Toyota in general with Christopher Bell being the 2nd early winner of 2025 for the No.20 Gibbs camp.

February 25, 2025 0 comment