| In 2024, Brandon Robinson (44) and Jared Mees (1) battle it out at the Lima Half-Mile with Briar Bauman (3) close on their heels [Photo: American Flat Track/Tim Lester] DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 23, 2025) – The stars of Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, are gearing up for this weekend’s hugely anticipated Lima Half-Mile I & II at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio, on Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28. In the Presence of Royalty Even in retirement, the presence of Jared Mees was destined to loom large over this year’s Mission AFT SuperTwins title fight. Mees not only left on his own terms last year, he did so in the most spectacular way possible, winning his final race in a season that culminated with an unprecedented tenth Grand National Championship. Quite naturally, the defining story of the 2025 season was always going to be the battle to assume Mees’ throne, and thus, even in absence, he gets mentioned on a near-weekly basis. However, that’ll ramp up considerably this weekend with Mees in attendance, presiding over the festivities as the event’s co-promotor alongside his wife and former GNC competitor Nichole Mees. Challenge Accepted Mees’ continued influence on the sport extends beyond the attempts of his former rivals to fill his void or by way of his race promotion. He’s helped to usher in yet more history by playing a key role in devising the Mission Triple Challenge format set to debut this Friday night. As a brief refresher, here’s a reminder of how the Mission Triple Challenge will work: Race 1: A fast and furious 10-lap sprint where riders race for points (23 for 1st, 19 for 2nd, and so on). The results? Not just bragging rights—they also set the stage (aka the starting grid) for Race 2. Race 2: Fifteen laps of adrenaline-packed action where the stakes are doubled. Riders earn twice as many points as in Race 1 (46 for 1st, 38 for 2nd, and so on). With twice the reward and grid positions for the final race on the line, the tension is sky-high. Race 3: The grand finale! Twenty laps of high-octane action with triple the points of Race 1 up for grabs (69 for 1st, 57 for 2nd, and so on). The stakes couldn’t be higher as riders battle for ultimate glory. At the end of Race 3, all points are tallied to crown the night’s overall top three in each class. And if there’s a tie? It all boils down to who came in clutch and delivered the best finishing position in Race 3. But even broken down and laid out, we still don’t know exactly how it’ll play out in practice. For example, will strategies vary alongside race length – i.e. could we be in for a non-stop, all-out brawl in Race 1 with a more tactical affair to round out the evening in Race 3? Seems reasonable enough, but we just don’t know. Better yet, neither do the racers. As much as overall race strategies are unknown, each racer is likely to have their individual take on how things should work, which will then be tested by how it actually does. Over time, as the Mission Triple Challenge rounds stack and the data accumulates, some consensus regarding best practices may eventually take shape. But as for this Friday night? Buckle up. Clash of the Pea-Gravel Titans Lima is an ideal venue to host the inaugural Triple Challenge. It’s both physically and strategically demanding and widely viewed as among the most coveted wins a Mission SuperTwins pilot can attain. History also shows it’s a place where the best and brightest outshine the rest, with the legendary trio of Scott Parker(seven wins), Mees (five wins), and Chris Carr (four wins) ranking 1-2-3 in career Lima Half-Mile triumphs. It’s only fitting then that this year’s races will feature a trio of modern-era Lima masters in Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R), Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R), and Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT). Bauman comes in with the points lead on the strength of a three-race win streak. He also happens to own three previous Lima wins, all coming on different makes of equipment (Kawasaki, Indian, and KTM). This weekend presents an opportunity to make it four as he rolls in on the Harley-Davidson XG750R. Should Bauman continue his tear and sweep this weekend’s doubleheader, he’ll boast the second longest win streak in Grand National Championship history, trailing only Ricky Graham, who took six Main Events in succession during his epic 1993 title season. Neither four nor five will come easily, however. This year’s Short Track-centric schedule was a significant factor in RWR electing to field the H-D. That has proven to be a wise decision to date, however, Half-Miles in general and Lima in particular are different tests entirely. Plus, he’ll need to overcome both Robinson and Daniels, among others, to do so. Robinson himself is a two-time winner at Lima, claiming top honors in 2016 on a Harley-Davidson XR750 and again in 2022 on an Indian FTR750. He’s consistently strong at the circuit, claiming finishes of first, second, third, and fourth in his most recent four attempts. And while Daniels has just the one Lima Half-Mile win, it came one year ago in devastating fashion. Despite calling off the dogs late, he still won by nearly six-and-a-half seconds. Now riding an 18-race podium streak, the Estenson Racing ace figures to be good everywhere – and that’s why he remains the title favorite in the eyes of many. The shift away from Short Tracks to a pair of Half-Miles and a Mile may present a golden opportunity for Daniels to reset and take a second shot at asserting the sort of dominance so many expected from him before the ‘25 campaign got underway. The Big Four Any discussion regarding the season’s evolving Grand National Championship fight would be incomplete if it failed to include Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke). In fact, Fisher ranks just behind Bauman and Daniels and ahead of Robinson in the points, leapfrogging the Mission Roof System pilot with an impressive second-place effort last time out. Fisher’s ‘25 finishes of fourth-third-fourth-seventh-and-second mark the best five-race run of his career, and he only expects to get better as he gets more seat time on the KTM 790 Duke. While Lima has not typically proven overly kind to Fisher, he has managed to finish fourth here twice in the past, including last year when he ran down Bauman to steal the position. Upset Alert The uncertainty of the Triple Challenge may up the odds of an upset this weekend. If so, who is most likely to deliver it? Jarod VanDerKooi (No. 20 Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM 790 Duke) is an easy answer. He’s rapidly rounding into form, having earned three straight top fives (including a podium) in his last three outings. And while the odds are admittedly longer, don’t discount the likes of James Ott (No. 19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07), Max Whale (No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp) and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Suzuki GSX-8S), all of whom have demonstrated front-running form at times early this season. You Ask, The Riders Answer Lima’s fanbase has a reputation for being among the most knowledgeable to be found anywhere in the nation. And they’ll have an opportunity to add to that knowledge base via the Rider Q&A session that will be included in each day’s Fan Party, which will run for approximately an hour directly preceding Opening Ceremonies. That won’t be the only attraction keeping spectators entertained between action on track. There will be music, a bouncy house for kids, numerous vendors, and plenty of food and beverage options, along with extensive motorcycle parking. And fans who come out a day early can watch some of the future stars of the sport perform for free with a day of amateur racing scheduled for Thursday, June 26. Get Your Tickets Today and Save Some Cash Fans can save $10 by purchasing their tickets in advance with prices slated to return to their standard rate starting on Wednesday, June 25. If you act fast, General Admission Bleacher tickets are still $35 each night (kids 12 and under free with a paid adult GA ticket) with Reserved Grandstand tickets $40 and Premier Reserved Grandstand $45. Meanwhile, fans who purchase the two-day ticket save an additional $5 (two-day General Admission: $65/two-day Reserved: $75/two-day Premier Reserved: $85). Those who purchase either a Reserved ticket or a Premier Reserved ticket will have the option to add the VIP Experience upgrade for a combined $150. New for 2025, the Lima VIP Experience includes a trackside meet-and-great with dirt track legend Jared Mees, infield access for the Opening Ceremonies and heat races, all-day pit access, a climate-controlled VIP lounge, and free VIP parking. Camping is also available at the Allen County Fairgrounds on a first-come, first-served basis. Tent Camping is free while RV/Trailer Camping, including water and electric hook-ups, is $50 per night (cash only). To purchase Lima Half-Mile I tickets, click HERE. To purchase Lima Half-Mile II tickets, click HERE. And to save $5 by purchasing Friday and Saturday tickets together for the Lima Half-Mile I & II, click HERE. Gates will open for fans at 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) on both days. For more information, ticket purchases, and updates, visit www.limahalf-mile.com or call 419-991-1491 |
CD RACING SWEEPS MID-OHIO TRANS AM; BRABHAM 1ST & DYSON 2ND.
| PURSLEY SCORES USAC SILVER CROWN WIN FOR CD RACING OPEN-WHEEL TEAM |
| POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (June 23, 2025) – The only thing hotter than the weather Saturday afternoon at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the pair of Chris Dyson Racing GYM Weed Ford Mustangs. Matty Brabham started on the pole with his #21 GYM WEED Mustang and led every lap of the 100-mile Trans Am by Pirelli sprint, followed closely by Chris Dyson who ran a close second from flag to flag. “The track was hot and slick, but my car was great all day,” Brabham said after pulling into the aptly-titled GYM WEED Winners Circle. “Chris’s car had some handling issues, but he still kept the pressure on me all afternoon. Neither of us is in the hunt for the championship this year so we were both just going for the win. There were no team orders, except not to take each other out.” After missing Thursday’s practice sessions and then qualifying fourth on Friday, Dyson grabbed second position in the #16 at the drop of the green flag. For most of the race the GYM WEED duo steadily pulled away from the rest of the field. And while coping with fairly chronic low speed understeer in his #16 mount, Dyson still managed to narrow the gap to Brabham at several points in the race. Then, after a late race caution closed up the field Dyson astutely held off a charging Paul Menard to secure the second spot on the podium. “It was about the best possible result we could have hoped for and that’s a 1-2 on my Dad (Rob)’s birthday!” Dyson said. “Matty did a fantastic job and I have to thank the team for giving us the cars to beat here. The track conditions were challenging and our cars transcended that. The guys worked very hard to rebound from a tough Lime Rock and boy, was this a great comeback story here today. Putting both cars in GYM WEED Winners Circle is really tremendous result. Team effort.” Mid-Ohio was Brabham’s second win of the season. Standing in for Dyson, who was injured in the season-opener at Sebring, Brabham won at Road Atlanta in the second race on the calendar. He is expected to drive the #21 car in select races during the remainder of the Trans Am season. Concord American Flagpoles & CD Racing Score Big USAC Silver Crown Win Guest driver Daison Pursley’s first qualifying lap at Pennsylvania’s half-mile dirt Port Royal Speedway was good enough for a front-row start for the 50-lap USAC Silver Crown National Championship race. On his second qualifying lap the 20-year-old rising star put the #9 Concord American Flagpoles car into the fence. It took an all-hands-on-deck effort by the CD Racing team, led by Sean Michael, to repair the car in time for start. “We’ve got a terrific team,” Michael said. “Everybody knows their job. We just put our heads down and focused on putting the car back together.” That hard work was well rewarded. Pursley, whose first Silver Crown win came at Port Royal last year, grabbed the lead on the third lap and never looked back. “This thing was phenomenal!” Pursley said after climbing out of the car. I pushed the issue a little bit too hard (in qualifying). I just needed the track to widen out and I knew we would come to life (in the race). Sure enough, that’s what happened.” Despite a pair of yellow flags that bunched up the field no one could challenge Pursley, who took the checkered flag 3.5 seconds ahead of his closest rival, pole winner and series point leader Justin Grant. Road America Up Next For Trans Am The Trans Am series goes straight from Ohio to Wisconsin’s Road America circuit this weekend. Dyson has a pair of Trans Am wins at Road America, in 2020 and 2021. He’s also scored multiple IMSA wins coupled with a Pirelli World Challenge triumph at the famed Wisconsin road course. “Road America is a great track – for spectators as well as drivers – and I love racing there,” Dyson said. “I expect we’ll have the car better balanced next weekend. The competition will be tough but I will be going for the win.” For more on Chris Dyson Racing.Road America Schedule Qualifying takes place Friday, June 27, 3:50 – 4:05 PM CT (4:50 – 5:05 ET) The 100-mile race takes the green flag Saturday, June 28, at 12:35 PM CT (1:35 PM ET) |
Tyler Erb Wins 17th Career Summer Nationals Feature at Lincoln, Ryan Gustin Clinches Week 2 Title
| LINCOLN, IL — June 22, 2025 — Tyler Erb is back in his rhythm with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models. The New Waverly, TX driver picked up his second Feature win of the season at Lincoln Speedway in a duel against Jason Feger for the night’s Feature win. Beginning the night at Lincoln with a win in his Heat race, Erb rolled off from third place for the Feature while Ryan Gustin and Feger led the field to the green flag with Feger claiming the point on the opening lap. “Terbo” followed Feger’s line to pass Gustin for second place, then rode behind the “High Side Hustler” by consistently maintaining a half-second gap. As lapped traffic began to play a hand in the second half of the Feature, Erb waited for the moment Feger’s lead became vulnerable on the 1/4-mile race track. Erb’s chance for the top spot became available on Lap 26 as Feger lost momentum through Turns 3-4, which led to Erb reaching Feger’s door as the two drivers made contact at the finish line. Erb’s opportunity gave him the lead while Feger pulled off the track on Lap 27 due to the damage sustained. While the Best Performance Motorsports No. 1 endured the challenges of Gustin and Cade Dillard for the win, Erb drove away to a one-second lead as his 17th career Hell Tour win ties him with Kevin Weaver for 11th on the all-time wins list. “We’re back in the rhythm,” Erb said. “Jason’s really good here. He’s won (three years in a row), and, when he got crossed up in the cushion there, I was like, ‘Man, don’t hit him, don’t hit him,’ ‘Cause we’re really good buddies. And, I think when I got in it, I just got crooked, and he had a big run. So, it sucks that it did whatever there, but it was a good race.” Leaving the second week of the Summer Nationals, Gustin earned the Week 2 championship for his first career weekly title with the tour after making his return to the tour for the first time since 2022. Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1-Tyler Erb[3]; 2. 97-Cade Dillard[4]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[9]; 5. 74X-Ethan Dotson[21]; 6. 19-Dustin Sorensen[10]; 7. 75-Dillon McCowan[13]; 8. 60-Dan Ebert[17]; 9. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[5]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger[20]; 11. 14JR-Trey Mills[18]; 12. 28B-Carson Brown[16]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson[14]; 14. 17A-Austin Howes[7]; 15. 38J-Jake Little[12]; 16. 15-Clay Stuckey[19]; 17. 29-Christian Hanger[15]; 18. 5-Mark Whitener[8]; 19. (DNF) 25F-Jason Feger[2]; 20. (DNF) 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 21. (DNF) 09-Michael Leach[22]; 22. (DNF) 49-Jake Timm[11] Hunt Gossum Wins Fifth Career Summit Modified Nationals Feature at Lincoln After four years of waiting, Hunt Gossum has made his return to Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Victory Lane. The Mayfield, KY driver drove a perfect race at Lincoln Speedway on Sunday night by leading flag-to-flag for his fifth career tour win. Gossum began the night with the fastest time set in his Qualifying group, then followed up the drive with the win in his Heat race. The win helped Gossum draw the pole for the night’s 25-lap Feature with multi-time Summit Modified winner Ray Bollinger to his outside at the drop of the green flag. Gossum used the bottom lane advantage to gain a 0.5-second lead over Bollinger. At the same time, points leader Trevor Neville attempted to pass Bollinger on the bottom lane for second place, but could not make the move stick as he stayed behind Bollinger’s No. 77 UMP Modified. While lapped traffic added a new challenge for Gossum to face as the halfway mark, he sliced through the pack through any open lane available to gain a 1.9-second advantage until a caution on Lap 18 offered the field a second chance at passing him for the Feature win. Gossum did not cave under the pressure of the seven-lap race towards the checkered flag as he gained a half-second lead on Bollinger for his fifth career win, tying him with Ken Schrader and Allen Weisser for 12th in all-time wins. “I’m really happy, man,” Gossum said. “I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve won one of those. I worked my ass off, my dad works his ass off, my crew guy, Ty, works his ass off. I’m just so happy right now that it all paid off.” Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models visit Missouri’s Springfield Raceway on Tuesday, June 24, while the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals rejoin the Late Models at Tri-City Speedway on Wednesday, June 25. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App. Feature (25 Laps): 1. 99-Hunt Gossum[1]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger[2]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 4. 66-Cole Falloway[4]; 5. 45H-Chase Holland[7]; 6. 75-Daniel Adam[10]; 7. 72A-Austin Lynn[9]; 8. 35-Brandon Roberts[13]; 9. 3-Mike Brooks[6]; 10. 5S-Owen Steinkoenig[11]; 11. 96C-Marshall Call[18]; 12. 21T-Talen Beard[12]; 13. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[14]; 14. J13-Justin Coffey[24]; 15. 75P-Gavyn Parmele[19]; 16. 14-Brian Lynn[8]; 17. 71-Jeff Graham[20]; 18. 49B-Zach Brandt[21]; 19. 5P-Nicholas Porter[23]; 20. 110-Landen Miller[3]; 21. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[17]; 22. 19C-Carter Sinkhorn[15]; 23. 11D-Brian Diveley[16]; 24. (DNS) 24-Zeke McKenzie ARTICLE:https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/recap/hunt-gossum-dominates-lincoln-speedway-for-fifth-career-summit-modified-nationals-feature-win/, https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/recap/tyler-erb-wins-17th-career-summer-nationals-feature-at-lincoln-ryan-gustin-clinches-week-2-title/ EVENT INFO:https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4547860 TRACK INFO:https://lincolnspeedwayil.com/ FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/ DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include,Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel). Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, FIREBULL, Fox Factory, Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, Mark Martin Automotive, MD3, MSD, Quarter Master, Swift Springs, WELD Racing, Wieland (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne. |
CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Points Lead for No. 3 Corvette
| Garcia, Sims finish second in GTD PRO for third time this season WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 22, 2025) – Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims, Chevrolet and the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R squad moved into first place in the GTD PRO championship standings after a second-place finish Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Sims drove the opening and closing stints with Garcia doing the work in the middle to net the fourth podium finish in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for the No. 3 Corvette duo and third runner-up result of the season. |
| CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – 15TH IN GTD: “What could have been again unfortunately for these guys. We were in a really good spot… P2 for most of the last stint and then actually the Lexus ran out of fuel in the last lap. Just 10 minutes to go and a rear-left failure potentially from some contact early in the race, but definitely not within the last three to four hours. So we just needed to diagnose what that was. But yeah, it was a super good weekend for us from start to finish and the team did a really good job. I tried to get these guys their first podium in IMSA, my own first podium in IMSA, but again it wasn’t to be today.” |
AUSTIN PROCK SCORES THIRD WIN OF 2025, CONTINUES TO LEAD FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS
CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2025 AMERICAN REBEL LIGHT VIRGINIA NHRA NATIONALS
VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK
NORTH DINWIDDIE, VIRGINIA
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP | NOTES & QUOTES
JUNE 22, 2025
Prock Wins in Virginia for Second Straight Year, Beats Teammate Beckman in Final
Notes:
- Austin Prock qualified No. 2 in his Cornwell Tools John Force Racing (JFR) Chevrolet, going 4.004 at 320.36.
- Prock defeated Cruz Pedregon (Rd1), Bob Tasca III (Rd 2) and JR Todd (Rd 3) to meet up with teammate Jack Beckman in the finals
- Prock scored his third victory of the season in running a 4.061 at 318.02 versus Beckman’s 4.071 at 305.42
- Brittany Force qualified No. 1 in her Chevrolet Accessories Top Fuel Dragster, but fell in round 1.
- Jack Beckman behind the wheel of the Peak Performance JFR Chevrolet Funny Car qualified No. 1 on Saturday, his third No. 1 qualifying effort of the 2025 season.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:
AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING: “We went through hell last year. There was a lot of uncertainty, and we had no idea which way all these events were going to go. We’re so blessed to have him back out here at the racetrack, healthy. And to win back-to-back for him, this trophy is definitely going to him as well. We battled through adversity here last year racing for him and this year obviously we wanted to win for him. We battled a lot of tough track conditions. A lot of people were struggling here, and my team just kept their heads
to the grindstone and got the job done. I had a feeling we were going to come in here and prove why we’re the points leaders and we did exactly that. We raced smart, we raced competitively, and I finally got my stuff together behind the wheel. Really proud of this win. I can’t wait to get back and see my family, see John Force, and celebrate big tonight.”
JACK BECKMAN, DRIVER OF THE PEAK PERFORMANCE CHEVY SS FUNNY CAR: “So I said our goal is to qualify on the opposite side of the ladder of the Cornwell car and race them which means it’s a final round; and we did all of that. History will make it seem like this was scripted but the reality is, it was a miserably hot weekend. My hats off to the Cornwell Car, and my hats off to the PEAK squad. Everybody did everything through a nasty 102-degree heat index day to get those two cars into the final round and put on a great show for the fans. We were actually ahead by four-thousandths of a second before we
started spinning the tires. And that is not a would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. The Cornwell team did a better job than the PEAK team today. The PEAK team has got a car that will run in the heat and were going to be running in the heat for the next couple of months. Can’t wait for next weekend.”
BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “Tough weekend here in Virginia for our Chevrolet Accessories team. It’s difficult returning to this track after everything that happened last season. But overall to be able to come back with my dad is a very positive note. We qualified No. 1 which is outstanding for this team. We made two solid passes in the heat on Saturday and unfortunately, we just got out run first round against Tony Stewart. But again, we’re learning things every weekend, especially on these hot racetracks. We’ll pack up and go to Norwalk sporting our Chevrolet colors once again and try and fight for a win there.”
UP NEXT:
The 11th round of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series takes place June 26th to June 29th, 2025 at The Summit Racing Equipment Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals finals can be seen on Sunday, June 29th starting at 2:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Coverage airs throughout the weekend with NHRA on FOX and NHRA.tv(subscription), streaming available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.
Elliott Tallies Top-Five Finish to Lead Chevrolet at the “TRICKY TRIANGLE”
| NASCAR CUP SERIES POCONO RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT JUNE 22, 2025 |
| MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| · Chase Elliott paced Chevrolet to the finish of The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM at Pocono Raceway – taking the checkered flag in the fifth position to earn the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team’s fifth top-five finish this season. Elliott was among just five drivers to earn points in each stage of the 400-mile race – ending the series’ annual trip to the Pennsylvania oval with a strong 43-point day. The result extends Elliott’s top-10 streak at Pocono Raceway to now four-straight. · Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar put together yet another strong showing throughout the Pocono Race weekend – starting with a third-place qualifying effort to lead Team Chevy to the green flag in the series’ 17th points-paying race of the season. The 22-year-old Michigan native stayed steady in the top-five through the opening laps before early pit strategy brought the No. 77 Chevrolet to pit road for the team’s first scheduled stop in the closing laps of Stage One. Continuing to carry speed throughout the race, Hocevar went on to collect points in Stage Two before taking the checkered flag with a 18th-place result. · With NASCAR’s top division entering the single-digit countdown to the end of the regular season, a familiar face continues to stand atop the driver points standings. Fighting an uphill battle following an incident in qualifying, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team took advantage of pit strategy to collect points in each stage – ultimately leaving Pocono with a two-point lead. |
| TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER5th – Chase Elliott7th – Kyle Larson  Chevrolet’s season statistics with 17 NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 6Poles: 8Top-Fives: 35Top 10s: 71Stage Wins: 16 |
| UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at EchoPark Speedway with Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart on Saturday, June 28, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. |
| Post-Race Driver Quotes: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Finished: 5th “We were just really loose in (turn) three. I felt like I could pace pretty good through turns one and two, but I just could not get turn three right all day. Certainly as the run went on, it became more challenging for me and I started making more and more mistakes over there. I thought Denny (Hamlin) and Ryan (Blaney) could do a better job of kind of stalking the person in front of them to get themselves opportunities. I was just a little bit too far back and I think it was mainly because of that. But overall, happy to get a fifth-place finish for this No. 9 NAPA Chevy team.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Finished: 7th You showed a lot of pace there at the end and you scored stage points in Stage Two. Talk about your day here at Pocono Raceway… “It was an up-and-down day. It was really hard to pass. It was a good fight for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team to get a seventh-place finish. I just hope we don’t carry what we had the last few weeks into the rest of the season. Prior to the last few weeks, we’ve been really fast. It’s just been a rough stretch, but we’ll continue to go to work.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Finished: 15th “It was an average day for the No. 99 Very Good Ventures Chevrolet team. We started the race OK on the short run, but then in the final stage, we just lost the balance of the car a little bit. We were just way too tight and never got it back.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 20th “Our zone Chevrolet team worked hard today at Pocono Raceway to overcome obstacles. A speeding penalty on pit road put us behind at the end of Stage 1, then we ended up with heavy damage to our Chevy after spinning towards the end of Stage 2. We just lost the air racing in traffic. Crew chief Randall Burnett and the rest of the RCR team worked hard to keep us on the lead lap. Our Chevy was never the same after the spin, and handling was really bad in traffic. We’ll regroup and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 24th “Our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet team fought hard all race long at Pocono Raceway. We had a long delay from rain and that changed the way the track reacted. It was hot and slick. We fought a tight balanced Chevrolet. Crew Chief Richard Boswell made great strategy calls, and the car handled better towards the end. I tried to make a move to the top on a late restart, but the track was rubbered up more than I was expecting and itcost us a lot of spots. By the end of the race, our Chevy went back to the tight side, and we couldn’t recover. We will regroup and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next week.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet McDowell endured a brake failure in Stage Two, ultimately ending the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s day early at Pocono Raceway. Finished: 35th Did you have any warning that your brakes were going out? “Yeah, I had warning half of the race that the brakes weren’t going to make it. It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t what we needed for this No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet team. We came off a good weekend (in Mexico City), and this is the exact opposite of what we needed. But we have Atlanta, Chicago and Sonoma coming up, so we have a lot of good tracks on the horizon for our team. The season is grueling sometimes. I was just trying to nurse it there at the end on that last restart, knowing I was starting to lose my pedal a little bit. In the car, there’s not a lot you can do other than dial bias to the rear and hope and pray for the best. What put us behind this weekend was yesterday in qualifying. I just made a mistake there, and that kind of sets you up for the whole race starting 28th. We did some strategy there and we were going to give ourselves a fighting chance. But like I said, I knew we had an issue with the brakes and I was trying to get to a place where hopefully they would last, but they didn’t. ” Does this put more emphasis on winning moving forward? “No, that’s been the mindset anyways. I’ve been telling you guys all year that I’m not planning on pointing my way in… I’m planning on winning a race because that’s the way I see us getting into the playoffs. You’re going to have weekends like this where you have issues, you get taken out or you have something happen. You can’t plan on pointing your way in, especially this early on because there’s still a lot of opportunities for guys below the cutline to win, as we saw last weekend. When you have places like Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Daytona, you’ve got a lot of tracks that it could open it up for a new winner, like we saw with Harrison Burton last year. That last few years, there’s been a few surprise winners.” What is it about this place that’s leading to the brake issues? “Yeah, I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s the teams pushing more. Obviously, for us, this is a different team, a different car, a different package than what we ran here in the past. But I think the brakes have been fairly close here at times. Obviously there’s really long straightaways and high braking zones, so the brakes heat and cool and heat and cool. Those cycles can hurt the rotors, and I think that’s what we saw today. We’ll look at it and see what we could have done differently.” |
Elliott Tallies Top-Five Finish to Lead Chevrolet at the “Tricky Triangle”
| NASCAR CUP SERIES POCONO RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT JUNE 22, 2025 |
| MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| · Chase Elliott paced Chevrolet to the finish of The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM at Pocono Raceway – taking the checkered flag in the fifth position to earn the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team’s fifth top-five finish this season. Elliott was among just five drivers to earn points in each stage of the 400-mile race – ending the series’ annual trip to the Pennsylvania oval with a strong 43-point day. The result extends Elliott’s top-10 streak at Pocono Raceway to now four-straight. · Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar put together yet another strong showing throughout the Pocono Race weekend – starting with a third-place qualifying effort to lead Team Chevy to the green flag in the series’ 17th points-paying race of the season. The 22-year-old Michigan native stayed steady in the top-five through the opening laps before early pit strategy brought the No. 77 Chevrolet to pit road for the team’s first scheduled stop in the closing laps of Stage One. Continuing to carry speed throughout the race, Hocevar went on to collect points in Stage Two before taking the checkered flag with a 18th-place result. · With NASCAR’s top division entering the single-digit countdown to the end of the regular season, a familiar face continues to stand atop the driver points standings. Fighting an uphill battle following an incident in qualifying, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team took advantage of pit strategy to collect points in each stage – ultimately leaving Pocono with a six-point lead over Christopher Bell. |
| TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER5th – Chase Elliott7th – Kyle Larson Chevrolet’s season statistics with 17 NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 6Poles: 8Top-Fives: 35Top 10s: 71Stage Wins: 16 |
| UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at EchoPark Speedway with Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart on Saturday, June 28, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. |
| Post-Race Driver Quotes:Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 5th“We were just really loose in (turn) three. I felt like I could pace pretty good through turns one and two, but I just could not get turn three right all day. Certainly as the run went on, it became more challenging for me and I started making more and more mistakes over there. I thought Denny (Hamlin) and Ryan (Blaney) could do a better job of kind of stalking the person in front of them to get themselves opportunities. I was just a little bit too far back and I think it was mainly because of that. But overall, happy to get a fifth-place finish for this No. 9 NAPA Chevy team.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 7thYou showed a lot of pace there at the end and you scored stage points in Stage Two. Talk about your day here at Pocono Raceway…“It was an up-and-down day. It was really hard to pass. It was a good fight for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team to get a seventh-place finish, and for three Hendrick Motorsports cars to get top-10 results. I just hope we don’t carry what we had the last few weeks into the rest of the season. Prior to the last few weeks, we’ve been really fast. It’s just been a rough stretch, but we’ll continue to go to work.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 15th“It was an average day for the No. 99 Very Good Ventures Chevrolet team. We started the race OK on the short run, but then in the final stage, we just lost the balance of the car a little bit. We were just way too tight and never got it back.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletMcDowell endured a brake failure in Stage Two, ultimately ending the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s day early at Pocono Raceway.Finished: 35th Did you have any warning that your brakes were going out? “Yeah, I had warning half of the race that the brakes weren’t going to make it. It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t what we needed for this No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet team. We came off a good weekend (in Mexico City), and this is the exact opposite of what we needed. But we have Atlanta, Chicago and Sonoma coming up, so we have a lot of good tracks on the horizon for our team. The season is grueling sometimes. I was just trying to nurse it there at the end on that last restart, knowing I was starting to lose my pedal a little bit. In the car, there’s not a lot you can do other than dial bias to the rear and hope and pray for the best. What put us behind this weekend was yesterday in qualifying. I just made a mistake there, and that kind of sets you up for the whole race starting 28th. We did some strategy there and we were going to give ourselves a fighting chance. But like I said, I knew we had an issue with the brakes and I was trying to get to a place where hopefully they would last, but they didn’t. ” Does this put more emphasis on winning moving forward? “No, that’s been the mindset anyways. I’ve been telling you guys all year that I’m not planning on pointing my way in… I’m planning on winning a race because that’s the way I see us getting into the playoffs. You’re going to have weekends like this where you have issues, you get taken out or you have something happen. You can’t plan on pointing your way in, especially this early on because there’s still a lot of opportunities for guys below the cutline to win, as we saw last weekend. When you have places like Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Daytona, you’ve got a lot of tracks that it could open it up for a new winner, like we saw with Harrison Burton last year. That last few years, there’s been a few surprise winners.” What is it about this place that’s leading to the brake issues? “Yeah, I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s the teams pushing more. Obviously, for us, this is a different team, a different car, a different package than what we ran here in the past. But I think the brakes have been fairly close here at times. Obviously there’s really long straightaways and high braking zones, so the brakes heat and cool and heat and cool. Those cycles can hurt the rotors, and I think that’s what we saw today. We’ll look at it and see what we could have done differently.” |
Cadillac at The Glen: Double podium finish
| Cadillac V-Series.Rs show power, pace in eventful and dramatic six-hour raceWATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 22, 2025) – To summarize an eventful race at Watkins Glen International: Cadillac entries led laps and ran from the rear of the 13-car Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) field, navigated a rain-slicked racing surface, remained unscathed through six cautions, and overcame a spin and pit stop penalty. And all that occurred in the first half of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. The second half was less hectic but equally as dramatic. The result is the Nos. 40 and 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.Rs earned second- and third-place finishes while victory was snatched from the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R when Earl Bamber, who led the previous 63 laps, was forced to pit for energy on the penultimate lap. |
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| “Congratulations to the Cadillac Racing team and the No. 10 and No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.Rs on their podium finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Every member of the team can be very proud of their efforts on preparing the racecar for success, from both a technology and durability standpoint,” said John Roth, vice president, Global Cadillac. Third in the GTP order is a season high for the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R driven by Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz and the 126th IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship podium for Wayne Taylor Racing. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque recorded their second consecutive podium in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R. Cadillac Racing has earned podium spots the past four years at The Glen and swept the top two places in the 2-hour, 40-minute race in 2021. The iconic brand also claimed its 101st IMSA podium since joining prototype competition in 2017. After Jack Aitken did yeoman’s work in the rain in the initial two hours and first-year endurance driver Frederik Vesti took over for the middle stint, Bamber took the point on Lap 105 when the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R driven by Albuquerque pitted. Media resources: Cadillac Racing photos for editorial use | Cadillac results at Watkins Glen  In the succeeding laps, Bamber set the fastest race lap twice (1 minute, 34.608 seconds) and withstood restart challenges off three full-course yellows. When the 10th yellow flag of the race coming out with 10 minutes left, the Action Express Racing team was hopeful of the race finishing under caution. But the green re-emerged with 3 minutes, 4 seconds left, which created a sprint to the finish that the No. 31 entry could not complete when it pitted with 1:26 left. The No. 60 Acura took the checkered flag 1.880 seconds ahead of the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which qualified second, placed fifth. Cadillac Racing’s IMSA program returns to the racetrack August 1-3 for the 2-hour, 40-minute race on the 4-mile, 14-turn Road America course. Bamber rejoins Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA July 11-13 for the six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race in Sao Paulo, Brazil. |
| What they’re saying |
| No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Ricky Taylor: “What a wild day. I don’t know if we had the pace of the 31 at the end, but I think the team just put us in position to get lucky. I’m really proud of the guys for sticking to it and pushing all day. A double podium, we’ll always be happy with that. First one for the team with Cadillac and continuing a nice bit of momentum.” Filipe Albuquerque: “What a crazy race. The beginning was wild, Ricky got touched (and spun in Turn 5) and we went last. Rain, dry, rain again. Just chaotic. We had to split the race, so Ricky did three hours and I did three hours. It was tiring, it was hot, but you go for the end. We were super lucky with the last safety car; we just pitted and it brought us third place. There was nothing left in it. Great result for Wayne Taylor Racing.”No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R Earl Bamber: “The car was amazing. I can’t fault the team. We had awesome pit stops and a good strategy called to get back to the front. Unfortunately, a car broke down and ended our run.” Jack Aitken: “We had a really quick car today, probably the quickest. I think the Acura was right there, too, but we were controlling the race from the front towards the end. The race threw a lot at us with mixed conditions at the start of the race that were really sketchy and tough to an air jack issue on pit lane. But we managed to bring ourselves back to the front of the race, executed really well but unfortunately right at the end we were caught out with that yellow that created the perfect opportunity for the 60. It wasn’t quite long enough for us to make it on fuel. That’s just how it goes sometimes, and hopefully we carry this pace to Road America.” Frederik Vesti: “Frustrating times. We had such a good car the whole weekend. We were in the lead, were all the way back to last place and luckily we got a safety car at the right time and managed to bounce back to the lead. We had so much pace in this car this week and feel like we deserve a win. But that’s racing.”No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Jordan Taylor: “It’s nice to finally get a good result. It has been since March of last year, so I feel like we got the monkey off our back a bit with all the bad luck we’ve had. Nice to leave here with some momentum. It’s the first WTR double podium we’ve ever had, so that’s cool to share the podium with the 10 car. We still have some work to do, so we’ll leave here happy but with our heads down and focusing on getting better.” Louis Deletraz: “On the 40 we’ve had a bit of a rough season, so to go P2 and fight for a victory is a nice feeling. I really enjoyed the end of the race in the car fighting for position. I’d like to thank Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac and happy to have our sister cart in P3 and for our first podium together since we have had two cars. A great day and we know we can be even better, so looking forward to the rest of the season.” |
HOT WEEKEND IN VIRGINIA DOESN’T MELT JOSH HART’S FOCUS
PETERSBURG, VA. (June 22, 2025) — Hot temperatures returned to the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series during this weekend’s American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals. For Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team that also receives support from TechNet and David H. Davies Racing (DHDR) the weekend was two days of tricky track conditions and the pursuit of a hot weather tune-up. Saturday, the lone day of qualifying, featured three opportunities for Hart and his team to move as high as possible in the qualifying order.
In the opening qualifying session on a very green racetrack Hart made his first pass in the right lane that gave every team fits throughout the session. For the rest of the afternoon Hart’s team was working feverishly to map out a tune-up that would translate the 12,000-horsepower to a slippery hot track. At the end of the day Hart was sitting at No. 13 and facing a first round race with four-time Top Fuel world champion and No. 3 qualifier Steve Torrence.
Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster didn’t melt at the Virginia Nationals, photo credit Innovative Creation Experts
“We were behind the eight ball all day on Saturday like a lot of teams,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “Every run after the first qualifying session we got quicker. I knew we could step it up in the first round. It was just a matter of how much quicker we could get and what Torrence rolled out against us.”
In the first round Hart and the R+L Carriers team were able to see a number of teams make runs and both lanes appeared to hold up under the intense power distributed by the Top Fuel dragsters. Hart and Torrence were the sixth pair in the opening round. When the tree fired Hart was the first off the line and by half-track the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster was making its quickest run of the weekend. At the finish line it was Torrence getting his fifth win light in a row for the Thunder Valley Nationals winner. His winning time of 3.920 seconds was enough to secure the win over Hart’s weekend best 4.041 second pass.
“We stepped up considerably, but it wasn’t enough for the win,” said Hart. “If we could have made that run yesterday our first round could have looked a lot different but there are a lot of other teams saying the same thing. Drag racing will humble you for sure. The good news is I can put this race behind me quickly and focus on a busy race in Norwalk in a couple days. We are doing a display with DHDR on Tuesday and then we will be right into race mode.”
Josh Hart slides into the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster before first round today at Virginia Motorsports park, photo credit Innovative Creation Experts
At the end of the race Hart was secure in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series top ten in points. Through nine races of the regular season Hart has maintained his hold in the top end and with five races remaining there is a solid opportunity to move up higher in the Top Ten heading into the six-race Countdown.
The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team and the Burnyzz Speed Shop Dodge Challenger will be back in action at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, June 27-29, at Summit Motorsports Park competing in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series, respectively.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 11.098 sec, 72.00 mph; Qual. 12
Q2: 6.618 sec, 94.53 mph; Qual. 13
Q3: 5.956 sec, 108.41 mph; Qual. 13
Bonus points: 0
Race Results
First Round
Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Tex., Capco Top Fuel dragster, (.103), 3.920 sec, 321.12 mph def.
Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, (.070), 4.041 sec, 304.94 mph
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Top Fuel
1. Tony Stewart 771
2. Shawn Langdon 740
3. Justin Ashley 630
4. Doug Kalitta 608
5. Antron Brown 591
6. Brittany Force 531
7. Steve Torrence 513
8. Clay Millican 445
9. Josh Hart 399
10. Shawn Reed 366
Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono–Michael Mc Dowell
| NASCAR CUP SERIES POCONO RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JUNE 22, 2025 |
| Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – McDowell endured a brake failure in Stage Two, ultimately ending the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s day early at Pocono Raceway. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
Did you have any warning that your brakes were going out? “Yeah, I had warning half of the race that the brakes weren’t going to make it. It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t what we needed for this No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet team. We came off a good weekend (in Mexico City), and this is the exact opposite of what we needed. But we have Atlanta, Chicago and Sonoma coming up, so we have a lot of good tracks on the horizon for our team. The season is grueling sometimes. I was just trying to nurse it there at the end on that last restart, knowing I was starting to lose my pedal a little bit. In the car, there’s not a lot you can do other than dial bias to the rear and hope and pray for the best. What put us behind this weekend was yesterday in qualifying. I just made a mistake there, and that kind of sets you up for the whole race starting 28th. We did some strategy there and we were going to give ourselves a fighting chance. But like I said, I knew we had an issue with the brakes and I was trying to get to a place where hopefully they would last, but they didn’t. ” Does this put more emphasis on winning moving forward? “No, that’s been the mindset anyways. I’ve been telling you guys all year that I’m not planning on pointing my way in… I’m planning on winning a race because that’s the way I see us getting into the playoffs. You’re going to have weekends like this where you have issues, you get taken out or you have something happen. You can’t plan on pointing your way in, especially this early on because there’s still a lot of opportunities for guys below the cutline to win, as we saw last weekend. When you have places like Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Daytona, you’ve got a lot of tracks that it could open it up for a new winner, like we saw with Harrison Burton last year. That last few years, there’s been a few surprise winners.” What is it about this place that’s leading to the brake issues? “Yeah, I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s the teams pushing more. Obviously, for us, this is a different team, a different car, a different package than what we ran here in the past. But I think the brakes have been fairly close here at times. Obviously there’s really long straightaways and high braking zones, so the brakes heat and cool and heat and cool. Those cycles can hurt the rotors, and I think that’s what we saw today. We’ll look at it and see what we could have done differently.” |
Alex Palou scores sixth IndyCar victory of 2025, ninth for Honda this season
June 22, 2025 — ELKHART LAKE, WI
- Alex Palou stretches his championship lead with his sixth win in nine races
- Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist makes it a Honda 1-2 at Road America
- Honda powers five of top six finishers
Honda’s perfect year continues in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou scoring Honda’s ninth win in nine races to open the year.
The win is Palou’s sixth victory this season, after already finding the top step of the podium at St. Petersburg, The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park, Indy GP and of course the Indianapolis 500. Palou’s #10 Chip Ganassi Racing team maximized their Honda fuel mileage to come home P1 for the sixth time this year. Palou currently sits 93 points ahead in the championship over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood in P2.
Coming in just behind Palou was Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist—giving Honda a 1-2 at Road America. The podium finish is the second for the Swede since joining MSR in 2024.
Second place in the championship—and the only driver besides Palou to win this year—Kyle Kirkwood came home fourth. Kirkwood scored first place at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Detroit Grand Prix, and last time out at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Rosenqvist’s MSR teammate Marcus Armstrong brought home a fifth place, while Kyffin Simpson came home sixth. Scott Dixon tried to stretch the fuel in the final stints and led 27 laps before a late-race splash moved him down to P9 at the line.
Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay finished P10, while first-time polesitter Louis Foster finished 11th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. All five Honda-powered teams placed cars in the top 11.
Honda’s ninth victory of the year has notched them a championship lead of 183 points over rival Chevrolet in the manufacturers’ championship, 819-636.
XPEL Grand PrixHonda Race Results
| 1st Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 2nd Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| 4th Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global Honda |
| 5th Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| 6th Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 9th Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 10th Rinus VeeKay | Dale Coyne Racing Honda |
| 11th Louis Foster-R | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 16th Colton Herta | Andretti Global Honda |
| 19th Devlin DeFrancesco | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 20th Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 21st Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global Honda |
| 23rd Jacob Abel-R | Dale Coyne Racing Honda |
R – Rookie
Quotes
Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished first: “Number one! Couldn’t be happier. It’s been a tough day, there were a lot of different strategies going on and a lot of yellows—some helped us, some hurt us. At the end, we just ran an aggressive strategy that, honestly, worked out only because of the mileage that Honda has given us this weekend. We’ve had great mileage all year, but especially this weekend that is what made the difference. Super proud, super happy and I cannot wait for the next one.”
Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) finished second: “That was great! Honda 1-2! There were a lot of different strategies out there and it was kind of hard to keep up with who was on what strategy. We definitely were on the right one in the end though. It paid off, we had great speed all throughout the race. At times it felt like we were a little off-sequence, but at the end we got back on track and had some clean air once we got by Kyffin. It was just a really good last stint from there. I was super happy with our Honda power and excited to be back on the podium.”
Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Global Honda) finished fourth: “Honda 1-2 and five in the top six, that’s a pretty good day. While I’m glad to see another Honda win, I’m less glad that it’s another Palou win from a championship perspective. Nonetheless, it was a great day. This car was a rocket ship. It was a fuel economy race though, and that’s really where we got it done with our Honda fuel mileage. Hats off to all the boys and girls at HRC. And of course, a great job by my #27 Siemens Andretti Global team. The car was incredible all weekend, we really ran in the top five all three days. I wish it was a win, but a great weekend nonetheless.”
Pierre Descamps (Technical Director, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “A great result. It has been a very hot day for the drivers and the machines on track. But we are very happy to get this victory, the ninth of the season. It’s a reflection of the hard work of everyone in the factory, at the track, and of all of our teams. It was a very hard race with multiple strategies, and Honda teams excelled at all of them. Honda powered five of the top six finishers, and all of our teams finished at least one car in the top 11. Proud of this result and looking forward to Mid-Ohio.”
Next
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES is headed to one of Honda’s home tracks, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport.
SPENCER HYDE BURNS THROUGH VIRGINIA
PETERSBURG, VA. (June 22, 2025) — A mark of a fantastic driver is when they can appreciate a great race, even if they weren’t the competitor who came out on top. For Spencer Hyde, the Canadian driver for Head Racing and the leading NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate, that was the case today at the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Hyde and Bob Tasca III executed an exciting side-by-side drag race, that unfortunately Tasca III got the best of.
“That was just a really close drag race,” said Hyde. “I could hear him beside me but I couldn’t see him until after the finish line. He shot past me and then dropped his parachutes. I saw his win light and knew it had to be a really close race.”
This weekend was Hyde’s first time experiencing the unique two-day format presented at the Virginia Nationals. Three qualifying runs on Saturday allowed teams to encounter similar conditions that they will face on race day. Every race team on the property battled high temperatures that tested their best tune-ups. Hyde’s strongest qualifying pass was made earlier in the day, when the track was at its coolest. His 4.069 second, 306.46 mph run was enough for him to earn the No. 10 qualifying position for Sunday. Hyde’s prize for his qualifying efforts was to be paired up against Bob Tasca III in the first round. Though Hyde had a quicker reaction time off the starting line, Tasca III was able to skirt around him in the end.
Spencer Hyde and the Head Inc Funny Car gave the American Rebel Light Virginia Nationals everything that had this weekend, photo credit NHRA/National Dragster
“I was ahead of him from the starting line until probably 900 feet when he went around me,” said Hyde. “This was a hot weekend and the last time it was this hot was Phoenix. We made good runs and that run in the first round was almost enough. This was our first time against Tasca in eliminations, and we’ll get him next time.”
When reflecting on the quick two-day race weekend, Hyde sees several positives. Richmond will be the first of several hot summer races, and the Head Racing team was able to collect a lot of helpful data that they will put to good use.
“The fans have been great this weekend,” said Hyde. “I don’t think the two-day race hurt us losing a qualifying session. We have a ton of data and the race was just really close. There is nothing wrong with that, it happens. We had so many people come up to the ropes and wish us luck. I am looking forward to getting to Norwalk in a couple days. It will be a busy race for us.”
Hyde and the Head Racing team will be back in competition next weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on June 26-29 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, June 27 and two more qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 21. For tickets or more information on the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals visit nhra.com.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.069 sec, 306.46 mph; Qual. 6
Q2: 4.086 sec, 299.86 mph; Qual. 8
Q3: 11.039 sec, 75.67 mph; Qual. 10
Bonus Points: 0
Race Results
First Round
Bob Tasca III, Hope, R.I., Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, (.089), 4.055 sec, 319.14 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Inc. Funny Car, (.087), 4.073 sec, 309.06 mph
Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Road America–qualifying
CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMRRoad America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Qualifying Report June 21, 2025 Santino Ferrucci saved just enough fuel to land on the podium in third place behind the wheel of the No. 14 Sexton Properties AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet in honor of long-time sponsor Marlyne SextonStarting 18th, Ferrucci scored his fourth consecutive top-five NTT INDYCAR Series finishTook the checkered flag and coasted to a stop in turn one out of fuel as the race played out with fuel strategy as a result of early cautions Ferrucci now sits ninth in the standingsDavid Malukas, No. 4 Clarience Technology AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, finished seventh, and Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished eighth |
| The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, along with the Team Chevy drivers and teams, have a weekend off before visiting another historic natural terrain road course, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on July 4th weekend. NTT INDYCAR SERIES UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS FROM THE XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR |
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| WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes): Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Sexton Properties/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet finished 3rd: “All I could think about to myself is that we are doing this for Marlyne (Sexton – team’s longtime sponsor). They were counting down the laps, and I told Mike (strategist Armbrester) I’ve got to focus because this is getting stressful and just let me drive. The crew did an amazing job – awesome job on stops. And, I stalled it too. Even with the stall, to come back and finish how we did was pretty amazing. This one goes to Marlyne. She was running with us today. I’m very proud. This one tastes a little bit sweeter.” When asked about four straight top fives “And, two podiums. We’re performing. We’re back to where we were at the end of last year. I feel it. I’ve got to get my qualifying performance up. ’Til then I like padding my passing stats.” David Malukas, No. 4 Clarience Technologies/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet finished 7th: “I had an incident at the start of the race that put us in the back, but, man, I couldn’t believe it. That was probably one of the most chaotic races I’ve ever been a part of, and it was a lot of fun. I had no idea what was going on. I was really hot, and around lap 35 I was hallucinating from the heat and seeing bears in the carousel. I’m just joking, maybe not, but yeah, it was a lot of heat, lot of fun, lot of passing, and we finished right where we started. So good recovery, really good job from the team and the entire crew at the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevy.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 8th: Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet finished 12th: “Just an unfortunate day today. That’s about all I can say. We drove out to the lead there but those early yellows just gave so many opportunities to do something different with strategy. In the end that is what got us. I appreciate all of the support from XPEL for the No. 3 team and we really want to win this race for them and for Chevy. That’s racing.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 13th: “Honestly, it was a really good day. Not necessarily because of the end result, but we found a direction in warm up and it translated to the race. We had to be aggressive with the strategy because of where we were starting. It almost worked! We had to come in for a splash at the end from 3rd. The team did a lot of not giving up this weekend and it was positive that we were able to find a pretty good car by the race.” Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 14th: “Tough day where the yellows fell for us. Couldn’t do much with that. Another rough day for us, man. Very, very, very tough season. Move onto the next one.” Callum Ilott, No, 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet finished 15th: “Overall it was a very tough race and it was super hot out there. The crew and team did a great job. From our side we just went a little backwards. I struggled to get some forward momentum at times. The car was quite on edge in areas I didn’t really need it to be, so on restarts it was quite tough, but we managed to fight back. I think there was a bit more in the result if I had a bit more push to pass towards the end because we were quite a bit faster than the two guys ahead of me. We’ve fought that one hard, we should have come away with a bit more but at least we took home some solid points and a decent weekend and in general.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 17th: Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet finished 18th: “This weekend was tough one at Road America. We really struggled not only with pace but finding a good balance for the car the whole time. We have a lot of improvement to do at Road America for next year. However, I am looking forward to Mid-Ohio. We had a strong weekend there last year, it was our strongest of the year. We have that to look forward to!” Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet finished 22nd: “A decent day going for us at the beginning, but completely locked the rears down in Turn 5. Really strange and we had some really difficult brake issues for the rest of the day. I’m not sure if it started there, but bad there was bad rear locking. I ended up in the gravel, which was my mistake. I just tried to fight back, but couldn’t do much. Apologies to the team. Obviously, drivers make mistakes sometimes and today I did. I’ll take responsibility for that, and move on to the next one.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 24th: Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet finished 25th: “I really feel that the PPG Chevy was a top five car today. Our strategy likely wasn’t going to work out to where we could win but it is disappointing to find ourselves with another DNF. We had to pit off strategy for our second stop for a tire puncture, which put us in the strategy position we were in. Just pushing hard there on black tires to try and keep up with the 9 car and just pushed too hard in Turn 14.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet finished 26th: “I’m all good. We got a really good run, and on the push pass for most of the straightaway there, but it felt like I had to get enough run and get up by him. And we set up the move, and I don’t know. “I’m going have to go watch a replay and see what happened, but, it’s pretty frustrating. I mean, everyone is being aggressive out there, and it’s just it’s not the way you want your day to go at all. So, I thought we had a good car. I thought we were going to move forward. Looking at where Dixon’s at right now, I think that he’s going up in the field, and we were right there with him. So, pretty frustrating when you see those guys. We’re starting to have a good day when this happened.” Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet finished 27th: “A very sad finish to the weekend here in Road America. We managed to make the car a bit better but we had an issue in FP2 where something happened under braking and I locked the rears and spun. We didn’t fully figure out what was the issue and we had it in the race as well. I managed to do a pretty OK start, getting to 15th and then defending from Rinus [Veekay] I just locked the rears and lost it. It was something that just caught me by surprise; I just arrived at the corner, braked and it was like I was pulling a handbrake and the car just immediately snapped. It was a super weird feeling. Sometimes we have a good weekend sometimes a bad one. This was overall a better one, we just need to learn from it and improve ourselves for the next round.” Santino FerrucciPress Conference Transcript THE MODERATOR: Currently joined by Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, coming home with another podium this season, second runner-up finish of 2025, fourth top 5 of the season, third career podium as well. THE MODERATOR: Santino, second runner-up finish here in 2025. Did you bring beer with you for the media center? SANTINO FERRUCCI: No, I just did the one shotgun down in Turn 1. Felt great at the time. Obviously starting 18th, not ideal. We had a really fast race car all weekend long. We didn’t get to run on the red tires on Friday and one of the setup changes we made in FP2 we weren’t sure about, and then obviously we were really quick on the prime tires in qualifying, and we were just way too tight for quals. But warmup was awesome. Small changes overnight. We knew we’d come through the field, so at the start of the race, I was just unlike myself, trying to be super patient and not make mistakes, not get into too many people because it was mayhem back there, and the way the strategy unfolded, I stalled in the pits on one of the stops. Thankful for the hybrid so I could fire back up and only lose four or five spots. We had a massive fuel target for the last two stints, so kudos to Chevrolet for giving me the tools to do that and honestly to my engineering team for giving me a car that can fuel save. Podium is — I’m happy getting on podium for Marlene Sexton in the memorial car for her, and she’s watching down on us today clearly. So pretty happy about that. Q. Santino, did you ask for the beer or did the fan offer it to you? SANTINO FERRUCCI: They offered, and I had asked for Spotted Cow since we’re here, but they gave me, I believe it was a Miller. I’ve been learning my shotgunning skills from the Chili Bowl, so if I did okay I’m happy with that. Giving my dirt racing guy some credit. Q. All in all, the satisfaction of making it work until the end, you were really happy. Even if you ran out of fuel you’re out there taking bows and soaking it up with the fans? SANTINO FERRUCCI: I’m not going to lie, I was stressed. I was really stressed out. I saw Felix come out of the pits in front of me, and they were like, yeah, there’s your fuel target, lifting at like the 800-foot mark going into 5 going, hmm, this is going to be a long 15-something laps. Then I could see on the dash the 27 car coming and know that he’s quick. Yeah, no, I just tried to put my head down and do what I do best and hold him off. Q. Santino, can you talk a little bit more about Marlene? Obviously we’ve seen Sexton Properties on the car for a while, but this wasn’t a company, this was really her being a huge engine behind the team. Knowing her daughter is obviously grieving, as well, this is a pretty heavy time and an amazing result? SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I didn’t know her late husband, but also was a very big AJ fan and helped AJ back in the day. Marlene has been on the car since I’ve been driving for AJ Foyt and for Larry, and obviously I would not have had a full season ride without Larry and her support, and what they’ve accomplished last year is where we’ve brought this team all the way from barely making leadership circle to winning the 500, top 10 in the points, fighting for top 5s consistently. It’s her support that’s been behind us. So I’m very honored to be running that car with her riding along this weekend. To have the daughters here this weekend, as well, Tracy and Nicole, was pretty amazing on the grid. It was hard not to be emotional about it. It’s someone that was family to the team had passed away last week. Looking forward to her memorial next week and celebration of life, and I’m just happy she was riding on board with us today to witness some greatness. Q. Last season P10, strong year. You and James Schnabel form a really great union. You start over this year with Michael Armbrester, and the two of you seem like you’re finding a groove as well. Talk about the bond the two of you are building. SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, so me and Michael were working together all the way through to about Detroit, so Michael got promoted to technical director and he’s still on my stand and calls my races, and now my new race engineer is Adam Kolesar, so a little bit weird to have an engineering switch in the middle of the season, but we went fifth, second, fifth, third, so I’d say it’s going pretty good. Obviously James is a brilliant guy and a great talent, and I think he’s proved himself very well with myself and with Malukas, and then my bond with Mike and Adam, C.J. and all of our stand has gone really well. It was just about catching our stride. I think we’ve found some really good baselines, and I’m looking forward to the second half of the season together. Q. Considering we weren’t really quite sure what the red tires were going to do before we got into the race, and for the heat today, did you expect as much passing before the race started? SANTINO FERRUCCI: We thought it was going to be a red race. To be honest, we thought we’d get further in qualifying, so to show up this morning and have three sets of sticker reds — we started on the prime tire, and we had a ton of pace on it compared to everybody around us because that was the tire that we’ve been running on all weekend. We just stayed committed to triple reds and it still paid off. Tough running a very long stint the way we did. I didn’t exactly get to run Q laps like I would have liked, like you did. But no, all in all, I think Firestone did a great job this weekend, and I think this is a track that they should kind of make a bit of a benchmark for. Q. We saw some tempers flare and some paybacks out there. Did you have a good front row seat for any of it? SANTINO FERRUCCI: I noticed that a little bit. Although, my favorite part of this race, your teammate Marcus, I pushed him past two cars down the straight, go-karting style. He lined it up for me and pulled out and I think he knew that I was going to push him because we’ve become a little bit more friendly sitting next to each other at autograph session, and I full on pushed him all the way down the frontstretch past two cars. It was great. We both cleared them, too. Q. There was also some concern about the hybrid with the heat, maybe having some failures. Did you notice any issues over the weekend? SANTINO FERRUCCI: No issues for me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
| Chevrolet at Road America WINS Chevrolet Wins: 11 2024 – Will Power – Team Penske (photo above)2022 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2016 – Will Power – Team Penske1993 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske1992 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1989 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1988 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Patrick Racing1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing POLES Chevrolet Poles: 13 2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2020 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2017 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2016 – Will Power -Team Penske1993 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske1992 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske1991 – Bob Rahal – Galles Racing1990 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1989 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1988 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing PODIUMS Chevrolet Podiums: 33 · Chevrolet podiums at Road America by driver: Josef Newgarden (6), Will Power (5), Mario Andretti (3), Emerson Fittipaldi (3), Michael Andretti (2), Rick Mears (2), Pato O’Ward (2) Bob Rahal (2), Al Unser Jr. (2), Helio Castroneves (1), Santino Ferrucci (1), Tony Kanaan (1), Scott McLaughlin (1), Danny Sullivan (1), and Paul Tracy (1)· Chevrolet podiums at Road America by team: Team Penske (19), Newman Haas Racing (5), Arrow McLaren (2), Galles Racing (2), Rahal Hogan Racing (2), A.J. Foyt Racing (1), Chip Ganassi Racing (1) and Patrick Racing (1) LAPS LED Chevrolet Laps Led: 688Chevrolet laps led at Road America by driver: Josef Newgarden (159), Will Power (81), Michael Andretti (79), Emerson Fittipaldi (76), Danny Sullivan (62), Paul Tracy (55), Mario Andretti (50), Pato O’Ward (43), Al Unser Jr. (24), Scott McLaughlin (18), Helio Castroneves (17), Max Chilton (7), Felix Rosenqvist (7), Kevin Magnussen (6), Oliver Askew (2), and Simon Pagenaud (2)Chevrolet laps led at Road America by team: Team Penske (435), Newman Haas Racing (129), Arrow McLaren (56), Patrick Racing (35) Galles Racing (24), Carlin (7), and Ed Carpenter Racing (2) |
| HISTORICAL INFORMATION Manufacturer history at Road America Wins – 35 11 — Chevrolet (2024, 2022, 2018, 2016, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)9 — Honda (2023, 2021, 2020 R2, 2020 R1, 2019, 2017, 2000, 1998, 1997)7 — Ford (2006, 2004, 2003, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1994)6 — Cosworth (2007, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982)2 — Toyota (2002, 2001) Earned Poles – 35 13 — Chevrolet (2021, 2020 R2, 2020 R1, 2018, 2017, 2016, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)7 — Ford (2006, 2004, 2003, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1995)6 — Cosworth (2007, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982)6 — Honda (2024, 2023, 2022, 2019, 2000, 1996)1 – Ilmor (1994)1 — Mercedes (1997)1 — Toyota (2002) INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979) 21 – General Motors (Chevrolet and Oldsmobile combined)16 – Chevrolet (6 Championship Auto Racing Teams & 10 INDYCAR)10 – Honda (4 Championship Auto Racing Teams & 6 INDYCAR)9 – Cosworth (9 Championship Auto Racing Teams)5 – Oldsmobile (5 INDYCAR)2 – Ford (2 Championship Auto Racing Teams)2 – Toyota (1 Championship Auto Racing Teams & 1 INDYCAR)1 – Ilmor (1 Championship Auto Racing Teams)1 – Mercedes Benz (1 Championship Auto Racing Teams) |
BUDDY HULL TAKES THE HEAT IN VIRGINIA
PETERSBURG, VA. (June 22, 2025) — While the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals may seem like it’s the middle of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season for most, for Buddy Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team, it was a new beginning. Hull debuted a new car, with a new Blaze Exhaust Probes livery to match. After three runs made over the course of two days, it’s safe to say that this new car will help launch Hull in the right direction for the rest of the season.
“The car is completely different,” said Hull. “It drives so much better. The car does exactly what I tell it to do. I turn right, it goes right. I turn left, it goes left. So it’s a really nice car. We accomplished what we needed to this weekend. The car showed great promise for the rest of the year.”
Two weeks ago in Bristol, Hull had a trip in the sand trap that pushed the Jim Dunn Racing team to pull out a new car. This weekend was Hull’s first time making passes in it, but he adapted quickly. With each run that he made in the car, his elapsed time and speed improved. Coming into race day, Hull was competing out of the No. 14 qualifying position, going up against recent New England Nationals winner J.R. Todd. His first-round run was his best of the weekend, a 4.171 second pass at 294.56 mph. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get past Todd’s 4.115 second, 307.86 mph pass.
Buddy Hull and the Blaze Funny Car battled valiantly at Virginia Motorsports Park this weekend
“That last run was a bit of a gas-off, which is what happened to us in Q1 and Q2 too,” said Hull. “I have to do my job better, I was dead-late at the starting line, and I’m never late like that. I don’t know what was wrong with my head, but I’ll fix that. Other than that, I think the team did exactly what we were supposed to do this weekend.”
All teams battled the crippling heat this weekend, making it nearly impossible to perform personal bests. Knowing that those were the conditions that this new car faced, Hull is optimistic about what it is capable of at future races. He is also even more confident in his abilities to control his new ride.
“The car dropped a hole out there probably around 600 or 700 feet, and I caught it right away,” said Hull. “I kept it right in the middle of the groove and gave us our best shot. I could see him the whole time, but I wouldn’t give it up. I will always give it my best race.”
The heat tested drivers, team and fans alike during the two-day event. Hull is grateful for everyone who stuck it out and provided a fantastic environment for him and his competitors to still put on an exciting show.
“NHRA fans are the most loyal, most badass fans on the planet,” said Hull. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 95 degrees or 55 degrees out. They show up to the racetrack. They want to see a show. And it’s really cool as a driver to see that level of support. Virginia is a beautiful racetrack and a beautiful area. We always love coming out here. We’re looking forward to hopefully slightly cooler conditions next weekend in Norwalk.”
Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be back in competition next weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on June 26-29 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, June 27 and two more qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 21. For tickets or more information on the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals visit nhra.com.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 7.506 sec, 88.95 mph; Qual. 14
Q2: 5.184 sec, 144.64 mph; Qual. 14
Q3: No run; Qual. 14
Bonus Points: 0
Race Results
First Round
J.R. Todd, Lawrenceburg, Ind., DHL Toyota GR Supra, (.090), 4.115 sec, 307.86 mph def. Buddy Hull, Dallas, Tex., Mooneyes Dodge Charger, (.168), 4.171 sec, 294.56 mph
LANGDON VICTORIOUS IN RICHMOND FOR THIRD WIN OF NHRA TOP FUEL SEASON
Claims Toyota’s fifth Top Fuel win in 2025
NORTH DINWIDDIE, V.A. (June 22, 2025) – On a hot day at Virginia Motorsports Park, Shawn Langdon was victorious in Top Fuel for the 2025 NHRA Virginia Nationals. The triumph by the Kalitta Motorsports driver is his third of the season and the 22nd of his Top Fuel career. For Toyota, Langdon’s victory is its fifth Top Fuel win this season and marks the third straight weekend with a victory in the nitro categories after wins in Funny Car the last two races.
Langdon defeated Toyota teammate Justin Ashley in the finals on Sunday, who made his fourth final round this season. Doug Kalitta advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, while Steve Torrence (second round) was the other Toyota Top Fuel Dragster to make it past round one.
In Funny Car, J.R. Todd made the semifinals, leading the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car duo. His Toyota teammate Ron Capps advanced to round two.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action next weekend at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the 10th race of the 2025 season.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Virginia Motorsports Park
NHRA Virginia Nationals
Race 9 of 20
TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Final Result | Round-by-Round |
| Shawn Langdon | Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Winner | W (3.905) v. C. Ferre (4.070) W (3.952) v. D. Mercier (12.443) W (6.350) v. T. Stewart (Red light violation) W (3.940) v. J. Ashley (4.167) |
| Justin Ashley | SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Runner-up | W (3.934) v. D. Foley (3.999) W (3.925) v. S. Torrence (4.568) W (4.442) v. D. Kalitta (5.856) L (4.167) v. S. Langdon (3.940) |
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Group Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Semi-finals | W (3.877) v. A. Brown (3.933) W (3.882) v. C. Millican (4.014) L (5.856) v. J. Ashley (4.442) |
| Steve Torrence | CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Second Round | W (3.920) v. J. Hart (4.041) L (4.568) v. J. Ashley (3.925) |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | First Round | L (3.933) v. D. Kalitta (3.877) |
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Final Result | Round-by-Round |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Semi-finals | W (4.115) v. B. Hull (4.171) W (4.075) v. H. Green (4.151) L (5.342) v. A. Prock (4.115) |
| Ron Capps | NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Second Round | W (4.032) v. C. Green (4.047) L (10.668) v. D. Wilkerson (4.063) |
*= Non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
SHAWN LANGDON, Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports
TF Final Result: Winner
How ready is your team for the championship competition after another victory?
“I mean, I feel like they’ve been ready for a while now. I have a great group of guys, everyone at Kalitta Air; Brian Husen (crew chief) leading the way with a great group of crew guys. These guys put this car together flawlessly and give me a chance every Sunday. I just do the best I can. Obviously, you run against guys like Tony (Stewart) and then Justin (Ashley) in the final. I could see Justin peeking out a little bit where he was starting to drive away, and then something happened, and I saw him disappear. The win light is obviously a good thing on Sunday. Very happy for my team, they’ve been busting their butts. Everyone at Kalitta Air, Toyota, Mac Tools and DHL. Thank you, guys!”
J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports
FC Final Result: Semi-finals
Take us through your weekend and thoughts going to Norwalk next weekend.
“Definitely not going to be as hot in Norwalk (next weekend), so that’ll be a plus. These were really tricky conditions (this weekend). Really proud of Dickie (Venables, crew chief) and the guys (who) battled this weekend. Good qualifying effort; pretty much went down the track every run, other than the semifinals. Hate to lose against those guys (Austin Prock) that way. Never want to give them away. But a good points day and (we’ll) carry this momentum into Norwalk.”
Melanie Johnson Scores First Top Alcohol Dragster Victory at Norwalk’s Cavalcade of Stars
Norwalk, Ohio (June 22, 2025) – In just her sixth career start in Top Alcohol Dragster competition, Melanie Johnson drove to a hard-earned first victory at the University Hospitals 19th Annual Cavalcade of Stars, held at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The event marked a North Central Regional stop on the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series tour and featured a competitive 8-car field.
Johnson, piloting the McPhillips Racing A/Fuel Dragster, qualified third with a best run of 5.241 seconds at 273.61 mph, which was the quickest pass of the second qualifying session.
She kicked off eliminations with a decisive first-round victory over Jared Dreher, laying down a 5.254 at 274.66 mph with a .064 reaction time. In the semifinals, Johnson delivered a clutch performance against seasoned competitor Matt Cummings, running 5.283 at 275.96 mph with a .043 light to advance to her first regional final.
The final round was decided at the starting line when opponent Jamie Noonan went red by .042 seconds. Johnson left cleanly with a .048 reaction time and pedaled her way to a 5.454 at 264.49 mph to secure her inaugural Top Alcohol Dragster win.
Summit Motorsports Park owner Bill Bader Jr. presents Melanie Johnson with her Wally and Cavalcade of Stars Trophy. photo credit Melanie Johnson Racing
“I am so proud of this McPhillips Racing team and of myself,” Johnson said. “I know they are going to give me a great car every round and I’ve been working so hard to be consistent in the car with my procedures and reaction times. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to be successful in this sport and it’s really fun to see that hard work pay off!”
Johnson licensed in the McPhillips Racing dragster in August 2024 and has gotten comfortable in the car quickly. Even with limited seat time, she’s been in the mix at every race, and her Norwalk win in just her fifth event of the season is proof that she’s settling into the class well.
Richie McPhillips commented on what the team has been working on over the past six weeks since the last race Johnson was in the car. “Before we rolled into Norwalk, we spent some time testing at Cecil County Dragway. We’ve been chasing consistency with a pretty touchy racecar, and Jim Halsey and his crew gave us a great track to work through our issues. We also worked with Rob and Bob at Boninfante Friction to dial in our clutch program, and that got us closer. The car came off the trailer consistent this weekend. We were hoping to be a little quicker, but we’ll keep working on that. A lot of this weekend’s success came from the work Mel put in during her time off. Her reaction times were solid from the first hit, and that makes a difference on all fronts. It was great to get her first win and build some momentum heading into the next stretch of races.”
Top Alcohol Dragster driver Melanie Johnson celebrates her first career victory at Norwalk’s Cavalcade of Stars, photo credit Melanie Johnson Racing
The win was also a meaningful milestone for the entire McPhillips Racing team, who continue to build on their decades-long legacy in the class. Johnson also acknowledged the support of Alan Johnson Performance Engineering (AJPE), the championship-winning engine business run by her father, Alan Johnson.
Melanie Johnson and the McPhillips Racing team will be back in action next weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
Jacob Denney Drives from 24th for Fourth Xtreme Outlaw Midget Win, First at I-55
PEVELY, MO (June 21, 2025) – No matter what position Jacob Denney starts in for an Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota Feature, he is a threat for victory.
After losing a cylinder in his primary No. 67 JBL Audio Toyota-powered LynK Chassis in Heat racing, the Series points leader climbed back from a 24th-place Feature start for his fourth win of the 2025 season.
At the front, Denney’s Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM) teammates Cannon McIntosh and Gavin Miller led the field to the green flag at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park, with McIntosh claiming the lead as Miller ran behind in second place.
Denney did not waste time in his climb towards the front as he climbed up to 18th by the end of Lap 2, then into the top 15 on the following circuit.
While McIntosh and Miller spread out to a two-second lead, Xtreme-POWRi Challenge Series points leader Karter Sarff caught the two drivers as they began to face lap traffic. Sarff used the cushion to pass by Miller, then performed a slide job on McIntosh into Turns 1 and 2 to claim the lead.
By Lap 11, Denney crossed into the top-10 as he used multiple lanes of the track to pass as many cars as he could to work up the field towards his KKM teammates in the second half of the 25-lap race.
As the Galloway, OH driver entered the podium on Lap 18, Sarff lost control of his No. 21K in Turn 4, which sent him flipping multiple times. Sarff climbed out of the car under his own power, but his chase towards a fourth I-55 win came to an end.
McIntosh inherited the lead for the dash towards the finish line as Denney drove by Miller on the restart on the high side for second place.
Denney and McIntosh dueled for the lead in the final laps with slide jobs on each other until Denney got clear of the No. 71K with four laps to go as he wheeled towards his fourth win of the 2025 Xtreme Outlaw Midgets season.
“Kaleb (Wyrick) told me before the night started that we were going to win,” Denney said. “So, we kind of threw a Hail Mary at it before we went off for the Feature because we had nothing to lose.
“Once I started getting rolling, I felt like I slid a car a lap because I knew I didn’t have any time to waste. Once I got up there, I was stuck there and had to find the clean air on the straightaway. I ripped off (the top for) a lap, and I was like ‘Alright, we’re gonna be good.’ I had to capitalize on those last seven laps, and we got it done.”
McIntosh finished the night in second place to end his weekend at Pevely, MO, with two consecutive podiums at I-55.
“I felt like we were pretty good most of the race,” McIntosh said. “I don’t know what happened on the last restart. I had good footing, but I couldn’t keep the left rear on the ground. Sucks to lead most of the race and not finish it off.”
Miller ended the night in third for his sixth podium in the last seven Xtreme Outlaw Midget Features of 2025.
“Me and Cannon were pretty similar,” Miller said. “Especially on the long run, I played with my shocks a little bit, stiffen up the right rear so we were better through the holes. Unfortunately, Jacob got by us there, but I gotta thank everyone that makes this possible.”
Chase McDermand finished the night in fourth place, and Series rookie Colton Robinson earned his first career top-five finish to close the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff weekend.
RECAP NOTES:
Smith Titanium Quick Time Award: Chase McDermand
Toyota Heat 1: Michael Faccinto
CASM Safety Products Heat 2: Zach Daum
TJ Forged Heat 3: Shannon McQueen
High-Point Driver: Michael Faccinto
Summit Racing Equipment Hard Charger: Jacob Denney (+23)
Honest Abe Roofing 16th Place Finisher: Zach Boden
Up Next: The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets get back to racing in July alongside the Midwest Open Wheel Association at Spoon River Speedway for the Midwest Vintage Sprint Car Nationals on Friday-Saturday, July 18-19.
Troutman Breaks Through for First World of Outlaws Victory at I-55
PEVELY, MO (June 21, 2025) – It was only a matter of time until Drake Troutman became a winner with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.
As it turned out, his time came on Saturday night at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park in the final night of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff.
The triumph was the latest chapter in a career-changing month for the 20-year-old rising star. Three weeks ago at Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Troutman bagged the richest win of his life in the $100,000-to-win Modified World Championship. He then turned his attention to the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, and wasted little time delivering Team22 Motorsports a win for the first time on the third night of the tour at Peoria Speedway.
But the ultimate goal was always to win World of Outlaws, and Troutman finally reached the mountaintop on Saturday night.
“Winning, you just get in a routine I guess, and the morale of everything’s up when you’re winning races, or whenever you get your first win,” Troutman said. “All of us racers are just a bunch of head cases. If we sucked the night before, our confidence is down and it’s just tough. If you win the night before, you go into the next night like ‘this car is good, we feel good, everyone’s happy and in good spirits.’ It’s all performance driven.”
Troutman started the race on the outside of Row 2 behind two other drivers searching for their first World of Outlaws victory in Mike Harrison and Jake Timm. Harrison jumped out to the early advantage and kept the loaded field at bay. Behind him, Troutman edged out Timm to slide into third on Lap 10 in the battle of former Modified standouts turned MD3 Rookie of the Year contenders.
That left Brian Shirley as the only driver sitting between Troutman and the leader, but a bicycle in Turn 1 was all Troutman needed to get by on the bottom. Shirley pulled a slider into Turn 3 to briefly reclaim the spot, but Troutman crossed him back over to pull back ahead. The pair continued swapping spots a lap later, but a strong drive off Turn 2 allowed Troutman to get far enough ahead to hold on for good.
At that point, 1.2 seconds and a handful of lap cars separated Harrison and Troutman, but it didn’t stay that way for long. Troutman was all over the back of the No. 33 at the halfway mark, and when Harrison’s slip up on the cushion in Turn 4 opened the door, Troutman didn’t hesitate to walk through.
Troutman got to spend the final 18 laps doing something he has grown increasingly comfortable with over the past few weeks – controlling a race from the lead. On a treacherous racetrack with an endless stream of traffic in front of him, Troutman didn’t let anyone get within striking distance on his way to the checkered flag.
“My biggest thing is obviously still, I’m not going to try to go out there and run over anyone by any means,” Troutman said. “But just getting more aggressive, you know. I’ve always been the type that, I wasn’t going to take a lane if I didn’t know if I could for sure clear it. I’m still like that, but I just feel like I’m getting a little bit more aggressiveness out of the car, which is helping me out.”
While Harrison came up one spot short of a storybook ending at one of his home tracks, the Highland, IL driver maintained second to ensure the St. Louis crowd had one of their own standing on the podium.
“I’ve got to give it to [Troutman], he’s a hell of a young racer and he’s got a very bright future ahead of him,” Harrison said. “That’s part of being out in front and dealing with lap cars, not being able to take advantage of the leader when you’re running second or third. Just the nature of racing and there ain’t nothing you can do about it, it’s just part of it.”
Coming home third was Shirley, who bounced back from a DNF on Friday with his first World of Outlaws podium since Raceway 7 four races ago.
“I feel like I probably drove a little soft, should have probably got up there and raced a little bit harder,” Shirley said. “I was trying to just be as smooth as I could without tearing anything up, because we were definitely bouncing around. All in all it was a good night.”
Tyler Erb and Bobby Pierce completed the top five.
RACE NOTES:
Tyler Erb set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.
Cade Dillard won the Simpson Quick Time Award.
Bobby Pierce won Real American Beer Heat 1.
Aaron Marrant won STAKT Products Heat 2.
Brian Shirley won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.
Mike Harrison won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.
Jake Timm won Real American Beer Heat 5.
Drake Troutman won Real American Beer Heat 6.
Brenden Smith and Kayden Clatt won the Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns.
Mike Harrison won the Bilstein Pole Award.
Tyler Erb won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.
Drake Troutman was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.
Mike Harrison won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.
Tyler Erb was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.
Bobby Pierce was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.
Ryan Gustin was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.
Frank Heckenast Jr. was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.
Jake Timm was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.
Tanner English was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.
Nick Hoffman was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision is back in action with Monday Madness at Independence Motor Speedway on Monday, June 23. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[4]; 2. 33-Mike Harrison[1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[21]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[6]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 7. 12-Ashton Winger[17]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[10]; 9. 49-Jake Timm[2]; 10. 96-Tanner English[8]; 11. 24-Ryan Unzicker[12]; 12. 9-Nick Hoffman[11]; 13. 75-Dillon McCowan[9]; 14. 17SS-Brenden Smith[19]; 15. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[28]; 16. 09-Michael Leach[15]; 17. 31-Tyler Millwood[22]; 18. 5-Mark Whitener[16]; 19. 74X-Ethan Dotson[24]; 20. 19-Dustin Sorensen[27]; 21. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[13]; 22. 1X-Aaron Marrant[5]; 23. 40B-Kyle Bronson[26]; 24. 50-Kayden Clatt[20]; 25. 9M-Tim McCreadie[23]; 26. 25-Jason Feger[25]; 27. 97-Cade Dillard[14]; 28. 2-Cody Overton[18]
Treb Jacoby Sweeps St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff at I-55 With Summit Modifieds
PEVELY, MO (June 21, 2025) – Treb Jacoby joked he was closing in on Nick Hoffman’s nearly 70-win record with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals after scoring his second Hell Tour win Friday night. Twenty-four hours later, he took another step closer.
“That was fun!” Jacoby belted out after parking his car in Victory Lane at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park for the second straight night during the World of Outlaws St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff.
He went toe-to-toe with World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision star Ethan Dotson and outdueled the likes of Kenny Wallace and Chase Holland to pick up his third Hell Tour win in seven and another win at his home track.
The O’fallon, MO driver started third in the 25-lap Feature but didn’t stay there long. Ethan Dotson ran away with the lead on the opening lap and brought Jacoby with him.
While Dotson cruised around the bottom, Jacoby navigated the aggressive character of the top lane and kept Dotson within reach. By Lap 5, he was close enough to push Dotson down the backstretch and used that proximity to dive under him going into Turn 1.
The two crossed lanes in the middle of the corner, with Jacoby drifting to the top while Dotson cranked his car back down the track to build momentum off Turn 2 and drive away from Jacoby down the backstretch.
Seeing the benefits the top lane provided for Jacoby, Dotson made that his new course around the top of the 1/3-mile dirt track. He used it to his advantage, pulling ahead by over a second.
However, Dotson’s hopes of a victory were dashed when he hit a rut going into Turn 1, causing the rear of his car to bounce violently multiple times. When his car finally came to a rest, it had suffered too much suspension damage from the bounces to continue.
That put Jacoby in the lead with 16 laps remaining.
A couple of cautions brought the field back to Jacoby’s rear bumper, placing Wallace and Holland as his new challengers. But neither could keep up with him on the restarts as Jacoby ended the race with a more than 2.5-second lead over Wallace.
“I had an idea; I think I showed Ethan Dotson a little too early my cards. He stepped it up a notch, and I’m not going to lie, I said in my car, ‘Let’s get after it, Ethan, let’s race!” Jacoby said. “He got a little high over there, and it took him out. I was looking forward to [racing him]. I was going to drop my balls down a little lower every lap to run with him.
“But we finally found a line that was smooth under yellow. They had us navigating the tow truck and we were packing the racetrack in in the line I chose to run. So, I was kind of being defensive at the same time, trying to keep anybody from sliding me. I’m wore out. I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless. We finally won a Hell Tour race from outside of the front row.”
He’s only got 66 more Summit Modified Nationals victories to go to catch Hoffman.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals continue their Hell Tour journey with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models at Lincoln (IL) Speedway on Sunday, June 22. Tickets will be available at the gate.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every Hell Tour race live on DIRTVision.
RESULTS:Feature (25 Laps): 1. J82-Treb Jacoby[3]; 2. 36-Kenny Wallace[4]; 3. 51-Timmy Hill[7]; 4. 22-Josh Harris[9]; 5. 13-Charlie Mefford[8]; 6. 66-Cole Falloway[12]; 7. 28-Tom Smallwood[17]; 8. 98-Joshua Hawkins[11]; 9. 70-Josh Russell[24]; 10. 8A-Austin Holcombe[10]; 11. 10X-Jim Black[18]; 12. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[22]; 13. 75-Daniel Adam[13]; 14. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[15]; 15. 66W-Adam Wright[14]; 16. 94-Austin Rettig[26]; 17. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[19]; 18. 45S-Chandler Smith[23]; 19. 45H-Chase Holland[6]; 20. (DNF) 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 21. (DNF) 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[21]; 22. (DNF) 5-Ethan Dotson[1]; 23. (DNF) 21-Randy Dickman[27]; 24. (DNF) 5S-Owen Steinkoenig[16]; 25. (DNF) 14-CJ Springer[20]; 26. (DNF) 14C-Rick Conoyer[2]; 27. (DNS) 24H-Mike Harrison; 28. (DNS) 4T-Jake Trebilcock
Blake Hahn Wins Batesville for First American Sprint Car Series Victory of 2025
LOCUST GROVE, AR (June 21, 2025) — It was a longer wait than anticipated, but Blake Hahn and his championship-winning team are back in Victory Lane with the American Sprint Car Series.
Coming into Saturday’s event at Batesville Motor Speedway, Hahn — the two-time Series champion from Sapulpa, OK — had posted four top-five finishes in his last five races, including two second-place finishes, but had not yet punched through to Victory Lane.
He knew he and his team were close. He could feel it. And finally, great speed and good fortune fell his way. Hahn inherited the lead on Lap 14 of the main event and led the final 12 laps for his first win of the year on the national 360 Sprint Car circuit and 23rd of his career.
“We’re happy to be on the podium, that’s the way to chip away at the points lead,” Hahn said. “I feel like we definitely have the car to contend for a championship at the end of the year, we’ve just got to get everything dialed in and narrow-down the mistakes.”
Though he walked away victorious in the end, Hahn spent the first half of the race in pursuit of Austyn Gossel, who took the lead from the pole on the opening lap and began to open up a gap on Hahn and the rest of the field.
Gossel, 25, of Fort Collins, CO, appeared to be on his way to a first career Series win until he collided with a lapped car on Lap 14. Hayden Martin was slowing on the top side of Turn 1 when Gossel came into the corner at full speed and made hard contact with the rear of Martin, sending his No. 67 car flipping and landing on the track exit ramp outside Turn 1.
“(Martin) was in front of another car, and that other car in front of me veered out of the way, and by that time, I couldn’t see,” Gossel said. “The next thing I know… it looked like he was trying to exit the track, which I don’t know who in the right mind does that and stays out there that long and not think that the leaders are coming… it’s just devastating.
“Definitely had the car to win. Best car I’ve ever felt. And now it’s destroyed.”
Both drivers were uninjured in the incident, but damage to the cars was too much to continue and were both hooked off the racetrack.
This handed the lead to Hahn, who got the advantage on the restart and held the field off the rest of the way to bag the win and the $4,000 grand prize.
“I just knew that if I made sure not to blow through the rubber on the first lap, I should be pretty good,” Hahn said. “Just get up there and get some good, consistent laps and just keep that momentum up. Really, just try and keep the tires underneath me and not blow them off too much.”
After coming within one spot of victory in the Series’ previous event two weeks earlier at Texarkana 67 Speedway, Hahn’s hunger for victory only increased, as did his team’s. Though the appetite has been settled for now, Hahn still wants more in pursuit of a third national championship.
“Having my grandpa (Series founder Emmett Hahn) in my corner is definitely a great thing — he pushes me to be the best driver I can possibly be,” Hahn said. “Even after finishing second at Texarkana, he wanted more. Our team’s never happy anything other than a win.”
Home-state racer Brady Baker, 17, of Alexander, AR, crossed the finish line second, marking his best career Series finish. 2023 Series champion Jason Martin rounded out the podium in third, tying his best finish of the season with the Series this year.
Mississippi racer Brad Bowden claimed the Hard Charger honors, gaining 13 spots of position in his drive from 20th on the starting grid up to a seventh-place finish.
Seth Bergman topped Qualifying and set a new track record with his lap of 12.429 seconds.
Heat Races were won by Jason Martin (Heat 1), Matt Covington (Heat 2) and Austyn Gossel (Heat 3).
Gossel was the winner of the Honest Abe Roofing Dash.
UP NEXT
The American Sprint Car Series is back in action next Friday–Saturday, June 27–28, at Tulsa Speedway for the annual Dirt Down in T-Town event. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track on race day.
If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
FEATURE RESULTS
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn[2]; 2. 71-Brady Baker[3]; 3. 36-Jason Martin[5]; 4. 3-Derek Hagar[10]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 6. 88-Terry Easum[9]; 7. 8X-Brad Bowden[20]; 8. 88R-Ryder Laplante[15]; 9. 95-Matt Covington[4]; 10. 14-Jordon Mallett[17]; 11. 938-Bradley Fezard[12]; 12. 10-Landon Britt[19]; 13. 2B-Garrett Benson[8]; 14. 17W-Harli White[13]; 15. 12W-Dale Wester[18]; 16. 45X-Kyler Johnson[11]; 17. 16G-Austyn Gossel[1]; 18. 23-Seth Bergman[6]; 19. 67-Hayden Martin[23]; 20. 2J-Zach Blurton[22]; 21. 84-Brandon Hanks[14]; 22. 47-Dale Howard[16]; 23. (DNS) 8-Joseph Wray IV; 24. (DNS) 17-Hayden Brinkley
Rookie Louis Foster leads Honda 1-2-3 in Road America qualifying
June 21, 2025 — ELKHART LAKE, WI
- Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Louis Foster scores first-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position
- Championship leader Alex Palou qualifies P2 in his #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
- Kyle Kirkwood makes it a Honda 1-2-3 as he goes for his third win in a row
There’s a new face at the front of the field, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan rookie Louis Foster scored his first-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.
Foster will start alongside three-time and reigning series champion Alex Palou as Palou looks to get back to victory lane for the sixth time this season and extend his 73-point lead in the drivers’ championship fight.
Starting third is Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood—giving Honda a 1-2-3 at the front of the field. Kirkwood and Palou have been the only two winners this season, with the Florida native taking wins at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, and the last two times out at the Detroit Grand Prix and Worldwide Technology Raceway. Kirkwood will be looking for his third win in as many races, and on as many different track types, in tomorrow’s race.
Foster’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammate, Graham Rahal, also made the Firestone Fast Six round of qualifying, setting the sixth fastest time in that session.
Honda has gone eight for eight to open the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, including winning the Indianapolis 500 with Alex Palou last month. Eight wins in a row is an IndyCar record since the series returned to multi-manufacturer competition in 2012. Honda currently leads rival Chevrolet 723-575.
XPEL Grand Prix Honda Qualifying Results
| 1st Louis Foster-R | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 2nd Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 3rd Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global Honda |
| 6th Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 12th Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| 14th Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global Honda |
| 15th Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| 16th Colton Herta | Andretti Global Honda |
| 19th Devlin DeFrancesco | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 22nd Rinus VeeKay | Dale Coyne Racing Honda |
| 23rd Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 25th Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 27th Jacob Abel-R | Dale Coyne Racing Honda |
R – Rookie
Quotes
Louis Foster (#45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) qualified 1st: “Shaved the mustache and ended up on pole, I liked the mustache though, so we’ll see how the race goes tomorrow. If we win tomorrow, you’ll never see one on my face again. Our Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car was really fast. We got good power from the Honda engine. And it’s always great to start in front of Alex and Kyle, a Honda 1-2-3 and those guys have been quick all season. Hopefully we can stay in front tomorrow and bring home a win.”
Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) qualified 2nd: “Really good day. I’m super happy to be starting tomorrow on the front row. It’s always a bit frustrating when you miss pole by just a little bit—but at the same time it’s great to start up front. I’m looking forward to it. We have a great race car with lots of speed and we’re going to try and get the win tomorrow.”
Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Global Honda) qualified 3rd: “We only got one lap there at the end, so I’m somewhat disappointed with that. We had an MGU issue right before we wanted to send it and that prevented us from getting a second fast lap, which was needed to even try and go for the pole. But, nonetheless, we did a good job reacting to the issue, responding to it, remedying it, and then getting on track to be able to go P3 for tomorrow. P3 has been a really good starting spot here in the past so we’ll see what happens.”