Who Will Be Crowned Grand National Champion? 2025 Progressive AFT Season to Conclude at Lake Ozark Short Track

Dallas Daniels (32), Trent Lowe (48), Briar Bauman (3), Declan Bender (70), Henry Wiles (911), and Brandon Price (92) race down the front straightaway during the Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event in Springfield during the Springfield Mile II event. [Photo: American Flat Track / Tim Lester] DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 9, 2025) – The Grand National Championship will be decided when the 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, concludes with the Arby’s Lake Ozark Short Track presented by Arrowhead Brass at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri on Saturday, September 13.  And the season finale will once again play out in suitably festive surroundings, serving as a centerpiece of this year’s 19th Annual Lake of the Ozarks BikeFest, an event destined to attract some 125,000 motorcycle enthusiasts to the area from September 10-14.  The Grand. National. Championship.  Any concerns that Mission AFT SuperTwins would lose a bit of intrigue and drama after ten-time class king Jared Meesrode off into the sunset have not just been proven unfounded but resoundingly so.  Over the course of an unforgettable ‘25 title fight, Mees’ latter-day foils, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) and Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R), established their own rivalry which could potentially define the sport for the next decade.  Their battles have been epic and at times not without controversy or acrimony. Momentum has been seized and reseized. And each has faced down adversity while making their respective bids to assume Mees’ throne this season.  The tides turned yet again – and in a big way – at the Springfield Mile doubleheader.  Bauman powered into Springfield on a high following his triumphant performance in Peoria. He left in disappointment, an 11-point advantage transformed into a 13-point deficit. That margin puts his chances for a third Grand National Championship in serious peril, a reality he’s all too aware of.  However it plays out, Bauman has already done as much this season to cement his legacy as an all-time great as any of his prior campaigns, including the two in which he defeated Mees for the title.  This season, Bauman and his Rick Ware Racing team took a previously winless Harley-Davidson XG750R and made it a genuine title threat on the strength of seven wins to date. But it goes beyond the numbers – the manner and style in which he’s done it left even the gifted Daniels and the powerhouse Estenson Racing team behind him at times bewildered.  Perhaps paradoxically, Bauman was never more impressive than he was in Springfield, where he routinely sliced and diced the world’s elite motorcycle flat trackers up through the corners just to cling to contention down the straights.  However, overpowered on Saturday and luckless on Sunday, Bauman now faces a steep climb to the title this weekend despite his overall brilliance in 2025.  1.56%  Just how steep?  If Bauman wins this weekend – and he should be viewed as the favorite considering the desperation of his situation along with his status as the winningest Short Track rider in series history – he’ll end the year with 307 points and a tiebreaking eight wins.  That would mean Daniels would have to finish seventh or better to accumulate at least 308 points, and along with it, the 2025 Grand National Championship.  And just how likely is that?  Consider the following:   Daniels has participated in 64 Main Events throughout the entirety of his near four-season premier-class career. During that span, he has finished outside the top five just once. That outlier took place during the 2022 Volusia double finale weekend, in which he crashed from fourth and ultimately finished 12th.  Since that time, the Estenson Racing star has finished fifth or better in 47 consecutive races – 42 of those on the box.  As has been said many times – by Bauman and many others – it’s not so much Daniels’ speed (which is remarkable) or his talent (which is considerable), but rather his unprecedented consistency that is his greatest attribute as a title fighter.  One bad day. One bad race. One bad moment. Give Daniels an opportunity, and he’ll make you pay.  Bauman had a bad day in Springfield.  However, it’s not over just yet. Pile on the pressure of a lifelong goal, and the chance that the unthinkable happens might increase a percentage point or ten.  It’s happened before; the racing annals overfloweth with stories of less likely scenarios coming to fruition.  Give The Man His Due  Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) has spent the bulk of the season lost in the shadow of the fascinating Daniels/Bauman showdown.  However, step back and admire another campaign that has only furthered his argument for eventual inclusion in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.  26 points up on fourth, Robinson has already locked in his fifth Grand National Championship ranking of third or better. He’s also added five more podiums to his career tally, including a long-sought  first win on the Harley-Davidson XG750R he helped usher into the series eight years back.  While no doubt frustrated after taking a step back from 2024’s title contention, Robinson has quietly penned another strong season in a career that’s gradually elevated him up to some pretty lofty statistical territory.  Lowe Man Wins  Much has been made – and deservedly so – of Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp) scoring Honda’s first twin-cylinder premier-class win of the millennium with his Springfield surprise.  But perhaps lost in that excitement was just how much his huge weekend transformed his championship standing outlook.  Prior to Springfield, Lowe was locked in a tight fight for sixth with James Ott (No. 19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07), Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Suzuki GSX-8S), and Max Whale (No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650).  Meanwhile, Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke) and Jarod VanDerKooi (No. 20 Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM 790 Duke) still held outside hopes of edging Robinson for third at the time.  Lowe’s stunning success combined with twin misfortune for Fisher and ‘VDK,’ has painted a very different picture with just one race to go. As it stands, it’s now Lowe who sits fourth with 172 points, followed closely by Fisher (169) and VanDerkooi (167).  Even before the breakthrough victory, Lowe’s top-five finish at the Lucas Oil Short Track was likely good enough to consider 2025 a positive one of the Big Red SuperTwins program. The victory more than assured that.   But fourth in the overall standings? That would certainly be something.  Rookie of the Year  Lowe’s Springfield triumph also handed him a commanding lead in the chase for Mission AFT SuperTwins Rookie of the Year honors.  Lowe and Ott have gone back and forth in a two-rider tilt all year long, but Lowe’s big win pushed him 18 points out in front with just the finale to go. In other words, it would take a monster result from Ott and utter catastrophe from Lowe to prevent the Honda pilot from being named premier-class Rookie of the Year.  That said, congratulations to Ott, who has been hugely impressive in his own right. With one race left to shine, the Californian has already racked up four top fives on the G&G Yamaha – highlighted by a pair of podiums – in his first Mission AFT SuperTwins campaign.  It’s Best to Rest Before BikeFest  There will be no shortage of entertainment options at the 19th Annual Lake of the Ozarks BikeFest in general and the Lake Ozark Short Track in particular.   Along with the season-ending action on track culminating in the crowing of the 2025 Grand National Champion, fans will be treated to Jumbotron-enhanced viewing, dedicated motorcycle parking, numerous food and beverage options, the Fans Zone – complete with a face painter – and a fireworks display to conclude the evening’s activities.  Your Ticket to the Land of Oz(ark)  General Admission tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under free with a paid adult General Admission ticket). Students can get a GA ticket for just $20 ticket at the gate with a student ID, while qualified individuals can take advantage of the Military/First Responder discount to purchase $20 General Admission tickets via the GovX link found on the event ticket pages.   Reserved Grandstand tickets, which are located along the front stretch of the racetrack with ideal sightlines, are just $50 (all ages).  H.O.G. members can purchase a H.O.G. Membership Ticket for $30 (all ages), which grants access to both a dedicated parking area and dedicated grandstand seating, along with a meet and greet and photo opportunity with the Harley-Davidson racers and a private infield tour.  Finally, there’s the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($99), which includes General Admission seating with full pit pass access, a guided tour of the infield podium and start/finish line, photo opps, and up-close viewing of Opening Ceremonies and the night’s race action.  Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/lake-ozark-short-track-126438 to purchase your tickets today.  Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies set to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 a.m. PT).  How to Watch  FloRacing  For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2025. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/aft or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.  FS1  FOX Sports coverage of the Arby’s Lake Ozark Short Track presented by Arrowhead Brass, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, September 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

LONG BEACH, CA (September 9, 2025) — Jim Dunn Racing is set to return to Maple Grove Raceway for the 40^thNHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish, September 11-14, with a fiery look and a full schedule of fan engagement as the Countdown to the Championship kicks off. They will deliver a one-two punch with Buddy Hull and Alex Laughlin representing the team and sponsors.
 
The team, celebrating its 75^th anniversary this season, will once again showcase its eye-catching Blaze Exhaust Probes livery for the fourth time in 2025. While Buddy Hull, the second-year Funny Car driver, remains sidelined with a left-hand injury sustained at the DENSO Sonoma Nationals in late July, the team will continue to push forward under the NHRA’s medical replacement policy.

 

For the second consecutive race, Alex Laughlin will pilot the Blaze Exhaust Probes Funny Car, bringing with him strong backing from Lincoln Welders and a proven ability to step in under high-pressure circumstances. Laughlin will look to carry momentum into Reading as Buddy Hull and Jim Dunn Racing begins their Countdown campaign.
 
“While I’d love nothing more than to be in the seat this weekend, I’m proud of the effort our team has put in to stay competitive and keep engaging with fans,” said Hull. “Alex is doing a fantastic job behind the wheel, and I’m excited to cheer him on while also sharing more of my passion for Funny Car racing with the fans in Reading.”
 
Longtime sponsor of Jim Dunn Racing, Odyssey Battery, will be heavily featured on the side window of the nitro Funny Car. They will also have guests in attendance at the race.
 
“We’re so excited to be hosting a group from Odyssey Battery,” said Jon Dunn. “We rely on Odyssey batteries to start the race car, we use them in our hauler, our tow vehicle and our personal vehicles at home. They easily meet all of our battery needs and are a great company to work with.”
 
Despite being out of the cockpit, Hull’s championship hopes remain alive. In just his second season in Funny Car, Hull has qualified for the Countdown to the Championship both years, a testament to his and Jim Dunn Racing’s consistency and determination.
 
Hull will also remain a major presence at Maple Grove Raceway. He’ll spend the weekend engaging fans by:

• Filming episodes for season two of his hit show Talkin’ Funny Cars with Buddy Hull, which premieres this Wednesday, September 10 on the NHRA FAST Channel at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT.
• Joining the PA booth to offer his insights on the weekend’s action.
• Meeting fans during autograph sessions and tower visits.
• Entertaining on the NHRA Stage, continuing to build his connection with the NHRA community.

JIM DUNN RACING KICKING OFF THE COUNTDOWN WITH BUDDY HULL PROMOTING AND ALEX LAUGHLIN DRIVING

LONG BEACH, CA (September 9, 2025) — Jim Dunn Racing is set to return to Maple Grove Raceway for the 40^thNHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish, September 11-14, with a fiery look and a full schedule of fan engagement as the Countdown to the Championship kicks off. They will deliver a one-two punch with Buddy Hull and Alex Laughlin representing the team and sponsors.
 
The team, celebrating its 75^th anniversary this season, will once again showcase its eye-catching Blaze Exhaust Probes livery for the fourth time in 2025. While Buddy Hull, the second-year Funny Car driver, remains sidelined with a left-hand injury sustained at the DENSO Sonoma Nationals in late July, the team will continue to push forward under the NHRA’s medical replacement policy.

 

For the second consecutive race, Alex Laughlin will pilot the Blaze Exhaust Probes Funny Car, bringing with him strong backing from Lincoln Welders and a proven ability to step in under high-pressure circumstances. Laughlin will look to carry momentum into Reading as Buddy Hull and Jim Dunn Racing begins their Countdown campaign.
 
“While I’d love nothing more than to be in the seat this weekend, I’m proud of the effort our team has put in to stay competitive and keep engaging with fans,” said Hull. “Alex is doing a fantastic job behind the wheel, and I’m excited to cheer him on while also sharing more of my passion for Funny Car racing with the fans in Reading.”
 
Longtime sponsor of Jim Dunn Racing, Odyssey Battery, will be heavily featured on the side window of the nitro Funny Car. They will also have guests in attendance at the race.
 
“We’re so excited to be hosting a group from Odyssey Battery,” said Jon Dunn. “We rely on Odyssey batteries to start the race car, we use them in our hauler, our tow vehicle and our personal vehicles at home. They easily meet all of our battery needs and are a great company to work with.”
 
Despite being out of the cockpit, Hull’s championship hopes remain alive. In just his second season in Funny Car, Hull has qualified for the Countdown to the Championship both years, a testament to his and Jim Dunn Racing’s consistency and determination.
 
Hull will also remain a major presence at Maple Grove Raceway. He’ll spend the weekend engaging fans by:

• Filming episodes for season two of his hit show Talkin’ Funny Cars with Buddy Hull, which premieres this Wednesday, September 10 on the NHRA FAST Channel at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT.
• Joining the PA booth to offer his insights on the weekend’s action.
• Meeting fans during autograph sessions and tower visits.
• Entertaining on the NHRA Stage, continuing to build his connection with the NHRA community.

 
“These Reading fans are something special,” said Hull. “They know they’re at a race that is high stakes. It’s the first race of our playoffs and anything can happen. I’m lucky that I can keep spreading the message that Funny Cars are the coolest thing on the planet, even when I’m temporarily out of the seat.”
 
In addition to Blaze Exhaust Probes and Lincoln Welders, this weekend Hull and Laughlin will also be representing season-long sponsors Lescure Mechanical Services, KGC Construction, Mooneyes, Vertex Roofers and General Contractors, Crow Safety, Koppl Pipeline Services, True Brand, USD, Wiley X and Compass Facility Services.
 
“We have the best group of supporters in the sport of drag racing,” said Hull. “They’ve been so understanding as I work to get my hand back in shape to pilot this nitro Funny Car and have welcomed Alex back with open arms. We could not do what we do without them.”
 
Laughlin and the Jim Dunn Racing team will have two qualifying runs on Friday, September 12 and then two more qualifying runs on September 13 at Maple Grove Raceway. The 16 Funny Cars with the quickest elapsed times after four rounds of qualifying will compete on race day on Sunday, September 14 at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can watch the race on FS1. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Reading Nationals visit nhra.com.

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Dominic Scelzi is spending the next two weekends with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series in his home state of California.

Scelzi and his family owned team will race this Friday at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield during the Nashville West Showdown and Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris during the SoCal Showdown. The following weekend showcases the Dennis Roth Classic doubleheader at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. 

“I’m excited to have our last big run of races here with the Outlaws,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully having four issue-free nights.”

Scelzi finished ninth during Kubota High Limit Racing shows at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway and Perris Auto Speedway in March.

“We’ve won two NARC shows and an open 360 show so we’ve had good speed at the track in Bakersfield,” he said. “We’ve run well there with High Limit and with NARC. It’s a very unique track. It’s changed three times in its lifespan. I’ve only raced there once under the current configuration so it’s always kept everyone on their toes.

“And I really like Perris. It’s a fun place that has been racy the last few years. The last time we were there with the Outlaws we were running third when I caught the curb wrong and unfortunately DNFed so we know we can be competitive.”

SEASON STATS –

45 races, 3 wins, 17 top fives, 31 top 10s, 37 top 15s, 40 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Dominic Scelzi Excited to Compete in Four World of Outlaws Races in California

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Dominic Scelzi is spending the next two weekends with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series in his home state of California.

Scelzi and his family owned team will race this Friday at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield during the Nashville West Showdown and Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris during the SoCal Showdown. The following weekend showcases the Dennis Roth Classic doubleheader at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. 

“I’m excited to have our last big run of races here with the Outlaws,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully having four issue-free nights.”

Scelzi finished ninth during Kubota High Limit Racing shows at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway and Perris Auto Speedway in March.

“We’ve won two NARC shows and an open 360 show so we’ve had good speed at the track in Bakersfield,” he said. “We’ve run well there with High Limit and with NARC. It’s a very unique track. It’s changed three times in its lifespan. I’ve only raced there once under the current configuration so it’s always kept everyone on their toes.

“And I really like Perris. It’s a fun place that has been racy the last few years. The last time we were there with the Outlaws we were running third when I caught the curb wrong and unfortunately DNFed so we know we can be competitive.”

SEASON STATS –

45 races, 3 wins, 17 top fives, 31 top 10s, 37 top 15s, 40 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., for the Nashville West Showdown and Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif., for the SoCal Showdown with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

Kage Tadman (228) takes a victory lap at Ventura Raceway during Round 4. [Photo: American Flat Track / Scott Hunter] DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 8, 2025) – The earliest signs that a rookie wave was about to hit the 2025 AFT Singles presented by KICKER class registered as barely more than a ripple. The Progressive American Flat Track DAYTONA double season opener was meant to serve as a glorified torch-passing ceremony, with three-time reigning class champ Kody Kopp – who was preparing to embark on a roadracing career – slated to hand the reins over to his dueling heir apparents, Tom Drane and Chase Saathoff. Instead, Kopp used the opportunity to clock a pair of extended victory laps, adding two more wins to his all-time class record before tossing said torch into the dirt for Drane and Saathoff to scrap over in his absence. Nearly lost to that bright spotlight was the performance of Lucky Thumb M/C’s Ethan Kitchen, who managed to sneak into the bottom of the top ten in his debut weekend. The wave next hit not just like a tsunami, but one of historic proportions. Beachside Ventura Raceway served as a scenic backdrop framing the raw brilliance of Kage Tadman, who set the scene alight with a dominant victory in his very first attempt. Very few riders had managed that in the history of the class. And no one had ever done what he would do days later – repeat the remarkable feat at Silver Dollar Speedway. In doing so, Tadman set the stage for what has proved to be an unusually impactful rookie class. Read the complete story and 2025 Singles Rookie breakdown HERE.

EAGLE, NE (Sept. 7, 2025) — Cameron Martin admits the last time he raced Sam Hafertepe Jr. for the win, he let it get away. But on Sunday night at Eagle Raceway, he was not about to let it happen again.

The 21-year-old from Ankeny, IA, got the best of the five-time national champion in a back-and-forth battle, retaking the lead with 15 laps remaining and holding Hafertepe off the rest of the distance to score his first career American Sprint Car Series Feature win in the second running of the Stewart Alley Memorial.

“This is super cool, especially to do it here at Eagle,” Martin said. “This is probably one of the best racetracks in the world right now. I can’t say thank you enough to Skylar (Prochaska, crew chief) and dad and everyone who helps me. I’ll never forget this moment.”

One year prior, Martin had qualified for the inaugural special event against a deep field but was taken out of contention in a crash on the opening lap. Fast forward to 2025 and he’s in Victory Lane in only his 15th career national Series start. Martin also becomes the 175th different winner with the Series and the eighth different driver to win a Series race at the Nebraska venue.

While Hafertepe got the jump at the drop of the green flag, Martin began plotting his plan of attack. He took his first opportunity, zooming past Hafertepe on the top side around the 1/3-mile oval after a restart on Lap 9.

“I just said ‘Man, I’m just gonna fall in on the top and run behind [Martin],’” Hafertepe said after falling back to second. “He’s a young guy, he’s gasser, and sometimes those guys make mistakes. And I thought, ‘Well, I’ll try my luck and see if he makes a mistake,’ and he just didn’t make any.”

Though Martin remained strong on the top side through the first half of the race, Hafertepe showed speed as well, reeling-in Martin and throwing a slidejob for the lead in Turns 3–4 on Lap 17.

“I was probably running it a little harder than I should’ve, but I really wanted that win,” Martin said. “I made the mistake of not running as hard as I should’ve last night and Sam pulled away from me. I wasn’t going to let that happen again.”

Hafertepe continued his march around the bottom lane while Martin got back on the top side; right-rear tire pinned to the cushion. He began charging up the momentum, and on Lap 20 raced around the outside of Hafertepe to retake the top spot in Turns 1–2.

“I could hear (Martin) pressuring me on the top sometimes, but I knew if I hit my line good, we were okay down there,” Hafertepe said. “I think one time, going into (Turn) 1, it was like all-of-a-sudden the bottom just went away in one lap, it felt like. And that’s when he got by me.”

The race stayed under green for the next seven laps while Martin began to open a gap on the field in lapped traffic. That advantage was erased when the yellow flag was thrown on Lap 28, and again on Lap 30, forcing Martin to defend the lead on the restarts.

“I felt really good when we were running through lapped traffic,” Martin said. “I kinda figured I had a pretty sizable lead, but I was just getting really comfortable, and the caution came out, so I just had to put my head down.

“I saw Skylar on the fence giving me the thumbs-up, so I knew I was gonna have to drive the hardest six laps of my life there at the end to hold Sam. JJ was super-fast, and I think Austin McCarl was back there, too. Those three guys are some of the best Sprint Car drivers in the world right now.”

In the end, Hafertepe was unable to reel-in Martin after the final restart. The Sunnyvale, TX-native settled for second and his third podium finish in the last four Series events.

“(Martin) has been fast all year, and he’s not just a 360 guy — he made the 410 Knoxville Nationals and ran 13th,” Hafertepe said. “He’s got a bright future, a really good family, and he’s a good kid. His dad, him and his brother are all really good people. I kinda like to see good people do good things. Not too mad that I got beat by him tonight; we’ll take our second and go on.”

Washington native JJ Hickle crossed the finish line third after winning a competitive battle for position with Austin McCarl in the closing laps. McCarl finished fourth while fellow Knoxville Raceway regular Riley Goodno rounded-out the top-five.

UP NEXT

The Series now takes a weekend off before resuming competition Sept. 19–20 at Paducah International Raceway and I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park.

Tickets for both events will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view all results)

Cameron Martin Wins Stewart Alley Memorial at Eagle for First National ASCS Win

EAGLE, NE (Sept. 7, 2025) — Cameron Martin admits the last time he raced Sam Hafertepe Jr. for the win, he let it get away. But on Sunday night at Eagle Raceway, he was not about to let it happen again.

The 21-year-old from Ankeny, IA, got the best of the five-time national champion in a back-and-forth battle, retaking the lead with 15 laps remaining and holding Hafertepe off the rest of the distance to score his first career American Sprint Car Series Feature win in the second running of the Stewart Alley Memorial.

“This is super cool, especially to do it here at Eagle,” Martin said. “This is probably one of the best racetracks in the world right now. I can’t say thank you enough to Skylar (Prochaska, crew chief) and dad and everyone who helps me. I’ll never forget this moment.”

One year prior, Martin had qualified for the inaugural special event against a deep field but was taken out of contention in a crash on the opening lap. Fast forward to 2025 and he’s in Victory Lane in only his 15th career national Series start. Martin also becomes the 175th different winner with the Series and the eighth different driver to win a Series race at the Nebraska venue.

While Hafertepe got the jump at the drop of the green flag, Martin began plotting his plan of attack. He took his first opportunity, zooming past Hafertepe on the top side around the 1/3-mile oval after a restart on Lap 9.

“I just said ‘Man, I’m just gonna fall in on the top and run behind [Martin],’” Hafertepe said after falling back to second. “He’s a young guy, he’s gasser, and sometimes those guys make mistakes. And I thought, ‘Well, I’ll try my luck and see if he makes a mistake,’ and he just didn’t make any.”

Though Martin remained strong on the top side through the first half of the race, Hafertepe showed speed as well, reeling-in Martin and throwing a slidejob for the lead in Turns 3–4 on Lap 17.

“I was probably running it a little harder than I should’ve, but I really wanted that win,” Martin said. “I made the mistake of not running as hard as I should’ve last night and Sam pulled away from me. I wasn’t going to let that happen again.”

Hafertepe continued his march around the bottom lane while Martin got back on the top side; right-rear tire pinned to the cushion. He began charging up the momentum, and on Lap 20 raced around the outside of Hafertepe to retake the top spot in Turns 1–2.

“I could hear (Martin) pressuring me on the top sometimes, but I knew if I hit my line good, we were okay down there,” Hafertepe said. “I think one time, going into (Turn) 1, it was like all-of-a-sudden the bottom just went away in one lap, it felt like. And that’s when he got by me.”

The race stayed under green for the next seven laps while Martin began to open a gap on the field in lapped traffic. That advantage was erased when the yellow flag was thrown on Lap 28, and again on Lap 30, forcing Martin to defend the lead on the restarts.

“I felt really good when we were running through lapped traffic,” Martin said. “I kinda figured I had a pretty sizable lead, but I was just getting really comfortable, and the caution came out, so I just had to put my head down.

“I saw Skylar on the fence giving me the thumbs-up, so I knew I was gonna have to drive the hardest six laps of my life there at the end to hold Sam. JJ was super-fast, and I think Austin McCarl was back there, too. Those three guys are some of the best Sprint Car drivers in the world right now.”

In the end, Hafertepe was unable to reel-in Martin after the final restart. The Sunnyvale, TX-native settled for second and his third podium finish in the last four Series events.

“(Martin) has been fast all year, and he’s not just a 360 guy — he made the 410 Knoxville Nationals and ran 13th,” Hafertepe said. “He’s got a bright future, a really good family, and he’s a good kid. His dad, him and his brother are all really good people. I kinda like to see good people do good things. Not too mad that I got beat by him tonight; we’ll take our second and go on.”

Washington native JJ Hickle crossed the finish line third after winning a competitive battle for position with Austin McCarl in the closing laps. McCarl finished fourth while fellow Knoxville Raceway regular Riley Goodno rounded-out the top-five.

UP NEXT

The Series now takes a weekend off before resuming competition Sept. 19–20 at Paducah International Raceway and I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park.

Tickets for both events will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view all results)

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 4M-Cameron Martin[1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[3]; 3. 63-JJ Hickle[2]; 4. 88W-Austin McCarl[5]; 5. 22-Riley Goodno[7]; 6. 23-Seth Bergman[16]; 7. 95-Matt Covington[25]; 8. 2B-Garrett Benson[12]; 9. 11-Roger Crockett[10]; 10. 36-Jason Martin[26]; 11. 44-Chris Martin[24]; 12. 11A-Billy Alley[11]; 13. 40-Clint Garner[9]; 14. 1-Sean McClelland[15]; 15. 2J-Zach Blurton[14]; 16. 938-Bradley Fezard[22]; 17. 17B-Ryan Bickett[17]; 18. 99-Tony Rost[21]; 19. 23M-Lance Moss[23]; 20. 5-Ryder McCutcheon[4]; 21. 27-Carson McCarl[8]; 22. 27B-Jake Bubak[18]; 23. 6-Cody Gardner[19]; 24. 6K-Dustin Selvage[20]; 25. 55-Chase Brown[27]; 26. 52-Blake Hahn[6]; 27. 47-Brant O’Banion[13]

The opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has tested Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, but their focus remains firmly on the road ahead.After an early setback at Darlington, Berry entered Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway determined to rebound. The team showed solid speed with a 12th-place qualifying effort, but their race ended early after a Lap 36 restart incident left Berry with heavy damage and a 36th-place result.“It was just a chaotic restart after pit stops,” Berry said. “I don’t think anybody did anything intentional — just three-wide racing and unfortunately we came out on the wrong side of it.”Berry enters Bristol 45 markers below the elimination line, making Saturday’s race a pivotal moment in the opening Playoff round. While the short track is known for its intensity, it also offers the kind of opportunity the No. 21 team is looking for.“The best way for us to move on is to go to Bristol and put ourselves in position to win,” Berry said. “That’s our focus this week.”Despite two difficult races, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team isn’t backing down. With Bristol looming as a must-perform opportunity, Berry and the No. 21 crew are determined to keep their Playoff hopes alive.

Misfortune strikes pair of TF Sport Corvettes in American WEC round

AUSTIN, Texas (September 7, 2025) – Rain and bad luck were the orders of the day for TF Sport in the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas. The team’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs finished outside the top-10 and as a result the points in the lone North American stop of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The No. 81 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy was the highest-finishing TF Sport entry after six hours of rainy racing. It was a cruel result after the Corvette gained eight spots during a nearly two hours of running behind the safety car and a red-flag stoppage due to an issue with one of the safety cars. The 81 trio saw its two-race podium streak come to an end with a 13th-place finish. Van Rompuy led early following the early-race chaos, but the team lost time in the pitlane having to replace a sensor on the Corvette’s accident data recorder – an FIA-mandated and supplied device – that cost Andrade nearly a lap in the process once the driver change and service finished. The team had elected to run Van Rompuy deep into the stint in hopes of catching a virtual safety car period.

Corvette Racing Media Resources Documents | Statistics | Photos | Factory Driver Bios | Chevrolet Newsroom

Problems also bit the No. 33 Z06 GT3.R of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Texan Ben Keating. Following a strong qualifying effort and a gain of three spots under the early safety-car period, the entry experienced fuel system and restart issues on the first driver exchange between Keating and Edgar. From that point, both the TF Corvettes were in catch-up mode. The No. 33’s race ended inside the final two hours with a right-rear suspension problem that ground the car to a halt with Juncadella at the wheel. Meanwhile the No. 81 was at a drivetime disadvantage due to the earlier sensor failure. Factory driver Eastwood was one of the last professional drivers to get in the race, and a switch to slick tires with 34 minutes left did nothing to close the gap to the field. TF Sport’s next FIA WEC race with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is the Six Hours of Fuji on September 26-28.

TF SPORT POST-RACE QUOTESCHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:“It was a weekend to forget unfortunately. We struggled all weekend. Not for pace; we seemed to have really good pace but it just seemed to be a messy weekend for one reason for another. In the race we were good until the championship sensor failed and we had to replace that. That dropped us to the back of the field. We didn’t seem to have a lot of pace when it was cold and wet. Our car thrives on the high track temps and we couldn’t seem to get the tire switched on. We have a bit of understanding on that when we know the weather is maybe dropping as much as it did. Maybe there’s something we can do to counter that.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Driving that long behind the safety is not the most exciting thing. Seeing the conditions, it was the right call. Safety-wise, it was really tricky to drive the car with some standing water and puddles. The team made a really good call to come into the pits as soon as possible during the first safety car because it gained us a lot of positions afterward. But with the sensor failure we were behind where we started.”

CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: No Luck at HomeMisfortune strikes pair of TF Sport Corvettes in American WEC round

AUSTIN, Texas (September 7, 2025) – Rain and bad luck were the orders of the day for TF Sport in the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas. The team’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs finished outside the top-10 and as a result the points in the lone North American stop of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The No. 81 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy was the highest-finishing TF Sport entry after six hours of rainy racing. It was a cruel result after the Corvette gained eight spots during a nearly two hours of running behind the safety car and a red-flag stoppage due to an issue with one of the safety cars. The 81 trio saw its two-race podium streak come to an end with a 13th-place finish. Van Rompuy led early following the early-race chaos, but the team lost time in the pitlane having to replace a sensor on the Corvette’s accident data recorder – an FIA-mandated and supplied device – that cost Andrade nearly a lap in the process once the driver change and service finished. The team had elected to run Van Rompuy deep into the stint in hopes of catching a virtual safety car period.

Corvette Racing Media Resources Documents | Statistics | Photos | Factory Driver Bios | Chevrolet Newsroom

Problems also bit the No. 33 Z06 GT3.R of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Texan Ben Keating. Following a strong qualifying effort and a gain of three spots under the early safety-car period, the entry experienced fuel system and restart issues on the first driver exchange between Keating and Edgar. From that point, both the TF Corvettes were in catch-up mode. The No. 33’s race ended inside the final two hours with a right-rear suspension problem that ground the car to a halt with Juncadella at the wheel. Meanwhile the No. 81 was at a drivetime disadvantage due to the earlier sensor failure. Factory driver Eastwood was one of the last professional drivers to get in the race, and a switch to slick tires with 34 minutes left did nothing to close the gap to the field. TF Sport’s next FIA WEC race with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is the Six Hours of Fuji on September 26-28.

TF SPORT POST-RACE QUOTESCHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:“It was a weekend to forget unfortunately. We struggled all weekend. Not for pace; we seemed to have really good pace but it just seemed to be a messy weekend for one reason for another. In the race we were good until the championship sensor failed and we had to replace that. That dropped us to the back of the field. We didn’t seem to have a lot of pace when it was cold and wet. Our car thrives on the high track temps and we couldn’t seem to get the tire switched on. We have a bit of understanding on that when we know the weather is maybe dropping as much as it did. Maybe there’s something we can do to counter that.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Driving that long behind the safety is not the most exciting thing. Seeing the conditions, it was the right call. Safety-wise, it was really tricky to drive the car with some standing water and puddles. The team made a really good call to come into the pits as soon as possible during the first safety car because it gained us a lot of positions afterward. But with the sensor failure we were behind where we started.”

DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The weekend started very nicely with FP1 – 1-2 for our Corvettes. Since then we have hit too many issues. The sister car had a messy couple of free practices but in our case everything was smooth. We qualified fifth so it was looking good for today. But after the first stint we encountered some issues getting the car started. We need to analyze since we don’t know the reason. That put us a lap back, and the racing is pretty much an uphill trend when you are that far back. At the end, I had the mechanical issue and had to stop. Everything felt nice and felt fine. I was in the middle of other cars but a lap down; that is always annoying because you get blue flags constantly. I had actually just let the whole field by to see how the car felt. I had a bit of fun in the wet but then it went straightaway. It’s a shame, but it’s better it happens when you’re two laps down than when you’re in the lead or fighting for big points.”

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercars finish sixth, eighth in rain-soaked raceAUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 7, 2025) – The capital city averages 50 days and 35 inches of precipitation a year. A wet weekend impacted the Lone Star Le Mans — on race day to the benefit of the Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs. With persistent rain and standing water on the 5.513-kilometer (3.426-mile), 20-turn Circuit of the Americas course from the outset of the six-hour race, the twin Hypercars used Michelin wet tires for the full 117-lap length of the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign.

Both the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, which won from the pole in July in Brazil with Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens behind the wheel for Cadillac Racing’s maiden WEC victory, and the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team, JOTA V-Series.R overcame the elements deftly overtook multiple cars throughout to place in the top 10. The No. 12 Hypercar, which finished eighth, extended its streak of scoring points in every race. The No. 38 hybrid racecar, which was runner-up at Interlagos, placed sixth. “We have a very strong car in the dry and in the rain,” Lynn said following the 12-minute qualifying session Saturday in which the team switched from Michelin slicks to rain tires in mixed conditions to no avail. His analysis proved prophetic. The No, 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R advanced nine positions from its starting spot – most in the 18-car Hypercar field. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R advanced eight positions to reap points and remain in the conversation for the Drivers Championship. The points haul also keeps Cadillac in contention for the Manufacturers Championship with two races left. Media resources: Cadillac at COTA photos | All-time statistics | 2025 WEC statistics The race commenced behind the Safety Car, which led the parade for 59 minutes before Race Control called for the red flag because of rain and standing water on the course. After a 42-minute stoppage and subsequent laps behind the Safety Car, the green flag waved with 3 hours, 46 minutes left and Bamber in 11th place and Lynn in 14th.Both drivers quickly made up positions on the slick surface. Lynn ran as high as third with 44 minutes remaining before pitting for service and driver change to Nato to close out the contest. Both Cadillac entries needed a splash of fuel with under 6 minutes left, which determined their results. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA returns to action September 26-28 at Fuji Speedway for the 6 Hours of Fuji, where Cadillac Racing earned its maiden WEC pole position in 2024 with a best lap of 1:28.901 on the 4.563-kilometer (2.835-mile), 16-turn circuit that opened in 1965. The penultimate race of the season marks the 100th for the WEC.

What they’re saying

No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R Alex Lynn: “P9 at the finish after starting from P16, honestly it felt like we had the car to finish higher if it hadn’t been for that little error we had at the end. We had a very fast car today and we did our best.” Norman Nato: “I would say that’s it’s been a tricky weekend overall. We tried our best in terms of strategy. Will did a longer stint with the Safety Car and red flag. Then Alex jumped in the car, did some good stints, kept it clean in this really tricky condition with no visibility. I tried to finish the job at the end. We did our best. When you start far back, it’s never easy. We showed some good pace again today. A few things we could have done better, but again, both cars finishing in points is positive. We would, of course, want to do like we did in Sao Paulo every weekend. But a weekend where it’s a bit more difficult to take points with both cars, it’s important what we did today.” Will Stevens: “When you have a race in very mixed conditions, there are always a huge amount of variable strategy-wise. I think we came through the field extremely well. Alex did a really solid job in the middle of the race to put us back in contention and the car felt good. We were tight on driver time to get Norman in at the end and obviously that wasn’t ideal and then there was the issue with the fuel at the end, which cost us some places which is disappointing. It feels like we had the potential to score more points than we did today.” No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Earl Bamber: “Good effort from everyone on the team this weekend. On the No. 38 side, we had some really nice improvements. The guys put in a lot of effort ahead of this and that really showed. We have had a quick car all weekend in the dry and the wet. We just need to work out those changeable conditions. To get P6 after starting P15, if you’d told me that before the race I would have been happy. During my stint, I really felt like we had the chance to reach the podium. But in these six hour races, there’s a lot that goes on.” Sebastien Bourdais: ”Obviously, some very, very challenging conditions out there today, probably some of the hardest I’ve ever had to drive through. Unfortunately, I ended up making the one mistake that cost us a better result, but it could have been worse. I could have ended in the fence. It’s a shame because the car had really great pace so our sixth-place finish doesn’t feel at all reflective of our capabilities today. We keep pushing and move on to Fuji.” Jenson Button: “I obviously didn’t have a windscreen wiper and it probably would have been fine if we didn’t have the Safety Car, but as soon as that happens you’re in a pack and you can’t see anything. So, I had GT cars passing me at one point. We came in to replace it and it definitely helped. We got unlucky yesterday, so I’ll take it today. And the car was fun to drive and I enjoyed it. It was a whole race of looking after the tires, fuel saving and getting just everything to the end, really. And it worked out well.”

Cadillac at COTA: Solid points haulCadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercars finish sixth, eighth in rain-soaked raceAUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 7, 2025) – The capital city averages 50 days and 35 inches of precipitation a year. A wet weekend impacted the Lone Star Le Mans — on race day to the benefit of the Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs. With persistent rain and standing water on the 5.513-kilometer (3.426-mile), 20-turn Circuit of the Americas course from the outset of the six-hour race, the twin Hypercars used Michelin wet tires for the full 117-lap length of the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign.

Both the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, which won from the pole in July in Brazil with Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens behind the wheel for Cadillac Racing’s maiden WEC victory, and the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team, JOTA V-Series.R overcame the elements deftly overtook multiple cars throughout to place in the top 10. The No. 12 Hypercar, which finished eighth, extended its streak of scoring points in every race. The No. 38 hybrid racecar, which was runner-up at Interlagos, placed sixth. “We have a very strong car in the dry and in the rain,” Lynn said following the 12-minute qualifying session Saturday in which the team switched from Michelin slicks to rain tires in mixed conditions to no avail. His analysis proved prophetic. The No, 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R advanced nine positions from its starting spot – most in the 18-car Hypercar field. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R advanced eight positions to reap points and remain in the conversation for the Drivers Championship. The points haul also keeps Cadillac in contention for the Manufacturers Championship with two races left. Media resources: Cadillac at COTA photos | All-time statistics | 2025 WEC statistics The race commenced behind the Safety Car, which led the parade for 59 minutes before Race Control called for the red flag because of rain and standing water on the course. After a 42-minute stoppage and subsequent laps behind the Safety Car, the green flag waved with 3 hours, 46 minutes left and Bamber in 11th place and Lynn in 14th.Both drivers quickly made up positions on the slick surface. Lynn ran as high as third with 44 minutes remaining before pitting for service and driver change to Nato to close out the contest. Both Cadillac entries needed a splash of fuel with under 6 minutes left, which determined their results. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA returns to action September 26-28 at Fuji Speedway for the 6 Hours of Fuji, where Cadillac Racing earned its maiden WEC pole position in 2024 with a best lap of 1:28.901 on the 4.563-kilometer (2.835-mile), 16-turn circuit that opened in 1965. The penultimate race of the season marks the 100th for the WEC.

What they’re saying

No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R Alex Lynn: “P9 at the finish after starting from P16, honestly it felt like we had the car to finish higher if it hadn’t been for that little error we had at the end. We had a very fast car today and we did our best.” Norman Nato: “I would say that’s it’s been a tricky weekend overall. We tried our best in terms of strategy. Will did a longer stint with the Safety Car and red flag. Then Alex jumped in the car, did some good stints, kept it clean in this really tricky condition with no visibility. I tried to finish the job at the end. We did our best. When you start far back, it’s never easy. We showed some good pace again today. A few things we could have done better, but again, both cars finishing in points is positive. We would, of course, want to do like we did in Sao Paulo every weekend. But a weekend where it’s a bit more difficult to take points with both cars, it’s important what we did today.” Will Stevens: “When you have a race in very mixed conditions, there are always a huge amount of variable strategy-wise. I think we came through the field extremely well. Alex did a really solid job in the middle of the race to put us back in contention and the car felt good. We were tight on driver time to get Norman in at the end and obviously that wasn’t ideal and then there was the issue with the fuel at the end, which cost us some places which is disappointing. It feels like we had the potential to score more points than we did today.” No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Earl Bamber: “Good effort from everyone on the team this weekend. On the No. 38 side, we had some really nice improvements. The guys put in a lot of effort ahead of this and that really showed. We have had a quick car all weekend in the dry and the wet. We just need to work out those changeable conditions. To get P6 after starting P15, if you’d told me that before the race I would have been happy. During my stint, I really felt like we had the chance to reach the podium. But in these six hour races, there’s a lot that goes on.” Sebastien Bourdais: ”Obviously, some very, very challenging conditions out there today, probably some of the hardest I’ve ever had to drive through. Unfortunately, I ended up making the one mistake that cost us a better result, but it could have been worse. I could have ended in the fence. It’s a shame because the car had really great pace so our sixth-place finish doesn’t feel at all reflective of our capabilities today. We keep pushing and move on to Fuji.” Jenson Button: “I obviously didn’t have a windscreen wiper and it probably would have been fine if we didn’t have the Safety Car, but as soon as that happens you’re in a pack and you can’t see anything. So, I had GT cars passing me at one point. We came in to replace it and it definitely helped. We got unlucky yesterday, so I’ll take it today. And the car was fun to drive and I enjoyed it. It was a whole race of looking after the tires, fuel saving and getting just everything to the end, really. And it worked out well.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY ROUND OF 16: RACE TWO TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT SEPTEMBER 7, 2025

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott earned his career-best finish at World Wide Technology Raceway – driving his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the Enjoy Illinois 300. The result – Elliott’s eighth top-five finish of the season – moved the former series champion up to the ninth position in the playoff standings with a 28-point cushion heading into the Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.   Four Team Chevy playoff contenders will enter the first elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a double-digit cushion over the cutline with Kyle Larson in the third position (+60 points), William Byron in the sixth position (+39 points), Chase Elliott in the ninth position (+28 points) and Ross Chastain in the 11th position (+19 points).   Despite struggling with the handling of his No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet through much of the race, the Richard Boswell-led team collected stage points and took home an 18th-place finish to head to Bristol Motor Speedway in the first spot below the cutline with just an 11-point deficit.   Part Two of the Round of 16 saw Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team lead the field to the green-flag from a front-row starting position. Settling into the second position on the opening lap, it took just seven laps for the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to make a pass for the lead – going on to pull his Chevrolet-powered machine to a nearly three-second lead over pole-sitter, Denny Hamlin, within the following 10 laps around the 1.25-mile oval. Giving up the lead to hit pit road under the first caution of the day, Larson took his four fresh Goodyear tires to drive from 11th to the runner-up position to take the first green-white checkered flag of the day to end Stage One.   With a call from crew chief, Cliff Daniels, to stay out during the stage break, Larson found a spot back on the front-row to take the green-flag for Stage Two. With a powerhouse restart, Larson quickly reclaimed the top position over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Williams Byron, on the opening lap of the stage. A pair of cautions near the midway point of the stage produced a mix bag of pit strategy throughout the field. Not favoring the strategy set forth by the Daniels-led team, the No. 5 Chevrolet team opted to hit pit road under the Lap 76 caution for four tires and fuel – putting them in the 20th position for the restart. Despite the loss of track position, the speed prevailed in the No. 5 Chevrolet with Larson reentering the top-10 with 40 laps remaining in the stage. With a two-lap dash to close out Stage Two, Larson once again led the Bowtie brigade to the green-white checkered flag in the fourth position. Four Team Chevy playoff drivers collected stage points with Larson leading Austin Dillon in sixth, Chase Elliott in eighth and Ross Chastain rounding out the top-10.  Back in a familiar position to start the final stage was Larson, who lined up on the inside lane of the second row for the green-flag with 93 laps to go in the race. Larson lost his track position when the team had to pay a second visit to pit road under the caution to fix the rear diffuser flap – forcing the team to restart in the 29th position with 76 laps to go. Varying pit strategies came into play when the final green-flag pit cycle approached at the 200-lap marker. With a caution flying amidst the green-flag pit cycle, strategy came to the forefront once again. With just four laps on his set of tires, crew chief, Alan Gustafson, called for Elliott to stay out under the caution to lineup in the fifth position for the restart with 25 laps to go – going on to lead Chevrolet to the finish to score their eighth top-five finish of the season.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER 3rd – Chase Elliott Chevrolet’s season statistics with 28 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:  Wins: 12Poles: 10Top-Fives: 54Top 10s: 115Stage Wins: 22

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 will conclude at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 24th “I thought for most of the day, we were around a 10th-place Busch Light Chevy. We had a bad restart, and then the caution came out and trapped us a lap down and magnified it. We just need more. We want more.” You head into Bristol 19-points above the cutline. Is that comfortable or uncomfortable?“Well it’s 19-points better than not. I don’t know what it is… I will go and prepare the same as we would if we won the last two races. We’re doing what we think is best and we’ll put our best foot forward when we get to Bristol (Motor Speedway).” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 18th“We didn’t come here with a good race car for some reason. All of our cars were pretty off today, we just missed it. But this No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet team did a great job executing with what we had. We got stage points and finished the best we possibly could right there. We outran our day by a lot, so hard work and execution gives us a shot at Bristol (Motor Speedway). Just feel like we’ve missed some opportunities and could be in a better position, but we did all we could today.”   Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 12thAre you encouraged by the speed we saw today? “Yeah, I definitely think we took a massive step in the right direction. I would just love to get to Phoenix to have an opportunity to see. Just proud of this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. It’s been a struggle here (at Gateway) and this particular style of track, but it’s really been a struggle in general for us at a lot of places lately. Not the finish we obviously wanted, but I feel like we were back to looking like the No. 5 team today.”   Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 22nd“The entire No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet team battled from the moment we started today at World Wide Technology Raceway. We qualified deeper in the field and had an early spin in Stage 1, but the Richard Childress Racing team never quit. We drove into the Top 10 towards the final laps, but came up short, finishing 22nd. Our focuses are now on Bristol as we look to get a win in 2025.”   Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 3rd“It felt good to just have a solid day for this No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet team. I thought we were really good at times; certainly more competitive than we’ve been in a minute. It was a lot of fun to be up in the mix. We just needed a little bit more there at the end, but we were way, way better than we’ve been here lately, so that’s nice.”    William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 11thWhat more did you need there at the end? “I think we had pace this weekend, we just couldn’t get our balance. We really struggled the first two stages with that. We started losing track position in the second and third stages, and it was really hard to overcome. In the final stage, we had a pretty good balance on the car, all things considered, and we were kind of able to go forward, if not maintain. I think there was a lot to learn there in the final stage with how we managed that.”   Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 26th“It was just really poor execution on all angles today. It was a bummer. I thought our No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was OK once we were kind of towards the front-half. We just struggled in the back. Super frustrating, but all we can do is keep digging. There’s a lot of people working really hard to continue to be better. I thought, race car-wise, we were heading in the right direction once we had some air on it. We just have to go to Bristol (Motor Speedway) and go to work.”   Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 25th“We were too tight in traffic, and then eventually got on the other side of it and I made an error and spun. We just couldn’t get it back. We weren’t amazing. We were probably a 15th-place car, but then detuned it a little bit and ended up where we did. Little frustrating, but it’s kind of where we’re at. 20th and 15th is a huge improvement for us, but obviously in the playoffs, you expect more. There’s that pressure there.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESWORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAYROUND OF 16: RACE TWOTEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORTSEPTEMBER 7, 2025

Elliott Earns Podium Finish at World Wide Technology Raceway

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott earned his career-best finish at World Wide Technology Raceway – driving his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the Enjoy Illinois 300. The result – Elliott’s eighth top-five finish of the season – moved the former series champion up to the ninth position in the playoff standings with a 28-point cushion heading into the Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.   Four Team Chevy playoff contenders will enter the first elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a double-digit cushion over the cutline with Kyle Larson in the third position (+60 points), William Byron in the sixth position (+39 points), Chase Elliott in the ninth position (+28 points) and Ross Chastain in the 11th position (+19 points).   Despite struggling with the handling of his No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet through much of the race, the Richard Boswell-led team collected stage points and took home an 18th-place finish to head to Bristol Motor Speedway in the first spot below the cutline with just an 11-point deficit.   Part Two of the Round of 16 saw Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team lead the field to the green-flag from a front-row starting position. Settling into the second position on the opening lap, it took just seven laps for the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to make a pass for the lead – going on to pull his Chevrolet-powered machine to a nearly three-second lead over pole-sitter, Denny Hamlin, within the following 10 laps around the 1.25-mile oval. Giving up the lead to hit pit road under the first caution of the day, Larson took his four fresh Goodyear tires to drive from 11th to the runner-up position to take the first green-white checkered flag of the day to end Stage One.   With a call from crew chief, Cliff Daniels, to stay out during the stage break, Larson found a spot back on the front-row to take the green-flag for Stage Two. With a powerhouse restart, Larson quickly reclaimed the top position over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Williams Byron, on the opening lap of the stage. A pair of cautions near the midway point of the stage produced a mix bag of pit strategy throughout the field. Not favoring the strategy set forth by the Daniels-led team, the No. 5 Chevrolet team opted to hit pit road under the Lap 76 caution for four tires and fuel – putting them in the 20th position for the restart. Despite the loss of track position, the speed prevailed in the No. 5 Chevrolet with Larson reentering the top-10 with 40 laps remaining in the stage. With a two-lap dash to close out Stage Two, Larson once again led the Bowtie brigade to the green-white checkered flag in the fourth position. Four Team Chevy playoff drivers collected stage points with Larson leading Austin Dillon in sixth, Chase Elliott in eighth and Ross Chastain rounding out the top-10.  Back in a familiar position to start the final stage was Larson, who lined up on the inside lane of the second row for the green-flag with 93 laps to go in the race. Larson lost his track position when the team had to pay a second visit to pit road under the caution to fix the rear diffuser flap – forcing the team to restart in the 29th position with 76 laps to go. Varying pit strategies came into play when the final green-flag pit cycle approached at the 200-lap marker. With a caution flying amidst the green-flag pit cycle, strategy came to the forefront once again. With just four laps on his set of tires, crew chief, Alan Gustafson, called for Elliott to stay out under the caution to lineup in the fifth position for the restart with 25 laps to go – going on to lead Chevrolet to the finish to score their eighth top-five finish of the season.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER 3rd – Chase Elliott Chevrolet’s season statistics with 28 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:  Wins: 12Poles: 10Top-Fives: 54Top 10s: 115Stage Wins: 22

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 will conclude at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 24th “I thought for most of the day, we were around a 10th-place Busch Light Chevy. We had a bad restart, and then the caution came out and trapped us a lap down and magnified it. We just need more. We want more.” You head into Bristol 19-points above the cutline. Is that comfortable or uncomfortable?“Well it’s 19-points better than not. I don’t know what it is… I will go and prepare the same as we would if we won the last two races. We’re doing what we think is best and we’ll put our best foot forward when we get to Bristol (Motor Speedway).” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 18th“We didn’t come here with a good race car for some reason. All of our cars were pretty off today, we just missed it. But this No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet team did a great job executing with what we had. We got stage points and finished the best we possibly could right there. We outran our day by a lot, so hard work and execution gives us a shot at Bristol (Motor Speedway). Just feel like we’ve missed some opportunities and could be in a better position, but we did all we could today.”   Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 12thAre you encouraged by the speed we saw today? “Yeah, I definitely think we took a massive step in the right direction. I would just love to get to Phoenix to have an opportunity to see. Just proud of this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. It’s been a struggle here (at Gateway) and this particular style of track, but it’s really been a struggle in general for us at a lot of places lately. Not the finish we obviously wanted, but I feel like we were back to looking like the No. 5 team today.”   Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 22nd“The entire No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet team battled from the moment we started today at World Wide Technology Raceway. We qualified deeper in the field and had an early spin in Stage 1, but the Richard Childress Racing team never quit. We drove into the Top 10 towards the final laps, but came up short, finishing 22nd. Our focuses are now on Bristol as we look to get a win in 2025.”   Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 3rd“It felt good to just have a solid day for this No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet team. I thought we were really good at times; certainly more competitive than we’ve been in a minute. It was a lot of fun to be up in the mix. We just needed a little bit more there at the end, but we were way, way better than we’ve been here lately, so that’s nice.”    William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 11thWhat more did you need there at the end? “I think we had pace this weekend, we just couldn’t get our balance. We really struggled the first two stages with that. We started losing track position in the second and third stages, and it was really hard to overcome. In the final stage, we had a pretty good balance on the car, all things considered, and we were kind of able to go forward, if not maintain. I think there was a lot to learn there in the final stage with how we managed that.”   Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 26th“It was just really poor execution on all angles today. It was a bummer. I thought our No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was OK once we were kind of towards the front-half. We just struggled in the back. Super frustrating, but all we can do is keep digging. There’s a lot of people working really hard to continue to be better. I thought, race car-wise, we were heading in the right direction once we had some air on it. We just have to go to Bristol (Motor Speedway) and go to work.”   Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 25th“We were too tight in traffic, and then eventually got on the other side of it and I made an error and spun. We just couldn’t get it back. We weren’t amazing. We were probably a 15th-place car, but then detuned it a little bit and ended up where we did. Little frustrating, but it’s kind of where we’re at. 20th and 15th is a huge improvement for us, but obviously in the playoffs, you expect more. There’s that pressure there.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY ROUND OF 16: RACE TWO TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT SEPTEMBER 7, 2025

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott earned his career-best finish at World Wide Technology Raceway – driving his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the Enjoy Illinois 300. The result – Elliott’s eighth top-five finish of the season – moved the former series champion up to the ninth position in the playoff standings with a 28-point cushion heading into the Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.   Four Team Chevy playoff contenders will enter the first elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a double-digit cushion over the cutline with Kyle Larson in the third position n(+60 points), William Byron in the sixth position (+39 points), Chase Elliott in the ninth position (+28 points) and Ross Chastain in the 11th position (+19 points).   Despite struggling with the handling of his No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet through much of the race, the Richard Boswell-led team collected stage points and took home an 18th-place finish head to Bristol Motor Speedway in the first spot below the cutline with just an 11-point deficit.   Part Two of the Round of 16 saw Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team lead the field to the green-flag from a front-row starting position. Settling into the second position on the opening lap, it took just seven laps for the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to make a pass for the lead – going on to pull his Chevrolet-powered machine to a nearly three-second lead over pole-sitter, Denny Hamlin, within the following 10 laps around the 1.25-mile oval. Giving up the lead to hit pit road under the first caution of the day, Larson took his four fresh Goodyear tires to drive from 11th to the runner-up position to take the first green-white checkered flag of the day to end Stage One.   With a call from crew chief, Cliff Daniels, to stay out during the stage break, Larson found a spot back on the front-row to take the green-flag for Stage Two. With a powerhouse restart, Larson quickly reclaimed the top position over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Williams Byron, on the opening lap of the stage. A pair of cautions near the midway point of the stage produced a mix bag of pit strategy throughout the field. Not favoring the strategy set forth by the Daniels-led team, the No. 5 Chevrolet team opted to hit pit road under the Lap 76 caution for four tires and fuel – putting them in the 20th position for the restart. Despite the loss of track position, the speed prevailed in the No. 5 Chevrolet with Larson reentering the top-10 with 40 laps remaining in the stage. With a two-lap dash to close out Stage Two, Larson once again led the Bowtie brigade to the green-white checkered flag in the fourth position. Four Team Chevy playoff drivers collected stage points with Larson leading Austin Dillon in sixth, Chase Elliott in eighth and Ross Chastain rounding out the top-10.  Back in a familiar position to start the final stage was Larson, who lined up on the inside lane of the second row for the green-flag with 93 laps to go in the race. Larson lost his track position when the team had to pay a second visit to pit road under the caution to fix the rear diffuser flap – forcing the team to restart in the 29th position with 76 laps to go. Varying pit strategies came into play when the final green-flag pit cycle approached at the 200-lap marker. With a caution flying amidst the green-flag pit cycle, strategy came to the forefront once again. With just four laps on his set of tires, crew chief, Alan Gustafson, called for Elliott to stay out under the caution to lineup in the fifth position for the restart with 25 laps to go – going on to lead Chevrolet to the finish to score their eighth top-five finish of the season.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER 3rd – Chase Elliott Chevrolet’s season statistics with 28 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:  Wins: 12Poles: 10Top-Fives: 54Top 10s: 115Stage Wins: 22

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 will conclude at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

NASCAR CUP SERIESWORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAYROUND OF 16: RACE TWOTEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORTSEPTEMBER 7, 2025

Elliott Earns Podium Finish at World Wide Technology Raceway

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott earned his career-best finish at World Wide Technology Raceway – driving his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the Enjoy Illinois 300. The result – Elliott’s eighth top-five finish of the season – moved the former series champion up to the ninth position in the playoff standings with a 28-point cushion heading into the Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.   Four Team Chevy playoff contenders will enter the first elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a double-digit cushion over the cutline with Kyle Larson in the third position n(+60 points), William Byron in the sixth position (+39 points), Chase Elliott in the ninth position (+28 points) and Ross Chastain in the 11th position (+19 points).   Despite struggling with the handling of his No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet through much of the race, the Richard Boswell-led team collected stage points and took home an 18th-place finish head to Bristol Motor Speedway in the first spot below the cutline with just an 11-point deficit.   Part Two of the Round of 16 saw Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team lead the field to the green-flag from a front-row starting position. Settling into the second position on the opening lap, it took just seven laps for the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to make a pass for the lead – going on to pull his Chevrolet-powered machine to a nearly three-second lead over pole-sitter, Denny Hamlin, within the following 10 laps around the 1.25-mile oval. Giving up the lead to hit pit road under the first caution of the day, Larson took his four fresh Goodyear tires to drive from 11th to the runner-up position to take the first green-white checkered flag of the day to end Stage One.   With a call from crew chief, Cliff Daniels, to stay out during the stage break, Larson found a spot back on the front-row to take the green-flag for Stage Two. With a powerhouse restart, Larson quickly reclaimed the top position over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Williams Byron, on the opening lap of the stage. A pair of cautions near the midway point of the stage produced a mix bag of pit strategy throughout the field. Not favoring the strategy set forth by the Daniels-led team, the No. 5 Chevrolet team opted to hit pit road under the Lap 76 caution for four tires and fuel – putting them in the 20th position for the restart. Despite the loss of track position, the speed prevailed in the No. 5 Chevrolet with Larson reentering the top-10 with 40 laps remaining in the stage. With a two-lap dash to close out Stage Two, Larson once again led the Bowtie brigade to the green-white checkered flag in the fourth position. Four Team Chevy playoff drivers collected stage points with Larson leading Austin Dillon in sixth, Chase Elliott in eighth and Ross Chastain rounding out the top-10.  Back in a familiar position to start the final stage was Larson, who lined up on the inside lane of the second row for the green-flag with 93 laps to go in the race. Larson lost his track position when the team had to pay a second visit to pit road under the caution to fix the rear diffuser flap – forcing the team to restart in the 29th position with 76 laps to go. Varying pit strategies came into play when the final green-flag pit cycle approached at the 200-lap marker. With a caution flying amidst the green-flag pit cycle, strategy came to the forefront once again. With just four laps on his set of tires, crew chief, Alan Gustafson, called for Elliott to stay out under the caution to lineup in the fifth position for the restart with 25 laps to go – going on to lead Chevrolet to the finish to score their eighth top-five finish of the season.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER 3rd – Chase Elliott Chevrolet’s season statistics with 28 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:  Wins: 12Poles: 10Top-Fives: 54Top 10s: 115Stage Wins: 22

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 will conclude at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 18th“We didn’t come here with a good race car for some reason. All of our cars were pretty off today, we just missed it. But this No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet team did a great job executing with what we had. We got stage points and finished the best we possibly could right there. We outran our day by a lot, so hard work and execution gives us a shot at Bristol (Motor Speedway). Just feel like we’ve missed some opportunities and could be in a better position, but we did all we could today.”   Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 12thAre you encouraged by the speed we saw today? “Yeah, I definitely think we took a massive step in the right direction. I would just love to get to Phoenix to have an opportunity to see. Just proud of this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. It’s been a struggle here (at Gateway) and this particular style of track, but it’s really been a struggle in general for us at a lot of places lately. Not the finish we obviously wanted, but I feel like we were back to looking like the No. 5 team today.”   Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 22nd“The entire No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet team battled from the moment we started today at World Wide Technology Raceway. We qualified deeper in the field and had an early spin in Stage 1, but the Richard Childress Racing team never quit. We drove into the Top 10 towards the final laps, but came up short, finishing 22nd. Our focuses are now on Bristol as we look to get a win in 2025.”   Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 3rd“It felt good to just have a solid day for this No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet team. I thought we were really good at times; certainly more competitive than we’ve been in a minute. It was a lot of fun to be up in the mix. We just needed a little bit more there at the end, but we were way, way better than we’ve been here lately, so that’s nice.”    William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 11thWhat more did you need there at the end? “I think we had pace this weekend, we just couldn’t get our balance. We really struggled the first two stages with that. We started losing track position in the second and third stages, and it was really hard to overcome. In the final stage, we had a pretty good balance on the car, all things considered, and we were kind of able to go forward, if not maintain. I think there was a lot to learn there in the final stage with how we managed that.”   Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 26th“It was just really poor execution on all angles today. It was a bummer. I thought our No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was OK once we were kind of towards the front-half. We just struggled in the back. Super frustrating, but all we can do is keep digging. There’s a lot of people working really hard to continue to be better. I thought, race car-wise, we were heading in the right direction once we had some air on it. We just have to go to Bristol (Motor Speedway) and go to work.”   Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 25th“We were too tight in traffic, and then eventually got on the other side of it and I made an error and spun. We just couldn’t get it back. We weren’t amazing. We were probably a 15th-place car, but then detuned it a little bit and ended up where we did. Little frustrating, but it’s kind of where we’re at. 20th and 15th is a huge improvement for us, but obviously in the playoffs, you expect more. There’s that pressure there.”

PARK CITY, KS (Sept. 6, 2025) — After three weeks being shut out of Victory Lane, Sam Hafertepe Jr. is back to his winning ways with the American Sprint Car Series.

Hafertepe, the five-time Series champion from Sunnyvale, TX, had previously triumphed over the national 360 Sprint Car series eight races prior at WaKeeney Speedway in August. Since then, he recorded a DNF and two 13th-place finishes among multiple top-five results and underwent team personnel changes in his efforts to reclaim the momentum he had earlier in the summer — that which carried him to a record-tying five-straight Feature wins.

On Saturday night at 81 Speedway, that speed reemerged in full force. Hafertepe muscled the lead away from Iowa racer Cameron Martin on Lap 13 and went untouched in the final 12 circuits around the 3/8-mile oval to collect his 87th career Series victory.

“The car was just dynamite in the Feature,” Hafertepe said. “I could kinda do whatever I wanted to. We haven’t had a car like that in a while. It’s really good to hit that right now because I feel like that’s something we’ve been searching for — to have that little extra edge. I know we’ve been able to win a lot of races, but tonight — the way we won that race, coming from sixth, and how we did it — that’s next level. Our car is next level right now.”

The win marks Hafertepe’s 10th in national ASCS competition this year and the second of his career at 81 after winning the Series’ visit in July 2024. It also counts as his second win of the year in competition with the ASCS Sooner Region, who co-sanctioned the event.

From sixth on the starting grid, Hafertepe had worked his way onto the podium by Lap 3 and began plotting his attack on the two cars left in front of him — Matt Covington and leader Cameron Martin.

When the field was restacked for a restart on Lap 9, Hafertepe flashed the speed of the Hill’s Racing No. 15H once more, driving around the outside of Covington’s No. 95 for second as they crossed under the flag stand.

“The top, honestly, was good for me,” Hafertepe said. “I think the bottom was the better place to be, but I knew that if I could go where they weren’t, I had the opportunity to pass them. That’s my approach every time I race. If I can go where they’re not, I want to take advantage of the open racetrack, and we were able to get by him.”

Three circuits later, Hafertepe caught the rear bumper of Martin and dove to his inside in a bid for the lead in Turns 3 and 4. The Iowa native put up a great fight with Hafertepe, holding his line for in a side-by-side battle for almost an entire lap, but he was unable to escape the clutches of the 39-year-old veteran who slid in front and took the lead away in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 13.

“He definitely kinda caught me by surprise there, but it was pretty cool to hang with him for a few laps,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, I made a few mistakes through lapped traffic, which let him get away, but I’ll be sure not to let that happen again.”

From there, Hafertepe was untouchable. Despite lots of lapped traffic ahead of him and half the race left to be run, he never worried about a comeback from Martin or issues in getting by the slower cars.

“I knew how good our race car was, and I knew I could keep my tires under me, I could control my throttle really well,” Hafertepe said. “I know if I could do that, and I can feel my grip level still good at the end of the race, I know we’re gonna be in a dominant position.

“That’s what I felt like. You don’t pass lapped cars as fast as we’re passing them and not be way faster than the rest of the field.”

Martin held on to cross the finish line in second place behind Hafertepe for the second time in his ASCS career. At Belleville High Banks in July, Martin was runner-up to Hafertepe for the first time in the Saturday night finale. But he takes them as learning experiences.

“Any time you can race someone of that caliber… Sam is the best 360 race car driver in the world, so being able to go wheel-to-wheel with him is super cool,” Martin said. “Growing up coming to Sprint Car races, I always watched him. To be up front for a few laps there; I knew he’d be coming, but it was pretty cool to lead some.”

Coming from ninth on the starting grid, Blake Hahn crossed the stripe third, banking his third-straight podium finish after his win and third-place run in the doubleheader at Lakeside Speedway Friday night.

“Any time we can start ninth and be on the podium is a good night,” Hahn said. “We’ll take that. Following up from last night, getting the win and running third is definitely something to be proud of. If we can keep this momentum going to tomorrow and continue it out the rest of the season, I think we’ll definitely be able to give Sam a run for his money.”

Kansas native Jason Martin crossed the stripe in fourth while Oklahoma racer Roger Crockett drove from seventh on the starting grid to complete the top five.

UP NEXT

The American Sprint Car Series concludes its three-day race weekend with a trip back to Eagle Raceway for the first time since 2019 on Sunday, Sept. 7 for the second annual Stewart Alley Memorial.

Tickets will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Sam Hafertepe Jr. Wins at 81 for Second-Straight Year and 10th Victory of 2025

PARK CITY, KS (Sept. 6, 2025) — After three weeks being shut out of Victory Lane, Sam Hafertepe Jr. is back to his winning ways with the American Sprint Car Series.

Hafertepe, the five-time Series champion from Sunnyvale, TX, had previously triumphed over the national 360 Sprint Car series eight races prior at WaKeeney Speedway in August. Since then, he recorded a DNF and two 13th-place finishes among multiple top-five results and underwent team personnel changes in his efforts to reclaim the momentum he had earlier in the summer — that which carried him to a record-tying five-straight Feature wins.

On Saturday night at 81 Speedway, that speed reemerged in full force. Hafertepe muscled the lead away from Iowa racer Cameron Martin on Lap 13 and went untouched in the final 12 circuits around the 3/8-mile oval to collect his 87th career Series victory.

“The car was just dynamite in the Feature,” Hafertepe said. “I could kinda do whatever I wanted to. We haven’t had a car like that in a while. It’s really good to hit that right now because I feel like that’s something we’ve been searching for — to have that little extra edge. I know we’ve been able to win a lot of races, but tonight — the way we won that race, coming from sixth, and how we did it — that’s next level. Our car is next level right now.”

The win marks Hafertepe’s 10th in national ASCS competition this year and the second of his career at 81 after winning the Series’ visit in July 2024. It also counts as his second win of the year in competition with the ASCS Sooner Region, who co-sanctioned the event.

From sixth on the starting grid, Hafertepe had worked his way onto the podium by Lap 3 and began plotting his attack on the two cars left in front of him — Matt Covington and leader Cameron Martin.

When the field was restacked for a restart on Lap 9, Hafertepe flashed the speed of the Hill’s Racing No. 15H once more, driving around the outside of Covington’s No. 95 for second as they crossed under the flag stand.

“The top, honestly, was good for me,” Hafertepe said. “I think the bottom was the better place to be, but I knew that if I could go where they weren’t, I had the opportunity to pass them. That’s my approach every time I race. If I can go where they’re not, I want to take advantage of the open racetrack, and we were able to get by him.”

Three circuits later, Hafertepe caught the rear bumper of Martin and dove to his inside in a bid for the lead in Turns 3 and 4. The Iowa native put up a great fight with Hafertepe, holding his line for in a side-by-side battle for almost an entire lap, but he was unable to escape the clutches of the 39-year-old veteran who slid in front and took the lead away in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 13.

“He definitely kinda caught me by surprise there, but it was pretty cool to hang with him for a few laps,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, I made a few mistakes through lapped traffic, which let him get away, but I’ll be sure not to let that happen again.”

From there, Hafertepe was untouchable. Despite lots of lapped traffic ahead of him and half the race left to be run, he never worried about a comeback from Martin or issues in getting by the slower cars.

“I knew how good our race car was, and I knew I could keep my tires under me, I could control my throttle really well,” Hafertepe said. “I know if I could do that, and I can feel my grip level still good at the end of the race, I know we’re gonna be in a dominant position.

“That’s what I felt like. You don’t pass lapped cars as fast as we’re passing them and not be way faster than the rest of the field.”

Martin held on to cross the finish line in second place behind Hafertepe for the second time in his ASCS career. At Belleville High Banks in July, Martin was runner-up to Hafertepe for the first time in the Saturday night finale. But he takes them as learning experiences.

“Any time you can race someone of that caliber… Sam is the best 360 race car driver in the world, so being able to go wheel-to-wheel with him is super cool,” Martin said. “Growing up coming to Sprint Car races, I always watched him. To be up front for a few laps there; I knew he’d be coming, but it was pretty cool to lead some.”

Coming from ninth on the starting grid, Blake Hahn crossed the stripe third, banking his third-straight podium finish after his win and third-place run in the doubleheader at Lakeside Speedway Friday night.

“Any time we can start ninth and be on the podium is a good night,” Hahn said. “We’ll take that. Following up from last night, getting the win and running third is definitely something to be proud of. If we can keep this momentum going to tomorrow and continue it out the rest of the season, I think we’ll definitely be able to give Sam a run for his money.”

Kansas native Jason Martin crossed the stripe in fourth while Oklahoma racer Roger Crockett drove from seventh on the starting grid to complete the top five.

UP NEXT

The American Sprint Car Series concludes its three-day race weekend with a trip back to Eagle Raceway for the first time since 2019 on Sunday, Sept. 7 for the second annual Stewart Alley Memorial.

Tickets will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[6]; 2. 4-Cameron Martin[3]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn[9]; 4. 36-Jason Martin[5]; 5. 11-Roger Crockett[7]; 6. 95-Matt Covington[2]; 7. 44-Chris Martin[8]; 8. 45X-Kyler Johnson[4]; 9. 2B-Garrett Benson[11]; 10. 2-Chase Porter[14]; 11. 6-Cody Gardner[13]; 12. 23-Seth Bergman[19]; 13. 2C-Brekton Crouch[1]; 14. 42-Caleb Saiz[12]; 15. 91-Scotty Thiel[21]; 16. 10C-Jeremy Campbell[15]; 17. 88R-Ryder Laplante[22]; 18. 1-Sean McClelland[17]; 19. 10-Landon Britt[16]; 20. 5-Ryder McCutcheon[20]; 21. 2J-Zach Blurton[23]; 22. 938-Bradley Fezard[18]; 23. 29-Emilio Hoover[25]; 24. 88-Terry Easum[24]; 25. 71-Brady Baker[10]

ROSSBURG, OH (September 6, 2025) – Over the past half-decade, Ricky Thornton Jr. has gone from a promising young star from the IMCA ranks to one of the most dominant drivers at the highest levels of dirt Late Model racing.

The Chandler, AZ native has been collecting trophies from the sport’s biggest events at an incredible pace, but there was still one glaring hole on his resume – a crown-jewel victory at Eldora Speedway. That was until Saturday night.

After wrestling the lead away from the king of Eldora over the past decade in Jonathan Davenport, Thornton commanded the final 59 laps of the World 100 on the way to the biggest win of his career.

“Bobby [Koehler, team owner] told me a couple months ago there was one race he wanted to win, and it was this one,” Thornton said. “Brand new car, brand new motor, everything on it was new. Kind of put all our eggs in one basket just to try to get better here. Normally I don’t do a very good job here, and I’m just glad we can get him one.”

Thornton broke out his fresh Longhorn Chassis on Sunday night at the Baltes Classic and cruised to a dominant victory, putting the Late Model world on notice heading into World 100 week. “RTJ” wasn’t at his best in preliminary action with finishes of eighth and 11th on Thursday and Friday, respectively, but a fifth-to-first drive in his Heat Race on Saturday was enough to put him on the pole of the biggest race of the year.

That didn’t mean things would come easy in the Feature, as the driver alongside Thornton coming to the green flag was none other than Davenport. On the opening lap, Thornton saw the same sight many before him have seen at Eldora – the No. 49 pulling away into the lead.

Thornton struggled to keep pace with the leader through the first portion of the race, instead dropping to fourth by Lap 8 as Chris Madden and Brandon Overton got by. But a pair of yellows around Lap 40 put Thornton right back in the mix, and he took advantage by getting back to the runner-up spot when the race went back green. That put him right on Davenport’s bumper for the next restart two laps later, which saw Thornton send it to the bottom of Turn 3, clear Davenport exiting the corner and slide into the lead.

“I don’t know if it was determination or what, I got a really good restart, I stayed next to JD and I knew he was going to move up,” Thornton said. “I’m like, ‘alright, if I can just dictate where he’s going to go on this restart.’ We’re all watching that board going into Turn 1, trying to see how much of a gap you have or don’t have. I was able to get by him, and I was running scared probably the next 15 laps.”

The ”running scared” strategy paid off, as his gap to Davenport grew to as large as two seconds through the middle stages of the Feature. That margin was erased when Tim McCreadie slowed with a flat tire with 12 laps to go, setting up a sprint to the finish with the sport’s most prized trophy on the line. Thornton once again powered away to the lead, but the action was quickly paused again for trouble on Madden’s car.

What should have been a battle of the titans between Thornton and Davenport never came to fruition, however, as Davenport came down pit road under the yellow with a flat tire of his own. That handed second to Dale McDowell, who made a remarkable charge through the field from 19th on the grid.

He didn’t have enough to make one more pass though, as Thornton went uncontested the rest of the way and took the checkers to claim the $72,000 top prize.

“We get that last restart and it’s Dale up next to me,” Thornton said. “I’m like, ‘man, I gave my Heat Race away a couple nights ago to Dale, hopefully I can get a good restart and get out front.’ He got under me off of two, and I’m like, ‘man, if he gets in that traction down there, he’s going to drive right by me down the back straightaway.’ But I got a really good start.”

While McDowell came up one spot short of his second globe, his record of first, first and second over the weekend proved that the 59-year-old still has enough left in the tank to battle it out against the best at the “Big E.”

“I mean, I’m dejected a little bit, I’m bridesmaid,” McDowell said. “But you can’t be dejected with this crowd and the best racers in the world here. I’m proud to be a part of it, two firsts and a second over the weekend. Man, I want to get one before I quit.”

Nick Hoffman brought the No. 9 home third after fighting it out in the top five throughout the race, solidifying himself as the only driver to finish on the podium in both the Dirt Late Model Dream and the World 100 in 2025.

“It’s pretty crazy to kind of feel down on myself a little bit running third in the World,” Hoffman said. “It’s pretty wild, but it’s just the standards I hold myself to. I felt super confident coming into today and it just didn’t pan out for me.”

Tyler Erb and Ryan Gustin rounded out the top five, with Gustin establishing a new career best in the event.

Thornton Jr. Scores Long-Awaited First Eldora Crown Jewel in World 100

ROSSBURG, OH (September 6, 2025) – Over the past half-decade, Ricky Thornton Jr. has gone from a promising young star from the IMCA ranks to one of the most dominant drivers at the highest levels of dirt Late Model racing.

The Chandler, AZ native has been collecting trophies from the sport’s biggest events at an incredible pace, but there was still one glaring hole on his resume – a crown-jewel victory at Eldora Speedway. That was until Saturday night.

After wrestling the lead away from the king of Eldora over the past decade in Jonathan Davenport, Thornton commanded the final 59 laps of the World 100 on the way to the biggest win of his career.

“Bobby [Koehler, team owner] told me a couple months ago there was one race he wanted to win, and it was this one,” Thornton said. “Brand new car, brand new motor, everything on it was new. Kind of put all our eggs in one basket just to try to get better here. Normally I don’t do a very good job here, and I’m just glad we can get him one.”

Thornton broke out his fresh Longhorn Chassis on Sunday night at the Baltes Classic and cruised to a dominant victory, putting the Late Model world on notice heading into World 100 week. “RTJ” wasn’t at his best in preliminary action with finishes of eighth and 11th on Thursday and Friday, respectively, but a fifth-to-first drive in his Heat Race on Saturday was enough to put him on the pole of the biggest race of the year.

That didn’t mean things would come easy in the Feature, as the driver alongside Thornton coming to the green flag was none other than Davenport. On the opening lap, Thornton saw the same sight many before him have seen at Eldora – the No. 49 pulling away into the lead.

Thornton struggled to keep pace with the leader through the first portion of the race, instead dropping to fourth by Lap 8 as Chris Madden and Brandon Overton got by. But a pair of yellows around Lap 40 put Thornton right back in the mix, and he took advantage by getting back to the runner-up spot when the race went back green. That put him right on Davenport’s bumper for the next restart two laps later, which saw Thornton send it to the bottom of Turn 3, clear Davenport exiting the corner and slide into the lead.

“I don’t know if it was determination or what, I got a really good restart, I stayed next to JD and I knew he was going to move up,” Thornton said. “I’m like, ‘alright, if I can just dictate where he’s going to go on this restart.’ We’re all watching that board going into Turn 1, trying to see how much of a gap you have or don’t have. I was able to get by him, and I was running scared probably the next 15 laps.”

The ”running scared” strategy paid off, as his gap to Davenport grew to as large as two seconds through the middle stages of the Feature. That margin was erased when Tim McCreadie slowed with a flat tire with 12 laps to go, setting up a sprint to the finish with the sport’s most prized trophy on the line. Thornton once again powered away to the lead, but the action was quickly paused again for trouble on Madden’s car.

What should have been a battle of the titans between Thornton and Davenport never came to fruition, however, as Davenport came down pit road under the yellow with a flat tire of his own. That handed second to Dale McDowell, who made a remarkable charge through the field from 19th on the grid.

He didn’t have enough to make one more pass though, as Thornton went uncontested the rest of the way and took the checkers to claim the $72,000 top prize.

“We get that last restart and it’s Dale up next to me,” Thornton said. “I’m like, ‘man, I gave my Heat Race away a couple nights ago to Dale, hopefully I can get a good restart and get out front.’ He got under me off of two, and I’m like, ‘man, if he gets in that traction down there, he’s going to drive right by me down the back straightaway.’ But I got a really good start.”

While McDowell came up one spot short of his second globe, his record of first, first and second over the weekend proved that the 59-year-old still has enough left in the tank to battle it out against the best at the “Big E.”

“I mean, I’m dejected a little bit, I’m bridesmaid,” McDowell said. “But you can’t be dejected with this crowd and the best racers in the world here. I’m proud to be a part of it, two firsts and a second over the weekend. Man, I want to get one before I quit.”

Nick Hoffman brought the No. 9 home third after fighting it out in the top five throughout the race, solidifying himself as the only driver to finish on the podium in both the Dirt Late Model Dream and the World 100 in 2025.

“It’s pretty crazy to kind of feel down on myself a little bit running third in the World,” Hoffman said. “It’s pretty wild, but it’s just the standards I hold myself to. I felt super confident coming into today and it just didn’t pan out for me.”

Tyler Erb and Ryan Gustin rounded out the top five, with Gustin establishing a new career best in the event.

Feature (100 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell[19]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[16]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[12]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 7. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 8. 22-Chris Ferguson[26]; 9. 32-Bobby Pierce[27]; 10. 96-Tanner English[15]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[9]; 12. 23V-Cory Hedgecock[20]; 13. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 14. 99-Devin Moran[11]; 15. 93-Carson Ferguson[5]; 16. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 17. 25F-Jason Feger[17]; 18. 22X-Drake Troutman[13]; 19. 9M-Tim McCreadie[21]; 20. 74X-Ethan Dotson[14]; 21. 8-Kyle Strickler[22]; 22. 20-Jimmy Owens[18]; 23. 76-Brandon Overton[7]; 24. 10-Garrett Smith[10]; 25. 71-Hudson O’Neal[25]; 26. 58-Garrett Alberson[28]; 27. 111-Max Blair[23]; 28. 11R-Josh Rice[24]

(9/6/25 – Andrew Kunas) Placerville, CA … After leaving for a month to pursue other racing opportunities, Justin Sanders made his triumphant return to the NARC King of the West sprint car scene, as he fought his way through traffic and made a late winning pass to score a $5000 Pay Dirt Showdown victory Saturday at Placerville Speedway.

Sanders started the 30-lap feature outside the second row and early on passed Dylan Bloomfield to move into the third position, before quickly going after pole sitter Justyn Cox for second. Making that move into the runner-up spot, Sanders then set his sights on race leader Sean Becker.

Becker survived an assault by Cox in the opening two laps, withstanding slide job attempts and close quarters between cars on the ¼-mile bullring and then taking off from there with the lead. Becker, however, then was forced to contend with constant traffic on the small oval. That allowed Sanders to close in and challenge during the middle and latter parts of the race.

Becker at times made key passes around slower cars to keep Sanders at bay. As the laps winded down, traffic thickened for Becker and left him struggling to find a path around as the race reached five laps to go. That’s when Sanders finally pounced, getting a run around the bottom side of Turns 3 and 4 as Becker was held up by a pair of slower cars right in front of him. Sanders scooted by Becker as they exited the fourth turn to lead the 26th lap.

Sanders led the final five laps to take his series leading seventh NARC win of the season aboard the Yuba Sutter Aviation-sponsored Mittry Motorsports No. 2x Fisher-powered KPC.

Sanders knew Becker was second in NARC points entering the night and was competing for the championship. Because of that, Sanders said he wanted to pass Becker clean and waited for the opportunity to do so as they raced in traffic.

“Sean was running a good race. He was switching up his lines and really making me think about what I had to do to get closer. I looked up on the board on Lap 23 and I was like ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get this’ and then we got into traffic and I made it stick on the bottom,” said Sanders, who again also praised the Mittry Motorsports team. “Awesome to be back in the 2x. Nice to be back home with these guys. Happy to get another 410 win.”

Bloomfield made the late pass around Becker in the closing laps to take the runner-up spot and finished there aboard the Gary Silva Ranches-sponsored Vertullo Racing No. 83v Kistler-powered Maxim. Saturday’s race was Vertullo Racing’s final NARC start before the team relocates to the Midwest after decades as one of the most recognizable cars in California.

After leading 25 laps, Becker finished third aboard the D&J Construction Rental-sponsored Bjork Construction No. 7b Shaver-powered Maxim and shaved a few points off D.J. Netto’s point lead. After starting on the pole, Cox eventually finished fourth aboard the BERCO Redwood-sponsored Bates Hamilton Racing No. 42x Kistler-powered Maxim. Gauge Garcia ran in the Top 5 throughout and finished fifth in the Monarch Ford-sponsored Keller Motorsports No. 2k Speedway-powered Triple X.

Netto finished sixth to maintain his points lead. Chance Grasty, Jesse Schlotfeldt, Kaleb Montgomery and Bud Kaeding rounded out the Top 10. Montgomery earned the Williams Roofing Hard Charger nod, coming from 16th to finish ninth.

Cox won the Beacon Wealth Strategies Trophy Dash to claim the pole position for the feature. Heat races earlier in the evening were won by Bloomfield, Netto and Cox.

Grasty paced the 23-car field in Automotive Racing Products Qualifying with a time of 10.217 seconds around the ¼-mile bullring clay oval.

Hoosier Racing Tires Feature (30 laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders[4]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[3]; 3. 7B-Sean Becker[2]; 4. 42X-Justyn Cox[1]; 5. 2K-Gauge Garcia[8]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto[6]; 7. X1-Chance Grasty[5]; 8. 21-Jesse Schlotfeldt[9]; 9. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[16]; 10. 29-Bud Kaeding[11]; 11. 83T-Tanner Carrick[13]; 12. 12J-John Clark[12]; 13. 2XM-Max Mittry[17]; 14. 83-Cannon McIntosh[19]; 15. 10-Dominic Gorden[10]; 16. 61-Travis Labat[21]; 17. 9-DJ Freitas[18]; 18. 15-Michael Sellers[22]; 19. 85-AJ Alderman[23]; 20. 14-Mariah Ede[20]; 21. 17-Colby Copeland[7]; 22. 92-Andy Forsberg[15]; 23. 17W-Shane Golobic[14]

METTEC Titanium Lap Leaders: Sean Becker 1-25, Justin Sanders 26-30

Williams Roofing Hard Charger: 3 Kaleb Montgomery, 16th to 9th (+7)

Automotive Racing Products Fast Qualifier (23 cars): X1 Chance Grasty, 10.217 seconds

Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 83v Dylan Bloomfield, 2. X1 Chance Grasty, 3. 2k Gauge Garcia, 4. 12j John Clark, 5. 83t Tanner Carrick, 6. 3 Kaleb Montgomery, 7. 14 Mariah Ede, 8. 15 Michael Sellers.

Kimo’s Tropical Carwash Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 88n D.J. Netto, 2. 2x Justin Sanders, 3. 17 Colby Copeland, 4. 10 Dominic Gorden, 5. 17w Shane Golobic, 6. 2xm Max Mittry, 7. 61 Travis Labat, 8. 85 A.J. Alderman.

WEDG High Performance Karts Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. 42x Justyn Cox, 2. 7b Sean Becker, 3. 21 Jesse Schlotfeldt, 4. 29 Bud Kaeding, 5. 92 Andy Forsberg, 6. 9 D.J. Freitas, 7. 83 Cannon McIntosh.

(9/6/25 – Andrew Kunas) Placerville, CA … After leaving for a month to pursue other racing opportunities, Justin Sanders made his triumphant return to the NARC King of the West sprint car scene, as he fought his way through traffic and made a late winning pass to score a $5000 Pay Dirt Showdown victory Saturday at Placerville Speedway.

Sanders started the 30-lap feature outside the second row and early on passed Dylan Bloomfield to move into the third position, before quickly going after pole sitter Justyn Cox for second. Making that move into the runner-up spot, Sanders then set his sights on race leader Sean Becker.

Becker survived an assault by Cox in the opening two laps, withstanding slide job attempts and close quarters between cars on the ¼-mile bullring and then taking off from there with the lead. Becker, however, then was forced to contend with constant traffic on the small oval. That allowed Sanders to close in and challenge during the middle and latter parts of the race.

Becker at times made key passes around slower cars to keep Sanders at bay. As the laps winded down, traffic thickened for Becker and left him struggling to find a path around as the race reached five laps to go. That’s when Sanders finally pounced, getting a run around the bottom side of Turns 3 and 4 as Becker was held up by a pair of slower cars right in front of him. Sanders scooted by Becker as they exited the fourth turn to lead the 26th lap.

Sanders led the final five laps to take his series leading seventh NARC win of the season aboard the Yuba Sutter Aviation-sponsored Mittry Motorsports No. 2x Fisher-powered KPC.

Sanders knew Becker was second in NARC points entering the night and was competing for the championship. Because of that, Sanders said he wanted to pass Becker clean and waited for the opportunity to do so as they raced in traffic.

“Sean was running a good race. He was switching up his lines and really making me think about what I had to do to get closer. I looked up on the board on Lap 23 and I was like ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get this’ and then we got into traffic and I made it stick on the bottom,” said Sanders, who again also praised the Mittry Motorsports team. “Awesome to be back in the 2x. Nice to be back home with these guys. Happy to get another 410 win.”

Bloomfield made the late pass around Becker in the closing laps to take the runner-up spot and finished there aboard the Gary Silva Ranches-sponsored Vertullo Racing No. 83v Kistler-powered Maxim. Saturday’s race was Vertullo Racing’s final NARC start before the team relocates to the Midwest after decades as one of the most recognizable cars in California.

After leading 25 laps, Becker finished third aboard the D&J Construction Rental-sponsored Bjork Construction No. 7b Shaver-powered Maxim and shaved a few points off D.J. Netto’s point lead. After starting on the pole, Cox eventually finished fourth aboard the BERCO Redwood-sponsored Bates Hamilton Racing No. 42x Kistler-powered Maxim. Gauge Garcia ran in the Top 5 throughout and finished fifth in the Monarch Ford-sponsored Keller Motorsports No. 2k Speedway-powered Triple X.

Netto finished sixth to maintain his points lead. Chance Grasty, Jesse Schlotfeldt, Kaleb Montgomery and Bud Kaeding rounded out the Top 10. Montgomery earned the Williams Roofing Hard Charger nod, coming from 16th to finish ninth.

Cox won the Beacon Wealth Strategies Trophy Dash to claim the pole position for the feature. Heat races earlier in the evening were won by Bloomfield, Netto and Cox.

Grasty paced the 23-car field in Automotive Racing Products Qualifying with a time of 10.217 seconds around the ¼-mile bullring clay oval.

Hoosier Racing Tires Feature (30 laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders[4]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[3]; 3. 7B-Sean Becker[2]; 4. 42X-Justyn Cox[1]; 5. 2K-Gauge Garcia[8]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto[6]; 7. X1-Chance Grasty[5]; 8. 21-Jesse Schlotfeldt[9]; 9. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[16]; 10. 29-Bud Kaeding[11]; 11. 83T-Tanner Carrick[13]; 12. 12J-John Clark[12]; 13. 2XM-Max Mittry[17]; 14. 83-Cannon McIntosh[19]; 15. 10-Dominic Gorden[10]; 16. 61-Travis Labat[21]; 17. 9-DJ Freitas[18]; 18. 15-Michael Sellers[22]; 19. 85-AJ Alderman[23]; 20. 14-Mariah Ede[20]; 21. 17-Colby Copeland[7]; 22. 92-Andy Forsberg[15]; 23. 17W-Shane Golobic[14]

METTEC Titanium Lap Leaders: Sean Becker 1-25, Justin Sanders 26-30

Williams Roofing Hard Charger: 3 Kaleb Montgomery, 16th to 9th (+7)

Automotive Racing Products Fast Qualifier (23 cars): X1 Chance Grasty, 10.217 seconds

Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 83v Dylan Bloomfield, 2. X1 Chance Grasty, 3. 2k Gauge Garcia, 4. 12j John Clark, 5. 83t Tanner Carrick, 6. 3 Kaleb Montgomery, 7. 14 Mariah Ede, 8. 15 Michael Sellers.

Kimo’s Tropical Carwash Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 88n D.J. Netto, 2. 2x Justin Sanders, 3. 17 Colby Copeland, 4. 10 Dominic Gorden, 5. 17w Shane Golobic, 6. 2xm Max Mittry, 7. 61 Travis Labat, 8. 85 A.J. Alderman.

WEDG High Performance Karts Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. 42x Justyn Cox, 2. 7b Sean Becker, 3. 21 Jesse Schlotfeldt, 4. 29 Bud Kaeding, 5. 92 Andy Forsberg, 6. 9 D.J. Freitas, 7. 83 Cannon McIntosh.

Beacon Wealth Strategies – Raymond James Trophy Dash (6 laps): 1. 42x Justyn Cox, 2. 7b Sean Becker, 3. 83v Dylan Bloomfield, 4. 2x Justin Sanders, 5. X1 Chance Grasty, 6. 88n D.J. Netto.

HIGHLAND, IL (September 6, 2025) – All that Jacob Denney has done in 2025 is win.

The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM) driver stood at the top of his car for the 10th time in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season at Highland Speedway to build on his record achievements and clinch his first career Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series title.

“It’s pretty sick,” Denney said. “I expected to win races and contend for the championship, but nothing like we’ve done this year. It’s been amazing, and something you dream about when you’re standing in the shower or something. I gotta thank Kaleb, Tanner, and Grant for that, and Keith for giving me the opportunity to do this. It makes me look good every night, and I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Starting from the Pole Position, Denney took immediate command as Chase McDermand battled Trifecta Motorsports drivers Michael Faccinto and Kameron Key for podium position in the early stages, passing Key for third on Lap 4.

While Faccinto and McDermand exchanged slide jobs around the 0.25-mile bullring, Denney’s No. 67 JBL Audio LynK Chassis benefitted from their duel as he created a massive gap of 4.8 seconds through the first half of the 30-lap Feature.

McDermand got clear with second on Lap 14 as Faccinto had to endure a second podium battle with Gavin Miller, who overtook Faccinto for third by performing a slide job through Turns 3-4 as the halfway signal was displayed.

When the yellow flag was thrown with eight laps remaining, McDermand and Miller each attempted a late-race charge at Denney for the win. While both drivers kept an equal distance to the leader, they did not have a chance to shorten the gap as Denney passed the twin checkered flags for the Saturday night win.

Denney’s double-digit Xtreme Outlaw Midgets triumph puts him in full ownership of second in all-time Series wins while he focuses on capping the year as the first Xtreme Triple Crown champion.

“I just didn’t want to overdo it and get ahead of myself,” Denney said. “Sometimes, when you’re out by yourself, you don’t feel like you’re going faster. But, I just tried to keep the pace I was going until I saw somebody, then turn it up if I need to. It’s a great car, it allows me to run in a comfortable zone all night long, and not really put myself in a risk for doing something dumb.

“Tonight was slick. It was just about getting your momentum as quick as possible, not having to use as much throttle, and keeping the car underneath you. And, I had a great car to do that once again.”

McDermand brought his No. 40X Toyota to the finish in second place, which helped him move up to fourth in the overall Series standings with four races left in the season. The Springfield, IL native also earned an extra $250 as he took the final spot in Challenge Series points.

“I knew I was better than Faccinto, but he just had the preferred lane choice,” McDermand said. “I feel like, on the original start, that allowed him to get clear, and I felt like I was losing a ton of momentum trying to slide him. I had to get him taken care of and get down the road because I felt like everybody was closing up on us, so it was tricky.

“Nobody was able to cross me over when I slid him in (Turn 2), but there was no catching Jacob, he had a really good car and drove a really good race. I was just trying to hit my marks and make sure that I didn’t have anybody coming up behind me.”

Miller finished in third for his second consecutive podium of the Challenge Series finale weekend aboard the No. 97 SoundGear LynK Chassis. The KKM driver from Allentown, PA finishes the 2025 Challenge Series with a fourth-place points standing.

“You just needed to make smart decisions to get by those guys,” Miller said. “I tried different lines at first until I figured out the top was really good and we got better there at the end. I was a little free there the duration of the race, but nonetheless, I thought the car was good. Beau, Phil Spencer and I have been on a roll lately, and I feel like its paying off.”

With the 2025 edition of the Challenge Series officially complete, the top five in the standings include Karter Sarff in the runner-up position and rookie Kameron Key in third place.

Recap Notes:

Smith Titanium Quick Time Award: Gavin Miller

Toyota Heat 1 Winner: Michael Faccinto

CASM Safety Products Heat 2 Winner: Chase McDermand

TJ Forged Heat 3 Winner: Kameron Key

High-Point Driver: Jacob Denney

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Kyle Jones

Summit Racing Equipment Hard Charger Award: Kyle Jones (+8)

Honest Abe Roofing 16th Place Finisher: Trevor Cline

Up Next: The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets enter the penultimate weekend of the 2025 season as the final Illinois trip of the year has the Series visiting Jacksonville Speedway for the Honest Abe Roofing Open Wheel Showdown on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4.

JACKSONVILLE TICKETS

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.

Jacob Denney Clinches Xtreme-POWRi Challenge Series Title, Bags 10th Victory of 2025 at Highland

HIGHLAND, IL (September 6, 2025) – All that Jacob Denney has done in 2025 is win.

The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM) driver stood at the top of his car for the 10th time in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season at Highland Speedway to build on his record achievements and clinch his first career Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series title.

“It’s pretty sick,” Denney said. “I expected to win races and contend for the championship, but nothing like we’ve done this year. It’s been amazing, and something you dream about when you’re standing in the shower or something. I gotta thank Kaleb, Tanner, and Grant for that, and Keith for giving me the opportunity to do this. It makes me look good every night, and I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Starting from the Pole Position, Denney took immediate command as Chase McDermand battled Trifecta Motorsports drivers Michael Faccinto and Kameron Key for podium position in the early stages, passing Key for third on Lap 4.

While Faccinto and McDermand exchanged slide jobs around the 0.25-mile bullring, Denney’s No. 67 JBL Audio LynK Chassis benefitted from their duel as he created a massive gap of 4.8 seconds through the first half of the 30-lap Feature.

McDermand got clear with second on Lap 14 as Faccinto had to endure a second podium battle with Gavin Miller, who overtook Faccinto for third by performing a slide job through Turns 3-4 as the halfway signal was displayed.

When the yellow flag was thrown with eight laps remaining, McDermand and Miller each attempted a late-race charge at Denney for the win. While both drivers kept an equal distance to the leader, they did not have a chance to shorten the gap as Denney passed the twin checkered flags for the Saturday night win.

Denney’s double-digit Xtreme Outlaw Midgets triumph puts him in full ownership of second in all-time Series wins while he focuses on capping the year as the first Xtreme Triple Crown champion.

“I just didn’t want to overdo it and get ahead of myself,” Denney said. “Sometimes, when you’re out by yourself, you don’t feel like you’re going faster. But, I just tried to keep the pace I was going until I saw somebody, then turn it up if I need to. It’s a great car, it allows me to run in a comfortable zone all night long, and not really put myself in a risk for doing something dumb.

“Tonight was slick. It was just about getting your momentum as quick as possible, not having to use as much throttle, and keeping the car underneath you. And, I had a great car to do that once again.”

McDermand brought his No. 40X Toyota to the finish in second place, which helped him move up to fourth in the overall Series standings with four races left in the season. The Springfield, IL native also earned an extra $250 as he took the final spot in Challenge Series points.

“I knew I was better than Faccinto, but he just had the preferred lane choice,” McDermand said. “I feel like, on the original start, that allowed him to get clear, and I felt like I was losing a ton of momentum trying to slide him. I had to get him taken care of and get down the road because I felt like everybody was closing up on us, so it was tricky.

“Nobody was able to cross me over when I slid him in (Turn 2), but there was no catching Jacob, he had a really good car and drove a really good race. I was just trying to hit my marks and make sure that I didn’t have anybody coming up behind me.”

Miller finished in third for his second consecutive podium of the Challenge Series finale weekend aboard the No. 97 SoundGear LynK Chassis. The KKM driver from Allentown, PA finishes the 2025 Challenge Series with a fourth-place points standing.

“You just needed to make smart decisions to get by those guys,” Miller said. “I tried different lines at first until I figured out the top was really good and we got better there at the end. I was a little free there the duration of the race, but nonetheless, I thought the car was good. Beau, Phil Spencer and I have been on a roll lately, and I feel like its paying off.”

With the 2025 edition of the Challenge Series officially complete, the top five in the standings include Karter Sarff in the runner-up position and rookie Kameron Key in third place.

Recap Notes:

Smith Titanium Quick Time Award: Gavin Miller

Toyota Heat 1 Winner: Michael Faccinto

CASM Safety Products Heat 2 Winner: Chase McDermand

TJ Forged Heat 3 Winner: Kameron Key

High-Point Driver: Jacob Denney

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Kyle Jones

Summit Racing Equipment Hard Charger Award: Kyle Jones (+8)

Honest Abe Roofing 16th Place Finisher: Trevor Cline

Up Next: The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets enter the penultimate weekend of the 2025 season as the final Illinois trip of the year has the Series visiting Jacksonville Speedway for the Honest Abe Roofing Open Wheel Showdown on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4.

JACKSONVILLE TICKETS

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 (30 Laps): 1. 67-Jacob Denney[1]; 2. 40-Chase McDermand[4]; 3. 97-Gavin Miller[6]; 4. 9U-Kameron Key[5]; 5. 21K-Karter Sarff[7]; 6. 94-Hayden Wise[10]; 7. 16-Zach Daum[14]; 8. 5U-Michael Faccinto[3]; 9. 7X-Kyle Jones[17]; 10. 67K-Colton Robinson[15]; 11. 72-Alex Karpowicz[19]; 12. 32-Trey Marcham[13]; 13. 98K-Brandon Carr[9]; 14. 77-Joe Wirth[8]; 15. 71K-Brecken Reese[16]; 16. 55-Trevor Cline[11]; 17. 97X-Will Armitage[12]; 18. 44-Branigan Roark[18]; 19. 56X-Mark Chisholm[21]; 20. 91-Mitchell Davis[22]; 21. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[2]; 22. 05-Alex Midkiff[20]

No. 33 Corvette to start fifth in class for WEC’s American stop AUSTIN, Texas (September 6, 2025) – TF Sport’s No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start a season-best fifth in LMGT3 on Sunday for the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas.

Home-state hero Ben Keating put the Corvette into the top-10 after the first session, and Jonny Edgar piloted the No. 33 Z06 GT3.R to the third row in Saturday’s dual qualifying session. The duo, plus Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella, will look to return to the podium in the WEC’s lone race in North America. The trio sit third in the class Drivers Championship on the strength of a season-opening victory at Qatar. Edgar is making his COTA debut, Keating hasn’t raced a Corvette at the circuit before, and Juncadella finished in the points last year for TF Sport. Tom Van Rompuy just missed making the Hyperpole round – by 0.151 seconds – in the No. 81 Corvette that he drives with Rui Andrade and Corvette factory teammate Charlie Eastwood. The trio is coming off two straight podium finishes – third at Le Mans and second place at Sāo Paulo to move up to fifth in points.

Corvette Racing Media Resources Documents | Statistics | Photos | Factory Driver Bios | Chevrolet Newsroom

The session featured mixed conditions with intermittent rain and a drying track toward the end, allowing drivers that started their final laps close to the end of the session getting the best of it. The six-hour Lone Star Le Mans is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. Full, live coverage is available on the MotorTrend and the MAX app in the United States.

TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING QUOTESJONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m pretty happy with P5. It’s our best starting spot this year so that’s always good. It was a very difficult session with the already a bit of a damp track at the start and then drying throughout. It was pretty hard to get the tires warm. But I think we always use our tires better and the Corvette is better in the race. So yeah, we can be happy with P5 as it’s a good place to start for the race.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Really challenging conditions. Because of the Texas heat this weekend, we’re here on the hard Goodyear. In these conditions it’s really, really difficult to get heat in the hard Goodyear on a damp track. So it was a challenging condition. Because I was getting a little bit more heat in the tire every lap, I was gaining three, four, five seconds per lap. I was just glad I didn’t end up in the gravel or in the wall somewhere. The car was sliding all over the place, but really happy to end up in Hyperpole and super proud of Johnny to end up P5. Hyperpole for us was a big deal. The Corvette is way better on a double-stint… two hours in the car with the one set of tires. Some of the other cars turn on their tire faster than we do. I don’t care about qualifying as much as I care about the race. I’d rather have our car for the race. I think we do.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was a tough qualy, also with the conditions going from wet to drying. It was also really hard to judge where the limit was. I was already sliding then also bumped into quite a bit of traffic during my run. So yeah, not a result I was hoping for but it is a six-hour race, so I think it we can only move up ahead. We hope to have a better day tomorrow and still end up on the podium.”

Corvette Racing at COTA: By the Numbers• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at COTA since 2013 – Corvette C6.R (2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the mid-engine Corvette C8.R – which raced at COTA for the first time in WEC competition in 2020 – and Z06 GT3.R, both of which are eighth-gen Corvettes• 5: Class wins at COTA for Corvette Racing entries in two championships: IMSA and GT World Challenge America. The latest came this year from DXDT Racing in GT World Challenge America Pro-Am• 11: Wins this year for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R including two earlier this year at Circuit of The Americas• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 32: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 39: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Ross Chouest in GT America at Road America• 72: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Olivier Hart for Steller Motorsport at the 24 Hours of Spa• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 148: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 117 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, four in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia and one each in the European Le Mans Series and GT America• 360: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 5,474: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its eight previous events at Circuit of The Americas. That represents more than 30 trips across the Texas Panhandle.• 447,340.24: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back! Corvette Racing at Circuit of The Americas (wins in bold)2013 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C6.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 11th in GT 2014 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 9th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 10th in GTLM 2014 – FIA WECNo. 65 Corvette C7.R: Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor/Ricky Taylor – 7th in GTE Pro 2015 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 8th in GTLM 2016 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 5th in GTLM 2017 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 7th in GTLM 2020 – FIA WECNo. 63 Corvette C8.R: Jan Magnussen/Mike Rockenfeller: 6th in GTE Pro 2024 – GT World ChallengeNo. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 1st,1st in ProNo. 08 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Bryan Sellers/Scott Smithson – 6th, 11th in Pro-Am 2024 – FIA World Endurance ChampionshipNo. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 16th in LMGT3No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Daniel Juncadella/Sebastien Baud/Hiroshi Koizumi – 8th in LMGT3 2025 – GT World ChallengeNo. 11 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Blake McDonald – 1st, 3rd in Pro-AmNo. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest/Aaron Povoledo – 8th, 11th in Pro-AmNo. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest – 4th, 3rd in GT America SRO3

CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: Hometown Hyperpole BerthNo. 33 Corvette to start fifth in class for WEC’s American stop AUSTIN, Texas (September 6, 2025) – TF Sport’s No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start a season-best fifth in LMGT3 on Sunday for the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas.

Home-state hero Ben Keating put the Corvette into the top-10 after the first session, and Jonny Edgar piloted the No. 33 Z06 GT3.R to the third row in Saturday’s dual qualifying session. The duo, plus Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella, will look to return to the podium in the WEC’s lone race in North America. The trio sit third in the class Drivers Championship on the strength of a season-opening victory at Qatar. Edgar is making his COTA debut, Keating hasn’t raced a Corvette at the circuit before, and Juncadella finished in the points last year for TF Sport. Tom Van Rompuy just missed making the Hyperpole round – by 0.151 seconds – in the No. 81 Corvette that he drives with Rui Andrade and Corvette factory teammate Charlie Eastwood. The trio is coming off two straight podium finishes – third at Le Mans and second place at Sāo Paulo to move up to fifth in points.

Corvette Racing Media Resources Documents | Statistics | Photos | Factory Driver Bios | Chevrolet Newsroom

The session featured mixed conditions with intermittent rain and a drying track toward the end, allowing drivers that started their final laps close to the end of the session getting the best of it. The six-hour Lone Star Le Mans is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. Full, live coverage is available on the MotorTrend and the MAX app in the United States.

TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING QUOTESJONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m pretty happy with P5. It’s our best starting spot this year so that’s always good. It was a very difficult session with the already a bit of a damp track at the start and then drying throughout. It was pretty hard to get the tires warm. But I think we always use our tires better and the Corvette is better in the race. So yeah, we can be happy with P5 as it’s a good place to start for the race.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Really challenging conditions. Because of the Texas heat this weekend, we’re here on the hard Goodyear. In these conditions it’s really, really difficult to get heat in the hard Goodyear on a damp track. So it was a challenging condition. Because I was getting a little bit more heat in the tire every lap, I was gaining three, four, five seconds per lap. I was just glad I didn’t end up in the gravel or in the wall somewhere. The car was sliding all over the place, but really happy to end up in Hyperpole and super proud of Johnny to end up P5. Hyperpole for us was a big deal. The Corvette is way better on a double-stint… two hours in the car with the one set of tires. Some of the other cars turn on their tire faster than we do. I don’t care about qualifying as much as I care about the race. I’d rather have our car for the race. I think we do.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was a tough qualy, also with the conditions going from wet to drying. It was also really hard to judge where the limit was. I was already sliding then also bumped into quite a bit of traffic during my run. So yeah, not a result I was hoping for but it is a six-hour race, so I think it we can only move up ahead. We hope to have a better day tomorrow and still end up on the podium.”

Corvette Racing at COTA: By the Numbers• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at COTA since 2013 – Corvette C6.R (2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the mid-engine Corvette C8.R – which raced at COTA for the first time in WEC competition in 2020 – and Z06 GT3.R, both of which are eighth-gen Corvettes• 5: Class wins at COTA for Corvette Racing entries in two championships: IMSA and GT World Challenge America. The latest came this year from DXDT Racing in GT World Challenge America Pro-Am• 11: Wins this year for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R including two earlier this year at Circuit of The Americas• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 32: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 39: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Ross Chouest in GT America at Road America• 72: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Olivier Hart for Steller Motorsport at the 24 Hours of Spa• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 148: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 117 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, four in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia and one each in the European Le Mans Series and GT America• 360: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 5,474: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its eight previous events at Circuit of The Americas. That represents more than 30 trips across the Texas Panhandle.• 447,340.24: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back! Corvette Racing at Circuit of The Americas (wins in bold)2013 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C6.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 11th in GT 2014 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 9th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 10th in GTLM 2014 – FIA WECNo. 65 Corvette C7.R: Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor/Ricky Taylor – 7th in GTE Pro 2015 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 8th in GTLM 2016 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 5th in GTLM 2017 – IMSANo. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen: 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner: 7th in GTLM 2020 – FIA WECNo. 63 Corvette C8.R: Jan Magnussen/Mike Rockenfeller: 6th in GTE Pro 2024 – GT World ChallengeNo. 63 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Alec Udell – 1st,1st in ProNo. 08 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Bryan Sellers/Scott Smithson – 6th, 11th in Pro-Am 2024 – FIA World Endurance ChampionshipNo. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 16th in LMGT3No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Daniel Juncadella/Sebastien Baud/Hiroshi Koizumi – 8th in LMGT3 2025 – GT World ChallengeNo. 11 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Blake McDonald – 1st, 3rd in Pro-AmNo. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest/Aaron Povoledo – 8th, 11th in Pro-AmNo. 50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Ross Chouest – 4th, 3rd in GT America SRO3

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercars miss out on Hyperpole at COTA AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 6, 2025) – Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s pole run in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) ended at two impressive races. With a persistent drizzle creating tricky conditions for the 18-car Hypercar field on the already challenging 5.513-kilometer (3.426-mile), 20-turn Circuit of the Americas course, the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R qualified 16th and the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R driven by Alex Lynn qualified 17th for Sunday’s six-hour Lone Star Le Mans.

Lynn had earned the pole the past two races and teamed with Norman Nato and Will Stevens to secure Cadillac Racing’s maiden WEC victory in mid-July at Interlagos. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R had also advanced to the 10-car Hyperpole in each of the previous five races, qualifying four times in the top five. Still, Cadillac enters the sixth of eight rounds of WEC competition in second place in the Manufacturers Championship and the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R roster is third in the Drivers Championship standings. A solid points day for both entries to remain in the title hunt is the objective. The 12-minute qualifying was declared wet by Race Control and lap times were well off the pace of the three free practice sessions on a dry, hot racing surface as all the Hypercars left pit lane on Michelin slicks. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R paced the field in the initial free practice session Friday at 1 minute, 53.584 seconds. Lynn brought the No. 12 entry to pit lane for rain tires with 5:40 left in the session and Bamber followed two laps later. But both drivers ran out of time to record a lap quick enough to crack the top 10 and move on to Hyperpole. The No. 83 Ferrari 499P registered a best lap of 1:57.655 in the shootout to earn the pole. Media resources: Cadillac at COTA photos | All-time statistics | 2025 WEC statistics Notes: The No. 12 hybrid racecar has scored points in every race, including fifth, fourth and first the past three outings. … The No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, which recorded the runner-up finish in Brazil with Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button behind the wheel, has advanced to Hyperpole in four of the six races. … The race marks the 50th in the WEC for Lynn, whose birthday is September 17. … In 2024, Cadillac Racing’s lone Hypercar entry qualified third and finished a season-high fourth at COTA. …  Bamber is a two-time winner at COTA (IMSA GTLM in 2016 and WEC LMP1 in 2017).

The race will be telecast in the U.S. on MotorTrend, the MAX app, FIA WEC app and broadcast on Radio Le Mans. Additionally, streaming from the cockpit of the Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs will be available HERE.

What they’re saying

Rain creates tricky qualifying for CadillacCadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercars miss out on Hyperpole at COTA AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 6, 2025) – Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s pole run in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) ended at two impressive races. With a persistent drizzle creating tricky conditions for the 18-car Hypercar field on the already challenging 5.513-kilometer (3.426-mile), 20-turn Circuit of the Americas course, the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R qualified 16th and the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R driven by Alex Lynn qualified 17th for Sunday’s six-hour Lone Star Le Mans.

Lynn had earned the pole the past two races and teamed with Norman Nato and Will Stevens to secure Cadillac Racing’s maiden WEC victory in mid-July at Interlagos. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R had also advanced to the 10-car Hyperpole in each of the previous five races, qualifying four times in the top five. Still, Cadillac enters the sixth of eight rounds of WEC competition in second place in the Manufacturers Championship and the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R roster is third in the Drivers Championship standings. A solid points day for both entries to remain in the title hunt is the objective. The 12-minute qualifying was declared wet by Race Control and lap times were well off the pace of the three free practice sessions on a dry, hot racing surface as all the Hypercars left pit lane on Michelin slicks. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R paced the field in the initial free practice session Friday at 1 minute, 53.584 seconds. Lynn brought the No. 12 entry to pit lane for rain tires with 5:40 left in the session and Bamber followed two laps later. But both drivers ran out of time to record a lap quick enough to crack the top 10 and move on to Hyperpole. The No. 83 Ferrari 499P registered a best lap of 1:57.655 in the shootout to earn the pole. Media resources: Cadillac at COTA photos | All-time statistics | 2025 WEC statistics Notes: The No. 12 hybrid racecar has scored points in every race, including fifth, fourth and first the past three outings. … The No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, which recorded the runner-up finish in Brazil with Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button behind the wheel, has advanced to Hyperpole in four of the six races. … The race marks the 50th in the WEC for Lynn, whose birthday is September 17. … In 2024, Cadillac Racing’s lone Hypercar entry qualified third and finished a season-high fourth at COTA. …  Bamber is a two-time winner at COTA (IMSA GTLM in 2016 and WEC LMP1 in 2017).

The race will be telecast in the U.S. on MotorTrend, the MAX app, FIA WEC app and broadcast on Radio Le Mans. Additionally, streaming from the cockpit of the Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs will be available HERE.

What they’re saying

Dieter Gass, team principal: “Not a great session for us. The conditions were right between wet and dry tires. We know that compared to the opposition we struggle with tire warming, therefore we decided to commit to wets at one point in the session. Unfortunately, from that point onwards, the track seemed to improve slightly, which favored slick tires and put us down to the bottom of the classification. Not our day.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES SEPTEMBER 6, 2025

Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at World Wide Technology Raceway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESWORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESSEPTEMBER 6, 2025

Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at World Wide Technology Raceway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:  You’re averaging the third-most points on this type of track, the shorter flat tracks, this year. Why do you feel like you excel at these types of venues?“That’s a good question. I’m not sure. I feel like I’m comfortable with whatever we’re doing with the cars. Just confidence and giving good feedback. The guys are giving me good race cars and it’s just probably a strong suit for us right now at RCR. I guess that’s the best way to answer it. I do feel really comfortable and feel like my feedback is good.”   You finished sixth here last year and Kyle (Busch) won here the year before, so how much of an opportunity is this weekend to get above the cutline?“It’s huge. You know, last week was very disappointing because I felt like we had a great week to capitalize. We really executed in practice and qualifying. Qualifying ninth, that was a big start for us. We didn’t do a great job in the race of taking advantage of that. I feel like we should be above the cutline because of all the stuff that went down last week. ‘Execution’ was the main word that I used at media day. We executed partly… half of it. Getting through that race, we’re only eight away from the cutline, so it’s not insurmountable. I feel really good about these next two races. So yes, Gateway is huge for us. I think that qualifying today, again, if we can execute like we did at Darlington — this is a place that is tougher to pass than Darlington. Maintaining track position is a bit easier because of that, but you also have to do a really good job in strategy and different things. I think the past history of Kyle (Busch) running really well here and winning. Last year, we had a very fast car and we were able to take advantage of that and finish sixth, like you said, and score stage points. If we score some stage points and finish in the top-10, I feel like we’ll go into Bristol just above the cutline, and then we’ve got to do the same thing there.”   You’ve been fast at this point of the season, the end of the summer, this year and last year. What is it about RCR that you kind of build up to the end of the summer, start of the playoffs, or is it just kind of the team getting fast at the right time?“It’s funny. I think we come out swinging, we kind of take a dip and then we come back. I think RC has to yell at us at the right time, I guess, and then we get going again. I don’t know why that is. I’d really love to figure that out, solve for it, but at least we’re finding speed at the right time, like you talked about, because I think that’s key in this sport now and in every sport. Momentum is big I’m proud of our organization for the speed that we have brought the last couple weeks. You saw Kyle (Busch) and AJ (Allmendinger) run well last week. It shows us that we were capable of doing that. We kind of got burnt last week on that last caution. I mean, we were on pit road when the yellow fell and we were the wave around. We had just started coming forward pretty good. We were up to 18th. I think we would have finished the race 14th, if that cycle would have gone through.”   There’s been some talk about changing the rule next year for the fastest lap for the point, like whether you have to be on the lead lap or not. You’re probably somebody who loves kind of love the challenge of getting the car back on track, kind of old school racer mentality. I’m curious how you view that?So did Josh (Berry) end up getting the fast lap last week and it counted toward the playoffs? Yeah, that’s impressive. So yeah, I guess you don’t want to be in that situation either way, but it is a consolation prize, somewhat. So yeah, they probably got to look at it, as far as is it the true fast lap of the race? You know, that’s probably the toughest part because — yeah, you pump up the tires, you go rip one lap off, you’re going to be quick time. It’s just part of it. You’re running qualifying air and low on fuel. I mean, you guys see what we do from practice to qualifying every week and how much faster we go. Yeah, it probably needs to be adjusted.”   Austin Cindric was in here a little bit earlier. He doesn’t really think these flat tracks are in the grouping that a lot of us perceive him to be…  like Gateway, New Hampshire, Phoenix are more different. What’s your perspective on that? When we watch this tomorrow, how much can we be like, all right, this guy was good here, so Phoenix, New Hampshire, they’ll probably be good there… how much does that really translate?“I think there is definitely connections to certain aspects. I think I look at it more of like the asphalt degradation stuff,  so tracks that really burn up tires and then tracks that have a high grip level. I think this (World Wide Technology Raceway) has a high grip level. I think Phoenix has a high grip level. So I look at Penske, they consistently run well in places that I feel like tires are less attractive in the situation. That’s where I feel like they run well. Like, you go to a higher degradation place, they seem to struggle a little bit in those places. But I wouldn’t look at it like — if you run good here, I do not think that it really translates to New Hampshire at all, just because the asphalt is so old and rough and this place is pretty smooth. So that’s another part of it to look at, like look at how smooth the track is and how rough a track is. Those things play more into what a company I feel like brings consistently to a track, like who really has a good shock package because the tracks are rough. At a smoother track, well, then they’re probably a little more rigid than most places and they really do a good job on their aero platform. Those are the type of things that I would look at instead of clumping certain tracks together.”   What were your thoughts on Gateway getting added to the playoffs? With turns one and two being so different than three and four, what are some of the challenges this place presents? “It’s a very different type of track. It’s a cool track. I think you’re shifting a lot more than most places here. Strategy is very important. Two tires, no tires, fuel only, all come into play here. It is cooler than what we normally race here, so I think strategy is even that much more important. But it’s a great facility. They give great gifts to the drivers. I’ve got an awesome chrome bat with my name on it, some cookies and all kinds of stuff, so they’re like P1 on my charts for gifts, so far (laughs). So yeah, it’s a cool place.”   I know it’s a way out, but the forecast for Bristol is pretty mild. It could be somewhat chilly at night, so how nervous are you that the tire situation could be one of those crazy degradation races if it’s just cool enough to trigger that?“It definitely could happen. I feel like they have a good grasp on what makes that happen or not, and I think it has to do with the amount of PJ1 that they use or the type they use. The resin didn’t work. I feel like if they use nothing, like if they make a really light pass across the track with that and they don’t put that PJ1 down within that three-foot, four-foot range on the bottom, then there’s a good shot that that tire degradation stuff happens, like if they just put less down.  So that’s what I think. Every time they try not to put that stuff down on the bottom, then it’s going to really marble up and do all that crazy tire stuff. So yeah, that would be interesting. That would throw a little ding in the plans and change the game a little bit, if that happens.”    With your bigger involvement with the organization, does that and any of that go back to your experiences with the bull riding team and getting more involved? And if so, how so? Is it easy to maybe see how busy you are that that’s more of a ceremonial position with the bull riding team?“At this point, I wish it was ceremonial sometimes (laughs). But I’m constantly working pretty good with those guys… team psychologist sometimes. We’re struggling right now for the first time But I’ve learned a lot, man. I’ve learned a ton. It’s interesting from that side of it. I probably feel for my grandfather at certain times a lot more because a lot of things are out of your control in the end. You’re trying to put together the greatest teams and the greatest group of guys you can, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. You got to stick with your people. You got to be there for them when it matters. It makes you grow up a lot in that position. So yeah, I think it’s been helpful, and I think it allows me to sympathize with him on certain things. You learn a lot from that, so it’s good.”   What is Austin Dillon, team psychologist, like?“I’m just trying to be there for my guys, like a team. I’ve been in a lot of sports settings. You guys always talk about Little League World Series. I had some great coaches and some great teammates. Sports, in general, have shaped the person I feel like I am. I’ve had some great race teams that I’ve won championships with, and I still have relationships with those guys. It goes a long way. The current team I have is a great team. I have a great crew chief and leader. It’s a long season. It’s a grind. You go up through ups and downs, and you lose a lot.  You know, winning is a blessing and a curse. It teaches you — when you’re winning all the time, it’s hard to understand certain things. So when you lose, it really teaches you a lot more. And yeah, so you learn a lot more of what kind of person you are when you lose, and who the people you have around you. Winning is great and easy… everybody loves you. But when you start to struggle, those are the people that — the guy that comes out of that, that’s the person I want to be around because no matter what adversity they hit, they’re going to come out the other side of it. As you go through those things, you’re not going to win constantly. The best in the world; there’s only a few of those people, the goats, that do it. But at some point in their career, they probably lost, and they figured it out earlier than most.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES SEPTEMBER 6, 2025

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at World Wide Technology Raceway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:  Another reason you’re probably in here is because this is the track that gave you a big break in a way, but I’d also like to know why you are addicted to buying cars that look like NASCAR’s now. Is your accountant okay with this? Why is this happening?I“I’ve always wanted street legal cars as a kid. Kalamazoo Speedway, where I was from, the owner had one of the Intimidator SS’s and I thought that was like the coolest thing in the world. Every time I look at Facebook Marketplace, it seems like there’s more and more coming up. Either my algorithms knowing it or people are making these cars knowing I’ll probably buy them. I was literally in the hauler a minute ago looking at another one. I just enjoy cars, but I enjoy NASCAR’s, too. It’s a lot of fun when you drive it. The Dale truck — I blew a tire and I think I got 100 honks and ‘hell yeahs’, ‘Go Dale’ and stuff like that. I haven’t driven the Oldsmobile yet on the road, so I’m curious about that reaction. It’s pretty awesome. It’s a history of NASCAR, but also it’s super fun. The first time I drove the Dale truck, I had about six people walk over to me. I was stuck at a gas station for an hour. We just talked NASCAR. I think that’s what I’ve most enjoyed with it.” I understand you’re going to be part of a new documentary called ‘Rising’ that kind of chronicles three up-and-coming drivers in the circuit. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on that and just your overall racing journey from creating stop motions as a kid to being a Cup Series driver now…“Yeah, ultimately you always want to show people more of the insights and everything. I remember as a kid buying every DVD I could find of mini-docs. I think Kasey Kahen had one. Tony (Stewart) had one. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had plenty, and obviously Dale Earnhardt Sr. had a lot of them. That’s what made me a fan of a lot of drivers or really just keep in racing. The more we can do of that as a sport is big, and for me to be a part of it is super cool. It’s been a lot of fun to open up a lot on that. I’m just excited for a lot of people to see it when it comes out.”   You made some headlines last week with some contact with the No. 9 car. Have you all discussed that or is it kind of just in the past and move forward to Gateway?“Yeah, I mean you just move on. It was super early. It didn’t affect either one of us I don’t think too bad. You just move on. One thinks you’re going to give a little bit of extra room, and the other you’re trying to kind of play a pick. I think that’s just racing.”   Have you ever thought about having iRacing as a sponsor livery or like a future partnership? “Yeah, I mean it would be cool, for sure, because obviously I use it a lot. But for how I drive on iRacing, I don’t think I’m their brightest shining ambassador they would want, per se a little bit, so I kind of understand that too.”    I imagine I probably know the answer, but I know Christopher (Bell) was a little upset with the scenario in pit road last week. I’m just wondering, was there any conversations with your team from him that you’re aware of or not?“Yeah, my crew chief (Luke Lambert) and Adam Stevens talked and they were all good. Obviously, you know heat of the moment, everybody can share their frustration, but they talked and they were all good. Drivers, most of the time on pit road, are kind of just blind, per se, right? It’s more on the crew chiefs from that aspect to guide us in and out, so they had that conversation and I think they’re plenty good moving forward.”   Do you remember the buzz surrounding your Cup debut here?“I do, yeah. I remember a lot of that that day. It was a lot of fun. It’s pretty crazy what it was like. I don’t know if there was a lot of buzz at the start, but I remember when I got out of the car, there was a lot of moving pieces on my end that it was all a very quick 180 of trying to sign an extension on my truck deal to legitimately getting the conversation started about driving a Cup car within 70 laps, which was pretty wild.”   In a lot of cases, when you have an opportunity like that, some guys — I mean on the other side of that, Corey (LaJoie) had a great opportunity that day but you were in secondary equipment and really kind of started making a name for yourself. At what point did that sink in?“I mean I was just very nervous about being slow. If I wrecked or ran 30th, I think it wouldn’t have been a shock, but if I ran really fast, I think that would have been the shock and the needle mover, per se. Luckily when the brake rotor broke, I was moving forward and we were like 15th or 16th, which I thought helped me a little bit theoretically because like a month later, it was like we were running eighth-place lap times. And then like two months later, the stories were that we were going to run top-five. And then you know six months later, we were going to win the race. I’m like — these are getting out of control a little bit. But it kind of helped a little bit of just kind of that ‘what-if’ aspect that I thought may Spire Motorsports hungrier to be aggressive and want to make that change for me being in the No. 77. I would have liked to see how that day played out, but honestly, I thought it couldn’t work out any better.”    I talked to Kyle Busch last week and he said when he races in the Xfinity and Truck Series against those drivers — when they can keep up with him, when they can beat him, when they can contend with him, he knows that they’re ready to make the jump. What did you feel when you were racing against Cup guys that would come to Truck and how would you kind of grade yourself against them?“Yeah, I mean I think any time you’re racing a Cup driver in Trucks or Xfinity, you know ultimately their owners are watching that and that’s how they really grade it. When there are no Cup guys in the field, I mean you could win 10 of them but if you if you go 0-10 — you know, split half and half, you go 10-0 against no Cup guys but you go 0-10 against Cup guys, I think that’s what a lot of teams really look at. You’re still really good but I think that is a true grade. (Jeff) Dickerson and I talk about it all the time because obviously he was an agent in there and he was there when the top-10 of Xfinity would be all Cup guys and — you’d be lucky to run 12th and you’d be pumped because you’re best in class. So yeah, I don’t think we need to get back there but I definitely think it would make it a lot easier. You know, I’m here because I got to go join the Cup field and race against them; got thrown to the deep end and I didn’t sink right away. So yeah, I think that’s the biggest thing is if I never got that shot, I would just be hoping Cup guys would come run Trucks and maybe I can outrun them. I remember Sonoma when I won the pole, there were like four Cup guys right behind me and that Truck pole meant a lot more because of that.”    This is a narrow pit road… I think the tightest on the circuit. What’s the challenge? What’s it like on from the driver’s perspective?“I mean, I just wrecked last week on pit road, so I’m pumped now that you say that (laughs).  It’s so tough now because we pit a lot more. Somebody asked me a while ago because it was becoming like every week that there were accidents or issues on pit road – you just think everybody’s so much more competitive now. I remember watching Cup races and there’d be nine to 14 guys on the lead lap and they all picked not even close to each other. And now, there will be 32 on the lead lap and you pit 10 times together because there’s stages and cautions. There’s less green flag stops. We’ll go weeks — I remember the first eight races, I was like, shoot I haven’t even done a green flag stop… I don’t really remember how to do it. So I think that’s the biggest thing that makes it even more challenging but I just think it’s maybe less because it’s so normal now to come down pit road; there’s 32 guys and they’re all competitive too. The stops are faster too… you know, they’re not sitting there for 14 to 17 seconds and the bad guys are maybe 18 to 19 seconds. I mean, the dead last place car is still pitting nine-second pit stops. It’s just so competitive, from the pit stops to the drivers and the cars now, that I think it’s just so common now. When you tighten it up like this, we’re kind of used to it now.”   To come back from a spin and finish top-10 at a place like Darlington, how personally significant was that to you, or was that more of a – boy, what could have been if I didn’t spin? How did you look at it last week?“I mean, I don’t know. The Toyota’s were super-fast. So yeah, I don’t think there was any like ‘what-ifs’. I think the only ‘what-ifs’ is if we could have ran best in class, from the Chevy aspect, to run like fifth or sixth versus ninth. But yeah, I was still really happy with that and the turnaround — to be able to go from like pretty good to the worst driving car I felt like I’ve ever had for a minute and then we put two-tenths of air or something and be pretty good right.  I think that’s really been our year a little bit, is just being able to — I always mentioned Jeff (Dickerson) but I mean he’s just who I talk to 24-7; he’s really big on the really good teams, they might have a total cluster of a day and the other guys are laughing at them or pointing and just like, man they’re terrible, but at the end of it, they look at the scoreboard and they’re like how did they finish single digits. He used the No. 5 car as an example at times. He’ll have adversity a lot of the day and then all of a sudden he’s sixth, seventh or eighth and that’s where we’ve been trying to mimic per se. For us to be able to do that I think was important on a day that I felt like Chevy, but also Hendrick Motorsports, we just kind of all missed it a little bit.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESWORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESSEPTEMBER 6, 2025

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at World Wide Technology Raceway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:  Another reason you’re probably in here is because this is the track that gave you a big break in a way, but I’d also like to know why you are addicted to buying cars that look like NASCAR’s now. Is your accountant okay with this? Why is this happening?I“I’ve always wanted street legal cars as a kid. Kalamazoo Speedway, where I was from, the owner had one of the Intimidator SS’s and I thought that was like the coolest thing in the world. Every time I look at Facebook Marketplace, it seems like there’s more and more coming up. Either my algorithms knowing it or people are making these cars knowing I’ll probably buy them. I was literally in the hauler a minute ago looking at another one. I just enjoy cars, but I enjoy NASCAR’s, too. It’s a lot of fun when you drive it. The Dale truck — I blew a tire and I think I got 100 honks and ‘hell yeahs’, ‘Go Dale’ and stuff like that. I haven’t driven the Oldsmobile yet on the road, so I’m curious about that reaction. It’s pretty awesome. It’s a history of NASCAR, but also it’s super fun. The first time I drove the Dale truck, I had about six people walk over to me. I was stuck at a gas station for an hour. We just talked NASCAR. I think that’s what I’ve most enjoyed with it.” I understand you’re going to be part of a new documentary called ‘Rising’ that kind of chronicles three up-and-coming drivers in the circuit. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on that and just your overall racing journey from creating stop motions as a kid to being a Cup Series driver now…“Yeah, ultimately you always want to show people more of the insights and everything. I remember as a kid buying every DVD I could find of mini-docs. I think Kasey Kahen had one. Tony (Stewart) had one. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had plenty, and obviously Dale Earnhardt Sr. had a lot of them. That’s what made me a fan of a lot of drivers or really just keep in racing. The more we can do of that as a sport is big, and for me to be a part of it is super cool. It’s been a lot of fun to open up a lot on that. I’m just excited for a lot of people to see it when it comes out.”   You made some headlines last week with some contact with the No. 9 car. Have you all discussed that or is it kind of just in the past and move forward to Gateway?“Yeah, I mean you just move on. It was super early. It didn’t affect either one of us I don’t think too bad. You just move on. One thinks you’re going to give a little bit of extra room, and the other you’re trying to kind of play a pick. I think that’s just racing.”   Have you ever thought about having iRacing as a sponsor livery or like a future partnership? “Yeah, I mean it would be cool, for sure, because obviously I use it a lot. But for how I drive on iRacing, I don’t think I’m their brightest shining ambassador they would want, per se a little bit, so I kind of understand that too.”    I imagine I probably know the answer, but I know Christopher (Bell) was a little upset with the scenario in pit road last week. I’m just wondering, was there any conversations with your team from him that you’re aware of or not?“Yeah, my crew chief (Luke Lambert) and Adam Stevens talked and they were all good. Obviously, you know heat of the moment, everybody can share their frustration, but they talked and they were all good. Drivers, most of the time on pit road, are kind of just blind, per se, right? It’s more on the crew chiefs from that aspect to guide us in and out, so they had that conversation and I think they’re plenty good moving forward.”   Do you remember the buzz surrounding your Cup debut here?“I do, yeah. I remember a lot of that that day. It was a lot of fun. It’s pretty crazy what it was like. I don’t know if there was a lot of buzz at the start, but I remember when I got out of the car, there was a lot of moving pieces on my end that it was all a very quick 180 of trying to sign an extension on my truck deal to legitimately getting the conversation started about driving a Cup car within 70 laps, which was pretty wild.”   In a lot of cases, when you have an opportunity like that, some guys — I mean on the other side of that, Corey (LaJoie) had a great opportunity that day but you were in secondary equipment and really kind of started making a name for yourself. At what point did that sink in?“I mean I was just very nervous about being slow. If I wrecked or ran 30th, I think it wouldn’t have been a shock, but if I ran really fast, I think that would have been the shock and the needle mover, per se. Luckily when the brake rotor broke, I was moving forward and we were like 15th or 16th, which I thought helped me a little bit theoretically because like a month later, it was like we were running eighth-place lap times. And then like two months later, the stories were that we were going to run top-five. And then you know six months later, we were going to win the race. I’m like — these are getting out of control a little bit. But it kind of helped a little bit of just kind of that ‘what-if’ aspect that I thought may Spire Motorsports hungrier to be aggressive and want to make that change for me being in the No. 77. I would have liked to see how that day played out, but honestly, I thought it couldn’t work out any better.”    I talked to Kyle Busch last week and he said when he races in the Xfinity and Truck Series against those drivers — when they can keep up with him, when they can beat him, when they can contend with him, he knows that they’re ready to make the jump. What did you feel when you were racing against Cup guys that would come to Truck and how would you kind of grade yourself against them?“Yeah, I mean I think any time you’re racing a Cup driver in Trucks or Xfinity, you know ultimately their owners are watching that and that’s how they really grade it. When there are no Cup guys in the field, I mean you could win 10 of them but if you if you go 0-10 — you know, split half and half, you go 10-0 against no Cup guys but you go 0-10 against Cup guys, I think that’s what a lot of teams really look at. You’re still really good but I think that is a true grade. (Jeff) Dickerson and I talk about it all the time because obviously he was an agent in there and he was there when the top-10 of Xfinity would be all Cup guys and — you’d be lucky to run 12th and you’d be pumped because you’re best in class. So yeah, I don’t think we need to get back there but I definitely think it would make it a lot easier. You know, I’m here because I got to go join the Cup field and race against them; got thrown to the deep end and I didn’t sink right away. So yeah, I think that’s the biggest thing is if I never got that shot, I would just be hoping Cup guys would come run Trucks and maybe I can outrun them. I remember Sonoma when I won the pole, there were like four Cup guys right behind me and that Truck pole meant a lot more because of that.”    This is a narrow pit road… I think the tightest on the circuit. What’s the challenge? What’s it like on from the driver’s perspective?“I mean, I just wrecked last week on pit road, so I’m pumped now that you say that (laughs).  It’s so tough now because we pit a lot more. Somebody asked me a while ago because it was becoming like every week that there were accidents or issues on pit road – you just think everybody’s so much more competitive now. I remember watching Cup races and there’d be nine to 14 guys on the lead lap and they all picked not even close to each other. And now, there will be 32 on the lead lap and you pit 10 times together because there’s stages and cautions. There’s less green flag stops. We’ll go weeks — I remember the first eight races, I was like, shoot I haven’t even done a green flag stop… I don’t really remember how to do it. So I think that’s the biggest thing that makes it even more challenging but I just think it’s maybe less because it’s so normal now to come down pit road; there’s 32 guys and they’re all competitive too. The stops are faster too… you know, they’re not sitting there for 14 to 17 seconds and the bad guys are maybe 18 to 19 seconds. I mean, the dead last place car is still pitting nine-second pit stops. It’s just so competitive, from the pit stops to the drivers and the cars now, that I think it’s just so common now. When you tighten it up like this, we’re kind of used to it now.”   To come back from a spin and finish top-10 at a place like Darlington, how personally significant was that to you, or was that more of a – boy, what could have been if I didn’t spin? How did you look at it last week?“I mean, I don’t know. The Toyota’s were super-fast. So yeah, I don’t think there was any like ‘what-ifs’. I think the only ‘what-ifs’ is if we could have ran best in class, from the Chevy aspect, to run like fifth or sixth versus ninth. But yeah, I was still really happy with that and the turnaround — to be able to go from like pretty good to the worst driving car I felt like I’ve ever had for a minute and then we put two-tenths of air or something and be pretty good right.  I think that’s really been our year a little bit, is just being able to — I always mentioned Jeff (Dickerson) but I mean he’s just who I talk to 24-7; he’s really big on the really good teams, they might have a total cluster of a day and the other guys are laughing at them or pointing and just like, man they’re terrible, but at the end of it, they look at the scoreboard and they’re like how did they finish single digits. He used the No. 5 car as an example at times. He’ll have adversity a lot of the day and then all of a sudden he’s sixth, seventh or eighth and that’s where we’ve been trying to mimic per se. For us to be able to do that I think was important on a day that I felt like Chevy, but also Hendrick Motorsports, we just kind of all missed it a little bit.”

KANSAS CITY, KS (Sept. 5, 2025) — After eight straight finishes outside the top three, Matt Covington had said he just wanted to get back on the podium.

Mission accomplished.

The Glenpool, OK native accomplished that feat the best way possible by scoring his second American Sprint Car Series win of 2025 at Lakeside Speedway Friday night – the first of two Friday night Features at the Kansas track.

“Victory Lane is what I meant, that’s even sweeter,” Covington said about wanting a podium after leading all 25 laps of the Feature. “We haven’t been running all that great. We haven’t been bad, we just haven’t been on the podium.”

His No. 95 was strong all night, placing second fastest in his Qualifying group, winning the third Heat Race, and winning the Honest Abe Roofing Dash. That put him on the pole for the 25-lap event with five-time Series champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. to his outside.

When the race went green, Covington darted ahead of the field, gapping Hafertepe by two car lengths by the time they reached the backstretch. However, Hafertepe cut that distance in half through Turns 3 and 4, running the top lane, while Covington ran low.

The No. 15H car couldn’t match Covington’s drive off the corner, though, and Hafertepe was left to watch the No. 95 car leave tenths between them every lap.

Covington almost ended his night early on Lap 6 by jumping the cushion in Turn 3 and nearly slapping the wall. The quick scare led to his commitment to the bottom line for the rest of the race.

In clean air, that commitment helped him pull away by over two seconds, but when he hit traffic his pace was hindered. His two-second lead evaporated in about two laps as Hafertepe saw new light with the No. 95 back within reach.

A caution on Lap 10 brought the entire field back to Covington’s rear bumper, but also awarded him a clear track again when the race resumed.

While he led, Hank Davis snuck around Hafertepe for second, and left him to fend off any attacks from Blake Hahn and Chris Martin, who dueled lap after lap for fourth.

Like the previous stint, once Covington hit traffic, second-place closed in. And this time, it was Davis on the attack, running high while Covington continued to roll the bottom. But before Davis could attempt a pass, another caution slowed the field.

When the race resumed for the final time, Covington had the best launch of the night, reaching the backstretch by the time Davis was still making his way through the first corner.

Hafertepe and Martin argued over third for a couple of circuits before the Texan found his rhythm around the top and took one more shot at Covington in the closing laps.

He passed Davis for second on Lap 21 and then closed within a few tenths of Covington on Lap 23.

The two left Turn 4 side by side with the white flag in the air. Covington was able to put a car-length distance between them when they reached Turn 1 and maintained that gap down the backstretch. Neither tip-toed into the final corner, but Hafertepe carried more momentum around the top and pulled even with Covington again through Turn 4.

With the checkered flag waving, Covington’s commitment to the bottom paid off as he was able to launch off the corner better than Hafertepe and beat him to the line by 0.307 sec.

“Luckily, the bottom was good because I could not run the top to save my life,” Covington said. “Got up over the berm twice. Luckily, I didn’t tear it up and get it up into the wall. The car was dynamite on the bottom.”

Hafertepe’s runner-up finish was his second straight podium finish after three finishes outside the top 10. However, he would’ve rather seen the race go caution-free for a better shot at stealing the win away.

“Anybody can ride out there by themselves, but when you get in lap traffic it’s tough,” Hafertepe said. “That’s kind of what we were waiting for. We were a little tight restarting right behind those guys. Once they got a little traffic we can move around them. Sometimes guys are pretty complacent with where they’re at and we’re not. We want to move around. We want to pass cars. Would’ve liked to not see any of those cautions and kept it green, and race with the traffic, that’s when this place gets really fun.”

Blake Hahn rounded out the podium, while Cameron Martin scored his third ASCS National Series top-five finish with his fourth-place run, and Hank Davis held on to finish fifth.

UP NEXT
The American Sprint Car Series is back in action in Kansas at 81 Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 6. Then, the Series returns to Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway for the Stewart Alley Memorial on Sunday, Sept. 7.

Tickets for the two events will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Covington Holds Off Hard-Charging Hafertepe to Win at Lakeside

KANSAS CITY, KS (Sept. 5, 2025) — After eight straight finishes outside the top three, Matt Covington had said he just wanted to get back on the podium.

Mission accomplished.

The Glenpool, OK native accomplished that feat the best way possible by scoring his second American Sprint Car Series win of 2025 at Lakeside Speedway Friday night – the first of two Friday night Features at the Kansas track.

“Victory Lane is what I meant, that’s even sweeter,” Covington said about wanting a podium after leading all 25 laps of the Feature. “We haven’t been running all that great. We haven’t been bad, we just haven’t been on the podium.”

His No. 95 was strong all night, placing second fastest in his Qualifying group, winning the third Heat Race, and winning the Honest Abe Roofing Dash. That put him on the pole for the 25-lap event with five-time Series champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. to his outside.

When the race went green, Covington darted ahead of the field, gapping Hafertepe by two car lengths by the time they reached the backstretch. However, Hafertepe cut that distance in half through Turns 3 and 4, running the top lane, while Covington ran low.

The No. 15H car couldn’t match Covington’s drive off the corner, though, and Hafertepe was left to watch the No. 95 car leave tenths between them every lap.

Covington almost ended his night early on Lap 6 by jumping the cushion in Turn 3 and nearly slapping the wall. The quick scare led to his commitment to the bottom line for the rest of the race.

In clean air, that commitment helped him pull away by over two seconds, but when he hit traffic his pace was hindered. His two-second lead evaporated in about two laps as Hafertepe saw new light with the No. 95 back within reach.

A caution on Lap 10 brought the entire field back to Covington’s rear bumper, but also awarded him a clear track again when the race resumed.

While he led, Hank Davis snuck around Hafertepe for second, and left him to fend off any attacks from Blake Hahn and Chris Martin, who dueled lap after lap for fourth.

Like the previous stint, once Covington hit traffic, second-place closed in. And this time, it was Davis on the attack, running high while Covington continued to roll the bottom. But before Davis could attempt a pass, another caution slowed the field.

When the race resumed for the final time, Covington had the best launch of the night, reaching the backstretch by the time Davis was still making his way through the first corner.

Hafertepe and Martin argued over third for a couple of circuits before the Texan found his rhythm around the top and took one more shot at Covington in the closing laps.

He passed Davis for second on Lap 21 and then closed within a few tenths of Covington on Lap 23.

The two left Turn 4 side by side with the white flag in the air. Covington was able to put a car-length distance between them when they reached Turn 1 and maintained that gap down the backstretch. Neither tip-toed into the final corner, but Hafertepe carried more momentum around the top and pulled even with Covington again through Turn 4.

With the checkered flag waving, Covington’s commitment to the bottom paid off as he was able to launch off the corner better than Hafertepe and beat him to the line by 0.307 sec.

“Luckily, the bottom was good because I could not run the top to save my life,” Covington said. “Got up over the berm twice. Luckily, I didn’t tear it up and get it up into the wall. The car was dynamite on the bottom.”

Hafertepe’s runner-up finish was his second straight podium finish after three finishes outside the top 10. However, he would’ve rather seen the race go caution-free for a better shot at stealing the win away.

“Anybody can ride out there by themselves, but when you get in lap traffic it’s tough,” Hafertepe said. “That’s kind of what we were waiting for. We were a little tight restarting right behind those guys. Once they got a little traffic we can move around them. Sometimes guys are pretty complacent with where they’re at and we’re not. We want to move around. We want to pass cars. Would’ve liked to not see any of those cautions and kept it green, and race with the traffic, that’s when this place gets really fun.”

Blake Hahn rounded out the podium, while Cameron Martin scored his third ASCS National Series top-five finish with his fourth-place run, and Hank Davis held on to finish fifth.

UP NEXT
The American Sprint Car Series is back in action in Kansas at 81 Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 6. Then, the Series returns to Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway for the Stewart Alley Memorial on Sunday, Sept. 7.

Tickets for the two events will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington[1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn[7]; 4. 4-Cameron Martin[5]; 5. 11X-Hank Davis[6]; 6. 44-Chris Martin[3]; 7. 3Z-Cole Vanderheiden[17]; 8. 2-Chase Porter[10]; 9. 36-Jason Martin[8]; 10. 77-Jack Wagner[16]; 11. 45X-Kyler Johnson[22]; 12. 17B-Ryan Bickett[20]; 13. 10-Landon Britt[23]; 14. 91-Scotty Thiel[15]; 15. 88R-Ryder Laplante[9]; 16. 2J-Zach Blurton[11]; 17. 88-Terry Easum[21]; 18. 16G-Austyn Gossel[24]; 19. 73-Samuel Wagner[14]; 20. 2B-Garrett Benson[13]; 21. 88C-Brogan Carder[18]; 22. 2C-Brekton Crouch[19]; 23. 99-Tony Rost[4]; 24. 71-Brady Baker[12]

KANSAS CITY, KS (Sept. 5, 2025) — When two of Oklahoma’s best battle for the lead with the American Sprint Car Series, one thing is for certain — it’s sure to make for a memorable race.

Sooner State racers Blake Hahn and Matt Covington put on an exciting fight for the top spot in the second of two Features contested Friday night at Lakeside Speedway, first in the opening laps and again as the checkered flag neared. In the end, Hahn prevailed, holding off multiple close pass attempts from Covington and holding strong on a green-white-checkered finish to earn his second Feature win of the season.

In the first main event of the single-day doubleheader, Hahn finished third to Sam Hafertepe Jr. and winner Covington, which set the stage for his breakthrough in the July 11 makeup Feature later on. The win marked his 24th career Series victory and second overall at the 4/10-mile oval. It was also his first trip to Victory Lane since the tour’s stop at Batesville Motor Speedway on June 21 — a span of 14 races.

“Any time you can win is great, and then to be able to pick up another podium in the same night is really stellar,” Hahn, of Sapulpa, OK, said. “We’re happy with it.”

From the pole, Hahn jumped to the lead on the opening circuit but quickly encountered a challenge from outside polesitter Covington, who threw a slidejob in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead on Lap 2. Covington held strong out front with Hahn in tow, but behind both of them was a driver determined to get back to Victory Lane.

Hafertepe — a winner of nine Series races in 2025 but none in the last three weekends — had wound-up great speed around the top side of the track, and on Lap 11, hit the cushion in Turns 1 and 2 and drove around the outside of Hahn to take over second place. One lap later, he shot to the bottom of the track in 1 and 2, and as Covington slipped up the track in his push through lapped traffic, Hafertepe snuck by underneath to take the lead.

“I kinda messed around on the bottom a little bit on that restart and that’s when Sam got by me,” Hahn said. “I looked up and he was already by Covington. The racing was getting really good there before the caution came out, so I was ready to get going there.”

Hafertepe began to pull away from Hahn and Covington, but his time out front was short lived. On Lap 17, Hafertepe collided with the slower car of Daryn Langford on the backstretch and spun, inciting a caution period and sending the Hill’s Racing No. 15H to the tail of the lead-lap cars for the restart.

“For Sam, that’s terrible,” Hahn said. “Obviously, I wanted to race that one out. I felt like I had a good enough car to contend for the win.”

Hahn inherited the lead for the restart, and immediately, the battle was on for the top spot. Covington tried to slide Hahn twice through Turns 3 and 4, leaving only inches between their two cars each time, but Hahn was able to retain the lead with his high-side momentum.

“After that restart, it kinda gave him the opportunity to slide me into (Turn) 3,” Hahn said. “They were really close sliders; he definitely gave me some room, which I do appreciate. That’s one great thing that I love about racing with these guys with ASCS is we can race hard like that between me, Sam and Covington. We race super, super hard, but we don’t have to worry about somebody just keeps going across your nose. That was really fun.”

One final caution flag flew with two laps remaining, forcing a green-white-checkered finish, but Hahn held strong out front and cruised to the checkered flag with Covington in second.

“We’re not complaining; car was really good,” Covington, of Glenpool, OK, said. “I think Blake might have been just a little bit better there. I had a run on him and left him just enough room to squeeze his car through there and he did it. He took off well on that restart; that last restart, I didn’t take off quite as good. He earned it.”

Fellow Oklahoma native Hank Davis, piloting the Beaver Racing Team No. 11x, crossed the stripe in third to collect his first podium finish of the season with the national Series.

“To be honest, I think we might’ve just been a third-place car all night,” Davis said. “We just struggled on restarts. We could get going, but once you lose a little bit on restarts, it kinda screws your whole run up.”

Kansas native Kyler Johnson finished fourth after starting eighth on the grid, while Oklahoma racer Terry Easum finished fifth, garnering his second top-five run of the season.

UP NEXT

The American Sprint Car Series travels to 81 Speedway in Park City, KS, for a clash with the ASCS Sooner Region on Saturday, Sept. 6. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track on race day.

If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Blake Hahn Bests Matt Covington in Makeup Feature at Lakeside

KANSAS CITY, KS (Sept. 5, 2025) — When two of Oklahoma’s best battle for the lead with the American Sprint Car Series, one thing is for certain — it’s sure to make for a memorable race.

Sooner State racers Blake Hahn and Matt Covington put on an exciting fight for the top spot in the second of two Features contested Friday night at Lakeside Speedway, first in the opening laps and again as the checkered flag neared. In the end, Hahn prevailed, holding off multiple close pass attempts from Covington and holding strong on a green-white-checkered finish to earn his second Feature win of the season.

In the first main event of the single-day doubleheader, Hahn finished third to Sam Hafertepe Jr. and winner Covington, which set the stage for his breakthrough in the July 11 makeup Feature later on. The win marked his 24th career Series victory and second overall at the 4/10-mile oval. It was also his first trip to Victory Lane since the tour’s stop at Batesville Motor Speedway on June 21 — a span of 14 races.

“Any time you can win is great, and then to be able to pick up another podium in the same night is really stellar,” Hahn, of Sapulpa, OK, said. “We’re happy with it.”

From the pole, Hahn jumped to the lead on the opening circuit but quickly encountered a challenge from outside polesitter Covington, who threw a slidejob in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead on Lap 2. Covington held strong out front with Hahn in tow, but behind both of them was a driver determined to get back to Victory Lane.

Hafertepe — a winner of nine Series races in 2025 but none in the last three weekends — had wound-up great speed around the top side of the track, and on Lap 11, hit the cushion in Turns 1 and 2 and drove around the outside of Hahn to take over second place. One lap later, he shot to the bottom of the track in 1 and 2, and as Covington slipped up the track in his push through lapped traffic, Hafertepe snuck by underneath to take the lead.

“I kinda messed around on the bottom a little bit on that restart and that’s when Sam got by me,” Hahn said. “I looked up and he was already by Covington. The racing was getting really good there before the caution came out, so I was ready to get going there.”

Hafertepe began to pull away from Hahn and Covington, but his time out front was short lived. On Lap 17, Hafertepe collided with the slower car of Daryn Langford on the backstretch and spun, inciting a caution period and sending the Hill’s Racing No. 15H to the tail of the lead-lap cars for the restart.

“For Sam, that’s terrible,” Hahn said. “Obviously, I wanted to race that one out. I felt like I had a good enough car to contend for the win.”

Hahn inherited the lead for the restart, and immediately, the battle was on for the top spot. Covington tried to slide Hahn twice through Turns 3 and 4, leaving only inches between their two cars each time, but Hahn was able to retain the lead with his high-side momentum.

“After that restart, it kinda gave him the opportunity to slide me into (Turn) 3,” Hahn said. “They were really close sliders; he definitely gave me some room, which I do appreciate. That’s one great thing that I love about racing with these guys with ASCS is we can race hard like that between me, Sam and Covington. We race super, super hard, but we don’t have to worry about somebody just keeps going across your nose. That was really fun.”

One final caution flag flew with two laps remaining, forcing a green-white-checkered finish, but Hahn held strong out front and cruised to the checkered flag with Covington in second.

“We’re not complaining; car was really good,” Covington, of Glenpool, OK, said. “I think Blake might have been just a little bit better there. I had a run on him and left him just enough room to squeeze his car through there and he did it. He took off well on that restart; that last restart, I didn’t take off quite as good. He earned it.”

Fellow Oklahoma native Hank Davis, piloting the Beaver Racing Team No. 11x, crossed the stripe in third to collect his first podium finish of the season with the national Series.

“To be honest, I think we might’ve just been a third-place car all night,” Davis said. “We just struggled on restarts. We could get going, but once you lose a little bit on restarts, it kinda screws your whole run up.”

Kansas native Kyler Johnson finished fourth after starting eighth on the grid, while Oklahoma racer Terry Easum finished fifth, garnering his second top-five run of the season.

UP NEXT

The American Sprint Car Series travels to 81 Speedway in Park City, KS, for a clash with the ASCS Sooner Region on Saturday, Sept. 6. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track on race day.

If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

7/11 Makeup Feature (25 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn[1]; 2. 95-Matt Covington[2]; 3. 11X-Hank Davis[3]; 4. 45X-Kyler Johnson[8]; 5. 88-Terry Easum[9]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 7. 3Z-Cole Vanderheiden[19]; 8. 36-Jason Martin[20]; 9. 2J-Zach Blurton[13]; 10. 2B-Garrett Benson[7]; 11. 10-Landon Britt[14]; 12. 73-Samuel Wagner[6]; 13. 88R-Ryder Laplante[17]; 14. 16G-Austyn Gossel[5]; 15. 88C-Brogan Carder[12]; 16. 7C-Chris Morgan[11]; 17. 3D-Jake Diehl[18]; 18. 32D-Daryn Langford[15]; 19. 99-Tony Rost[10]; 20. 71-Brady Baker[16]; 21. 4W-Jamie Ball; 22. 17W-Harli White; 23. 1X-Bryant Wiedeman