DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR, America’s No.1 motorsport, is teaming up with iconic global streetwear brand Anti Social Social Club for the first time to launch a limited release capsule collection. The collaboration champions NASCAR’s and Anti Social Social Club’s bold and distinctive styles, creating a unique crossover between the race track and fashion.
Dropping at 8 a.m. PT on Saturday, Oct. 11, during the NASCAR Playoff Weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the NASCAR x Anti Social Social Club Collection will be available for purchase online. The release features hoodies, T-shirts, jackets, hats, helmets, and other NASCAR-inspired pieces that channel the electrifying energy of motorsports, while showcasing Anti Social Social Club’s creative identity. In addition, Anti Social Social Club and NASCAR will showcase a car with custom-designed livery at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during race weekend.
“NASCAR and Anti Social Social Club are coming together to create something fresh, bold, and unapologetic. Both streetwear and motorsports thrive on energy, culture, and individuality,” said Megan Malayter, vice president licensing and consumer products at NASCAR. “This drop brings those worlds into the same lane. We’re excited to see fans rock the collection trackside and beyond, repping NASCAR in a way that speaks to today’s style and culture.”
Since its inception in 2014, ASSC became an immediately recognizable pop culture symbol, driven by a passionate community. After an experimental run of 12 hoodies introduced its logo to the world, Anti Social Social Club has subsequently grown into a global business of scale.
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue with the opening of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 5:30 p.m. ET, live on USA Network.
After late-race radio communications became a hot topic at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, NASCAR will meet with teams before the Round of 8 to stress that manipulation won’t be tolerated.
“At a certain point during this week, we will just remind teams, ‘Let’s not put yourselves or ourselves in jeopardy here,’ ” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “Fans should be coming to the race track and expecting a straight-up race where each position is fought for as hard as possible, especially at the end of a race.
“If we do see something or hear something we don’t like, we are going to step in, which we’ve have done now several times. So we are aware, and if we hear something, we will certainly react if necessary.”
After essentially eliminating Ross Chastain from the playoffs on the final lap of the Roval, Denny Hamlin said he wished his No. 11 team had clued him into the No. 1 Chevrolet’s points situation.
But Forde said that any communication would likely have prompted a review by NASCAR.
“I think we would have looked into it for sure,” Forde said. “If we heard that radio transmission say, ‘Hey, (Chastain) needs this point to advance to the next round over (Logano)’ or something of that ilk, and all of a sudden, (Hamlin) let off the gas, that would probably raise a red flag on our side.”
Forde said NASCAR took no action after reviewing the late-race radio transmissions of Alex Bowman and Cole Custer because their team communications drew attention on social media. Custer was racing behind Joey Logano, who captured the last berth in the Round of 8, and Bowman was near Chastain.
“The beauty of social media in this era is we have thousands of officials sitting at home and reviewing HBO Max cameras, and listening to radio transmissions,” Forde said. “So it’s very, very difficult for anything to slip by. So we did review (the transmissions of Bowman and Custer), and nothing rose to the level of a penalty.”
During the Xfinity Series race Saturday, NASCAR warned two teams that already were locked into the next round about discussing the points scenarios for other teams that had yet to advance.
“It’s not a message of ‘You can’t talk about points,’ it’s more of a message that if you’re talking about points, it should be about your car and your vehicle and not other vehicles that are in play,” NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis said during the podcast.
Forde said the discussion by the Xfinity teams occurred early in the race and was unrelated to any maneuvers that could be regarded as manipulation.
“There was no point where this was questionable (or) problematic,” Forde said. “But we wanted to get ahead of it with the teams just to say, ‘Hey, if this is the end of the race and you’re still doing this, it’s not going to be good for anybody. Because if you talk about points and then have some actions that are questionable, you’re going to be in hot water.’ ”
Chastain was eliminated from the playoffs after a pass by Hamlin on the final lap. Both drivers spun and lost multiple positions when Chastain tried to bump Hamlin aside in a last-ditch effort to make the playoffs. If the move had been successful and kept Chastain in the playoffs, Forde said NASCAR would have considered penalizing the Trackhouse Racing driver.
“It’d be tricky,” Forde said. “Is that an aggressive move to try to take a position when you have no other options? Or is that over the line? And that’s something we would have to determine in race control, but we would certainly have to look at it if it was successful.”
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 36th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— Why it took 15 minutes for NASCAR to sort out the finishing order of the Xfinity race after a last-lap caution.
— The tire choice for Sunday’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Click on the embed above to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a caution-free championship race at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, Steven Wilson dominated the 100-lapper to claim his second eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series title in three years inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
It was the fourth year the iRacing platform’s main event was hosted inside the prestigious venue in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, as Wilson battled Casey Kirwan, Vicente Salas and Zack Novak for the $100,000 grand prize.
Cup Series drivers Cole Custer and Zane Smith were among those in the crowd of hundreds adjacent to the “Glory Road” display, and giving the command to fire engines was none other than three-time premier series champion and current Round of 8 playoff driver Joey Logano.
From the moment the green flag dropped, there was little doubt Wilson would not have the title taken from him.
“Most challenging part was hitting that (qualifying) lap,” Wilson said after the race. “I got the pole there by almost a whole tenth. Really hit a great lap. Lap of my life. I’ve been hearing about luck this, luck that, golden horseshoe, well, I kicked their (expletive) tonight.”
Tuesday evening’s event was more than just a showcase of the Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
Both iRacing and NASCAR collaborated to showcase the sim-racing platform and the upcoming NASCAR 25 console game for attendees to preview.
From activations to a live panel, the build is underway to create buzz for the highly anticipated Oct. 14 release of NASCAR’s newest video game, and the excitement is palpable for next week.
“It feels amazing,” iRacing production director Matt Lewis told NASCAR.com. “Partly because we’re finally almost over the mountain, right? I’m excited to get this to the fans. I think it’s going to perform really well.”
It’s the first foray for the iRacing platform into NASCAR console gaming, and with that comes the opportunity to collaborate with drivers who are taking a vested interest in the game.
“The collaboration that we have, the content that they’re helping us build the drive — like Carson Hocevar’s been doing stuff for us, Anthony Alfredo, William Byron, Ty Majeski, Rajah (Caruth),” Lewis said. “They’re contacting us and being like, ‘Hey, how can I help?’ Because they’ve played the game and they see the quality level and what we’re bringing back, and they’re excited about it. This is passion, and they’re doing it because they want to help and they want to get the word out. So that’s been awesome for us.”
One of the key emphases ahead of NASCAR 25’s release is that it’s designed for all skill levels of video-game enthusiasts.
While the game isn’t the iRacing simulation ported to console, Lewis stated that the physics and driving are a ‘monumental step’ in bringing a controller-based game to life.
“You can feel the right-rear (tire), you can feel the car rollover,” Lewis said. “There’s always been a struggle of how you get that kind of feel of the car, and this has it. If you turn off all the assists, and you make it more difficult AI, it approaches that sim category, right? Like, we don’t want it to be the simulator on the console. That’s not what we’re going for. But if you want to make it super challenging, you can. I think that’s what we’ve done really well, is to give that wide breadth of skills an opportunity to have a great time.”
It’s been four years since the last NASCAR console release, and with that comes expectations to deliver for fans who have waited a long time to play anew.
If you ask Lewis, next Tuesday can’t come soon enough.
“I think they’re going to be really happy with the end result of what we landed on, and that’s exciting,” Lewis said. “Because I always say this whole team that we’ve built to build this game, we’re fans first, so we understand the pain of not having a game for so long, and we’re excited to bring it to them.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series races out west for the start of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as the playoff competitors will look to cement their spot in the Championship 4 early with a win this weekend. Teams will hit the track for practice on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET with qualifying to follow at 3:05 p.m. ET on The CW app.
Saturday’s qualifying session will consist of one round, split into two 20-minute groups. The qualifying order below is determined via metric that combines the previous race finish by owner (70%) and current owner points position (30%).
The race will occur later Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The NASCAR Cup Series begins the Round of 8 this weekend with its annual fall trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Teams will practice beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with qualifying to follow at 5:40 p.m. ET on truTV.
Editor’s note: This is Part I of a two-part series detailing the No. 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series team and Corey Day. Part II is scheduled for publication on Oct. 15, 2025.
The No. 17 holds a special place in Rick Hendrick’s heart. It was the number that his son, Ricky, drove while competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2000 and 2001.
With limited practice over the last handful of seasons, Hendrick Motorsports’ Cup Series drivers believed additional on-track action would benefit the entire organization. With JR Motorsports — the powerhouse Xfinity Series program co-owned by Rick — consistently fielding four full-time cars with drivers vying for the title, it would be difficult to field another entry for Cup drivers. Instead, Hendrick opted to revamp its own Xfinity program in 2022 after not competing for more than 13 years.
“It’s an opportunity for me to get better,” 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott said ahead of the Pocono Raceway weekend in June. “It’s an opportunity to race, and I only had one on my schedule this year, and when they talked about adding another one, I was super open to it and wanted to get involved.
“I think the car is in a really good spot, and everybody on the Xfinity side of the shop has done a really good job of getting this thing really where it needs to be. It’s been fun to be a part of that process.”
Since the start of 2024, Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron have all visited Victory Lane in the No. 17 entry, with a Byron triumph at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May the most recent. Up-and-coming drivers, including Corey Day and Jake Finch, in addition to Craftsman Truck Series regular Rajah Caruth, have also piloted the Chevy.
The No. 17 machine — which will compete in a total of 21 races in 2025 — is operated within the confines of Hendrick’s Concord, North Carolina, headquarters. The team is managed by 10-time Cup Series winning crew chief Greg Ives. Adam Wall, former engineer for Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet, re-joined the team in-house before the 2025 season to serve as crew chief. The program goes through a myriad of the same departments as the Cup teams. Most of its crew members, however, are separate.
“There are a lot of shared resources, and we’re hoping to bring the next 20-something-year-old engineer who is hungry and wants to move on to the Cup Series,” Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager, said. “You look at that as a ground to grow them.
“When you go to the race track and you walk into the hauler and look at the team on pit road, it is the Hendrick way of doing things and is the Hendrick standard, which is a great opportunity for young people to get into that culture.”
David Jensen | Getty Images
Ingraining the work ethic that Hendrick Motorsports demands of its employees is crucial for the No. 17 team. NASCAR’s version of the New York Yankees is always looking to improve, searching for the next breakout driver, crew chief or pit-crew member.
“We felt like having our own car and team on campus allows the ultimate training ground for guys that have been in the Hendrick system and see the things that we do on the Cup level and put that into the Xfinity program but with more responsibilities, more pressure and see how they react and evolve in that position,” Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, said. “Ultimately, that’s what is going to get them to the succession plan that we have at Cup.
“This allows us to get that experience right here within our walls and do it at the Xfinity level and then make the natural progression to the next step, which is to do those types of positions at the Cup level. That’s drivers, crew chiefs, mechanics, engineers, you name it.”
The team’s relationship with JRM (currently in a title hunt and winners of 17 of the first 29 Xfinity races), meanwhile, remains paramount. Day and Wall accompany JRM’s competition meetings weekly to go over the previous race weekend. Having the two entities united makes both organizations thrive.
“We want to complement each other; we don’t want to be competing with them on a head-to-head basis,” Andrews said. “We want the five or six programs involved to be better because of the relationship from us running a car. Certainly, we have gotten a lot of benefit from them this year running our car. Likewise, they have as well.”
The No. 17 car’s primary emphasis in 2025 was on enabling prospect Day to acclimate to NASCAR racing as he transitions from dirt cars to pavement. After finishing 22nd at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval last weekend, Day will return to the No. 17 car this Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He will also compete in the final two events of the season at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
Logging such starts will not only give the young Day more experience but also continue strengthening the No. 17’s goal in building a talent pipeline.
“I think the competition level in [Xfinity] is good,” Andrews said. “From our perspective, it needs to grow. We need some more young talent in that series — young men and women who have their eye on the Cup Series. We feel like being a part of that and having the opportunity to bring some of those younger names to the Xfinity Series now and in the future only benefits that series.”
With only two races remaining on the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park welcomes back the series for the third and final time this year for Saturday’s World Series 150 (8:15 p.m. ET on FloRacing and The NASCAR Channel).
The event was originally scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 12, but was moved up a day due to Sunday’s unfavorable weather forecast.
Austin Beers enters Saturday nught’s race with a 13-point advantage on Justin Bonsignore in the Modified Tour standings. Every position matters for both drivers as Beers looks to inch closer to his first series championship and Bonsignore looks to make up ground in his quest for his fifth career crown.
Saturday’s race marks the 158th Modified Tour event at the 0.625-mile oval located in Thompson, Connecticut. Mike Stefanik leads all drivers with 15 series victories at Thompson. Bonsignore sits second with 14 career Thompson triumphs, followed by the late Ted Christopher’s 13 victories. Other notable Thompson winners include brothers Jeff and Rick Fuller, Tony Hirschman, Ron Silk, Doug Coby, Steve Park, Reggie Ruggiero, Mike McLaughlin and Richie Evans, among others.
Tickets for Saturday’s World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park will be available trackside. Below is everything you need to know about the penultimate race of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
Patrick Emerling (1) leads Jake Johnson during the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in August. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)
World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
After a statement victory in the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Riverhead Raceway last Saturday night, Austin Beers heads to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the World Series 150 with momentum on his side.
Beers, pilot of the No. 64 Modified for KLM Motorsports, holds a 13-point edge on Justin Bonsignore in the battle for the series championship. With only two races remaining on the schedule, every position during Saturday’s race will matter as Beers looks to rewrite the history books as potentially the youngest champion in series history.
Bonsignore, meanwhile, is hoping to rekindle the same form he enjoyed last season when he won the final three races of the season to surge to the series championship. One of those races he won was the World Series 150 at Thompson, a track where he has visited Victory Lane 14 times during his career.
This season Beers has had the edge on Bonsignore at Thompson. In the two previous events at the track this season, Beers has been the best finisher of the two on both occasions.
There is more than just the battle for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship taking place at Thompson. The inaugural champion of the FloRacing Connecticut Challenge will also be crowned.
The three-race miniseries, which is exclusive to new teams or teams who have not competed in the last three years, will award $25,000 in bonus funds to eligible teams after Saturday’s race.
Matt Swanson leads the FloRacing Connecticut Challenge standings after the first two events with 72 points. Should he hang on to the championship lead at the conclusion of Saturday’s race, he and the Roscoe Racing team would take home an additional $7,500.
Other eligible drivers entered include Max Zachem, Teddy Hodgdon, Eric Berndt, Brian Sones and Dylan Slepian.
Other notable entries for Saturday’s race include Ron Silk, Craig Lutz, Patrick Emerling, Matt Hirschman, Stephen Kopcik, Anthony Nocella, Kyle Bonsignore, Chase Dowling, Andrew Krause, Eric Goodale, Woody Pitkat, Timmy Solomito and Tommy and Trevor Catalano.
The full entry list for the World Series 150 is available here.
Trevor Catalano (56), Ron Silk (16) and Patrick Emerling (1) battle for position during the IceBreaker 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in April of this year. (Photo: Rob Branning/NASCAR)
QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the World Series 150 presented by FloSports.com is limited to 30 starters including Provisional Positions.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. Maximum of nine (9) tires may be used for the race, not including Emergency Change Tires. Teams will declare to NASCAR Officials at the conclusion of practice the tires they will use during the race. The tire change rule is two (2) tires per stop.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell is back in the Round of 8, looking to make his third Championship 4 appearance in the past four years after advancing Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The four-time 2025 winner has yet to win at this weekend’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway — despite starting on the pole there three times since 2021 — but is this the year he cashes in on the speed he tends to have at the 1.5-mile track?
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs contenders after the Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and before Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Analysis: Larson looked like his old self once again this weekend (i.e., a world-class championship heavyweight) and offered Shane van Gisbergen’s toughest competition on the day, even pacing the field for 27 laps out front. Though he’s yet to win since the Kansas spring race, Larson carries a three-race streak of top-seven finishes into the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas, where he has three wins and two runner-ups from 2021-on alone.
Analysis: Blaney enjoyed a stress-free day at the Roval after already having advanced, but still did himself a favor by capturing the Stage 2 win and a playoff point along with it, which could come into play later on, so remember that. No. 12 has led in 10 of the past 11 races as he continues to fortify his championship hopes, and this could be an interesting weekend for him ahead. After looking early in his career that Vegas would be a track Blaney would be a multi-time winner at, he’s found the inside of the top 20 there just three times in the Next Gen era.
Analysis: Hamlin seems to be involved in nearly every marquee on-track incident this year, and the Roval was no different as he and Ross Chastain came together in the final moments during a last-ditch effort by the No. 1. Something’s clearly working for him, though, as No. 11 enters the Round of 8 solely atop the points standings as he perhaps closes in on title No. 1. Vegas is a track he tends to have speed at, but it’s only resulted in one of his 59 career Cup wins. That said, he’s sort of been the man to beat there this decade, and that may be the case again for the rest of the field Sunday. And it’s quite possible nobody can.
Analysis: Bell was the only other driver capable of sharing a podium with SVG and Larson at the Roval on Sunday, deserving and finishing third in a tough battle at times with each. There’s a strong chance the Bell and Larson battles don’t stop there, either, with both appearing to be Championship 4 favorites and both eyeing the win this weekend. Bell has three Vegas poles and a ton of laps led in each (including 155 in a runner-up effort in this race last year), so he’ll no doubt be aiming to finally capitalize out in the desert. After last year’s crushing Championship 4 miss, Bell could see himself in this year’s quartet before any of his peers.
Analysis: Elliott had a pretty strong day at the Roval, collecting 40 points in an eighth-place effort, even though he didn’t need any of them after he’d clinched advancement a week prior. There was still incentive for him to run as well as possible, though, because any potential playoff points would have helped — No. 9 slots in below the bubble after the reset, 14 points off the cut. Though he finished top 10 there earlier this year, an overall 19.0 average finish and one lap led in the last seven Vegas races offer some cause for concern.
Analysis: The final results haven’t been atrocious and he’s clearly done enough to make the Round of 8 with even a bit of cushion, but there’s still something lacking from Byron and the No. 24 at the moment, having led just once in the past nine races and for only five total laps. Considering six of those were playoff races, “rising to the occasion” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind here, but that could all be washed away Sunday at Las Vegas, where Byron excels and owns five straight top 10s, including a win. On the flip side, if they don’t get it together out in Nevada, it might be a signal that Byron could have to wait for title No. 1.
Analysis: Briscoe didn’t quite have to sweat making the Round of 8 or not, thanks to his overall very strong playoffs, and it’s a good thing he didn’t — starting inside the top 10 and finishing outside of it, while leading no laps in a cutoff race, certainly isn’t doing oneself any favors. Still, one of the season’s brightest story lines will have at least three more chapters; however, the first one could be rocky. Long one of his worst tracks (22.1 average finish), Briscoe will need to find some of that old Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 car 1.5-mile magic this weekend if he wants to avoid leaning on Talladega (gulp) and Martinsville to advance to his first Championship 4.
Analysis: The whole “where there’s a will, there’s a way” ethos clearly applies to no team and driver more than the No. 22 group and its intrepid three-time champion, and here he is once again, defying the odds and putting himself within striking distance of another title. Despite being ranked eighth here primarily because of a notable points deficit to open the round, you could make just as strong an argument for Logano to be No. 1 just based on what we know he and crew chief Paul Wolfe are capable of. Not a single soul out there would be surprised in the least to see them rip off another Vegas win to punch a Championship 4 spot (like he did last year … and in 2022). If that happens, we might as well save everybody the airfare to Phoenix and start engraving the Bill France Cup next week. No guarantees, though, of course — Logano doesn’t have a top 10 at a 1.5-mile track since Kansas, in May. | MORE: Analysis: Logano is the last one other competitors wanted to see make Round of 8
After the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval concluded the Round of 12, NASCAR’s premier series heads westward to begin the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, scheduled for this Sunday in the South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN Radio, HBO Max, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Denny Hamlin (plus-8), Ryan Blaney (plus-6), Kyle Larson (plus-4) and William Byron (plus-4) sit above the playoff cut. Christopher Bell (minus-4), Chase Elliott (minus-14), Chase Briscoe (minus-14) and defending Las Vegas fall winner Joey Logano (minus-24) place below the four-driver cutoff and will have three contests to flip fortunes in their favor. Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric were eliminated from title contention following the Charlotte Roval.
Katherine Legge will race behind the wheel of a Cup Series machine for the first time since August, once again piloting the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet. In six prior Cup Series starts this season, the 45-year-old driver has tallied two top-20 finishes, including a 17th-place result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
After a statement victory in the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Riverhead Raceway last Saturday night, Austin Beers heads to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the World Series 150 with momentum on his side.
