After recently adding a left-side debris shield to prevent fires, NASCAR is evaluating whether to make further safety enhancements because of incidents at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Fords of Josh Berry, Austin Cindric and Chad Finchum caught fire because of rubber buildup during Saturday night’s 500-lap race, which featured a new right-side tire with heavier wear.
Managing director of communications Mike Forde said NASCAR officials met with all three teams after the race and did a thorough inspection of two Chevrolets at the R&D Center this week.
“There wasn’t anything that really jumped out at us and said, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what happened. Here’s the fix,’ ” Forde said on the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “We have been in conversation with Team Penske, and they have some theories as well that we’re looking into. So more to come, and it’s still a little bit early in the process. There may be some changes for New Hampshire.”
After some issues at Richmond Raceway, NASCAR mandated a left-side debris shield starting in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. The device, which will be used at all remaining tracks but Talladega Superspeedway, helps keep excess rubber from entering the engine headers and causing the fires to ignite.
During the debut season of the Next Gen car in 2022, NASCAR made several cooling upgrades to rocker panels after a spate of fires that also exclusively involved Fords.
“It doesn’t seem like it can just be a coincidence where it’s just Fords, so maybe there is something there,” Forde said. “That’s part of what we’re looking into and having discussions with Penske, and that’s part of the investigation into if this is a Ford problem, or if there’s some kind of setup or how their headers are designed. That is part of the fact-finding we’re on right now.”
Forde said a right-side debris panel also could be mandated.
“That probably won’t happen because we don’t believe that is the cause of the issue,” he said. “We’re still digging into it, working with the teams and the engineers here at the R&D Center. If there is something that needs to be addressed for New Hampshire, we certainly will.”
Other topics covered by Forde and NASCAR senior director of racing communications AmandaEllis during the 33rd episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— How NASCAR made the decision to add an extra set of tires during the Bristol race.
— The most caution laps at Bristol in 60 years.
— The decision to rescind the free pass from William Byron after causing a caution.
— Previewing a new tire at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend.
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.
It is not often NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour gets to race at the same track on the same weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series.
The rare occurrence generally only happens a few times each season. This year the Whelen Modified Tour was scheduled to share the track with the NASCAR Cup Series four times at North Wilkesboro, Richmond, New Hampshire and Martinsville.
Through two of those four races, Craig Lutz is batting 1.000.
The driver of the Goodie Racing No. 46 secured victories this season at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway. He wants to keep the streak going this weekend when NASCAR’s oldest division travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the running of the Mohegan Sun 100 (Saturday at 9:15 a.m. ET on FloRacing).
“Honestly, if you asked me at the beginning of the year what two tracks I was going to win at, I don’t think I would have picked those two,” said Lutz, who is in his 12th year of racing with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “It’s just funny somehow how it works out. You need to be in the right position at the right time, and you need a lot of things to go your way and to have a good car.
“Luckily, at those two tracks it just happened to work out for us.”
Craig Lutz rejoined Goodie Racing in 2024 and so far through 2025 he’s won a pair of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events. (Photo: Rob Branning/NASCAR)
Lutz, who will make his 150th career Whelen Modified Tour start on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, is enjoying his best season since 2020 when he won twice and finished fourth in the championship standings.
This year in particular has been a stark contrast for Lutz compared to 2024.
Last year marked Lutz’s return to Goodie Racing, the team he departed midway through the 2021 season. The pairing was instantly fast, and Lutz won the pole at the season opener New Smyrna Speedway.
Although the program had speed almost everywhere; the problem was they were never fast when it counted. Lutz led a career-high 378 laps in 2024, but he failed to win a race despite being constantly at the front of the field.
Lutz and Russell Goodale made it their mission this year to be fast not at the beginning or middle of races, but at the end instead. So far, that mindset has paid off.
“Anytime you have an opportunity to do something again, like rejoining a team to have another shot, you always think of what you could do different after the first time,” Lutz said. “That was kind of what joining forces back with Russell and Goodie Racing was. That was kind of our goal together. Last year was our first year back together. We learned a lot and had a lot of speed.
“When it mattered though, we weren’t the fastest. So we’ve kind of been trying to focus on the end of the races instead of leading all the laps and not putting the race together. For some reason, the bigger tracks like [North] Wilkesboro and Richmond, it just happened to work out.”
Craig Lutz celebrates after winning the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond Raceway last month. (Photo: Rob Branning/NASCAR)
Those two wins, combined with a consistent season, have Lutz tied for fourth with Matt Hirschman in the Whelen Modified Tour championship standings with four races left in the year. The top five are only separated by 29 points, with Beers holding a 17-point advantage on runner-up Justin Bonsignore.
If Lutz is going to keep his big race momentum going and also stay in the championship hunt, he will have to find a way to do it in the Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, widely considered to be the most prestigious event for Whelen Modified Tour competitors.
At just more than one mile in length, New Hampshire is the largest track the series races on each season. Because it shares a weekend with two of NASCAR’s national divisions, there are always a few extra eyeballs on the event.
Lutz has not had a lot of luck at New Hampshire Motor Speedway during his career, as he only has one top five finish in 13 career starts at the track. That came in 2020 when he finished fifth. He’s also failed to finish three of the last four events at the track.
With all that in mind, it only takes one race to completely change the narrative.
“For myself, the last couple years I’ve had some bad luck there and haven’t had good runs,” Lutz said. “That’s always kind of in the back of your mind, like it’s one of those places where you’ve never really ran too well at. This is the time to turn that around.
“I’m really looking forward to going to Loudon and having a shot to get our third win at a big track this year.”
Jimmie Johnson’s racing life has been about big numbers.
Seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt at that peak. Five titles in a row — a record he holds alone. Eighty-three Cup race wins.
Now, another big number. On Sept. 17, 2025, Jimmie Johnson turns 50 years old.
Looking back at 50 memorable moments as Johnson, one of NASCAR’s finest, celebrates No. 50:
Sept. 17, 1975 — Johnson is born to Gary and Catherine Johnson in the Southern California town of El Cajon, near San Diego.
Nov. 8, 1995 — In one of the defining moments of his career, Johnson falls asleep at the wheel during the night and crashes into a ravine during the Baja 1000 off-road race. He waits hours to be rescued and determines he needs to take a more reasoned and professional approach to racing.
Oct. 1, 1998 — After competing in motocross and off-road racing, Johnson moves to the American Speed Association and is named Rookie of the Year after finishing fourth in the series point standings.
June 12, 1999 — Johnson scores his first ASA victory (and his first win on a paved track) by leading 156 laps at Memphis Motorsports Park.
June 25, 2000 — Escapes injury in a major crash in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International in New York. A brake issue sent Johnson’s car hurtling off the track in the first turn toward a wall he assumed was concrete. Instead, he smashed head-on into Styrofoam after sailing across an off-track grassy area.
July 14, 2001 — Driving a Chevrolet for Herzog Motorsports, Johnson scores his only victory in the Xfinity Series, winning by 4.932 seconds over Mike Skinner at Chicagoland Speedway.
Oct. 7, 2001 –– Johnson, recommended for a Hendrick Motorsports ride by Jeff Gordon, makes his Cup Series debut in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A crash leaves him with a 39th-place finish.
April 28, 2002 — Scores first Cup win at Auto Club Speedway in his home state of California. It’s Johnson’s 13th career start. He called it “the day I knew I was going to be employed.”
May 17, 2003 — Wins the NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in only his second appearance. He would go on to win three more all-star events.
May 25, 2003 — Johnson completed two consecutive winning weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway, following up his All-Star Race victory with a win in the Coca-Cola 600. The race was shortened from 400 laps to 276 due to rain. Johnson led 34 laps.
Oct. 31, 2004 — Only a week after Hendrick Motorsports was devastated by the loss of team and family members in an airplane crash near Martinsville Speedway, Johnson scored an emotional win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, beginning the healing process.
Nov. 14, 2004 — Displaying his driving skill on one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks, Johnson wins the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to complete a seasonal sweep at the speedway.
Dec. 10, 2004 — Johnson marries Chandra Janway in a ceremony in St. Barth in the French West Indies. The couple began dating in 2002 after being introduced by Jeff Gordon.
Feb. 19, 2006 — Wins the Daytona 500 for the first time. The race stretched into overtime and ended under caution with Johnson in front. He led 24 laps, including the final 17.
Aug. 6, 2006 — Johnson wins the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time, leading 33 of 160 laps. His crew chief, Chad Knaus, had signed a four-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports the same week.
Nov. 19, 2006 — Finishes ninth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the season finale to win his first Cup championship. Johnson finished 56 points in front of second-place Matt Kenseth.
Nov. 18, 2007 — Johnson finishes seventh in the season’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, locking up his second Cup championship. Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon is second in points, 77 behind Johnson.
Nov. 16, 2008 –– Johnson finishes 15th at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win his third straight championship, tying Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough — Johnson’s childhood hero — for the most consecutive titles. Johnson won seven races during the season.
July 26, 2009 — In a race slowed by only three cautions, Johnson became the first driver to win back-to-back Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He finished 0.40 seconds in front of Mark Martin in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
Nov. 22, 2009 — Johnson wins seven races for the second straight season and coasts to his fourth straight championship — a NASCAR record — with a fifth-place finish in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mark Martin was a distant second in the points race, 141 behind.
Dec. 31, 2009 — Johnson is named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, becoming the first race car driver to be so honored. He earned more votes than tennis star Roger Federer and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, among others.
March 21, 2010 — Johnson passes Tony Stewart for the lead with seven laps to go and wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, his first victory at the track and his 50th Cup win.
June 20, 2010 — Wins on a road course for the first time, breezing to a 3.1-second victory over Robby Gordon in the Toyota-Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.
July 7, 2010 — Jimmie and Chandra Johnson welcome a baby daughter, Genevieve.
Nov. 21, 2010 –– Finishes second at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win his fifth straight Cup championship, an accomplishment praised by many of his peers as an unbreakable record. Races past Denny Hamlin, who began the race first in points but finishes 14th and loses the title by 39 points.
May 19, 2012 — Wins for the third time in NASCAR’s All-Star Race, outrunning Brad Keselowski by 0.841 seconds. Johnson picked up a passenger on his victory lap as team owner Rick Hendrick climbed into the driver’s window to travel to Victory Lane with the winner.
Feb. 24, 2013 — Johnson wins the Daytona 500 for the second time, leading the final 10 laps and finishing 0.129 seconds in front of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
July 6, 2013 — Wins summer race at Daytona International Speedway by 0.107 seconds over Tony Stewart, becoming the first driver to sweep both Cup races at Daytona in a single season since 1982.
Sept. 6, 2013 — The Johnsons’ second daughter, Lydia, is born.
Nov. 17, 2013 — It’s championship No. 6 as Johnson finishes ninth in the final race of the season at Homestead. Needing only a 23rd-place run to lock up the title, he beats Matt Kenseth by 19 points.
Nov. 19, 2013 — A frequent guest on ESPN’s television productions, Johnson flipped the script by co-hosting SportsCenter, the network’s featured news program.
May 31, 2015 — Scores his 10th career victory at Dover Motor Speedway, becoming the fifth driver in Cup history to log double-digit wins at one track, following Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip.
Nov. 20, 2016 — Wins seventh Cup championship by finishing first at Homestead, surviving NASCAR’s relatively new multi-round elimination-style playoffs. The title lifts Johnson into exclusive company, as he, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are the only drivers with a record seven Cup titles.
June 4, 2017 — Johnson’s last (so far) Cup win comes at Dover Motor Speedway, a track he has dominated. The victory is the 83rd of his career, tying Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough, and his 11th at Dover.
April 15, 2019 — After months of training, Johnson finishes the Boston Marathon in three hours, nine minutes and seven seconds, missing his target of three hours but putting a checkmark by one of his fitness goals. He ran wearing bib No. 4848, a salute to his NASCAR car number.
Nov. 20, 2019 — Announces that 2020 will be his final full-time season in NASCAR. It will be his 19th full-time year in the Cup Series.
March 1, 2020 — Johnson’s wife, Chandra, and daughters Genevieve and Lydia, wave the green flag to start the Auto Club 400, scheduled to be his final race at Auto Club Speedway, his home track. He finishes seventh after leading 10 laps.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
Aug. 9, 2020 — Seeking a new challenge, Johnson announces he will run a part-time IndyCar schedule in Chip Ganassi Racing cars in 2021.
Nov. 8, 2020 — Johnson makes his final full-schedule start in Cup, finishing fifth at Phoenix Raceway.
Jan. 30, 2021 — Finishes second in IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on a Cadillac team that also includes drivers Simon Pagenaud, Kamni Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller.
Dec. 15, 2021 — After driving part-time in the IndyCar Series in 2021, Johnson says he will race the series full-time in 2022.
Sept. 11, 2022 — Completes two seasons of racing in the IndyCar Series with a finish of 16th at Laguna Seca in California. His best finish in the series is a fifth at Iowa Speedway.
Nov. 4, 2022 — Johnson begins his transition from driver to team owner by purchasing ownership in the Petty GMS Motorsports NASCAR team, linking his future to fellow seven-time champion Richard Petty.
Jan. 11, 2023 — The Petty GMS Motorsports team is renamed Legacy Motor Club in honor of the organization’s decorated NASCAR history. Johnson is scheduled to race Legacy cars part-time in the Cup Series.
May 11, 2023 — Johnson’s record-setting career earns him a spot on the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Jan. 19, 2024 — Johnson’s NASCAR career is capped by induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He is joined by long-time crew chief Chad Knaus, both elected in their first time on the ballot.
Jan. 27, 2025 — Johnson becomes the majority owner of Legacy Motor Club, which opens the Cup season with Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek as its full-time drivers.
May 25, 2025 — Makes high-speed laps around Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the Indianapolis 500 in a two-seater IndyCar with National Football League Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
May 25, 2025 — Makes 700th career Cup start at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he also made his Cup debut. Started 17th and finished 40th after crashing out on Lap 112.
NASCAR officials suspended a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing crew members for two races following a safety violation during last Saturday’s Cup Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway, where a wheel detached from Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota.
Hamlin’s right-front wheel became dislodged during the 384th of 500 laps in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race. His No. 11 car made contact with AJ Allmendinger’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, prompting the 13th of 14 yellow flags in the event. Race officials issued a two-lap penalty to Hamlin during the caution period, and he finished five laps down in 31st place.
Competition officials completed the penalty process Tuesday with suspensions for the two Cup Series races for two No. 11 crew members: Austin Maloney (front-tire changer) and Joel Bouagnon (jack). According to FOX Sports and verified with NASCAR’s roster portal, the penalty will be deferred for one week under a new rule introduced ahead of the 2025 campaign. Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications, said the two crewmen’s suspension would instead begin at Kansas and run through the Oct. 5 Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
“What we did at the beginning of the year was we said that if there is a suspension that’s not a behavioral penalty, that the suspension can be deferred without an appeal request for the next event following the issuance of the penalty,” Forde said during the latest recording of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “So if the 11 team would like for their two crew members to be part of the New Hampshire race, they can request a deferral. The appeals administrator would be the one who does grant that or not grant that. There is pretty much 100% success rate (of granting the deferral).”
Hamlin, a five-time winner in the Cup Series this year, advanced out of the playoffs’ opening round by winning the Sept. 7 race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He enters the re-seeded Round of 12 standings as the points leader, ranking 26 points above the cutline.
Hamlin is a three-time winner at New Hampshire, the site of Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
NASCAR officials also indicated that two Cup Series cars were all clear Tuesday after a further inspection at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina. Those entries were the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevy.
Ryan Blaney enters the midsection of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on one of the best rips of his career, savoring a near-weekly accumulation of top-five and top-10 finishes and the points bonanza that comes with it. The momentum has helped his No. 12 Team Penske Ford group roar into the 10-race postseason and handily advance to the second round.
That hasn’t rested on Blaney’s shoulders alone, with a performance upswing that’s involved every branch of the team’s composition — crew chief, pit crew, engineers, you name it — and the veteran poise that has come with keeping that established core intact.
“I feel like we’ve just kind of gotten into this good rhythm, and that stuff just grows over time,” Blaney said Tuesday during a midweek driver availability. “So yeah, I just think we’re executing the way we need to. I feel like our mindset is just in a good place right now, where everyone’s extremely confident in themselves and their ability, and they believe it, and that stuff definitely helps, you know? So it’s the belief that we can do it. And you know, we’ve had the belief that we can do it the last two, three years. They’re poised to do it, and it’s really fun to be part of a group like that that has that mindset, like everyone’s clicking together, everyone has each other’s backs, like we support if I make a mistake, they’re right there to support me. If they make a mistake, I support them, you know?
“That’s just how a team works. So yeah, I just think we are a pretty well-oiled machine.”
Blaney rides a run of eight top-10 finishes in the last nine Cup Series races heading into Sunday’s Round of 12 opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). That torrid stretch includes a victory in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, plus two consecutive fourth-place finishes that include last weekend’s top five at Bristol Motor Speedway, where his 4-year-old nephew gave him an unexpected midrace pep talk.
Blaney has used similar late-season pushes to make the Championship 4 field the last two seasons, where he finished second, first and second in the last three races each time, winning the Cup title in 2023. The timing of his No. 12 Ford team’s current hot streak has arrived earlier on the calendar this time, but Blaney hasn’t appeared overly concerned about bottling that performance for later. The more pressing matter might be matching the recent speed shown by Toyota teams, especially after Joe Gibbs Racing swept the three-race Round of 16 to open the playoffs on their own tear.
“Yeah, you take it where you can get it,” Blaney said, nodding toward the timing of his current run. “I’ve been happy with the way we’ve been performing, and you just try to piece by piece get a little bit better, week to week. Toyotas are really strong. They’ve definitely … the last three weeks, you can’t take that away from them. They’ve been incredibly fast, and all their teams have been really executing really well, but I think we’re really close to where we need to be. I have confidence that we can get on that level. So yeah, we’ve been doing a good job of getting to where we need to be, and now it’s just a matter of executing and finding little things here and there that can continue to catapult you along.”
Four drivers were knocked from playoff contention after last Saturday’s elimination race at Bristol. Half of the 12 drivers who remain title-eligible share a common thread as former prospects who once drove for Brad Keselowski Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Blaney and current Penske teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric are on that list, along with Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick.
Though Keselowski’s truck operation closed after the 2017 season, the Cup veteran’s knack for identifying future NASCAR stars remains a lasting legacy. A look at the playoff grid bears that out.
“I think it just speaks a lot on Brad’s knowledge of finding drivers that he thinks have potential to have a solid Cup career,” said Blaney, who delivered four Truck Series victories for Keselowski’s team from 2012-15. “I’ll never forget when Brad asked me to drive his trucks for him in 2012, the second part of 2012, and eventually at the same time led to the Penske opportunity running some Nationwide (now Xfinity Series) stuff, and led to this today. Here we are 13 years later. It’s pretty amazing, honestly, when I sit back and look at it, but I think it speaks a lot to Brad and the opportunities that he gave a lot of great young kids that, hey, you never know where they’re gonna end up. You take a chance on somebody, and it’s pretty cool when it works out, so Brad has a huge part of a lot of our careers, and that was a lot of fun.
“I loved my years at BKR. I loved winning races for them and loved the success that they had when I wasn’t driving those trucks anymore — a lot of good drivers have come from there, so that’s all Brad. That’s all Brad’s eye for who he wants to give a shot to, and it’s pretty cool that a lot of drivers today that are winning races and in the playoffs came from that stable. It speaks a lot to the people that were there, mainly Brad Keselowski.”
From that foundation, Blaney has found his calling as a 15-time Cup Series winner who has etched his name on the list of champions. Finding his way to a second Cup crown this year will involve navigating a tough Round of 12 at New Hampshire, Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval before an even trickier — on paper — Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway, all before the title is decided Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.
Blaney has won at three of the remaining seven tracks left on the playoff schedule. New Hampshire is not in his win column, though his average running position has registered in the single digits in six of the last eight races at the 1.058-mile oval. His last time out there, Blaney was locked in a late-race contest for second place when a collision with Michael McDowell thwarted his chances at victory.
The solid stats and near-the-front positioning there are part of why Blaney is bullish that his best shot at advancing with a Round of 12 win may come this weekend.
“New Hampshire. That’d be ideal,” Blaney said. “… I feel like we’ve run good enough there to where we contend for one.”
The NTT IndyCar Series will join NASCAR’s top two national circuits for a crossover weekend next March at Phoenix Raceway, marking the open-wheel tour’s first visit to the Arizona oval since 2018.
The latest component of the Phoenix race weekend March 6-8 was added Tuesday, when IndyCar announced its 2026 schedule. The IndyCar Series event will share Saturday’s slate with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (currently called the Xfinity Series), with the NASCAR Cup Series and ARCA Menards Series completing the weekend lineup.
The scheduling development means the Cup Series and IndyCar Series will share the weekend bill for the first time since 2023, when NASCAR last raced on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road-course layout. NASCAR and IndyCar will also hold crossover events on consecutive weeks on next year’s calendar, with the Craftsman Truck Series set to join the Indianapolis-based series for its debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street course on Feb. 28-March 1.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the NTT IndyCar Series back to Phoenix Raceway,” Phoenix Raceway President Latasha Causey said in a release provided by the track. “This track has deep roots in open-wheel history, so we’re pleased to bring that tradition back to our race fans as part of a doubleheader Saturday with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.”
IndyCar’s history at Phoenix spans back to the track’s opening season in 1964. The circuit last competed on the 1-mile oval in April 2018, when major renovations to the facility were in progress. Next year’s Phoenix event will be the first for IndyCar with those enhancements complete and with the start/finish line in its current location, just before the dogleg that was formerly part of the track’s distinctive backstretch.
“I loved when we had the doubleheader with them at Indy, just kind of being right there and going over and hanging out and watching practice in their box and stuff like that,” said Ryan Blaney, who drives for the Team Penske organization that fields teams in both NASCAR and IndyCar. “It was cool, and I think it’s going to be fantastic. And I like that IndyCar’s going back to Phoenix. It’s been a while since they’ve run in Phoenix, and I think it’ll put on a really good show. So I’m looking forward to that in the spring, and yeah, it’ll be fun to watch those guys run about six seconds at least faster than us around that place, and I’m looking forward to going and standing like in (turns) one and two. Those guys just haulin’ butt around on there will be pretty amazing to see. So yeah, I think it’s great for both series, IndyCar and on the NASCAR side.”
The Cup Series will visit Phoenix twice next year – March 8 and Oct. 18. Between now and then, the track is also set to host NASCAR Championship Weekend for the sixth consecutive year, with 2025 season finales set for the three national series Oct. 31-Nov. 2. NASCAR’s season-ending weekend will move to Homestead-Miami Speedway next year.
Kyle Larson drove an IndyCar at Phoenix Raceway during testing in February 2024, all as part of his preparations for his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double that year. Phoenix was also the site of preseason IndyCar testing for many years until the series’ departure after the 2018 event.
One of the most anticipated races of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, the Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, is on the docket this Saturday morning at 9:15 a.m. ET live on FloRacing.
The race, which serves as the 13th of 16 events on the 2025 calendar, marks the 77th visit by NASCAR’s oldest division to the 1.058-mile oval located in Loudon, New Hampshire. Mike McLaughlin won the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event held at the track in 1990 and is one of only 24 drivers to win with the series at the track.
Mike Stefanik holds the series record with eight victories at New Hampshire. Other notable winners at the track include Tony Hirschman, Reggie Ruggiero, Bobby Santos III, Ted Christopher, John Blewett III, Doug Coby, Steve Park, Todd Szegedy, Mike Ewanitsko, Jeff Fuller, Chuck Hossfeld, Ron Silk and the most recent winner, Justin Bonsignore.
Tickets to Saturday’s Mohegan Sun 100 are available here. Below is everything you need to know about the 13th race of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
Cars in action during the Mohegan Sun 100 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 22, 2024 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
It’s been more than a year since six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby made his most recent start with the series. That changes Saturday when Coby returns to competition at the wheel of Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7NY at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
This won’t be the first time Coby has driven for Baldwin. The pairing worked together from 2022 to 2024, with Coby scoring four victories for Baldwin’s team. Coby is a four-time winner at the Magic Mile, with his most recent win at the track coming in 2016.
If Coby is going to earn his fifth New Hampshire Motor Speedway victory Saturday, he will have to go through the best the Modified Tour has to offer.
Leading the charge will be Justin Bonsignore, who has won the last two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at the track. Bonsignore enters Saturday’s race 17 points behind KLM Motorsports’ Austin Beers in the battle for the series championship and a win at New Hampshire would be exactly the type of momentum he needs to remain in the fight.
In addition to Coby and Bonsignore, other previous winners at the track who are entered include three-time winner Ron Silk, 2022 winner Anthony Nocella and 2014 winner Woody Pitkat.
Mike Christopher Jr., nephew of late NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ted Christopher, will make his first start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday morning in his family-owned No. 13. He’ll also be making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut later Saturday afternoon.
Craig Lutz, who has won the first two NASCAR Cup Series companion events on the series schedule this year, will make his 150th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start Saturday aboard Russell Goodale’s No. 46.
Other notable entrants for Saturday morning’s event include Patrick Emerling, Eric Goodale, Kyle Bonsignore, Matt Hirschman, Andy Seuss, Jon McKennedy, Jake Lutz and Tommy and Trevor Catalano, among others.
The complete entry list for the Mohegan Sun 100 is available here.
Cars in action during the Mohegan Sun 100 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 22, 2024 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
SCHEDULE: Friday, Sept. 19; Final practice from 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 3:05 p.m. ET … Saturday, Sept. 20; Start of the Mohegan Sun 100 at 9:15 a.m. ET.
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 Mohegan Sun 100 is limited to 32 starters including Provisional Positions.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is twelve (12) 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.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are in full force, with all the attention shining on championship contenders Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway as the Round of 16 came to a close.
Yet the stars who glistened brightest at the “Last Great Colosseum” were arguably those who didn’t qualify for the 2025 postseason.
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race featured significant performances from a multitude of non-playoff drivers who put themselves in position to win Saturday’s race, including Brad Keselowski, Zane Smith and Ty Gibbs. None are eligible to win this year’s championship after missing the cut to join the 16-driver grid, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still fighting for wins of their own.
In the brightest spotlight when the checkered flag waved was Keselowski. The 2012 Cup champion had a monster run into Turn 3 on the final lap, charging to the back bumper of Christopher Bell. He slammed Bell’s bumper on entry in hopes of a bump-and-run pass, but the contact appeared too square, allowing Bell to maintain control and escape Keselowski’s clutches in the last corner.
“I thought I dumped him!” Keselowski told RACER.com. “I was like, ‘Oh, that was harder than I wanted to hit him.’ Didn’t even do a thing.”
Keselowski’s disappointment was evident when he climbed from his car, shook his head in disgust and threw his gloves back into the cockpit after finishing second for the second time this season (EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta in June). Running fourth before the race’s final restart with four laps remaining, Keselowski opted for the top lane behind leader Carson Hocevar and third-place runner Alex Bowman. That allowed Bell to take the inside of Row 2 behind front-row restarter Zane Smith.
“I’m just pissed,” Keselowski told reporters. “We did all the right moves and just kind of got screwed on the last restart. And it sucks to be that close.”
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
Equally close but less frustrated was Smith, who finished third behind Bell and Keselowski. Smith had an excellent night driving the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, averaging a third-best running position of 7.88, only behind Gibbs (4.82) and Ryan Blaney (7.2). On a night when tire wear dominated the conversation, Smith and crew chief Ryan Bergenty managed their Goodyear rubber better than most, solidifying their first top-five finish of the season.
“Yeah, it’s big. Especially in the playoffs, there’s a lot of these guys bringing their best stuff,” Smith told NASCAR.com. “If it stays green there, we’re in a really good position to get my first Cup win. This 38 team’s first Cup win. And, yeah, it just unfortunately didn’t work out.”
On the restart, Smith launched perfectly alongside Hocevar. But on older left-side tires, Smith washed up the track in Turns 1 and 2, sending both him and Hocevar high and allowing Bell to charge through underneath before Keselowski capitalized as well. That slide may have cost him a chance to win, but it didn’t dull what may have been Smith’s best Cup race from start to finish.
“I think it’s our best to date all-around effort,” Bergenty told NASCAR.com. “I think (Saturday) was the pinnacle of driver-to-crew-chief and spotter communication to just management, strategy of when to put tires on, how fast to go, how slow to go, track position, right sides, four tires. It was a little bit of everything. And then your car has to have good potential. So I thought we had a little bit of all of that, and we just kind of hung around top 10 all day and had a good shot at it.”
Smith showed flashes of speed throughout the summer, but incidents not of his own doing often cost him late in the going, most notably at tracks like Sonoma Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway. That left a dearth of results to back up those otherwise strong efforts that had the No. 38 Ford inside the top 15. At Bristol, the box score backed what the numbers laid out: According to NASCAR Insights, Smith earned the No. 1 Defense Rating and No. 2 Passer Rating.
“It’s just a solidification of the last two months,” Bergenty said. “We can hypothetically speak that we’ve had speed, but you don’t have results, so you don’t get an asterisk on your results. I think tonight just kind of solidifies where we’ve been the last couple months. And then the hard part now is going home and moving on.”
Gibbs will want to put an asterisk on his 10th-place finish. The result is still great — it marks his third top 10 in the past four races and ninth overall this season. But the third-year driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led a career-high 201 laps of Saturday’s 500, earning a Stage 2 win and finishing second in Stage 1.
Bristol has been an excellent track for Gibbs. This week’s race closely resembled the March 2024 event at the 0.533-mile bullring, with Gibbs wrestling through high tire wear to lead 137 laps before finishing ninth. In the 2023 Bristol Night Race, Gibbs wheeled the No. 54 car to a fifth-place finish after leading 102 laps.
But his chances to win this time vanished on Lap 435. After sinking down the leaderboard on old tires, Gibbs attempted to follow teammate Chase Briscoe to pit road with 65 laps remaining. But Gibbs carried too much speed and locked up his right-front tire under braking, flat-spotting the tire, missing pit entry and sliding up the track in front of Austin Hill. Gibbs nursed the car back to pit lane, but not before his right-front tire went flat and sank his hopes of scoring his first career Cup victory.
His performance shouldn’t be overlooked despite the mistake. NASCAR Insights ranked Gibbs the No. 1 passer of the Bristol Night Race with the No. 1 Speed Rating while being ranked second in both defense and restarts. That likely doesn’t soften the blow for the 22-year-old up-and-comer, who won his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 2021 before winning the 2022 series championship.
Also in the mix for their first visit to Victory Lane in the Cup Series Saturday were Hocevar and Corey Heim. When the race’s final caution flag waved on Lap 488, Hocevar stayed out when leaders Keselowski, Bell, Blaney and Joey Logano hit pit road. His tires were older, but the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team was out of fresh rubber on pit road, placing the sophomore racer in prime position to contend for his first triumph if the restart worked out. But after Smith pushed himself and Hocevar wide, Hocevar fell to seventh at the checkered flag.
“It sucks, but we had a shot to win,” Hocevar said. “We can only control what we can control. We don’t have a crystal ball up there with the yellows. I am just proud of this No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet team. We got caught out really early, and we were able to execute there with tire-saving, managing and just executing at a top caliber. If things go green there, we would have had a huge tire advantage, but it just didn’t work out.”
Heim’s full focus remains on chasing a Craftsman Truck Series championship this season. But in his seventh career Cup start, the 23XI Racing part-timer restarted eighth and charged the No. 67 Toyota to a sixth-place result, a career-best for the young pilot.
“Once everyone kind of realized the situation with the tires, we adjusted accordingly and did all of the right things and kept ourselves in it all day,” Heim said. “It was a claw to get back on the lead lap after we had a right front go down in Stage 1, but can’t thank these 23XI Racing guys enough — they stuck with it.”
Heim attempted five Cup races this year but made just four starts, failing to qualify for the Chicago Street Race. His first race of the year was at Kansas Speedway, where he finished 13th, but trouble at Nashville Superspeedway and Richmond Raceway placed him 37th and 29th, respectively.
“All the ups and downs that we had — to end on a high note is pretty special,” Heim said. “Hopefully, we can take that and move forward.”
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell put himself back on top of the championship conversation on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time since an early-season, three-race win streak. Bell should be able to keep it rolling this weekend in the “Granite State,” where he has excelled in recent years and tested in July. Fellow Round of 12 competitor and New England native — not to mention defending and three-time champion — Joey Logano was also part of that test, and could be the first to clinch a Round of 8 spot in search of a landmark fourth title.
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs contenders after the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and before Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Analysis: Bell’s dramatic Bristol win cements him as the driver to beat at the worst possible time for his competitors. The Round of 12 is tremendously suited for Bell’s skillset, with the No. 20 driver being in a class of his own at Loudon to start. The Oklahoman being in the Round of 8 by Sunday night is a realistic scenario — expect Bell to leverage his momentum and JGR’s supreme playoff hot streak into perhaps a second straight victory.
Analysis: After a rare off night at Bristol — finishing 31st and five laps down — Hamlin’s extensive history of success at Loudon offers optimism, even if mixed with a little phobia. A three-time NHMS winner (2007, ’12, ’17) with eight additional top fives and a total of 19 top 10s in 31 career starts, he knows how to manage tires and late restarts at the “Magic Mile,” even if he’s not thrilled about the creature that greets him in Victory Lane. Despite Bristol’s setback, his status as points leader and master of tire wear suggest he’ll rebound as a favorite at New Hampshire.
Analysis: A ninth-place result at Bristol added to Briscoe’s momentum after his Darlington win, completing a trio of top 10s in the Round of 16. A Loudon win feels imminent in his future, showing he is more than capable of competing there with his past team and now getting a chance to drive for the team to beat in JGR — a team that also just swept the Round of 16.
Analysis: Blaney thrived at Bristol with a fourth-place run, leading 30 laps and capturing Stage 1. Though much has been made of Team Penske’s flat-track program, Blaney has just one top 15 at Loudon this decade and has led laps in just two of his 12 starts there. That said, Blaney’s smooth driving and Penske’s generally strong history up north make him a dark horse for a New Hampshire victory.
Analysis: Larson endured a challenging Bristol, finishing a brutal 32nd in a race he was favored to win, but his record at Loudon is stout and a rebound should be in store. Despite having yet to win there, No. 5 owns six top fives in 14 starts — including a pair of top threes to open his career there as a 2014 rookie — and proven consistency on mile-long flat tracks bodes well for him in the “Granite State.”
Analysis: A mediocre 12th at Bristol underscored Byron’s playoff form, which thus far has not been great — he struck out on top 10s in the Round of 16. Another spot where he’s seen a dearth of top 10s? New Hampshire Motor Speedway: the track at which he has the most starts with no such finishes. Hendrick certainly has this one circled with that in mind, but there’s no guarantee one of the year’s best drivers gets it going again in time at this pivotal point.
Analysis: Logano, despite a rough recent Bristol resume and murky points outlook entering Saturday night, did what a champion does and survived to race another day, turning in a top-five run and moving on to the Round of 12. He now gets to go home to New England, to a track he tested at over the summer and one at which he’s one of a small handful of drivers to beat. We may be about to go from “is defending champ Joey Logano about to be eliminated in the Round of 16 at Bristol?” to “actually, he’s the first driver in the Round of 8” in a span of eight days.
Analysis: Despite a 38th-place DNF disaster at Bristol, Elliott advances by points after nobody below the cutline was able to advance and knock him out. He’s shown some decent capability at New Hampshire in the past — No. 9 has led double-digit laps in four of his 11 starts there — but it’s only translated to three total top 10s.
Analysis: Reddick started the Round of 16 hot with a runner-up at Darlington and was then held out of the top 10 the remaining two races, but he could be getting back on the horse this weekend at Loudon. No. 45 led 53 laps there last year en route to a second straight sixth-place finish at the track, and he’s seemed to pick things back up a bit overall the past month after a summer swoon. Don’t be surprised if Reddick claims his first lobster this weekend and starts carving out his Championship 4 path, with a favorable Round of 8 for him ahead as well.
Analysis: Wallace saw the power of a points cushion at Bristol, wrecking out for a 34th-place finish but moving on to the Round of 12 before the race even concluded. Loudon generally has not been a great track for him, with two finishes better than 22nd and no laps led, but those two results were in the past three races there and for an average finish of 5.5. He’s been strong lately, and there’s a good chance it continues.
Analysis: Chastain finished the Round of 16 with no top 10s and has just one of those since Chicago as well, yet here he is, still in championship contention with seven races remaining. With three top 10s in his four most recent NHMS starts, it’s quite likely he turns things around this weekend and could even re-enter the serious title talk.
Analysis: Maneuvering through a cockpit fire to finish 30th and advance, Cindric showed grit at Bristol as he defied the many who had him penciled in as a Round of 16 cut. He’s yet to lead a lap or finish in the top 10 at Loudon, but this race will be one that he and Team Penske absolutely have dialed in as a place to finally pounce, and it would be quite a surprise to see him not turn in a competitive weekend.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby is making a comeback Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Coby will pilot the historic No. 7NY for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the Mohegan Sun 100, the 13th race of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
The event is scheduled for 9:15 a.m, set to run before the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff race on Saturday afternoon and the NASCAR Cup Series playoff showdown on Sunday.
It will be Coby’s first start of the season on the Whelen Modified Tour. The Tommy Baldwin Racing team competed in 11 of the first 12 events of the 2025 season with Luke Baldwin behind the wheel, scoring seven top-10 finishes. Baldwin is committed to racing for the championship on the SMART Modified Tour with Sadler-Stanley Racing and will be racing at Franklin County on Saturday.
Coby, a six-time Whelen Modified Tour champion, is no stranger to winning at New Hampshire. He has four previous wins at the ‘Magic Mile’, just some of his 35 career victories on the Whelen Modified Tour.
“I’m excited to do it at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and it’s actually my 40th year racing and I want to keep the streak going, it’s a cool milestone,” Coby said. “It’s been 40 years in a row of racing something competitive… definitely fired up to be racing with Tommy and his team.”
“We’re getting the band back together with Doug in the 7NY,” Tommy Baldwin Jr. said. “When we have raced with Doug in the past, we’ve always had a good opportunity to get to Victory Lane. There is no one better for us to have behind the wheel with Luke committed elsewhere. With his experience at New Hampshire and our newer PSR Chassis that has only one race on it, we are confident.”
The schedule for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway includes practice and qualifying on Friday. The race will take the green flag at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday morning, live on FloRacing. Tickets to see the race in person on NASCAR playoff weekend are available online at NHMS.com.
It’s been more than a year since six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby made his most recent start with the series. That changes Saturday when Coby returns to competition at the wheel of Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7NY at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
