Posted on by Tadd Haislop

RICHMOND, Va. — Thursday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond Raceway delivered Craig Lutz multiple opportunities to experience joy.

After five straight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finishes outside the top five, the No. 46 Goodie Racing crew unloaded a rocket ship at Richmond. Lutz posted the second best lap in the afternoon’s first practice, and he paced the second session. He qualified fourth despite a mistake on his hot lap. In the race, his team employed a strategy that placed him amongst a handful of contenders on the lead lap in the closing stages.

That’s when Lutz found himself running down race and Modified Tour points leader Austin Beers.

That’s when the joy reached a climax.

“Seeing the gap close and knowing you have the better car … it’s awesome,” Lutz said. “As a driver, that’s the best feeling ever, especially in the closing laps.”

Lutz, of course, easily executed the winning pass in the closing laps of Thursday’s Modified Tour race, the first of a NASCAR weekend trio at Richmond Raceway ahead of Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series tilt and Saturday’s Cup Series event.

That winning pass, though, was the only thing easy about Lutz’s triumph.

RELATED: Modified Tour results from Richmond

The 31-year-old racer from Miller Place, New York in his post-race media sessions consistently cited the Modified Tour’s parity. He became the series’ third driver to win multiple races this season, a year that began with eight winners over the first eight events.

“It’s so hard,” Lutz said. “You do this, and the end goal is to win races, and you put so much time and effort into all you do. All the money it takes. All the frustration, all the time. So when you do win, it’s that much more special. Especially when the field is so close. Everyone has the same car, same motor, same package, so when you do win, it’s just that much more special.”

Now a six-time winner in 148 Modified Tour races over a 12-year span, Lutz knows nothing is promised in this series, even with what he described as the best strategy with the best car at the track Thursday.

A caution for a Tommy Catalano spin on Lap 26 of 150 allowed Lutz and others a chance at an early pit stop. During the subsequent, 58-lap green flag run, he needed every millisecond of speed and every inch of track position to reach a second and final stop. But for Lutz and five others, the long-run strategy paid dividends. More so for Lutz than the others.

Lutz on the final restart of the race with 42 laps to go fired off tight. He was furious.

And his anger proved premature.

Just as the team hoped, Lutz’s car reached an ideal balance as his tires faded. The opposite was the case for Beers, who lost the lead with eight laps to go in what quickly became an inevitability.

“Austin’s the points leader, great team — they’re running really good,” Lutz said. “When you race those guys, you race them with respect, and they give it back to you. So it was fun racing with him at the end.”

Adding to the context of Lutz’s massive win Thursday is the fact that Richmond is far from his best track. He won the Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this season, another “bigger” track for series standards, but he knew the team would need more than just raw speed to succeed at a track where he had never finished better than seventh.

Lutz said his brother and some team members are big into iRacing, and he used the platform to prepare for Thursday’s tilt: “I buckled down and did some races, and it helped.

“The last three or four times here, I really struggled. It’s just one of those places I couldn’t get a hold of. I tried to do a lot of homework.”

Lutz’s win at Richmond places him in a tie with Matt Hirschman for fourth in Modified Tour championship points. When asked after the race whether his standing is top of mind, he was quick to deflect and reference the joy of a single win. He said he’s here to win, and hopefully, a championship will present itself as a goal in the near future.

He’s chasing a title, yes. But he’s also chasing the thrill of victory, the joy that overcomes a race-car driver when he knows he and his team have done exactly what they set out to do.

That’s the joy Lutz experienced Thursday.

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150

Richmond Raceway

21 Rr Virginiaracinglovers150 Modified 4c

  • Race results:
Pos. No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150
2 64 Austin Beers Fastrack Electric/AP Marquadt & Sons/G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew J 150 0.686
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 150 1.041
4 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 150 4.316
5 77 Corey LaJoie Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 150 12.026
6 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports 150 15.993
7 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 149 1 Lap
8 40 Ryan Preece Racechoice.com/Mizzy Construction 149 1 Lap
9 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 149 1 Lap
10 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 149 1 Lap
11 48 Danny Bohn Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts/Perkins & Associates/Hodges Realty/Simmons Powersports 149 1 Lap
12 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 149 1 Lap
13 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 148 2 Laps
14 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 148 2 Laps
15 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 141 9 Laps
16 4 Ryan Newman Bass Pro Shops 100 50 Laps
17 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 87 63 Laps
18 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 74 76 Laps
19 99 Conner Jones* Jones Utilities Construction 70 80 Laps
20 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 68 82 Laps
21 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 29 121 Laps
22 54 Tommy Catalano USNE Power/FX Caprara 27 123 Laps
23 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Midwest Operations/Eighty-Two Services 16 134 Laps
24 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg. Co 15 135 Laps

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150

Richmond Raceway

21 Rr Virginiaracinglovers150 Modified 4c

  • Qualifying results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 21.524 125.441 2 2
2 64 Austin Beers Fastrack Electric/AP Marquadt & Sons/G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew J 21.564 125.209 2 2 0.04
3 40 Ryan Preece Racechoice.com/Mizzy Construction 21.638 124.78 1 2 0.114
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 21.653 124.694 2 2 0.129
5 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 21.734 124.229 1 2 0.21
6 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports 21.737 124.212 2 2 0.213
7 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 21.789 123.916 2 2 0.265
8 4 Ryan Newman Bass Pro Shops 21.825 123.711 2 2 0.301
9 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 21.829 123.689 2 2 0.305
10 54 Tommy Catalano USNE Power/FX Caprara 21.833 123.666 2 2 0.309
11 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 21.841 123.621 2 2 0.317
12 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 21.897 123.305 2 2 0.373
13 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 21.902 123.276 1 1 0.378
14 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 21.907 123.248 1 2 0.383
15 99 Conner Jones* Jones Utilities Construction 21.908 123.243 2 2 0.384
16 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 21.91 123.231 2 2 0.386
17 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Midwest Operations/Eighty-Two Services 21.95 123.007 2 2 0.426
18 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 22.089 122.233 2 2 0.565
19 48 Danny Bohn Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts/Perkins & Associates/Hodges Realty/Simmons Powersports 22.158 121.852 1 2 0.634
20 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg. Co 22.16 121.841 2 2 0.636
21 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 22.297 121.093 2 2 0.773
22 77 Corey LaJoie Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 22.343 120.843 2 2 0.819
23 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 22.363 120.735 2 2 0.839
24 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 22.423 120.412 2 2 0.899

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Stewart Friesen will not pursue a medical waiver to retain his eligibility for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, according to a statement he put out Thursday.

Friesen suffered serious injuries in a dirt-track crash July 28, forcing him to miss last weekend’s Truck Series event at Watkins Glen International. He’s also due to miss Friday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway as he recovers from pelvic and leg fractures that will keep him out of the Halmar Friesen Racing No. 52 Toyota.

RELATED: Richmond schedule | Truck standings

The lack of a waiver will force Friesen to relinquish the playoff berth that he clinched with a June 7 victory at Michigan International Speedway. That creates another opening in the 10-driver playoff field, with two postseason slots to be filled after Friday’s race at Richmond.

“A lot went into [the decision] as far as beginning with the timeline on how my recovery was going to go,” Friesen said Friday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We started talking waiver stuff, just to kind of give ourselves a security net in case I was able to get back in. Obviously, that’s not going to work out, so we felt for the integrity of the series and the playoffs, we would not submit that waiver.”

With Friesen removed from the Truck Series title fight, more possibilities arise for drivers who were once fighting below the elimination line heading into the deciding race at Richmond. ThorSport’s Jake Garcia gained 72 points and holds the last spot in the playoff field.

Conversely, Ben Rhodes, Garcia’s teammate, gained 66 points to the elimination line and now sits 11 points back of a postseason position with Giovanni Ruggiero hot on his heels, just 21 markers back after gaining 78 points.

Cup Series regular Christopher Bell filled in for Friesen last weekend, driving the No. 52 entry to a fourth-place finish at Watkins Glen. Kaden Honeycutt is slated to drive for the Halmar Friesen Racing team at Richmond and in any other races that Friesen might miss the rest of the season.

Friesen has made 200 Truck Series starts, competing full-time each season since 2018. He is a four-time winner on the circuit, and he reached the Championship 4 round of the playoffs in 2019.

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150

Richmond Raceway

21 Rr Virginiaracinglovers150 Modified 4c

  • Final practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 21.694 124.458 2 39
2 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 21.697 124.441 5 20 0.003
3 40 Ryan Preece Racechoice.com/Mizzy Construction 21.708 124.378 3 25 0.014
4 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 21.719 124.315 7 11 0.025
5 64 Austin Beers Fastrack Electric/AP Marquadt & Sons/G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew J 21.725 124.281 10 20 0.031
6 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 21.799 123.859 16 16 0.105
7 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 21.833 123.666 8 18 0.139
8 4 Ryan Newman Bass Pro Shops 21.834 123.66 1 5 0.14
9 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports 21.84 123.626 36 36 0.146
10 99 Conner Jones* Jones Utilities Construction 21.843 123.609 7 9 0.149
11 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 21.877 123.417 2 14 0.183
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 21.912 123.22 12 12 0.218
13 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 21.932 123.108 7 13 0.238
14 54 Tommy Catalano USNE Power/FX Caprara 21.941 123.057 20 23 0.247
15 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg. Co 22.006 122.694 12 15 0.312
16 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 22.084 122.26 2 16 0.39
17 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 22.147 121.913 3 24 0.453
18 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 22.226 121.479 10 11 0.532
19 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 22.233 121.441 11 15 0.539
20 48 Danny Bohn Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts/Perkins & Associates/Hodges Realty/Simmons Powersports 22.264 121.272 18 18 0.57
21 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Midwest Operations/Eighty-Two Services 22.405 120.509 3 3 0.711
22 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 22.455 120.24 17 30 0.761
23 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 22.957 117.611 2 41 1.263

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150

Richmond Raceway

21 Rr Virginiaracinglovers150 Modified 4c

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 21.72 124.309 2 21
2 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 21.782 123.956 7 9 0.062
3 64 Austin Beers Fastrack Electric/AP Marquadt & Sons/G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew J 21.812 123.785 5 20 0.092
4 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 21.844 123.604 7 16 0.124
5 40 Ryan Preece Racechoice.com/Mizzy Construction 21.858 123.525 2 26 0.138
6 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 21.949 123.012 8 17 0.229
7 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg. Co 22.04 122.505 5 15 0.32
8 4 Ryan Newman Bass Pro Shops 22.082 122.272 8 11 0.362
9 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 22.083 122.266 7 12 0.363
10 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 22.113 122.1 7 21 0.393
11 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 22.128 122.017 4 23 0.408
12 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 22.131 122.001 10 12 0.411
13 54 Tommy Catalano USNE Power/FX Caprara 22.134 121.984 3 15 0.414
14 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 22.237 121.419 8 14 0.517
15 99 Conner Jones* Jones Utilities Construction 22.247 121.365 13 22 0.527
16 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 22.254 121.327 5 13 0.534
17 77 Corey LaJoie Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 22.296 121.098 9 15 0.576
18 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 22.304 121.055 16 17 0.584
19 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 22.428 120.385 6 28 0.708
20 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Midwest Operations/Eighty-Two Services 22.466 120.182 4 11 0.746
21 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports 22.488 120.064 11 15 0.768
22 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 22.502 119.989 4 9 0.782
23 48 Danny Bohn Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts/Perkins & Associates/Hodges Realty/Simmons Powersports 22.615 119.39 12 20 0.895

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

After 17 races featuring 10 different winners — including seven championship contenders — it all comes down to Friday night’s eero 250 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to formally set the 10-driver field for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs.

Corey Heim and Layne Riggs have each won two of the last four races and come into Richmond riding solid momentum. Heim, the driver of the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, has turned in a season for the ages, winning a series-best six races — triple that of any other full-time competitor — and carries a 178-point advantage over Riggs in the standings, having already clinched the Regular Season Championship weeks ago.

RELATED: Richmond entry list | Truck Series standings

Riggs and his Front Row Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith are the only other multiple-race winners, each collecting a pair of trophies and challenging for that runner-up position to Heim in the standings.

Former Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric, McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum, Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth and Halmar Friesen Racing’s owner-driver Stewart Friesen are the other drivers with wins this season, although Friesen will not be competing for the driver’s championship after sustaining major injuries in a dirt modified crash two weeks ago.

That leaves four positions to be decided by the points standings, and currently veteran Grant Enfinger, former series champ Ty Majeski, Kaden Honeycutt and Jake Garcia are above the elimination line. Two-time series champion Ben Rhodes is only 11 points back from Garcia and rookie Gio Ruggiero is 21 markers behind.

Majeski is the defending race winner. Smith (2022) and Enfinger (2020) also have previous wins at the Richmond three-quarter miler. Smith has a pair of Xfinity Series wins at Richmond, too.

Practice followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying is set for 2:05 p.m. ET on Friday — available on FS2. Christian Eckes, who now races full-time in the Xfinity Series, is the defending pole-winner and will join the McAnally Hilgemann Racing fold during his off week. The outside polesitter (Majeski and Smith) has won two of the last three races.

Posted on by Chris Murdock

Very few drivers find themselves in a position to get a new ride with only eight races left in a season. Insert Corey Lajoie, who will take over the driving duties in the No. 77 Craftsman Truck Series entry for Spire Motorsports for the rest of 2025 after it was announced that Andrés Pérez de Lara would move over to the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet for the remainder of the year.

The former driver of the No. 7 Spire Chevy in the Cup Series entered the 2025 season without a full-time seat in any of the three NASCAR national series. Still under contract with the team, LaJoie has made one appearance in the Truck Series, driving the No. 07 for Spire when the opportunity arose at Michigan and finished fifth.

RELATED: Truck Series Schedule | Truck Series standings

“They had a team shuffle with the 77 and it’s consolidated some efforts and some personnel,” LaJoie told NASCAR.com. “And maybe because they already told me that we’re going to finish the year, they just plug me into it to have a little fun, try to contend for some wins. And it’s been fun working with Chad Walter in that No. 77 group.

“I think it really is, truly, they’re trying to get their money’s worth out of me. The last couple of months, they’re paying me out of the contract. So it gets me off the couch. Get me out of my, you know, blowing some leaves and raking my backyard on a Sunday afternoon or Saturdays. Nonetheless, I want to go out there and give those guys a good effort.”

LaJoie is entering the final stretch of the Truck Series with a fresh mindset, one focused on chasing checkered flags, racing on his favorite tracks, and reconnecting with familiar faces.

“There’s a lot of my favorite race tracks in the Truck Series Playoffs,” LaJoie added. “So it’ll be cool to be in that garage and see some familiar faces. It’s also cool to go back through the shop and see a lot of familiar faces. I’ve been used to being around for the last couple years, so it’s nice to see that and have those conversations. But anytime you can drive, get behind the wheel or something, especially a good truck like that, I’m ready and willing to do.”

As with any situation in life, there is always another side to the coin. The host of the “Stacking Pennies Podcast” has enjoyed the time away from the demanding grind that is the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

MORE: Richmond weekend schedule

When it comes to a potential return to full-time racing at any level, LaJoie is taking it one day at a time, unsure what the future holds and when or if he will want to jump back into the seat every weekend.

“It’s been a nice little change of pace this year,” LaJoie said. “You know, I think I’ve been pretty outspoken with my desire to drive in the Cup Series. And, you know, as hard and as mentally and physically and just overall time-consuming being a Cup driver is, it would have to be a really enticing scenario to go back and commit to that grind and that experience and that adventure, because it really is an all-consuming 24/7 profession.

“I’m not beating on anybody’s door to go back to Sunday racing and or even to drive it all if it really has to be people who I want to do it with. It has to be a situation where it makes sense, and if not, then I’ll just do something else. For the first time in my life, I’m not chasing the dragon because, you know, probably a little bit disgruntled with how everything’s went the last 12 months anyways.

“But to be able to plug and recharge the battery and kind of take the blinders off and see the sport a bit more for what it is. See it more as a media side with the podcast and analysts on Amazon; it was a lot of fun. I’m pretty content with where I’m at now.”

Posted on by Neil Paine

And yet, the hottest driver in NASCAR might still be the most underrated, too.

Chase Briscoe has always been an easy driver to support. At various times throughout his career, things haven’t gone his way — from having to crash on a friend’s couch in North Carolina while chasing a seat to nearly giving up on racing before a call about an ARCA test changed everything. But he persisted, even winning the Southern 500 last year as his team at Stewart-Haas Racing was preparing to shut down. The fan favorite — he was the Truck Series’ Most Popular Driver in 2017 — has come a long way, through good times and bad.

RELATED: Chase Briscoe driver page | Cup Series schedule

Now Briscoe is reinventing himself again, this time in a top-tier Joe Gibbs Racing seat. He has a win at Pocono Raceway and ranks eighth in the playoff standings, and he sits eighth in average Driver Rating and fifth in Adjusted Points+ index. Not bad for a guy who debuted in Cup later — in many cases, much later — than all of the other top drivers from this season:

Chart showing late bloomers in NASCAR

Briscoe has been a playoff driver twice before (2022, 2024), and he advanced at least one round in each of those trips. But now, it feels like his sights ought to be set even higher: Riding for JGR in the same No. 19 car that used to belong to former champion Martin Truex Jr., is this the year Briscoe swaps the “underdog” label for the ultimate redemption — raising the biggest trophy of them all?

If momentum and recent form are any indication, he could do it. Since Kansas Speedway on May 11, Briscoe boasts both the highest average Driver Rating (98.1) and Adjusted Points+ index (204, or 104% better than Cup average) of any regular driver. On a week-in, week-out basis, you could make a fairly clear case that Briscoe has been the Cup Series’ top performer over a sustained period of three full months:

Chart showing how Chase Briscoe has been the best driver in the Cup Series over the past three months.

Showcasing the raw speed of his No. 19 Camry, Briscoe also has a series-high five poles in that span, including streaks of three in a row (Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan) and, later, two in a row (Indianapolis, Iowa). His average start of 10.0 leads all drivers this season, and while that would be the first time since 2006 — when Jeff Gordon posted a matching 10.0 mark — that the fastest qualifying driver in a Cup season didn’t have an average start in single-digits, it does prove Briscoe’s ability to run faster than his equipment has carried over from SHR to JGR.

So overall, that stretch alone would be impressive. But lately, Briscoe has found yet another gear, with his rolling nine-race averages — nine races being exactly one-quarter of the 36-race Cup Series schedule — reaching new season-highs in both Adjusted Pts+ (216.3) and Driver Rating (102.4) in his latest nine outings, including a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen International that was his fourth top five in the span of five races.

Chase Briscoe's rolling nine-race averages by Adjusted Pts+ and average Driver Rating.

So in an otherwise wide-open title race, we appear to have a driver who has been the most productive in the sport for a while now, and who is currently peaking at exactly the right time heading into the playoffs. Lest we think that makes an open-and-shut case for Briscoe as a title frontrunner, however, we have to ask: How much does a late regular-season hot streak really tell us about his performance down the stretch of the schedule?

To check this, I looked back to the earliest season of Driver Rating data at Racing-Reference.info (2005) and measured — among drivers who were above average entering the fourth quarter of the calendar — how well a stat from an earlier quarter predicted that same stat in Q4. The big takeaway is that, at the very least, Driver Rating from the period when Briscoe has been his best does tend to carry over into the final leg of the schedule.

Chart showing how NASCAR mid-season success carries over into the late season.

A driver’s combined Q2+Q3 Driver Rating tracks most strongly with Q4 Driver Rating, with a correlation coefficient of 0.74, and Q3 alone is nearly as good (0.71). Q1 and Q2 Driver Ratings tell us less, so there is a meaningful effect by which the best predictor of late-season form is who’s doing the best right now. By comparison, Adjusted Pts+ is noisier as a leading indicator — which makes sense, given how strategy and luck can inflate or deflate pure finishes in ways that Driver Rating is more resistant to — and the quality of a driver’s finishes early in the season is roughly as important as finishes in Q2+Q3.

Still, in the most predictive of stats during the most meaningful of season segments, Briscoe has been NASCAR’s best driver — and that should translate into sustained speed in the playoffs, if history is any guide.

Not that the oddsmakers have paid much attention: According to DraftKings’ odds, Briscoe is tied (with Shane van Gisbergen) for the ninth-best championship odds of any driver, at +2000 as of Tuesday. (The favorite, Kyle Larson, sits at +350 by comparison, even though his recent form has been nowhere near as good as Briscoe’s.)

In some ways, though, that’s par for the course in the journeyman-underdog arc of Briscoe’s career. Even during the season of his life, driving for an elite team with his best-ever shot at winning a title, he still finds himself fighting for respect. And for Chase Briscoe, maybe that’s also exactly where he’s most dangerous.

Posted on by Press Release

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 14, 2025) – Today, NASCAR announced Anduril, a renowned defense products company, as the presenting sponsor of the NASCAR San Diego Weekend and NASCAR Cup Series street race entitlement partner of the new event at Naval Base Coronado on June 19-21, 2026. The headline event of NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril will be the Anduril 250 Race the Base Cup Series street race that honors the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy. As part of the multi-year agreement, Anduril has also been named the Official Defense Partner of NASCAR.

“NASCAR has long been woven into the fabric of Americana — it’s a sport that connects with fans across generations and reflects the energy and determination that define us,” said Craig Stimmel, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at NASCAR. “Anduril is an American company that’s pushing boundaries in defense technology, and they bring that same drive and forward-thinking mindset. We’re excited to welcome them as the title partner of NASCAR San Diego Weekend and as NASCAR’s Official Defense Partner. It’s a great match — two high-performance teams coming together with a shared vision for the future, both on and off the track.”

RELATED: San Diego ticket options

The Anduril 250, second-ever Cup Series street course, will take place on Sunday, June 21, 2026. The NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril will be the first NASCAR event on an active military base. The Anduril 250 will be preceded by high-energy races for the Xfinity Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races on Friday, June 19, 2026 and Saturday, June 20, 2026. The official NASCAR San Diego street course layout will be unveiled in the near future.

“NASCAR is one of America’s most iconic platforms with a huge fan base among U.S. service members, veterans and their families, said Jeff Miller, Vice President of Marketing at Anduril. “Partnering with NASCAR for the Race on the Base is a natural fit reflecting our shared values of technical innovation, speed, and support of our military. We’re proud to be part of an event that celebrates the Navy’s 250th anniversary and honors everyone who serves.”

Anduril builds advanced defense technology products designed to strengthen national security and deter conflict. Its systems — including autonomous aircraft, underwater vehicles, AI-powered sensor platforms, and electronic warfare tools — are used by the U.S. Department of Defense and allied militaries around the world. Anduril takes a different approach from traditional defense contractors, combining private capital with rapid product development to deliver advanced capability at speed and scale.

The Anduril 250 will be the final race of Prime Video’s five-race Cup Series broadcast window for 2026. The Xfinity Series race will air on The CW and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race will be broadcast by FOX Sports.

Tickets for the 2026 NASCAR San Diego Weekend will go on-sale this fall. Tickets are expected to go fast, so fans can put down a deposit for advance pricing today at NASCARSanDiego.com. Additional details and elements of the weekend will be announced soon, and fans can follow @NASCARSanDiego on Facebook, Instagram, and X for the latest real-time updates on all aspects of the event.