Here’s what’s happening in NASCAR with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the rearview and the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) up next.
1. Wallace’s Brickyard trophy comes with fresh mindset
A career-altering victory? Perhaps, and while it clearly ranks as Bubba Wallace’s most prestigious Cup Series win, what it’s done for his playoff perspective has a long reach as well.
Bubba Wallace emerged from Indianapolis with a fresh designation as a winner of one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ crown-jewel races. His outlook for the rest of the season is a fresh one, too.
Wallace had won before in NASCAR’s top division, prevailing at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021 and adding a victory at Kansas Speedway the next year. Both of those wins came during the pressure-packed stretch of 10 races in the postseason. The only issue in each instance: Wallace wasn’t playoff-eligible at the time.
Wallace’s Brickyard 400 triumph lifted his stature in multiple ways. The double-overtime win tucked a centerpiece prize into his trophy case, but it also guaranteed him a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs after years of dwelling on the bubble — the fringes of playoff eligibility. With four regular-season races remaining, the feat acts as uncharted waters for the No. 23 pilot.
“So we keep pushing. Winning now, before the playoffs start, never done that before,” Wallace said Sunday from Indy. “There’s a lot of new stuff for me, so I’m just taking it all in.”
Wallace made the postseason field for the first time in 2023, grabbing the last available berth by a 47-point margin. Last year, the 23XI Racing driver’s fortunes were reversed; Wallace joined fellow competitors Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain on the outs after all three spent time above the elimination line at this point of the season or later.
That’s not a concern now, and Wallace and his No. 23 Toyota team can be afforded the comfort of the playoff pressure valve’s release. With that future secured, how far can that group go, and who else will be joining them on the 16-driver grid?
Answering the second question first, 23XI Racing remains promisingly perched to land another slot with Tyler Reddick, who still holds a sizable 138-point edge over the elimination barrier. Two short tracks, a road course and the superspeedway challenge of Daytona International Speedway in the wild-card finale will settle it.
As far as Wallace’s postseason hopes, his improved versatility on multiple track types will be put to the ultimate test. Not many seasons ago, Wallace’s best chances to brush shoulders with Victory Lane were calendar-circled on superspeedway weekends. Gains on intermediate-sized tracks came next, validated by his Kansas win in 2022. While his road-course acumen might still be considered a development area, seeing his No. 23 higher on the scoring pylon at all sorts of venues carries far less surprise than it once did.
The Cup Series Playoffs field is already stacked with heavyweights, many of whom have shuffled their way into the postseason deck more than once. But as Wallace showed Sunday at Indianapolis, his ability to battle straight-up with one of motorsport’s best in Kyle Larson and come out ahead bodes well for the closing 10-race stanza.
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
2. Teammate tug-of-war with Buescher, Preece
RFK Racing’s bid for at least one of its three teams to make the Cup Series Playoffs has dwindled down to an intra-team showdown: Buescher in and Preece out — for now — with four races left to settle the score.
Bubba Wallace’s departure from the playoffs bubble into the coveted clique of Cup Series winners has placed a new twist on the annual jostle for one of the 16 postseason spots at the deadline. The two drivers who are now closest to the trench of who’s in and who’s not actually fly the same team banner.
Looking at the provisional playoff picture with four regular-season races left, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher is currently the last driver in, clinging to a 42-point advantage above the elimination line. On the minus-42 side of that divider is teammate Ryan Preece, who joined the organization at the start of the 2025 campaign.
Like Wallace, Buescher has been in this sort of spot before. The Texas native enjoyed his most productive year in 2023, when he closed the regular season with three wins in five races to punch his playoff ticket with emphasis. There was less roar last year in a sometimes maddeningly winless regular season for the No. 17 Ford team, which left him scraping for points that weren’t enough to get him there.
Buescher has won races in each of the last three seasons, and three of the four tracks remaining on the Cup Series’ regular-season schedule (Watkins Glen, Richmond, Daytona) have been host to those victories.
On the other end of the postseason divide as the first driver out is Preece, who has stabilized his results after a fitful spring stretch of four consecutive finishes of 20th or worse. Any downsides that may have naturally come with RFK’s expansion to a third Cup Series team have been capably offset by Preece’s steady hand with the No. 60 Ford group.
Some extra oomph to that momentum came Sunday, when Preece overcame a 23rd-place starting position with restart skill and some savvy strategy to finish fourth — his first top-five result since mid-March. “That shows we have a really strong core,” said Preece, in his sixth full Cup Series season.
How the teammate power struggle plays out in the four races ahead will make for a fine focal point. Another new winner, though, could set the jostling in motion all over again.
Ryan Blaney gave the Midwest crowd something to cheer about last year, winning in front of a large gathering of friends and family in the first Cup Series event at Iowa Speedway. Relive the top moments from the tour’s 2024 trip to Iowa with our Race Rewind extended highlights.
4. RFK Racing rounding the corner in regular season
With the Cup Series regular season well into its second half, RFK Racing has found needed stride as the three-car operation gears up for a playoff push. Catch a deeper glimpse into the statistics from its earlier struggles to the organization’s recent performance gains. (Credit: Racing Insights)
First 14 races
Last 8 races
Starts
42
24
Poles
0
0
Wins
0
0
Runner-ups
0
2
Top fives
3
5
Top 10s
12
14
Laps led
59
123
DNFs
9
1
Average start
18.9
13.5
Average finish
20.24
11.67
Stage wins
1
2
5. Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage
The National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the penalty against the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing team after last weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Stewart Friesen drove the truck to a third-place finish in Friday’s TSport 200, but in post-race inspection, it was discovered that his No. 52 Toyota didn’t meet the height requirement, measuring too low in the front and the rear.
As a result, instead of a third-place finish, Friesen was dropped to 35th place and credited with just two points. Friesen, a winner in June at Michigan International Speedway, led 20 of 200 laps in Friday night’s event.
In reaching Wednesday’s decision, the panel provided the following explanation: “The panel agrees that the team violated Rule 14.17.3.2.1.2.A. There was a part failure that is not known if it was intentional or unintentional, resulting in failure of front ride height.”
The Appeals Panel members for this hearing were Dixon Johnston, Bill Mullis and Tommy Wheeler.
Friesen was set to undergo surgery on Wednesday after he suffered fractures to his pelvis and right leg Monday in a Super DIRTcar Series race at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada. According to a social media post that his wife Jessica made on Tuesday, Friesen was in serious but stable condition.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The summer swelter brought hot tempers to Bowman Gray Stadium, and that’s expected to continue with more money on the line.
The Fans’ Challenge returns Saturday, Aug. 2 for the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series FOX 8 WGHP 100, and it’ll carry a $3,000 jackpot after Chris Fleming cashed in on the previous $9,000 prize on July 12.
Meanwhile, Mike Speeney was expected to pay back Burt Myers for contact in a Twin 25 race on July 19, and followed through in the first Twin 25 on July 26 – an incident that cost Myers and Speeney more ground to Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series points leader Brandon Ward.
“This is one (Burt Myers) can’t talk his way out of,” Speeney said. “I told him we’d get him back, and he’s going to learn he can’t mess with me.”
Speeney considers the score settled, but also says any further contact will carry the feud on longer.
“This doesn’t just apply to Burt. It’s a statement that I’m not going to be pushed around for being the nice guy,” Speeney said.
Myers says he’s ready to move on.
“We’ve been strong in these 100-lappers, so we’re focused on winning another one,” Myers said.
Gates open at 6 p.m. Saturday night, with racing action to start at 8 p.m. Fans can get tickets online right now at www.bowmangrayracing.com. Tickets are $12 for adults and $2 for kids ages 6 to 11.
Kaulig Racing has parted ways with Josh Williams, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the team announced Wednesday.
Williams had driven the No. 11 car since the start of the 2024 season, earning six top-10 finishes across 54 starts. Williams posted a 21.7 average finish last season and mustered a 20.0 average finish through 21 starts in 2025.
Kaulig Racing will field multiple drivers for the No. 11 over the remaining 12 Xfinity Series races this season, starting with full-time Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar this Saturday at Iowa Speedway in the HyVee Perks 250 (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“As most of you have seen, Kaulig Racing has made the decision to release me for the remainder of the season,” Williams said in a statement on social media. “This has been a difficult day for my family, friends, long-time partners and fans, whom I can’t thank enough for standing by my side through all of this. We will be back soon and looking forward to a much brighter chapter in my racing career. I wish nothing but the best for my guys on the 11 team.”
Williams has made 240 career Xfinity Series starts across the past 10 seasons, earning a career-best finish of sixth twice – first with DGM Racing in 2020 at Kansas Speedway in the No. 92 Chevrolet and tying that mark at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2025 with Kaulig Racing. The Florida native has also made five Cup starts and two Craftsman Truck Series starts.
Williams, who turns 32 on Aug. 3, has earned two wins in ARCA Menards Series competition, both in 2016, with one coming at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and the other at Madison International Speedway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series stays in the midwest on Saturday for the HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The CW App will air Xfinity Series qualifying at 12:05 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Short-track practice and qualifying procedure will be in effect, with cars split into two groups for a 50-minute practice session (25 minutes for each group), followed by qualifying. Qualifying is two laps, one round.
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 itself will occur on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs committee will reconvene next month after a mid-August meeting between NASCAR and NBC Sports executives about the future of the championship format.
On the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast, NASCAR managing director of racing communications Mike Forde provided an update on the panel tasked with exploring potential Cup playoff changes that still could be implemented as early as the 2026 season.
“There are a lot of different opinions, so I think it’s a matter of boiling it down to the top four (options), getting with NBC, then getting back to the committee and then getting with NASCAR leadership and the NASCAR board of directors to say, ‘OK, here’s what it is,’ ” Forde said. “Now can we do that in time and feel good about it for 2026? I think really what it comes down to is we don’t want to feel like we are pushing through a change that we’re going to have to change again. So we want to feel really, really, really good about it. So if that can happen for 2026, great. If not, I think we’re comfortable waiting until 2027.”
The playoff committee, which met earlier this year at Daytona and Charlotte, consists of about 30 members who were recruited to provide a broad cross-section of perspectives that range from returning to a full-season championship to keeping the playoffs intact but adjusting the field size or expanding the championship round.
After meeting before the Daytona 500, playoff committee members were sent a 20-question survey and asked to rank their top four playoff options. The poll results were discussed in the Charlotte meeting. NASCAR also is planning to conduct a fan council survey on a menu of playoff options. …
During the podcast, NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis also provided a backstory of the penalties to Austin Hill, who received a one-race suspension Tuesday for intentionally wrecking Aric Almirola in the Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hill also was held five laps for reckless driving.
“We had multiple camera views to determine very confidently this was an intentional spin,” Ellis said. “Based on the camera views, we were very confident, very quickly that was something he did.”
Team owner Richard Childress had said Hill should avoid suspension as had been the case with Austin Cindric, who was penalized 50 points and $50,000 for wrecking Ty Dillon at Circuit of The Americas earlier this season.
“We do view these a little bit different, and largely it had to do with the track type,” Forde said. “Slower speeds (at COTA), tighter confines, things of that nature. That’s why we landed on, I think it was 50 points and a $50,000 fine. Obviously, a lot of debate on whether that was too little. Some people felt that Cindric should have gotten a one-race suspension. This one, we viewed the same way we viewed the Bubba Wallace (wrecking) Kyle Larson at Vegas a couple of years ago; Chase Elliott (wrecking) Denny Hamlin at Charlotte (in 2023). High speeds, right-rear hook into the wall, very dangerous situation. And so we view that more at the level of a high-speed oval. And both of those also resulted in a one race suspension.”
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 25th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— How NASCAR series directors use different methods for randomly determining which cars are sent to the R&D Center for post-race inspection.
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.
There’s no debating that Justin Bonsignore is among the best race car drivers to ever compete on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. His 46 checkered flags rank second, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik’s 74 victories.
Bonsignore was honored by NASCAR in June, being named one of the series’ 40 best drivers list, as he vies for his fifth Whelen Modified Tour championship in 2025.
“Until they actually put your name on those things, you don’t know if you’ll ever make it,” Bonsignore told NASCAR.com. “We’ve had good stats and success over the last decade and hope you’ll be on there, but it’s cool to be honored like that. It’s humbling.”
Bonsignore wanted to challenge himself even further and compete in more Xfinity Series races throughout the 2025 season, tabbing a nine-race schedule. After a successful debut in 2024 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which was scheduled to be a one-off start with Joe Gibbs Racing, he contemplated how much success he could find in the series. The record book will show a 22nd-place finish at New Hampshire, but the three–time modified winner in the Granite State earned stage points in both stages, placing second in Stage 2.
“It opened up an itch of wanting to try some fendered stuff,” Bonsignore added. “It was a tough situation because we ran so good (at New Hampshire) and I’m like, ‘we can do this’ and maybe thought it was easier than it is. This stuff is not easy by any means; these guys are really good over here. It’s hard to jump in and out every couple of weeks and be successful.
“Running well there led me to more interest and trying to scratch an itch and check some things off as I get a little bit older and later in my career.”
At a wise age of 37, Bonsignore isn’t looking to transition to the national touring levels full-time. He believes that ship has sailed, no matter the amount of success he has with JGR. He works in Xfinity races around his modified schedule, which has a 16-race slate in 2025.
The schedule Bonsignore and JGR settled on was diverse. It began with the season opener at Daytona before returning to Homestead five weeks later. He made consecutive starts in April at Bristol and Rockingham, and most recently blew an engine in the opening laps at Pocono last month.
“I just wanted to challenge myself,” Bonsignore said of his slate of races. “Homestead was probably not my best decision, but you don’t know how many opportunities you will get to try and do this. I wanted to put myself in places that were out of my comfort zone and places that maybe I’ll never get the opportunity to go back to.”
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Among JGR leadership, Bonsignore is leaning heavily on veteran Aric Almirola. He’s friendly with modified graduate Ryan Preece, who took a similar path of getting a legitimate opportunity at JGR in 2017. Two partial years of success led to a full-time chance with JTG-Daugherty Racing (now Hyak Motorsports) beginning in 2019.
“You are put on the spot to figure something out as quickly as possible and then be able to give accurate feedback about what you can have to get the car better,” Preece said of advice he’s given Bonsignore. “For somebody in his position, it’s extremely difficult to go out and win or succeed because you’ve got so many factors involved.”
In a deep Xfinity field, success has been limited for Bonsignore. In his first five starts this year, he has a pair of top-20 finishes. His last two attempts both ended up in DNFs.
Getting up to speed hasn’t been a problem, No. 19 team crew chief Seth Chavka explained. It’s the fundamentals throughout the race that need to be improved upon.
“It’s important that we convert our race pace into results,” Chavka stated. “If we’re running 10th throughout the day, we need to execute well enough to finish there through solid strategy, clean pit stops and strong restarts.”
Bonsignore will return to the No. 19 Toyota this weekend at Iowa. His final three races will come in the postseason, beginning at Kansas and ending with the final two races at Martinsville and Phoenix.
No matter the outcomes in Bonsignore’s upcoming starts, he can sum up his transition to Xfinity in one word: tough.
“I just want to have good, smooth days and put together solid runs and build some momentum,” Bonsignore added.
Regardless, getting another prominent modified driver on the national level is important. Preece brought the Modified Tour back to the national stage in recent years, with Bonsignore and Patrick Emerling giving it their best shot, as well. Luke Baldwin — son of Cup Series-winning crew chief and Modified legend Tommy Baldwin — is next in line, making his first four Craftsman Truck Series starts with ThorSport Racing in 2025.
“I think it’s important for the state of our sport to have drivers like Justin or others having opportunities with successful teams and show their worth,” Preece noted, “and show the value that they can bring. Because to go into other opportunities where they might not necessarily be the one that will get you the victory because our sport is based on statistics and wins. If you jump in a 20th-place or 25th-place car and get 15th, the sport doesn’t value that. I think it’s important to go out and have guys like that getting great opportunities and trying to win.”
Knowing Iowa is under a mile in length, Bonsignore is excited for the weekend as he is familiar with the tendencies of short tracks.
NASCAR officials penalized Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill on Tuesday, suspending him for one race for his actions in last Saturday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hill, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 Chevrolet, is set to miss this weekend’s event at Iowa Speedway (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Richard Childress Racing announced on social media that the team will not appeal the penalty and that Austin Dillon will pilot the No. 21 machine at Iowa.
Hill tangled with Aric Almirola in the 91st of 100 laps in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250, when Almirola’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota first nudged Hill’s No. 21 Chevy into a slide in Turn 3. After righting his car, Hill bumped Almirola’s right-rear fender, turning the No. 19 sharply into the Turn 4 retaining wall.
Almirola was sidelined after heavy nose-first contact, finishing 35th in the 38-car field. Hill continued with a damaged car, but race officials held him for five laps in the pits for rough driving.
Almirola called the contact “definitely intentional” in interviews after he was evaluated and released from the Indianapolis track’s infield care center. Hill declined comment after his 34th-place result, but in radio transmissions to his No. 21 team after the altercation, the 31-year-old driver indicated that the initial contact left him struggling to regain control before the two cars touched again.
Hill’s absence from a regular-season race will require a waiver so that he may retain his eligibility for the Xfinity Series Playoffs. Under a rule established before the 2025 season, he will forfeit his total of 21 playoff points and be ineligible to collect more before the postseason begins.
Competition officials also issued two-race suspensions to two Legacy Motor Club crewmembers after the right-front wheel detached from the No. 43 Toyota driven by Erik Jones in Sunday’s Cup Series race. Jones crashed in the 90th of 168 laps after the wheel failure, and he finished 36th after starting a promising third in the 39-car field.
As a result of the safety violation, NASCAR officials suspended LMC’s Kellen Mills (jack) and John Rosselli (front-tire changer) for the next two events – Sunday at Iowa and the following weekend at Watkins Glen International.
