What to Watch: Scenic setting for Truck Series tilt at Lime Rock Park

Posted on June 27, 2025August 20, 2025 by Zack Albert

Track: Lime Rock Park
Location: Lakeville, Conn.
Track length: 1.478 miles
When: Saturday, 1 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: FOX, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $782,900
Race distance: 100 laps | 147.8 miles
Stages: 35 | 70 | 100
Defending winner: None; debut event.
Qualifying: 9:30 a.m. ET, FS1.

New scenes, new venue for Truck Series field

The first road course race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is a new one all the way around. This weekend marks the first trip for a NASCAR national series to historic Lime Rock Park, which has primarily hosted sports-car events for the better part of 67 years. The debut of rumbling stockers in Truck Series form brings in a new degree of uncertainty, not just for the competition but for your whereabouts.

“When we go back to Turn 5, it feels a little bit like Road America where you get on the back section of the course, where you’re like, ‘Where am I? I’m out in the woods here, right?’ ” said two-time Truck Series champ Ben Rhodes. “Like the trees are growing up on both sides of the track, and you feel like you’re somewhere far away. But in reality, it’s just a mile-and-a-half track, and it’s fast. I mean, seven corners and 50-whatever seconds — that means fast.”

The circuit itself is a scenic delight, nestled at the foot of Sharon Mountain in Connecticut’s “secret corner,” the northwestern pocket of the state. The Appalachian Trail beckons less than a mile away, so it’s little surprise that plenty of elevation change is packed into its seven-turn, 1.478-mile layout — numbers that make it the shortest road course in any NASCAR national series.

MORE: Truck Series standings | Full 2025 schedule

Those hills provide natural, grassy seating areas for fans, but also a challenge for the drivers, who experienced the undulations in Friday’s 50-minute practice sessions, with the track rising then dipping swiftly through Turns 5, 6 and 7. The track sometimes uses a pair of chicanes through that area to slow speeds and minimize lift for more nimble cars, but this weekend’s layout is more free-wheeling.

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

“Honestly, down into (turn) seven, what goes up must come down, right?” said Daniel Hemric, driver of McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s No. 19 Chevrolet. “So you leave five, you can climb that hill. But I mean, dropping into seven, that doesn’t feel as big as what you expect it to be based off the track walk. But up over five, I’d say it’s the other way — it’s more than what you would expect. I mean, literally, like you can get to 100% throttle, no matter what gear selection you pick there climbing that hill. But literally, it’s like a timing thing that as soon as the front tires start to crest that thing, you’ve got to be rolling throttle out to keep the tires on the ground.”

The new venue adds an extra element of the unknown to the Craftsman Truck Series playoff picture, with just four races remaining before the postseason’s field of 10 title-eligible drivers is set. The regular season closes out with an alternating schedule of road courses and short tracks — Lime Rock on Saturday before trips to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 25), Watkins Glen (Aug. 8) and Richmond (Aug. 15).

Seven drivers have already clinched playoff berths with regular season wins, leaving three spots available for the taking in the coming weeks. Grant Enfinger, Kaden Honeycutt and defending series champ Ty Majeski are on the positive side of the provisional elimination line, with Majeski just plus-10 points up on ThorSport Racing teammate Jake Garcia in the playoff standings.

“Obviously we have the speed to go run up front, get stage points and score points in these next races,” says Garcia, who was knocked below the elimination line after a crash last weekend at Pocono. “So obviously, we have two road courses. I don’t consider myself a road course ringer by any stretch, so I feel like limiting the damage to the guys in front of me, if we get lucky, maybe gain some points. Then at the short tracks, because I feel like that’s really my bread and butter at IRP and Richmond, two tracks I’ve run really good at in the past. I’ve won a late model race at IRP before, so I’m looking forward to those two, and I think we can have competitive trucks at those two tracks.”

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

From atop the pit box …

What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Saturday’s race?

Getting accustomed to a new race track will be a shared experience for crew chiefs this weekend as well, even though the approximate course length — 1.5 miles — might seem familiar to them. Lime Rock Park is far from an intermediate-sized oval, however, and it’s also distinctive among NASCAR road courses as the shortest in any of the three national tours.

“It’s a lot different from most of the road courses we run, mainly the aspect that there’s only really one left-hand corner,” said Phil Gould, crew chief of the Niece Motorsports No. 45 for Kaden Honeycutt. “Most of them, it’s really a compromise of rights and lefts, and here you can give up quite a bit turning left to gain everywhere else on the race track. So yeah, it’s definitely unique. It’s short for a road course, but yeah, I’m excited. It’s a fun challenge.”

Joe Shear Jr., crew chief for the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford for Ty Majeski, said he was here nearly 15 years ago with a team in what’s now the ARCA Menards Series East. His main adjustment during Friday’s preliminary sessions was to search for grip, something that could be in even shorter supply if the weather forecast brings rain. Goodyear wet-weather tires are at the ready for Saturday’s 100-lapper if conditions turn damp.

“We’ve been looking at it,” Shear said. “Ty’s actually pretty good in the rain. We’ve raced in the rain before, so we didn’t really do much when we ran in it at Mid-Ohio, and we actually won a segment in the rain there. It’s basically the same setup. So yeah, either way, I just don’t like crazy races. So we’ll see. Right now, we deal with what we’ve got to deal with.”

Said Gould: “It’s just something we’ve got to be prepared for. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when it gets to it. It seems like, I feel like my gut tells me at some point we will be putting wet tires on and running in the rain, and that should be interesting. Just real narrow, hard to pass, and you’re not going to really want to pass anybody in the rain anyway. If you just stay on the race track, you’ll pass people.”

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

History tells us …

Blank slate for Trucks, but plenty of tradition looms at Lime Rock. This weekend marks the Truck Series’ first trip to the Nutmeg State, and the first visit to Connecticut by a NASCAR national series since 1970, when Bobby Isaac won in Cup at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park about 2 1/2 hours east of here. Only two former winners of Truck Series road-course events are in the field — points leader Corey Heim (Mid-Ohio in 2023, COTA in 2024) and Ben Rhodes (Daytona road course in 2021).

The aura of the place, though, rings with memories of Andretti, Gurney and as a favorite racing haunt of Paul Newman. Lime Rock once hosted an event called Formula Libre, a “run what you bring” race won in stunning fashion by two-time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward, who topped a field of sports cars and Formula One specials in a midget. IMSA, Trans Am and SCCA have all found speed here with multiple series.

The history includes previous stints by NASCAR’s regional and touring series. The ARCA Menards Series East ran 18 races here from 1993-2010, and Ken Schrader was the first winner when the circuit was known as the Busch North Series. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour also made a pair of stops here (2010-11), a rare road-course appearance for the short-oval ground-pounders.

The only driver to win in both of those tours (twice in the North Series and once in Mods) is Dale Quarterley, who has lauded how the Lime Rock management has breathed new life into the venerable track. Now 64 years old, he’s back and running double-duty Saturday in the Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series.

“It’s really cool when people see it when they get here, with the new track management, they’ve completely revamped the place so that the second you drive in, you can see the difference,” said Quarterley, who hails from Westfield, Mass. “It’s all-new hand-cut fences. I used to call this place years ago, a golf course with no holes, because that’s what it was, right? Perfect green grass, hand-cut fences, the place was sensational. And then as we know, it kind of went downhill for a little while, but these guys have brought it back to the Nth degree — new buildings, new fences, new everything. That’s the coolest part, just to see a track that we know from the day more alive than it’s ever been.”

Dale Quarterley celebrates his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win at Lime Rock Park — Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images

He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …

A HALF-DOZEN NEWBIES. Six drivers will be making their first Craftsman Truck Series starts, and their credentials include some robust records in road-course events. Here’s who’s who:

• Thomas Annunziata: Part-time Xfinity Series driver and a four-time winner in Trans Am competition.
• Alex Labbe: The 2017 NASCAR Canada Series champion has plenty of Xfinity experience (158 starts) with a top five at the Roval in 2020.
• William Lambros: Has raced a little bit of everything, from TC America Series, SMART Modifieds and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge events.
• Ben Maier: The 16-year-old Marylander is a CARS Tour full-timer with a portfolio of racing in Trans Am and Stadium Super Trucks.
• Wesley Slimp: Georgia native has carved a niche in endurance racing, including three wins in Lamborghini Super Trofeo.
• Jordan Taylor: Four-time IMSA champion joins Spire Motorsports for his first NASCAR start since 2023.

Speed reads

Get covered for race day from all angles.
• NASCAR at Atlanta, Lime Rock: Key information, links, results through the weekend | Read more
• Entry list: Drivers, teams and crew chief lineups for Lime Rock | Read more
• At-track photos: Best shots from Atlanta and Lime Rock | View gallery
• Power Rankings: Taking stock of the Truck Series in final regular-season push | Read more

Posted on June 27, 2025June 28, 2025 by Staff Report

See where your favorite drivers will pit this weekend with the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Lime Rock Park.

NASCAR Cup Series

Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

LIUNA 150 at Lime Rock Park on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, FOX, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on June 27, 2025June 28, 2025 by Zack Albert

LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Jordan Taylor estimates he’s been coming to Lime Rock Park since he was a kindergartner, coming here to watch his father, Wayne, drive Ferraris in sports-car events back in the mid-1990s. He first raced here as a 16-year-old in Skip Barber competition, his first driving experience in what he’s called a bullring with a Colloseum feel as fans watch down from the hillside grass.

“A lot of memories, but it’s the same old Lime Rock,” says Taylor, now a 34-year-old veteran. The four-time IMSA champion will be adding a new layer to that “same old” feel at the 1.478-mile road course this weekend, making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in Saturday’s LIUNA 150 (1 p.m. ET, FOX, NASCAR Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). That feel he got from trips here in his youth? That’s getting a new wrinkle, too.

“It’s a much different vibe, obviously, in the garage area,” Taylor told NASCAR.com, noting how even the paddock layout has changed. “… Definitely has a NASCAR feel, which is unnatural for me being here in Lime Rock, but it’s cool to have that NASCAR vibe here. I think this track brings a great fan base of sports-car fans, but I think they’re road course fans, whether it be NASCAR or sports car. So I think there’s going to be a huge turnout. People are gonna love it.”

Taylor had his preliminary hesitations that his sports-car skill here would carry over to the heavier trucks, but he put his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet atop the 34-truck field in Friday’s opening practice. Qualifying is set for 9:35 a.m. ET Saturday (FS1), with the 100-lap race to follow in the afternoon.

Taylor has raced on Lime Rock configurations that use chicanes at a couple of places on the course, designed to create another braking zone and slow the potential for high-speed lift on the track’s hilly passages. The Truck Series will not use those chicanes, which Taylor says may limit some of the chaos and temptation of late-race dive bombs in those sections.

Taylor has stock-car experience on road courses, making his Cup Series debut at Circuit of The Americas in 2023 while subbing for an injured Chase Elliott at Hendrick Motorsports. He added a pair of Xfinity Series starts that season for Kaulig Racing (Portland, Charlotte Roval), making this his first NASCAR foray in nearly two years. Eventually in Friday’s session, that Lime Rock familiarity began to kick in.

“The flow of the track was obviously natural,” Taylor said, “like the lines are very similar to a sports car. The brake zones aren’t. The amount of speed you carry through the corners is different. So just the flow of the lines came to me quickly with the truck, but where I was braking, how much speed I could carry, how much I kind of had to compromise some corners for the next corner was more than a sports car. So I’d say my first four laps, I was lost — especially with 35 trucks on such a short lap. You’re trying to get a clear run, and I’m looking in the mirror all the time. But as soon as I kind of got into a couple-lap rhythm, it did feel pretty natural, and I felt like I could attack corners like I would a normal car or truck. Yeah, it was just about kind of finding the limits.”

MORE: Lime Rock practice results

Taylor’s partnership with Spire came through a shared connection with TWG Global, Spire and the IMSA team he drives for, Wayne Taylor Motorsports. Should more opportunities arise on the NASCAR side, Taylor said he’d be eager to participate.

“I mean, I would definitely love to do more,” Taylor said. “Right now, it’s just Lime Rock and then go from there. But with the TWG relationship with Spire, there’s also [the] relationship with Wayne Taylor Racing, so we’re kind of in the same family. And at Daytona this year, (TWG executive) Doug Duchardt approached me and asked if I would be available for Lime Rock, just because they had the clash with the company’s Xfinity races. So yeah, I jumped at the opportunity. I’m super excited to do it. I love NASCAR road course races. I think they’re all a blast to drive.”

While Taylor — just two weeks removed from the team’s trip to Le Mans — says he hopes to bring some sport-car flavor to the NASCAR crowd this weekend, there’s some cross-pollination on the other side of things as well. The name “Rodney Sandstorm” — Taylor’s stock-car loving, DuPont-era alter-ego — is above the door on Taylor’s No. 7, there’s a “Rainbow Warrior” vibe to his racing helmet and the social media news drop gave a strong nod to his split personality.

Taylor thought this weekend might just be a Sandstorm watch instead of a Sandstorm warning, but said that the forecast has changed.

“I was only planning on bringing the jacket,” Taylor said, “and I’ve been asked to do so many content pieces with it, I had to ask my girlfriend to fly up the rest of the gear with her. So, yeah, it’s crazy. What it is, I’m happy to do it most of the time. I told the team, like, we can have fun with the announcement, but when I get to the track, I like to focus on the driving aspect. But yeah, if we’ve got some time now to have some fun, I’ll try to be a good sport and make some content with everybody.”

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

Posted on June 27, 2025 by Kobe Lambeth

Following his win at Pocono Raceway, Chase Briscoe became the 11th driver to earn a provisional spot in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

This weekend’s trends favor a 12th driver adding his name to the playoff grid when the Cup Series visits EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) for an intense showdown on the 1.54-mile drafting-style track under the lights Saturday (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Knowing how the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing can shake things up, the playoff outlook for Chris Buescher (plus-38), Bubba Wallace (plus-29) and Alex Bowman (plus-20) could either swing strongly in their favor or in the wrong direction, especially with the threat of the “Big One” looming.

Let’s take a closer look at the playoff bubble entering Atlanta and see which drivers could face more pressure as we get deeper into the summer stretch if a 12th different winner emerges from the Peach State.

RELATED: Atlanta schedule | Cup Series standings

GREEN FLAG [Drivers in a great spot for Atlanta]

Dawsonville, Georgia native Chase Elliott returns to his home track 160 points above the elimination line and hopes to get his first win of the 2025 Cup Series season in what’s been a remarkably strong and consistent year for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

After 17 races, Elliott’s streak of finishing every race in the top 20 continues and has resulted in a 97.29% playoff probability. In six starts at Atlanta since the track’s reconfiguration, Elliott has three top 10s, including a victory in the 2022 Atlanta summer race.

With three wins at drafting-style tracks on his resume, look for the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet to continue building a comfortable cushion above the elimination line with another top 20 or end Saturday night in Victory Lane at home.

YELLOW FLAG [Drivers on the fringe for Atlanta]

After issues with brake rotors doomed all three 23XI Racing Toyotas last weekend at Pocono, the organization needs a big bounce-back performance in Georgia. 23XI drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace currently sit 13th and 15th in the playoff standings, respectively.

Reddick’s playoff probability dropped from 98.68% to 95.35% after losing time in the garage at Pocono to work on the brakes, which resulted in a 32nd-place finish at the “Tricky Triangle.” Despite maintaining a high playoff probability entering Atlanta, there is reason to be concerned about the No. 45 team.

Although Reddick maintains a 107-point advantage above the elimination line, things have not gone well lately, as he has finished 13th or worse in eight of the last nine Cup Series races. In seven starts at the reconfigured Atlanta, Reddick only has two top 10s.

His 23XI teammate, Wallace, had his playoff probability plummet from 77.70% to 60.83% following his sixth DNF of the year at Pocono, the most of any driver this season.

In the last seven races, Wallace has finished 33rd or worse four times, so Atlanta comes at the perfect time for a driver looking for a shot in the arm. Wallace is good at drafting-style tracks, so Saturday night could lead to his playoff probability trending in the right direction to end this stretch of bad luck. The driver of the No. 23 Toyota has two top 10s at Atlanta in the last three races.

Both 23XI drivers still have time to turn things around, but a new winner would certainly complicate things.

RACING INSIGHTS: Full race projections for Atlanta

RED FLAG [Drivers I’m concerned about heading to Atlanta]

With nine races to go until the postseason, Bowman is on the bubble, 20 points above the elimination line. In the last two races, Bowman has clicked off a fourth-place finish in Mexico City followed by an 11th-place effort at Pocono.

Those two results were sorely needed by the No. 48 team, which has finished 27th or worse in seven of the last 11 races. The results in the last two races might be a sign of building momentum at the right time to avoid a pressure-packed end to the regular season for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Bowman’s playoff probability dropped from 38.97% to 34.49% after Briscoe’s Pocono win. In the last 11 races on drafting-style tracks, the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet has six top-10 finishes. Based on those numbers, his odds of getting a top 10 in Georgia on Saturday night are nearly equivalent to flipping a coin.

For his playoff sake, he needs to stay out of trouble and get a good result. However, a good result may not matter if we get a new winner currently below the elimination line that pushes Bowman below it.

Another driver who could be in trouble is Kyle Busch. Although Richard Childress Racing cars usually perform well on drafting-style tracks, Busch comes to Georgia with a single top 10 in the last nine races.

Busch’s playoff probability is 19.09% entering Atlanta, so this weekend and the regular-season finale at Daytona might be his best opportunities to clinch a postseason berth. Sitting 63 points below the elimination line is not a position for a driver looking to avoid missing the playoffs in back-to-back years.

If there is any hope on the horizon for the No. 8 team, Busch has five consecutive top 10s at Atlanta as the two-time Cup Series champion looks to snap a career-long 74-race winless streak.

Posted on June 26, 2025June 27, 2025 by Neil Paine

The seeding is done, the bracket is set and the drivers are ready. All that’s left now is for the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge to hit the track, beginning this weekend at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway) — introducing a fascinating new dynamic into the summer stretch of the Cup Series schedule.

Seeds were determined based on a three-race qualifying window at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono; now it’s win-or-go-home all the way to the championship. And while the spotlight naturally shines on top seeds like Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott, surprises will be inevitable in a knockout format like this.

So which underdogs are most poised to bust the bracket? To find out, we ran 2,000 simulations of the full tournament using a version of my track type-adjusted forecasting model. See below for each driver’s odds of advancing through the various rounds — highlighting just how wide-open this first edition of the In-Season Challenge might be.

(For more about how the forecast system works, click here.)

Let’s dig into the six biggest bracket-busters according to the model — drivers ranked among the bottom half of seeds (i.e., Nos. 17-32) who have the highest odds of making the quarterfinal round and shaking up this new NASCAR tradition right away.

No. 18 William Byron

Standings rank: 1st
1st-round opponent: No. 15 Ryan Preece
Round of 8 odds: 38.1%
Championship odds: 9.4%

Not only is Byron our biggest bracket-buster, but he’s also the favorite to win the whole tournament. How did that happen? Well, for one thing, he tops the standings for a reason — Byron is arguably the best and most consistent driver in the sport, leading in average Driver Rating by a wide margin over Hamlin (103.8 versus 96.7) this season. But he also benefits from a lucky draw in the seeding. First-round foe Ryan Preece has enjoyed a breakout campaign, but he’s no match for the two-time defending Daytona 500 winner on drafting tracks like Atlanta, while potential second-round Chicago opponent Chase Briscoe is still working on his road-racing bona fides — even though they are improving as of late. It wouldn’t be until a possible quarterfinal showdown with teammate Kyle Larson that Byron would face a fellow championship heavy-hitter, and Larson could get knocked out earlier than that by a tougher path that includes Tyler Reddick and possibly Ryan Blaney. It’s tough to think of the points leader as a “Cinderella”, but things are set up for him to make a deep run from the No. 18 seed.

No. 25 Joey Logano

Standings rank: 10th
1st-round opponent: No. 8 Alex Bowman
Round of 8 odds: 31.4%
Championship odds: 4.5%

Logano benefits right away from the confluence of track types and seeding matchups, with the opening round being hosted at Atlanta and the opposing No. 8 seed being Alex Bowman. Logano, of course, has won twice in the past five races in Atlanta including a clutch victory in last year’s playoffs, and he is generally one of the best drivers in the game when it comes to drafting tracks. Compound that with Bowman’s merely OK record (77.8 Driver Rating in Next Gen era) at those tracks in recent years, including a mediocre run at Atlanta — where he’s finished 26th or worse in four of his past six — and Logano looks like the head-to-head favorite, regardless of seeding. The outlook remains bright for the three-time series champion from there, as neither driver in the No. 9 vs. No. 24 matchup (Bubba Wallace or Daniel Suárez) is a road-course ace to worry about at Chicago. Even No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin, whom Logano would face in the quarterfinal round if everything else goes chalk, isn’t the road racer he used to be. As always when it comes to these playoff-style situations, don’t be shocked if Logano shows up to crash the party.

No. 19 Austin Cindric

Standings rank: 15th
1st-round opponent: No. 14 Zane Smith
Round of 8 odds: 30.9%
Championship odds: 3.1%

Cindric finished 31st at Michigan a few weeks back — but from an In-Season Challenge perspective, he is also one of the biggest winners there. That’s because Zane Smith, who currently ranks 25th in the full-season standings and 24th in average Driver Rating, finished seventh, causing him to land in the 14-seed slot — and a first-round date with Cindric (who’s 15th in the standings and 11th in Driver Rating) — when the seeding shook out. Anything can happen at a superspeedway-like track of course, but like Byron, Cindric is a former Daytona 500 winner and one of the best there is at pack racing. And then, if he manages to advance, Cindric would get a pair of road courses (Chicago Street and Sonoma) to test his other specialty. Few drivers have the combination of drafting and road-racing skills to suit the first three races of the In-Season Challenge quite like Cindric does.

MORE: Information about all 32 In-Season Challenge drivers

No. 23 Tyler Reddick

Standings rank: 7th
1st-round opponent: No. 10 Kyle Larson
Round of 8 odds: 23.8%
Championship odds: 4.1%

The seeding process didn’t exactly bring good news for Reddick: looming right away in the opening round is Kyle Larson, one of the last drivers on the planet anyone would choose to face in a head-to-head race. And indeed, Reddick has the worst odds to escape the Round of 32 (45.4%) of any driver currently among the top 12 of the regular season Cup standings. Then, it’s off to face the winner between No. 7 Ryan Blaney and No. 26 Carson Hocevar — no slouch of a matchup itself. After that, however, he benefits some from the probability that Byron is taken out by a lesser driver before the quarterfinals. Things clear up quite a bit from there as Reddick can get back to his trademark ovals for the semifinal and final races of the challenge. Reddick will be an underdog throughout this process, but he’s also the best driver seeded outside the top 20, making him a dangerous opponent for higher-seeded drivers.

No. 17 Brad Keselowski

Standings rank: 30th
1st-round opponent: No. 16 Kyle Busch
Round of 8 odds: 23.6%
Championship odds: 2.2%

Keselowski picked the right time to score a couple of top 10s during the three seeding races as it landed him with a far higher seed (17th) than would be expected from his No. 30 placement in the full-season standings. In turn, that earned him a first-round matchup with another former Cup champ who’s currently navigating a tough season: Kyle Busch. Neither of the two are what they used to be on drafting tracks, so this is close to a 50-50 matchup in the odds (Busch is a very slight 52% favorite), very winnable for Keselowski. And while top overall seed Denny Hamlin likely awaits in the second round, he’s another old Keselowski rival whose road-racing form isn’t as good as it once was, opening a sliver of hope for an upset that propels the No. 6 Ford further in this bracket than anybody expects.

James Gilbert | Getty Images

No. 22 AJ Allmendinger

Standings rank: 17th
1st-round opponent: No. 11 Michael McDowell
Round of 8 odds: 23.4%
Championship odds: 1.5%

Allmendinger would be nowhere near this high in the bracket-buster rankings if the schedule didn’t play to his strengths as much as it does. While he’s never been quite as comfortable zooming around superspeedways as one would think for a former IndyCar guy — his career Driver Rating on the track type is solidly below-average at 60.9 — he could have drawn tougher opponents than Michael McDowell, who has comparatively had a down year both overall and on drafting tracks. So Allmendinger will have a fighting chance to win his opening matchup. And then if he advances, one of the better road-course specialists in Cup will be unleashed on the Chicago Street Course and Sonoma, the latter being a place where he’s finished sixth in each of the previous two seasons. Add in a winnable potential second-round matchup with the overseeded Ty Gibbs (the No. 6 seed in the bracket and 23rd in the standings), and Allmendinger is a surprisingly real threat to enter the quarterfinals — if not further — with his title hopes still intact.

Best of the Rest: Josh Berry (20.9% odds to make Round of 8); Carson Hocevar (19.1%); Todd Gilliland (18.6%); Erik Jones (18.3%)

Posted on June 26, 2025June 26, 2025 by Staff Report

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has been nominated for the 2025 ESPYS Best Driver Award, ESPN announced on Thursday.

Logano won four races in 2024 — including three in the playoffs — to earn his third Cup Series title and his second in three seasons. He nearly got eliminated after the Round of 12, but a post-race disqualification to Alex Bowman after the Charlotte Roval gave him a second lease on life toward becoming the 10th driver with three or more championships.

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen from Formula One and IndyCar’s Alex Palou were also nominated for the award. The winner will be announced during the show at 8 p.m. ET on July 16 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles (televised on ABC). Comedian Shane Gillis will host the show.

Logano looks to become the first NASCAR driver to win the award since Kyle Larson took home the honors in 2022. In total, 19 NASCAR drivers have won the Best Driver Award with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon each winning four times.

Fans can vote for Logano here. Logano’s category is the 17th one so scroll through to get to it and vote.

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Cameron Richardson

Back-to-back first-time winners in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season have certainly thrown the start of the summer stretch for a loop and it’s only going to get wilder as the circuit shifts to Saturday night’s showdown at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

As the calendar reaches the halfway point of the season, let’s take a look at who the projected favorite for Atlanta is, along with other drivers to keep an eye on, with stats provided by Racing Insights.

No surprise to see a Team Penske driver top the predicted results as Ryan Blaney slots into P1. Blaney has finished inside the top 10 in the last six Atlanta races, which is the longest active streak at the track. He owns an average finish of 6.7 in the seven races at the track since the reconfiguration and has scored the most points of any Cup driver during that span (301).

While Daniel Suárez has been the only true surprise winner at Atlanta in the seven races it has served as a drafting track, the numbers are starting to shift in favor of underdogs entering the weekend.

Going back to the Atlanta race in the spring, Carson Hocevar, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland and John Hunter Nemechek ranked in the top four for passing, according to NASCAR Insights, and all four drivers finished inside the top 15. Hocevar, Stenhouse and Nemechek have all shown top-10 speed at points throughout the year and Atlanta could provide the opportunity to reward just that — especially for Stenhouse — whose four Cup wins have all come at superspeedways.

Suárez’s Trackhouse Racing teammates are already locked into the playoffs, and there’d be no better time for the No. 99 Chevrolet driver to get all three cars in than under the lights Saturday. Suárez has been one of the best drivers at the track recently with three top-two finishes in the last four Atlanta races, including his thrilling win in the 2024 spring race.

FANTASY: Set your lineup | Make a 36 for 36 pick

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

KYLE BUSCH: The two-time Cup Series champion has been hit with bad luck all season long, but Atlanta has been really good for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing driver. He’s finished top 10 in all five starts in the Peach State since joining RCR and has top 10s in eight of the last 15 superspeedway races.

AUSTIN CINDRIC: He remains winless at Atlanta, but the fourth-year Cup driver is a force to be reckoned with whenever the circuit goes to a superspeedway. He’s the most recent winner at such tracks, taking the checkered flag at Talladega, and the No. 2 Team Penske driver has led double-digit laps in the last four Atlanta races.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: The longtime Cup veteran isn’t really known for his drafting-track prowess, but he’s been one to watch at Atlanta. He has no finish worse than 16th in his three starts on the configuration and finished third in the 2023 summer race.

WILLIAM BYRON: The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports driver has produced mixed results on the Atlanta superspeedway, but he owns two wins at the track and has 10 top 10s in the last 13 drafting-track events.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE QUAKER STATE 400

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula incorporates current track, track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to predict a projected winner and provide full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.

FINISH	CAR NUMBER	DRIVER
1	12	Ryan Blaney
2	24	William Byron
3	2	Austin Cindric
4	20	Christopher Bell
5	9	Chase Elliott
6	8	Kyle Busch
7	5	Kyle Larson
8	22	Joey Logano
9	11	Denny Hamlin
10	1	Ross Chastain
11	45	Tyler Reddick
12	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
13	23	Bubba Wallace
14	19	Chase Briscoe
15	17	Chris Buescher
16	54	Ty Gibbs
17	48	Alex Bowman
18	77	Carson Hocevar
19	99	Daniel Suárez
20	16	AJ Allmendinger
21	71	Michael McDowell
22	43	Erik Jones
23	60	Ryan Preece
24	34	Todd Gilliland
25	6	Brad Keselowski
26	35	Riley Herbst
27	7	Justin Haley
28	3	Austin Dillon
29	42	John Hunter Nemechek
30	21	Josh Berry
31	4	Noah Gragson
32	38	Zane Smith
33	41	Cole Custer
34	88	Shane van Gisbergen
35	10	Ty Dillon
36	01	Corey LaJoie
37	51	Cody Ware
38	87	Connor Zilisch
39	78	BJ McLeod
40	66	David Starr

Posted on June 26, 2025June 26, 2025 by Adam Fenwick

No matter how one may remember it, there is no romanticizing what happened in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many into their homes and away from the things and people they loved.

That includes the teams and drivers of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour who watched their planned season evaporate as the pandemic took hold of the country.

However, by the time summer rolled around, plans began to materialize for a return to racing. The first event of the 2020 Modified Tour season took place at Jennerstown Speedway on June 21. Due to restrictions in place at the time, there were no fans in attendance.

A few weeks later, the series was back in action with a limited number of fans in the stands. That race took place on July 4, 2020 at the sight of Sunday’s Thunder in the Mountains 200, White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, New Hampshire.

“We were finding out maybe three, four or maybe less weeks in advance where we going to be racing next,” said Justin Bonsignore, who won not only that race at Jennerstown, but the event at White Mountain, as well. “All of a sudden (NASCAR) said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go to White Mountain.’

“Nobody was really familiar with that. We’d never been there. It kind of came out of left field.”

Built by racer-turned-track owner Donnie Avery, White Mountain Motorsports Park opened for business in May of 1993. The track is located, as the name would suggest, in the heart of a mountain range called the White Mountains.

While the high banked quarter-mile bullring has similar characteristics to other venues on the Modified Tour schedule, there is no track quite like it.

“In a way it is kind of similar to Monadnock,” Bonsignore explained. “For a quarter-mile high banked track, at that time it was before Monadnock was paved, so really it was different at the same time.

“There are not really too many high-banked tracks in New England that have grip like White Mountain does even though the pavement was not new. It wasn’t too far out in left field from some places, but there is no direct comparison I’d say to tracks we’d been to at that time.”

Justin Bonsignore (51) leads the pack during the Independence Day 200 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at White Mountain Motorsports Park on July 4, 2020. (Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

While White Mountain Motorsports Park has hosted plenty of Modified events in the years since, at that time, there had been almost no Modified events, NASCAR or otherwise, held at the track.

Which made preparations to go racing at White Mountain, on top of the other challenges faced by teams in 2020, that much more difficult.

“There really was not much video to watch,” Bonsignore said. “Not really any Modifieds had raced up there that we were aware of. (There was) nothing to really study and to learn from. Then you get out there and you’re wondering how the track is going to react at night, how is it going to race, just so many different unknowns.

“At the end of the day, it’s just another race track and we just had to adapt and figure it out with the theme of winging it.”

There were an abundance of logistical challenges, as well.

“It was definitely challenging for everybody,” Bonsignore said. “It was a lot to balance. Trying to find hotels last minute at places that would take our teams and the travel of getting everybody there.

“(We were) just kind of winging it just a few weeks in advance. Usually, we’re planning our travel months in advance. It was just different, but it was still fun to go to the race track and be able to race.”

Bonsignore and his Ken Massa Motorsports team were lucky enough to figure out White Mountain first. After watching Matt Hirschman dominate the first 193 laps, Bonsignore was able to overtake him and led the final 12, which included surviving an overtime restart, to win.

Justin Bonsignore celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Independence Day 200 at White Mountain Motorsports Park on July 4, 2020. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

The win proved vital for Bonsignore, who went on to claim his second Modified Tour championship that year.

Perhaps more important for everyone involved: For a few hours, a limited number of fans were able to forget about what was going on in the world and enjoy a night of racing at their local short track.

“The race before there were zero fans, so it was cool that they were able to do that,” Bonsignore said.

Fast-forward five years, and the Modified Tour is returning to White Mountain Motorsports Park for the first time since the 2020 season.

This time there are no restrictions in place, and Bonsignore is looking forward to experiencing White Mountain properly – with a full grandstand of fans.

“It’ll be great to go there and have a normal day,” Bonsignore said. “Hopefully the crowd packs in. It’s not typical Modified country, it’s more Late Model country. So hopefully we’ll race in front of full crowd and put on a great race because it is a racey race track.

“Hopefully we can have a good, solid day as a series and put on a good event for the fans. Hopefully the fans are able to come out in full force.”

Bonsignore hasn’t been back to White Mountain since 2020, but he’s confident in his team and his own skills as they look to build on a win two weeks ago at Riverhead Raceway as he pursues his fifth series championship since 2018.

“I’m trying to watch some video. They’ve obviously had some open Modified stuff since we’ve been there,” Bonsignore said. “My crew chief Ryan Stone does a great job of keeping up with those things. He helps some people in some of these other divisions with setup ideas and stuff, so he’s been on top of it.

“As far as from a race-car driver (perspective), you just watch film and get an idea. But getting out there in practice, utilizing the full practice as much as you can for learning is the biggest thing. There is nothing that can replace track time.”

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Staff Report

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — A trio of Martinsville Speedway winners, all of whom are in the top three of the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division point standings at South Boston Speedway, say winning the 19th running of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 on Saturday night, June 28 at South Boston Speedway will be a special accomplishment.

Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia, a two-time winner of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, the kickoff race for the Virginia Triple Crown presented by FloRacing, is eyeing a third win in the event. He says winning the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 grows more special each time.

“With the popularity growing like it does every year, it becomes more special and more of an elite race,” Sellers pointed out.

“It is turning into a more elite event, not that it hasn’t been any other time, it’s just gaining a lot of traction between the Triple Crown and the popularity of how many drivers come to it. More people talk about it with the add-on of FloRacing, and all of the different opportunities people have to view it now. It has become something that is special.”

Trevor Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who won at Martinsville Speedway in 2023 and won the Triple Crown that year, is seeking his first win in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 this weekend. He finished third in the event in 2023 and was the runner-up in last season’s race. Like Sellers, Ward says winning the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 will be special.

“To win this race has been on my bucket list a long time,” Ward remarked. “It would be really cool to be able to check one more thing off of my bucket list.”

Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia, a former Martinsville Speedway winner who has a fourth-place finish as his best effort in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, would like nothing better than to earn his first career victory in the event on Saturday.

Landon Pembelton is one of three Martinsville Speedway winners entered in Saturday night’s 19th running of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway. (Photo: Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

“It would be a dream come true,” Pembelton said of winning the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200. “I’ve been chasing after it ever since I started racing Late Models. I’ve had good runs in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200. I’ve either finished in the top five or six or either I’m wrecked. Hopefully the luck will swing my way.”

While the $10,000 winner’s prize and a guaranteed starting position in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway in September are on the line in Saturday’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, the trio has to consider what it will take to be in the mix for the Virginia Triple Crown presented by FloRacing and remain in contention for the South Boston Speedway Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division crown.

Ward holds a slim one-point lead over Sellers with Pembelton sitting in third place, just three points behind Ward, entering Saturday’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200.

“You have to keep it in mind,” Sellers remarked of the Triple Crown and the South Boston Speedway track points chase. “Being that it’s a points race for the Triple Crown and the track points, you have to give it a lot of thought. You can’t put your car in a bad spot. You’ve got to be there at the end, and usually, if you do, you’ll end up with a decent finish.

“We’ve been very fortunate to compete for the Triple Crowns, track points and things like that,” Sellers continued. “It comes from finishing races and putting yourself in position. There are a lot of young guys out there that can go fast and win races, but to run for points, you have to think about it a little differently.”
Ward points out that while those things have to be kept in mind, the chase for the South Boston Speedway track championship “is a tight battle and this is a long race. There is a long way to go. We’ve got four or five more weeks of this and anything can happen.”

Along with the $10,000 winner’s prize, several other awards will be up for grabs for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division in the 19th running of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200. Those awards include a $500 Anderson Outdoor Solutions Pole Award, a $500 Sunoco/Sparks Oil Company Halfway Leader Award, and a $500 Anderson Outdoor Solutions Hard Charger Award to be given to the driver who gains the most positions from their initial feature starting position. In addition, there will be a $250 Gutterworx Stage 1 Leader Award for the leader at the end of Stage 1 and a Southside Disposal $250 Stage 3 Leader Award to go to the leader at the end of Stage 3.

Four races are scheduled as part of Saturday’s 19th running of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway. In addition to the 200-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, there will be a 40-lap race for Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 15-lap race for the Dollar General Hornets Division. A patriotic Fourth of July fireworks show will follow the last race of the night.

Advance adult tickets for the June 28 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 event are priced at $20 each. Tickets at the gate on race day will be $25 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $20 each at the gate only on the day of the event.
Saturday’s event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 10 a.m. and frontstretch spectator gates opening at 10 a.m. Rotating practice sessions for the four divisions will run from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Backstretch and Turn 4 tailgate gates open at 3:30 p.m.

Go Halifax Late Model Stock Car group qualifying starts at 4:15 p.m. A driver autograph session is slated from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies will start at 6:30 p.m. and the first race of the night will start at 7 p.m.

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Chris Murdock

With only four races remaining until the start of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, the series heads to unfamiliar territory with a new road course on tap this weekend: Lime Rock Park. The visit to the Connecticut facility will be a first for any of NASCAR’s national series, which should bring plenty of excitement as Truck Series regulars tackle the layout.

NASCAR.com’s Chris Murdock ranks the top 10 Truck contenders heading into this weekend’s debut at Lime Rock on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, FOX, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Analysis: Heim is the only driver in 2025 to lead a lap in every race of the Truck Series season. This year is shaping up to be the No. 11 team’s to lose. While Heim remains atop the list for now, consistency issues have hindered his chances of winning over the past few weeks; since finishing first at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Heim has posted results of second (Nashville), 18th (Michigan), and 23rd (Pocono).

Analysis: Consistently climbing up the ranks and up two positions since we last dove into the rankings before Rockingham Speedway, Smith is the only other series contender with multiple victories in 2025 other than Heim. His most recent win at North Wilkesboro Speedway could bode well with Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and Richmond Raceway on the horizon.

Analysis: Since our last set of rankings before Rockingham, Hemric has only finished outside the top 10 once, crashing at Michigan International Speedway and finishing 27th. His lone win in 2025 came at Martinsville Speedway, and with two short-track races on the docket before the playoffs, Hemric’s chances of finding Victory Lane again are high.

Analysis: The 23-year-old Riggs is the latest driver to secure a spot in the Truck Series Playoffs following his win at Pocono Raceway. With two short-track races remaining to conclude the regular-season fight, Riggs — with two career wins on short tracks — might claim a couple more victories before it’s all over.

Analysis: Perhaps the biggest surprise so far in 2025 is defending series champion Ty Majeski going winless through the opening 14 races. Let’s not forget it was around this time last year that the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford driver stepped up his game, winning back-to-back races at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Richmond to finish the regular season strong.

Analysis: Notching his first Truck Series victory since 2022, Friesen pulled off a surprising win at Michigan to kick off June. Following that up with another top 10 this past weekend at Pocono, momentum is on the No. 52’s side entering Lime Rock. Only time will tell if the team can translate this momentum into a deep postseason run.

Analysis: A new face appears in this edition of Power Rankings, bringing a fresh face to the playoff picture. Ankrum’s triumph at Rockingham marked his first victory since the 2019 season (Kentucky). After three straight finishes outside the top 15, the No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver aims to turn his luck around in this final stretch of the regular season.

Analysis: Since our last Truck check-in, Caruth secured his spot in the postseason conversation with a win at Nashville Superspeedway after a tough start to the 2025 campaign. Still, Caruth has only one top-five finish in the last six races … that being his Nashville victory. The No. 71 Spire Motorsports pilot has some ground to cover to establish himself as a title contender.

Analysis: Still holding onto one of the coveted playoff spots in the final four races, Enfinger has only one finish outside the top 10 in the last six races. Unfortunately, that was this past weekend at Pocono, where the driver of the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet finished 17th. Still, the future looks promising for the driver with back-to-back Championship 4 appearances.

Analysis: It seems like only a matter of time before Honeycutt, the other new addition to this week’s Power Rankings, reaches Victory Lane with his No. 45 Niece Motorsports team. With a third-place finish at Pocono and two races on short tracks (where Honeycutt has found success in late models), a win could very well happen before the end of the regular season.