Posted on by Staff Report

William Sawalich has not yet been medically cleared to return to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Sawalich announced Wednesday on social media, keeping him sidelined for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

MORE: Phoenix schedule | Xfinity Series standings

Sawalich is recovering from concussion-like symptoms after a crash in the Oct. 18 race at Talladega Superspeedway. The 19-year-old rookie also sat out the Oct. 25 race at Martinsville Speedway to recuperate. As part of his recovery, Sawalich is working with Dr. Micky Collins at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Collins has helped other drivers navigate concussion-like symptoms previously, most notably NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get medically cleared to compete this weekend in Phoenix,” Sawalich said in a team release. “As a driver, you want to be behind the wheel for your team, but I understand the importance of being fully ready before returning. As I continue to work toward getting back to 100%, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Collins and his UPMC staff. I also want to thank (crew chief) Jeff Meendering, the No. 18 team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing for their unwavering support this season. We will be prepared and ready to go when the season begins in Daytona this February.”

Substituting for Sawalich is Justin Bonsignore, who wheeled the No. 18 Toyota to a 10th-place finish in Sawalich’s place at Martinsville, the first top 10 of Bonsignore’s Xfinity career. Saturday will mark Bonsignore’s ninth start this season and 10th in Xfinity competition. The four-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion finished runner-up in the tour’s 2025 campaign, which concluded Oct. 23 at Martinsville.

Posted on by Nate Ryan

Pre-race inspection will be the same for a dozen title contenders, but NASCAR officials will need extra time to verify the champion in its three national series this weekend.

On the latest “Hauler Talk” podcast, NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis outlined how post-race inspection will work for the Championship 4 in the Craftsman Truck, Xfinity and Cup series at Phoenix Raceway.

RELATED: Phoenix weekend schedule

In addition to the regular checks on body measurements and weights, the champion’s vehicle also will undergo a full engine teardown that can extend the inspection process to about three to four hours. (It usually takes about 90 minutes for NASCAR to clear the race winner.)

For Cup, the champion’s engine will be checked by Sunday evening. With the Truck and Xfinity races ending under the lights, the engine inspection is completed the following morning.

“To add several hours to what is already a pretty long day would be really putting both teams and officials on a time constraint of how long they had been working, and you want people to be fresh in that role,” Ellis said. “Because the Cup event essentially kind of ends the weekend, obviously, you want to be able to know who your champion is on Sunday evening for a lot of reasons.

“That’s truly the last step, when you think about crowning a champion officially, is the completion of the engine teardown.”

Just as with last week’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, NASCAR also will maintain an expanded staff at its remote race control in Concord, North Carolina. Managing director of communications Mike Forde said officials would be assigned specific channels to monitor for the entirety of each race, just as at Martinsville.

“We will have pretty much the same staff, maybe different humans, but the amount of people will be pretty large and pretty much the same,” Forde said. “So I’m sure the Championship 4 drivers and their teammates, they’ll have a scanner dedicated to (monitoring) those channels in the off-site race control, and they’ll be able to relay that information if necessary to the race control in Phoenix Raceway.”

On-site race control in Phoenix will remain the same, with NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell likely present for all three championship races.

Forde also said pre-race inspection would remain the same. NASCAR once pre-certified the Cup contenders’ cars at the R&D Center in Concord but now has the tools at track with its traveling optical scanning station.

Ellis also detailed the title celebration schedule, which includes expanded media obligations and a nationally televised trophy presentation. NASCAR also mics each champion for the duration of the celebration with family members and teammates.

“We capture all of those conversations that have been really nice to have,” Ellis said. “That is not always released per se to the public, but we do typically provide that content to the respected teams, and they get to have a chance to keep all that for their memory and celebrations that they might have.”

NASCAR orders more than 100 bottles of champagne for the weekend — and will have grape juice on hand for a potential underage champion (such as 19-year-old Connor Zilisch in Xfinity).

“There’s a specific place in each run of show that we truly stop to do a champagne celebration,” Ellis said. “A big part of the fun element on the stage is the champagne spray. And I did hear a rumor that one particular driver plans to bring their own champagne. So, it could be a long night.

Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 39th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:

— The suspension of Sam Mayer from the Xfinity season finale at Phoenix for wrecking Jeb Burton after the checkered flag at Martinsville.

— How NASCAR determines whether a car receives the beneficiary status when involved in a caution.

— A new tire for the Cup finale at Phoenix.

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.

Posted on by Staff Report

Voting continues for the National Motorsports Press Association’s 2025 Most Popular Driver Award, and the opportunity is still available to hit the polls five times per day per unique email address for your favorite driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

VOTE HERE: Cup | Xfinity | Truck

Since our top 10 update, view the current top five vote-getters, in alphabetical order, for each NASCAR series as of Oct. 29:

CUP SERIES

Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson

XFINITY SERIES

Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed, Matt DiBenedetto, Jesse Love, Connor Zilisch

CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

Toni Breidinger, Rajah Caruth, Matt Crafton, Corey Heim, Layne Riggs

To vote, visit the Most Popular Driver page and click on the series logo for the series you want to vote for, select your favorite driver and click the submit button to cast your vote. Fan Rewards members will earn 25 points on their first vote from the Rewards dashboard.

MORE: Most Popular Driver Award winners in Cup | 2024 Most Popular Driver Award victors

Voting began at noon ET on Monday, Oct. 6, and will remain open until noon ET on Monday, Nov. 3. The winners will be revealed on Nov. 4 at the NASCAR Awards banquet in Scottsdale, Arizona, after Championship Weekend.

Chase Elliott has won the Most Popular Driver Award in the Cup Series for the past seven seasons, while Justin Allgaier (Xfinity) and Rajah Caruth (Craftsman Truck) also took home the 2024 honors.

Continue voting and play a part in helping your favorite drivers find Victory Lane in the ballot race.

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series wraps up the 2025 playoffs with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Qualifying at the 1-miler begins at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday (truTV, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A 50-minute practice will take place at 5:35 p.m. ET on Friday, also on truTV.

QUALIFYING ORDER: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Craftsman Truck Series

The qualifying order below is determined via a metric that combines the previous race finish by owner (70%) and current owner points position (30%).

Saturday’s qualifying session will be one round and one lap.

The race itself will be on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock) with Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and William Byron competing for the championship.

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on NBC, USA | Driver Cams on HBO Max | Weekend schedule

# denotes series rookie
(i) denotes ineligible for driver points
(P) denotes playoff driver

Pos Car No. Driver Metric Score Group
1 44 JJ Yeley (i) 41.3 1
2 35 Riley Herbst # 35.7 1
3 66 Casey Mears (i) 34.8 1
4 51 Cody Ware 33.2 1
5 43 Erik Jones 31.6 1
6 4 Noah Gragson 31.2 1
7 77 Carson Hocevar 28.6 1
8 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 27.9 1
9 10 Ty Dillon 27.8 1
10 16 AJ Allmendinger 27.1 1
11 38 Zane Smith 25.6 1
12 17 Chris Buescher 25.4 1
13 99 Daniel Suarez 24.1 1
14 71 Michael McDowell 23.1 1
15 7 Justin Haley 22.6 1
16 42 John Hunter Nemechek 21.9 1
17 41 Cole Custer 21.8 1
18 6 Brad Keselowski 20.0 1
19 48 Alex Bowman 20.0 1
20 8 Kyle Busch 15.7 2
21 3 Austin Dillon 15.7 2
22 23 Bubba Wallace 15.6 2
23 34 Todd Gilliland 14.7 2
24 2 Austin Cindric 14.7 2
25 54 Ty Gibbs 14.1 2
26 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # 13.4 2
27 21 Josh Berry 11.8 2
28 45 Tyler Reddick 9.8 2
29 60 Ryan Preece 9.6 2
30 22 Joey Logano 8.0 2
31 20 Christopher Bell 6.4 2
32 1 Ross Chastain 6.1 2
33 9 Chase Elliott 4.8 2
34 12 Ryan Blaney 3.2 2
35 19 Chase Briscoe (P) 26.2 2
36 11 Denny Hamlin (P) 25.1 2
37 5 Kyle Larson (P) 4.7 2
38 24 William Bryon (P) 1.6 2
Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Xfinity Series wraps up the 2025 playoffs with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Qualifying at the 1-miler begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday (The CW App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A 50-minute practice will take place at 4:35 p.m. ET on Friday, also on The CW App.

Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil battle for the title Saturday night in the desert (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

QUALIFYING ORDER: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

Saturday’s qualifying session will be one round and one lap.

The qualifying order below is determined via metric that combines the previous race finish by owner (70%) and current owner points position (30%).

MORE: How to watch on The CW | Weekend schedule

# denotes series rookie
(i) denotes ineligible for driver points
(P) denotes playoff driver

Note: Aric Almirola and Austin Hill are competing for the owner’s title.

Pos.Car No.DriversMetric ScoreGroup
174Dawson Cram41.01
25Glen Reen40.41
335Stefan Parsons(i)37.91
470Leland Honeyman35.91
553Joey Gase33.51
614Garrett Smithley31.51
744Brennan Poole31.51
807Patrick Emerling31.31
911Brenden Queen31.11
1051Jeremy Clements30.71
1145Josh Williams29.81
1210Daniel Dye #29.11
134Parker Retzlaff27.51
1499Connor Mosack(i)25.31
1571Ryan Ellis24.41
1616Christian Eckes #23.11
1728Nick Leitz22.81
1831Blaine Perkins22.41
1942Anthony Alfredo18.71
2091Josh Bilicki18.52
2148Nick Sanchez16.92
2239Kyle Sieg15.32
2317Corey Day14.82
2418William Sawalich #12.42
2525Harrison Burton11.62
2626Dean Thompson10.72
2727Jeb Burton8.72
2841Ryan Sieg6.72
2900Sheldon Creed6.12
3020Brandon Jones4.22
318Sammy Smith #4.12
3254Taylor Gray #3.72
337Justin Allgaier (P)19.42
342Jesse Love (P)17.62
351Carson Kvapil # (P)15.02
3621Austin Hill (P)9.02
3788Connor Zilisch # (P)7.22
3819Aric Almirola (P)3.82
Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will crown its 2025 champion this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Teams will hit the track for a 50-minute practice session on Thursday at 7:35 p.m. ET (no TV) before qualifying Friday at 3:35 p.m. ET (FS2).

On Friday night, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Kaden Honeycutt will duke it out over 150 laps for top series honors (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

QUALIFYING ORDER: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

Friday’s qualifying session is set for one lap and one round.

The qualifying order below is determined via a metric that combines the previous race finish by owner (70%) and current owner points position (30%).

MORE: How to watch the Truck Series on FS1, FS2 | Weekend schedule

# denotes series rookie
(i) denotes ineligible for driver points
(P) denotes playoff driver

Note: Layne Riggs is competing for the owner’s championship in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

Pos.Car No.DriverMetric ScoreGroup
135Greg Van Alst41.31
274Caleb Costner41.01
362Cole Butcher39.51
466Luke Baldwin36.21
52Clayton Green34.11
622Mason Maggio (i)31.41
781Connor Mosack #26.71
85Toni Breidinger #26.31
988Matt Crafton26.31
1002Nathan Byrd26.21
1141Tyler Reif25.91
1242Matt Mills25.81
1371Rajah Caruth25.61
1444Andres Perez De Lara #25.01
1533Frankie Muniz #24.51
1619Daniel Hemric24.41
1776Spencer Boyd19.71
1826Dawson Sutton #19.62
1945Bayley Currey18.62
2013Jake Garcia17.12
2191Jack Wood16.32
2299Ben Rhodes14.02
2317Giovanni Ruggiero #11.02
249Grant Enfinger10.82
2515Tanner Gray10.42
267Stefan Parsons9.12
271Brent Crews7.92
2838Chandler Smith7.22
29177Corey LaJoie7.12
3018Tyler Ankrum (P)7.82
3198Ty Majeski (P)6.12
3234Layne Riggs (P)3.02
3352Kaden Honeycutt (P)2.02
3411Corey Heim (P)1.02
Posted on by Brandon White

For 18-year-old Tyler Reif, there is no better venue to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut than Phoenix Raceway.

Just over two years ago, Reif surprised the motorsports community on the desert tri-oval. Driving for Lowden-Jackson Motorsports in his ARCA Menards Series debut, he bested both the West Coast competitors and series regulars to secure an upset victory.

Now Reif is making final preparations for his maiden Truck Series appearance, utilizing the same number with Niece Motorsports he drove to Victory Lane in 2023, the No. 41. While Reif is not exactly expecting a repeat of his ARCA triumph, he is eager to showcase his talent in one of NASCAR’s national divisions.

Tyler Reif

“I’ve kind of worked my whole life for this opportunity,” Reif said. “It’s finally come about with the Niece Motorsports group, so I’m just really excited to get it going. I’ve been waiting all month.”

Racing has always been a part of Reif’s identity. He methodically refined his craft in Legends and Pro Late Models on the West Coast alongside his older brother Tanner, who is now a three-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series West.

After observing the success Tanner enjoyed during the 2022 West Series season, Reif was ready to follow in his brother’s footsteps the following year. He participated in the final two events on the 2022 schedule for Lowden-Jackson to prepare himself for a full-time effort, which began at the largest track he had competed on to that point — Phoenix.

The opening moments of that race went about as poor as possible. An early crash on Lap 11 resulted in Reif falling two laps off the pace, but Lowden-Jackson managed to repair the damage to Reif’s rear end and got him back on track, where he quickly made up the lost laps through two more early cautions.

As more yellow flags slowed the pace, Reif continued to pick off his competition one-by-one, working his way to second for the first overtime restart. Reif inherited the lead when William Sawalich was turned by Bradley Erickson at the initial jump, which put him in an ideal-but-precarious position to take home a checkered flag.

Disaster nearly struck Reif when a poor launch allowed Landen Lewis to pull ahead with a sizable lead, causing him to fall to third.

Instead of letting the mistake rattle him, Reif charged back toward the front, first passing Erickson before overtaking Lewis in the final corner to cap off his come-from-behind triumph.

Tyler Reif
Tyler Reif overcame a two-lap deficit at Phoenix Raceway in 2023 to win in his first ARCA Menards Series start. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

Reif admitted the Phoenix victory laid the foundation for where he is now. He ended up claiming the West Series owner’s title for Central Coast Racing in 2024 with two victories, nine top fives and three poles before embarking on a busier 2025 schedule that saw him finish second in the ARCA Menards Series East standings with Sigma Performance Services.

Reif feels the most significant benefit to his development has been the advice provided by former driver Josh Wise. He now finds himself more collected behind the wheel through Wise’s tutelage, which he knows is going to be essential for his first appearance in a Niece truck.

“There’s a lot [that’s changed for me], especially on the mental side of it,” Reif said. “With [Josh] Wise’s program, I had never really worked on any of that stuff when it came to preparation, mindset and not getting upset. After getting wrecked at Phoenix, I was really upset and [initially] thought my night was over.

“Not letting stuff get in my head like that has really changed my [outlook] coming into races and coming out of races I feel like.”

With plenty of composure and confidence on his side, Reif is ready to start a new chapter in his career with Niece.

Reif already possessed a connection to Niece through one of their former drivers in current NASCAR Cup Series competitor Carson Hocevar, as he lived at his house for a week while competing in quarter-midgets. It was Hocevar who suggested to Reif that he reach out to Niece about any available opportunities with their Truck Series program.

Now fully embedded with Niece, Reif has been hard at work ensuring he is prepared for everything the Truck Series is going to offer this weekend. The most notable adjustment is live pit stops.

Once he learns the literal ins and outs of live stops, Reif believes he’ll experience a seamless transition to race conditions for Friday evening’s Truck Series race. Phoenix baring many similarities to other short tracks on the West Coast helped Reif in his ARCA Menards Series debut two years ago, which is why he’s optimistic about performing well this week.

Tyler Reif
More than two years removed from his first ARCA Menards Series win at Phoenix Raceway, Tyler Reif is confident he can excel with Niece Motorsports in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. (Photo: Lachlan Cunningham/ARCA Racing)

“[Phoenix] is a mile [long], but it still races like a short track,” Reif said. “What I grew up doing on the West Coast with Irwindale [Speedway], [Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway] and Madera [Speedway], you can get up under people; you can get up on the wheel and muscle the car around. I feel like that really suits me the best.”

Expectations are simple for Reif in his first Truck Series outing: Keep his truck in one piece and finish anywhere near the top 15 or top 20. Despite this, Reif already knows how to exceed expectations at Phoenix and believes a top-five performance can be feasible if everything goes to plan.

Reif said a smooth outing at Phoenix could be a major influence on his plans for 2026. He is trying not to put too much pressure on himself before the green flag waves, but being a diligent student before, during and after the race is something Reif knows can only help him as he moves forward with his career.

“I’ve got to make sure [I’m] mentally prepared,” Reif said. “Taking in a lot of the dirty air aspects [between] the truck and the ARCA car is going to be my biggest thing going into next year. In the Truck Series, I feel like you have to minimize mistakes to run up front. You can’t underdrive it or overdrive it.

“You’ve got to maximize everything to put yourself in the best spot possible.”

Phoenix will always be a special track for Reif after what he accomplished there in the ARCA Menards Series back in 2023. He looks forward to creating another great Phoenix memory Friday in the first of what he hopes is many Truck Series starts.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

JR Motorsports has dominated the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and for the second time in four years, the organization has filled three of the four Championship 4 spots. Even after 5,123 laps in 2025, storylines are plentiful entering Saturday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), with it all coming down to the final 200 circuits.

The youth movement took over in 2025, with half of the Championship 4 drivers (Zilisch, Kvapil) concluding their rookie campaign. Friendships will be tested; sophomore Jesse Love is looking to upset the dominant Connor Zilisch, who’s one of Love’s best friends away from competition.

RELATED: Championship Weekend schedule | Each Championship 4 field following Martinsville

Meanwhile, a familiar foe in Justin Allgaier returns for his eighth Championship 4 appearance. The Illinois native is looking to defend his 2024 championship and become the first repeat titleholder since Tyler Reddick in 2018 and 2019.

Let’s preview each championship-contending driver and where they stand heading to Phoenix.

Connor Zilisch
2025 regular-season finish: 1st
Playoff seed: 1st

What is there to say about Zilisch that hasn’t already been said? The 19-year-old prodigy has won double-digit races (10), led laps in 20 straight starts and set the new series record for consecutive top five finishes with 18, spanning from Charlotte Motor Speedway in May to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. (His 2.1 average finish in that span is best in series history, too.) He became the first driver in series history to win eight events in an 11-race span.

This is Zilisch’s lone shot at winning an Xfinity title as he will transition to the Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing in 2026. Phoenix is one of the few venues where he’s made multiple Xfinity starts, including a fourth-place finish in the championship race last year. In the spring race, he led two laps before dropping to 16th in the finishing order.

“We’ve been able to work on [Phoenix] for the last three or four weeks, assuming we were going to make it,” Zilisch said before his laps-led streak ended at Martinsville Speedway. “We’ve been doing a lot to make sure that we are better going back from the spring and that we execute the day and make the most of it. It’s been good so far, and I feel like we’ve gotten to a good spot, preparing myself for it.”

Justin Allgaier
2025 regular-season finish: 2nd
Playoff seed: 2nd

Coming off one of the better feel-good moments in series history last year in the “Valley of the Sun,” Allgaier is looking to play spoiler this weekend at Phoenix. The No. 7 team has three victories in 2025, with the last coming five months ago at Nashville Superspeedway.

The No. 7 team leads the league in stage wins in 2025 with 14 and is 13 laps shy of tying JRM teammate Zilisch for having the most laps led (986 vs. 973). Allgaier has finished races better than in his championship-winning season, already having four more top fives in 2025 (14) compared to 2024 (10). Along with Zilisch, Allgaier had a stress-free Martinsville, having secured a Championship 4 berth on points the previous week at Talladega Superspeedway.

Despite having seven fewer wins than the No. 88 team in 2025, Allgaier should probably be considered the favorite on Saturday evening. He has a pair of victories, 12 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes in 30 Phoenix starts. He has six times the experience at the 1-mile track than his fellow Championship 4 contestants combined.

“We’ve stayed working on Phoenix,” Allgaier said at Martinsville. “We’ve been lucky enough to focus on what we’ve needed to focus on and go to Phoenix. It’s cool for me because all four cars at JR Motorsports are going back with stuff that I’ve run before. All the setups are derived from where we’ve been at, and I know the strengths and weaknesses of all the different options of what we do as a company.”

Jesse Love
2025 regular-season finish: 4th
Playoff seed: 4th

As Love mentioned to Jayski.com in August, he has been ridiculously consistent in 2025. Nothing overly flashy, though, for the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team, which has led nearly half of its 262 laps led in 2025 at superspeedways (129). Phoenix by no means correlates to superspeedway racing.

Despite the No. 2 team’s infrequency of pacing the field, Love’s 11.4 average finish ranks second among full-time drivers, trailing Zilisch’s 8.2. He also has the second-most top 10s in 2025 with 21, ranking just behind Zillich’s 22.

The elephant in the room, however, is Phoenix. Love is sneaky good at the venue and was leading during double overtime in last year’s championship race. He was used up by Allgaier on the restart, dropping to sixth. In three Xfinity starts at Phoenix, he has never finished worse than ninth.

“I know that we’ll be good at Phoenix,” Love said after a disappointing 23rd-place effort at Martinsville. “I know it’s one of my best race tracks. I have a lot of laps there. I put a lot of effort into it. I pride myself racing for championships and being the steady shoe. Phoenix has always rewarded that.”

Carson Kvapil
2025 regular-season finish: 7th
Playoff seed: 8th

Kvapil is aiming to follow the Daniel Hemric playbook in 2021, winning his first race en route to being crowned champion.

The short-track ace has transitioned to full-time NASCAR racing in 2025, but is racing for his livelihood as JRM announced last month that he won’t return to the team in a full-time capacity in 2026. While the No. 1 team has yet to visit Victory Lane, Kvapil has seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, on par with fellow rookies Taylor Gray and Christian Eckes. Among the Championship 4 drivers, though, he ranks the lowest in wins, top fives, top 10s, average finish (13.8) and laps led (104; 40 of those came last weekend at Martinsville).

The positive news for Kvapil is that Phoenix doesn’t measure 1.5 miles, which he believes is the biggest area of growth he still needs to make. He has just one Phoenix attempt on his resume, finishing 26th in the spring with multiple mechanical woes.

“I feel OK. I feel like there are tracks that I’d rather go to, right?” Kvapil said. “I feel like we didn’t have that great of a car and had some pretty big mechanical troubles at Phoenix earlier in the year, and we were still running 10th before we blew a rotor. Honestly, I feel like there’s no reason we can’t go outrun these guys and try to win a championship.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced Tuesday afternoon that Haas Factory Team driver Sam Mayer has been suspended from Saturday’s Xfinity Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

After the checkered flag in last weekend’s playoff race at Martinsville Speedway, the No. 41 Ford driver spun Jordan Anderson Racing driver Jeb Burton into the outside wall. The two had prior contact earlier in the event, and Mayer offered pointed words about Burton in his post-race interview.

NASCAR deemed the on-track maneuver from Mayer to be in violation of Section 4.4.B of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct. Mayer was eliminated from Championship 4 contention at Martinsville after finishing seventh.

The team has elected not to appeal.

“Although we are disappointed with the results, Haas Factory Team will not appeal the penalty NASCAR issued to Sam Mayer and the No. 41 team following last weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway,” according to the team’s social media post.

“We remain focused on finishing the season out strong at Phoenix Raceway and look forward to contending for a race win with Ryan Sieg at the wheel.”

RELATED: Phoenix schedule | Xfinity entry list for Saturday

On the Cup Series side, two crew members from the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team have been suspended for two races after the right-rear wheel detached from Cody Ware’s car during Sunday’s race at Martinsville.

Wheel detachments are a safety violation in the NASCAR rule book, and jackman De’Quan Hampton and rear-tire changer Marquill Osborne will sit out Sunday’s Cup Series championship race and February’s Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR and Night, a next-gen media and entertainment company supporting the careers and business ventures of the world’s top creators and artists, today announced the launch of the NASCAR 25 Creator Series, a first-of-its-kind in motorsports competitive streaming series designed to bring the excitement of NASCAR 25 to millions of gaming and motorsports fans worldwide.

The Creator Series features eight of the most influential streamers and gaming personalities, who collectively reach tens of millions of fans across Twitch, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Competing across a four-event series from October through February, these creators will test their skills behind the wheel:

Each race will stream live on creator channels and NASCAR’s Official Twitch, with a master NASCAR broadcast featuring commentators and professional drivers for a “RedZone-style” viewing experience.

Mamba Smith leads the broadcast and will host every race from the main NASCAR channel, while Carson Hocevar joins as a guest driver for the first event. Hocevar, who regularly streams on Twitch, continues to bridge the gap between real-world racing and digital entertainment.

Launching on Oct. 29 following the release of NASCAR 25 from iRacing Studios, the NASCAR 25 Creator Series will feature multiple races per event and celebrate standout performances with season-end accolades, including Most Valuable Driver. Fans also can participate by voting for their favorite driver throughout the season and more. Competitors will vie for a $100,000 team grand prize, with an additional $20,000 distributed in performance bonuses at the end of the season.

Fans can expect:

  • 32 live streams across creator channels
  • 100+ social activations including highlights, behind-the-scenes content and fan clips
  • NASCAR.com coverage and exclusive NASCAR social posts including an official broadcast on NASCAR’s Twitch channel
  • Custom creator racing suits, on-stream assets, and immersive fan experiences

“The NASCAR 25 Creator Series is about connecting the next generation of fans to the sport through the voices and personalities they already love online,” said Nick Rend, NASCAR VP, Interactive & Emerging Platforms. “By bringing together top-tier gaming talent with NASCAR’s high-speed action, we’re creating an entertainment experience unlike anything else in motorsports.”

“Over the last ten months we’ve worked closely with NASCAR to help them better connect with younger audiences online,” said Reed Duchscher, Night Founder & Chief Executive Officer. “The NASCAR 25 Creator Series is a first-of-its kind sports initiative that puts personality and entertainment first.”

The NASCAR 25 Creator Series debuts at 2 p.m. PT//5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Fans can tune in live on Twitch, follow the conversation on social media with the hashtag #NASCARCreatorSeries, and check out additional clips and coverage on the NASCAR 25 game channels on X and Instagram after the stream.

The NASCAR 25 Creator Series marks the latest effort by NASCAR in the gaming space, where its audience continues to grow across a variety of platforms reaching over 25 million unique players YTD.

  • NASCAR World in Driving Empire on Roblox has generated more than 7 million hours of engagement time with players completing 35 million NASCAR races this year.
    • Last month, NASCAR won two Roblox Innovation Awards for Best Racing Experience and Best Collaboration with developer Voldex.
  • The sanctioning body launched five custom tracks in Fortnite’s Rocket Racing achieving No. 1 for top rated, No. 1 for most played and No. 1 for new content in each respective drop.
  • NASCAR on Forza set a record for most successful Motorsports Live activation in the history of the franchise.
  • The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series grew its viewership by 35% YoY.
  • NASCAR’s Twitch (+30%) and Discord (+45%) channels have both grown YoY.