The NASCAR Cup Series makes its spring trip to Kansas Speedway this weekend, with qualifying set for Saturday at 5:40 p.m. ET on Prime Video. Qualifying will be one lap and one round.
“You guys are the first people I tell that I do this.”
William Byron allowed himself to share some vulnerability in the new season of Netflix’s “NASCAR: Full Speed,” which premiered on the streaming platform May 7.
The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet reveals in Episode 3 of the five-part docuseries that he regularly meets with a sports therapist, largely to find better balance between his high-intensity career behind the wheel and his day-to-day life outside the car.
“What made me want to do it is just I felt like I was a very quiet communicator and I didn’t say a lot,” Byron said. “And I felt like that was getting in the way of our success or potential success as a team. But then it transitioned to learning more about myself as a person, and so then I feel it took off.”
The 27-year-old native of Charlotte, North Carolina, admits: “I’m not a very open person, so I don’t let a lot of people in.”
With that came harboring the pressure of driving one of NASCAR’s most famous numbers for its powerhouse team. Jeff Gordon propelled Hendrick’s No. 24 into the mainstream world over the course of his legendary career, collecting four NASCAR Cup Series championships and 93 wins. Byron took claim of the number for the same team in 2018. And with Gordon now serving as the team’s vice chairman, there are immense expectations placed on Byron as he continues to find his own success.
But Byron has done just that: In February, he became the first back-to-back winner of the Daytona 500 since Denny Hamlin did so in 2019-20, adding to his current tally of 14 career Cup wins. He has advanced to the title-deciding Championship 4 round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in each of the past two years and stands as the series’ points leader through 11 races in 2025.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot off the track, and I feel like finding a balance in life in general helped me on the track because I was more driven,” Byron said.
That growth has fostered better mindsets for Byron as he has more readily equipped himself for high-pressure situations.
“How can I understand myself as a person?” Byron said. “I feel like that was something that I put off for a long time because I was just so focused on racing.”
Sharing such a personal journey is not second nature for Byron — whether with cameras or during his personal appointments.
“At first, it was really hard to tell her everything,” Byron said. “And sometimes, I feel like I don’t say as much as I should. And I’m like, dang it. I should have said this, right? Should have gone into more detail. But I just try to give her everything that’s on my mind.”
Minnesota isn’t exactly known as a hotbed for racing. No driver born in the North Star State has won a NASCAR national touring race.
William Sawalich is hoping to change that soon.
Sawalich, currently the wheelman of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota in the Xfinity Series, is 18 years old. He grew up an avid Chase Elliott fan and still roots for him from afar.
“You’re almost a little disconnected from [racing] because you’re not in the South, and there is one pavement oval in Minnesota — Elko,” Sawalich said of starting his racing journey in Minnesota. “That’s where I grew up racing. If you wanted to go to a different track, you had to go to Wisconsin. Minnesota is a little bit of a dry spot for racing, in general, but you can still be the fan you wanted to be in North Carolina.”
It was less than a decade ago that Sawalich began racing competitively. His parents, Brandon Sawalich, president of Starkey Hearing Technologies, and Stacy Sawalich, purchased a quarter midget for him. He quickly transitioned to Legends cars, where his passion for racing grew exponentially. He moved to North Carolina in 2021 to run late models before transitioning to NASCAR.
Once Sawalich moved south, he was paired with 20-time NASCAR national touring series winner Dennis Setzer and his Setzer Racing and Development program. The youngster credits the Setzers with a big part of his development.
“[The Setzers] started me off in late models, and late models were an important part of my career,” Sawalich said. “I can’t thank them enough for basically teaching me how to race.”
The feelings are mutual from the Setzers; Sawalich was the program’s inaugural driver.
“From his first time in the car, he showed incredible speed at just 14 years old,” Brandon Setzer, crew chief and driver coach at Setzer Racing and Development, said. “Speed came naturally for him, and he was always open to advice on how to be better. He worked very hard at his race craft to perfect making passes and racing side by side. Our entire team loved working with him as a driver and friend. We’re all so proud of how far he has gone so far, and we know this is just the beginning for him.”
Entering the Toyota pipeline with JGR, Sawalich dominated his stint in the ARCA Menards Series. To date, he’s won nearly 43% of his ARCA starts, spanning all three divisions, clinching consecutive ARCA East championships in 2023 and 2024. Immediate success led to starts in the Craftsman Truck Series upon turning 16 years old, where he scored a top 10 in his series debut at Martinsville Speedway in 2023.
“I thought it was pretty important just to get the ball rolling as soon as possible, so you’re not waiting too long and wondering what a truck feels like and what an Xfinity car feels like,” Sawalich added. “Getting in those as soon as possible helped the learning curve.”
Since moving to the national touring scene, however, success has been limited. Soon after turning 18, Sawalich jumped in an Xfinity car for the final three races of the 2024 season, winning the pole in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Those three races were vital, as he signed a full-time deal with JGR for 2025.
Management at JGR knew Sawalich had raw pace. They also knew he needed to continue learning. Through 12 starts in 2025, he has a pair of top-10 finishes and sits 25th in the regular-season standings. The No. 18 team, led by veteran crew chief Jeff Meendering, had a recent seven-race stretch of finishing outside the top 20, with four of those being 34th or worse. He tallied 54 points total across those seven aces.
“I think when we saw some things on the ARCA side early on, he was fast,” Steve deSouza, executive vice president of Xfinity Series and development for JGR, told NASCAR.com in March. “He has a work ethic that’s good for his age, wise beyond his years maturity-wise and he has the desire.
“He wants to do well. He doesn’t just want to be known as a driver, he wants to get in there and perform. He’s disappointed when that doesn’t happen, and you like to see that type of streak in a driver. They want to win, and when they don’t win, they get frustrated. It’s a tough time when you go through that, but everybody goes through those periods. I think once he comes out the other side of that, he’s going to continue to grow and get better.”
Admittedly, Sawalich is unaware as to why he jumped into the deep end of the Xfinity Series immediately. But he hoped to stay within the JGR family, and an opportunity arose.
Along with chasing an Xfinity playoff berth, Sawalich is getting additional seat time by making select starts in ARCA and the Craftsman Truck Series. The No. 18 Toyota has shown glimpses of speed through the first three months, but multiple mistakes have cost him considerably.
“I definitely want to get a win,” Sawalich said. “I know this team is capable of a win. That’s my only expectation. Right now, we’re trying to get as many points as possible and try to set ourselves up for success.”
Sawalich hopes the results improve as his rookie campaign rolls on, knowing that he’s ascended from Legends cars to the Xfinity Series in five years.
Tales of triumph and tenacity fuel this high-octane sports docuseries following NASCAR Cup Series drivers on and off the track during the 2024 playoffs
Get ready for an all-access look at the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with Season 2 of “NASCAR: Full Speed,” premiering May 7 on Netflix. This five-episode docuseries takes you inside the high-stakes battles and personal moments of NASCAR’s elite, featuring stars like Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suárez and more as they chase championship glory all the way to the title showdown at Phoenix Raceway.
The cameras don’t just follow the action on the track; they also capture the drivers’ lives away from racing, including candid moments with family members and significant others, such as Brittany Logano, Gianna Blaney, Morgan Bell and Julia Piquet.
Check out the trailer above for a glimpse of the drama and excitement to come, and bookmark this page as your hub for everything related to “NASCAR: Full Speed” Season 2 — from episode guides and info to behind-the-scenes stories and the latest updates.
Among this season’s highlights:
William Byron taking you behind the scenes to his appointment with a sports therapist: Get an unusually candid look at the No. 24 driver’s off-track preparation as he opens up about the mental demands of playoff racing, offering rare insight into how one of NASCAR’s most introverted stars manages pressure and stays focused during the sport’s most intense stretch. | Byron on vulnerability, sports therapy
Chase Briscoe navigates the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing and the birth of twins while fighting for postseason prominence: Go inside Chase Briscoe’s whirlwind year as he faces the uncertainty and upheaval of Stewart-Haas Racing shutting its doors, all while hunting for a new team and fighting to keep his playoff hopes alive. The cameras capture Briscoe’s emotional journey both on and off the track, including the dramatic birth of twins with his wife Marissa, and the immense pressure of balancing new fatherhood with the relentless demands of NASCAR’s postseason. | Briscoe’s switch to Joe Gibbs Racing detailed
Harrison Burton processes being booted from the Wood Brothers No. 21 car’s future — then securing a playoff spot: Witness the highs and lows of Harrison Burton’s season as he’s told mid-year he’ll lose his iconic ride, yet refuses to give up, chasing a storybook victory that shakes up the Cup Series playoff outlook. The series spotlights Burton’s determination and resilience, as well as the tough love from his father, NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton, who challenges Harrison to rise above adversity and prove he belongs among racing’s elite.
The agonizing wait for Christopher and Morgan Bell as they learn their fate after the Round of 8 finale: Relive the heart-pounding drama as the No. 20 driver and his wife endure a tense, emotional wait on pit road, uncertain if Bell will advance to the Championship 4 after a controversial finish and post-race penalty at Martinsville and capturing the raw emotion and high stakes that define the NASCAR playoffs.
Gianna Blaney’s wedding dress fitting — and all that comes with it: Experience the personal side of the Blaney family as cameras are invited to Gianna’s dress fitting, capturing the excitement, nerves and behind-the-scenes moments leading up to her winter wedding with Ryan, complete with family, friends and NASCAR personalities joining in the celebration.
Daniel Suárez’s classic car collection: Go beyond the race track with the No. 99 driver as he shares his passion for vintage automobiles, giving viewers a tour of his prized classic cars and the stories behind them.
Featured drivers: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Daniel Suárez
Races: Atlanta Motor Speedway Round of 16 playoff opener
Synopsis: As the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs roar to life at Atlanta, we meet some of our main players and recap a wild regular season that led to this point. Joey Logano captures a critical victory with crucial assistance from teammate Ryan Blaney, demonstrating the power of alliance in the heat of competition. Meanwhile, Daniel Suárez’s championship aspirations face an early setback when teammate Ross Chastain fails to provide similar support, highlighting how teamwork — or its absence — can instantly alter the trajectory of a driver’s championship journey in the blink of an eye.
Featured drivers: Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suárez
Races: Watkins Glen International, Bristol Motor Speedway Round of 16 elimination race
Synopsis: Underdogs take center stage as Harrison Burton’s fairytale playoff run comes to an emotional end at Bristol, while Chase Briscoe fights to defy the odds in a high-stakes elimination battle of his own. Tensions rise as Daniel Suárez struggles with uncompetitive equipment — leading to an all-time quote from wife Julia Piquet — and Denny Hamlin enters the fray, all set against the backdrop of raw family moments and heartbreak that define the NASCAR playoffs.
Featured drivers: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suárez
Races: Kansas Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval Round of 12 elimination race
Synopsis: Chase Briscoe’s world is turned upside down as he welcomes newborn twins amid the chaos of the NASCAR Playoffs, juggling family emergencies and high-stakes racing. As Halloween festivities and on-track fireworks unfold at Talladega, Team Penske faces disaster and playoff dreams are dashed for Briscoe and Daniel Suárez, while Denny Hamlin’s playoff run is plagued by bad luck. The episode also introduces new faces and personal moments, revealing the human side of racing’s relentless pressure.
Featured drivers: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick
Races: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martinsville Speedway Round of 8 elimination race
Synopsis: Joey Logano’s playoff journey takes a wild turn as he’s unexpectedly reinstated, then storms to a dramatic win in Las Vegas, shaking up the championship race and denying rivals a guaranteed spot. Tyler Reddick and Logano each seize their moments with clutch victories, while Ryan Blaney delivers a stunning, walk-off comeback at Martinsville after heartbreak in Miami. Controversy flares between Bell and Byron, and Denny Hamlin faces a bittersweet mix of disappointment and pride as the season’s biggest opportunities — and heartbreaks — set up a high-stakes finale.
Featured drivers: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano
Races: Phoenix Raceway NASCAR Championship Race
Synopsis: The championship showdown at Phoenix delivers high drama as Christopher Bell’s elimination sets the stage for an intense final battle among teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney and Hendrick’s William Byron. Emotions run high with heartfelt farewells, backstage moments like Blaney at a Whiskey Myers concert, and iconic scenes at the track — including Michael Jordan in his championship element — all underscored by the passion and poetry that define NASCAR’s biggest night.
NASCAR officials issued penalties to the Kaulig Racing No. 10 Xfinity Series team, suspending its crew chief for one race after a lug-nut violation in last weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway.
Daniel Dye drove the No. 10 Chevy to an 11th-place result in last Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300. The car, however, was found with two unsecured lug nuts in a post-race check by NASCAR officials.
The infraction — covered in Sections 8.8.10.4a (Tires and Wheels) in the NASCAR Rule Book — resulted in a $10,000 fine for the No. 10 team. Competition officials also suspended No. 10 crew chief Kevin Walter for one race.
The Xfinity Series is idle the next two weekends, returning to action Saturday, May 24 (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – There’s a monster night of racing ahead as Bowman Gray Stadium gets set to host Advance Auto Parts Night at the Races.
Last week’s postponed Kevin Powell Motorsports 100 and a 50-lap QRC HVAC and Refrigeration Street Stock Race will co-headline the Advance Auto Parts Night at the Races this Saturday, May 10.
The $3,000 Fans’ Challenge and the random draw qualifying format will be in play for the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series drivers this week. Modified Series co-points leader Mike Speeney is one of the drivers who says he’ll take the Fans’ Challenge if the opportunity presents itself.
“No question, “Speeney says. “We’re not here to points race. We’re here to have fun, and my sponsors gave me full support to do the Fans’ Challenge.”
Defending Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series Champion Burt Myers is also excited for the Fans’ Challenge.
“(The drivers) really like bringing the fans into the action,” Myers says. “Without the fans, we don’t have a show to put on.”
Meanwhile, the QRC HVAC and Refrigeration Street Stock Series drivers will do time trial qualifying for the first time this season ahead of their 50-lap race. This could be key for drivers with fast cars who’ve been forced to work their way to the front due to the random draw qualifying format.
The Law Offices of John Barrow Sportsman and Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series drivers will also be in action, and Advance Auto Parts gift cards will be included in this week’s Lucky Numbers in the Bowman Gray Stadium souvenir program.
Fans can buy tickets online and find parking information at www.bowmangrayracing.com. Adult tickets are $12 and kids ages 6-11 get in for $2.
Gates open at 6 p.m., qualifying starts at 7 p.m., and racing starts at 8 p.m.
TNT Sports has assembled a deep roster of esteemed analysts, commentators and pit reporters in the run up to the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge, with exclusive live race coverage beginning Saturday, June 28 at the Quaker State 400 from EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), followed by four consecutive Sundays of adrenaline-pumping race action: July 6 in Chicago; July 13 in Sonoma; July 20 in Dover; and July 27 in Indianapolis — all on TNT, truTV and Max.
The previously announced broadcast booth team featuring NASCAR Hall-of-Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte and veteran motorsports commentator Adam Alexander will lead TNT Sports’ race coverage of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. They will be joined by pit reporters Marty Snider, Danielle Trotta and Alan Cavanna.
TNT’s NASCAR Nation pre- and post-race studio coverage will be on site throughout the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, hosted by Shannon Spake with analysts Jamie McMurray, winner of the 2010 Daytona 500, and Parker Kligerman, former NASCAR Cup Series driver and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver for Henderson Motorsports.
TNT Sports’ robust NASCAR coverage will also include the “NASCAR In-Season Challenge Altcast” on truTV. The alternate viewing experience, which will take fans inside the individual driver bracket storylines each week, will be hosted by former crew chief Larry McReynolds and 21-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Jeff Burton each week.
Additionally, Mamba Smith, one of NASCAR’s preeminent personalities and content creators, will contribute to B/R Racing as a correspondent. He will also contribute to TNT’s NASCAR coverage.
TNT Sports and NASCAR are entering the first year of a new seven-year multimedia rights agreement in the U.S. that will see some of the biggest moments in the NASCAR season returning to TNT Sports’ linear and streaming platforms. Additionally, truTV and Max will exclusively simulcast the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series practices and qualifying sessions.
Earlier this season, TNT Sports and Max launched the NASCAR Driver Cam experience — exclusively on Max — which offers motorsports fans the ultimate all-access pass to every driver for every race throughout the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, including a layered audio mix of scanner team radios and ambient car noise, all synced up with a 1080p Driver Cam feed (on supported devices).
This season marks the continuation of TNT Sports’ 32-year relationship with NASCAR, a collaboration that began in 1983 and one that has been centered on innovation and creativity that was instrumental to the growth of the sport.
Reigning champion Joey Logano pulled into Victory Lane in 2025 for the first time on Sunday, claiming a chaotic afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway for his 37th career NASCAR Cup Series win. He wasn’t the only Team Penske driver to come out of the 1.5-mile track with some momentum, though, as Ryan Blaney showed plenty of force despite ultimately coming up short. With another trip to the heartland on tap this weekend, will No. 12 finally cash in to make it three straight wins for the Ford organization?
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series contenders after the Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly at Texas and before the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Analysis: Larson led a race-high 90 circuits at Texas and was in position late to capitalize on win No. 3 of the year; the only negative here is that, well, he didn’t. Can’t win ‘em all, though, and he has just as good of a shot — if not better — in his return to the site of last year’s closest finish ever, which he prevailed in.
Analysis: Byron hasn’t won a race since February, yet he’s had the top of the Cup Series standings on lock all year. His teammate in the No. 5 car is coming for that top spot, though, but last fall’s runner-up should have plenty of speed this weekend to hold off Larson … for now.
Analysis: Reddick led just a single lap and finished outside the top 20, but Texas wasn’t a whiff for him — No. 45 scored just one fewer point than runner-up Ross Chastain. He now heads to a track his team has owned in recent history … while his personal results have been mixed. He does have a win and has led in each of the last six Kansas races, but finish-wise has just two top 10s in that span.
Analysis: Hamlin was on fire earlier this season and nearly won three straight races, and at Texas, well, he was just on fire and finished dead last. It’s probably no surprise that the team he owns has found loads of Kansas success, as he, himself, has turned in four victories overall with three wins and seven top 10s since 2019.
Analysis: While he never quite was in position to battle for the win at Texas, Bell did rebound from a rough Talladega result to collect his fourth top 10 in the last five races. A Kansas win is surely coming at some point for him, and possibly as soon as Sunday — No. 20 has started on the pole in four of the last six races there and led 122 laps in last fall’s playoff race.
Analysis: The fact Blaney is on pace for his worst average finish while under the Team Penske banner is truly ridiculous, because what do your eyes tell you every Sunday afternoon? For me, I’m seeing perhaps the fastest week-to-week driver/car combo in the series right now, and it’s only a matter of time before Blaney takes multiple trips to Victory Lane. That said, though it could happen, don’t expect it to be this weekend at Kansas where he has just two top 10s and six laps led since 2020.
Analysis: Well, alright then. Every year, Joey Logano is doubted at some point, and every year, Joey Logano makes all the doubters look silly. The defending champ can now actually defend his title in this year’s playoffs, and as a three-time Kansas winner might even bolster his postseason positioning with another strong weekend ahead.
Analysis: Elliott is still looking to find the dominance that his teammates seem to be able to enjoy this year, but the fact that he’s still hanging around in the top four of the standings and not “missing” any weekends thus far leads one to think a win or two could still come in the regular season, even with a tough Texas weekend. It very well may happen just a few days from now, as Elliott has been among the elite at Kansas and has essentially averaged a top 10 there (10.1) across his 18 starts.
Analysis: Chastain has flown a bit under the radar in 2025, for good reason, but he’s actually not trailing too far off his revelatory 2022 season when he turned in a career-best 21 top 10s and finished runner-up in the standings. His 13.5 average finish (in, perhaps, a car that should finish well south of that) is just shy of the 13.3 he posted that year, and as the most recent winner at Kansas, you’d think he has a great chance to whittle that down further.
Analysis: Wallace appeared headed toward a solid weekend at Texas with a fast car but was left with just 10 points after crashing out in the second half of Sunday’s chaotic afternoon. It would sting a little more if he didn’t also have a great shot ahead of him this weekend, heading to a track where he expects to compete for the win — and finished the job in 2022.
Analysis: Despite his hot start and six top 10s, Bowman is on pace for his worst average finish (18.1) in Hendrick Motorsports equipment, landing outside the top 30 in three of the last four races. He needs a stopper race, and thankfully for him Kansas has been a strong track for Bowman, who is riding five straight top 10s there.
Analysis: Cindric may have had the car under him at Texas to snag a second straight win — he led a season-best 60 laps on Sunday — but got shuffled back to outside the top 20 when all was said and done. All of that forward momentum could be about to come to a screeching halt, however, as Cindric has never finished in the top 10 at Kansas and has four straight finishes of 31st or worse.
Analysis: Stenhouse hasn’t had a bad race all season, nearly turned in his second top five of 2025 on Sunday at Texas and is nearly on pace to match his career-high average finish set in 2017 (17.1). Unfortunately, there’s a good chance he takes a hit in that department this weekend, as No. 47 has just one top 10 at Kansas in his 24 starts dating back to 2013.
Analysis: It’s easy to look at Briscoe’s four top 10s and be a little underwhelmed given he’s with JGR now, but let’s not forget that future Hall of Famer Martin Truex Jr. only landed 11 of them in this car in a full season last year. However, with a 21.5 average finish across his eight Kansas starts with Stewart-Haas Racing, it’s unlikely Briscoe’s fortunes will turn this weekend.
Analysis: Buescher looked fast early on and appeared to finally have a solid run going at his home track before, of course, being derailed and finishing 18th. You already know he’ll be itching to get back to Kansas and create a new highlight reel for this year’s spring race, and, hopefully for Buescher, with him coming out on top of this one.
Analysis: The finishes have yet to be a consistent part of the Texas pole winner’s arsenal, but it’s clear that Hocevar will be a factor in more races than he isn’t, whether his fellow drivers like that or not. His three Kansas starts have netted progressively worse results thus far, though he did lead five laps in the most recent running there.
Analysis: Busch finished outside the top 10 for the sixth time in the past seven races, but there was at least a glimmer of hope at Texas before ultimate disappointment. He’s been competitive for most of the past decade at Kansas, so he could potentially rebound to a degree this weekend.
Analysis: Allmendinger had a great shot at a solid weekend, qualifying in the top 10, but instead was saddled with a P36 and exactly one point after wrecking out in the final stage. Kansas could be interesting for him — he’s running better overall this year and did net a pair of top 10s there in 2016, though they’re just two of the four he has across 20 starts.
Analysis: It’s quite remarkable that there are two drivers who have combined for just four top 10s this year who also have combined for two wins and more than 400 laps led, with Berry and his Ford stablemate Logano. No. 21 is clearly going to be a force on 1.5-milers this year and, wouldn’t you know, there’s another one this weekend.
Analysis: Sure, Dillon has just three top 10s this year … but did you know they’ve all come in the last three races? There’s a tremendous chance he keeps it rolling this weekend at Kansas, too, where No. 3 has seven top-15 finishes in the past nine races.
Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez both overcame a lack of speed in their Trackhouse Racing Chevrolets to leave Texas Motor Speedway with top-10 finishes.
According to NASCAR Insights, Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet ranked just 23rd in overall speed in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly, and Suárez’s No. 99 28th. But Chastain stormed to a second-place finish despite the relative lack of pace, while Suárez came home 10th.
Chastain’s surge was bolstered by his No. 2 ranking in restarts Sunday and bettered with defense, which ranked third overall. That continues a trend of overcoming hindered performance from his No. 1 Chevrolet, which ranks 14th this season in speed. But Chastain isn’t alone. His Trackhouse teammates Suárez and Shane van Gisbergen are facing similar issues, ranking 22nd and 35th in outright speed.
“That’s a working-class day,” Chastain told FOX Sports. “Just no confidence in the car (Saturday), and you all saw that. Just the speed of the Trackhouse cars on Saturdays is just terrible. And we’re just not confident — all three drivers.
“There was one pit stop today that (crew chief) Phil Surgen and the group — it takes a ton of people back at Trackhouse and on the box here and at GM Chevrolet, and they made me a confident driver all of a sudden with one adjustment. And it was small stuff. It doesn’t even make sense. But after that, I was a confident driver. … But yeah, I can’t drive an uncomfortable car, personally. So as soon as they got it comfortable — or at least gave me some confidence — we started going forward.”
At Texas, no one defended positions better than Suárez, a two-time Cup race winner. He maximized the productivity of his pit crew as well, which ranked fourth Sunday with front tire changer Josh Bush, rear changer Seth Gajdorus, tire carrier Charles Plank, jackman Josh Appleby and fueler Milan Rudanovic. However, the No. 99 car ranked 28th in passing and 20th on restarts.
“It was a good day for this No. 99 Kubota Chevrolet team,” Suárez said. “We had decent speed out there. I think that we potentially had a little bit more, but we were struggling a lot on restarts all day long, except for the start of the race for some reason. All in all, it was a decent day, and it’s good to get back-to-back top-10 finishes.”
Homestead-Miami Speedway will return as host of NASCAR’s Championship Weekend next year, but that news comes with a dash of variety. Going forward, the title-race tripleheader will rotate among a handful of tracks, showcasing the big-event feel at new venues and markets.
Think Super Bowl, NBA or MLB All-Star Weekends, or college basketball’s Final Four.
While the parallels to other major league sports are strong, those events are held on courts or playing fields that are relatively uniform. The rotation model for NASCAR’s season finales on a variety of tracks and track types has the potential to transform the competition.
“If you’ve watched a lot of other sports properties that are moving the location around year after year, part of that is to build up pent-up demand,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer. “But part of it is that variability in a lot of the markets, and then a little bit of it is what we talked about as well is just having a little bit of differentiation as it relates to the competition and racing product as well. Having the playoffs be more unpredictable every year, the championship venue to be at a different location, I think gives you the ability to see different teams and drivers kind of rise to the occasion to be able to be crowned a champion.”
In the last 23 years, only two tracks have played host to NASCAR’s season-ending events — Homestead-Miami since 2002, and then Phoenix Raceway from 2020 to the current season. The rotation structure for future events is subject to discussion by the NASCAR Playoff Committee, an assembly of industry figures tasked with shaping the postseason’s format, which has been largely unchanged since 2014.
Determining which speedways are suitable championship venues comes down to multiple factors, Kennedy said, noting 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami and 1-mile Phoenix have both been capable hosts in past seasons and will remain in the rotation. Specific tracks beyond those two will be announced later, but those under consideration come from a mixture of ownership groups — NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports and independents.
“I would say it’s four or five things,” Kennedy said. “It’s marketing and promotion, for sure, and it’s location. We want to be in a warm-weather market. Ideally, being in November, that first week of November, it kind of limits you to the amount of races that you can run. … I would say the quality of the facility. In Phoenix, we put over $100 million into the redevelopment of that track, and it was a big catalyst for bringing this championship to the West Coast. We’re going to be putting a good amount of capital into Homestead as well ahead of the race.
“The racing product, I think, is another big part of this. And then overall, it’s just the entire industry’s feedback on this. So we collaborate with our broadcast partners, our teams. We hear from our drivers what they think, a lot of our corporate partners, and then ultimately the fans, and the fans have a large voice in this, and we get their perspective on it every single year.”
Kennedy also said that superspeedways would not be in consideration for the title-race rotation, qualifying his remarks with “never say never” but noting the unpredictable nature of that racing style. He also indicated that road courses “are probably lower on the list as we think about championship venues,” opting in favor of more traditional tracks.
That perspective was met with approval from three-time champion Joey Logano, who won his first Cup Series title at Homestead-Miami, then added two more in Phoenix. Logano said he was in favor of a rotating system and the opportunity to bring the championship to fans in different parts of the country, but agreed that the type of track mattered.
“When you get down to the nitty-gritty of the playoffs, especially if it’s coming down to one race, like it is right now, you don’t want an oddball race, you want it to be the grassroots of what our sport is built off of, which is ovals, right?” Logano said. “Whether it’s a short track or mile-and-a-half, that’s what our roots really are. That is what built our sport. Throwing in a road course or any other oddball type racetrack, superspeedway, it’s too much by chance and it wouldn’t be ideal I don’t believe for our sport.”
Kennedy singled out Homestead-Miami as No. 1 on the fans’ list for next year’s schedule, saying the track checks all the criteria for a championship location. Facility upgrades are scheduled between now and November 2026, providing a runway for improvements to the 1.5-mile oval’s amenities, infrastructure and promotional plans.
Hosting the championship weekend is a responsibility track president Guillermo Santa Cruz, appointed to Homestead’s post last July, said he’s eager to tackle. But he also said he’s hoping to set a benchmark for how it’s done, establishing a high bar for other tracks to emulate in future finales.
“First, it’s an honor to be chosen as the first one to be in that rotation,” Santa Cruz said. “I think that rotation is a really good model for us to move into. It’s good for the fans, it’s good for the drivers, and it’s great for everybody, and it’ll allow us to really set a lot of precedent and then work with NASCAR more broadly to see how the model is going to be executed. You know, what is it that’s going to move from one track to another? What are the things that can only be done in Miami, because Miami is a certain sort of market, and those things will remain here, but what are the things that the sort of traveling circus will take with it when it goes someplace else? So to be able to impact that from the get-go and be in those conversations from the very beginning and be the ones engaging in that respect, it’s wonderful because we’re starting out with a blank sheet of paper.
“The NASCAR team is wonderful, but there’s nothing like having that ability to be the first one up and to have that blank sheet of paper in front of you and say, ‘OK, what are we going to do?’ Then you start. As a creative person, I love that. I love that ability to do that. That’s my favorite thing in the world.”
