NASCAR unveiled the start times and networks across the Craftsman, Xfinity and Cup Series for the 2025 season on Wednesday.
The start times remained fairly uniform compared to the 2024 season but there are some tweaks to start jotting down before its time to start prepping for February.
2025 kicks off with night-time action as The Clash at Bowman-Gray Stadium is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
The Nashville Cup race returns to action under the lights as it is slated for a 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime. Both Craftsman Trucks and Xfinity events will also have evening green-flag times at the Tennessee oval.
Two weeks later, the Cup Series heads to Mexico City for a 3 p.m. ET start on Prime at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
At the end of June, both the Xfinity and Cup Series return to Atlanta Motor Speedway will run at night, with Cup’s reunion on TNT airing at 7 p.m. ET.
Independence Day weekend also sees a slight bump up in start time at the Chicago Street Course as the Cup Series race is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
On Sunday, Aug. 3, the NBC portion of the broadcast schedule sees the Cup race at Iowa Speedway move to an afternoon start with a 3:30 p.m. ET slot on USA Network.
Lastly, the Cup Series Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 12 will now be a 5:30 p.m. ET start on USA.
Bobby Allison always raced his son Davey with an immense sense of pride, a touch of parental anxiety and a lingering feeling of competitive dread.
“Davey is a delight to be around, and it’s a real thrill to see him do well,” Bobby Allison said. “I have the concern that I think any father would have for their son in a race car and the potential for some sort of danger.
“But there’s a third thing that comes with Davey: He’s a real competitive pain. He’s really fast in the car and a big threat.”
The Allisons combined for 104 victories in NASCAR’s premier series, but there was one race – the sport’s biggest — that especially showcased their dual talents.
The 1988 Daytona 500 was the finest hour on track together for Bobby and Davey Allison as they joined Lee and Richard Petty as the second father-son pairing to finish 1-2 in a Cup race.
“What a thrill for me,” Bobby Allison said after a third Daytona 500 victory that would be the last of his 85 career wins. “My parents were a real inspiration for me, and now I’m racing against my son. It was a great race, and Davey did such a good job. He drove the wheels off that car all day. He’s a fine young man and fine competitor. I’m proud to say he belongs to me and Judy.”
The victory marked the completion of a tripleheader sweep at Daytona International Speedway for Bobby Allison, who won the 125-mile qualifier Thursday and the Grand National 300-mile race a day earlier.
He also made history as the first winner of the restrictor-plate era.
NASCAR made horsepower changes for its high-banked speedways after Allison’s car went airborne at more than 200 mph and tore down a section of the frontstretch fencing at Talladega Superspeedway in the May 3, 1987 race (which coincidentally was won by Davey Allison).
Starting in the 1988 season at Daytona and Talladega, NASCAR mandated restrictor plates that limited airflow to the carburetors and kept speeds below 200 mph. The rule change bunched up cars and made it easier to lose several positions without the help of a drafting partner.
Bobby and Davey Allison, who combined for 15 Cup victories at Daytona and Talladega, grasped those new nuances better than anyone in the 1988 Daytona 500.
On a restart with 18 laps remaining, Bobby Allison moved from fourth to first with a power move past Darrell Waltrip on the backstretch. Davey Allison quickly tucked in behind his dad to draft past Waltrip, who faded to 11th place.
Father and son controlled the race to the finish. Buddy Baker briefly charged into second with nine laps left, but Davey again drafted up to Bobby a lap later to retake second and shuffle Baker to ninth.
NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images
In the closing laps, the CBS broadcast often cut to the nervous smiles of Judy Allison as she watched her husband and son race for NASCAR’s greatest prize.
“You got all kind of emotions going,” she said. “Somebody walked up to me and said, ‘Well, who are you pulling for?’ and I said, ‘The one that pays the bills.’ What else can you say?”
There might have been extra tension because there was no playing favorites among family members with the highly competitive Allisons.
“A lot of people ask Bobby, ‘Why didn’t you let Davey win, he’s your son?’ Well, I’m here to tell you, he wouldn’t have let his mother win,” Donnie Allison cracked at his brother’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction in 2011.
Despite no quarter being given, there still were many racing lessons passed by a doting dad to his inquisitive son.
“Davey was so attentive and such a buddy to me from the time he was a little bitty guy, I certainly wanted to share anything I could with him,” Bobby said. “I did everything except back off and let him win a race. He understood that he had to earn it.”
Davey Allison later would earn that Daytona 500 victory in 1992.
But in the ’88 race, he knew that his No. 28 Ford was no match for his father’s No. 12 Buick, which led a race-high 70 laps. Davey still took a brief peek to the bottom off the final turn before yielding to dad.
“My only chance was to get up inside him and beat him by a couple of inches back to the finish line because I knew I could never have gotten around him all the way,” Davey said. “He’s just so tough.”
There were no hard feelings in a jubilant Victory Lane. The runner-up was met by a beer shower from the winner, who playfully doused his oldest son with a sponsor’s beverage.
Though he cherished the celebration, it wasn’t quite what Davey Allison had expected.
“When I was a little kid I always dreamed about racing with my dad and having a 1-2 finish, but I wanted him to be second,” he said. “In the dreams, I always won.”
In this case, reality turned out to be better.
“It’s the happiest day of my life,” Davey said. “It’s better than if I had won myself. He’s always been my hero.”
One of the proudest traditions in the northeast Modified racing scene continues Saturday at Riverhead Raceway, where the prestigious Islip 300 will take place.
The event’s name derives from its initial setting of Islip Speedway, a 0.2-mile bullring that hosted a handful of NASCAR Cup Series events from 1964-71. After the Cup Series held its final event at the track, the Modified class briefly carried on the tradition of running 300-lap events at Islip, with the last one being in 1979.
Modified legend and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans set the gold standard for endurance events during Islip’s existence. Evans won all but one of Islip’s 300-lap races, while other drivers like Geoff Bodine, Charlie Jarzombek, Greg Sacks, Tom Baldwin and John Blewett Jr. also found their way to Victory Lane in a Modified at the facility.
Although Islip ceased operations in 1984, the memories of the track’s vibrant racing culture endured over the following decades amongst the Modified community. Riverhead Raceway revived part of that history in 2017 when it introduced the Islip 300 as a spiritual successor to the once-storied crown jewel event.
A healthy crowd of Modifieds have descended upon Riverhead every year with the goal of adding an Islip 300 victory to their resume. The status quo remains in place as many of the region’s top competitors prepare to battle across 300 intense laps on Saturday evening.
Below is everything you need to know about the 2024 edition of the Islip 300 at Riverhead Raceway.
Saturday’s Islip 300 will be the eighth time Riverhead Raceway has hosted the prestigious event. (Photo: Kostas Lymperopoulos/NASCAR)
TV channel, live stream for Islip 300 at Riverhead Raceway
Saturday’s Islip 300 at Riverhead Raceway will be shown exclusively on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Regional properties.
The event will not be shown on a traditional TV channel.
Below is how to watch the 2024 Islip 300 on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Joining the Modifieds for the Islip 300 will be three support classes, the Eddie Partridge All Stars, Legends and Crate Modifieds.
Each division gets one round of practice prior to qualifying at 12:15 p.m. ET. The Modifieds get a 45-minute practice session; Legends, Crate Modifieds and All Stars have 30 minutes to shake down their cars.
The starting field for the Islip 300 will be set by a two-lap, single-car qualifying session. Legends and Crate Modifieds have 10 laps on track to determine where drivers line up in their respective features. There will also be consolation races for Modifieds, Legends and Crate Modifieds if necessary.
Below is the complete race-day schedule for Riverhead on Saturday.
(All times ET)
Time
Event
7:30 a.m.
Pit Gates Open
9 a.m.
Modified Driver’s Meeting
9:45-10:15 a.m.
Legends Practice
10:15-11 a.m.
Modified Practice
11-11:30 a.m.
Crate Modified Practice
11:30 a.m.
Eddie Partridge All Stars Practice/Qualifying
12:15 p.m.
Qualifying Begins (Modifieds: 2 laps/single car … Legends: 10 laps … Crate Modifieds: 10 laps … Modified Consi: 15 laps … Legends Consi: 12 laps … Crate Modified Consi: 12 laps)
To follow…
Opening Ceremonies/National Anthem
To follow…
Feature Races (Eddie Partridge All Stars: 15 laps … Legends: 40 laps … Crate Modifieds: 50 laps … Modifieds: 300 laps)
The entry list for the 2024 Islip 300 features plenty of Modified stalwarts and Riverhead Raceway locals. (Photo: Susan Wong/NASCAR)
Islip 300 entry list
The 2023 edition of the Islip 300 saw Matt Hirschman add a victory in the historic event to his long list of accolades.
After making his debut in the event the previous year, Hirschman put together a typical performance that saw him dominate over a stout field of Modified competitors. Hirschman is back in his familiar No. 60 this weekend as he looks to become the first driver to bring home two consecutive Islip 300 checkered flags.
Joining Hirschman in the field is Paulie Hartwig III, who surprised everyone at Riverhead Raceway in 2023 by grabbing the Islip 300 pole at just 12 years old. Hartwig even managed to trade blows with Hirschman for the lead, with his stellar debut Islip 300 outing ending with a solid seventh place finish.
Saturday’s Islip 300 will feature two separate No. 7NY’s in the field, which are being operated by Luke and Jack Baldwin. Neither Baldwin brother has previously competed in the Islip 300, but Saturday presents a perfect opportunity for them to honor their grandfather Tom, who won at Islip Speedway several times during his own illustrious career.
Other notable names set to compete in the Islip 300 include 2023 winner Anthony Nocella, Austin Beers, Craig Lutz, Timmy Solomito, and Jimmy Blewett, among others.
The complete entry list for the Islip 300 can be found below:
Car No.
Driver
00
Chris Rogers
2
J.R. Bertuccio
5
John Beatty Jr.
7NY
Jack Baldwin
7NY
Luke Baldwin
10
Dylan Slepian
13
Max Zachem
21
Austin Beers
21NY
Kyle Ellwood
24
Justin Brown
46
Craig Lutz
55
Chase Grennan
60
Matt Hirschman
66
Timmy Solomito
70
Owen Grennan
72
T.J. Potrzebowski
73
Paulie Hartwig III
78
Walter Sutcliffe Jr.
81
Mark Stewart
88
Roger Turbush
92
Anthony Nocella
96
Matthew Brode
99
Jimmy Blewett
Matt Hirschman will look to defend his maiden Islip 300 victory from 2023. (Photo: Susan Wong/NASCAR)
NASCAR penalized Anthony Alfredo on Tuesday after contact with Stefan Parsons during the Xfinity Series Championship Race on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.
Alfredo was fined $25,000 and docked 25 driver points per Sections 4.4.B of the NASCAR Rule Book. He will remain 15th in the final Xfinity standings for 2024.
On Lap 63 at Phoenix, Parsons and Alfredo made initial contact off Turn 4 that saw Alfredo’s No. 5 Our Motorsports Chevrolet brush the outside retaining wall. In the dogleg section of the 1-mile oval, Alfredo spun Parsons with contact to the right rear of Parsons’ No. 45 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet, sending Parsons’ car into the wall.
Alfredo later failed to finish the race after a flat tire put him in the wall on Lap 156. He finished the race in 36th.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Saturday night, under the bright lights of the Phoenix Raceway, Justin Allgaier finally found the peak of the mountain he has climbed so long.
Justin Allgaier is a NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
Every bit of his journey to the 2024 title was Allgaier-esque, too. The tribulation. The bad luck. The close calls. But what, too, is Allgaier-esque is his sheer perseverance in the face of every obstacle set before him.
The weekend alone was a microcosm of it all — a crash in practice that relegated him to a backup car; starting from the rear in the secondary vehicle; a restart violation that sent his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road to serve a pass-through-penalty; a speeding penalty while atoning for the prior infraction.
In prior years, each would be a sign of his impending doom and demise, hills too tall for Allgaier to climb like those in his previous six Championship 4 appearances. Heck, Allgaier read all those signs mid-race.
“I was ready to pull down pit road, to be honest with you, and just park the car in the pit stall and get out,” Allgaier said. “If it could go wrong this weekend, it went wrong, and the team never gave up. I could tell the disappointment in their voices, they went radio silent for a while, and I could tell the disappointment in their voices. And that’s a hard spot to be in as a driver.
“Six times before me, I’ve come in here, and I’ve said we did a great job, and we executed the night well, and we built a great race car. And I’ve walked out of here as second, third, fourth and not had an opportunity to bring a championship back to the men and women at JR Motorsports. This 7 team right now is just different.”
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
That, in large part, is credited to crew chief Jim Pohlman, who Allgaier and team co-owners Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. showered with praise after showering him with champagne.
At the end of the 2022 campaign, JR Motorsports collectively determined it was time to shake up the No. 7 team, which won 16 races across seven seasons together from 2016-2022 with Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett. In those seven years, they reached the Championship 4 five times. So when Allgaier was presented with the decision to part ways with Burdett …
“Justin was not entirely sure about that choice,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But Jim was his pick. I didn’t really know Jim, so I leaned on Justin to be sure about that decision. My gosh, he nailed it. Jim has made us better and made our entire company better. He makes his car fast. That drives everybody forward. He has a relationship with Justin that sort of polished or altered some of the rawness and some of the unpolished imperfections that Justin has in his game.
“I think the missing ingredient to Justin might be Jim.”
Because Pohlman kept Allgaier mentally engaged all weekend, the No. 7 Chevrolet had a chance to win the 2024 championship all the way through the checkered flag.
Allgaier’s disappointment in a Saturday practice crash — caused by the misfortunate of another competitor’s mechanical failure — turned to rare fury in the garage, leading to Allgaier’s fists slamming upon the team’s toolbox.
“To see the look on his face when he got out of that race car,” Pohlman said, “it was disappointment for me because he knew how hard his team had worked on that car, how much effort we had put into it. And it was like you lost your first child when he got out of the car, looking at me like: ‘I am sorry I wrecked your race car.’
“I had to go into damage control and really kind of rein him back in, like, hey, it’s OK. We’re here. We’ve got another car, and we’ll get to work on it. We’ll figure it out.”
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
And so they did. Within 30 minutes of crashing into the Turn 1 wall in his primary car, Allgaier was back on the track in his backup – a car that quickly proved it was ready for the task at hand.
From the rear of the field Saturday, Allgaier stormed into 11th place after 20 laps and to sixth by Lap 40. By Lap 75, Allgaier was fighting Cole Custer for the championship lead.
“Jim Pohlman and his leadership is amazing,” Allgaier said. “And these 7 guys, I cannot begin to stress to you how out of the trenches they dig, and tonight is a great example of that.”
Pohlman had to lead a little harder once the final stage began. Allgaier pulled out of line early on the restart, incurring a penalty that required him to pass through pit road. Insult to injury came when he sped while serving that penalty.
Frustrated and off the lead lap, Pohlman worked strategy perfectly to their favor — with a touch of good fortune for Allgaier instead of the usual bad luck that’s haunted him.
Pohlman kept Allgaier on the track longer to get the No. 7 Chevrolet back onto the lead lap during the final green-flag pit cycle, hoping for a caution to fall their way. They got it with 45 laps to go when Anthony Alfredo suffered a flat tire and contacted the outside wall to trigger the yellow flag.
“Christmas in November,” Allgaier said.
Suddenly, Allgaier was back in the game all over again. And after a couple of heart-wrenching overtime attempts, all that scratching, clawing and fighting proved fruitful with a championship trophy.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
For every molehill, hurdle, obstacle and mountain placed in front of Allgaier, the Illinois native refused to throw in the towel even when the thought crossed his own mind.
That comes as no surprise to his parents, Dorothy and Mike Allgaier, who were soaking in every possible moment with their son at the championship stage Saturday night. Perseverance? That’s an Allgaier thing.
“It’s hard to even believe it,” Mike Allgaier told NASCAR.com. “It’s just been a special night. Things didn’t go our way, and then they did. And I don’t know what to say, other than thank you God and thank you to this team. They’re great people, great people to be around, and obviously very sharp.
“One minute you got tears because you’re sad; next minute you got tears because you’re so happy. Great, great, great day.”
On Oct. 18, a day before the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Allgaier said his ultimate goal was to win a championship — not for himself but for outgoing NASCAR Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton. Auton’s presence has been a constant in the NASCAR garage for over three decades, but Saturday marked his farewell, his final event in the control tower.
He and Allgaier share a close bond. So it was only fitting that in Allgaier’s seventh appearance in the Championship 4, after 14 years of trying, Auton was the one to hand him the Xfinity Series championship trophy.
“He started at 16 years old with me in the trucks,” Auton told NASCAR.com, “and we’ve been through a lot. And I always wanted to see him get a championship. I don’t pull for people in the garage area; that’s not my job. I love every one of these drivers. I wanted all four of those guys plus the 20 car to win a championship. But somebody’s got to win it.
“And for that kid up there — I call him a kid — for that kid up there to finally get one of these things after so many shots at it. And for Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kelly Earnhardt Miller, LW (Miller, senior vice president of motorsports at JRM), Mike Bumgarner that runs this Xfinity program for them. I mean, the list just goes on and on.”
Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media
NASCAR’s chief operations officer Steve O’Donnell insisted Auton deliver the champion his trophy on the championship stage regardless of who won the title. That it was Allgaier made the moment sweeter for all involved.
“Wayne is somebody special,” Allgaier said. “And I’m gonna be honest with you: Wayne has given me a lot in this sport, and I wanted nothing more than to than to be able to send him off and to celebrate a championship with Wayne on the stage. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but when we get that banquet, I told him, ‘I want to get you on stage. I want to embarrass you,’ and that’s my goal.
“His family was here tonight, and Wayne got emotional yesterday when we did our Championship 4 meeting because he truly cares about this sport and the people that are in this sport, and that was really special to me. And so it was really, really cool to be able to send him off that way.”
Allgaier recently signed a two-year extension to remain in the No. 7 Chevrolet through 2026, with longtime sponsor Brandt along for the ride. The elation and congratulations from so many encapsulates how highly those around Allgaier think of him, including Aric Almirola, Cole Custer and Austin Hill — all of whom were fighting Allgaier for some part of an Xfinity title Saturday night.
“He deserves this so much,” Earnhardt Miller told NASCAR.com. “His family, the Brandt family, has been behind him for a long time, and I’m just glad it happened because I don’t know how many more years he’s gonna race, but I’m just glad it finally happened for him.”
Even Ryan Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion and a member of this year’s Championship 4, swung by to congratulate the new Xfinity champ after his own midweek premonition.
“Justin’s a great guy and he’s been a huge staple in the Xfinity Series for a long time and just been super close,” Blaney told NASCAR.com. “He had to overcome a lot tonight. It obviously wasn’t looking good for a while, and he got back in the fight. I saw him on media day Thursday, and I was like, ‘I think you’re gonna do it, man.’ So I really just wanted to tell him, ‘I told you so.’ It’s cool when good guys like that can do it.”
The most ruthless superstar of the NASCAR Cup Series also is perhaps its greatest altruist.
At the core of Joey Logano’s greatness lies a simple dichotomy: An unwavering commitment to being both boundlessly selfless in his personal life and incessantly merciless on the professional side.
The newly minted three-time champion is a humanitarian whose charitable foundation has invested more than $5 million in the service of helping children and youth through crippling crisis.
He also is a stone-cold killer behind the wheel who confidently (and without compunction) talks about putting his “foot on their throats” and figuratively snuffing out the competition.
That bellicose vow turned heads when uttered by Logano on Saturday after qualifying second at Phoenix Raceway for the season finale that he won a day later.
“That’s what we have to do,” he said matter of factly when asked about aggressively promising the forced submission of his Championship 4 rivals in rather brutal terms. “We have them where we want them right now. We just have to keep them there.”
His team owner, Roger Penske, is a racing icon whose legendary teams avoid disparagement of the competition whenever possible. Noting that “when you win, you can say whatever you want,” Penske still winced when he heard the violent framing by his most successful NASCAR driver.
“I might have used different words,” Penske said.
His driver might have, too, if he thought it possible.
But Logano admittedly believes it’s uncomfortable but necessary to embrace this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality to realize his Hall of Fame potential.
“I put myself in high-pressure moments, and part of the reason why I started talking crap a little bit is that it puts more pressure on me, and it seems like that helps,” he said. “It’s not comfortable, but it seems like as a driver, personally, I’m better that way.”
It’s a Faustian bargain that he struck long ago in the service of becoming an elite driver.
At 34 years old, Logano is two decades removed from being the baby-faced wunderkind from Middletown, Connecticut. Shortly after becoming a teenager, Logano was proclaimed a can’t-miss champion by no short of an authority than Mark Martin (an early mentor).
But the path never was so easy. Logano was accosted, bullied and taunted by several Cup peers (some nearly twice his age). He lost a high-profile ride and took countless arrows from fans known for harsh judgment of young drivers thrust into the spotlight before they have posted all-world results.
Logano learned to manage the criticism with the efficient calm of a cerebral assassin.
Sunday night, he spent much of a 30-minute news conference defending himself as only the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win at least three championships, joining the hallowed company of Petty, Johnson, Earnhardt, Gordon, Pearson, Stewart, Waltrip and Yarborough.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR.com
If justifying that level of accomplishment seems an absurd premise, well, it is.
Over its 76-year history, NASCAR has changed its championship formats, points accumulation structures and its race track schedules numerous times.
Logano has won all three championships during the elimination era (which has existed for 11 of his 16 seasons in Cup). The statistics from his third title were less gaudy than those of prior champs, but the crown was no less legitimate. He might have more championships under other systems – as he and crew chief Paul Wolfe have noted many times, they tailor their approach to whatever wins the title.
So, how does it feel to answer the specious claims of being unworthy?
“It’s been my whole career, bud, like from the very beginning,” Logano said. “It’s just what it is. I’ve got thick skin. Bring it on.”
But he also has been known to chafe when his competitive persona is raised.
Two years ago, a NASCAR beat reporter said on the debut episode of the “Race for the Championship” docuseries that, in contrast to being one of the sport’s most benevolent drivers off the track, Logano is “a bit of a jerk” when he dons the helmet.
Two days later, Logano saw the reporter at Playoff Media Day and lit into him.
Two days after that, he won the pole position for the Darlington Raceway opener and began an unrelenting march to his second championship.
Logano might not like being reminded that he draws power from a dark place (as many pro athletes do), but there also is no denying it works.
Apropos of nothing during his Sunday night championship trophy presentation, Logano suddenly harkened back to his firing 12 years ago by Joe Gibbs Racing (“it motivates me by scaring me to death this doesn’t last forever.”).
Immediately upon sitting at the media center dais for his championship news conference Sunday night, he pointed at FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, who left Logano out of his preseason playoff predictions, and began laughing uncontrollably with an impish giggle.
People can be left guessing how seriously he takes slights. The primary goal never is in doubt.
“All he wants to do is win; that’s all he thinks about,” Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook said. “He’s worried about every single element of the program and what it takes for the team to be successful. Joey is probably thinking now already what’s he going to do, what does he need Penske to do, what does he need us to do better to win it again next year.”
The offseason won’t have such a singular focus, though, for Logano, who pledged $250,000 to Hurricane Helene relief with his wife, Brittany, through their foundation.
He was in Western North Carolina last month to tour the devastation that was “worse than I thought it was going to be,” so he could game-plan a long-term response to place “hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe millions, to help people.” Logano talked at length about returning so he also could contribute the aid firsthand.
“That’s what we love about Joey,” Rushbrook said. “He’s such a good person in terms of what he does off the track with the charity … He is so focused as a competitor but able to have the time to do things like that; it means a lot to us in terms of who he is as a person.”
Penske fondly recalled Logano handing out Thanksgiving turkeys the night before he won his first Cup championship in 2018.
“The other side of him, when he puts the helmet on, there’s nobody out there that runs harder than he does,” Penske said.
Few know it better than Martin Truex Jr., who concluded his career Sunday with one fewer championship because of Logano. In the 2018 Round of 8 opener, Logano moved Truex aside on the last lap at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4. Three weeks later, Truex was denied a second consecutive title when he finished second to Logano at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In one of those weirdly cosmic occurrences, Truex started on pole beside Logano in the last race of his full-time career – and with no hard feelings.
“I’ve always had a ton of respect for Joey off of the race track,” Truex said. “He is a great guy. Does things the right way. Treats people right. All of the things that a good human being does.
“It took a little while on the race track, obviously, to get over that and forgive someone for running you over, but at the end of the day, you have to; life goes on.”
As it does for Logano in balancing life on opposing ends of the spectrum.
A helpful hand to those most in need of assistance and compassion … and a heartless quest to vanquish anyone who stands in the way of more championships.
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 the host of the NASCAR on NBC Podcast and also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR officials often chalk off numbers during pre-race procedures to mark the spots where cars should line up on the starting grid. For Martin Truex Jr.’s last Cup Series race as a full-time competitor, officials had some fun with the placement, substituting “19” with a simple message: “Gone fishing.”
The great outdoors and the next chapter of his racing tenure await Truex after Sunday’s Cup Series season finale, where the 44-year-old veteran finished 17th in the 40-car field. He’ll enter his next phase as a former series champion and a 34-time Cup winner who sits just seven starts shy of 700 for his career, but Truex said he’ll take plenty more than stats from Sunday’s farewell ride.
“Just a lot of good memories,” Truex said. “I think I was able to accomplish a lot of things that a lot of people, including myself, at some point in my career didn’t think were possible. So I feel lucky and lucky to work with a lot of great teams and accomplish, again, more than I ever thought possible. I feel like I’ve earned the respect of a lot of people around here, and that means a lot. I mean, it’s probably more than everything, more than wins. So it’ll be fun to come back and see everyone and stick around and come have some fun still.”
A crowd of well-wishers gathered around Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota post-race as Joey Logano celebrated winning his third Cup Series championship on the frontstretch. A host of fellow drivers stopped by to offer kind parting words. NBA legend and 23XI Racing team owner Michael Jordan was one of the first to greet him with a hug, and Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon also contributed a word of thanks after the finish.
The star-power wattage and their gracious words weren’t lost on crew chief James Small, who will stay with the No. 19 team next season to work with incoming driver Chase Briscoe.
“It’s amazing. They’re all legends of the sport in their own sport, and you know, that’s what he is as well,” Small said. “He’s had a great career. He’s been a champion. Man, things go a little differently, he could have been a four-time champion, so it’s pretty crazy. He’s a great person, and it’s been a pleasure to work with him.”
Truex’s final full-time weekend started off with a bright light — his second consecutive pole position, on the heels of his top qualifying performance the previous weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The speedy Saturday pole run was a crowd-pleaser, but more adulation was in store on race day Sunday.
Truex’s peers gave him a standing ovation in Sunday’s drivers’ meeting, and the fans’ cheers for him during driver introductions were among the loudest in pre-race ceremonies. “It was unexpected, I guess,” Truex said. “It’s very cool. Huge honor. Very honored, very humbled to be recognized like that.”
Truex led the first nine laps of Sunday’s race, finishing second in Stage 1. Small said a brake issue began to develop on the No. 19 Camry during the second stage, causing handling issues that the team was unable to offset.
“So the pedal started getting long, couldn’t slow down, started getting tired — just a vicious cycle going backwards,” Small said. “So it started off so promising. Yesterday was great, and yeah, it’s just a frustrating way to end. It kind of sums up our season the way it kind of unraveled there.”
Sunday’s result will ultimately be a footnote to a Hall of Fame-worthy career and to the championship battle won by Logano. Tyler Reddick showed his disappointment in coming up short in his bid for a first Cup Series title, but he also made a post-race point to tip his cap to Truex with a pit-road visit.
“I just said it’s been a blast racing with him,” Reddick said. “I know his full-time stuff is done, but I enjoy — I was just basically telling him, hopefully still see you around the race track. He’s a great character. It’s been fun getting to know him. He stays true to himself. Then there’s obviously all the accomplishments that he’s had. I feel like he’s someone that races really hard on the race track, but he’s respected and just an all-around great guy. It’s been nice working closer with him since I came to Toyota, and yeah, I can only imagine what the emotions are like for him. But it’s been a blast being able to race with somebody that I think will one day be in the Hall of Fame.”
Truex walked away Sunday afternoon at Phoenix, saying he was ready for some offseason recreation and relaxation. All indications are he won’t be gone long: An arrangement to run next season’s Daytona 500 is in place as a potential part of a limited schedule in 2025.
“I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, a lot to be proud of,” Truex said. “Yeah, going to enjoy some time off here, and do the banquet and all that fun stuff. It’s going to be fun to come back in a different role, and come race for fun. Hopefully, I’ll be able to have fun, I don’t know. It’s so hard to have fun when you take it this serious, and I was having fun early today, and then it got miserable. I was hoping today would go better, so it’d be more fun. But yeah, we’ll see. Look forward to Daytona.”
DALLAS — Veterans Day honors America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Julian Torres embodies all of those virtues.
The San Diego native enlisted six months after graduating high school, beginning boot camp in January 2007. By August 2009, Torres was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, known as the “Never to Quit Battalion,” where the second-generation military service member became a machine gun squad leader. In April 2010, Torres was promoted to sergeant. Two months later, Torres and his unit received their combat orders. They shipped out to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, with Marjah, a township in the Helmand Province, serving as their temporary home. Then on July 15, 2010, Torres’ life changed forever.
“There were 13 of us together and someone, four or five guys ahead of me, noticed a piece of cloth on a reed and he held the patrol and knew it was an indicator (for an IED),” Torres said. “So I go back a few steps and that’s when I stepped on it and it went off. I remember the chatter on the radio about who got hit. Everything was so bright and I thought about my son, I thought about my wife and all of my family.”
The IED, or Improvised Explosive Device, took both of Torres’ legs. His unit successfully evacuated him off the battlefield and a long, painful road of rehabilitation began. In three days, Torres went from Camp Dwyer and Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and on to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In September 2010, Torres checked into the Wounded Warrior Battalion West Detachment in his hometown of San Diego.
Torres worked tirelessly to overcome the loss of his legs, with a goal of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak and the world’s tallest freestanding mountain. The double amputee advanced from prosthetic legs and a walker, to prosthetic legs and two canes, to no canes at all. On Veterans Day 2015, a little more than five years from the day of Torres’ IED encounter, he scaled Mount Kilimanjaro.
It was a monumental triumph over adversity, yet the loss of Torres’ legs still made getting from place to place a challenge. An adapted vehicle to transport Torres and his family was needed.
Enter Interstate Batteries and Toyota. In a partnership forged at NASCAR tracks across the country, the two longtime Joe Gibbs Racing partners banded together in support of Semper Fi & America’s Fund to secure a new Toyota Sienna with all the necessary upgrades to fit Sgt. Torres’ needs. The “gift of motion” as Torres calls it, has been invaluable in helping him live as normal a life as possible.
“I’ve been fortunate to be able to cut down the stresses thanks to Interstate Batteries, Toyota and everyone at Semper Fi & America’s Fund,” said Torres, a married father of three. “One of those stresses is 100 percent mobility. There is no better means of transportation than a vehicle. The ability to be able to get up and move is a privilege. This Toyota Sienna is not only practical, but it’s also comfortable. Interstate Batteries coming together with Semper Fi & America’s Fund has given me the ability to express my freedom through liberty of motion. I’ll be forever grateful for what they’ve done for myself and my whole family.”
The average cost to secure and replace an adapted vehicle ranges between $20,000 and $80,000. While there are government assistance programs to help with securing these vehicles, the resources are limited and are available on a one-time basis. With the average lifespan of a vehicle being 12 years, the expense to replace an adapted vehicle quickly becomes burdensome.
“As Veterans Day approaches, we are so very grateful for Sgt. Torres and the countless others who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms we enjoy. It is our honor to be a part of providing this adaptable Toyota Sienna to someone who has done so much for our country,” said Lain Hancock, president and CEO of Interstate Batteries.
Semper Fi & America’s Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides vital support to critically wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and military families. Interstate Batteries, a leading provider of automotive batteries and related products, has been raising awareness and providing financial support for The Fund’s transportation program, which supports injured veterans with stipends for vehicles repairs, adaptive vehicle purchases and vehicle modifications.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Paul Wolfe said he didn’t initially know there was an issue. His No. 22 Team Penske crew had completed a green-flag pit stop some 20 laps earlier, near the midpoint of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series championship race, keeping Joey Logano in contention for his third title.
Wolfe, the No. 22 group’s veteran crew chief, was locked in. The race broadcast feed on the pit-box screens told him there was a problem, one that would alter the lineup for his five over-the-wall personnel.
“I actually saw it on one of the TVs, my monitors in front of me,” Wolfe said post-race, “like, ‘what just happened to Graham?'”
Jackman Graham Stoddard was suddenly sidelined, leaving the pit stall to the attention of the track’s medical staff and forcing Team Penske’s pit crew department to make a change on the fly. Pressed into duty with a championship on the line was Patrick Gray, who moved over from the No. 2 Ford team for Austin Cindric.
His response was calm and collected, deflecting the high pressure that might go with being thrust into the winner-take-all finale.
“It’s not a matter of like, ‘Oh, man, now we’ve got to do this.’ It’s kind of like, ‘OK, what do I need to do? What I need to bring down?'” Gray told NASCAR.com, soaked from the champagne spray after popping corks near the champion’s stage. “It’s just a business thing, right? Let’s just say, ‘Hey, what do I need to do to help this team win the championship?’ And that was the best part was, I just had to do cruise control and let the guys around me do what they needed to do.”
The No. 22 crew reformed midstream with relative aplomb, finishing off a stalwart performance and letting Logano do the rest in Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway, holding off teammate Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 down the stretch. The 34-year-old driver hoisted the Cup Series trophy for the third time, and his reshaped pit crew — four yellow Shell Pennzoil uniforms with one stray black-and-white Discount Tire fire suit — celebrated as one.
The organization had been in a similar situation before, subbing in the No. 2 team’s Keiston France at front-tire changer when the No. 22’s Joe Dilly was sidelined by a knee injury at Las Vegas. Sunday, with even higher stakes, the crew was near-seamless when it mattered most.
“For Pat to step in and be able to just not miss a beat, that’s a testament to Penske and the culture and the teams that we’ve built,” said Jake Seminara, the No. 22 team’s rear-tire changer. “We practice with this 2 car every day, and they challenge us. They push us to be better. We didn’t miss a beat. We actually did the fastest pit stop that we did all day on the last pit stop. So a testament to Ray Gallahan and Danny Kincaid, our pit coaches. We built a great culture at Penske, so anyone could swap around, be on any team, and we feel like we’re confident that we can go out there and succeed.”
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The Team Penske No. 22 crew faced snags early on during pit stops at the Stage 1 intermission. Dilly, the youngest of the group, had trouble switching over his pit gun on the right-front, and Logano dropped from the lead, losing four spots in the exchange.
“Shake it off,” Logano said with reassurance over his team communications. “It’s early.”
The next potential hitch came when the No. 22 team was forced to shuffle up its roster. Seminara said that Stoddard had complained of dizziness before leaving his post, and a Team Penske spokesperson said he had been transported to a local medical facility with an undisclosed ailment.
In stepped Gray, who was with the No. 2 Team Penske group when Brad Keselowski last competed for a championship at Phoenix in 2020.
“I’ve been wanting this opportunity again for a long time, four years,” Gray said. “It’s a little bit bittersweet, right? It’s going to be great to celebrate with these guys, but this is also Graham Stoddard’s team. He was with them all year. I hope he’s doing great, but, you know, we’re brothers. We’re in the same position. We practice with each other. So like I said, it’s bittersweet where I’m ecstatic to win a championship, help these guys win a championship. But this is just as much Graham’s championship, if not more.”
Like Logano, Wolfe celebrated his third Cup Series crown, including his second in three seasons for Roger Penske’s No. 22 Ford. Wolfe’s painstaking attention to detail has been a key part of Logano’s recent tear, but Sunday’s team decision with its pit-crew personnel gave the veteran crew chief one less concern.
“I think that just shows, obviously, how well we work together as a company and how there’s always one common goal, right, and this weekend it was about making sure the 22 and the 12 had the best chance they could at racing for this championship,” Wolfe said. “I don’t think it was a hard decision for anyone to be able to grab Pat and come on over, and it was really seamless. We had solid stops for a guy just jumping in that didn’t practice all week. He did a great job, and it’s nice to know that we have that ability in these moments to be able to step up and not really affect our race at all.”
Seminara remarked about the achievement of Logano’s three Cup Series championships and how it brings him to a rare level in stock-car racing history. He joins Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart — Hall of Famers all — as legendary drivers who can claim that trifecta.
The night brought Seminara to the same status as a three-time champ among the over-the-wall crowd. He said he’s been hired, fired and swilled champagne through the years, calling Sunday night’s capstone celebration “the experience of a lifetime.”
Gray’s mismatched uniform stood out like a bit of an odd duck in the championship party as the crew joined Logano in donning goggles for the drinking and flinging of the bubbly.
The dissimilar fire suit ultimately didn’t matter. Resilience and winning did.
“You never know what’s going to happen until that checkered flag falls,” Seminara said. “We didn’t have the greatest night to start off. We had some issues on pit road, and our car was fast, and Joey said, ‘Hey, shake it off. Let’s do this,’ and we stuck with it, and Pat stepped right in and we were able to knock off some really fast pit stops at the end there. I think we did our fastest pit stop of the night on that last pit stop, so you never know what’s going to happen in these races.
“The best car doesn’t always win. I think we had the best car tonight, but we just had to put ourselves in position to do that with Paul and the strategy and Coleman (Pressley) spotting this thing. I wouldn’t take anybody in this sport other than Joey Logano driving it.”
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney was one spot short of collecting back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford was forced to settle for second behind teammate Joey Logano by a mere 0.33 seconds.
Blaney, a three-time winner in 2024, mustered a masterful drive over the final 55-lap run to the checkers. After restarting sixth, Blaney quickly charged to fourth, eventually working through Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Larson for third and William Byron for second.
Blaney cleared Byron for the runner-up position with 22 laps remaining and sat 2.1 seconds behind Logano with the final handfuls of laps ahead. The 30-year-old rapidly erased that deficit and stormed to the back bumper of Logano’s No. 22 Ford, but Blaney ultimately had nothing left to throw at Logano.
Blaney was visibly exhausted upon exiting his Ford, crouching just to collect his breath after pouring his soul into chasing his second consecutive Cup title.
“I had to work my ass off to get by the 5, and I had to work my ass off to get to the 24 and pass him,” Blaney said. “And I worked my tail off to run Joey down from a long ways back. So as I’m doing it, I’m thinking to myself, like, I think I’m gonna get there (to Logano), get close, but I don’t know if I might have anything to pass him. But I can’t save because I’m never gonna get there if I save.”
The turning point of the race was the Lap 251 caution that preceded the race-deciding restart. The final stage fired off on Lap 194 with 118 laps remaining, culminating in a fierce battle for the top spot between Logano and Blaney. Once Blaney cleared him on Lap 236, Logano darted to pit road with 77 laps left — with Blaney and Reddick following suit a lap later.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
Byron, on the other hand, stayed out an extra 12 laps to pit at Lap 248 while his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott stayed out even longer. Then came a shake-up three circuits later when the right-rear brake rotor on Zane Smith’s No. 71 Chevrolet exploded, sending Smith into a skid and into the Turn 1 wall.
The yellow flag waved with only seven cars on the lead lap – three of which were Championship 4 contenders Blaney, Logano and Reddick. Byron stayed out during the caution period to restart from the lead on his fresh tires — but any tire advantage they had was instantly wiped away.
The other of that coin, however, was the No. 24 Chevrolet finally had clean air as their competition had more traffic to work through.
“I think the biggest setback for us there was just the way that caution fell, allowing the Hendrick guys to kind of do an alternate strategy,” Jonathan Hassler, crew chief of Blaney’s No. 12 team, told NASCAR.com. “And that next restart, we ended up third on the outside (in sixth) behind the 9 and the 5. Really just slowed us down. Joey was able to get past us there. I think that was probably the key pivotal moment for us. We were almost able to recover and get back.
“I think the difference was the 24 was on more or less new tires, got to stay out, inherit the lead, and then you had two teammates that had ran long enough that they could position themselves ahead of us when they hadn’t ran in front of us all day, and just kind of get in our way.”
Like Blaney, Byron returned to the Championship 4 for the second straight season. The strategy play by crew chief Rudy Fugle positioned Byron atop the scoring pylon, but the Team Penske power behind them was too strong to keep at bay.
“Yeah, if it goes green to the end, then I’d like to see how that mixes us up too, right?” Fugle said. “I thought that they pitted too early for what I could stomach, so then you just run longer. And then the caution worked out. I think either way, it is what it is. We just didn’t have a fast enough car. But yeah, sometimes you have a tire advantage. Sometimes you can luck into something. But yeah, that’s all it was.”
While the Hendrick cars were able to fend off charges from Blaney, Logano allowed no time to rest. One lap after the restart, his No. 22 Ford stormed to the bottom of the track exiting Turn 4 and ripped past Byron and Bell in a daring three-wide move. Byron was almost caught off guard by the dramatic charge.
“As good as they got through 1 and 2, it was just like, man, now they’re right on me,” Byron said. “I think going into the restart, I thought I had enough of a buffer and I didn’t really feel like one lap on tires that was that big a deal. I don’t think it was.
“I just think that they were fast on the short run all weekend, and that was kind of our struggle. Like we were decent throughout the run, but couldn’t really take off with a ton of speed. It wasn’t a huge surprise, but they were on me a little bit quicker than I thought they would be.”
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
Tyler Reddick’s inaugural Championship 4 Sunday was quieter than his fellow members of the title quartet. The No. 45 Toyota from 23XI Racing was mired near the back of the top 10 through much of the 312-lap affair while Logano, Blaney and Byron were nestled inside the top five.
At the final stage break, Reddick was able to launch himself into the top five and stay within striking distance of his title foes, but that arrival was short-lived.
“I feel like Stage 2 when we broke out and got right behind the 24, 22 and 12, I thought, OK, let’s see where this goes,” Reddick said. “Over time, they kind of got away. I was within range of William and tried to make a move, and it didn’t work out. And then settled back in, and yeah, they steadily pulled away over time. That’s what kind of happened in Stage 3, as well.
“We’ve got to find a little bit more speed, but we made the car better throughout the day. We maintained on pit road. We did all that we could, I think, with it. But certainly, it’s tough when they just get further and further away over time.”
Crew chief Billy Scott was proud of what he saw from both his driver and his team at large, representing an organization that only just completed its fourth season in the Cup Series.
“Some days, you get beat,” Scott told NASCAR.com. “This sport is tough. You certainly lose a lot more than you win. Those Penske cars have been tough here for a while, and that’s what happened today. We just got beat, but it was not for lack of preparation or lack of effort.”
