Field for inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge finalized at Nashville

Posted on June 1, 2025June 12, 2025 by Staff Report

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski became the final driver to secure a spot in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge with a 23rd-place finish in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Keselowski beat out Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen by 21 points for a chance at $1 million in the knockout-style bracket. Among full-time drivers, 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst, Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer and Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware all failed to qualify. The top 32 drivers in Cup Series points after 14 races are eligible.

Drivers will be seeded in the challenge by their best overall finish over the next three weeks at Michigan International Speedway (June 8), Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (June 15) and Pocono Raceway (June 22). The first tiebreaker is a driver’s second-best finish, with the next tiebreaker being the driver’s overall points position. All three seeding races will air on Prime Video.

Once the challenge officially begins at Atlanta Motor Speedway (June 28), it’s simple: drivers will be placed in head-to-head matchups based on seed, and whoever finishes better in each race advances. The last driver standing after Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 27) pockets $1 million.

All five races of the In-Season Challenge will air on TNT Sports and HBO Max with an alternate broadcast available on truTV.

2025 In-Season Challenge Field

Points position	Driver	Team
1	William Byron	No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2	Kyle Larson	No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3	Christopher Bell	No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4	Denny Hamlin	No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5	Chase Elliott	No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6	Tyler Reddick	No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
7	Ryan Blaney	No. 12 Team Penske Ford
8	Joey Logano	No. 22 Team Penske Ford
9	Ross Chastain	No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
10	Bubba Wallace	No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
11	Chase Briscoe	No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12	Alex Bowman	No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
13	Austin Cindric	No. 2 Team Penske Ford
14	Chris Buescher	No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
15	Kyle Busch	No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
16	Ryan Preece	No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
17	Carson Hocevar	No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
18	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
19	AJ Allmendinger	No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
20	Josh Berry	No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
21	Michael McDowell	No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
22	John Hunter Nemechek	No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
23	Todd Gilliland	No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
24	Erik Jones	No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
25	Zane Smith	No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
26	Austin Dillon	No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
27	Ty Gibbs	No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
28	Daniel Suárez	No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
29	Justin Haley	No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
30	Ty Dillon	No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
31	Noah Gragson	No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
32	Brad Keselowski	No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

Posted on June 1, 2025June 2, 2025 by Holly Cain

Ryan Blaney claimed his first victory of the 2025 season Sunday night in the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion led a race-best 139 of the 300 laps to finally secure that all-important playoff position.

Blaney has come so close this season to hoisting a trophy only to have something break his heart and challenge his resolve. But Sunday, the sport’s popular 31-year-old, third-generation racer ultimately drove his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to a 2.830-second win over 22-year-old Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar in a 103-lap green flag run that closed out the race.

Blaney was so thrilled to take the win, he climbed on top of his Ford, raised his arms in triumph and then jumped off the car and ran up and into the track’s front grandstands to claim the checkered flag before handing it off to an excited young fan.

“I never gave up hope that’s for sure,” said Blaney, whose victory puts all three drivers of the reigning champion Penske team into the 2025 playoffs.

“We’ve had adversity, and this hasn’t really been a good year for us in terms of good fortune, but the 12 boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes.”

Hocevar’s runner-up finish tied a career-best effort turned in at Atlanta in February.

“It just proves how strong this group is to go from the disappointment last week,” said Hocevar, who looked strong and led laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Sunday only to retire early with mechanical problems. “Sticking to it and having a shot, just proud of this group.

“We were one spot short again, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction,” he added.

SHOP: Winner’s gear

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who won the opening stage and led 79 laps, finished third despite helmet hose and hydration system issues. Blaney’s Penske teammate Joey Logano finished fourth with current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, rounding out the top five.

“Just couldn’t run with the 12 there in the super long run, after 40 laps I could maintain with him, but after that, he’d just pull away and stretch it on us,” said Hamlin, whose fiancé, Jordan Fish, is expecting to deliver the couple’s third child at any time.

Logano, the defending race winner, also led laps, but ultimately couldn’t challenge at the end giving up positions to Hocevar and Hamlin.

“The 12 was just lights out, which gave them a huge lead, and we just weren’t able to hold onto second, the 11 [Hamlin] got by me,” Logano said, adding, “Good execution and proud of Team Penske. All our cars have a win now and that’s pretty impressive to have everybody with a win. All the teams are really strong.”

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and JGR’s Christopher Bell rounded out the top 10. The effort marked a particularly significant comeback for Larson, who started 28th on the grid and was involved in an incident on Lap 115.

There were 18 lead changes among nine drivers with Hamlin (Stage 1) and Blaney (Stage 2) claiming the stage wins.

New this year, the Nashville race set the 32-car field for the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge — a bracket-style tournament taking place during the TNT Sports’ five-race stretch this summer. The tournament starts June 28 at Atlanta followed by the races at Chicago, Sonoma, Dover, and Indianapolis with the winner receiving a $1 million prize.

Now, the next three races — Michigan, Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez and Pocono — will determine the bracket seeding based on a driver’s best finish out of those races.

Former series champion Brad Keselowski claimed the 32nd position for the competition by only 21 points over Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen.

Byron continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, now 48 points up on Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson with 12 regular-season races remaining to set the 16-driver playoff field. Their teammate Chase Elliott, who finished 15th Sunday, is the highest-ranked driver (fifth) without a win.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday afternoon in the Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Reddick is the defending winner at the 2-mile speedway.

NOTE: There were no issues in post-race inspection, confirming Blaney as the winner. No cars were to be brought back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Posted on June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 by Staff Report

Sunday’s green flag in the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway marked 700 career NASCAR Cup Series starts for Denny Hamlin.

The 44-year-old pilot became the 22nd driver in series history to accomplish the feat, joining NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson, who made his 700th career start last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Leading 79 laps and grabbing a playoff point with a Stage 1 checkered flag, Hamlin ran in the top five throughout the 300-lapper on the 1.33-mile concrete oval, finishing third on the evening and snapping a skid of four finishes outside the top 15.

As the full-time driver of the No. 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2006, Hamlin has transformed into one of NASCAR’s premier stars, finding Victory Lane 56 times, currently the 11th-most all-time.

With two victories so far this season, Hamlin is slated to make his 19th career Cup Series Playoffs appearance dating back to 2006, creating another opportunity for Hamlin to capture his first career Bill France Cup.

Posted on June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

Race results

Pos.	No.	Name	Sponsor	Laps	Diff.
1	60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports	151	—
2	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction/Newtown Pools	151	0.663
3	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical	151	1.688
4	07	Jake Johnson	Lin’s Propane/Propane Plus/Platinum Fire Protection/Island Int/ Axis Wealth	151	3.487
5	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power & Construction	151	4.087
6	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto	151	3.972
7	59	Tyler Barry*	Pro Systems/BNP Machine	151	6.712
8	44	Chase Dowling	Harshaw Paving/S&S Paving	151	7.384
9	5	Kyle Ebersole	Ebersole Excavating, Inc.	151	6.385
10	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing	151	9.41
11	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications, Inc.	151	12.125
12	7	Luke Baldwin*	Baldwin Automotive	151	18.487
13	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply	151	16.025
14	1	Patrick Emerling	Fleetworks Inc	150	1 Lap
15	79	Jon McKennedy	Stewarts Automotive	150	1 Lap
16	20	Max Zachem	USNE/Lu-Mac’s	150	1 Lap
17	36	Dave Sapienza	Sapienza Racing/Eastport Feed	150	1 Lap
18	25	Brian Robie	Bar Harbor Bank and Trust	150	1 Lap
19	15	Joey Cipriano III	J&R Pre-Cast Inc/Dependable Energy & Bass Plating	150	1 Lap
20	18	Ken Heagy	Hunter Mechanical/FenceProsDirect.com	149	2 Laps
21	3	Tyler Rypkema	USNE/Northeast Drilling	144	7 Laps
22	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services	113	38 Laps
23	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara/USNE Power	4	147 Laps

Posted on June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 by Staff Report

SEEKONK, Mass. — Including spectators, competitors and officials, thousands packed into the third-mile bullring that is Seekonk Speedway on Sunday to witness the fourth race of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Not a single person doubted the prospect of Matt Hirschman delivering yet another dominant performance at the Massachusetts short track, this time in the J&R Precast 150.

Sure enough, after sweeping the afternoon’s pair of practice sessions and qualifying on the Hoosier Tire Pole, the 42-year-old scored his third consecutive Modified Tour victory at Seekonk.

Hirschman, who now has 10 victories on the Tour, won the series’ visits in 2023 and 2024, as well. He had not won a Tour race since last year’s Seekonk event; this despite the fact that he entered Sunday with the most laps led on Tour this season. He now has at least one series victory in five consecutive seasons.

(Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)

“This car was torn up after North Wilkesboro,” Hirschman said of his increasingly iconic No. 60 Pee Dee Motorsports Modified. “We worked countless hours on this. … Just want to thank all the people who help us here.

“This has always been a tough race track, but it’s a race track I really like. I enjoy coming here and look forward to coming here. It’s not an easy place to duplicate things or do it three times. You have to race the track as much as you do the competitors here. I’ve lost some tough ones over the years here, too. So to put a whole day together today … just can’t ask for a better day. And we really needed it after what our last day was at North Wilkesboro.”

Thanks in part to a redraw that moved the pole winner to the third starting position, the big move for “Big Money” on Sunday occurred during the second restart of the race. Hirschman restarted outside of redraw pole-sitter Justin Bonsignore and held his ground in the upper groove for several laps. With 121 of 150 circuits still to run, Hirschman powered by Bonsignore for the lead.

Hirschman experienced little resistance from that point. He managed his tires knowing he likely would not pit from the lead, a strategy that paid off when a caution with 54 to go sent more than a dozen contenders to the pits for a tire change.

Hirschman and Bonsignore stayed out, but the latter was no match for the former as Hirschman drove away from the field.

Not even a late caution for debris could spoil Hirschman’s day at Seekonk. The race’s final restart arrived with just two laps to go, and Hirschman utilized a smooth entry into Turns 1-2 to reclaim the lead for good.

On the final lap, Bonsignore, still fighting to get back to Hirschman, got loose coming off Turn 2. He spun and collected multiple cars on the backstretch, resulting in the event’s only pile-up. The yellow flag marked the end of the race.

Chaos on the final lap but it all happens behind @MattHirschman, who wins for the third consecutive season at @seekonkspeedway! pic.twitter.com/bR4kaRpX71

— NASCAR Regional (@NASCARRegional) June 1, 2025

“Obviously we didn’t want to see a caution at all,” Hirschman said. “We survived it. It’s going to take laps to get back hooked up. Of course you want to protect the bottom from first, but that also hurts your center corner speed. (Bonsignore) was able to cross over and get a run. … I gave him the space he earned. … I think he got loose; I don’t know what happened from there.”

After the last-lap chaos, Stephen Kopcik was credited with a second-place finish. Austin Beers, who came agonizingly close to winning last year’s Seekonk race before Hirschman stole the show, finished third.

Jake Johnson finished fourth in his second race of the season for JMA Motorsports, which considered Seekonk a home event. Trevor Catalano ran fifth.

Kyle Bonsignore, rookie Tyler Barry, Chase Dowling, Kyle Ebersole and Eric Goodale finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

Justin Bonsignore, the defending Modified Tour champion, was relegated to an 11th-place finish as a result of his last-lap crash. He led his first laps of the young season early in Sunday’s race.

“I had a shot there and you have to take the shot.”@JBonsignore gave it his all before spinning on the final lap to trigger a multi-car crash at @seekonkspeedway. pic.twitter.com/gPP4bcrFz8

— NASCAR Regional (@NASCARRegional) June 1, 2025

The good news for Bonsignore: His home track of Riverhead Raceway is next on the Modified Tour schedule. The teams get a couple weeks off before returning to action on Long Island for the Miller Lite Salutes Steve Park 200 on Saturday, June 14.

That race is scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 8 p.m. ET. FloRacing will provide live coverage.

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

Qualifying results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	Diff
1	60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports	11.894	100.79	—
2	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical	11.936	100.436	0.042
3	07	Jake Johnson	Lin’s Propane/Propane Plus/Platinum Fire Protection/Island Int/ Axis Wealth	11.997	99.925	0.103
4	1	Patrick Emerling	Fleetworks Inc	12.001	99.892	0.107
5	79	Jonathan McKennedy	Stewarts Automotive	12.027	99.676	0.133
6	7	Luke Baldwin*	Baldwin Automotive	12.029	99.659	0.135
7	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications, Inc.	12.04	99.568	0.146
8	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto	12.056	99.436	0.162
9	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction/Newtown Pools	12.062	99.387	0.168
10	25	Brian Robie	Bar Harbor Bank and Trust	12.143	98.724	0.249
11	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply	12.185	98.383	0.291
12	3	Tyler Rypkema	USNE/Northeast Drilling	12.19	98.343	0.296
13	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara/USNE Power	12.198	98.278	0.304
14	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power & Construction	12.211	98.174	0.317
15	5	Kyle Ebersole	Ebersole Excavating, Inc.	12.25	97.861	0.356
16	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing	12.261	97.773	0.367
17	44	Chase Dowling	Harshaw Paving/S&S Paving	12.291	97.535	0.397
18	15	Joey Cipriano III	J&R Pre-Cast Inc/Dependable Energy & Bass Plating	12.321	97.297	0.427
19	20	Max Zachem	USNE/Lu-Mac’s	12.327	97.25	0.433
20	59	Tyler Barry*	Pro Systems/BNP Machine	12.383	96.81	0.489
21	36	Dave Sapienza	Sapienza Racing/Eastport Feed	12.402	96.662	0.508
22	18	Ken Heagy	Hunter Mechanical/FenceProsDirect.com	12.483	96.035	0.589
23	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services	12.512	95.812	0.618

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

Final practice results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	In Lap	Laps	Diff
1	60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports	11.762	101.921	19	21
2	1	Patrick Emerling	Fleetworks Inc	11.834	101.301	21	22	0.072
3	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical	11.905	100.697	29	38	0.143
4	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications, Inc.	11.972	100.134	13	22	0.21
5	3	Tyler Rypkema	USNE/Northeast Drilling	11.974	100.117	33	33	0.212
6	07	Jake Johnson	Lin’s Propane/Propane Plus/Platinum Fire Protection/Island Int/ Axis Wealth	11.99	99.983	3	4	0.228
7	44	Chase Dowling	Harshaw Paving/S&S Paving	12.004	99.867	3	9	0.242
8	7	Luke Baldwin*	Baldwin Automotive	12.024	99.701	9	9	0.262
9	79	Jon McKennedy	Stewarts Automotive	12.026	99.684	28	33	0.264
10	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara/USNE Power	12.027	99.676	21	26	0.265
11	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply	12.046	99.519	14	16	0.284
12	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction/Newtown Pools	12.051	99.477	20	20	0.289
13	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto	12.078	99.255	19	19	0.316
14	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power & Construction	12.115	98.952	11	43	0.353
15	15	Joey Cipriano III	J&R Pre-Cast Inc/Dependable Energy & Bass Plating	12.12	98.911	16	17	0.358
16	25	Brian Robie	Bar Harbor Bank and Trust	12.129	98.837	25	25	0.367
17	36	Dave Sapienza	Sapienza Racing/Eastport Feed	12.153	98.642	4	41	0.391
18	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing	12.192	98.327	20	25	0.43
19	20	Max Zachem	USNE	12.2	98.262	4	17	0.438
20	5	Kyle Ebersole	Ebersole Excavating, Inc.	12.225	98.061	22	26	0.463
21	59	Tyler Barry*	Pro Systems/BNP Machine	12.277	97.646	24	26	0.515
22	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services	12.346	97.1	2	34	0.584
23	18	Ken Heagy	Hunter Mechanical/FenceProsDirect.com	12.416	96.553	11	11	0.654

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

Practice results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	In Lap	Laps	Diff
1	60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports	12.159	98.594	6	12	—
2	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto	12.195	98.303	6	6	0.036
3	07	Jake Johnson	Lin’s Propane/Propane Plus/Platinum Fire Protection/Island Int/ Axis Wealth	12.195	98.303	18	18	0.036
4	3	Tyler Rypkema	USNE/Northeast Drilling	12.2	98.262	21	22	0.041
5	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply	12.211	98.174	21	24	0.052
6	21	Stephen Kopcik	Wanick Construction/Newtown Pools	12.216	98.134	21	26	0.057
7	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications, Inc.	12.223	98.077	18	30	0.064
8	79	Jon McKennedy	Stewarts Automotive	12.235	97.981	25	35	0.076
9	7	Luke Baldwin*	Baldwin Automotive	12.242	97.925	40	44	0.083
10	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical	12.277	97.646	12	16	0.118
11	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing	12.278	97.638	15	28	0.119
12	1	Patrick Emerling	Fleetworks Inc	12.294	97.511	8	23	0.135
13	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara/USNE Power	12.318	97.321	13	26	0.159
14	15	Joey Cipriano III	J&R Pre-Cast Inc/Dependable Energy & Bass Plating	12.322	97.289	22	22	0.163
15	44	Chase Dowling	Harshaw Paving/S&S Paving	12.345	97.108	24	27	0.186
16	5	Kyle Ebersole	Ebersole Excavating, Inc.	12.355	97.03	25	33	0.196
17	36	Dave Sapienza	Sapienza Racing/Eastport Feed	12.371	96.904	28	36	0.212
18	20	Max Zachem	USNE	12.416	96.553	13	16	0.257
19	59	Tyler Barry*	Pro Systems/BNP Machine	12.429	96.452	35	65	0.27
20	56	Trevor Catalano	USNE Power & Construction	12.453	96.266	6	19	0.294
21	18	Ken Heagy	Hunter Mechanical/FenceProsDirect.com	12.459	96.22	8	11	0.3
22	8	John-Michael Shenette	USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services	12.459	96.22	8	9	0.3
23	25	Brian Robie	Bar Harbor Bank and Trust	12.585	95.256	20	40	0.426

Posted on June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 by Nick Giffen

NASCAR heads to the 1.33-mile concrete track, Nashville Superspeedway, for tonight’s Cracker Barrel 400 (7 ET, Prime Video).

Nashville represents the fourth consecutive intermediate-track, points-paying race. Notably, practice times have been extremely useful over the first three races at Texas, Kansas, and Charlotte in predicting race speed.

In particular, my FLAGS metric identified Larson and Chastain as the clear best cars in each of the last two weeks. The week before, it pinned Austin Cindric as fastest in practice, and he won Stage 1 before ultimately running into issues with a poorly timed pit stop just before a caution, then getting caught up in a late wreck.

So it should be no surprise that I’ll be heavily relying on practice FLAGS to find some value for tonight’s NASCAR best bets for Nashville.

MORE: Full starting lineup in photos | Fantasy Live advice

Cracker Barrel 400 Best Bets

DraftKings is hanging a ton of head-to-head bets this week, and that’s the market I’m looking to attack.

I’m showing pretty clear value on four of these matchup bets, so without breaking down each individual matchup, I’ll simply list them with their FLAGS rating and their median finishing position as determined by my model.

1. Tyler Reddick -110 over Christopher Bell

FLAGS: Reddick 89.6% (1st), Bell 74.9% (8th)
Med. Finish: Reddick 6.5, Bell 7.5

2. Cody Ware -110 over J.J. Yeley

FLAGS: Ware 16.4% (36th), Yeley 4.6% (38th)
Med. Finish: Ware 30.5, Yeley 31.5

3. William Byron -115 over Kyle Larson

FLAGS: Byron 85.3% (4th), Larson 57.9% (16th)
Med. Finish: Byron 5.5, Larson 6.5

4. Chase Briscoe -120 over Joey Logano

FLAGS: Briscoe 78.7% (5th), Logano 49.8% (21st)
Med. Finish: Briscoe 11.5, Logano 13.5

Notably, in all four of these matchups, the driver I’m betting on is also starting ahead of their opponent, so we’re firing off with the early advantage on cars that also practiced faster.

I’m also going to have a little fun and parlay these four bets at DraftKings at +1149 odds. It’s quite unlikely to hit, but it’s a fun way to compound these edges.

Posted on June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 by Dustin Albino

LEBANON, Tenn. — Don’t ask Chris Buescher about points. The native Texan is solely focused on chasing checkered flags with RFK Racing.

“I adamantly hate points racing so much,” Buescher said on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. “If it didn’t happen to roll up on (X) feeds because I’m scrolling, I wouldn’t have a clue. I don’t like that it consumes so much of the conversation. I want to go to the track on a weekly basis and try to figure out how to win that, knowing that everything comes with winning races. It’s a pretty basic concept.”

However, Buescher was pleased to hear on Wednesday that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the L1-level penalty issued to the No. 17 team after the Cup Series race last month at Kansas Speedway. He was in Nashville to promote the race weekend during the hearing.

Regaining 30 of the 60 points, Buescher jumped seven spots in the Regular Season Championship standings, slotting in 16th. Entering Sunday night’s Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway (7 p.m. ET, Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), he’s six points behind RFK teammate Ryan Preece for the provisional bubble spot with half the regular season remaining.

MORE: Starting lineup in photos | How to watch Prime Video

“It put us in a little better spot on that side of things, but ultimately, it doesn’t change our year,” Buescher said of the addition of 30 points. “We have the second half of the regular season to win some races. I believe that ultimately, it’s going to take wins to get you over the playoff bubble.”

Team co-owner Brad Keselowski was pleased with the ruling. But, like Buescher, he believes it’s going to take a checkered flag to punch a ticket to the postseason, thinking that drivers below the elimination line will win their way in.

“It’s a good thing to move [Buescher] up in points,” Keselowski said. “The reality of the series and the way it’s judged with the way the playoff format works, I think our mindset is that we need to win races to be relevant and to guarantee we’re going to the playoffs. It wasn’t a bad thing, but I don’t know that it really changes anything for us.”

What has changed for RFK is the allocation of a few roles and responsibilities within the organization to ensure there is no overlooking of the NASCAR rule book moving forward, Keselowski mentioned in his Saturday press conference. In addition to Buescher’s penalty, Ryan Preece was disqualified from a runner-up finish in April at Talladega Superspeedway for a spoiler modification, setting the No. 60 car back.

“The situations at hand were not what I would call pushing too much, as I would call not having any regard to understanding the rule book and all of its complexities,” Keselowski said. “Ultimately, that burden falls on us, so we’ve had those conversations internally. Everyone knows what is expected of them.”

Through the first half of the regular season, Buescher has six top-10 finishes, more than reigning Regular Season Champion Tyler Reddick (four) and defending Cup champion Joey Logano (three). It’s the same amount as two-time 2025 winner Denny Hamlin.

That said, Buescher has a single top-five finish (Phoenix in March) since last visiting Victory Lane in September at Watkins Glen International. The path forward is to perform better.

“What we wanted so badly this year was to improve our first 10 races,” Buescher said. “Proud of the fact that we have been better; there’s no doubt about that in my mind. We’ve been able to measure that in a lot of ways, and it may not show in all of the results, but we’ve been a lot better.

“We haven’t been able to get the win that we hoped for in the first handful like we hoped for. We’ve been in the hunt across all three of our teams. All things considered, it’s been a fairly successful beginning of the season, call it a B-plus, with a lot of room for improvement to get to the point to where we can win every week.”

After Nashville and on the radar are visits to Michigan International Speedway, where Buescher is a recent winner, and Mexico City, where the No. 17 car should be a strong contender.