HAMPTON, Ga. -- Joey Logano led an armada of Fords into the top eight starting spots for Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

• Logano clocked in at 30.979 seconds (178.960 mph) in Friday's qualifying session to secure his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at EchoPark and the 32nd of his career.

  Logano matched the time posted earlier by Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, but the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford got the nod for the pole on an owner points tiebreaker.

  Ryan Blaney posted the third-fastest lap at 178.937 mph, followed by Austin Cindric at 178.626 mph, as Team Penske drivers and the Penske affiliate Wood Brothers locked out the first two rows for Sunday's race, the opening round of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge.

  Logano faces ninth-place qualifier Alex Bowman in the first round.

  "Being up front and controlling this race is the name of the game," said Logano, who won last year's second Atlanta race, which was held in September. "If you can get up there and solidify the top position, I feel like you can stay there. The thing is, there are a lot of ‘What ifs?' that play out in this race, a lot of cautions that may be timed in a different way, where it can jumble up the field.

  "It's hard to say you're going to be leading every lap... The good thing is that we controlled what we could today. I'm super proud of Team Penske, Roush Yates (Engines), Ford, obviously to keep our Mustangs up there. It really shows the ability to repeat from car to car, which is really hard to do.

  "We tied with the 21 (Berry) and the other cars were within a couple hundredths of a second."

  Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Zane Smith completed the Ford sweep of the top eight starting spots.

  Bowman drove the fastest Chevrolet to ninth on the grid, and Pocono Raceway winner Chase Briscoe was 10th in the quickest Toyota.

  Denny Hamlin, top seed in the In-Season Challenge, qualified 33rd but expects his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to fare better in race trim. Nevertheless, Hamlin starts 19 spots behind Ty Dillon, the driver he has to beat to advance to the second round of the tournament.

  Briscoe, the second seed, starts 17 positions ahead of close friend Noah Gragson, his first-round opponent.

  Qualifying was interrupted by a 30-minute lightning hold, but no rain hit the track despite storms in the area.

  --Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

On Saturday, the elimination portion of NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Challenge will begin at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga.

• The five-week, 32-driver, bracket-style challenge features a grand prize of $1 million, but why should fans bother to pay attention to yet another storyline in a sport full of them?

  Perhaps it is not the shameless gimmick that it seems to be at first glance.

  The idea of having an in-season tournament is not exclusive to NASCAR. The NBA introduced one in 2023 as a way to spice up the first half of the schedule. That's exactly what NASCAR is attempting to do with its In-Season Challenge.

  Despite several bold scheduling initiatives, including the addition of the Chicago Street Race, a return to Nashville Superspeedway and the return of the Brickyard 400, NASCAR's summer stretch has seemed relatively stale compared to the rest of the season for years.

  Fans annually endure one of the longest seasons in professional sports, and races in the dog days of summer generally don't generate the same hype that races over the first and final quarters of the season do.

  NASCAR's In-Season Challenge is an attempt to remedy that stale feeling and get fans excited well in advance of the postseason.

  The five-race tournament begins Saturday, where half of the 32-driver field will be eliminated. Those 32 drivers were seeded based on their best finish over the last three races: Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono.

  Following the Chicago Street Race on July 6, the field will be chopped to eight. Following Sonoma on July 13, the field will be whittled down to four before the July 20 race at Dover decides the final two drivers left standing.

  From there, the winner of the tournament is decided in a crown jewel event, as the Brickyard 400 on July 27 crowns the champion of the inaugural In-Season Challenge.

  So scoff at the creation if you must, but on the surface, the In-Season Challenge is a harmless storyline that has the potential to liven up the summer. If anything, it will place a spotlight on fights for position that otherwise would have seemed pointless.

  A battle for 27th place may be the battle to advance to the next round. If the race leader is running away with the win at Indianapolis, a spirited tussle for 14th could determine who gets an extra $1 million.

  Advancing in the tournament carries with it the knowledge that you beat another competitor head-to-head in a pressure-packed situation, regardless of the circumstances.

  Bragging rights and a big check may be on the line for competitors, but fans will get to see different strategies and calls be made as teams attempt to do whatever they can to advance. Without the In-Season Challenge, certain strategies or decisions may not seem noteworthy. But during the In-Season Challenge, they could be the difference between $1 million and the wrong kind of blank check.

  Saturday's race at Atlanta is pretty much guaranteed to feature soap opera levels of drama with or without the In-Season Challenge. But pitting 32 drivers against each other in head-to-head matchups, in a race where working together is the key to winning, makes the fourth superspeedway race of 2025 appointment viewing.

  Fans also have the opportunity to win their own $1 million if they can fill out a perfect bracket. It adds a March Madness wrinkle to the viewing experience.

  Throw in a street course, a road course, a unique one-mile oval in Dover and a crown jewel race at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a chaotic slice of the schedule is ready to offer even more twists and turns.

  The In-Season Challenge won't be the sole focus of teams as they try to win races and position themselves to make the Cup Series playoffs. But it's a chance for NASCAR's summer stretch to cut through the noise of a busy entertainment world and give fans a reason to be on the edge of their seats for every lap of the next five races.

  With a million bucks on the line, you can bet the drivers will be on the edge of their seats, too.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed his interest in signing four-time defending Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen on Friday.

• On Thursday, Mercedes driver George Russell told reporters that his contract renewal talks were being delayed due to the team's pursuit of Red Bull's Verstappen.

  In response, Wolff said his interest in Verstappen has nothing to do with finishing a new deal for Russell, 27, whose contract expires at the end of the year.

  "First of all, there is no delay in George's contract situation because it's pretty clear since a long time what our timings were," Wolff told Sky Sports. "We've known each other for such a long time so there is no such thing as a delay.

  "But also as a team principal responsible for the best car brand in the world it is clear you're exploring what a four-time world champion is going to do in the future, and that could be a long time in the future. But that has no effect on us putting a signature on George's contract."

  Wolff said he has been transparent with Russell about Mercedes' interest in Verstappen.

  "I'm always open about these things, and I'm saying it how it is and there's no such thing as saying, 'We are going to sign Max,' because it's so far away that it's not realistic at that stage," he told Sky Sports. "With George, we talk about everything."

  Verstappen, meanwhile, is under contract at Red Bull through 2028.

  When asked about the speculation and what team he expects to be driving for in 2026, Verstappen did not give a direct answer to reporters Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

  "It's not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance, and then we focus on next year," the 27-year-old Dutch driver said.

  --Field Level Media

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is finalizing a deal to return to Formula 1 with Cadillac in 2026, multiple news outlets reported.

• Bottas, currently a reserve driver at Mercedes, added fuel to the speculation with a cheeky video posted to his X feed on Sunday.

  In it, he opens the door of a Cadillac SUV and has a conversation with someone off camera.

  "Oh wow, that's actually a nice seat," Bottas says while checking out the driver's seat. "I wouldn't mind."

  "And there's two seats," the other man points out, prompting this reply from Bottas: "And they're both free?"

  But when the other voice asks if he wants to sit down, Bottas answers, "Not yet."

  Cadillac is entering the championship series next season.

  Bottas, 35, has made no secret of his desire to regain a full-time F1 seat since being dropped by Sauber at the end of the 2024 season.

  Bottas owns 10 career wins and 67 podium finishes in nearly 250 starts since 2013 with Sauber, Mercedes, Williams and Alfa Romeo. His last win came at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.

  --Field Level Media

A week after a heated exchange with veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and a fine from his team for posting a controversial social media take on the Mexico City race weekend, Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar faced the media Saturday morning at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and conceded he could have handled things a little better in both instances.

• "Yes," he conceded, he fully expects Stenhouse to exact revenge after a dust-up the two had on track in Mexico -- the second time Stenhouse has been miffed at the 22-year-old in a race. And "yes," Hocevar said, posting a negative review online before actually getting a chance to experience Mexico, was also wrong. Both things are a learning experience.

  Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, said he had not yet spoken with Stenhouse since the trip to Mexico, but doubted, at this point, there was anything he could say that would make a difference to the veteran as they came to Pocono for Sunday's The Great American Getaway 400 (2 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

  "I feel like we have a good relationship or had one," Hocevar said. "I was just running behind him, just kind of logging laps and just locked up in a very dumb spot. And it was just so dumb, really. Just a mistake that didn't need to happen and didn't want it to happen.

  "But there's nothing that I could do or say. You know, I can't buy him a Hallmark card and, really make things better. So, it sucks. It sucks for me because he's the only NASCAR driver that owns a sprint car team, and I love sprint cars. So, it sucks because I want to go talk to him about sprint cars. So, yeah, hopefully everything can be set, but I know that the scorecard has me ahead right now, unfortunately."

  As for the social media post, initially uncomplimentary of his early Mexico experience, Hocevar was fined $50,000 by his Spire Motorsports team. He explained that his words were written before really having an opportunity to explore Mexico City.

  "The issue wasn't for the team having their kind of frustrations that I'm giving my opinion and putting it out there -- it's just the fact that, you know, my opinion wasn't my opinion," Hocevar said. "It was just based off everything else, you know, that I've heard or seen, right? I didn't go do my own homework and voice my own opinion. I didn't give it a shot. I didn't give it a chance. I didn't go walk around. I didn't go see it.

  "When I did then hindsight's 20/20, then I have my own opinion. But I've already put it out there. So, I think that was the biggest thing was like -- I wasn't doing what I pride myself of doing. I was just having my own opinion, putting it out there and being me. I just didn't give it a fair shot, so I think that's where it all stems from."

  DENNY HAMLIN BACK AT TRACK

  Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, a three-race winner this season, missed last week's race in Mexico City so he could be home with his family for the birth of his first son, Jameson Drew. Hamlin revealed it was a tough labor for his wife Jordan and was glad he could be there for her -- and their two daughters.

  His son's name was thoughtful and purposeful -- Jameson is "James' son" and James is Hamlin's first name. And Drew gives him JD initials -- a nod to both the late JD Gibbs, a cherished friend of Hamlin and the person credited with hiring him at JGR. JD are also the initials of James Dean, the car owner earlier in Hamlin's career providing his big opportunity to be seen -- and eventually hired -- to a major NASCAR operation.

  "He's been great, slept through the night the last three nights in a row. ...he's behaving good early," Hamlin said with a smile of his son.

  Hamlin said he watched the Mexico City race from home last weekend and was very impressed with the Amazon Prime broadcast and the extended time the network uses. But he's ready to race at Pocono -- where his seven wins is most all-time. He finished runner-up (2024) and scored that seventh win (2023) in the last two visits.

  "Just a track that no matter what the car we drive or the tires we have on or the aero package, none of that really matters," said Hamlin, who earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono, sweeping both races -- from pole position no less -- in his 2006 rookie season.

  "You still make speed at this race track the same way no matter what car you're driving.

  "It's been one of the few tracks that I haven't had to change my approach to it, depending on the car I'm driving. So, I think that's why the success has been sustained."

  SVG PLAYOFF BOUND

  With his win in the inaugural Mexico City race last weekend, Trackhouse Racing's Shane Van Gisbergen has punched his first career ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet won last week by more than 16-seconds, the largest margin of victory in a NASCAR Cup Serie race since 2009.

  The 36-year-old New Zealander -- a three-time Australian Supercars Series champion -- insisted that having that "ticket" into the Playoffs would not really change the way he goes about competing this year -- his first time running a full season.

  Although he famously became the first driver in NASCAR history to win in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Chicago in 2023 -- the Mexico City win was only his second top-10 of this season.

  "I don't think it really has (changed his mindset)," Van Gisbergen said of the victory. "It was always our goal to win. There's probably less pressure on road courses now. We can play with our strategy if we want to try and get playoff points now and stuff like that.

  "But yeah, probably less pressure. We can enjoy the road courses a bit more. But yeah, the ovals, we just need to keep doing what we've been doing; keep our head down, keep improving every week, and try and keep getting good results. We've been frustrated with top-20s the last couple of weeks, which is a huge improvement for us for how we started. Our potential is getting a lot better, and hopefully we keep getting close to that back-end of the top-10. That would be good."

  CAN'T MISS PROGRAMMING ON AMAZON

  This may be the last NASCAR Cup Series race of the Amazon Prime broadcasts, but the network still features some compelling must-see NASCAR storylines in the four-part "Earnhardt" documentary and, similarly the single-episode "American Thunder," which chronicles NASCAR's Garage 56 project from inception to race debut in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.

  The Earnhardt docu-series on Prime Video has received a hugely positive response and features some never-before-seen video and certainly some compelling interviews with those that knew the late seven-time champion best. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt are featured prominently and their stories about their dad heart-felt and captivating.

  The "American Thunder: From NASCAR to LeMans" documentary is also intriguing, whether you are a race fan or not. It chronicles the remarkable project from idea to post-race celebration. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, Formula One champ Jenson Button and sports car legend Mike Rockenfeller shared the seat of the No. 24 Chevrolet.

  And so many of NASCAR's heavy-hitters from series executives Jim France and Steve O'Donnell to the Hendrick team's Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon to a former NASCAR-to-Le Mans competitor Hershel McGriff are all featured in this behind-the-scenes look at the massive effort it took to develop the car, make the huge-logistical lift in travelling to the small French town of Le Mans and ultimately the drama of the actual race and what the involvement meant to all involved.

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

With 16 races of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season complete going into Sunday's 400-miler at Pocono Raceway, several stars remain winless as the circuit nears the halfway mark.

• Here are five big-name drivers who have yet to win this season -- and the track where they're most likely to break through.

  --Chase Elliott

  Elliott has been consistent this year, as he sits fourth in points and has yet to finish outside the top-20. But that consistency hasn't translated to race-winning speed very often, as Elliott has only led 95 laps. This is a rare situation where numbers do lie -- statistically, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has looked the part of a championship contender, but he's failing the eye test.

  Pocono history: 15 starts, one win (2022), four top-fives, 10 top-10s

  Track where's most likely to break through: Watkins Glen (Aug. 10)

  Elliott has won twice before at Watkins Glen, and while his last victory at the New York road course came in 2019, it remains one of his best tracks. Eliott has not won on a road course in the Next-Gen car, but he's finished top-five in both road course races this season.

  --Tyler Reddick

  Big things were expected of Reddick after a Championship 4 appearance in 2024, but those expectations are yet to be realized. The No. 45 team has shot itself in the foot several times in recent weeks, and while Reddick is all set to coast into the playoffs on points, it's slightly worrying that he's been unable to get back to victory lane in the 23XI Racing Toyota.

  Pocono history: Seven starts, zero wins, two top-fives, four top-10s

  Track where he's most likely to break through: Chicago Street Course (July 6)

  Reddick was the runner-up in Chicago a year ago and has turned into a fantastic road racer in recent years. Chicago is as big of a wild card as any race on the schedule, but that may be exactly what Reddick needs in order to see the checkered flag.

  --Chase Briscoe

  Briscoe's first year at Joe Gibbs Racing has seen its share of highs and lows and his playoff positioning is in jeopardy, but a win would solve that problem. A lack of overall pace hasn't been the issue, seeing as Briscoe won three consecutive poles at Charlotte, Nashville and Michigan, but being unable to put an entire race together has cost the No. 19 Toyota team.

  Pocono history: Five starts, zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s

  Track where he's most likely to break through: Dover (July 20)

  Dover hasn't been great for Briscoe, who doesn't have a top-10 at the track in four starts. But the No. 19 team with Martin Truex Jr. knew how to get around the "Monster Mile," as Truex won at the one-mile oval in 2023 and finished third in 2024. If crew chief James Small can use those notes, Briscoe could snag his first win with JGR.

  --Ryan Preece

  Preece and the brand new No. 60 team have put together a solid season so far for RFK Racing. He is only 19 points out of the playoffs going into Pocono, and has shown winning speed in several races this season. With a cut line that will be constantly moving over the next 10 weeks, a win is his best bet -- and his only sure one -- to make the playoffs.

  Pocono history: Eight starts, zero wins, zero top-fives, one top-10

  Track where he's most likely to break through: Richmond (Aug. 16)

  Short tracks are clearly Preece's best track type, and while Richmond doesn't appear to be a great track for him on the stat sheet, it's probably his best shot to win at a non-superspeedway.

  --Kyle Busch

  For the second straight year, Busch is in danger of missing the playoffs. With his winless streak officially eclipsing two full seasons, a win for Busch in one of the last 10 races would be one of the biggest of his career.

  Pocono history: 37 starts, four wins (2017-19, 2021), 11 top-fives, 18 top-10s

  Track where he's most likely to break through: Daytona (Aug. 23)

  It's hard to trust that Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy will have winning pace at any track other than the drafting ovals of Atlanta and Daytona. Daytona in particular seems to be a better track for Busch, who had a runner-up finish at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in August 2024.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

Williams Racing announced a long-term extension Thursday for team principal James Vowles.

• Vowles, 45, joined Williams in 2023 following an unprecedented run of success at Mercedes.

  Following a ninth-place finish in 2024, the Williams team has climbed to fifth through 10 races this season.

  "He has spearheaded a top-to-bottom transformation of Williams with one clear mission: to return an icon of Formula 1 to winning ways," the team said in its announcement on Thursday.

  Williams driver Alexander Albon is eighth in the standings and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. is 13th.

  "I am delighted to sign a new contract with Atlassian Williams Racing, which has felt like home from the moment I walked through the door," Vowles said. "This iconic team has already given me some incredible memories and we are all united in our ambition to build on our legacy and win World Championships again.

  "Over the past two years we have focused on fixing the foundations, and now have a platform to go for glory in the years to come."

  The team did not confirm the length of Vowles' new contract.

  Williams won the most recent of its nine constructors' championships in 1997. Jacques Villeneuve won the team's most recent drivers' world championship that same year.

  --Field Level Media

NASCAR and officials in the San Diego area are working toward an agreement to return the Cup Series to Southern California, The Athletic reported Wednesday.

• According to the report, the two sides are finalizing details on a street-course race to be held in the area. An announcement is tentatively expected in July.

  Both NASCAR and Sports San Diego, the area's sports tourism arm, declined to make a statement to The Athletic.

  NASCAR has not held a non-exhibition race in Southern California since 2023 when the speedway in Fontana closed.

  A street race in San Diego could offer a chance to drive with the Pacific Ocean in the backdrop, although The Athletic reported an exact location for the race has not been finalized.

  NASCAR already has gotten off the oval, with a street race held in downtown Chicago since 2023. The Grant Park 165, as it is called on the 2025 schedule, will be run in Chicago on July 6.

  --Field Level Media

Driver Carson Hocevar has been fined $50,000 by his race team, Spire Motorsports, and will be required to undergo sensitivity training after he made derogatory comments about Mexico City.

• NASCAR's first Cup Series points race outside the United States since 1958 apparently didn't sit well with Hocevar, who took issue with Mexico's capital city during a livestream on Friday night.

  Hocevar, 22, labeled it a "s---hole" while also raising concerns about safety in the city.

  He issued an apology over social media following his 34th-place finish (out of 37 drivers) in Sunday night's race.

  "Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan," Hocevar wrote on X, referring to his hometown.

  "When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here. Now that I've actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I've ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran."

  "... Count this as another lesson for me in a season I've learned so much. Don't believe everything you hear without seeing it yourself. If anyone should give anyone or any place the benefit of the doubt it's me. I'm sorry Mexico City. Consider me an ally going forward and an example of getting off Twitch and seeing things with my own two eyes."

  Spire Motorsports was swift with its response, issuing mandatory cultural sensitivity and bias awareness training for Hocevar. Spire also said the $50,000 fine will be distributed among the Mexican Red Cross, the United Way Mexico and Un Kilo de Ayuda, a nonprofit that helps childhood nutrition and development in rural communities across the country.

  "These actions are consistent with Spire Motorsports' core value of respect, which is something we proudly display on every race car, team uniform, trackside hauler, and digital channel," the team's statement said. "Respect is not a slogan. It is a daily expectation that we ‘walk the walk' in how we speak, compete and serve the communities that welcome our sport.

  "Carson Hocevar's recent comments during the livestream fell short of that standard. They did not represent the views of Spire Motorsports, our partners, or NASCAR. He has acknowledged his mistake publicly, and his prompt, sincere apology demonstrated personal accountability. We now take this additional step to underscore that words carry weight, and respect must be lived out loud."

  --Field Level Media

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was saddened to discover his car had run over a groundhog during Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

• "I didn't see it happen, but I heard I hit a groundhog, so that's devastating," Hamilton, an animal rights activist and vegan, said to Sky Sports following his sixth-place finish.

  The 40-year-old Ferrari driver, who started fifth on the grid, said he began losing pace early in the race after the incident damaged the floor of his car.

  "I love animals, so I'm so sad about it," Hamilton said. "It's horrible. It's never happened to me before."

  Hamilton also experienced some problems with his brakes during the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where groundhogs are common.

  "It was feeling pretty decent until (hitting the animal)," he said. "I got a good start, held position, and I was holding onto the group. I was managing the tires well. I was feeling optimistic."

  Hamilton's fellow Great Britain native, Mercedes' George Russell, won the race. Four-time defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing finished second and Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli was third.

  Hamilton, who won his last F1 word title in 2020, ranks sixth in the driver standings through 10 races. Up next is the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29.

  --Field Level Media

The Las Vegas Grand Prix will remain on the Formula 1 schedule through at least 2027, F1 confirmed on Saturday.

• F1 officials and race organizers both expressed interest in keeping the event on the calendar into the next decade.

  "We've agreed collectively that we're going to do a two-year extension for 2026 and '27," Las Vegas GP president Emily Prazer said Saturday, per ESPN. "We want to make sure that we're continuing to evolve what we're doing, but the intent is a much longer-term arrangement.

  Clark County, Nev., already has confirmed plans to hold the race through 2032.

  "The length of extensions don't really reflect anything other than it just makes sense incrementally, we know what's going to happen over the next couple of years," said Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

  "We're planning on this being a permanent race, we'll just keep planning extensions that will probably expand as we go forward."

  The race is on the F1 calendar for the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2025 (Nov. 22) and 2026 (Nov. 21).

  According to Las Vegas figures, the 2024 event generated $934 million in revenue and raised $45 million in taxes.

  The inaugural race, which includes parts of the famed Las Vegas Strip, took place in 2023. Max Verstappen won the initial Las Vegas GP for Red Bull Racing and Mercedes' George Russell finished atop the podium in 2024.

  --Field Level Media

Denny Hamlin, who won the NASCAR Cup series race at Michigan International Speedway last Sunday, will not compete this weekend in Mexico City due to the birth of his third child and first son on Wednesday.

• Hamlin will stay in North Carolina with his fiancee Jordan Fish, two daughters and baby son. Ryan Truex will drive in his stead.

  "See you guys in Pocono," Hamlin posted on social media. "We are happy to announce the birth of our son. Everyone is doing well. My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family over the next few days when she is able to go home and we transition to life as a family of five."

  Fish was nearly two weeks past her due date and Hamlin was prepared to abandon the Michigan race if she went into labor. But the call never came and the veteran posted his third victory of the season and 57th of his career. He became the all-time wins leader for Joe Gibbs Racing, breaking a tie with Kyle Busch.

  Hamlin currently ranks third in the Cup Series standings after 15 races. His streak of getting behind the wheel in 406 consecutive races -- which dates back to 2014 -- will come to an end in Mexico City.

  NASCAR is expected to grant Hamlin a waiver so he can compete in the playoffs for the Cup Series Championship.

  Truex is Gibbs' reserve driver and will compete in a Cup series event for the first time since 2014.

  --Field Level Media

Following a head-on impact into the outside wall last Sunday at the NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is medically cleared to race on Sunday in Mexico City.

• Bowman, 32, made contact with Cole Custer on Lap 67, causing him to crash into the wall and lifting the rear tires off the ground. As a result of hitting the wall at approximately 150 mph, Bowman was done for the day.

  Bowman, who is dealing with soreness in the aftermath of the incident, missed five races late in the 2022 season after sustaining a concussion in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway. Two years ago, a sprint car crash injured his back and caused him to sit out three Cup races.

  Hendrick lined up Anthony Alfredo to be ready to fill in for Bowman as a precaution. Alfredo, a regular on the NASCAR Xfinity Series and a simulator driver for Hendrick, has 42 Cup Series starts under his belt, including this year at Talladega. He has logged two top-10 finished in the Cup Series.

  Bowman, whose most recent Cup Series win came last summer at the Chicago Street Course, looks to return to the winner's circle at another road course this weekend. After 15 races this season, he is 13th in the championship standings despite finishing 27th or lower in seven of the past nine races. Five of those races saw Bowman come in 35th or higher.

  --Field Level Media

MEXICO CITY - Amid much anticipation from fans and teams alike, the NASCAR Cup Series has arrived in Mexico City for the series' first points-paying international race in seven decades.

• Sunday's race is aptly named Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

  The industry has long been preparing for this inaugural visit to the renowned 2.42-mile, 15-turn road course in the middle of bustling Mexico City. And perhaps no one is more eager for NASCAR's Mexican arrival than Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez, who has made multiple visits to his home country in support of the event.

  "I'm super excited, regardless of what happens on Sunday," said the Monterrey, Mexico-native, who has competed -- and won three times -- on the track's oval-configuration while racing in the NASCAR Mexico Series, which will also be competing this weekend.

  "I'm super excited for the event. I'm super excited to live in the moment because the first time is going to only happen once. I'm really trying to be as present as possible; enjoy the moment and try to execute the best possible weekend that we can. We know that we are capable of winning the race, but that's not the goal. The goal is the execution of the entire weekend, and hopefully the win is the result of the execution part."

  Suarez, who scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win on a road course at Sonoma, Calif., in 2022, has been a vital supporter of this initiative. For months, the popular driver has starred in the NASCAR commercials promoting the Mexico race -- the script depicting him trying to teach fellow racers how to speak in Spanish.

  "At first, I thought man, I don't know if this is going to work out, like, I don't think this is going to be funny," Suarez said smiling. "And honestly, it turned out amazing. I give a lot of credit to NASCAR for trying all these different things.

  "I think people are liking it. Drivers are embracing it. And, obviously, I'm having fun with it. I'm the one teaching the language, so for the first time, I feel like I'm in my zone, so that's good."

  Suarez is certainly among the group of drivers hoping a new venue may produce different results. The driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet is ranked 28th in the championship with 11 regular season races remaining to set the 16-driver playoff field.

  Others traditionally considered road course aces similarly see this as a big opportunity to punch a playoff ticket.

  Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger, Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell and Suarez' Trackhouse teammate Shane Van Gisbergen are all some of the most talented road racers in the sport and all are still looking to earn a victory this season. Many sit well below the 16th-place playoff cut line.

  Six of the 14 regular-season races in the Next Gen Era have been won by drivers ranked 16th or worse in the standings at the time of their victory.

  "Everyone expects us to perform on road courses," said New Zealand's Van Gisbergen, who made the ultimate NASCAR debut winning at the Chicago street race two years ago in his very first start.

  "Not that we have been hanging out for (road courses), but the ovals have been a big learning process the last couple of months. It will be nice for sure to have a bit of a break and races on the types of courses I'm used to which means turning right."

  Hendrick Motorsports has won at eight different road courses - the most in NASCAR history. And four of the remaining 11 races will be on road courses.

  Hendrick's William Byron continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings -- up by 41 points on teammate Kyle Larson -- and both are considered favorites this weekend. Hendrick drivers -- Byron (two), Larson (two) and Bowman (one) -- have won five of the last eight road course races.

  If Elliott wins this weekend, he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart for second most road course wins all-time (eight).

  Last week's race winner, Denny Hamlin claimed his first career Xfinity Series win at the Mexico road course in 2006. Hamlin, Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing's Brad Keselowski are the only drivers to have raced at the circuit - competing in the Xfinity Series there. Busch won the 2008 Xfinity Series race there.

  RFK's Chris Buescher, who finished runner-up to Hamlin last week at Michigan, boasts the best road course average finish (8.7) in the Next Gen cars.

  --NASCAR Xfinity Series set for Mexico return

  The NASCAR Xfinity Series marks its return to Mexico with Saturday afternoon's The Chilango 150.

  The series has held four previous races at the famed Autodrome Hermanos Rodriquez - that Busch won.

  This is the second of seven road course races on the schedule. Series rookie, JR Motorsports' Connor Zilisch won at Circuit of The Americas from pole position.

  JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier earned his third win of the season in the series' most recent race, two weeks ago at Nashville. Allgaier is the reigning series champion.

  It marks the fifth time in the last eight years the veteran has scored at least three victories in a season. He holds a 92-point advantage in the championship standings over fellow three-race winner, Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill.

  The Illinois native has answered his first career title run with another top-shelf season in the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. He leads all drivers in laps led (638) and top-10 finishes (10). He's only eight top-10 finishes from 300 in his career -- a feat never before accomplished in the series.

  With 12 regular-season races remaining and six playoff spots still to be claimed, Mexico City certainly presents all the makings of an ultra-competitive weekend.

  Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs have the most road course wins (four) in this weekend's field. Interestingly, nine of the series' last 11 road course races have been won by just three drivers (Mayer, Van Gisbergen and Zilisch). And Mayer, who is ranked third in the standings, is still looking for his first win of the year.

  Gibbs (No. 19 Toyota) is among three NASCAR Cup Series regulars -- also Suarez (No. 9 Chevy) and Christopher Bell (No. 24 Toyota) -- racing Saturday. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie, Andres Perez De Lara will be making his Xfinity Series debut.

  Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning and historically has proven very significant on road courses with the polesitter winning 10 of the last 18 road course races.

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll will drive in his home-nation race, the Canadian Grand Prix, this weekend after undergoing a procedure to treat pain in his hand and wrist.

• Stroll, 26, missed the Spanish Grand Prix on June 1.

  The pain is believed to have stemmed from a 2023 medical procedure that was related to a cycling accident.

  "We are pleased to confirm that Lance Stroll will be back with the team competing in Montreal this weekend," a team statement read on Wednesday, declaring him ready to drive the 70 laps of the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.

  "He had a successful medical procedure to resolve the symptoms he has been experiencing and completed some laps in an old F1 car at Paul Ricard earlier this week.

  "Lance is feeling fit and healthy, and is excited to compete in front of his home crowd."

  Stroll said he was looking forward to being in the driver's seat.

  "I am excited to get back behind the wheel with the team for my home Grand Prix this weekend. I was always going to fight hard to be ready to race in front of the Montreal crowd.

  "I'm feeling good after my procedure and put some laps in at Paul Ricard this week to prepare. Thanks for all the support, see you guys this weekend."

  Stroll has 14 points on the F1 circuit this season, putting him in 12th place. His achieved his best position of 2025 in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix when he finished sixth.

  He has made 175 starts in Formula 1. His highest finish is third place, which he achieved three times.

  Stroll's billionaire father, Lawrence Stroll, owns the Aston Martin team.

  --Field Level Media

The FIA has granted a Formula 1 super license to Red Bull Junior racer Arvid Lindblad prior to his 18th birthday.

• The move comes following a request from his team for Lindblad, who will turn 18 on Aug. 8.

  Eighteen is the age traditionally required to hold a super license, however adjustments were made to the FIA International Sporting Code last year. The following line was added to the code:

  "At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a super license at the age of 17 years old."

  The FIA announced Lindblad's new status following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Macau, China.

  "After considering the information presented in support of this request, the World Council found that the driver has recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition and therefore approved the request," a statement said.

  Lindblad now is eligible to compete in an F1 race weekend.

  Red Bull currently has four drivers under contract in F1. Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda are part of the senior team, while Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson compete for the junior team.

  --Field Level Media

The 24-race Formula 1 slate for 2026 features a grand prix in Madrid replacing Italy's Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.

• Governing body FIA approved the calendar on Tuesday during a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

  The final race on Imola's current contract was last month, won by four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

  The 2026 race in Madrid, first announced in 2024, is scheduled for Sept. 13.

  The season opens in Melbourne, Australia, on March 8 and runs through Dec. 6 at Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

  Three races remain on the U.S. calendar: Miami (May 3), Austin, Texas (Oct. 25) and Las Vegas (Nov. 21).

  The 2026 F1 event schedule:

  --March 6-8, Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne

  --March 13-15, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai

  --March 27-29, Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka

  --April 10-12, Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir

  --April 17-19, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah

  --May 1-3, Miami Grand Prix, Miami Gardens

  --May 22-24, Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal

  --June 5-7, Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco

  --June 12-14, Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona

  --June 26-28, Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg

  --July 3-5, British Grand Prix, Silverstone

  --July 17-19, Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps

  --July 24-26, Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest

  --Aug. 21-23, Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort

  --Sept. 4-6, Italian Grand Prix, Monza

  --Sept. 11-13, Madrid Grand Prix, Madrid

  --Sept. 25-27, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku

  --Oct. 9-11, Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore

  --Oct. 23-25, U.S. Grand Prix, Austin

  --Oct. 30-Nov. 1, Mexico Grand Prix, Mexico City

  --Nov. 6-8, Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo

  --Nov. 19-21, Las Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas

  --Nov. 27-29, Qatar Grand Prix, Lusail

  --Dec. 4-6, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina

  --Field Level Media

Ram will return to the NASCAR Truck Series competition in 2026.

• The brand, then largely under Dodge ownership, won three manufacturers' championships (2001, 2003-04) and two driver titles -- Bobby Hamilton (2004) and Ted Musgrave (2005) -- when it previously competed in the Truck Series.

  The announcement was made before the Cup Series event Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

  Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota currently manufacture the Truck Series competitors.

  Ram, now part of global manufacturer Stellantis, has not had a truck in a NASCAR race since 2013. The last truck to join the circuit was the Toyota Tundra in 2004.

  "I know that this is something that we have been talking about for a long time, and it's something that we don't get to do very often," said John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, of the introduction of a new truck. "I think the last time we did this was over 20 years ago when Toyota entered our sport, so this is something that is a big moment for our entire sport and our existing competitors, potential new competitors, our [original equipment manufacturers]."

  Tim Kuniskis, Ram chief executive officer, said hopes are to have at least four Rams in the 2026 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Ram is looking for at least one team partnership.

  "We're looking for a date to the prom right now," Kuniskis said.

  Probst said he anticipates Ram will be "pretty aggressive in getting a good team lined up in their camp to go run their banner," adding discussions are underway with other manufacturers about adding other brands to the grid in the future.

  --Field Level Media

Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon's triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway - a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn't want to end, ultimately featuring 24 extra laps.

• The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had not been among the race's frontrunners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since winning at Texas Motor Speedway back in 2022. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger's Chevy by a slight .111-second - both drivers benefitting from a rash of late-race caution flags.

  With most drivers opting for the outside row on the final restart, Friesen was able to move up and take that inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win coming into the race.

  "I don't know what to say, thank you to Chris Halmer and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there's a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,'' Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win.

  While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team.

  "I don't know,'' he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently.

  "We weren't as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, Jeff kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. ... Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn't meant to be.''

  ThorSport Racing's Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position for the race, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports' Corey LaJoie making only his sixth truck series start.

  The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage featured seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win.

  A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day's strongest competitors - Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day.

  It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race's best - NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late race melee only to get a penalty following the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart.

  He led a race-high 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th.

  Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-10 in the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th - his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season-opener.

  Despite his 18th place finish, Heim stretched out his championship lead and now holds a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith.

  The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner.

  NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race - DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics

  Michigan International Speedway

  Brooklyn, Michigan

  Saturday, June 7, 2025

  1. (17) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 139.

  2. (14) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 139.

  3. (1) Luke Fenhaus, Ford, 139.

  4. (9) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 139.

  5. (24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 139.

  6. (3) Matt Crafton, Ford, 139.

  7. (4) Jake Garcia, Ford, 139.

  8. (31) Chandler Smith, Ford, 139.

  9. (12) Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 139.

  10. (18) Layne Riggs, Ford, 139.

  11. (2) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 139.

  12. (20) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 139.

  13. (15) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 139.

  14. (25) Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 139.

  15. (6) Ty Majeski, Ford, 139.

  16. (29) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 139.

  17. (23) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 139.

  18. (7) Corey Heim, Toyota, 139.

  19. (8) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 138.

  20. (5) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 136.

  21. (16) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 136.

  22. (27) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, Accident, 134.

  23. (22) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 132.

  24. (10) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 130.

  25. (21) Josh Reaume, Ford, 129.

  26. (26) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, DVP, 128.

  27. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 126.

  28. (19) Lawless Alan, Toyota, Accident, 126.

  29. (32) Morgen Baird, Ford, Accident, 83.

  30. (28) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, Accident, 83.

  31. (13) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 77.

  32. (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Engine, 3.

  Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.792 mph.

  Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory: .111 Seconds.

  Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps.

  Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers.

  Lap Leaders: L. Fenhaus 1;C. Hocevar(i) 2-5;C. Mosack # 6;C. Hocevar(i) 7-29;C. Heim 30-40;C. Hocevar(i) 41-49;C. Heim 50-67;K. Honeycutt 68;C. Hocevar(i) 69-81;K. Honeycutt 82;C. Hocevar(i) 83-86;G. Enfinger 87-110;R. Chastain(i) 111;G. Enfinger 112-113;R. Chastain(i) 114;C. Hocevar(i) 115-117;G. Ruggiero # 118-119;T. Gray 120;C. LaJoie 121-132;G. Enfinger 133-137;S. Friesen 138-139.

  Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Hocevar(i) 6 times for 56 laps; Grant Enfinger 3 times for 31 laps; Corey Heim 2 times for 29 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 12 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero # 1 time for 2 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 2 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 2 times for 2 laps; Stewart Friesen 1 time for 2 laps; Luke Fenhaus 1 time for 1 lap; Tanner Gray 1 time for 1 lap; Connor Mosack # 1 time for 1 lap.

  Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,7,81,98,45,18,66,44,34,77

  Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,7,98,45,81,44,17,15,38,66

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.

Chase Briscoe claimed his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series pole position Saturday morning, with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver taking top honors at Michigan International Speedway for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400.

• Briscoe's No. 19 JGR Toyota turned a lap of 195.514 mph for his fourth pole of the season -- just besting Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch, who will start alongside with a lap of 195.317 in the No. 8 Chevrolet. This equals Busch's best start of the season (also second at Talladega, Ala.).

  Briscoe's work marks the first time a driver has won pole positions at three consecutive races since Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson did it last April at Richmond, Michigan, and Texas.

  "I was surprised truthfully it held on,'' the 30-year-old Indiana native said of his fast lap. "It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be just holding it wide open. But our Bass Pro Shops has been pretty fast in race trim and I thought we could have been even better.

  "It will be nice starting up front and we've been able to do that now three weeks in a row but haven't been able to execute with it, so hopefully third time is a charm and hopefully we can finally get one on Sunday.''

  Briscoe's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, was third quickest in the No. 11 Toyota and will start alongside the current NASCAR Cup Series points leader, William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Interestingly, neither of those two championship teams has won on the 2-mile Michigan oval in a decade.

  The last win for Hendrick came in 2014 and the last for Gibbs in 2015.

  However, Hendrick's lineup now boasts a three-time Michigan winner in Larson, who scored his career first series victory at the track in 2016 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson will roll off fifth Sunday alongside another former Michigan winner (2023) Roush Fenway Keselowski's Chris Buescher.

  "I feel fine, that was an unfortunately part failure there,'' Larson said, assuring he was okay after flipping his car in a World of Outlaws race Friday night.

  "Felt good there today and held it wide open in qualifying, as did the whole field.

  "Hopefully, we can find a little more turn tomorrow. I think all of us being very similar on speed it will be difficult in traffic so having some turn will be a benefit. That's our main objective at this point.

  "But overall happy to qualify fifth there. That's honestly a little bit better than I thought we would be. Now we'll rest up and study and try to be ready for tomorrow.''

  Defending race winner, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick was 12th in qualifying - along with last week's Nashville race winner, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney suffering a tire problem in practice. Blaney will roll off 13th.

  --RFK'S BUESCHER FOR THE WIN

  Judging by the past two years, the summer months have been productive for Buescher.

  Last year he earned his only win of the season in September at Watkins Glen.

  Two years ago, the driver of the No. 17 RKF Ford scored all three of his victories in the summer - back-to-back at Richmond (July 30) and Michigan (Aug. 7), then won again at the end of August at Daytona International Speedway's regular season finale.

  Heading into this week's Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, Buescher is the only one among the three RFK drivers ranked above the Playoff cutoff line - 15th in the championship by Playoff standings; six points up on Kyle Busch in that last Playoff position and only eight points up on his RFK teammate Ryan Preece in 17th.

  Buescher is of course hopeful that he can reclaim some of that Michigan magic on the two-miler. He led a race high 52 of 200 laps and beat Martin Truex Jr. by a slight 152-second for his win two years ago. He has only three top 10s in 14 Michigan starts - but two in the last two races (win and sixth last year). It's not enough to make him over-confident but does give him some optimism heading into the all-important summer months of competition. With points so close, a victory may be the best option to earn a Playoff bid.

  "You can't depend on points to get you in the playoffs when it's as tight as it is every week,'' Buescher said. "I think that's been our mindset, which means that ultimately wherever we bounce around that [Playoff cutoff] line we'll be aware of it, but it's a matter of figuring out how to go win races and we haven't done that yet.

  "We've not been quite good enough and we're working on trying to clean up some of the detail work and study a little harder and be better from my end behind the wheel and make it to where we basically lock ourselves in on that side of it and don't have to have any of that thought in the back of our heads.

  "But I certainly don't want it to be what we're sitting here thinking of how can we get two points here, three points there and try and just feel like we can skate our way in. It doesn't work. Ultimately, you can't count on that when it comes down to the end."

  --HOCEVAR AND STENHOUSE

  In last weekend's race at Nashville Superspeedway, 22-year-old Carson Hocevar and veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. collided on track -- ending the day for Stenhouse. But Hocevar was able to rally to a second-place finish - tying his career best showing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

  After the race, Stenhouse was understandably riled, but both drivers report that they have spoken, and all is good moving forward even if they don't necessarily agree on how last week played out.

  "Me and him both have the reputation, I guess, of being aggressive at times and everything, so at that one point, we both reminded each other that even with those reputations, we've raced each other very well together, right?'' the Michigan-native Hocevar said Saturday morning, before practice. "It clashes together. So, yeah, I mean we've had no issues before, as he had said, and I feel like we've had a decent relationship leading up to this."

  Stenhouse told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week that he was satisfied with the conversation between the two, "I thought it was productive and, based off his comments, I felt like it was received productive."

  Hocevar, who qualified 14th for the NASCAR Cup Series race and is also competing in Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, seemed at peace with where things sit and conceded he would rather be talking about his No. 77 Spire Motorsports team's improvement. He's already had a career best pair of runner-up efforts and also earned three top-10s - half of his full season total last year.

  Asked Saturday if he was satisfied to be known for his aggressive driving style - some reporters comparing him to his hero Dale Earnhardt - Hocevar insisted he's just being himself.

  "Everything about me is real... like I'm not trying to play a part, try to fit a role or trying to pretend to be anybody,'' he said. "But, you know, it's for everybody else to decide on what they get and perceive of me. I know who I am and, you know, ultimately, I want to be known as me and sometimes that leads to comparisons."

  --PENSKE FOCUS

  Last week's Nashville race winner, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney was asked about the relief he felt finally earning that first trophy of the year -- and guaranteed Playoff position -- after being so close to wins multiple times this season. He insisted nothing would really "change" for his or his team's approach going forward.

  "It's really nothing different," the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion said. "We approach every week trying to win the race and no matter what spot you're in, whether you're not locked in on wins or you are. We did a great job last week of finally closing one out and you just try to do it again.

  "A lot of people talk about that. Is there a mindset change when you win and you get locked in? I've never really believed that. I've always, to me at least and our group, it's just we prepare every week like you're trying to win the race, whether you've won one, zero or five it's the same thing."

  --BABY WATCH

  Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin remains on "baby watch" for the second weekend. His fiancee, Jordan, is due to give birth to a baby boy -- their third child -- at any time. Hamlin flew back to his Charlotte-area home following Saturday afternoon qualifying to be with Jordan and will return to Michigan just prior to Sunday's green flag.

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

NASCAR star Kyle Larson escaped uninjured from a violent crash on Friday night in a sprint car race in Wisconsin.

• The former Cup Series champion was running second in a World of Outlaws race at the Plymouth Dirt Track when his winged vehicle flipped end-over-end before slamming into the catch fence.

  Larson, 32, who was able to climb out of the car unscathed, said that the right rear axle "or something" broke.

  "It just kind of launched me, and I was along for the ride," he said, per Motorsport.com. "Bummer, but I felt really good pacing Rico (Abreu) there and just finally catching traffic and get racing there. Glad I'm OK, big hit but all-in-all, feel fine."

  In addition to racing stock cars and sprint cars, Larson has also competed in the Indianapolis 500 in each of the past two years.

  Larson is scheduled to be behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Sunday's Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

  The 2021 Cup Series champion has three wins and 10 top-10 finishes this season and ranks second in the Cup standings, 48 points behind leader William Byron.

  --Field Level Media

There may not be a driver in NASCAR who is better at doing more with less than Ross Chastain.

• Chastain, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, currently sits ninth in the Cup Series standings through the first 14 races. Meanwhile, Trackhouse teammates Daniel Suarez and Shane van Gisbergen are 28th and 33rd, respectively.

  Trackhouse, while a very respectable organization, is not one that can consistently provide cars capable of winning races on pure pace.

  Chastain's ability to outperform his equipment was perhaps never more noticeable than in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. Driving a backup car after a crash in practice, he started 40th and finished first in one of NASCAR's crown jewel events. In a David Pearson-esque manner, Chastain quietly drove to the front of the pack before getting around leader William Byron with six laps to go and driving away.

  Chastain's remarkable effort furthered his reputation as a driver who is used to getting the most out of a car.

  "We don't have the speed that we've had the last couple of years, and the sport kind of ebbs and flows, and teams have periods of a lot of winning and then get passed by and have to kind of regroup or re-engineer the team to get back. That's kind of like where we're at right now," owner Justin Marks said after Chastain's win in the Coke 600.

  "Ross, you know, he's such an elite talent, and he's really one of the founding members of this organization. What I've said throughout the year is, the problem that we have to diagnose is the fact that we don't unload with a lot of speed."

  There was a time in 2022 when it looked like Chastain would no longer have to push the limits of machines that weren't up to winning.

  In the first year of NASCAR's Next Gen car, Chastain notched the first two wins of his career with Trackhouse en route to a Championship 4 appearance. But over the last two and a half years, the top dogs of the Cup Series -- Hendrick, Penske and Gibbs -- have figured things out and reclaimed their spots on the mountaintop, slowly snuffing out the parity present in the Cup Series in 2022.

  Going into 2025, it was clear that Trackhouse was not at the level it was in 2022. Chastain managed to win two races in 2023 and one in 2024, but the speed that was under the hood of the No. 1 in 2022 was long gone. If Chastain wanted to get back to both victory lane and the postseason in 2025, he was going to have to do so with cars that were far from the best the garage had to offer.

  That's where Chastain's rough-and-tumble career proves to be one of his most valuable assets. For years, he drove for mid-pack teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. When a top-tier Xfinity Series program in Chip Ganassi Racing prepared to sign Chastain for the 2019 season, an FBI raid on the home of the CEO of DC Solar, who would've been Chastain's primary sponsor, shut down CGR's Xfinity Series program. In the Cup Series, Chastain raced for the likes of Premium Motorsports, a backmarker team with no prospect of ever sniffing the front of the field.

  So when Marks and Trackhouse came knocking and signed Chastain in 2022, his aggressive, no-holds-barred driving style stuck around. Today, it's his trademark -- there isn't another driver getting everything out of his car quite like Chastain.

  If there's one good thing about Trackhouse's speed lagging slightly behind its peers, it's that the garage is finally seeing how valuable Chastain is as a driver. In a year where Trackhouse has struggled to unload with speed for practice and qualifying on Saturday, Chastain has dragged his No. 1 to seven top-10 finishes. His teammates, on the other hand, have a total of four between them. Chastain has also been the highest-finishing Trackhouse driver in nine of the 14 races.

  On the heels of an 11th-place finish at Nashville on June 1, Chastain is looking for his second victory of the season at Michigan on Sunday. If the No. 1 doesn't have winning pace, don't be surprised if you see him mounting another patented charge into the top-10 in a manner that makes him one of the most valuable drivers in NASCAR.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

Formula 1 is hot on the tail of the big dog of professional sports marketing, the NFL, and cleared $2.04 billion in sponsorship revenue in 2024.

• SponsorUnited, which tracks sponsorship and advertising takes across sports, had F1 and its teams behind only the NFL at $2.5 billion in total sponsorship revenue.

  The total advertising spend for F1 in 2025 is on course to exceed $2.5 billion, according to Ampere Analysis.

  But major U.S. sponsors such as American Express and IBM still are flowing in with the circuit catapulting in popularity off the success of Netflix series "Drive to Survive" while thriving under the control of Liberty Media.

  F1 tops the NBA, MLB and NHL and its racing teams each accounted for more than $6 million, according to the report, which breaks down the airbox and sidepod ad placement cost at more than $5 million for the most popular drivers on the circuit.

  Tops among individual sponsor agreements with F1 is the 10-year, $1 billion pact with luxury conglomerate LVMH, which holds a portfolio anchored by TAG Heuer, Louis Vuitton and Hennessy.

  The largest sponsor for any F1 team is the Williams contract with Australian software corporation Atlassian valued at a reported $25 million to $30 million per year.

  On the NFL side, the most significant singular sponsorship commitment is with Pepsi. That contract is worth a reported $2 billion over 10 years for exclusive rights at all NFL events and use of the league's trademark in advertising.

  With F1, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren are the highest earners in the sponsorship category.

  Car and driver technology accounts for nearly $500 million in partner income for the 10 teams, according to the report.

  --Field Level Media

A United States appeals court on Thursday vacated a preliminary injunction that allowed Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing and another NASCAR team to be treated as chartered teams, putting the teams' futures in NASCAR in question.

• 23XI Racing -- whose owners include Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin -- and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign a take-it-or-leave-it charter agreement NASCAR presented in September, while the other 13 organizations in the Cup Series proceeded to sign.

  The two holdouts filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR the following month. In December, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell granted the teams' request for a preliminary injunction to be recognized as chartered teams while their lawsuit was active.

  NASCAR slammed that decision and brought an appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. On Thursday, a three-judge panel unanimously ruled in NASCAR's favor and vacated the preliminary injunction.

  "In short, because we have found no support for the proposition that a business entity or person violates the antitrust laws by requiring a prospective participant to give a release for past conduct as a condition for doing business, we cannot conclude that the plaintiffs made a clear showing that they were likely to succeed on the merits of that theory," the decision read in part. "And without satisfaction of the likelihood-of-success element, the plaintiffs were not entitled to a preliminary injunction. ... We therefore conclude that the district court abused its discretion in entering the preliminary injunction that it did."

  23XI Racing and Front Row are still allowed to compete in the Cup Series, but having charter status guarantees them automatic spots in races and they would earn more money with a charter than as "open" teams. An open team must qualify their way into each race.

  They can also file for a petition for rehearing.

  --Field Level Media

At his current pace, Alex Palou might turn the season finale in Nashville into a championship celebration by clinching his fourth title in five years prior to the Music City Grand Prix in Tennessee on Labor Day Weekend.

• Sponsors and Indy Car officials understand the reality of the circumstance, with Palou potentially wrapping up a championship in Portland.

  "I think we need to celebrate what Alex is doing," said Scott Borchetta, founder of the race's title sponsor Big Machine and Borchetta Bourbon. "This is Michael Schumacher time. This is (Ayrton) Senna time. This is Jeff Gordon time. So if he has to clinch in Portland, which is possible, we've got to make sure people come and see one of the greatest of all time. This guy is on the precipice of four championships in five years. You just put the biggest crown jewel in that crown, and you don't want to miss this guy. He's just a little bit better than everybody else.

  "... Yeah, he probably will clinch, so we're already prepared for that. You don't want to miss it. It's still going to be a showdown. It's still the battle of Music City. You've still got to see this race."

  President of the Music City Grand Prix Anne Fischgrund said Borchetta turned over management of the September race to Penske Entertainment with future plans for the race to return downtown from the oval at Nashville Superspeedway as soon as 2027.

  "I can tell you there's a lot of interest in the race returning downtown. The mayor is absolutely in favor of it," Fischgrund said. "There's a lot of development going on, not just the stadium but we refer to that part of Nashville as the East Bank, and there's a huge development happening all across that area in the East Bank.

  "So what we're trying to do is have conversations to build it into the infrastructure. If we do this right -- the vision has always been, let's be the Monaco of the south. So we've got a lot of work to do, but the conversations are ongoing, and that's my hope."

  --Field Level Media