The journey to becoming a NASCAR Xfinity Series champion was as much about redemption as it was about racing. After years of coming agonizingly close, the 38-year-old clinched the title for JR Motorsports. After a tumultuous race in Phoenix, Justin Allgaier finished second in the event, which was good enough to win the championship.
However, the road to victory wasn’t without its emotional toll. In the buildup to the race, Justin Allgaier admitted that ‘losing face’ weighed heavily on him. He talked about the internal battle he fought to get the trophy so he wouldn’t have to face another Monday without it, post-race. The thought of failing after such a promising season pushed him to do his best.
How Justin Allgaier overcame adversity to deliver a championship for JR Motorsports
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The victory marked a milestone not only for Allgaier but also for JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller. During his ten years on the team, Allgaier developed strong relationships with many of his teammates. Backing Allgaier through thick and thin has been Brandt, an agricultural firm from his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. Since 2011, Brandt has been Allgaier’s primary sponsor, offering unwavering support during his journey to the Cup Series and return to Xfinity.
“Walking into the garage knowing we hadn’t gotten it done before was tough,” he said in a podcast interview with Mike Bagley. “I couldn’t bear the idea of letting everyone down again. That fear drove me to give it everything, and I’m proud of how we turned it around on race day.” A lot of Allgaier’s performance can be attributed to his sense of accountability and determination to succeed. Ultimately, he not only won his first Xfinity Series title but also gave JR Motorsports its first title since 2018.
For Justin Allgaier, the Phoenix race was a true test of his grit. The troubles began on Friday during practice, when Allgaier spun out and crashed thanks to an oil spill. However, it meant he had his backup car for the race. Add to that, Allgaier started the race from the back of the pack. Although he made his way through the field to the top, he faced issues toward the end of the race. Despite back-to-back penalties, he clawed his way back to second place. However, that was enough to win the Xfinity championship.
via Imago BRISTOL, TN – SEPTEMBER 15: Justin Allgaier 7 JR Motorsports BRANDT Chevrolet looks on before the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity Series Playoff Food City 300 on September 15, 2023, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: SEP 15 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Food City 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2309151674 | Image Credits: Imago
In a moment that summarised years of efforts, Allgaier didn’t forget his team. After all, it was Dale Jr’s unwavering support that led him to the moment. “I’ve been with this group for 10 years, and to see it all culminate in a championship feels surreal,” Allgaier said post-race. Adding, “This championship is as much for Brandt as it is for JR Motorsports and myself. It’s special to represent Springfield and central Illinois on such a big stage.”
The Phoenix race itself was a microcosm of the ups and downs Allgaier has experienced throughout his career. After wrecking his primary car in practice, frustration boiled over as he punched a toolbox before resetting his focus for Saturday’s championship decider. Starting from the back of the field with a backup car, he faced multiple setbacks, including penalties for a restart violation and speeding, which put him a lap down.
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What Setbacks did Dale Jr.’s Champion Overcome?
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Allgaier proved to be a master strategist regardless of these challenges. Late in the race, he came back into contention with an alternative pit strategy. By the final laps, he was leading the championship race, holding off Cole Custer and Austin Hill. Riley Herbst passed him for the race win in the closing moments, but Allgaier was unfazed. The championship was his. First overtime finish triggered by Leland Honeyman spinning with three laps to go. It seemed fitting that the championship would be decided in overtime given the record number of overtime finishes in 2024.
Justin Allgaier lost two positions after spinning his wheels and stalling in his pit stall during his final pit stop. The Dale Jr. champion joked that he must have been trying to keep things exciting for the fans during the chaotic race. “We tried to give it away every which way we could,” he quipped.
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Off the track, Allgaier’s confidence has soared thanks to his run in Kyle Larson‘s Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 car earlier this year. It was a turning point, reaffirming his driving skills. Despite his success, Allgaier stays with JR Motorsports, evaluating the stability and relationships the team offers over a full-time Cup run. “I’d love to go back to Cup racing someday, but I have an incredible situation here at JR Motorsports,” he said. “Dale and Kelley understand me, and this is where I belong right now.”
Allgaier’s road to consecutive championships has already begun. Having just won the title, he took part in a Goodyear tire test at Rockingham Speedway, ready to keep going. It might have been his fear of failure that drove him, but it was his ability to turn adversity into triumph that defined him. Now that he’s in the NASCAR record books as a champion, Justin Allgaier can finally breathe easy.

Legacy Motor Club’s Toyota race cars were nonexistent throughout the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. The only time the viewers got engaged with the LMC drivers was when they were involved in wrecks or accidents on the racetrack. That’s how bleak the results were for the two entries #42 of John Hunter Nemechek and #43 of Erik Jones.
Jimmie Johnson’s team has never been shy of making changes to level up and be competitive. For the first time, they switched manufacturers, going from Chevrolet to Toyota, fulfilling the team’s ambitious plans. But those plans and expectations seem to have fallen flat if we are to judge their season based on results. LMC is currently transitioning from Chevrolet to Toyota, but given the streak of changes in the team, they haven’t really gained any ground.
So the question begs, Did Legacy Motor Club make a mistake in ditching Chevrolet and partnering with Toyota? Well, team co-owner Jimmie Johnson doesn’t think so. Rather, he believes that the team will have to take this as a learning curve and adapt to the new challenges of NASCAR racing.
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Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club will get through these tough times
One of the primary reasons Legacy Motor Club left Chevrolet was that their roster was overcrowded. With so many teams in line, they didn’t feel that they would be prioritized, and that could’ve stalled their on-track progress. With only two teams signed with Toyota, they saw this as an excellent opportunity to establish their name as a premier partner. One of the key points to be noted here is that, unlike 23XI Racing, LMC didn’t partner with Joe Gibbs Racing as a technical partner.
“This is a long-term play for us with Toyota. We thought this year would be a bit smoother, and it wasn’t. In that are lessons for us. It is what it is. There’s nothing we can do about it except work harder and get better. That’s what we’re gearing up for.” Jimmie Johnson said this while speaking to NASCAR. Basically, LMC is trying to build its own racing program without the support of Big Brother teams, and that can be tedious at times. Despite being stacked up against the odds, Johnson believes, his team is positioned, “very well for the future,” with Toyota.
Nemechek with the #42 team, could only muster four top-10 results, finishing the season 34th in the standings. Erik Jones at times was consistent, but the P5 finish in the fall race at Talladega was the only positive result of his entire season. Jones is a former two-time Southern 500 winner, but to see him struggle to get speed out of his race car was a hard watch.
Johnson and his team didn’t expect this tough of a grind when pairing with the new OEM partners. However, they’ve now accepted that it is all part of the journey. “We couldn’t have tried any harder this year. It’s just part of the journey is probably the best way to put it. I think this year has been a very transformational year for us. We won’t have a great sense of the change until we get into probably March of next year.”
via Imago NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Test Session Jan 24, 2023 Avondale, AZ, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson prepares to climb into his Legacy Motor Club car during testing at Phoenix Raceway. Phoenix Phoenix Raceway AZ USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 20230124_mjr_su5_002
While Legacy Motor Club is still trying to find the parts and pieces to make their program work, the two new teams have already proven themselves. Both 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing are new to the sport, but unlike LMC, they have made it to the championship race in 2024 and 2022, respectively. There is one glaring detail that sets these teams apart, and LMC would not like to hear what it is.
Does Legacy Motor Club need to get on board with JGR?
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A technical alliance helps the new teams get a jump start on their racing journey. It includes the sharing of data and new race strategies through the R&D departments. However, the teams have to shell out cash from their pockets to get access to this information. Truth be told, given the results, both Trackhouse and 23XI have been able to get, the technical alliance is indeed a difference-maker.
Trackhouse, with their driver Ross Chastain, made it to the championship 4 in their very first season back in 2022. And 23XI Racing did the same with Tyler Reddick and the #45 team. They won the regular season championship title and made it all the way to Phoenix. In just a short period of time, along with 8 Cup wins, 23XI Racing is proving to be a powerhouse team. Interestingly, Trackhouse has also won the same number of races since its debut in 2021.
Well, it’s all good trying to build a race program from scratch, but at what cost? LMC has zero wins to show for their efforts, and with the changing dynamics of the sport, they just might always play catch up to these teams. Even Johnson acknowledges the rapid changes NASCAR racing undergoes within a year or two. “The sport has evolved a bunch in the last two years.”
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It’s fair to say the 2025 season is going to prove a huge challenge for LMC. And if things still don’t improve, they’ll have to rethink their planning or perhaps just sign up with JGR on a technical alliance.

Things aren’t looking good for 23XI Racing. They took on an uphill fight against NASCAR, with a lawsuit challenging the existing charter system. At the same time, their driver Tyler Reddick faced a tough battle in the Championship race, eventually losing out to Joey Logano. If that wasn’t enough, Michael Jordan and Co. had their injunction to race in 2025 dismissed by a federal judge.
In what seems to be a string of unfortunate events, there was a small ray of sunshine for 23XI fans, their new driver. After Michael Jordan and Co. teased the arrival of a new member in the team (despite not finalizing the purchase of a third charter), they faced a massive backlash from fans who were not happy with the new signing, Riley Herbst.
Riley Herbst was picked as Michael Jordan’s third driver
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With the exit of Stewart-Haas Racing after decades of winning races, there was the question of what would happen to their charters. Luckily for Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin came looking for another charter. They wanted to add a third car to their roster. However, with the lawsuit unfolding, things stalled on the charter. As 23XI appealed for their failed injunction, they didn’t hesitate to announce who would fill the third seat. It was Riley Herbst.
While Riley Herbst didn’t win the Xfinity Series title, he did win the final race at Phoenix, finishing the season 7th. Although this has been his best finish, Michael Jordan believes that he is ready to take on the Cup Series. He put up a tough fight against the charging Justin Allgaier who looked to secure his first-ever Xfinity title.
In a recent announcement, Bob Pockrass revealed, “23XI Racing names Riley Herbst as the driver of its new car, the No. 35 (the 3 from 23 and the 5 from 45 combined for 35). Monster to sponsor. Herbst brings crew chief Davin Restivo with him to 23XI as crew chief. TBD on charter status (supposed to acquire one from SHR).” His most recent wins came at some iconic tracks—Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Phoenix, capping off his 2024 season in style. Now, with 23XI Racing, he’s looking forward to taking that momentum into NASCAR’s top series.
“I’m excited to start my Cup career with such an accomplished and driven team,” said Herbst. “Racing full-time in the Cup Series has been my goal since I started in NASCAR.” This announcement comes as 23XI Racing enters its fifth season and continues to expand its footprint in the Cup Series, joining veterans Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick as Herbst’s teammates.
Looking at the upcoming lineup of 23XI Racing, fans are not happy to23XI Racing announces their new Cup Series driver, but fans are questioning the decision over a popular alternative see Riley Herbst get a seat in the Cup Series car as most of them have been vouching for Corey Heim’s time. Although Corey Heim was speculated to join Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin‘s team, his second-place finish in the Xfinity Series championship was not enough to get him a spot in the Cup Series team and this was something that the fans were just not having.
Corey Heim emerges as a fan favorite despite Riley Herbst finding a seat in the Cup Series
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Fans aren’t keeping their frustrations with 23XI Racing’s decision to bring in Riley Herbst a secret. Their reactions are both sharp and vocal. The general sentiment is one of disbelief, with many questioning the logic behind putting Herbst, who has won just three races in over three years, into a Cup Series car. “What a M- joke. Dude has 3 wins in 3+ YEARS. Corey Heim >>>” sums up the disappointment of fans who believe that Corey Heim, who finished second in the Xfinity Series championship with many more wins, would have been a much better pick for the seat.
Some fans are taking the criticism to a personal level, calling Herbst a “spoiled rich kid” who hasn’t proven enough to earn a Cup seat. One fan rips into the situation, saying, “Great. Another spoiled rich kid about to fill the cockpit.” It also highlights a big part of signing drivers – sponsorships. Backing Riley Herbst is Monster Energy, a big name in the motorsports world. In addition to them, Herbst also brings in a whole host of other sponsors for the team. In the end, it might just be a practical choice considering Michael Jordan and Co. may have to run as an open team in 2025.
A few fans are speculating that this move might be more about the lawsuit than racing talent. One user, for instance, believes Denny Hamlin might be using this decision as a strategic play in the ongoing legal battle. “Convinced Denny is only doing this for more of a case in his lawsuit. He’ll say he wanted to hire Heim but was forced to hire Herbst to stay financially afloat. What a joke either way.” It’s clear that for some, the decision feels like part of a larger corporate game rather than a merit-based move.
via Imago Corey Heim
Others are more cautious and unsure about Herbst’s readiness, questioning whether he’s truly prepared for the jump to the Cup Series. “Anyone else think this move is a little too soon for Riley?” a fan asks, reflecting the skepticism that many have regarding his qualifications. This is also augmented by the fact that Riley Herbst only managed three wins in seven seasons. With Tyler Reddick, 23XI had an Xfinity champ coming on board. Fans don’t think Michael Jordan and Co. made a wise choice with the Herbst pick.
Lastly, some fans seem baffled by the entire situation, seeing it as a series of missteps. “Ultra-extreme reach for a developmental driver >Default, low-paying Monster sponsorship >No charters next year. This seems like a good idea.” For them, it’s a mix of questionable decisions—picking a development driver who hasn’t shown much, taking on a sponsorship deal with Monster that feels like a default option, and the uncertainty about charter status for the next season. All in all, they’re left scratching their heads.
Do you think that 23XI Racing should have gone with Corey Heim instead of Herbst? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Brad Keselowski is a man on a mission. As co-owner of RFK Racing, he’s been busy trying to steer the team to the top of the NASCAR world, behind the wheel as well as the desk. With a resurgent 2023 and an even stronger 2024, the team has made it clear they’re not just here to race—they’re here to win. Now, rumors are swirling that RFK Racing is set to make its biggest move yet: running the #60 car full-time in 2025.
But this isn’t just about adding another car. It’s a piece in a much bigger puzzle. This story entails alliances, strategy, and a driver and leader in Keselowski, who’s methodically laying the groundwork for RFK’s next big chapter.
Growing RFK Racing and Brad Keselowski’s ambitions
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Brad Keselowski’s journey with RFK Racing has been nothing short of transformative. When the 2012 Cup Series champion joined as co-owner in 2022, he didn’t just bring his name—he brought a vision. Rebranding the team as Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK), the 40-year-old has breathed new life into a struggling operation. The team’s first win since 2017 came earlier this year at Darlington, a moment that not only ended a years-long drought but signaled RFK’s resurgence as an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with. For Keselowski, that victory was just the beginning of what’s shaping up to be a bold new chapter for the team.
When it comes to building a successful team, Keselowski knows you can’t just slap on a logo and hope for the best. “A lot goes into growth,” he shared on MRN’s NASCAR Live podcast with Mike Bagley. “You can’t just flip a light switch and start a race team from scratch.” For RFK Racing, that growth starts with partnerships. Over the past year, the team has teamed up with Rick Ware Racing and brought Haas Factory resources into the fold. The payoff? Access to essential equipment like cars, haulers, and pit boxes. But more importantly, it’s a strategic partnership that could help RFK Racing punch above its weight.
Another one of the team’s secret weapons was the #60 car, which ran part-time in 2024. It wasn’t just about getting a car on the track—it was a way to test the waters and figure out what it would take to expand without compromising performance. Keselowski explained, “You’ve got to work your way into it with the talent particularly and take care of…even the capital that it takes to do it.”
USA Today via Reuters Feb 15, 2024; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (6) before the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
This meticulous approach has been all about building for the long haul. And with whispers of Ryan Preece stepping into the #60 full-time next season, Keselowski hinted at the bigger picture. “It’s super intentional,” he said. “I would think it’s the path for us to get to where we can continue to race for wins and hopefully a championship.” It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in the NASCAR world. Keselowski kept hinting at the addition of a third car for the RFK camp in the final leg of the NASCAR season.
The alliance with Rick Ware Racing has also been key, especially when it comes to securing a charter. With NASCAR’s charter market in chaos, RFK opted to lease a charter as a short-term solution. Team President Steve Newmark called it a “short-term fix,” and while Keselowski kept the details close to the vest, he confirmed, “We’re gonna run this charter next year, and that will be good for everybody.”
Ryan Preece: A second chance in the #60
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If you’re one of the few Ryan Preece fans, 2024 probably felt like a nail-biter. After Stewart-Haas Racing shut its doors, Preece was left in limbo while his former teammates landed on their feet. Chase Briscoe joined Joe Gibbs Racing. Noah Gragson signed with Front Row Motorsports. Even rookie Josh Berry scored a ride with Wood Brothers Racing. Preece? He was the odd man out.
But RFK Racing may have just handed him the lifeline he needed. Rumors have been flying that Preece is bringing a massive $20 million sponsorship deal from Kroger to the table, and if true, that’s a game-changer—not just for Preece, but for RFK as a whole.
Preece’s appearances in the #60 car this year gave fans mixed feelings about the 34-year-old’s ability. The 2024 season has been largely unimpressive according to some due to his regular finishes outside the top 20. However, there were small glimpses of what he is capable of. With five top-ten finishes, with one of them being a fourth-place finish in Nashville, the potential is there, and now he has a chance to prove Brad Keselowski right and the critics wrong with a full-time ride in 2025. For Preece, it’s more than a new seat. It’s redemption—a shot to show he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
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And let’s not forget the #60 car itself. This isn’t just any expansion—it’s part of RFK Racing’s bigger vision. Adding a third car means more resources, more opportunities, and more chances to compete for wins. With Keselowski’s leadership, Chris Buescher’s steady performance, and Preece’s drive to change his narrative, RFK is shaping up to be a serious contender in the next few years.

This past weekend, Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul’s fight has been making all the noise on social media platforms. This was indeed a highly anticipated bout between the former heavyweight boxing champion and a YouTube sensation. Although most of the fans were rooting for Tyson’s win, it was Jake Paul who was deemed the winner by the unanimous decision.
The outcome of this fight has certainly become a huge talking point ever since. The most common complaint was the lack of intensity and the fight living up to the hype. Some conspiracy theorists even went as far as to say that Tyson threw the fight so that Paul could win. Pumped after the victory, Paul even challenged former UFC champion Connor McGregor to a fight. But NASCAR and IndyCar driver Conor Daly misunderstood Paul’s message, and he challenged him in return.
Conor Daly isn’t afraid to fight Jake Paul in the ring
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Despite the criticism and arguments about Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s fight, the event was a massive success. The fight that took place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, attracted a total of 72,300 fans. Moreover, the entire event was streamed on Netflix, and it hit a peak watching of 65 million around the world, whereas it hit 38 million concurrent streams in the United States.
There are also reports that despite losing the fight, Mike Tyson took home a good $20 million. And this astronomical figure is something that Conor Daly has his eyes on. Racing is indeed an expensive sport, and with the backing of sponsors or a racing family, it is hard for a driver to continue racing at the highest level. In Daly’s case, he’s still on the hunt for his full-time ride in IndyCar.
A couple million dollars certainly would do the trick for Daly, and this is why he sent out a challenge to Jake Paul. “I know those guys made insane money doing that fight, and it didn’t even look like that much of a fight. So why not throw a tweet out there and saying, Hey, if this is to me, I mean, consider me locked in; the price I get paid is maybe 6-10 million dollars? Maybe we have a conversation, so would I be actually willing to do that? I will almost do anything to get in a race car for a full-time IndyCar.” Daly said this while speaking to Dirty Mo Media.
Without a full-time commitment to the IndyCar Series, Daly did feature in the Xfinity and Truck Series races. He finished P14 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway driving the #26 Sam Hunts Racing car. Whereas out of the three Truck races, the 17th place finish was his best driving the Niece Motorsports truck. However, not everyone from the NASCAR community was thrilled to see Mike Tyson go down without a fight.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was expecting a Mike Tyson knockout
For many like Dale Jr. who watched Tyson at his peak, they were expecting at least a knockout blow from him. Although he wasn’t in the best shape possible because of his age, he still could’ve ended the fight with a lethal blow, which never came. Dale Jr. wasn’t even interested in knowing who was against Tyson; all he wanted was to see the opponent go down. But much to his disappointment, Tyson lost the fight, and he never got to see a real boxing match.
Disappointed by the whole event, Jr. hurled out a rant while speaking on DJD. “You did not give a sh-t who the other guy was. When they got to fighting, I was like, ‘Who the hell was I to imagine that Mike Tyson could actually knock this guy out. I live in a fantasy world where I thought, damn, Mike Tyson, I hope he can knock this Well, it could have been my best friend in there with Mike Tyson. Whoever Mike Tyson gets in the ring with, I want a knockout.”
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Jr. even suggested that the whole fight was rigged, and he labeled the whole boxing buzz as a circus. “I don’t believe anything anymore. It’s really kind of turned into a circus. There’s not a true battle anymore. When you are watching all these matches, you feel like the ending’s already predetermined. It feels a lot like a match race that my dad might have ran with Kenny Schrader, where they’re like, let’s just make it look good.”
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Well, given all the punches and fists that have been thrown across NASCAR events, perhaps it’s time fans should get the taste of real action. Imagine Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. getting in a ring; it would be a hell of a show.

Having a powerful sponsor in NASCAR is one of the keys to success. Being backed up by someone like Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Budweiser and Busch beers, teams get a lot of funding and exposure, which is key to finding a good spot in the series championship. While Anheuser-Busch was reconsidering its sponsorship with HMS, they decided to exit the team and continue with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the driver left for his own venture.
Dale Jr.’s team was by no means in a bigger position than HMS in NASCAR; however, the sponsors believed that being the legacy of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., his son had something big coming for him. Although Junior did not win a Cup Series title, he today stands as one of the most popular motorsport drivers to ever live. So when Steve Uline, the sports marketing executive for Anheuser-Busch, came down to the Dale Jr. Download podcast, it was only fair that he revealed the story to Kelley Earnhardt Miller.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. bags Budweiser with his charm
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The story kicks off with a bit of frustration. As the sponsor for Hendrick Motorsport’s third car in 1998, the team wasn’t delivering results compared to their championship-winning cars. “We were the third car. I think we were the 25 cars there. We had Kenny Schrader, who we loved because he was a St. Louis guy,” recalls Steve Uline, the sports marketing executive for Anheuser-Busch. But despite a strong driver lineup, including Schrader and Ricky Craven, things just weren’t clicking. “We just weren’t having the success,” Uline admits.
At this point, the sponsorship team began to reevaluate. They looked at all sorts of drivers—top 10 contenders, under-funded teams with potential, and up-and-coming stars. That’s when they set their sights on Dale Jr., even though he had yet to win a Busch Series race. “Dale Jr. had not won a Busch Series race yet, you know. And, obviously, we had a relationship with your father through Busch beer,” Uline explains on the Dale Jr. Download. This connection through Junior’s legendary father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., sparked interest.
The timing felt right to make a change. “We’re big in the sport, probably the biggest, and certainly, we’ve got a big presence in NASCAR,” Uline recalls. But every week, they watched Rusty Wallace dominate while they struggled with their own driver lineup. “Rusty’s kicking our butt in the two cars,” Uline confesses, admitting that fierce competition in the beer world—especially with Miller—pushed them to make a move. “We didn’t want Miller beating us at anything,” he says, which fueled their desire to find a fresh face who could bring a new spark.
And that fresh face turned out to be Dale Jr. The deal was set in motion with a trip to Hendrick Motorsports, where Uline and Mike Hargrave, who oversaw motorsports for Anheuser-Busch, met with Rick Hendrick’s brother, John, to discuss a potential shift. “We decided to go after Junior… I flew down there with Mike Hargrave, who oversaw motorsports for us,” Uline remembers, setting the stage for one of the biggest sponsorship shifts in NASCAR history. However, that doesn’t come close to the extent that Dale Jr. has reached today when it comes to bringing in money for NASCAR.
Dale Jr. reveals a soundtrack update for the NASCAR video game
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently gave fans an inside look at the soundtrack for the upcoming NASCAR video game, which is being developed by iRacing. On the Dale Jr. Download, he shared that his long-time friend Steve Meyers at iRacing reached out to him for some help in putting together a killer playlist for the game. “One of the things that’s really important, I think, is trying to create a soundtrack,” Dale Jr. said. He even got a few drivers involved to pitch some songs, though he’s keeping their picks a secret for now. But it’s clear he’s all in on making it a soundtrack that fans will love.
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via Imago Dale Earnhardt Jr
To really get the ball rolling, Dale Jr. took his search for the perfect songs to social media. “I tweeted about it. I said, ‘Hey, what songs are a must?’” he said, and before long, the NASCAR Reddit community jumped on it. The thread quickly turned into a Molly Hatchet fan club, with the song “Flirting with Disaster” getting lots of love. “It was funny seeing the list of songs people suggested,” Dale Jr. said.
But it’s not all about picking songs—Dale’s also learning the ins and outs of getting the rights to music. “It’s not a simple situation,” he admitted. “You’ve got to reach out to the people who own the license, and sometimes it’s multiple people.” The game, expected to drop in the fall of 2025, will give fans an authentic NASCAR experience, and from the sound of it, the soundtrack is going to be a major part of that vibe.
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Does this make you want the NASCAR game even more? Share your thoughts in the comment below.

When one thinks of the late great Dale Earnhardt Sr., the first thing that comes to mind is his #3 Goodwrench car. A NASCAR driver is as memorable as his car number and the brand associated with him. Just ask Kyle Busch and M&M’s, Jimmie Johnson and Lowes, Jeff Gordon and DuPont, and many more. In a similar vein, one iconic brand has always been associated with Dale Earnhardt Jr., and that is Budweiser. The spearhead behind that iconic partnership was sports marketing executive, Steve Uline.
Recently. he sat down with Kelley Earnhardt-Miller on the Dale Jr. Download. The two enjoyed a great conversation, and among many topics discussed, they spoke about Dale Jr. and Budweiser. This comes on the back of step-mother Teresa Earnhardt finally relinquishing the #8 number, earlier this year. To make matters even better, Dale Jr. will not only compete in the South Carolina 400 dirt race but reunite with his #8 and Budweiser sponsor.
Uline revealed the history of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Budweiser sponsorship. According to him, there were a number of hurdles to navigate. However, he was adamant that Dale Jr. had to be the one to be under the Budweiser beer umbrella. The sports marketing executive also shared some interesting stories about the former NASCAR driver.
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Why did Budweiser choose Dale Earnhardt Jr.?
Uline told Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, “We knew we had the magic name. For us, we felt like he was going to have the right attitude, the right personality. We’re a beer company, we’re not selling milk, Kleenex, M&M’s. No offense to them, but you got to have the right person, right personality that it matches up. It’s real then, it’s truly real. He’ll tell you he didn’t like beer in the beginning, but he sure as hell ordered a lot of it down to his place. You heard the story that Ty told, it was on Dirty Mo with Junior. He told the story where the wholesaler called Ty. We called Ty and said, ‘The wholesaler called. He wants to know what’s going on. Jr’s ordering more beer than a lot of retail accounts are.’ We’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s good!’”
As one would expect, having a famous father was definitely a key that opened a number of locked doors. However, the move was not purely nepotistically motivated. According to the former Anheuser-Busch executive, another point in Dale Jr.’s favor was that he had the right attitude and personality. Of course, Dale Earnhardt laid out the foundation, and there was an element of risk involved.
via Imago Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Uline revealed that Dale Jr. was entering an era where the old dogs were still in their prime. As for himself, he was considered young, up-and-coming blood, and he was far from the only one. Another youngster who rose through the ranks with him was Matt Kenseth, and it was a fascinating time to be in. From there, Uline elected to take a calculated risk and inked a long-term deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Steve Uline tried to tip-toe his way through the deal, but once they left HMS, alarm bells started ringing at the Budweiser headquarters.
Steve Uline revealed his bold call
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He continued, “We didn’t even tell the Budweiser brand we were doing this, and that was a bone of contention. Who owns the sport, does the brand own the sport? Does sports marketing own the sport? There’s a jealousy part because it’s cool. When we put it together it was really Tony [Ponturo] and myself, nobody knew because we were afraid the word would get out that we were interested. You know how the word leaks. That day after I left Hendrick, somehow somebody said something, ESPN reported it that afternoon that we had broke that deal with Hendrick. Didn’t say who we’re going with, because we hadn’t done it yet. Budweiser guy called me that night and said, ‘You can’t do that! You can’t take my race car driver!’ I said ‘It’s done! You’ve got a problem, you talk to the guy whose name is on the building.’”
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In essence, he went behind Budweiser’s back to ink the deal. Though he and all parties involved tried to keep things hushed up, it eventually leaked out. Of course, the brand was furious, but Uline chose to stand his ground. Since then, Dale Earnhardt Jr and the #8 Budweiser car have become a truly iconic partnership. They have been together from 1999 all the way until 2007, when they were at Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Sadly, all good things had to come to an end, especially when he moved to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. Budweiser could not follow him there, and had to remain with DEI, and an iconic partnership was broken. Now, after nearly 25 years, the partnership will be back for the South Carolina 400 Late Model race.

The tension around NASCAR’s decision to cut the COTA course has sparked plenty of chatter. One old rival of Shane Van Gisbergen is adding fuel to the fire. Scott McLaughlin, who’s had his fair share of intense battles with SVG in Supercars, took to Twitter to reignite that fire.
The rivalry between McLaughlin and Van Gisbergen has always been captivating. Both drivers regularly battle for top spots and sometimes clash on the track. Now, with SVG making the leap to NASCAR, McLaughlin’s words add extra weight. Fans are debating whether the Kiwi’s road racing skills will give him a clear advantage at COTA. While many NASCAR fans aren’t thrilled about the course change, McLaughlin’s comment serves as a reminder of the kind of competitor SVG is. He might just excel, no matter the track.
What has the change of the COTA track sparked after the 2024 season?
Fans are fuming over a recent decision about the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) layout for NASCAR, and it’s got some heated takes. The big change? Instead of using the full 3.4-mile course, NASCAR will shorten it to the 2.3-mile national track, cutting out those long straightaways and shaving off a chunk of the action. The Cup Series race will likely run about 100 laps, while the Xfinity race’s lap count is still TBD.
Scott McLaughlin, who knows a thing or two about racing at COTA from his Supercars days, threw out a six-word warning for NASCAR fans, especially for Shane Van Gisbergen fans: “Shane Van Gisbergen gonna be all over it.” McLaughlin’s comment brings some heat because SVG, his old Supercars rival, is no stranger to dominating road courses, and fans are wondering if this shorter layout will give him an even bigger advantage.
The decision, however, has left many NASCAR followers rolling their eyes. A lot of fans feel like it’s a step back from the excitement of the full course, and it looks like they’re bracing for a race that’s a bit less thrilling than before. Whether McLaughlin’s prediction about SVG coming out on top rings true remains to be seen, but for now, fans aren’t holding back their frustration.
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What fans thought of the changes made to the COTA circuit
One fan didn’t hold back, calling the change a “lame” decision: “Another hacking of a track and better still, eliminating passing. Why do we even bother?” It’s clear they were not thrilled about the idea of less action on track, especially with the potential for fewer overtaking opportunities.
Another fan echoed that sentiment, taking a swipe at NASCAR’s recent track decisions: “NASCAR sure knows how to screw up great road courses!? Sonoma shortcut, no boot at Watkins Glen, and now this!!” This comment shows that the frustration isn’t just about COTA; it’s part of a growing trend of changes to iconic road courses that fans aren’t too keen on.
Then there’s the more passionate critique, with one fan directing their frustration at Fox Sports for possibly not being able to cover the new layout effectively: “I am not happy about this Jeff, this layout is wayyyyyyy worse for racing. Fox being lazy and unable to cover the actual track is just sad.” Clearly, this fan felt that the change would not only impact the racing itself but also the quality of coverage for viewers at home.
via Imago March 26, 2023, Austin, TX, United States of America: JORDAN TAYLOR 9 brings his car through the turns during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit Of The Americas COTA in Austin, TX. NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series 2023: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix – Jordan Taylor PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY – ZUMAa161 20230326_zaa_a161_040 Copyright: xWalterxG.xArcexSr.x
Some fans, though, weren’t entirely against the switch. One fan took a more wait-and-see approach: “Works for me try it and see what happens. The yellows were excruciating they were so long.” They seemed to think that experimenting with the layout could shake things up in a positive way, especially if it meant shorter caution periods, which had been a major gripe in the past.
Finally, one fan just seemed desperate for answers, simply asking: “Will someone answer why?” It’s clear that many are just confused and seeking clarity on the reasoning behind this sudden change.

23XI Racing had a lot on its plate this season. On the good side, Michael Jordan and his team achieved remarkable heights. Tyler Reddick clinched the Cup Series regular-season championship and was a solid threat for the final title. But the flip side of the team’s future is equally dismal. Currently, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are amidst a lawsuit waged against NASCAR. The cards are not falling in their favor, and 23XI’s recent move will not help things in the courtroom.
Michael Jordan recently recruited Riley Herbst – a dazzling Xfinity star who clinched two victories this year – to compete in the No. 35 Toyota under 23XI Racing. This deal, although proving the team’s unbounded growth, also shows that Jordan is still doing business with NASCAR. That is an argument that the sport’s lawyers could use against Jordan in the lawsuit.
Michael Jordan giving points to the adversary?
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When the 23XI Racing and FRM first filed the lawsuit, optimism reigned over the show. Having Jeffrey Kessler, a sports advocate who won cases like the NCAA antitrust lawsuit, brightened the teams’ hopes. But the dominoes started falling recently. Michael Jordan and Co. stated that NASCAR used “anticompetitive and exclusionary practices” in the sport. Also, they filed an injunction to protect their charter status for 2025, citing the risk of losing sponsors, drivers, money, and fan support as open participants. But a federal court judge turned down this request, claiming that the teams presented “only speculative, possible harm.”
The next domino to fall is probably Riley Herbst’s induction into 23XI Racing. This shows that Michael Jordan is striking deals with the “anticompetitive” executives of NASCAR which 23XI and FRM are waging a legal war against. Including Herbst also means getting a third charter, for which 23XI claimed NASCAR has enriched “themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.” So all this evidence may further convince the court judges to bend the lawsuit in NASCAR’s favor. Last week, Kessler said that 23XI is striking a deal with NASCAR for possible open-car racing, should the injunction appeal fail.
Kessler said NASCAR “has removed the anticompetitive release requirement in its open agreement” to allow 23XI and Front Row to operate as open teams. So Michael Jordan’s continued rapport with his legal adversary for the growth of his team weakens his legal case. Steve Lauletta, 23XI team president, curiously stated that roping in Riley Herbst is a well-timed decision. “As 23XI enters our fifth season next year, we felt the time was right to continue the growth of our organization by adding a third team, and Riley is a driver we think will be a great fit for us.”
Herbst’s induction is not the only factor that may shoot Michael Jordan’s case in the foot.
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Retired veteran hoping to drive under 23XI
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Denny Hamlin admittedly felt emotional when his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate announced his retirement. Martin Truex Jr. left full-time racing this year – but he does not wish to leave racing forever. And Hamlin is eager to take care of his comeback, promising him a Daytona 500 entry for next year. “23XI and (Joe Gibbs Racing) are kind of looking at the options and figuring out what’s the best avenue for it. Certainly, having Martin in the 500 is going to be exciting,” Hamlin said. Truex Jr. is rumored to wheel the No. 78 or the No. 56. He won the 2017 Cup championship with the No. 78 and has used the No. 56 throughout his career and calls that “my number.”
However, the caveat lies in the unresolved NASCAR lawsuit. With Riley Herbst hopping aboard the 23XI bandwagon along with Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, which charter will Truex Jr. race under? Yet his crew chief is already decided – Cole Pearn, with whom Truex Jr. won 24 races and a championship between 2015-19. The 34-time Cup Series race winner scratched his head at the strange scenario. “I mean as far as I know it’s all going still. I think we’re good. You never know these days, things change in a hurry, right?” Truex Jr. said with a laugh. “A lot going on like you said, I have no clue. But I feel confident I have a contract so that’s a good sign, right?”
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Evidently, Michael Jordan’s hanging lawsuit is leaving a lot of drivers’ 2025 plans under suspense. The next courtroom hearing is scheduled for December, so let us wait until then to see what happens.

“It looked like two guys who really didn’t want to get hit because they already had their paychecks.” One boxing fan captured possibly the main point of the recently publicized fight. And NASCAR veteran racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. concurs with this view. Mike Tyson, 58, left professional boxing nearly two decades ago. Even in his last fight in 2005, the legend quit on his stool before the 7th round against Kevin McBride.
This is not to belittle the champion boxer holding a record of 50 wins but to highlight the main reason for the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight. Older fans yearning to see “Iron Mike” tuned in to live out their nostalgia, while younger fans not aware of Tyson’s greatness rooted for Jake Paul. The point is, the entire fight was a grand ‘set-up’ to attract the bucks, according to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Mike Tyson was not looking to fight
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Well, come on, the legendary boxer recently had a serious health issue. Just 6 months ago, a sudden ulcer flare-up left him throwing up blood and eventually losing 26 pounds. Those effects were clearly visible during the fight, as Tyson could just land 18 punches across 8 sluggish rounds. Jake Paul, on the other hand, landed 78 – more than four times. The fight, streamed live on Netflix, ended 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73, overwhelmingly in Paul’s favor. However, maybe Tyson was not looking to win a fight after all these years. That is what Dale Earnhardt Jr. opined, making an allusion to his father, The Intimidator.
In a Dale Jr Download episode, Dale Jr. weeded out the caveat in the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight. “A lot of times, when you’re watching some of these matches, you feel like the endings are already pre-determined.” Then the 15-time NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver alluded to an imaginary exhibition race between Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Kenny Schrader. The 7-time champion and the 4-time Cup Series winner would have struck an accord on how to structure the race. “It feels a lot like a match race that my dad might have run with Kenny Schrader at some track where they’re like, let’s just make it look good…Let’s run side-by-side, we’re going to be a second off of what locals run here, nobody’s going to know…It’s going to look great. And I’ll cross the finish line first. “
If this was two or three decades ago, we would have seen the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” fight like the heavyweight champion that he was. However, now his age has caught up to him – and the need for showbiz compelled him to put on a show for fans. Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued, “I just remember being younger, maybe I was naive, and I just felt like two guys – both of them wanted to win badly. They would do whatever it took to accomplish that and the lead-up to the fight would showcase that. But now it seems more of a set-up. Do we all not walk away from a lot of these pay-per-views feeling duped? Time and time again, right?” Even Xfinity Series veteran Kenny Wallace agreed with Dale Jr. regarding this.
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Dale Jr. surmised correctly. The fight itself may not have ended favorably for Mike Tyson – but the payouts did.
Viewership shot through the roof
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Kid Dynamite may not have restored his former glory against Jake Paul. But his takeaway was huge – Mike Tyson made a reported $20 Million, while his opponent cashed in $40 Million. The boxing match also set betting records at sportsbooks, becoming the most heavily wagered upon fight in years. The Arlington, Texas face-off cracked records in BetMGM’s nearly seven-year history, attracting four times as much money as any combat event. The majority of the bets were on Tyson, a 2-1 underdog, but the largest ones were on Paul, including a $1 million wager placed with Caesars Sportsbook in Michigan. “[It] was unbelievable for business,” John Murray, executive director of the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, told ESPN.
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Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, compared the amount wagered to an NFL Monday night game. “We knew there would be tremendous interest in the fight, as the betting suggested it was a generational matchup in customer demographics,” Mucklow said. “Those old enough to remember a prime Mike Tyson got to live the nostalgia one last time, while those young enough not to know who Iron Mike was were firmly on the Jake Paul side of the counter.” Westgate Superbook executive director Murray continued his flabbergasted reaction. “Casino was packed. Bets flying in all day. I was stunned.”
Evidently, Dale Jr.’s assumptions were correct – it didn’t look like Mike Tyson was actually looking to win the fight. The publicized match broke records in terms of publicity, and that’s all that mattered.

Before Brad Keselowski became a NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of RFK Racing, he was just a young driver chasing a dream. Growing up in a racing family might sound like a golden ticket, but for Brad, it wasn’t quite that easy. His family’s legacy in motorsport came with plenty of passion but, contrary to popular belief, not a lot of cash. So when the opportunity of a lifetime came knocking, Keselowski had to figure out a way to make it work.
In a recent chat with YouTuber Stapleton42, Brad opened up about how a single phone call from Dale Earnhardt Jr. changed everything for him.
A phone call, a plane ticket, and a life-changing move
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The pair took a trip down memory lane, revisiting Keselowski’s hometown of Detroit, where they stopped by a whole host of iconic spots in his origin story. One of them was his old house, where he received the aforementioned phone call from the NASCAR legend.
As he reminisced, the 2012 Cup Series champion took viewers back to a fateful day 17 years ago: July 4th, 2007.
At 23 years old, Brad Keselowski was ready to take a big leap into the unknown. He had been trying to make a name for himself in the racing world, but there was one big problem: he was flat-broke. “I moved to North Carolina on my own on July 4th, 2007,” Keselowski said, reflecting on that pivotal moment. “I was a racer or at least trying to be a racer. And I remember, Dale Jr. called me. I told him I want to drive his race car. Absolutely, I want to, but I told him I don’t have any money to get to North Carolina.” said Keselowski.
Instead of letting Brad’s financial situation become a deal-breaker, Dale Earnhardt Jr. offered him a lifeline. “He said, ‘I understand, just stay in my guest house.’ And I lived in his guest house for probably a year.” Imagine that—showing up in North Carolina with nothing but a suitcase, only to find yourself living with one of the biggest names to ever grace the sport of NASCAR.
Keselowski still remembers his very first day there. “It was July 4th, and Dale was throwing a party, which was totally on brand for him. I thought, wow, I really made it here,” he recalled with a laugh. But despite the warm welcome, Brad knew this was no guaranteed ticket to the big leagues. “I was fully prepared, you know, being around racing long enough, opportunities come and go. I didn’t know if it was gonna stick,” he said.
Brad didn’t even have a car to make the move himself. “I didn’t own a car until I was probably 25. Dale bought me a plane ticket, and somebody picked me up at the airport,” he shared. That someone was NASCAR spotter TJ Majors, who drove him to his new home at Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s guest house. Funnily enough, fully expecting the dream to be short-lived, Brad had only packed enough clothes for a three-day trip. “That’s all I brought with me to North Carolina,” he laughed. “I didn’t know if this was gonna last, so why pack everything?”
From couch surfing to Cup Series Champion
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Life in North Carolina was a huge leap of faith, but it paid off in ways Brad couldn’t have imagined. Growing up in suburban Detroit, the Keselowski family put every penny they had into racing. His father, Bob Keselowski, was a familiar face in the NASCAR Truck Series, while his uncle Ron competed in the Cup Series back in the ‘70s. But the family’s dedication to the sport didn’t come with financial security. “We didn’t have any money, right? My family put everything they had in racing,” Brad admitted. “I was very fortunate to kind of break through, but there were never any guarantees.”
It didn’t take long for Keselowski to start making waves in the racing world. He formed his own team, Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR), in 2007. By 2008, he was competing in the Truck Series, driving the No. 29 Chevrolet and even earning his own team’s first Top 10 finish. And he wasn’t done there.
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Simultaneously, he joined forces with Dale Jr.’s JR Motorsport team in the Cup series, where he picked up his first race win at the Nashville Super Speedway. While Brad himself was making a name for himself as a driver, his team earned its first Cup series victory in 2012, thanks to eventual 2023 champion Ryan Blaney’s win at Iowa Speedway. This was also the same year Keselowski etched his name indelibly in NASCAR history as a Cup Series Champion. Brad went on to notch up 36 career wins and 155 top fives (and counting), cementing his name as one of stock car racing’s modern greats.
But the journey as a team owner was rife with crests and troughs. By 2017, Keselowski had to make the tough decision to close down BKR. “I was hopeful to reopen the team in the future and turn it into a Cup Series team,” he said at the time. That dream partially came to fruition in 2022 when he became a co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, rebranding it as Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK). And it turns out Keselowski’s presence has breathed new life into the team, as the 40-year-old took the team to their first win since 2017 in Darlington this year.
His story came full circle as he even ended up buying the guest house he once stayed in, repurposing it to do what Dale Earnhardt Jr. did for him. “I had to buy the house in the process because it was getting foreclosed on,” he revealed. “So I bought the house, and now my niece lives in it.”
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Looking back on leaving home, Keselowski knows how lucky he was to have Dale Jr. in his corner almost 20 years ago. “I didn’t know if it was gonna work out. But it did, and now it’s just life. It moves on, right?” Brad said.
Brad’s journey from broke racer to one of the wealthiest and most successful drivers in the sport is truly inspirational, even more so considering he’s never forgotten the people who helped him along the way. And to think, it all started with a phone call from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a plane ticket to North Carolina.

Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing have finally announced they will be expanding to a three-car team for the 2025 season. It’s arguably the worst-kept secret of this silly season, as Kroger parting ways with JTG Daugherty Racing was the telltale sign that something was cooking up between the two parties.
Out of all four Stewart Haas Racing drivers, Ryan Preece seemed to be on the bitter end of things without a ride for 2025. Tony Stewart has decided to step down from his ownership role, whereas Gene Haas opted to retain a charter for himself. This forced all the drivers in the team to look for new rides, and Preece looked to be the odd man out. But RFK Racing securing a deal to lease the Rick Ware Racing charter will see Preece compete in the #60 car in 2025.
It is indeed good news for Preece and Brad Keselowski, who are now looking forward to this new partnership. However, the same cannot be said for Corey LaJoie and his future in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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Ryan Preece handed a big boost with Rick Ware leasing a charter to RFK Racing
Spire Motorsports tried its best to allow LaJoie to groom himself in the leadership role, driving the #7 entry for the team in 2024. However, his struggles throughout the year forced the leadership group to search for an alternative. And they found that with Justin Haley and pulled off a surprising mid-season driver swap. LaJoie ran the last eight races in the #51 car with RWR, whereas Haley took the command of the #7 Spire car.
Haley certainly was the one who bagged himself a promotion by penning a long-term deal with Spire. Leading the flagship team under the guidance of Rodney Childers is indeed a big step up. Meanwhile, LaJoie was trying his best to get a shot at continuing to compete at the top level in NASCAR. A hope that seems to be disappearing with RFK Racing’s move to expand to a three-car team.
Rick Ware Racing owns a permanent charter, but with this new agreement, RFK Racing is set to take over it on a lease. Moreover, with Ryan Preece confirmed as the driver for the #60 team for 2025, it puts a huge question mark on LaJoie’s future at the Cup level. This development was further confirmed by RFK Racing’s president, Steve Newmark.
“RFK president Steve Newmark confirms a lease of a charter from Rick Ware Racing for 2025 for the No. 60 car of Ryan Preece.” Bob Pockrass from Fox Sports shared this update on X. Not only Ryan Preece but the entire RFK Racing driver lineup is expected to get a big boost from this deal. Along with primary sponsors like Fastenal, Castrol, and Build Submarine, Kroger will also feature on all three race cars at RFK Racing for the 2025 season.
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Brad Keselowski and Co are making all the right moves
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Sponsorship plays a key role in the functioning of a NASCAR team, now more than ever. There were times when sponsors used to line up to be featured on the race cars, but in 2024 things have changed drastically. Now the teams rely on not just one but multiple sponsors to fund their racing programs. Given that there’s a lot of uncertainty with the lawsuit NASCAR is facing, it makes it even tougher for teams to attract investors. But RFK Racing seems to be headed in the right direction under the leadership of Brad Keselowski.
“First, we’d like to thank Kroger and the vision of Tad and Jodi (Geschickter), without which we wouldn’t be in the position of growing with a third car in 2025 and beyond. Their commitment to us on behalf of Kroger has not only allowed us to fulfill our growth objectives in ways we’ve long desired but also to continue to push the envelope when it comes to finding the competitive edge needed to compete at the top level of NASCAR.” Newmark said this in a press release.
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Ryan Preece has got an opportunity to prove his racing credentials once again for next year. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie’s future competing at the Cup level certainly looks uncertain. And this might force his hand to make a big call with regards to his racing career.

There was a time when the #4 team was among the frontrunners to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship. The partnership of Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers led the charge of the #4 Stewart Haas Racing team and elevated them to new heights. But the same cannot be said for the team’s performance in 2024, as they are one of the worst-performing teams of the season. And if we compare last year’s owner’s point of the #4 team to 2024, they surely dropped the ball.
It wasn’t just Josh Berry and the team who took a significant hit from last year’s performance standards. Another notable mention in this list is Kyle Busch and the #8 team from Richard Childress Racing. The 2024 season was arguably the worst ever for Rowdy Busch in his NASCAR racing career. And his team finishing second worst in the owner’s point further highlights his misery.
2024 was a season to forget for Kyle Busch, whereas the #4 team hit new lows
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Since Kyle Busch switched to RCR from Joe Gibbs Racing, he’s had difficulty repeating his winning antics on the racetrack. 2023 was seen as a settling period for Rowdy trying to adapt to the new environment with the #8 team. Although it was a learning period, he clinched three race wins and made the playoffs. It was seen as a positive sign before he could truly mark his comeback run in 2024, but he looked like a shadow of his former self this year.
Since he started racing in NASCAR, he had a single win every year until the 2024 season. Although not making the playoffs was a bitter blow, being unable to maintain the winning streak that lasted 19 years straight was like a dagger to Rowdy’s heart. Fans know all about his 2024 struggles, but this statistic further highlights how badly the #8 team performed. It’s been a mix of issues for Busch and RCR. Although the team got off to a strong start in 2023, with a win in California and a few top 5 finishes, Busch and RCR couldn’t replicate the form. Part of the problem was the team’s difficulties with the Next-Gen car, as Richard Childress went on to admit. The result of these poor performances remains clear with the owner points stat.
In 2023, Kyle Busch and the #8 team scored 950 owner points throughout the season. In comparison, they could only muster up a tally of 766 points in 2024; this saw them take a hit of 174 points when compared to their previous run. It’s not that Rowdy and his team never turned a corner for good. They did have a streak of top 5 finishes just ahead of the regular season final at Darlington. Call it bad luck or just fate, Busch had back-to-back runner-up finishes at both Daytona and Darlington.
On the other hand, rookie Josh Berry and the #4 team had a sharp decline after replacing Kevin Harvick. Although SHR in general was struggling to compete for race wins with Harvick, he certainly kept them afloat in terms of solid finishes. However, once he retired and Josh Berry took over, the cracks within the team became visible, which ultimately led to the closure of the entire race team.
The #4 team with Berry only managed to score 579 owner points this year. This tally stood at 966 points when Harvick competed in his last season with the team. With a difference of 387 points, this was the worst downfall among all the teams in the Cup garage, with Kyle Busch’s #8 team trailing behind them.
A reset is what Kyle Busch needed to overturn his misfortunes, and off-season is indeed the best way to do it. But this offseason is going to look a little different for Rowdy thanks to his non-NASCAR racing plans.
Rowdy will compete at the Chili Bowl Nationals
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Perhaps the best way to get a reset is to compete in a different discipline, and Busch certainly has made plans to do that. Joining the likes of Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Tony Stewart, he will be making his Chili Bowl Nationals debut this January. He will be partnering with Flo Racing to pilot a Lucas Oil midget car for the 39th edition of the iconic midget car race event.
However, before Busch makes his big debut against some of the best dirt races in the world, he will be competing in similar races. On November 26th, he will make an appearance competing at the USAC Nationals Midget event at Bakersfield. This will be followed by another race at Ventura Raceway on November 30th. That’s not it; he will be joining his son Brexton in competing at the Tulsa Shootout to conclude this year’s racing.
It is indeed strange to see Busch trying his hands at dirt racing. So what exactly is the reason behind Rowdy opting to try his hand at something new? This is what he had to say: “I feel the biggest reason right now I have changed my mind is having more experience and being on the dirt. Knowing what to expect being on the dirt. So for years I’ve really never raced open-wheel cars, never ran sprint cars, midgets, micros or stuff like that. So to have my feet wet a little bit more with some non-winged micros, I feel that gives you a better sense of what these vehicles will do.”
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Let us hope Busch can make the most of this off-season and regain his confidence for next year’s Cup Series races. NASCAR without Rowdy firing on all cylinders can at times get boring.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Carson Hocevar has a growing stock like no other. In his first year driving the #77 Spire Chevy full-time, the 21-year-old Michigan native outperformed all his teammates. And that’s not all. Hocevar finished 21st in the drivers’ standings, leaving his closest ROTY rival, Josh Berry, a jaw-dropping 107 points behind.
An alumnus of the inaugural class of the Drivers Edge Development program, Hocevar is one of the brightest rising stars under the Chevy banner. However, Spire Motorsports’ lower-tier partnership with the Bowtie brand could become a big roadblock to their #77 driver’s progress in the long run. Sure, they have built powerful alliances with Tier-One organizations like Trackhouse Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. But as we look toward 2025, the big question remains. Will these partnerships finally deliver the results Spire has been chasing for so long?
Can Spire’s reduced Chevy support keep up with Carson Hocevar?
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It’s been said multiple times. Justin Haley’s Daytona win in the #77 Spire car happened half a decade ago. In 2025, he will be the driver for their #7 team operations replacing Corey LaJoie. The still-relatively new race team will receive some much-needed veteran leadership next year with Michael McDowell’s switch from Front Row Motorsports. But there’s a big problem plaguing Jeff Dickerson and TJ Puchyr’s organization.
As Hocevar told Jeff Gluck in a recent interview for The Athletic, “We’re not a key partner (for Chevrolet). We don’t get all the bells and whistles when we walk into that building. We know that… But he clears any additional doubts. That hasn’t even in the slightest bit stopped Hocevar from growing in the nascent of his premier-tier NASCAR career. In his own words, “Now I’m to the point where I’m learning how to race a Cup car, not drive it. It’s more about racing the field. It’s racing in dirty air, it’s restarts. For me, the sim now is 90 percent about developing our race cars. My crew chief and our engineers get a lot of value in it.”
“At Phoenix, we showed up exactly how we left the simulator,” asserted Hocevar. “I don’t think we made one single change — and we ran top 10, top 15 all d
ay.” When the dust settled in Arizona after the championship race, the Portage-born driver left with an 18th-place finish. He wasn’t contending for the championship. In all fairness, Hocevar was some ways off from making the Playoffs in 2024. With how fast he’s been developing, it’s only a matter of time before he puts himself in all the positive discussions.
USA Today via Reuters Feb 19, 2024; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar (77) wrecks during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
His aggressive on-track advances are only a reflection of his childhood promises to himself of racing the top drivers in the sport. But Hocevar is aware of the limits, as he explained to Steven Taranto of CBS Sports. “It’s just being able to balance that more. They’ve got to get comfortable around me too. And I feel like I have the respect of others, but it’s a different type of respect.”
Regardless, there have been talks of Chevy elevating their partnership with Spire to a tier-one alliance in the future. Veteran spotter Brett Griffin, who worked with Spire’s new #7 driver, Justin Haley in the past, stated on an earlier episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast that “there is a rumor that Spire is in a lot of talks with Chevrolet to become a tier-one team, basically a mini-Hendrick–which is a huge deal if Spire gets that and makes that happen.”
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But as of now, nothing is sure. And it certainly looks like Spire will move into the 2025 season, with a refreshed driver lineup, and alliances with Trackhouse Racing and HMS. Then again, anything can happen in the off-season. And Carson Hocevar, who’s got a new toy to tinker with at the Spire Motorsports shop, is the best example of that notion.
New toys, and new goals in the off-season
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In his interview with Steven Taranto, the soon-to-be sophomore-year driver revealed that he’s finally getting hands-on experience building a race car by himself, for the first time. There appears to be a brand new Late Model at the Spire Motorsports workshop that Hocevar is working on. “It’s gonna be me and Jeff Dickerson’s toy in the shop to go play with,” he noted. This off-season project is supposed to be a way for the employees at Spire to have some fun, letting go of all external expectations.
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Hocevar elaborated, “He reminds us that it’s good to have distractions. This Sunday stuff can be difficult. It can be stressful and everything, and he’s so good with people and managing his race team and his employees. This is gonna be how we have zero expectations… He knows we’re gonna have expectations to make the playoffs. And that’s gonna be very difficult … so if we fall short of our goal, he still wants us to be able to have fun and have something that we can build and have no expectations.”
But it seems the young gun has additional motives with this brand new Late Model at Spire. “There’s nothing more I want to do than drive race cars. So, once we get it built then we can go racing with it,” concluded Hocevar. That being said, this seems to be a win-win situation for the 21-year-old racer. Here’s to hoping all of it can help him solidify his name as one of the top Chevy prospects currently racing in NASCAR.

Carson Hocevar’s rapid rise in the NASCAR Cup Series didn’t just come from natural talent—it was the result of a secretive, behind-the-scenes strategy. Before ever stepping into a Cup car, Hocevar was honing his skills in a way that gave him a unique advantage. He spent a year in the simulator, not just learning the tracks but studying the driving styles of some of NASCAR’s top competitors, particularly Ross Chastain.
When he made his Cup debut, Hocevar’s ability to adapt quickly and provide valuable feedback set him apart. His success didn’t happen by chance—he’d been preparing in a way that few rookies ever do, giving him an edge in his rookie season, becoming the Rookie of the Year. So what did he do that made him such a good driver in his debut year?
Carson Hocevar exposes the secret training he received at Trackhouse Racing
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Before Carson Hocevar ever set foot in a Cup car, Hocevar was getting a unique training experience, one that many drivers don’t have access to. Through a year of simulator work, he wasn’t just practicing laps; he was studying the styles of two of Trackhouse’s stars, Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez.
Hocevar was tasked with an interesting mission: he wasn’t there to set the fastest lap, but to mimic the driving styles of his future teammates. “My job was to match Ross Chastain and match Daniel Suárez with their driving styles and tell us what the car drives like,” Hocevar explained in a recent interview with the Athletic. Essentially, he became a kind of “imposter” in the virtual world, impersonating their moves on track and figuring out what made their cars tick when they were at their best. Although Hocevar drove for Spire Motorsports in 2024 and will continue to do so in 2025, he was the sim driver for Trackhouse Racing.
Essentially, what these simulators offer are ways of testing the car without actually physically doing so. The sim has every single detail taken into consideration, down to the tire pressure. This comes in handy when the teams are unsure of any adjustments they make to the actual car. Interestingly, fans can experience this simulator for themselves at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte.
For Carson Hocevar, it meant he could shadow Ross Chastain. It certainly had quite an effect on the driver’s performance in the 2024 season. In 2024, Hocevar became one of the brightest rising stars under the Chevrolet banner. His exploits in the simulator came in handy during the finale at Phoenix, when the team, as Hocevar explained, used the setup he ran in the simulator and consistently ran in the top 15.
via Getty DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 19: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Gainbridge/Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, enters his car for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
This unconventional approach gave him an edge when it came to real-life racing. For example, during a substitution drive for Spire Motorsports in June 2023 at Gateway, Hocevar found himself referencing his simulator experience. “I said, ‘This is what the Trackhouse car felt like (in the sim). This is why these cars feel good,” he recalled. By aligning his feedback with what he’d studied in the sim, he suggested car adjustments that improved performance on race day.
The true magic came when Hocevar was able to apply this simulator-driven knowledge to a Cup car. Despite having no prior experience on the actual track, his simulator practice had given him a strong sense of what to expect. “I knew what I needed before I even drove a lap,” he told Jeff Gluck, recalling his time in the No. 7 car. He even matched Chastain and Suárez in the simulator on some occasions.
When the opportunity finally came to race in the Cup series, Hocevar wasn’t just looking for a race result; he had bigger goals in mind. “My goal was by the end of the race, I was going to get a Cup seat.” And with the skills he honed in the simulator, it’s no surprise that Hocevar’s rapid ascent from part-time substitute to a full-time contender was only a matter of time.
Carson Hocevar’s Expectations from 2025
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As Carson Hocevar gears up for a year with higher expectations, especially with an organization that’s seen as on the rise, he’s not fazed by the pressure. In a conversation with Jeff Gluck, he explains that the key to handling the spotlight is taking lessons from his past experiences.
“It’s going to be the mix of taking what Travis Peterson at Front Row, what Rodney Childers at Stewart-Haas, and what we did at Spire,” he says. The focus isn’t on reinventing the wheel but on taking the knowledge from different teams and continuing to build on what’s already working.
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Hocevar emphasizes that improvement doesn’t come from making drastic changes, but from fine-tuning the details. “We’re looking for a tenth or a half-tenth of a second to be five or 10 spots better, not three-tenths,” he adds. With today’s NASCAR, the days of finding shortcuts like trick body designs or secret chassis tweaks are gone. It’s a process of steady, calculated improvement, and for Hocevar, that’s what will get him to the next level.
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That being said, are you excited to see what Carson Hocevar has in store for 2025? Share your thoughts in the comment below.

23XI Racing isn’t going to let a lawsuit put a halt on their expansion plans. There had been rumors about the team expanding to a three-car driver lineup for the 2025 season, and it seems like those rumors have finally come true.
Taking to the social media handles, the 23XI Racing team shared a cryptic video post about their new driver. The caption of the post had an emoji of a clock along with the reveal date of 11/20/2024. While the driver’s face wasn’t revealed, the fans in the comments section spoiled the surprise as they were able to identify the new driver for 23XI. Going by the comments, most of them agreed that this was Riley Herbst, who had long been linked with the team.
Herbst was on the hunt for a new ride after Stewart Haas Racing shut down its racing operations. While the Haas Factory team has replaced SHR’s place in the Xfinity Series, they made new signings in Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer. The NASCAR lawsuit did somewhat stall his announcement, but it looks like Riley Herbst is finally getting his promotion to the Cup Series.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by 23XI Racing (@23xiracing)
This is a developing story.

Will NASCAR be able to deliver a format that aligns with the vision of the race fans? The elimination-style and win-and-you’re-in system has garnered criticism since its inception. But the 2024 season has seen an uptick among fans demanding changes to the current system. Some are even arguing about bringing back the points system that rewards the best drivers based on their performance throughout the season.
Initially, Kevin Harvick was also sold on the idea of burying the win-and-you’re-in system. “I’m a traditional racer that wants the best 16 guys to race for the championship.” But, after switching lenses from being a driver to a broadcaster, it has resulted in him taking a U-turn on this stance. Rather, he went on to highlight to fans that the sport can’t adopt a system from which they moved on in the first place.
Kevin Harvick isn’t sold on the idea of deciding the champion based on points
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Before the elimination-style format, NASCAR had a simple format: the driver with the highest number of points at the end of the season gets crowned as the champ. But, over the years, as the sport progressed, they adopted the chase in 2004, which marked the era of change. Ultimately, by trial and error, NASCAR settled for the exciting format that rewarded the race winners. This was further bolstered by the knockout rounds and ultimately leading the finale event, where four drivers would race for the Bill France Cup.
But this year’s championship 4 race arguably didn’t have the best racers competing for the biggest prize in NASCAR. This in turn opened the discussion surrounding the current format and how the title winner should be decided. Just like the passionate NASCAR fans, Kevin Harvick also chimed in with his opinion, “You’ve got the old-school fans who want to go back to 1955 and race for Winston Cup points. You can never go all the way back; don’t unlearn what you know, and we know that this format is exciting.” He said this on the Happy Hour podcast.
He even highlighted that it was the fans who wanted more excitement and thrill within the format. This has left him bemused to see those very fans now asking NASCAR to adopt the points system. “It’s interesting to see what that balance is between points, excitement, entertainment, and all the things that go with it, and when we went with this, the fans were obviously up in arms. Oh, we’ve got to have some format that’s not so boring, and now they all wanna go back. It’s like going to a mile and a half to a short track. So it’s funny how the world cycles around all that,” he added.
via Getty DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 10: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Car2Can Ford, looks on during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Would we be talking about the playoffs or the format change had Kyle Larson made the cut for the final? Probably not. But by no means is the current system perfect, and this conversation just might see NASCAR tweak the format for good. Apart from Kevin Harvick, the HMS icon Steve Letarte also joined the discussion and laid down a format that he feels would strike the right balance.
Steve Letarte wants race wins to be prioritized over points
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“You can talk about the format and if we do some different things. But absolutely we’re going to stick with it.” This was NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell on potential changes to the playoffs. Well, going by his words, the playoffs are here to stay, but they are open to tweaks to the current system. As things are, the format is designed to push the drivers to the very edge. And that has led to dramatic events and thrilling finishes.
Tyler Reddick sending in the slingshot move on Ryan Blaney and Homestead, and Blaney fighting his way back at Martinsville were examples of that. This wouldn’t have been possible if we had a points system in place. This is exactly what Steve Letarte was trying to state while pitching his version of the playoffs. “So far, 26 weeks you have to win the race. I could argue the format, either all of those guys for 10 weeks or all of those guys in some sort of elimination with the last being three races.” He said this on the Actions Detrimental podcast.
Now, this was an interesting suggestion. While he wanted the drivers to win in the regular season, he was open for them to go battle it out in 10-race playoffs. Moreover, he also suggested moving away from a single-race final to a three-race round. This would weed out the luck factor and allow the drivers to come back even with an off-week.
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What would you change about the current playoff format or the regular season? And is Steve Letarte’s vision something that NASCAR should look into? Do share your thoughts in the comments.

During the Happy Hour Awards Show, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, presented by NASCAR on FOX, took a laugh-out-loud trip down memory lane, spotlighting the season’s funniest moments. One of the fan-favorite categories was “Best Word of the Week,” celebrating Harvick’s hilarious attempts to master Gen Z slang throughout the year.
With nominees ranging from pop culture staples to internet-born slang, the competition was as unpredictable as a superspeedway race. Harvick’s commentary throughout was filled with playful banter, self-deprecating jokes, and a whole lot of laughter. That’s when Harvick mentioned how he felt while navigating the updated lingos, as it was not the easiest job for him despite being a Cup Series Champion.
Kevin Harvick’s award show reveals the former driver’s vocabulary
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Picture this: Kevin Harvick, a seasoned NASCAR veteran, is diving headfirst into the world of Gen Z lingo like it’s his next big race. With his classic mix of confidence and self-deprecation, Harvick turned what could’ve been a cringe-worthy experiment into pure entertainment gold.
On the Happy Hour podcast, Harvick starts off laughing about his trusty guide, Mike, who seemed to relish in Harvick’s missteps. “Mike knows every word, every meaning, every syllable of anything I could possibly say,” Harvick recalls with a grin. “The second I messed it up, he’d pounce, like, ‘What? That’s not how you say that!’ It was hilarious.”
Then, in typical Harvick fashion, he turned to his fans, jokingly throwing down the gauntlet: “You’ve got to start coming up with words for next season because, trust me, I’m gonna need your help. It’ll be here before you know it!”
The highlight reel, though, came during a mock awards segment. As he fumbled through the nominees—“lit, kerfuffle, yeet, and ‘got that dog in him’”—Harvick embraced the chaos, laughing at himself the whole way. When the winner was announced as “lit,” he chuckled, “Let’s go! I picked that too. And let me tell you why. This whole thing started with lit, and honestly, I thought, ‘I’m gonna look like a complete idiot.’ But the more of an idiot I looked like, the more everyone loved it!”
He playfully defended his pick, saying, “You just can’t go against your first. Can’t forget your first, as they say.” But even Harvick couldn’t resist a nod to “kerfuffle,” calling it “a total squire-ism” and marveling that he managed to say it without tripping over his words.
By the end, Kevin Harvick was giving himself a pat on the back. “Did a great job with all these newer words,” he joked. It’s not every day you see a NASCAR champ mastering (or hilariously failing at) urban slang, but Harvick made it clear: sometimes, it’s all about embracing the kerfuffle.
The best viral moment in NASCAR 2024
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Another category for the awards show was the “Best Viral Moment” award. With an eclectic list of nominees, including Tyler Reddick’s celebratory moment with Michael Jordan and Jeff Burton’s emotional reaction to his son’s first win, it was a post-race scuffle that took home the title. The now-infamous clash between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the All-Star Race stole the spotlight—and for good reason.
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Recalling the unforgettable scene, Harvick set the stage with a mix of disbelief and humor. “That moment,” he said, “was just unlike any other. Ricky was locked into the race track and waiting behind the hauler… in swim trunks.” Stenhouse Jr., who’d been taken out of contention early after a retaliatory nudge from Busch sent him into the wall, spent the entire race stewing—and plotting.
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By the time Busch pulled into the garage, Stenhouse was ready, turning what could’ve been a heated exchange into an outright brawl. The moment even spawned a viral meme featuring journalist Bob Pockrass, cementing it as one of the most talked-about moments of the year. Leave it to NASCAR to turn swimwear and scuffles into legendary internet gold! With that said, what was the most unforgettable moment in the 2024 season for you?

With the curtain dropping over the 2024 season, now the near future is in conversation. The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is merely months away. Accordingly, the racing community is mired deep in Silly Season rumors. This time, several twists and shuffles are expected to occur in the Cup Series, with major upheavals underway in the sport. For instance, the 23XI Racing-Front Row Motorsports legal drama throws a shade over the futures of some drivers like Bubba Wallace.
However, now speculation is rife about Rick Hendrick’s involvement in this conversation. The 75-year-old veteran openly avoided 23XI Racing’s strife with NASCAR, all in his team’s best interest. Hendrick Motorsports was one of the powerhouse teams this year and narrowly missed the championship. So Bubba Wallace’s insider is wary of including Hendrick in the rumor mills.
New rumor dropped by Bubba Wallace’s crew
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Well, Stewart-Haas Racing’s demise brought forth the wildest spin to this Silly Season. The ripples of it will probably persist through next year. While both FRM and 23XI Racing were supposed to take two of SHR’s charters, now their prospects may lie elsewhere. The NASCAR lawsuit is not turning out suitable for the two rebellious teams, with a federal court denying them chartered spots. Instead, Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing may acquire a charter, already announcing on November 19th that it would add a third car for Ryan Preece with the Kroger sponsorship. But where do Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick go?
Bubba Wallace‘s spotter, Freddie Kraft, dropped a curious post on X regarding this. Riddled with code words and reverse statements, his rumor read: “I’ll give you this. One thing I’m never sharing is ANY 23XI rumors. And it has nothing to do with Hocevar, or any HMS drivers 😂” This certainly spices things up a bit, as no whisper of an update has come up from either Spire Motorsports or HMS. Carson Hocevar posted three pictures of his No. 77 Spire car tailing HMS drivers Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman—with William Byron glaringly missing. Aside from that wordless hint, Rick Hendrick is staying mum on 2025 updates, which explains Kraft’s hesitation to include his team in the rumors.
After all, shaping up NASCAR’s most powerful team for 40 years does involve immense clout in the sport. Hendrick has always expected his drivers to win no matter the costs—whether they involved Kasey Kahne in 2015 or Alex Bowman in 2024. As of now, Hendrick’s four drivers are signed on through at least next year with no changes expected. But with Bubba Wallace’s confidant and Carson Hocevar dropping hints, changes may come. But the question remains: how will that intertwine HMS and 23XI Racing’s fates?
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As far as the NASCAR lawsuit was concerned, Hendrick wanted none of that intertwined destiny.
Clarifying his prime goals in NASCAR
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Heralding a Cup Series team that has attained 312 race victories and 14 drivers and owners championships is no mean feat. Rick Hendrick keeps fostering this winning culture in his team by clearly stating his goals. Back in 2015, Kasey Kahne was the only HMS driver who could not clinch a playoff berth while his teammates did: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, Hendrick expected the same thing from them—getting wins. “The cool thing about our deal is all the stuff is the same. We don’t play favorites over any of them. We give them the best stuff we’ve got—all four of them. So it won’t be any different the next few races.”
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Anything seeking to jeopardize that winning mentality will fail to attract Hendrick’s interest. HMS was among the 13 teams that signed NASCAR’s 2025 charter deal, while 23XI and FRM stood out. Hendrick explained that it was in his team’s best interest, although the Race Team Alliance’s negotiation efforts fell through. “I think we worked really hard for two years, and it got down to, you’re not going to make everybody happy. And I think it got down to, I was just tired. Not everybody was happy. But in any negotiation, you’re not going to get everything you want, and so I felt it was a fair deal and we protected the charters, which was number one; we got the [revenue] increase; I feel a lot of things we didn’t like we got taken out, so I’m happy with where we were.”
Evidently, Hendrick and 23XI’s fates have been vastly apart. However, if Bubba Wallace’s spotter is right, then their fates will join sooner than expected.

Joey Logano’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Championship victory has sparked intense debate within the racing community, leading to a backlash that questions the validity of his success.
Despite facing plenty of challenges and criticisms, Logano managed to secure his third Cup title, placing him among an elite group of only six drivers in NASCAR history with three or more championships. Some critics argue that Logano’s championship was facilitated by NASCAR’s current playoff format, which they claim unfairly favors less consistent drivers.
Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty has come to Logano’s defense amidst the criticism. Petty argues that the backlash against Logano is unwarranted, suggesting that fans are focusing on minor issues to undermine Logano’s significant accomplishments. Petty is adamant that the focus should be on Logano’s impressive achievement of winning a third Cup Championship, rather than fixating on perceived shortcomings. He explained:

Usually, merit in NASCAR is decided based on one’s race victories. Wheeling heavy stock cars at 200 mph around challenging circuits is no mean feat. Yet at one point in a NASCAR season, drivers are acknowledged for the level of their popularity. The Most Popular Driver Award exists for that reason and has been won 70 times since 1949. Yet notably, that elite group includes just 20 drivers, one of whom is Chase Elliott.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver had mostly a very quiet season. He snapped a 42-race winless streak in April at Texas Motor Speedway, after recovering from a disastrous 2023 season. For the rest of the season, he picked up top-tens and top-fives without appearing for interviews much. Yet, the No. 9 driver again finds himself among the top lot for the 2024 MPD awards. And a few unfair means are involved, as fans claim.
Chase Elliott’s overstretched legacy?
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Ever since Curtis Turner seized the inaugural honors in 1949, NASCAR started this trend of biased choices. Fans voted for whichever driver appealed to them the most for whatever reason. For instance, Fred Lorenzen had the looks of a movie star and won two Most Popular Driver awards in 1963 and 1965. Then Darrell Waltrip knew his 1989 MPD award was ensured after Rusty Wallace dumped him in the All-Star Race. However, the most dominant winners left heavy legacies in the sport. That includes Chase Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott.
The ‘Awesome Man from Dawsonville’ claimed the title 16 times – from 1984-88, ’91-2000, and again in ’02. He won the premier series championship in ’88, one year after he set a NASCAR qualifying record, turning a lap of 212.809 mph at Talladega Superspeedway. On the flip side, Chase Elliott has done little over the past two years. In 2023, he missed five races after breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident and another due to a NASCAR penalty. Then during the off-season he underwent shoulder surgery – and yet he won the MPD for the 6th consecutive time. He received his award wearing a sling on his right arm.
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Now again, Chase Elliott’s name is on the cards for a 7th-time Most Popular Driver award. Voting officially opened for the 2024 National Motorsports Press Association MPD award on October 28, with an option to vote as much as 5 times. Elliott is accompanied by Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Martin Truex Jr. in the top five. Although Kyle Busch had a disastrous season and snapped his 19-year winning streak, fans are adamant about electing him as the MPD in place of Elliott. However, the voting system appears rigged, according to alarming reports.
NASCAR community claims foul intentions
Well, Bill Elliott won the MPD award 16 times. But that was a time when we lacked any online voting system. In Chase Elliott’s time, reports of a rigged system arose. A NASCAR fan claimed that the ballot number is capped and they “can’t vote more than 4 times per day in each series.” This Reddit post unearthed similar claims among other racing fans. Somebody let out a deep sigh and gave up on NASCAR’s newest antic. “Ah yes. The Elliott award. Pretty much a joke.” Another fan could not vote for another driver even though they tried to: “It was crazy, it only let me vote for Jones once, but I switched it to Elliott and was able to vote ♾️amount of times! /s but seriously, I don’t even waste my time- except to get the fan rewards for the first vote or whatever it was they offered.”
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These sinister circumstances resonated with other people as well. Chase Elliott’s favoritism has surfaced a few times this year. His car was towed to the garage for repairs while a flurry of cars sat idle after the biggest wreck in Talladega. So one fan concurred that NASCAR will go for Elliott here also. “Unless you’re voting for Chase Elliot, this is pretty much a lost cause either way.” Despite the option to vote five times, one fan intentionally did not. “Lol I voted once and don’t care to sling votes out for something so stupid that Chase Elliott will win by a landslide.” Somebody else harped on NASCAR’s determination to place the crown on Elliott’s head. “Have to ensure chase wins again.”
Evidently, the Most Popular Driver award itself is losing traction among fans. Let us see if Chase Elliott retains his crown during the NASCAR Awards banquet on November 22.

The tensions from the 23XI Racing lawsuit are rising by the day as the teams have now lost the chance of participating in 2025 as a chartered team. The two teams claim NASCAR has a stranglehold on the sport, pointing to control over racetracks, exclusivity deals, and ownership of parts and cars as evidence of monopolistic behavior. But did NASCAR respond?
NASCAR’s charter system, which guarantees race spots and prize money for teams, is being called out for allegedly limiting competition. According to the teams, it benefits NASCAR while squeezing team owners, drivers, sponsors, and even fans. There has recently been an update straight from Bob Pockrass on X (formerly Twitter) on the situation.
As usual, NASCAR had some sharp words in response to the motion filed by 23XI and Front Row Motorsports to expedite the appeal process. In the statement, NASCAR dismissed the urgency of the motion, pointing out that “there is … certainly no urgency that would justify Plaintiffs’ extraordinary request to require NASCAR to file its opening brief within a mere 12 days, over a period that includes the Thanksgiving holiday.”
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And it didn’t stop there. NASCAR also flagged how the proposed timeline would be unfair to the court, stating, “Plaintiffs’ proposed schedule is highly unfair to this Court: it would give the Court only one week with that briefing before oral argument.”
The teams sought a preliminary injunction to maintain their chartered team status during the legal fight but were denied. NASCAR has removed the contentious anticompetitive release requirement, so 23XI and Front Row can still compete in 2025—but only as open teams for now.
This is a building story, stay tuned for updates.

Sydney Sweeney is probably best known for her captivating performances in Euphoria and The White Lotus (both of which can be streamed with a Max subscription ). But this past weekend she took a thrilling detour from Hollywood, diving into the world of high-speed racing and now I have a new pick for who should star if that rumored Days of Thunder sequel gets made. The 27-year-old actress spent her Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, where she got a firsthand taste of NASCAR life—sharing the track with none other than 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney.
“Kind of maybe thinking I need to add to my garage,” The Madame Web star captioned a video she shared with her vintage car-themed TikTok account Syds_Garage . In one image, Sweeney decked out in a blue racing suit, puckers for the camera, holding her helmet in front of the famed Concord racetrack.
(Image credit: Syds_Garage, Sydney Sweeney)
Another shot captures her sheer delight as she leans out of a car window, her arms triumphantly raised in the sky. Come on, the Days of Thunder script practically writes itself!
(Image credit: Syds_Garage, Sydney Sweeney)
But the highlight for me, is seeing her behind the wheel. In one image, Sweeney is captured gripping the wheel, flashing that movie star grin, and driving laps like a natural.
(Image credit: Syds_Garage, Sydney Sweeney)
This isn’t the first time the Anyone But You actress has impressed fans with her love for cars. Beyond just a casual interest, the Washington native has deep automotive roots—her family has a long history of mechanics, and she’s an avid car enthusiast herself. Syd’s Garage is dedicated to her passion for restoring vintage vehicles, including a 1969 Ford Bronco she refurbished during the pandemic. She once told BAZAAR.com :
My babysitters (twin sisters) when I was little actually used to be race car drivers, and I’d go to the track a lot, and I thought I was going to be a race car driver when I grew up.
After watching her tear up the track this weekend, it seems that dream might not be too far-fetched. However, what’s particularly exciting about this NASCAR adventure is the potential for art to imitate life. Sweeney’s joyful and fearless embrace of the racing world feels like a perfect audition for the lead in a Days of Thunder remake—or even better, its long-rumored legacy sequel. The 1990 cult classic, starring Tom Cruise as Cole Trickle, captured the high-stakes drama of NASCAR racing and has recently been the subject of speculation about a revival. According to a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter , Cruise is considering bringing Days of Thunder back to life, riding the wave of success from Top Gun: Maverick. And I’m telling you, the Americana star could make an incredible protege for Cole. Take my money now!
(Image credit: Tory Bursch, YouTube, Paramount Pictures)
It’s a thrilling time to be a fan of the Everything Sucks! alum, as she continues to showcase her versatility as an actor. She recently starred in one of the year’s best horror movies , Immaculate, and her packed schedule shows no signs of slowing down. In September, her latest project, Eden, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to much anticipation. Coming up, she’s set to star in Echo Valley, an untitled biopic about boxer Christy Martin , and the highly anticipated upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of The Housemaid. With such a diverse lineup of projects, Sweeney is proving to be one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents, so if a Days of Thunder follow-up does materialize, who knows if she’d even have time to fit it into her schedule.
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The excitement for TNT Sports’ upcoming NASCAR coverage is reaching a fever pitch, and it’s no wonder why. With 2025 just around the corner, fans are buzzing about the high-profile talent set to take over the broadcast booth. A familiar face from NASCAR’s past is returning to the airwaves, bringing a mix of passion, expertise, and a whole lot of history.
TNT Sports’ upcoming NASCAR coverage is building hype, and it’s no surprise that fans are excited about the all-star lineup they’ve announced for 2025. When legendary NASCAR figures like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Adam Alexander, and Steve Letarte team up for the broadcast booth, it’s a race fan’s dream come true.
Dale Jr., who’s been a fan favorite for years, is coming full circle as TNT returns to NASCAR after a long break. Alongside Dale Jr., veteran broadcaster Adam Alexander will handle the play-by-play, bringing in 30 years of motorsports experience. And then there’s Steve Letarte, the former crew chief, whose perspective is sure to add a new layer of analysis to the coverage. His chemistry with Jr., especially, is something fans can’t wait to see, considering their history together at Hendrick Motorsports.
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With TNT gearing up for a thrilling 2025 season, including NASCAR’s first in-season tournament, it’s clear that this trio will bring a fun, insightful, and high-energy experience to race fans. It’s shaping up to be an unforgettable year for NASCAR fans, and the excitement is just getting started. When fans saw the news on social media, they couldn’t hold back their excitement, with many rushing to join the hype train.
Fans feel about Dale Jr., Steve Letarte, and Adam Alexander in the booth
For many, it’s all about the “all-star lineup.” Having such popular names in the broadcast booth is something that fans are excited to see. Each coming with their own legacy will allow NASCAR fans to get an entertaining and experienced line-up of people commentating on their favorite sport.
One fan summed it up perfectly with, “I like that a lot,” showing their excitement for the combination of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Adam Alexander, and Steve Letarte. There’s a lot of anticipation surrounding their chemistry and the expertise they each bring to the table, especially Jr., who has such a strong connection with the sport and its fans.
However, not everyone is on board with every part of the team. One fan raised the question, “Is Steve leaving NBC?” hinting at the uncertainty that always comes with big moves in broadcasting. Letarte’s career with NBC ran for a long 9 years that started back in 2015 only to end with this season.
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Some fans are particularly pleased to see Adam Alexander back in the booth for Cup races. One fan said, “Glad to see Alexander’s back doing cup races again,” showing that his previous stint with TNT left a positive impression. But for others, there’s a bit of nostalgia and longing for a familiar voice.
“Okay, I like this combination a lot,” said another fan, though others added a note of personal preference: “Still wish we had Larry Mac instead of Steve Letarte, but I’ll still gladly take it.” It’s clear some fans have their favorite analysts, and while Letarte’s expertise is appreciated, there’s still love for Larry McReynolds’ experience as a Daytona 500 winner as a crew chief and a Fox Sports analyst.
via Getty DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – JANUARY 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, speaks to the Media during the NASCAR Next Gen Test at Daytona International Speedway on January 12, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
On the other end of the spectrum, one fan had a more dramatic reaction: “This news ruins my day. Adam Alexander is the worst announcer in pro sports by a significant margin.” Not everyone is a fan of Alexander’s style, and this fan clearly feels strongly that his voice doesn’t belong in the NASCAR booth. And while most of the fans are happy about the booth, not everyone can be tended to.
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That being said, what do you think of the upcoming season’s TNT line-up? Who is your favorite broadcaster? Let us know in the comments below.

Steve Letarte and Adam Alexander are joining Dale Earnhardt Jr. in TNT’s broadcast booth for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. TNT’s live race schedule will start with Atlanta’s Night Race Showdown on June 28, 2025.

TRICON Garage has confirmed Tanner Gray’s continuation as the driver of the No. 15 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2025. This announcement solidifies Gray’s position within the team as he prepares to start his sixth full-time season in the series, beginning at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2025.
The team shared the news to social media, stating:

NASCAR driver Christopher Bell has hinted at expanding into dirt racing after Joe Gibbs Racing shifts its policy to allow more flexible participation in Sprint Car and dirt racing events.
This policy change opens the door for JGR drivers, including Christopher Bell, to flex their skills on dirt tracks more regularly alongside their NASCAR careers.
For Joe Gibbs Racing, under the leadership of its former NFL coach namesake, this policy shift is a significant departure from its previous stance. Historically, JGR had limited its NASCAR Cup Series drivers from engaging in dirt racing. This move intended to minimize injury risks, as dirt racing can pose substantial physical demands and potential hazards to both drivers and vehicles.
This cautious approach changed with the planned 2025 arrival of Chase Briscoe, a driver deeply rooted in the dirt racing world, and who owns a dirt racing team himself. This recruitment appeared to prompt JGR to reconsider its restrictions, opening opportunities for seasoned NASCAR drivers to pursue passions on dirt tracks.
Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Interstate Batteries/DEWALT Toyota, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 10, 2024 in… Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Interstate Batteries/DEWALT Toyota, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 10, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. Christopher Bell hints at racing move away from NASCAR. More Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Christopher Bell stands prominently affected by this change. Known for his remarkable accomplishments in sprint car racing, with multiple wins at the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals, Bell’s return to dirt racing is seen as a natural extension of his racing ambition. He quickly took to social media to share his excitement about the change, writing:

Joe Gibbs Racing has announced the lifting of restrictions on its NASCAR Cup Series drivers, allowing them greater freedom to participate in a variety of other motorsport disciplines, including dirt racing.
For years, JGR maintained restrictions on its drivers’ participation in dirt racing, primarily to reduce injury risks and to keep their focus on their NASCAR commitments. This conservative approach ensured that drivers prioritized their responsibilities around their team.
The revised policy introduces a formal process for drivers to seek permission to compete in other motorsport events. JGR Founder Joe Gibbs explained to The Athletic:

There is more to the NASCAR Championship Weekend at the Phoenix Raceway than just racing. It is a full-throttle celebration with speed, star power, and unforgettable experiences for fans. Each year, the championship weekend hosts exciting co-curricular events that include concerts that bring together NASCAR enthusiasts for some entertainment to get their blood pumping during the grand finale.
In 2023, Phoenix Raceway welcomed country artist Chris Lane, who performed during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship on Saturday, November 4. Lane, known for his catchy hits ‘Big, Big Plans’ and ‘Take Back Home Girl,’ brought the Busch Light Lounge to life with his energetic set. Lane’s performance added to the weekend’s electric atmosphere, giving fans a moment to celebrate their shared passion for racing and music in a lively setting.
Star power shines at Phoenix Raceway with Whitney Cummings and more
On Sunday, November 10, before the NASCAR Cup Series Championship, rising country star Drew Baldridge headlined the pre-race show. His songs like ‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter’ and ‘Senior Year’ captivated fans, mixing country music with genuine stories and interactions. Also, fans got to sign the start/finish line, meet drivers, and relax in upgraded lounges. In the same way the races are part of the NASCAR Championship experience, the concerts are too.
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The NASCAR races always draw Hollywood attention, and this year, comedian Whitney Cummings was there. Cummings was the Honorary Starter for the 2024 Cup Series Championship, waving the green flag to start the race. And by the looks of it, this race was her first ever NASCAR race visit. Her day at the raceway left her with a lasting impression, and she shared her excitement in a playful Instagram reel.
In her post, Cummings captured the raw energy of the race saying, “I’m walking to wave the green flag at the NASCAR Race. I’ve never been more nervous for anything… I’m cancelling.” She quickly got over her nerves and got into the NASCAR spirit. “I’m so obsessed with NASCAR fans. Yes. They know me. They’re the purest people. I’m never leaving. This is the best day of my life,” she gushed. She was visibly moved by the excitement of seeing the cars up close. “We just got to look at the cars. No way. I have chills. It’s Michael Phelps,” she added, excited to be joined by the world’s most decorated Olympian.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Whitney Cummings (@whitneycummings)
Michael Phelps drove the honorary pace car during the championship race, bringing even more star power to the field. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports shared the news on X, “Olympic swimming icon Michael Phelps to drive the pace car prior to the Cup championship race Nov. 10 at Phoenix.” The official X account of Phoenix Raceway confirmed shortly after that the swimmer would serve as the Honorary Pace Car Driver for the 312-lap NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Avondale, Arizona.
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Whitney Cummings takes the NASCAR center stage but not everyone likes it
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In recent years, NASCAR has leaned into the tradition of inviting high-profile celebrities to play key roles at its biggest events. Races have drawn celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Adam Sandler, and Channing Tatum, who admire the sport’s thrilling atmosphere. Various influential figures have waved the green flag at the Daytona 500, including former President Donald Trump, who took a lap in the presidential limousine, ‘The Beast.’
There was considerable attention this year when NASCAR named Whitney Cummings the Honorary Starter. A renowned comedian, actress, writer, and producer, Cummings instantly connected with fans on social media with her signature humor and wit. The news was shared by Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, and Cummings’ candid responses made an instant impression, showing her excitement to be part of such an important event. President of Phoenix Raceway Latasha Causey praised the decision to involve Cummings, stating, “We’re elated to have Whitney Cummings join us for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. Her lively personality will surely help excite our sold-out crowd before we crown our 2024 champion.” A mix of motorsport and pop culture creates a unique atmosphere on race day that appeals to a wide range of spectators.
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Even though Cummings’ involvement was generally well-received, not everyone was happy with it. Social media commentators questioned her involvement, one saying, “If Austin Dillon can drive a Cup car, she can wave the Green Flag.” Another joked, “She must need cash,” and others speculated about behind-the-scenes reasons, suggesting, “Probably a favor to one of the networks to promote a new show.” Despite the lighthearted commentary, Cummings’ appearance showed NASCAR’s efforts to keep reaching out to new audiences.
During the Cup Series Championship in 2023, Phoenix Raceway welcomed Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Honorary Starter, along with actress Tiffany Haddish, who drove the Honorary Pace Car. Fans look forward to these celebrity appearances as a highlight of the NASCAR Championship. Looking back at the 2024 NASCAR season finale, fans remember a weekend full of music, celebrity appearances, and, of course, intense racing. It promises to remain a unique convergence of racing and entertainment as NASCAR’s Championship Weekend at Phoenix continues to welcome stars from Hollywood and beyond.