(July 18, 2028) – Layne Riggs wins the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole at North Wilkesboro; Elliott Sadler to run a Ram truck at Richmond and more in the Pittsburgh Racing Now Racing Notebook.

Riggs Wins Pole

• Layne Riggs is on the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.  Riggs fast lap of 18.502-seconds (121.608 mph) was 0.016-seconds faster than Carson Hocevar, who will start 2nd.  Chase Elliott, subbing for the late Kyle Busch in the No. 7 Hendrick Cars.com Spire Motorsports Chevrolet will start 6th.

Wright Qualifies 26th

• Wexford PA native Kris Wright will start 26th in the Truck race at North Wilkesboro.  Wright’s No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet Silverado turned a quick lap of 18.978-seconds (118.558 mph).  Wright is coming off back-to-back Top 20’s.  Retired Cup Series driver Ryan Newman starts inside of Wright in the 25th spot as part of Ram’s ‘Free Agent’ program.

Elliott Sadler Ram ‘Free Agent’

• NASCAR veteran Elliott Sadler is coming out of retirement to drive the No. 25 Ram 1500 for Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway on Friday, August 14. Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice and Sadler have a long personal and professional history—they raced together at South Boston (Va.) Speedway in the early 1990s, where Rice served as Sadler’s crew chief and they won a track championship in 1995. “It’ll be fun getting back into a truck — I just hope I still remember how to drive it. Richmond has always been special to me, and I’m thankful to Ram and Kaulig Racing for giving me this opportunity to compete again”, said Sadler.

New look for Goodyear Racing Eagles in 2027

• Goodyear Racing Eagles will feature updated sidewall branding for the 2027 NASCAR season, including the recently released Goodyear and Eagle logos, celebrating more than 45 years of Eagle heritage in motorsports. North Wilkesboro Speedway, the site of Goodyear’s first NASCAR victory on Goodyear Eagle radial tires, serves as the backdrop for the announcement. The updated branding is planned to be introduced across the global Goodyear Racing program.

Gilliland staying at Front Row

• Front Row Motorsports announced that Todd Gilliland has signed a contract extension to race the No. 34 Ford for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Four-time NTT IndyCar Champion Alex Palou is now free and clear after settling with McLaren.  Four time NTT IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti gets back behind the wheel this weekend at St. Pete.  Mick Schumacher and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing get a sponsor for St. Pete.  Chris Gabehart says the Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit against him is retribution for leaving the team as both sides are in court:

Alex Palou settles lawsuit with McLaren Racing

• Four time NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou is putting his legal troubles behind him after reaching a settlement with McLaren after a UK Court ruled against him for signing and then backing out of a deal to drive for McLaren.  Read the full story here.

Dario Franchitti is back behind the wheel

• Four time NTT IndyCar Series Champion and three time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti is racing competitively this weekend, 13-years after he was forced to retire due to multiple concussions and a violent crash at Houston in 2013.  Franchitti will drive in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday racing a Tricon Garage Toyota sponsored by Dollar Tree.  Seven time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson put the deal together for the Scot and will be his crew chief.

Mick Schumacher and RLL get St. Pete partner

• ENVE Composites is jumping aboard NTT IndyCar Series rookie Mick Schumacher and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for 2026.  ENVE will be Schumacher’s primary sponsor for this weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  ENVE will also join the team as a major associate sponsor in 2026.

Gibbs vs Gabehart court update

• A Federal Judge in North Carolina is giving attorneys for Joe Gibbs Racing and Chris Gabehart the weekend to work out an agreement on Gibbs restraining order against Gabehard joining Spire Motorsports.  Gabehart responded to the lawsuit by saying the JGR Competition Director’s job was not as advertised and that the team forced him to be the crew chief for Ty Gibbs despite his objections.  Gabehart also pulled back the curtain a bit saying the driver of the 54 car was not “held to the same meeting standards” as other drivers in the organization.  Gabehart also said the lawsuit is not about proprietary information discovered by a third-party electronic forensics investigation, rather it’s about retribution for a former employee leaving. Spire Motorsports owner Dan Towriss told the Associated Press that Spire doesn’t have any JGR proprietary information.

Interstate Batteries joins High Limit

• Longtime motorsports partner Interstate Batteries is joining the High Limit Racing Series as title sponsor. Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing kicks off its multiyear partnership in the season-opening SugarBee® Blackjack Bash March 12-14 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. “Motorsports has always been a strong outlet for Interstate Batteries to connect with our customers, and High Limit Racing has quickly established itself,” said Lain Hancock, President and CEO, Interstate Batteries.

Indy 500 Veteran Krueger Dies at 74

• Phil Krueger, a veteran of two Indianapolis 500 starts, died Feb. 9 in Indianapolis. He was 74. A native of Milwaukee, Krueger competed in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 1986 and 1988. His best finish was eighth in ’88, completing 196 laps in the No. 97 CNC Systems Sales March-Cosworth fielded by R. Kent Baker Racing. The performance in 1988 also earned talented mechanic and fabricator the ‘Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award’ for his work tuning the 2-year-old car into a solid qualifying spot and top-10 finish and guiding an all-new crew for the team.

Marcus Armstrong quickest at Sebring

• Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong is atop the timing charts following two days of NTT IndyCar Series testing on the short course at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.  Armstrong turned the quickest laps each session he was on-track leading Tuesday’s morning session with a fast-lap of 52.373-seconds, beating Monday afternoon’s quick lap of 52.847-seconds in the No. 66 Root Honda (above).  Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood led Tuesday afternoon’s session at 52.479-seconds.   Four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou led Monday morning’s session with a fast lap of 52.626-seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as the field was split into two groups for the open test.

Brown wins Clyde Hart Memorial

• Carson Brown, of New London, NC, led more than 160 laps to win the Twenty-seventh Clyde Hart Memorial for the ASA Super Late Models at New Smyrna Speedway. Brown, a development driver for Richard Childress Racing, gained the lead midway through the first stage and dominated the rest of the way after just sitting in third early saving his car for the right time to strike. He had a cushion of almost three and a half seconds when the checkers flew. Dawson Sutton and Tristian McKee rounded out the podium.

Take 5 Oil Change Named Presenting Sponsor of Pennzoil 250

• Take 5 Oil Change, a leading provider of fast, friendly and simple car maintenance, has been named the presenting sponsor of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change will take place Saturday, July 25 as part of Brickyard Weekend, which also includes the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 presented by PPG on Sunday, July 26 with additional practice and qualifying Friday, July 24.