NASCAR
A little luck, good instincts give William Byron second straight DAYTONA 500 win
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 17, 2025) – Like Houdini making an unlikely escape from a straitjacket, William Byron trusted his instincts and emerged from a smoky, last-lap wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway to win the DAYTONA 500 for the second straight time.
On Sunday night, after a long rain delay and a Presidential visit, Byron took full advantage when contact from Cole Custer turned three-time DAYTONA 500 winner Denny Hamlin at the front the field and started a wreck that gave Byron the opportunity he needed.
When Byron crossed the finish line 0.113 seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Reddick in overtime, he became the first driver since Hamlin in 2019 and 2020 to win the Great American Race in consecutive years.
“Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” Byron said after climbing from his car. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom, and I was honestly going to go third (top) lane regardless, because I was probably sixth coming down the back.
“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. Worked super hard all week and had an amazing car. Just had a really hard time with the fuel saving and kind of staying towards the front.”
“Crazy. I can’t honestly believe that. But we’re here. So proud of it.”
Last season, Byron claimed all three of his NASCAR Cup Series victories in the first 11 races. This year, after another Daytona win, he plans to sustain the momentum throughout the season.
“It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving,” said Byron, who picked up his third victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway and the 14th of his career.
“But just really proud of our team. I can’t stress that enough. I’m just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the offseason to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here. We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix (in the Championship 4 race).”
The wreck on the second lap of overtime frustrated both Hamlin, who was late to the lead and 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric, who led a race-high 59 laps and combined with Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney to lead 125 of 202.
“Frustration—you’re taking the white as the leader,” said Cindric, who qualified on the front row and won Thursday’s second Duel at Daytona race. “I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage. I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better.
“Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”
Hamlin had just pulled ahead of Cindric on the backstretch when Custer made a move to the outside and then steered down the track toward Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, triggering the crash.
“I measured up the 2 (Cindric), and got a run on him,” Hamlin said. “I stayed with him long enough where I could kind of control which side I wanted to pass him on, and then we had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was going to come.
“The 41 (Custer) had a run, and I chose not to block him because these races, you have to live to make it off of Turn 4, and we just didn’t.”
Legacy Motor Club owner and part-time driver Jimmie Johnson finished third in his best result since 2020 at Dover. Pole winner Chase Briscoe was fourth and John Hunter Nemechek fifth, giving Legacy two drivers in the top five.
Alex Bowman, Blaney, Cindric, Justin Allgaier (in JR Motorsports first Cup race) and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.
The race was just over four laps from completion in regulation when a bump from Custer turned Christopher Bell hard into the outside wall on Lap 196. Bell’s Toyota bounced off the SAFER barrier and collected the Ford of Ryan Preece, whose car got airborne and landed on its roof before finishing upright.
That sort of wreck wasn’t unfamiliar to Preece, who endured a spectacular series of barrel rolls in the 2023 spring race at Talladega.
“When the car took off like that, it got really quiet, and all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said. “So, I’m lucky to walk away.”
That wreck, which involved 10 cars, forced the race to overtime. An earlier melee on Lap 186, triggered by contact between Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., changed the complexion of the race—eliminating Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Noah Gragson from contention for the win.
The 67th running of the Great America Race started in short bursts. With President Donald Trump in attendance and the grandstands packed with fans—reflective of a 10th straight sellout—drivers ran just nine green-flag laps from the start before rain interrupted the proceedings.
After a red-flag period that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes, 59 seconds, drivers took to the track for a second time and ran another 12 laps under caution before a brief rainstorm halted the race for another 20 minutes, 29 seconds.
With Logano in the lead, the DAYTONA 500 resumed on Lap 24 and ran without incident until Lap 63 when the bottom lane checked up, and Zane Smith turned Hamlin’s Toyota on the backstretch.
Smith’s Ford slid up the track into the Ford of Josh Berry, seriously damaging that car. Smith took his car to the garage for attempted repairs, while Hamlin was able to continue without losing a lap.
Logano won the first stage under caution, but because of a problem with debris in the throttle body of his No. 22 Ford on the subsequent restart on Lap 71, Logano stacked up the top lane and ignited a seven-car melee in Turn 1. The accident eliminated the cars of Martin Truex Jr., Helio Castroneves and Ross Chastain.
Intense three-wide action throughout the race produced 56 lead changes among 15 drivers. Byron led five times for a total of 10 laps. There were eight cautions for 47 laps.
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
LEBANON, TN (June 1, 2025) – Ryan Blaney claimed his first victory of the 2025 season Sunday night in the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion led a commanding, race-best 139 of the 300 laps to finally secure that all-important Playoff position.
Blaney has come so close this season to hoisting a trophy only to have random racing bad luck break his heart and challenge his resolve. But Sunday, the sport’s popular 31-year-old, third-generation racer ultimately drove his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to a 2.830-second win over 22-year-old Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar in a 103-lap green flag run that closed out the race.
Blaney was so thrilled to take the win, he climbed on top of his Ford, raised his arms in triumph and then jumped off the car and ran up and into the track’s front grandstands to claim the checkered flag before handing it off to an excited young fan.
“I never gave up hope that’s for sure,’’ said Blaney, whose victory puts all three drivers of the reigning champion Penske team into the 2025 Playoffs.
“We’ve had adversity, and this hasn’t really been a good year for us in terms of good fortune, but the 12-boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes.”
Hocevar’s runner-up finish ties a career-best effort turned in at Atlanta in February.
“It just proves how strong this group is to go from the disappointment last week,” said Hocevar, who looked strong and led laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Sunday only to retire early with mechanical problems. “Sticking to it and having a shot, just proud of this group.
“We were one spot short again, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction,’’ he added.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who won the opening stage and led 79 laps, finished third despite his helmet hose and hydration system issues. Blaney’s Penske teammate Joey Logano finished fourth with current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron rounding out the top-five.
“Just couldn’t run with the 12 there in the super long run, after 40 laps I could maintain with him, but after that he’d just pull away and stretch it on us,’’ said Hamlin, whose fiancé Jordan is expecting to deliver the couple’s third child at any time.
Logano, the defending race winner also led laps but ultimately wasn’t able to challenge at the end giving up positions to Hocevar and Hamlin.
“The 12 was just lights out which gave them a huge lead and we just weren’t able to hold onto second, the 11 [Hamlin] got by me,’’ Logano said, adding, “Good execution and proud of Team Penske. All our cars have a win now and that’s pretty impressive to have everybody with a win. All the teams are really strong.’’
23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and JGR’s Christopher Bell rounded out the top-10. The effort marked a particularly significant comeback for Larson, who started 28th on the grid and was involved in an incident on lap 115.
There were 18 lead changes in all among nine drivers with Hamlin (stage one) and Blaney (stage two) claiming the stage wins.
New this year, the Nashville race sets the 32-car field for the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge – a bracket-style tournament taking place during the TNT broadcast’s five-race stretch this summer. The tournament starts June 28 at Atlanta followed by the races at Chicago, Sonoma, Dover, and Indianapolis with the winner receiving a $1 million prize.
Now, the next three races – Michigan, Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez and Pocono – will determine the bracket seeding based on a driver’s best finish out of those races.
Former series champion Brad Keselowski claimed the 32nd position for the competition by only 21 points over Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen.
Byron continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, now 48 points up on Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson with 12 regular season races remaining to set the 16-driver Playoff field. Their teammate Chase Elliott, who finished 15th Sunday, is the highest-ranked driver (fifth) without a win.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday afternoon in the Firekeeper’s Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Reddick is the defending winner at the two-mile speedway – traditionally one of the drivers’ favorite venues on the schedule.
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
LEBANON, TN. (May 31, 2025) – Justin Allgaier joked before the start of Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 that he needed to win his second NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway so he could earn another guitar trophy and have one for each of his two young daughters.
Hours later, his dominant work in the race was indeed sweet music for his title hopes. For the second time in his career, the veteran Allgaier swept both in-race stages and went on to claim victory at the 1.33-mile concrete oval – his third win of the 2025 season.
The reigning series champion had to hold off his 18-year-old rookie JR Motorsports teammate, Connor Zilisch in the closing laps, however, before ultimately driving his No. 7 Chevrolet to the win by a slight 1.289-seconds.
The two had been separated by less than half a second for much of the closing 20 laps before lapped traffic helped the Allgaier pull away in the longest green flag run – 48 laps. In all he led a race high 101 of the race’s 188-laps.
“These guys right here, they deserve this one more than anything,’’ Allgaier, 39, said, shaking hands with his JR Motorsports crew as members came up to congratulate him. “I screwed them over last week [at Charlotte] by making a [wrong] pit call with an equally as good car. But this time it was Chevrolet, which was absolutely unreal. [His wife] Ashley and the kids are here and it’s so cool to get a win here at Nashville. The fans here are incredible. This place is special to me.
“I said before the race I really wanted to get a second guitar so both kids would have a guitar. So they can fight over them. I’m really proud of JR Motorsports.”
You’d be hard-pressed to tell it was actually Zilisch’s first ever race at the concrete Nashville oval. He earned points in both stages, had good pit stops, and moved up through the field and into the top five by lap 70. He led 18 laps but his run out front was interrupted by a caution with 53 laps remaining. Allgaier took the lead in a three-wide battle up front on the ensuing restart with 48 to go and never looked back.
“I thought I might be able to get back by him, but clean air is everything and the first 20 laps of a run if you had clean air you’d prevail on a long run, just keeping your stuff cooler and not having to run as hard,’’ Zilisch said. “Congrats to Justin. He did a really good job executing on that restart. It’s the second week in a row I’ve finished second because of a re-start. It’s frustrating.
“I’m really happy with the progress we’re making and being frustrated with second [place] is a good thing,’’ he added with a smile.
Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer’s No. 41 Ford finished third, just in front of his teammate Sheldon Creed in the No. 00 Ford and a third JR Motorsports Chevy, driven by last week’s NASCAR Cup Series race winner, Ross Chastain.
Aric Almirola, Austin Hill, Jesse Love and rookie Carson Kvapil and Sammy Smith rounded out the top 10.
It marks the first win for a full-time Xfinity Series driver in the last three races and extends Allgaier’s points lead over Richard Childress Racing’s Hill to 92 points.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series has a rare off-week coming up before returning to competition Saturday, June 14 (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in the Chilango 150 at Mexico City’s famed Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez.
Update: The No. 10 has been disqualified following post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway for failing rear heights.
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
LEBANON, TN – In the closing laps of Friday night’s Rackley Roofing 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, Rajah Caruth had a question for himself.
“How bad do you want it?” Caruth thought silently, as four-time winner Corey Heim and Layne Riggs pursued him relentlessly over the final circuits.
Caruth answered his own question by driving flawlessly over the final 15 laps and crossed the finish line 0.518 seconds ahead of Heim in second and 0.629 seconds ahead of Riggs in third.
The victory was Caruth’s first at Nashville, his first of the season and the second of his career, and it vaulted him into the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs.
After Heim won the second stage—his ninth stage win of the season—a quick pit stop under caution during the stage break gave Caruth the lead on Lap 100, and he held it the rest of the way to claim the coveted guitar trophy that goes to Nashville winners.
Driving the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Caruth led twice for 61 of 150 laps, including the last 51.
“I didn’t expect that at all—those guys were breathing down my neck the whole run,” Caruth said of Heim and Riggs. “My pit crew won that race. They won the race for us, got us off pit road twice.
“We’ve been off this year, but it was good to get it done tonight. That was a lot of fun. I asked myself, ‘How bad do you want it?’ I just tried my best, and we had clean air. Their stuff was better, but I just did my best. That was it.”
Heim agreed that losing the lead on the final pit stop was critical.
“With the third stage being so straightforward—lack of strategy, going green there—it was tough to come back from not having the lead. But I slid through my (pit) box during the last stop and didn’t do my guys any favors… just something to reflect on my end.
“But huge congrats to Rajah. He did an awesome job managing from the lead. I was really free behind him, and he made pretty much the right choice every time as far as where I was going to go.”
Riggs, who won the first stage, got to Heim’s bumper twice in the battle for second but couldn’t claim the runner-up spot.
“I’ll tell you, I had the best seat in the house there at the end of that race,” said Riggs, who fell from second to eighth off pit road during the second stage break because of trouble removing his right front tire. “They were doing some racing right there in front of me.
“I hoped to be right there in the mix. I just didn’t have enough time.”
Daniel Hemric came home fourth, followed by Corey Day, a dirt-track phenom who posted his first top five in his ninth start in Truck Series competition.
Heim widened his series lead to 122 points over second-place Hemric entering the June 7 DQS Solutions & Staffing 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
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