NASCAR
Off to a strong start, Christopher Bell is poised for a breakout season
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
AUSTIN, TX (March 4, 2025) — If you’re looking for a subtitle for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, try “Christopher Bell Unbound.”
Freed from the embargo that prevented him from racing on dirt for three years, Bell is competing with joy this season—and with performance to match.
On a windy, temperate Sunday at the auspiciously shortened road course at Circuit of the Americas, Bell won his second straight race in NASCAR’s premier division and indicated, without boast, that there likely are more victories to come.
“I’m ready to keep adding to it,” Bell said after the race.
That prospect isn’t far-fetched. In fact, given the speed in his No. 20 Toyota and the flawless execution by his team, it’s not inconceivable that Bell could extend his winning streak to three or four races.
He’s the defending winner of this Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM). In last year’s season finale at the same one-mile flat track, Bell led a race-high 143 laps before finishing fifth.
In two of the last three races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the Cup Series will race on Mar. 16, Bell has finished second after winning the pole. In the 2024 Playoff event at the 1.5-mile track, Bell led a race-high 155-laps but finished second to Joey Logano by 0.662 second.
If any race was emblematic of Bell’s performance in 2024, it was that close call at Las Vegas. The No. 20 car often had winning speed, but Bell and his team all too often failed to deliver the coup de grace.
This season seems vastly different. A dirt-track Prometheus unchained from team owner Joe Gibbs’ prohibition against extracurricular racing, Bell entered 2025 with renewed confidence, steeled determination and, yes, unbridled joy.
Before turning a lap in a NASCAR Cup car, the 30-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, won the 55-lap Non-Wing Outlaw feature at the Tulsa Shootout in a photo finish over 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson.
On Jan. 13, he dominated the Chili Bowl Race of Champions against world-class midget race car drivers. On February 6, after finishing 12th in the Cook Out Clash for Cup cars at Bowman Gray Stadium, Bell won his first World of Outlaws winged sprint car feature event since 2019.
Success on dirt no doubt has contributed to Bell’s sanguine posture entering the Cup Series regular season. But why would Gibbs relax his long-standing ban on moonlighting in other forms of racing?
“I think as much as anything, we have three of our guys (Bell, new hire Chase Briscoe and grandson Ty Gibbs) heavily involved in dirt stuff,” Gibbs said. “I felt like that the thing that I probably made the decision on, they’re really focused just on racing.
“They love it, and they talked about the offseason, being able to get a chance to race some dirt stuff would help fill their time and get them excited about things. We’ll kind of see where he leads, but I made that decision, and we’ll kind of see what happens with it.”
So far, so good.
After victories at Atlanta and COTA, Bell will try for three straight at Phoenix, a feat no Cup driver has accomplished since NASCAR introduced its Next Gen Cup car in 2022. Larson is the last driver to have won three consecutive Cup races, which he did twice during his 10-victory season in 2021.
Bell knows it won’t be easy, given the way the Next Gen car has leveled the competition.
“Back in the day, I remember it was the big three,” Bell said. “Everyone had the big three. It was Kyle (Busch), Martin (Truex Jr.) and (Kevin) Harvick there for a little bit, and different guys would come and go. It seemed like those teams had a little bit extra.
“Now, with the Next Gen car, you can’t really get that advantage. Winning has certainly become harder. More guys are capable of it. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is debatable, but it’s the sport that we live in and compete in right now.”
This year, Bell does seem to have something extra, but it comes from within. He appears more resolute, with higher expectations.
“It’s time to start putting it all together,” he said. “I’m sitting here 30 years old and (have) the opportunity of a lifetime in front of me. I’ve had this team for a long time, and I haven’t been performing to the standards that I hold myself and this team holds everybody.
“So, we need to start today, and we’re off to a good start this year.”
Another win at Phoenix certainly isn’t out of the question. Neither is a victory at Las Vegas, though winning four straight is a long shot for any competitor.
In NASCAR’s modern era (from 1972 to present), only eight drivers—Cale Yarborough (1976), Darrell Waltrip (1981), Dale Earnhardt Sr. (1987), Harry Gant (1991), Bill Elliott (1992), Mark Martin (1993), Jeff Gordon (1998) and Jimmie Johnson (2007)—have won four straight races.
Five of those drivers—Yarborough, Waltrip, Earnhardt, Gordon and Johnson—won championships in the years they established the streaks.
Bell could be next in both categories, if the last two races are any indication.
“I think it’s a testament to this team,” Bell said. “They have no weaknesses. We can win at any race track at any time… I feel like we may have a ride. I don’t want to speak too early, but doing good so far.”
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, FL (March 22, 2025) – In one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier took the lead on the final lap of overtime and held off his former teammate Sam Mayer for the win – the ultimate dash for cash as it were in the Hard Rock Bet 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
For much of the day, it looked like former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson would answer his win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night at the track with a victory on Saturday. He led a dominant 132 of the 201 laps and held a 15-second advantage on the field when a caution flag flew with eight laps remaining, bunching up the field for that final overtime re-start.
Larson chose the bottom lane for the re-start with second place Mayer opting to pull his No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford directly behind Larson’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet instead of on the front row alongside him. Just as the green flag flew for that final two laps, Mayer’s car hit the rear of Larson’s and knocked Larson’s Chevrolet out of shape.
As that happened, the outside line of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Allgaier zoomed forward with Hill taking the race lead. A lap later, Allgaier caught Hill and got around him for the victory – his first top-five in 16 previous Homestead races and the second straight win for the reigning series champion, matching a trophy-haul at Las Vegas last week.
Hill finished third after Mayer passed him as well on the last lap.
“Just a testament to this team,” the 39-year-old Allgaier said. “Honestly, it was looking like it was one those days that wasn’t our day. We got behind but were able to persevere and to get this Chevrolet to Victory Lane is special.
“I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.”
“I was actually bummed to see the caution flag come out but it worked out in my favorite.” Allgaier added. “I’m bummed I maybe got the [weekend] triple from Kyle [Larson] because I think he’s going to have a great shot at [winning] it tomorrow. But we were at the right place at the right time and I’m really proud of this race team.”
The final caution flag came for a spin by pole-winner, Joe Gibbs Racing Taylor Gray. At the time, only five drivers were on the lead lap.
The last series of pit stops proved pivotal to those pursuing Larson. Twelve cars came out on the lead lap eager to see what they could do in the closing sprint toward the checkered.
Larson, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night looked well on his way to try and join Kyle Busch as the only drivers in NASCAR history to sweep three national series race wins in one weekend. In fact, he showed up in South Florida for the NASCAR weekend fresh off a sprint car win earlier in the week.
The outcome was understandably a huge disappointment for Larson, the frustration evident on his face as he climbed out of his Chevrolet on pit lane after the race.
“I’ve lived through it a number of times here, obviously a bummer to have another Homestead race play out that way,” said Larson, who finished fourth.
“I can’t go when my rear tires are off the ground,” he said of the contact from Mayer’s car on the re-start. “I did everything I thought I could and the 41 just lagged back and slammed the [expletive] of me. Bummer, but cool to have had that big lead at the end.
“Loved to have gotten a win for everybody at the 17-car. They don’t get to race all the time so it’s good we can run up front. Got one more opportunity at this [in the 17-car] in a few weeks and see if we can get it done then.”
While the first half of Saturday’s race had all five of the day’s caution flags, Larson essentially put it in cruise control for the final 100 laps – and pulled a zip code ahead of Mayer who doggedly pursued all afternoon.
“I unfortunately got to his [Larson] bumper a little too early,” Mayer said of the contact with Larson on that final re-start. “He went really, really late in the box, just played games and that’s what you’ve got to do at this level to get the advantage. But he just waited really long and I wasn’t ready for him to wait that long.
“Anytime you’re finishing second you’re super bummed out but that’s a good day. We’re going to keep it going and try to get better.”
Not only did Allgaier get a trophy to take home, but he also won the first $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus check from series sponsor Xfinity. He, Mayer, third place finisher Hill, and 10th place finisher Jesse Love were all eligible for the extra pay based on their finishes last week at Las Vegas.
The second of the four Dash 4 Cash races is next Saturday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with Allgaier, Mayer, Hill and Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed – the fifth-place finisher eligible for the next $100,000 bonus. The top-finisher among the quartet will claim the cash.
Love, JGR’s Brandon Jones and rookies Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top-10.
Allgaier is now the first series driver with multiple wins in 2025 and takes a 29-point lead in the championship standings over Mayer.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition next Saturday evening with the Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway (5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Aric Almirola in the defending race winner in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, FL (March 21, 2025) – Kyle Larson made a dramatic run to the checkered flag, rallying from a late-race spinout to methodically race back through the field and pass the night’s most dominant trucks in the final 10 laps to claim victory in Friday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
It was a fittingly remarkable end to a typically competitive night in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Larson spun his No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with 45 laps remaining in the 134-lapper and dropped out of the top-20. But the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion drove back through the field and moved forward picking off one frontrunner after another.
Larson, who is entered in all three NASCAR national series races at the 1.5-mile South Florida track this weekend, passed Front Row Motorsports rookie Layne Riggs with two laps to go and never looked back, finishing 1.340-seconds ahead of the field.
The night’s most dominant driver, TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim finished third after leading a race best 78 laps.
“I wasn’t exactly sure if I could get back up there,” said Larson who has four wins in only 16 series starts – two in his last four races. “I didn’t have the restart I wanted, took a little bit too long to start picking them off and then just got ripping the wall and it paid dividends for me in [turns] one and two.”
Larson acknowledged that Heim – who has won two of the season’s opening three races – looked tough all race and was unquestionably the truck to beat. There was a problem with Heim’s motor in the closing laps – his truck suddenly started intermittently shutting off then restoring power in the closing 20 laps.
“Not sure what happened to the 11 [Heim], but that worked out in our favor for sure,” Larson said. “I don’t think I would have gotten to him [otherwise]. Obviously, I would have gotten to second, probably, but that would have been tough to get to him. That last run was a lot of fun.”
Heim was understandably disappointed standing on pit road after the race. His No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota started from pole position, swept both stage wins and led the most laps.
“I feel like we were lights out, the best truck tonight, think we should’ve won the race by six, seven seconds at the end there,” Heim said. “I feel like at the beginning of the runs, I knew what we were capable of and let those guys get away, burn their stuff up and then, fly past them.
“I don’t know exactly what was going on. Never really had an issue like that. I’d be totally fine, and the engine would just hard cut on me. Dash would go black and have no power until I fully cycled it. So, I was coasting for six seconds trying to turn the power switch and turn it back (on). I don’t know.
“Felt I ran a really good race, saving tires and would mow them down on the long runs there. This No. 11 Tundra TRD Pro was really, really good. This just stinks pretty bad.”
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammates Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-five finishers. Floridian Ross Chastain, who competes fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series, led 33 laps in the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet but finished sixth.
ThorSport Racing’s Jake Garcia was seventh, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith, CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger and Niece’s Kaden Honeycutt, who rallied to 10th-place showing from a late race penalty that dropped him to 27th in the field.
As for potentially claiming a weekend three-race sweep, Larson said, “I felt like the Truck race was probably going to be the toughest to win, I don’t have much experience in them and the runs are typically shorter. I feel better about Xfinity and Cup but the competition keeps getting tough and tougher as you get on with the weekend, but we’ll see. Off to a good start.”
With his third-place effort, Heim takes over the championship lead and holds eight points over reigning series champ Ty Majeski and 27 points over third place Chandler Smith.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to action next Friday night at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with the Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Now Xfinity Series rookie Christian Eckes won the race last year.
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
LAS VEGAS, NV (March 15. 2025) – On Friday night, Justin Allgaier saw the Eagles in concert. On Saturday, he was flying.
Holding off Aric Almirola over a 102-lap green-flag run, Allgaier finally claimed victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after finishing second four times at the 1.5-mile track.
Allgaier’s victory in The Liuna! was his first of the season, the 26th of his career and the 90th for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The reigning series champion crossed the finish line 1.067 seconds ahead of Almirola, who lost ground trying to run the outside lane with just over three laps left.
The decisive moment in the race, however, may have come much earlier. Allgaier lost the lead to Almirola during an exchange of pit stops midway through the final stage, but he regained it in traffic on Lap 152 and remained out front the rest of the way.
With the victory, Allgaier qualified for the first Xfinity Dash4Cash race next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, along with third-place finisher Jesse Love, fourth-place Austin Hill and fifth-place Sam Mayer. The highest finisher among the four earns a $100,000 bonus.
Almirola isn’t scheduled to run the Homestead race.
“It was amazing,” said Allgaier. “This whole team—I just can’t say enough. Aric and I were going at it. Hats of to him; he ran a heck of a race…
“Rick Brandt (of sponsor Brandt) was here last night. He took us to a great concert, Eagles concert … Everyone at JR Motorsports, I can’t say enough about how proud I am of what we have here. It’s been special.”
After Allgaier took the lead on Lap 152, he opened an advantage of more than two seconds over Almirola, who spent the next 40 laps whittling the margin down to a car-length. But Almirola couldn’t find a way past Allgaier in the closing laps.
“You always hate to finish second, but Justin and that team was I felt like the class of the field today,” Almirola said. “We were close, but they could just take off so much faster than I could. I think that’s really the difference.
“I thought my only hope was to cycle in front of him on the green-flag stop, and we did, but I just got caught up behind some lapped traffic there that I misjudged. I wasn’t sure which way they were going, and he got by me and built such a big gap that I used my stuff up trying to get back to him.”
The green-flag stops in the final stage proved costly to Sunoco rookie Connor Zilisch, who streaked into the lead on Lap 100 and held it until Allgaier nosed ahead at the start/finish line on Lap 127.
During the stops on Lap 145, however, Zilisch drew a speeding penalty and served a pass-through that dropped him to the back of the lead lap. He rallied to finish ninth, the last driver on the lead lap.
Allgaier led 102 of the 200 laps, followed by Almirola (51) and Zilisch (28). Brandon Jones, Ryan Seig, Harrison Burton, Zilisch and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10.
Allgaier, who won the first stage by 8.262 seconds and finished second in Stage 2, took over the series lead by 19 points over Love.
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