NASCAR
Kyle Larson starts his bid at a Miami sweep with a thrilling Truck Series victory
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.
NASCAR
Kvapil Hangs On To Win Pennzoil 250 in Top-Four Sweep by JR Motorsports
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Saturday, July 25, 2026) – The relief was mixed with tears, joy and a stage dive from his car into his crew’s arms at the fabled Yard of Bricks for Carson Kvapil.
Kvapil earned his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday in the Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading a historic sweep of the top four finishing positions by JR Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The breakthrough victory in the No. 1 Wilde Protein Crackers Chevrolet came in the 64th career start in the series for Kvapil, 23, son of 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Travis Kvapil.
“It means the world to me,” Kvapil said. “It’s very emotional. I rode around on that (victory) lap backward and sat there and thought about all the hard work I put in, me and my dad, Travis, to get to this point and the faith that (team owners) Dale Jr., L.W. Miller, Kelley Miller put behind me to give me this opportunity, to give me a second chance to come back at it this year.
“From Lap 1 in practice, the thing was a rocketship. I just knew we had to do all the right things and make the right adjustments. I just couldn’t make any mistakes. This is going to be an exciting one for a long time. I’m just going to try not to cry too much; I’ve already shed a few tears. I’m just trying to hold it together right now.”
JR Motorsports earned its third victory in this race, adding Kvapil’s name to a winner’s list including Connor Zilisch last year and Justin Allgaier in 2018. The team also became the first in series history to take the top four spots in a race and has 14 victories in 22 races this season in NASCAR’s second-tier championship.
Allgaier finished second in the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, his late-race charge toward his teammate falling .643 of a second short.
Ross Chastain placed third in the No. 9 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, with Chase Elliott rounding out JRM’s fantastic four in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet after starting last in the 38-car field. William Sawalich finished fifth in the No. 18 SoundGear Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kvapil, who started second, took the lead for good on Lap 79 of 100 when he powered past Chastain on the back straightaway. With 10 laps to go, Kvapil led by .82 of a second.
Then Allgaier entered the picture. Allgaier, who started 13th, passed Chastain for second in Turn 1 on Lap 93 and was .96 of a second behind leader Kvapil.
But series points leader Allgaier began to methodically chip away at Kvapil’s lead, pulling to within .283 of a second with one lap to go. But Kvapil kept his poise, hit his marks on corner entry and eased away from Allgaier on the final trip around the 2.5-mile oval.
“I’m disappointed we ran second,” Allgaier said. “We knew that short-run speed was going to be a challenge all day, and long-run speed was where we were going to be great, and we were. Just came up a little bit short.
“Happy for Carson. The kid has worked his tail off to get to this point and really cool to see him get this first victory.”
Chastain led three times for 31 laps, both race highs.
Jeremy Clements won the first 30-lap stage in the No. 51 Sky Fund Aviation Chevrolet before fading to 37th. Rajah Carruth won the second 30-lap stage by keeping his No. 32 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet on track when most of the field pitted during a caution from Laps 55-57. Carruth pitted during the ensuing stage break and finished 22nd.
NASCAR
Veteran Grant Enfinger wins wild NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at historic Lime Rock Park
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
LAKEVILLE, CT (July 12, 2026) – Popular veteran Grant Enfinger took the lead on a late race restart and held off a hard-charging Landen Lewis to make his first visit to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Victory Lane in more than a season – earning his first career road course win Saturday afternoon in the LiUNA 150 at Connecticut’s historic Lime Rock Park.
Enfinger, who lined up alongside Gio Ruggiero for a restart with three laps remaining, got the jump at the green flag and then held off Lewis – who was racing for his first career series win. It was a fittingly exhilarating way to close out the race which included an 18-minute red flag and thrilling door-to-door competition particularly in the closing laps.
Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the line only a slight .483-second ahead of the Niece Motorsports driver Lewis.
“I feel like we had some things play into our hand,’’ Enfinger said, noting of the day’s strongest cars, “I don’t think we had anything for the 11 [Honeycutt] or the 34 [Scott Riggs] straight up.”
Of the final restart, Enfinger said he was enthused to get the edge out front on then-leader Gio Ruggiero at the drop of the green. He had considered taking the preferable position outside but opted to start alongside Guggiero on the front row and honorably vie for the lead that way. This marks his 13th career win.
“I wanted to beat him straight up on the outside,’’ Enfinger added. “A lot went into that decision but I didn’t want to go in there and purposefully take him out of the way for the win. I feel like we beat him on the launch. And I think we had a better car.
“Just an amazing job with this Chevrolet. … I think this is only my second top 10 at a road course. We have had road course trucks this year, but I think today we were a solid top five truck and the seas parted and the good Lord blessed us today and we were able to come home for a win.’’
Championship contender Kaden Honeycutt claimed third place after an absolutely amazing drive back up through the field. The TRICON Garage Toyota driver had dropped to 24th position with 28 laps to go after being involved in a multi-car accident late in the race.
Popular driver and television analyst Parker Kligerman – a part-owner of Lime Rock Park – finished fourth in the Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet. Christian Eckes was fifth in the No. 91 McAnally Hilgemann Chevrolet.
Honeycutt’s finish to the day came after he won Stage 2 and kept polesitter, and the series championship points leader Riggs honest for the majority of the race. Riggs led the first 34 laps with one or the other leading through the opening 62 laps of the 100-lap event. Riggs won Stage 1 and Honeycutt won Stage 2.
And then the chaos set in. Four caution flags – and the red flag – came out in the closing 40 laps.
Varying pit strategies shook up the front of the field, relegating Riggs and Honeycutt to play catch-up following the Stage 2 break at Lap 60. The two who have dominated the championship standings for the last two months collided while trying to race through the field.
The damage to Riggs’ No. 34 Front Row Chevrolet proved to be too much for him to contend up front. His 48 laps out front was the most on the afternoon, but he ended up 23rd, the first driver a lap down.
He retained the championship lead, however, and is now 44 points up on Honeycutt with four races remaining to settle the regular season championship. They officially clinched a spot in the Chase today.
Enfinger’s victory was crucial in that it moved him inside the championship top 10 that will ultimately advance to the Chase. He’s now ninth in points, 25 points up on 10th place Tyler Ankrum. Stewart Friesen and Jake Garcia are tied, 17 points behind Ankrum.
Daniel Hemric, Andres Perez De Lara, Tanner Grey, Friesen and Colin Braun – an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series full-timer – rounded out the top 10 Saturday.
Thomas Annunziata, who ran up front all day after winning the ARCA Menards Series race at Lime Rock on Friday, ended up sidelined in the most dramatic incident of the day. He pulled off track with his No. 1 truck in flames while running second with 22 laps to go. Annunziata climbed out his No. 1 truck quickly and bent over to catch his breath next to a track wall. He was transported to a local area medical facility for further evaluation. He finished 29th.
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to competition next week with Saturday’s Faith Fest 250 (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the historic North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith is the defending race winner.
NASCAR
Brandon Jones grabs overtime victory in Chicagoland return
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
JOLIET, IL (July 4, 2026) — Stealing the lead from Chase Elliott on the final restart, Brandon Jones celebrated NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway with a dramatic victory in Saturday night’s rain-delayed Cuervo 300.
In the first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race to require overtime this season, Jones’ No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota stayed side-by-side with Elliott’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet through the first two corners on the decisive Lap 200 restart.
Jones took control in Turn 3 on the white-flag lap. Elliott made a determined run at the top of the track on the final circuit, but Jones blocked the lane and crossed the finish line 0.171 seconds ahead of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
“It’s been an up-and-down year,” Jones said after climbing from his car. “We had some success early on. We’ve been in a little rut the last couple weeks, so it’s just nice to do it like we did today. We had to earn that one.”
The victory was Jones’ first at Chicagoland (which hosted its first race since 2019), his first of the season and the eighth of his career, and he achieved it by outrunning an elite Cup Series driver.
“I think it says a lot about how resilient we are and how hard we’re working out there,” Jones said. “Chase made it really difficult on me. He’s one of the best in the sport. We were on old tires, and that was a blast, sliding around and dueling it out like that.”
Elliott chose the top lane for the final restart and didn’t get the push he needed from third-place finisher Jesse Love, the culprit being well-worn tires.
“I don’t think that was why we lost by any means,” Elliott said. “I know he was planning on giving me a good push… We ended up kind of having the momentum going the wrong way into Turn 3. I tried to drive in way hard and got myself super tight…
“Credit to Brandon. He did a good job. He had a good restart, stayed side-by-side through 1 and 2 and had the momentum going his way into Turn 3. I got myself in a bad spot and paid the price.”
Austin Hill finished fifth behind Love and rookie Brent Crews.
For JGR teammates Crews and Tayor Gray, the race was eminently productive in the battle for positions in the postseason Chase. Gray led 55 laps—second only to Elliott’s 78—and ended the evening seventh in the race and 11th in the standings with a 52-point cushion above the current Chase cut line.
Crews is 12th, the final Chase-eligible position, with a 44-point margin over teammate William Sawalich, the first driver below the current cutoff.
But Sawalich was seething after contact from Crews’ front bumper sent him spinning through the infield grass on Lap 165 of a planned 200 to cause the fifth of seven cautions. Sawalich finished 29th and faces an uphill battle with only four races left before the Chase field is set.
With qualifying canceled in favor of practice after rain wiped out O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice on Friday, Connor Zilisch started on the pole on metrics after a rain delay of more than four hours and led the first stage wire-to-wire, finishing 4.935 seconds ahead of second-place Love.
Under caution, however, Zilisch’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet ran out of fuel and had to be pushed to pit road. Zilisch restarted Stage 2 in 26th place and climbed to ninth by the end of the stage on Lap 90.
Elliott was first of pit road during the first stage break and held the top spot through the end of Stage 2.
Zilisch’s rotten luck continued after the break. He cut a tire after contact with the outside wall and started from the back once again, only to spin on Lap 156 and repeat the process. For a third time, he climbed through the field to finish 10th.
Justin Allgaier, Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammate, had a similarly adventurous night. Allgaier started 17th and charged to fourth by the end of Stage 2. But a safety violation on pit road for an improperly uniformed crew member sent him the rear for a restart on Lap 100.
Allgaier rallied to finish sixth and leaves Chicagoland with a 195-point series lead over second-place Love.
Behind Allgaier and Gray, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Zilisch completed the top 10. With Elliott, Allgaier and Zilisch in the top 10, JR Motorsports extended its streak of placing at least one car in the top 10 to 77 consecutive races, two short of RFK Racing’s series record, set from 2008 through 2010.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series moves to EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta for next Saturday’s Focused Health 250 (7 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

