Category: NASCAR

The first road course race of the season, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, will take place on Sunday at COTA in Austin, Texas, for the NASCAR Cup Series.

Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick are on the pole in the top row, which is exclusively for 23XI Racing.

Due to the increased number of road course races over the past five seasons, the Cup field has generally been stronger; Sunday’s event is the first of six road course races in 2025.

As full-time Cup drivers this season, Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger contribute to the field strength.

On Sunday, SVG will begin on the sixth, and Allmendinger on the twelfth. Watch our live race updates, with the green flag scheduled for COTA after 2:30 p.m. CT.

Connor Zilisch is lagging behind because he has a flat tire.

He will enter pit road. The fender around Denny Hamlin’s wheel well is nearly entirely pulled off, and his right front is heavily damaged.

Ross Chastain spins as the green flag appears. Drive hard, dive deep into the corner, and then chase Elliott at the first turn. I’m not sure what Elliott should do there.

Alan Gustafson, the Elliott crew chief, informs his driver, “We’re going to send the one car when we get the chance to send him.”

Drivers are in their vehicles and engines have been cranked in Austin, Texas, under largely sunny skies. Today’s 95 laps on the 2.4-mile track configuration that has been altered.

In Saturday’s qualifying session, Tyler Reddick secured the pole position, while 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace swept the top row.

The Performance Racing Network will broadcast the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA.

In addition to having affiliates nationwide, PRN’s feed is streamed on NASCAR.com and the NASCAR app.

Additionally, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, will broadcast the event.

 

 

 

NASCAR slapped fines on two Xfinity Series teams after the Atlanta race for safety rule violations.

 

The Haas Factory Team No. 00 and Big Machine Racing No. 48 both got caught with improperly installed lug nuts, which led to a $5,000 fine for each team. The issue, found during post-race inspections, fell under Section 8.8.10.4a of the NASCAR Rule Book.

 

NASCAR stated: “Both cars were found to have at least one lug nut not properly installed, which is a safety violation noted in Section 8.8.10.4a in the NASCAR Rule Book. The teams were each fined $5,000.”

 

Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 is driven by Nick Sanchez, who managed to snag his first-ever top-five finish in the Xfinity Series in Atlanta, overcoming some early damage to his car.

 

Meanwhile, Sheldon Creed, driving the Haas Factory Team No. 00 Ford, ended the race in the 14th position. The Haas Factory Team was formed after Stewart-Haas Racing, co-owned by Gene Haas and former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, decided to close down at the end of 2024.

 

Despite the penalty, Creed is currently in second position in the Xfinity championship standings. Whereas, Sanchez is in fifteenth.

 

This comes ahead of this weekend’s race at the iconic Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 is set to take place on Saturday 1st March at 2.30 p.m. ET. Fans who want to follow the action live can watch on CW, PRN, and SiriusXM.

 

For the latest NASCAR news, head over to Newsweek Sports.

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Current Standings

Austin Hill – 84 points

Sheldon Creed – 83 points

Jesse Love – 78 points

Justin Allgaier – 76 points

Jeb Burton – 66 points

Harrison Burton – 61 points

Jeremy Clements – 55 points

Sam Mayer – 53 points

Carson Kvapil – 53 points

Matt DiBenedetto – 51 points

Sammy Smith – 50 points

Leland Honeyman – 50 points

Taylor Gray – 45 points

Ryan Sieg – 44 points

Nicholas Sanchez – 42 points

Dean Thompson – 40 points

William Sawalich – 40 points

Aric Almirola – 39 points

Josh Williams – 39 points

Christian Eckes – 38 points

Joey Gase – 38 points

Ryan Ellis – 33 points

Daniel Dye – 31 points

Jordan Anderson – 30 points

Josh Bilicki – 30 points

Patrick Emerling – 27 points

Brennan Poole – 27 points

Brandon Jones – 25 points

Caesar Bacarella – 24 points

Anthony Alfredo – 24 points

Blaine Perkins – 21 points

Connor Zilisch – 21 points

Ryan Truex – 20 points

Garrett Smithley – 19 points

Parker Retzlaff – 18 points

Kris Wright – 16 points

Nick Leitz – 15 points

Justin Bonsignore – 12 points

CJ McLaughlin – 12 points

Greg Van Alst – 11 points

Mason Massey – 9 points

Mason Maggio – 6 points

Carson Ware – 5 points

Kyle Sieg – 5 points

 

 

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign officially got underway at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16. As is the case at the start of every new season, drivers have been more in the public eye, attending pre-race events as well as making television appearances promoting the sport.

 

But for fans paying attention, they realize the drivers haven’t stopped there. Drivers have shown up in other capacities around the nation, including Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace making the rounds in Chicago and appearing on Barstool Sports. Ryan Blaney and his new wife Gianna visited Austin, Texas for some good eats and good times.

 

These additional appearances aren’t by accident. They’re intentional, and most importantly, they’re profitable for the drivers as a part of NASCAR’s new Driver Ambassador Program, which is designed to get the drivers out in the public and reward them for doing so.

 

Through an app, drivers and their agents can see potential media opportunities available that are in addition to the traditional at-track appearances done in the past. The app features a scoring system and drivers receive points for their respective appearances.

 

According to the Sports Business Journal, drivers receive one point for every 15 minutes. The larger the media platform, the more points earned. A national television appearance earns four points in an hour.

 

There will be two payouts each year. After all the points are added up during each period, the top performer will receive $1 million while the bottom performer is expected to receive around $7,500. One driver could potentially earn $2 million for the year.

 

“ I think it’s good,” Blaney said during his visit to the Lone Star State. “I think you’re going to see a lot of guys – Chase is a great example of going out and doing 10 times more stuff than what we would do. And this is everybody than what we normally do just because you’re getting some extra dough to do it right.

 

“And I think that’s right. If you’re doing work, extra work, you should be compensated for it. I think I was happy with where it got. And I think you’re gonna see the sport get healthier as well from it because you’re gonna have the whole field want to do all this stuff.”

 

The sport will get healthier as will the drivers’ bank accounts in what appears to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.

 

 

 

Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell (34) battles with NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) during the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Feb 25, 2024; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell (34) battles with NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) during the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. David Yeazell USA TODAY Sports

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Atlanta Motor Speedway continues to be among the most action-packed tracks in NASCAR.

 

The 1.54-mile track reconfigured to run a superspeedway package produced another photo finish this weekend, roughly a year after the main event culminated with the top drivers racing three-wide for the win.

 

Kyle Busch, the 39-year-old Cup veteran, nipped Stewart Friesen by 0.017 seconds to win his second straight truck race at Atlanta. Both the lower-series races saw their share of wrecks and lead changes, building up to the anticipated Ambetter Health 400 at 3 p.m. Sunday.

 

Whether it ends in a typical crash-filled superspeedway finish, or viewers get to see another late green-flag run to the checkered flag, Atlanta continues proving itself as one of the most competitive tracks on the sport’s calendar.

 

“Speedway racing on the Cup side is the way it is: Three-wide, fuel saving until it’s time to go try to push, and when it’s time to push, it becomes too wide,” Busch said. “A lot of times the outside row can’t keep up, but it’s just bumper cars. It’s 200 mile-an-hour bumper cars. And the guy fourth in line doesn’t want to be fourth in line, he wants to be in the front.

 

“Championships come in certain different ways. It’s not always the same script each and every time. There’s not a perfect way to be able to write the book, but you just have to go out there and let the book be written.”

 

NASCAR wants championship rotation, and Atlanta sees yearly improvement

Atlanta was repaved four years ago, and the racing keeps improving.

 

Joey Logano earned his second victory as many seasons at Atlanta to open last year’s Cup playoffs, which sparked his championship run.

 

NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell recently indicated that it’s essentially certain that the location of the end-of-season championship race will inevitably rotate. He ruled out superspeedways and road courses — but leaves the door open for intermediate tracks.

 

“It’s more complicated than just waving a checkered flag and say, ‘Let’s move the championship,’ but I do think a rotation is going to be really important for us,” O’Donnell said on the Hauler Talk podcast. “If (a driver has) won 45 Phoenix races in a row and the championship is there, it’s probably not a good look for the sport, right? And we’ve had a good mixture (of champions at Phoenix). But I think a rotation is what the fans would like.

 

“College football and the NFL (have) that rotation (of championship games) and anticipation of a new venue. I think you’ll see that with NASCAR as well.”

 

‘That’s going to make it for even better racing’

Both lower-series races Saturday saw the drivers who led the most reach Victory Lane.

 

Busch led 80 of the trucks’ 135 laps and held off Friesen, the 41-year-old veteran driver, in what is the series’ closest finish in nearly 20 years — since Ron Hornaday Jr. beat Bobby Labonte by 0.006 seconds in 2005.

 

Austin Hill maintained his dominance at Atlanta, winning his third in a row and fifth in his past six starts there. He led the most laps as well and drove off from the pack as a wreck ensued after he’d taken the white flag, which did not yield a caution and Hill raced to the checkered flag.

 

Compared to the pileups that often bookend races on 2.5-mile superspeedways, these races produced highlights throughout — and winners who were reflective of the race they ran.

 

“You have to handle a little bit better here than at Talladega or Daytona,” Ryan Blaney said. “I feel like we have a fairly decent idea of the balance — how much more handling we have to do without giving up speed — and that is just a product of working really hard with all the crew chiefs and engineers on the direction we’re going.

 

“Each year, this place gets a little bit worse as far as grip, which is good. That’s going to make it for even better racing.”

 

 

 

 

Jesse Love has secured the pole position for the upcoming Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

 

This is particularly remarkable as it marks his sixth career pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, continuing his unbroken streak of pole positions at this venue.

 

Jesse Love is in his sophomore season in the series and has been building momentum since he won the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. Love’s impressive qualifying lap was clocked at 31.730 seconds with a speed of 174.724 mph.

 

At just 20 years old, Love is driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. He is recognized as one of NASCAR’s promising young talents after his dominating performance in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023.

 

Behind him, Richard Childress Racing has shown consistent success, particularly at superspeedway and drafting track races like those held at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The track itself, a 1.54-mile quad-oval reconfigured in 2022, now presents features similar to those of larger superspeedways, leading to intense pack racing.

 

In securing this pole, Love becomes just the fifth driver to win three poles in his first three starts at a track, joining the ranks of legends such as Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Sam Ard.

 

Following the qualifying round, Love praised his team’s performance and the contribution of his crew chief, Danny Stockman. He explained to the media:

 

“Yeah, I drive fast race cars, and that obviously helps.

 

“We have big power, and my crew chief Danny Stockman is really good at his job as well. Qualifying time, my job is pretty easy, and my job is tough tomorrow night.”

 

For the latest NASCAR news, head over to Newsweek Sports.

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Qualifying Results at Atlanta

No. 2 Jesse Love

No. 21 Austin Hill

No. 11 Josh Williams

No. 7 Justin Allgaier

No. 41 Sam Mayer

No. 54 Taylor Gray

No. 20 Brandon Jones

No. 1 Carson Kvapil

No. 16 Christian Eckes

No. 88 Connor Zilisch

No. 18 Willliam Sawalich

No. 8 Sammy Smith

No. 10 Daniel Dye

No. 39 Ryan Sieg

No. 48 Nick Sanchez

No. 19 Aric Almirola

No. 00 Sheldon Creed

No. 42 Anthony Alfredo

No. 25 Harrison Burton

No. 27 Jeb Burton

No. 92 C.J. McLaughlin

No. 26 Dean Thompson

No. 4 Parker Retzlaff

No. 51 Jeremy Clements

No. 31 Blaine Perkins

No. 71 Ryan Ellis

No. 28 Kyle Sieg

No. 5 Kris Wright

No. 70 Leland Honeyman

No. 99 Matt DiBenedetto

No. 44 Brennan Poole

No. 91 Josh Bilicki

No. 14 Garrett Smithley

No. 07 Nick Leitz

No. 74 Carson Ware

No. 45 Mason Massey

No. 53 Mason MAggio

No. 35 Joey Gase

 

 

Jeb Burton – No. 27 Norma Precision Ammunition

Chevrolet Preview-Atlanta Motor Speedway

 

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Practice; No practice is scheduled for Saturday afternoon’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS).

– Starting Position; With no practice scheduled, NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) teams would spend Friday afternoon going thru technical inspection prior to putting cars on the track for Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 qualifying. Similar to the past three seasons, AMS would once again use superspeedway qualifying consisting of two rounds of single car single lap qualifying with the 10 fastest cars in Round 1 moving on to Round 2 to determine the starting order of the Top-10. Putting down his lap 27th in the order, Burton would log a lap of 32.289 at 171.699 MPH placing the No. 27 Norma Chevrolet 20th on the board. Failing to move on to Round 2, Burton will start the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 outside Row 10 in the 20th position at 5 P.M. ET Saturday afternoon LIVE on CW Network.

 

AM Racing | Harrison Burton Atlanta Motor Speedway Xfinity Race Preview

– Atlanta Motor Speedway Stats; Saturday NXS Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 will mark Burton’s tenth NXS start at AMS. In eight previous starts, Burton holds an average finish of 15.7 with a 99.7% lap completion rate completing 1485 laps of the possible 1489. Burton has two Top-10 finishes with a best of second coming in 2021 after starting 11th. Burton has finished in Top-25 in all of his nine starts at Atlanta. In his last outing at AMS in July of 2024, Burton would start in the 20th position and come away with the 24th spot.

 

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Blaine Perkins – No. 31 easycare

Chevrolet Preview- Atlanta Motor Speedway

 

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Practice; No practice is scheduled for Saturday afternoon’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at AMS.

– Starting Position; With no practice scheduled, NXS teams would spend Friday afternoon going thru technical inspection prior to taking the track for qualifying to determine the starting order for Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250.

Similar to the past three seasons, AMS would once again use superspeedway qualifying consisting of two rounds of single car single lap qualifying with the 10 fastest cars in Round 1 moving on to Round 2 to determine the starting order of the Top-10. Sixth off the line to make his qualifying run, Perkins would put down a lap of 32.558 at 170.281 MPH earning the No. 31 easycare Chevrolet 25th in the running order. Failing to transfer to the second round, Perkins will start the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 inside Row 16 in the 25th position at 5 P.M. ET Saturday afternoon.

 

– Atlanta Motor Speedway Stats; Saturday afternoons scheduled Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 will mark Perkins’s 6th NXS start at AMS. In five previous starts, Perkin’s holds an average finish of 26.5 with an 90.4% lap completion rate finishing 748 laps of the possible 827. Last July, Perkins would earn a 19th place finish after starting the Focused Health 250 in the 24th spot.

 

 

 

Three Stewart-Haas Racing numbers from 2024 are set to move to new teams for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

 

 

 

Three of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four car numbers have found new homes for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season after the Gene Haas and Tony Stewart-owned team shut down following the 2024 season.

 

The No. 41 hasn’t really moved to a “new” landing spot, per se, as it is still set to be used by Haas as he starts his new Haas Factory Team.

 

This team is set to enter only the No. 41 Ford for Cole Custer, who competed for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series from 2020 to 2022 before moving back to the team’s Xfinity Series program.

 

Two other Stewart-Haas Racing numbers on the move

The No. 4 is set to serve as Front Row Motorsports’ third car number, and it is set to be used for Noah Gragson’s Ford entry. Gragson spent the 2024 season with Stewart-Haas Racing behind the wheel of the No. 10 Ford. Front Row Motorsports acquired their third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing.

 

And speaking of the No. 10, that number has moved to Kaulig Racing. Matt Kaulig’s team are set to run the No. 10 instead of the No. 31 in 2025, and Ty Dillon is set to drive the No. 10 Chevrolet. Daniel Hemric drove the No. 31 Chevrolet in 2024.

 

As for Stewart-Haas Racing’s other car number, the No. 14 has not found a new home for 2025, meaning that the 2025 season is set to become the first without the car number since 2008.

 

With the No. 14 and the No. 31 out of the Cup Series for 2025, two new car numbers are in. 23XI Racing, which acquired a third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing like Front Row Motorsports did, are set to add the No. 35 Toyota for Riley Herbst. The No. 35 hasn’t been used since 2016.

 

Trackhouse Racing, which also acquired a third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing, are set to add the No. 88 Chevrolet for Shane van Gisbergen. The No. 88 hasn’t been used since 2020.

 

Daytona International Speedway is scheduled to open up the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with the 67th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 16, and live coverage is set to be provided by Fox beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET after a late schedule change. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!

 

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Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Kris Wright (5) crashes into driver Josh Bilicki (91) on pit road during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Kris Wright (5) crashes into driver Josh Bilicki (91) on pit road during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

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There was some confusion for a moment about what exactly had happened at the end of Saturday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race — but Jesse Love made it all clear with an exceptional burnout in the Daytona International Speedway grass.

 

 

Love earned the series’ season-opening win on Saturday night by leading 30 laps and leaving nothing to chance in the overtime period — commanding that final restart from beginning to end. There was a wreck in that final overtime period, leaving the field in a bit of a fog if another restart was coming, but NASCAR ruled that the caution flag didn’t fly until Love had taken the white flag, which ultimately delivered the 20-year-old driver his first victory at Daytona.

 

It all happened so fast, Love was out of breath after his burnout. The Richard Childress Racing driver summoned enough energy, however, to send a statement to his team as well as the rest of the Xfinity field.

 

“We’re winners,” he said. “We know we are. We all want to win a championship for Richard Childress. Man, that thing was as fast as Xfinity mobile and I’m ready to go get to Atlanta now. It was awesome.”

 

Sam Mayer finished second in a race that featured eight cautions for 39 laps and 24 lead changes among 11 different leaders. Sheldon Creed took third. Carson Kvapil (fourth) was the highest-finishing rookie. Check here for full race results.

 

For Love, his win reminded him of his first and only Xfinity win prior to Saturday: the win at Talladega Superspeedway as a rookie in 2024. Leading up to Saturday he said he’d studied Daytona and realized he couldn’t approach the Florida track the same as the Alabama one.

 

“It was hard for me to win here for a while because I kind of thought the two were similar,” he said. “And then I studied Daytona for weeks, right, trying to figure out what doesn’t work for me here. The moment for me was, I went and watched Talladega and said, ‘None of these moves are going to work at Daytona.’ And that’s when I realized: Talladega is kind of more checkers, and Daytona is a little more chess. And that kind of goes with the exquisite nature of Daytona.”

 

Loven then said he reached the midway point of the race and had a decision to make, he said.

 

“I could go back to what I was doing (when I was a rookie), or I could stay the course and see if it panned out in the end like I thought it should,” Love said. “I thought I had nothing to lose, so I kind of just stayed the course of what I thought was going to work out in the end. It just comes down to being really patient. And staying with the line and making your line go forward and not pulling out and going three-wide and things like that.”

 

That delivered him the lead.

 

And then once he got the lead, he didn’t relinquish it.

 

Daytona race originally belonged to Austin Hill, a superspeedway savant

Before Love took the win, it looked to be his teammate’s race to lose. Austin Hill, the Richard Childress Racing driver of the 21 car, won the first and second stages with ease. He was vying for the record of four straight season-opening NASCAR wins at Daytona. The only ones who’ve won three Xfinity Series season-openers in a row? Hill, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.

 

But then his fates changed. Mechanical issues on Lap 89 forced Hill to the garage and ended his contending chances.

 

; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Kris Wright (5) crashes into driver Josh Bilicki (91) on pit road during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Kris Wright (5) crashes into driver Josh Bilicki (91) on pit road during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Hill’s departure to the infield split the race’s two big moments before the checkered flag swooped down.

 

The first came in Lap 87, when Kris Wright appeared to have braking issues as he approached pit road, crashing into Josh Bilicki’s car and prompting a caution. Wright was asked after the wreck on the CW broadcast what happened, and Wright said “communication issues” with his spotter was the cause of the blunder. It’s not clear what those communication issues were, however.

 

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Justin Bonsignore (19) wrecks in front of the field during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Justin Bonsignore (19) wrecks in front of the field during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

The second came in Lap 113, seven laps away from the end of regulation, where Justin Allgaier made contact with Justin Bonsignore, who then collected Anthony Alfredo and Sammy Smith. The caution came out, and the track didn’t get cleared until three laps to go.

 

There was another blip with two laps to go. Connor Zilisch was racing in the middle of the pack and then got turned into the wall, collecting some others. That forced the day’s seventh caution and overtime.

 

And then there was another caution in overtime — but not until Love had received the white flag.

 

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Carson Kvapil (1) crashes into driver Justin Bonsignore (19) during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Carson Kvapil (1) crashes into driver Justin Bonsignore (19) during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Three quotes to remember from Xfinity Daytona race

▪ This was one of Mayer’s best finishes in Daytona. According to Driver Averages, Saturday’s P2 finish was his first Top 10 finish as an Xfinity driver in eight tries. Those finishes: 12, 30, 34, 27, 19, 36, 13. Although he wanted the win, he’s happy with “surviving” this superspeedway race. Perhaps some of that success could be attributed to good, aggressive, but clean racing on Saturday night.

 

Here are Mayer’s thoughts on the quality of racing Saturday: “I think that the entire series did a good job tonight. I think we put on a heck of a show. Obviously, I’m really excited to watch it. … The intensity was definitely up, and we didn’t wreck too many cars, I don’t think, so overall I feel like it was pretty decent. Obviously one spot short is gonna rub salt in that wound a little bit. But overall there’s a lot of positivity going around.”

 

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Taylor Gray (54) and driver Justin Allgaier (7) during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Feb 15, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; Xfinity Series driver Taylor Gray (54) and driver Justin Allgaier (7) during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

▪ Creed, who finished third, ran an admirable race until the end, trying to chase down Love: “When he got control at the end, I tried to make a few runs at him. I think I got next to him. I got by him twice. But he could just pounce right back. Whereas I felt like when I would get passed by him, it would take me a few laps to try to create a run. He just had a really fast car and could rebound really quickly.”

 

▪ Allgaier, who is running in JR Motorsports’ entry in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, was part of the wreck that ended Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. He told reporters outside the infield care center that he wasn’t happy with how his night turned out and that he’d “own” the mistake at the white flag. He ended up P18. Will he be ready for the Great American Race? “I’m not sore at all,” Allgaier said. “So that’s good. Tomorrow is its own animal. We’ll try to go and run 500 miles and do a better job than we did today. I’m just hopeful we hit a lot less stuff tomorrow than we did today because today was not fun.”

 

 

 

Frankie Muniz, the actor known widely for his roles in Malcolm in the Middle and Agent Cody Banks, has made headlines by finishing in the top 10 during his fifth NASCAR truck series race.

 

This impressive finish came at the end of the Truck Series in Daytona. Originally, Muniz finished in eleventh place but was promoted one place higher after the disqualification of Parker Kligerman, whose car was disqualified after it was revealed his rear suspension was running too high.

 

This event saw the actor’s best performance in NASCAR’s developmental series, showing that his motorsport journey is gaining momentum.

 

Since stepping towards a career in NASCAR, Muniz has faced a unique set of challenges. Having participated full-time in the ARCA series in 2023, Muniz proved his dedication by racing part-time across different series in 2024, including the ARCA, truck, and Xfinity series.

 

The actor-turned-driver seems determined to prove himself on the track, pushing through last year’s challenges, including a tough 2024 season that only saw seven races.

 

Muniz is currently driving for Reaume Brothers Racing, which is known as a smaller team in the sport. This team, with its No. 33 Ford truck, gave him a platform to demonstrate his racing potential, even if their resources might not match those of bigger teams.

 

“They don’t know what I can do… I want to earn their respect,” Muniz told Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, reflecting on the skepticism he faces and his want to prove himself on the track.

 

Flexibility is key as Muniz juggles his acting commitments and racing. He is part of a planned Malcolm in the Middle reunion series, which, thanks to a tailored schedule, allows him to act for the first half of the week and focus on racing from Thursdays to Saturdays. How he balances his responsibilities will be crucial given the demanding schedule of 25 planned races stretching from mid-February through early November.

 

“I couldn’t ask for anything better. I think this truck was so fast,” he said following today’s performance. “I know I have to prove myself here. Last year, I didn’t have the opportunity to do that. And not that this fully does that.

 

“This is great. This is a step. Hopefully, I earn respect. I’m in the Ford technical meeting with the other drivers, and… even though we’re manufacturer teammates… I still don’t think they know what I can do or not.

 

“I want to earn their respect. And the only way to do that is to do it on track.”

 

He ended: “I’m happy. This was, this was great. This was awesome.”