Chase Elliott does not want to 'barely get into' NASCAR Cup playoffs
Chase Elliott does not want to 'barely get into' NASCAR Cup playoffs
Chase Elliott, comfortably above the NASCAR playoffs cutline but without a win in 2025, wants to avoid points racing late in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season.
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Newsweek
12 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Ryan Blaney Breaks Silence on Cadillac F1 Rumor With Just One Word
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A post on X from a parody account wrongly claimed that the Cadillac F1 team has reached out to NASCAR's Team Penske to have driver Ryan Blaney test their Formula One car. It also stated that Blaney would be eligible to receive a Super Licence to race in F1 if he finished 2nd this year. Blaney has responded with just a single three-letter word. Cadillac's F1 team has been gearing up for its premier class debut next year as the sport's eleventh team. The car is being developed in full swing to ensure it is competitive from the first year. Set to be the second American team on the grid, Cadillac joins at a crucial time as F1 enters a new era of regulations in 2026, where cars will be powered by an equal ratio of electric power to internal combustion through sustainable fuels. This is being done to comply with the sport's goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, poses with the winner sticker on his car in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 01,... Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, poses with the winner sticker on his car in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 01, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. MoreHowever, the big question Cadillac gets asked every time is about its driver lineup. While no name has been announced yet, Blaney being linked to the new F1 team for testing would certainly attract attention. Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon confirmed in March that car components were being tested extensively and stressed that there was more work to be done. Newsweek Sports reported: "In terms of timeline for production, we're happy with where that stands. "We've been using a lot of time up to now doing a lot of testing and validation of individual components, things like testing of noses, squeeze testing of chassis elements and the like. "There's an awful lot of work that has gone on in the background. There's still a lot of work to do. "We're in a significantly better position now that we're now a fully-fledged F1 team. We will have access to all the data and information that all the other teams have." He added: "Now we can really push to come up with the most competitive car that we can. The team is already very sizeable, we're very comfortable about the position we're in, in terms of being ready to go racing in 2026." Blaney, however, has rejected the report of him testing for Cadillac. Commenting on the post on X, he said simply, "Nah." While many would have loved to witness a NASCAR-F1 crossover, it won't be happening this time.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan odds, expert predictions for FireKeepers Casino 400
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan this weekend for the FireKeepers Casino 400. The Michigan track draws plenty of racing pride and has real potential this year for a long shot to finish first. The usual suspects are favored in the odds, but our experts have some insight into other drivers who could claim their first win of the year. Advertisement As we do each week, we're bringing our burning questions about NASCAR controversies, power players and the race ahead to our motorsports experts, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi. Take it away, guys! OK, tell us about the in-season tournament and why Jeff was railing against the seeding system on Tuesday. We haven't touched on it much this year, and it's almost time! Should we be getting excited about this yet? Jeff: Save your excitement for a few more weeks, but I'm definitely looking forward to it when the time comes. Basically, NASCAR is taking the top 32 drivers in points and doing a single-elimination, March Madness-style bracket over five races. It's head-to-head matchups between drivers that will play out in each race (1 vs. 32, 2 vs. 31, etc.). My beef with it is how they're doing the seeding. Instead of doing it in the order of point standings, NASCAR is going to take a driver's top finish over the next three weeks and seed the drivers based on that. So the winner of the Mexico City road course is going to be a guaranteed top-three seed (depending on tiebreakers) while some big-name driver who has three bad races might be a seed in the high 20s or worse. That's going to confuse casual bettors, which is the whole point of this thing in the first place. Imagine seeing Kyle Larson as a No. 27 seed heavily favored in the odds against AJ Allmendinger as a No. 6 seed; is it really an 'upset' if Larson wins that first-round matchup? Of course not. Other than that, though, it should be a fun, breezy talking point during the often-dry summer months. Jordan: It's a fun concept that should hopefully add some intrigue during a time in the season that sometimes needs more of it. Heightening the novelty is the fact that the five tracks comprising the tournament include a superspeedway, two road/street courses and one of the most iconic tracks in all of motorsports. However, as Jeff noted, the only hangup with all this is how the seeding is determined, as it's not nearly as straightforward as it should be, potentially turning off the casual fans NASCAR hopes to attract. This may be one of those things where it takes a year to work out all the kinks before taking off in Year 2. Advertisement You've been covering Carson Hocevar, who almost won last week. How long until the 22-year-old gets his first Cup win? What's his biggest weakness/obstacle at this point? Is his perceived aggressiveness on the track a pro or a con? Jeff: It sure seems like Hocevar and Spire are on the doorstep of something special. I wrote a profile of Hocevar this week that I'd love for you to check out, as he has quite a unique personality and doesn't run from his roots as a true NASCAR fan. But he's also obviously run afoul of many veteran drivers, who keep calling him out and getting angry with him, and it's seemingly going to come back to bite him at some point. That's not unusual for a young driver who bursts onto the NASCAR scene, though; veterans often try to get a brash new driver to adapt to the series' on-track code (which is ever-evolving), and sometimes it can result in fireworks. Overall, though, the saying in the garage is it's easier to pull the reins on a fast driver than to try and make a slow driver go faster. Jordan: Certainly feels like it could happen soon, especially if Spire Motorsports can continue fielding fast racecars as it's been doing on a seemingly near-weekly basis. And this week's race at Michigan, Hocevar's home track, represents a good place for him to get that first W, as it shares similar characteristics with Nashville and Charlotte, sites of the previous two races, where Hocevar was in contention for the victory. You talked a bit in our preview last week about Bubba Wallace's recent tough trend. What does he need to do to start improving? What's off for him, after what felt like an optimistic start? Jeff: He rebounded to a top-10 finish last week at Nashville, so that's progress. Honestly, at this point, he just needs to string together some good finishes, especially with the road course season coming up (which hasn't been his strong suit, although he's improved lately). He's still inside the playoff picture, just not quite as securely as before. Michigan is a place that has fit him well before, so he's very capable of leaving with back-to-back top-10 runs that would get his season back on track. Jordan: Maintaining track position up front and avoiding miscues are the two areas Wallace's No. 23 needs to improve upon. During his three-race stretch of poor finishes, issues on pit road cost Wallace several positions, dropping him back in the field and making him vulnerable to getting swept in crashes, which is exactly what happened. At Nashville, Wallace again had an issue on pit road — he was penalized for speeding — but he was able to rally back to finish inside the top 10. He's a winning driver and his team is capable, and Michigan is a track where he's nearly won previously, so a mistake-free race on Sunday could manifest into Wallace getting his third career win. Who is your favorite to win this week? Who does the track advantage? Jeff: This is NASCAR's only remaining two-mile oval (RIP Fontana, sniff sniff) and is the fastest track in the Cup Series. Teams will need to bring their best stuff, get their engines tuned up and nail their setups to rip around Michigan. There's a lot of manufacturer pride racing near Detroit, but it's mostly been a Ford show. Until Tyler Reddick and his Toyota won last season, Ford had won nine straight Michigan races (nine!). Chevrolet hasn't won a Michigan race since 2017, and Hendrick Motorsports hasn't won there since 2014. How crazy is that? Advertisement Anyway, I'll be honest: For some reason, I'm thinking we could see RFK Racing show up with some speed this week, and they're not even close to the favorites. Chris Buescher is +2000, and Brad Keselowski is +2500. And both drivers rank in the top three for average finish at Michigan in the three Next Gen races there. Hmm… Jordan: Ford has typically dominated races here in recent years, and Sunday feels no different, especially with how strong Team Penske has performed on intermediate tracks this season. Any one of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric or Josh Berry could win, and it would in no way be a surprise. But among this quartet, Blaney is the pick. His consistent speed has been impressive, and Michigan, with its tendency for long green-flag runs, favors his driving style, where he is often the fastest over such runs. Look for Blaney to get his second win in as many weeks. Who is a long shot you like? Jeff: Speaking of RFK, Ryan Preece is +6000. Heck, Austin Cindric is +6000 (what??). And so is Erik Jones, who has shown strength at Michigan. They are all +190 to secure a top-10 finish, so maybe you could sprinkle a bit there and see if you end up getting two of the three correct. Jordan: Chris Buescher checks a lot of boxes. He drives a Ford (winner of nine of the past 10 races here) and has a Michigan win on his resume. His smooth driving style is a good fit here, where managing pace goes a long way to achieving success. And he's listed as high as +2200 on some boards, which means he offers a good return if he can find victory lane on Sunday. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Tyler Reddick, who won at Michigan last year: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ryan Blaney's Unexpected Act After NASCAR Nashville Race Is Turning Heads
Ryan Blaney's Unexpected Act After NASCAR Nashville Race Is Turning Heads originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Ryan Blaney has finally broken through into the win column. The Team Penske driver scored his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series when he topped the field in the Cracker Barrel 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, on Sunday. Advertisement Blaney started in the 15th position but still had a solid performance, as he led by a total of 139 laps while also winning Stage 2 of the race. Blaney continued to grab attention after winning the race, as he personally handed the checkered flag to a lucky fan in the stands. That moment was captured on video, which was later shared by NASCAR on Instagram. "A true role model," said a fan after seeing the video of Blaney's gesture to the fan. Another one said: "Ok, that's pretty cool!' From a commenter: "🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Ryan Blaney is so smooth with the W' 'That's what it's all about! Blaney made that kid a fan for life,' a social media user posted. Advertisement Via a different commenter: 'He is a cool guy n a great race car driver.' Said another: 'Man of the people 🏁.' NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) leads during the Cracker Barrel 400 NASCAR Cup Series race.© Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The 31-year-old Blaney deservedly cherished the victory, as he had come close to one multiple times in previous starts. So far in the 2025 season, he has six top 5s and seven top 10s through 15 starts. Hopefully for Blaney, his win in Nashville would not also be his last this season, as he now looks forward to the next race on schedule, which is the Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 8, followed by the Great American Getaway 400 Presented by at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, on June 22. Advertisement Related: Furious Denny Hamlin Rips Team for 'Unacceptable' Issue at Nashville This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
