Michigan lands 4-star QB Brady Smigiel from Newbury Park (CA)
April 26 - Brady Smigiel, a four-star quarterback in the Class of 2026, announced his commitment to Michigan on Saturday.
A three-year starter at Newbury Park (Calif.) High School, Smigiel had verbally committed to Florida State in June 2024 before decommitting in January following Florida State's 2-10 season and subsequent coaching changes.
He had initially picked the Seminoles over finalist Michigan and more than 30 other programs. He visited Michigan again last Saturday and attended the team's spring game.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Smigiel is ranked the No. 63 overall prospect in his class, No. 5 at his position and No. 10 in California, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
As a junior, Smigiel threw for 3,521 yards, 49 touchdowns and three interceptions. He ran for 11 TDs and more than 400 yards. Smigiel has a total of 147 TD passes and more than 11,000 passing yards in three seasons. He led Newbury Park to a CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship this past season and was named Division 2 offensive player of the year.
Michigan finished 8-5 last season for seventh place in the Big Ten in Sherrone Moore's first season after Jim Harbaugh's nine-year tenure. The Wolverines beat Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
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Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Stewart Friesen wins thrilling triple-OT Truck Series race in Michigan
June 7 - Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon's triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway - a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn't want to end, ultimately featuring 24 extra laps. The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had not been among the race's frontrunners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since winning at Texas Motor Speedway back in 2022. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger's Chevy by a slight .111-second - both drivers benefitting from a rash of late-race caution flags. With most drivers opting for the outside row on the final restart, Friesen was able to move up and take that inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win coming into the race. "I don't know what to say, thank you to Chris Halmer and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there's a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,'' Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win. While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team. "I don't know,'' he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently. "We weren't as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, Jeff kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. ... Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn't meant to be.'' ThorSport Racing's Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position for the race, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports' Corey LaJoie making only his sixth truck series start. The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage featured seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win. A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day's strongest competitors - Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day. It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race's best - NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late race melee only to get a penalty following the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart. He led a race-high 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th. Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-10 in the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th - his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season-opener. Despite his 18th place finish, Heim stretched out his championship lead and now holds a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner. NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race - DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan Saturday, June 7, 2025 1. (17) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 139. 2. (14) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 139. 3. (1) Luke Fenhaus, Ford, 139. 4. (9) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 139. 5. (24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 139. 6. (3) Matt Crafton, Ford, 139. 7. (4) Jake Garcia, Ford, 139. 8. (31) Chandler Smith, Ford, 139. 9. (12) Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 139. 10. (18) Layne Riggs, Ford, 139. 11. (2) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 139. 12. (20) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 139. 13. (15) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 139. 14. (25) Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 139. 15. (6) Ty Majeski, Ford, 139. 16. (29) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 139. 17. (23) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 139. 18. (7) Corey Heim, Toyota, 139. 19. (8) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 138. 20. (5) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 136. 21. (16) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 136. 22. (27) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, Accident, 134. 23. (22) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 132. 24. (10) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 130. 25. (21) Josh Reaume, Ford, 129. 26. (26) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, DVP, 128. 27. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 126. 28. (19) Lawless Alan, Toyota, Accident, 126. 29. (32) Morgen Baird, Ford, Accident, 83. 30. (28) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, Accident, 83. 31. (13) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 77. 32. (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Engine, 3. Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.792 mph. Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory: .111 Seconds. Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps. Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers. Lap Leaders: L. Fenhaus 1;C. Hocevar(i) 2-5;C. Mosack # 6;C. Hocevar(i) 7-29;C. Heim 30-40;C. Hocevar(i) 41-49;C. Heim 50-67;K. Honeycutt 68;C. Hocevar(i) 69-81;K. Honeycutt 82;C. Hocevar(i) 83-86;G. Enfinger 87-110;R. Chastain(i) 111;G. Enfinger 112-113;R. Chastain(i) 114;C. Hocevar(i) 115-117;G. Ruggiero # 118-119;T. Gray 120;C. LaJoie 121-132;G. Enfinger 133-137;S. Friesen 138-139. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Hocevar(i) 6 times for 56 laps; Grant Enfinger 3 times for 31 laps; Corey Heim 2 times for 29 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 12 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero # 1 time for 2 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 2 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 2 times for 2 laps; Stewart Friesen 1 time for 2 laps; Luke Fenhaus 1 time for 1 lap; Tanner Gray 1 time for 1 lap; Connor Mosack # 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,7,81,98,45,18,66,44,34,77 Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,7,98,45,81,44,17,15,38,66 --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Chase Briscoe claims 3rd straight NASCAR Cup Series pole at Michigan
June 7 - Chase Briscoe claimed his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series pole position Saturday morning, with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver taking top honors at Michigan International Speedway for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400. Briscoe's No. 19 JGR Toyota turned a lap of 195.514 mph for his fourth pole of the season -- just besting Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch, who will start alongside with a lap of 195.317 in the No. 8 Chevrolet. This equals Busch's best start of the season (also second at Talladega, Ala.). Briscoe's work marks the first time a driver has won pole positions at three consecutive races since Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson did it last April at Richmond, Michigan, and Texas. "I was surprised truthfully it held on,'' the 30-year-old Indiana native said of his fast lap. "It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be just holding it wide open. But our Bass Pro Shops has been pretty fast in race trim and I thought we could have been even better. "It will be nice starting up front and we've been able to do that now three weeks in a row but haven't been able to execute with it, so hopefully third time is a charm and hopefully we can finally get one on Sunday.'' Briscoe's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, was third quickest in the No. 11 Toyota and will start alongside the current NASCAR Cup Series points leader, William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Interestingly, neither of those two championship teams has won on the 2-mile Michigan oval in a decade. The last win for Hendrick came in 2014 and the last for Gibbs in 2015. However, Hendrick's lineup now boasts a three-time Michigan winner in Larson, who scored his career first series victory at the track in 2016 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson will roll off fifth Sunday alongside another former Michigan winner (2023) Roush Fenway Keselowski's Chris Buescher. "I feel fine, that was an unfortunately part failure there,'' Larson said, assuring he was okay after flipping his car in a World of Outlaws race Friday night. "Felt good there today and held it wide open in qualifying, as did the whole field. "Hopefully, we can find a little more turn tomorrow. I think all of us being very similar on speed it will be difficult in traffic so having some turn will be a benefit. That's our main objective at this point. "But overall happy to qualify fifth there. That's honestly a little bit better than I thought we would be. Now we'll rest up and study and try to be ready for tomorrow.'' Defending race winner, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick was 12th in qualifying - along with last week's Nashville race winner, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney suffering a tire problem in practice. Blaney will roll off 13th. Judging by the past two years, the summer months have been productive for Buescher. Last year he earned his only win of the season in September at Watkins Glen. Two years ago, the driver of the No. 17 RKF Ford scored all three of his victories in the summer - back-to-back at Richmond (July 30) and Michigan (Aug. 7), then won again at the end of August at Daytona International Speedway's regular season finale. Heading into this week's Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, Buescher is the only one among the three RFK drivers ranked above the Playoff cutoff line - 15th in the championship by Playoff standings; six points up on Kyle Busch in that last Playoff position and only eight points up on his RFK teammate Ryan Preece in 17th. Buescher is of course hopeful that he can reclaim some of that Michigan magic on the two-miler. He led a race high 52 of 200 laps and beat Martin Truex Jr. by a slight 152-second for his win two years ago. He has only three top 10s in 14 Michigan starts - but two in the last two races (win and sixth last year). It's not enough to make him over-confident but does give him some optimism heading into the all-important summer months of competition. With points so close, a victory may be the best option to earn a Playoff bid. "You can't depend on points to get you in the playoffs when it's as tight as it is every week,'' Buescher said. "I think that's been our mindset, which means that ultimately wherever we bounce around that [Playoff cutoff] line we'll be aware of it, but it's a matter of figuring out how to go win races and we haven't done that yet. "We've not been quite good enough and we're working on trying to clean up some of the detail work and study a little harder and be better from my end behind the wheel and make it to where we basically lock ourselves in on that side of it and don't have to have any of that thought in the back of our heads. "But I certainly don't want it to be what we're sitting here thinking of how can we get two points here, three points there and try and just feel like we can skate our way in. It doesn't work. Ultimately, you can't count on that when it comes down to the end." In last weekend's race at Nashville Superspeedway, 22-year-old Carson Hocevar and veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. collided on track -- ending the day for Stenhouse. But Hocevar was able to rally to a second-place finish - tying his career best showing in the NASCAR Cup Series. After the race, Stenhouse was understandably riled, but both drivers report that they have spoken, and all is good moving forward even if they don't necessarily agree on how last week played out. "Me and him both have the reputation, I guess, of being aggressive at times and everything, so at that one point, we both reminded each other that even with those reputations, we've raced each other very well together, right?'' the Michigan-native Hocevar said Saturday morning, before practice. "It clashes together. So, yeah, I mean we've had no issues before, as he had said, and I feel like we've had a decent relationship leading up to this." Stenhouse told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week that he was satisfied with the conversation between the two, "I thought it was productive and, based off his comments, I felt like it was received productive." Hocevar, who qualified 14th for the NASCAR Cup Series race and is also competing in Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, seemed at peace with where things sit and conceded he would rather be talking about his No. 77 Spire Motorsports team's improvement. He's already had a career best pair of runner-up efforts and also earned three top-10s - half of his full season total last year. Asked Saturday if he was satisfied to be known for his aggressive driving style - some reporters comparing him to his hero Dale Earnhardt - Hocevar insisted he's just being himself. "Everything about me is real... like I'm not trying to play a part, try to fit a role or trying to pretend to be anybody,'' he said. "But, you know, it's for everybody else to decide on what they get and perceive of me. I know who I am and, you know, ultimately, I want to be known as me and sometimes that leads to comparisons." Last week's Nashville race winner, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney was asked about the relief he felt finally earning that first trophy of the year -- and guaranteed Playoff position -- after being so close to wins multiple times this season. He insisted nothing would really "change" for his or his team's approach going forward. "It's really nothing different," the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion said. "We approach every week trying to win the race and no matter what spot you're in, whether you're not locked in on wins or you are. We did a great job last week of finally closing one out and you just try to do it again. "A lot of people talk about that. Is there a mindset change when you win and you get locked in? I've never really believed that. I've always, to me at least and our group, it's just we prepare every week like you're trying to win the race, whether you've won one, zero or five it's the same thing." Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin remains on "baby watch" for the second weekend. His fiancee, Jordan, is due to give birth to a baby boy -- their third child -- at any time. Hamlin flew back to his Charlotte-area home following Saturday afternoon qualifying to be with Jordan and will return to Michigan just prior to Sunday's green flag. --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Hamlin undeterred by ruling siding with NASCAR in lawsuit filed by Jordan-owned 23XI and Front Row
Denny Hamlin is unfazed that a three-judge federal appellate panel vacated an injunction that required NASCAR to recognize 23XI, which he owns with Michael Jordan, and Front Row as chartered teams as part of an antitrust lawsuit. 'That's just such a small part of the entire litigation,' Hamlin said Saturday, a day ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400. "I'm not deterred at all. We're in good shape.' Hamlin said Jordan feels the same way. 'He just remains very confident, just like I do,' Hamiln said. NASCAR has not commented on the latest ruling. 23XI and Front Row sued NASCAR late last year after refusing to sign new agreements on charter renewals. They asked for a temporary injunction that would recognize them as chartered teams for this season, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday ruled in NASCAR's favor. 'We're looking at all options right now,' Hamlin said. The teams, each winless this year, said they needed the injunction because the current charter agreement prohibits them from suing NASCAR. 23XI also argued it would be harmed because Tyler Reddick's contract would have made him a free agent if the team could not guarantee him a charter-protected car. Hamlin insisted he's not worried about losing drivers because of the uncertainty. 'I'm not focused on that particularly right this second,' he said. Reddick, who was last year's regular-season champion and competed for the Cup title in November, enters the race Sunday at Michigan ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings. The charter system is similar to franchises in other sports, but the charters are revocable by NASCAR and have expiration dates. The six teams may have to compete as 'open' cars and would have to qualify on speed each week to make the race and would receive a fraction of the money. Without a charter, Hamlin said it would cost the teams 'tens of millions,' to run three cars. 'We're committed to run this season open if we have to,' he said. 'We're going to race and fulfill all of our commitments no matter what. We're here to race. Our team is going to be here for the long haul and we're confident of that.' The antitrust case isn't scheduled to be heard until December. NASCAR has not said what it would do with the six charters held by the two organizations if they are returned to the sanctioning body. There are 36 chartered cars for a 40-car field. 'We feel like facts were on our side,' Hamlin said. 'I think if you listen to the judges, even they mentioned that we might be in pretty good shape.' ___
