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Indy 500 announcers: Who's calling the 2025 Indy 500 on Fox?

Indy 500 announcers: Who's calling the 2025 Indy 500 on Fox?

USA Today25-05-2025
Indy 500 announcers: Who's calling the 2025 Indy 500 on Fox?
It's officially time for the 2025 Indianapolis 500! Sunday, 33 drivers will compete on the biggest motorsports day in the world for one of the most coveted checkered flags in the world and will hopefully deliver an exciting race no matter what.
If you're tuning in for the 109th Indy 500 on Sunday (green flag at 12:45 p.m. ET), you may be wondering whose voices you're hearing during the race or in pre-race coverage. Don't worry because we've got you covered.
For Fox's first Indy 500 broadcast, play-by-play announcer Will Buxton will be joined by fan-favorite former racer James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell on the call, while Jamie Little, Kevin Lee and Georgia Henneberry will be reporting from pit road.
For Fox's pre-race coverage at 10 a.m. ET, retired IndyCar drivers Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick will lead the coverage, along with broadcaster Chris Myers. Tom Rinaldi and Erin Andrews will also be part of the pre-race broadcast with features and interviews.
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NASCAR Midseason Prospect List: Will 'Butterbean' Be Next Older Driver To Make It?
NASCAR Midseason Prospect List: Will 'Butterbean' Be Next Older Driver To Make It?

Fox Sports

time12 minutes ago

  • Fox Sports

NASCAR Midseason Prospect List: Will 'Butterbean' Be Next Older Driver To Make It?

NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR Midseason Prospect List: Will 'Butterbean' Be Next Older Driver To Make It? Updated Aug. 7, 2025 12:02 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Brenden "Butterbean" Queen won't be on this list much longer. At age 27, he'll drop off this list of prospect rankings after this season, as one of the conditions is that a driver is under 28 years old. Queen is getting his first shot at a national series this year, as he leads the ARCA standings with five victories. His next step would be full-time truck or full-time Xfinity. He's hopeful — but not fully certain — that he'll reach this goal. Brenden Queen talks with members of his crew during practice for the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 200 at Talladega Four or five years ago, someone of Queen's age would be considered too old. "You can kind of see the tide turning where the teams are looking at it like sometimes having an 18-year-old, they've got a longer career, maybe," Queen said. "But at the same time, if you've got a 27-year-old, 28-year-old that can be good marketing for your partners and can also go get the job done, there's nothing wrong with that." Queen should thank Josh Berry for maybe a more hopeful outlook. Berry had similar roots, racing late model stocks in the Southeast. He got his first relatively full season on a NASCAR national level at age 30. ADVERTISEMENT Josh Berry waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Berry said that Queen being 27 "is not that old." "It's a reality that all of our journeys are a little bit different getting to this point," Berry said. "Some of us, it takes a little longer. He's done a really good job. "I feel like my success coming from a late model primarily straight to the Xfinity car opened up people's eyes of what's possible, that the late model stocks is a good proving ground to go right into a heavier car." Queen has dropped 15 pounds. He has improved from both a physical and mental standpoint through his work in the Chevrolet driver training program under former driver Josh Wise. And Queen does recognize Berry's influence in his success. "I feel better now than I did three years ago," Queen said. "If you'd asked me this question [about my future] when I was 24 or 25, I would have told you it's probably over. I'm just going to race late models because of my age. "But I think Josh truly changed the trajectory of the teams going, 'OK let's think about this for a minute.' Honestly, I feel better than I did at 24 as far as maturity, how to manage a race and put it together." Josh Berry moves down the course during the qualifying session of the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 Because of his outgoing personality, Queen resonates with grassroots fans. And some would say that he has proven people wrong about whether he can do it on a national level. Or maybe he more proved something to himself? "I always thought, if I had the right opportunity, that I could do it — just off of what I had accomplished late model racing. And then also seeing people that I've raced with move up and be able to do it, knowing that I went toe-to-toe with them at times," he said. "I think it was probably more important to me to show the world I could do it. I never like to give an opinion of myself. I'll leave it up to the world or Bean Nation to decide." So with all this in mind, here's my midseason prospect list, based on performance and potential. While marketing, sponsorship opportunities and funding are not primary factors, they do factor into this list because they can impact if these drivers will make it to Cup. Some parameters: To be on this list, drivers cannot have had a season in Cup and they must be younger than 28 years old. 1. Connor Zilisch Age: 19 Previous Ranking: 2 Zilisch leads the Xfinity Series standings with a series-high five victories. Four of those have come in the last 10 races, all top fives for him. He'll be Cup next year at Trackhosue Racing. Connor Zilisch prepares to qualify for the NASCAR Xfinity Series HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway 2. Corey Heim Age: 23 Previous Ranking: 1 Heim has dominated the trucks this year with five wins and 10 top fives in 16 starts. He clinched the regular-season points title with two races left. Already signed with 23XI Racing, he will likely have to wait until 2027 to be in a Cup car full time. Whether he's in an Xfinity car full time in 2026 is still TBD. 3. Brent Crews Age: 17 Previous Ranking: 5 Crews has two wins and a second in five ARCA national series starts. He also has one top 10 in three truck starts. He'll likely race full time in Xfinity next season at Joe Gibbs Racing after he turns 18 in March. 4. Jesse Love Age: 20 Previous Ranking: 4 Love sits fourth in the Xfinity standings with one win and 15 top-10 finishes. The driver is at Richard Childress Racing and the question is this: Does he stay there for another season in hopes a Cup ride opens up in 2027? Jesse Love enters his car for the NASCAR Xfinity Series HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway 5. Nick Sanchez Age: 24 Previous Ranking: 9 Sanchez is 12th in the Xifnity standings and has a win driving for Big Machine Records Racing. He has had a respectable rookie season and if he continues to improve, he could be in Cup in 2027. 6. Sam Mayer Age: 22 Previous Ranking: 12 Mayer is third in the Xfinity standings and has been impressive with 10 top-five finishes driving for the revamped Haas team. He got a big victory last week at Iowa. More runs like that and Cup teams will start talking about him. 7. Corey Day Age:19 Previous Ranking: 6 Day has two top fives in seven truck starts (and no top 10s in five Xfinity starts) as he starts making the adjustment to stock cars and pavement racing. It has been a little bit of a difficult adjustment but these moves do take a little time. Corey Day waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park 8. Layne Riggs Age 23 Previous Ranking: 13 Riggs is third in the truck standings with two wins and seven top fives this year, driving for Front Row Motorsports. Another year in trucks next season for FRM is quite possible. 9. Carson Kvapil Age: 22 Previous Ranking: 8 Kvapil is sixth in the Xfinity standings and has nine top 10s as a rookie while still looking for his first victory. The JR Motorsports driver is considered to have a high upside as he had not raced a full season in ARCA or in trucks before this year. 10. Kaden Honeycutt Age: 22 Previous Ranking: 17 Honeycutt is on pace to make the truck playoffs and the former Neice Motorsports driver is replacing Stewart Friesen starting next week at Richmond. So while not announced, it is fairly evident he is now in the Toyota pipeline. A Tricon truck is his likely destination next year. Kaden Honeycut drives during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park 11. Taylor Gray Age: 20 Previous ranking: 10 Gray is ninth in his first full season of running in the Xfinity Series. His six top fives and 11 top 10s show potential. Would expect him to return to this seat next year. 12. Chandler Smith Age: 23 Previous ranking: 7 Smith is second in the truck standings and has two wins. He has just four top-five finishes but 12 top 10s driving for Front Row Motorsports. He isn't leading a ton of laps but he's getting his truck to the finish. Like his teammate Riggs, he will quite possibly return to the truck next season. 13. Rajah Caruth Age: 23 Previous Ranking: 14 Caruth is 11th in the truck standings but has qualified for the playoffs with a win. A little more was expected from Caurth this year. His three top-fives need to be higher but he also didn't have a ton of stock-car experience before beginning in trucks a few years ago. Rajah Caruth waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway 14. Christian Eckes Age: 24 Previous Ranking: 3 Eckes didn't forget how to drive but this has been a long year, as he sits 15th in the Xfinity standings driving for Kaulig Racing. He needs a turnaround over the final few months of 2025 and/or a quick start in 2026. 15. Tristan McKee Age: 15 Previous Ranking: 15 McKee has four top fives in seven starts in the CARS Tour late model stock division. He is a Spire development driver. 16. Isabella Robusto Age: 20 Previous Ranking: 18 Robusto is fifth in the ARCA standings with five top fives in 12 starts. Her progress has not been as vibrant as some had hoped but there are glimpses of potential that she will challenge for the ARCA title next year at the revamped Nitro Motorsports (after its buyout of Venturini Motorsports). Isabella Robusto looks on prior to the Menards Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway 17. Keelan Harvick Age: 13 Previous Ranking: Not Ranked Harvick is second in the CARS Tour pro late model standings with one win and three top fives in seven starts. The son of NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick, he has shown strong ability at a young age. 18. Jade Avedisian Age: 18 Previous Ranking: 19 Avedisian has one win and three top-fives in four CARS Tour pro late model starts as she begins to focus on late model pavement racing. A midget racing champion in 2023, Avedisian was the first female driver to win a CARS Tour race. 19. Brenden Queen Age 27 Previous Ranking: 20 Queen has five wins and 10 top fives in 12 starts and leads the ARCA national series standings. It has been a solid season for Queen, who likely needs to be in a truck or Xfinity car next year if he wants to get some looks from Cup owners over the next few years. The helmet of Brenden Queen sits on top of his race car prior to the running of the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 200 20. Gio Ruggiero Age: 18 Previous Ranking: 16 Ruggiero is 12th in the truck standings as a rookie with three top fives and six top-10 finishes driving for Tricon. There have been flashes of potential but also some disappointing runs. He stays on this list, as many believe he will show significant improvement over the next year. 25 others to watch: Lawless Alan, Tyler Ankrum Luke Baldwin, Austin Beers, Lanie Buice, Cole Butcher, Sheldon Creed, Daniel Dye, Luke Fenhaus, Jake Finch, Jake Garcia, Tanner Gray, Conner Jones, Isaac Kitzmiller, Caden Kvapil, Treyten Lapcevich, Landen Lewis, Ben Maier, Andres Perez de Lara, George Phillips, Tyler Reif, Taylor Reimer, William Sawalich, Lavar Scott, Sammy Smith. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. share

Here's How Alex Palou Can Clinch The 2025 INDYCAR Title At Portland
Here's How Alex Palou Can Clinch The 2025 INDYCAR Title At Portland

Fox Sports

time12 minutes ago

  • Fox Sports

Here's How Alex Palou Can Clinch The 2025 INDYCAR Title At Portland

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Here's How Alex Palou Can Clinch The 2025 INDYCAR Title At Portland Published Aug. 7, 2025 12:02 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Alex Palou can't ignore the obvious: He can clinch his fourth INDYCAR title Sunday at Portland International Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FOX). "Everybody here is saying we've already won," Palou said during a virtual news conference earlier this week. "But although we have a lot of points, we still need to win it. "If somebody else is mathematically alive, it's still alive, so we don't want anybody to be mathematically alive for the points." How can Palou clinch the championship at Portland, a 1.964-mile, 12-turn road course, with upcoming races at the Milwaukee and Nashville ovals still remaining? He sits 121 points ahead of Pato O'Ward, the only driver mathematically alive to catch Palou. If Palou is 108 points ahead of O'Ward at the conclusion of the Portland race, then he clinches the title. Drivers can earn a maximum 54 points in a weekend — 50 points for the win, one point for winning the pole, one point for leading a lap and two points for leading the most laps. ADVERTISEMENT Second through 10th place earn points on a scale of 40 (second)-35 (third)-32-30-28-26-24-22-20. Each spot from 11th-24th is worth one point less, with 11th worth 19 points and 24th worth six points. Any driver who finishes 25th or worse earns five points. Palou obviously clinches with a win, which he has done at Portland in two of the last four years, with a second and 12th as his other two finishes. O'Ward has a pair of fourth-place finishes at Portland as well as a 14th and 15th. Let's say O'Ward wins and earns maximum points, Palou would still clinch by finishing second and leading a lap. That would put him in a tie with O'Ward and Palou's eight wins this season would earn him the tiebreaker (most wins). If O'Ward finishes second, Palou clinches if he finishes fourth or better — and possibly as low as eighth depending on the bonus points for the pole and leading laps. Pato O'Ward (left) is the only driver still mathematically alive who could derail Alex Palou's championship season. Because Palou would get five points just for starting, O'Ward needs at least 19 points — which is 11th if no points for the pole or leading laps — to still have a chance even if Palou finishes 25th or worse (highly unlikely unless Palou has a mechanical failure or an accident). And add to that, because Palou gets five points for just starting a race, if he leaves Portland at least 98 points ahead, he most likely clinches the following week at Milwaukee but automatically clinches by starting Milwaukee and Nashville. "There's loads of reasons to be excited, but first of all, it's a place that I love, that we've done really well in the past," Palou said of Portland. "It just feels like with such a magical season, we can still finish even better. "I'm excited to go there and see how our car feels. It's been feeling amazing this year everywhere we've been, especially road courses." Palou clinched his 2023 title at Portland with one race left in the season. "We won the championship there in 2023, which having two championships at the same place would be amazing," Palou said. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. share

NASCAR CUP SERIES RACING AT WATKINS GLEN ON USA NETWORK HEADLINES NBC SPORTS' MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE THIS WEEK
NASCAR CUP SERIES RACING AT WATKINS GLEN ON USA NETWORK HEADLINES NBC SPORTS' MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE THIS WEEK

NBC Sports

time43 minutes ago

  • NBC Sports

NASCAR CUP SERIES RACING AT WATKINS GLEN ON USA NETWORK HEADLINES NBC SPORTS' MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE THIS WEEK

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