Latest news with #'sHappyHour
Fox Sports
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou: I'd 'absolutely' race NASCAR road course
Alex Palou is a man possessed at the moment. After already winning four of the first five races on the 2025 INDYCAR schedule, Palou won the famed Indianapolis 500 last Sunday. Now, outside of racing for the remainder of the INDYCAR schedule, will Palou dip his toes in other racing waters? He recently cast doubt on competing in Formula 1. But what about a NASCAR race? "Absolutely," Palou told host Kevin Harvick about whether he'd be interested in ever dabbling in a NASCAR road or street course on the latest edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour" on Fox Sports. "I'd be down for that. It's a very different car. It's a very different kind of racing. I know I would get smashed by all of you guys on ovals, but I would love to give it a try at a road or a street course." There are five remaining road/street courses on the 2025 NASCAR schedule: Viva Mexico 250 (June 15), Chicago Street Course (July 6), Toyota/Save Mart 350 (July 13), Go Bowling at The Glen (Aug. 10) and Bank of America ROVAL 400 (Oct. 5) On the F1 front, Palou was previously part of the sport when he signed with McLaren's Testing of Previous Cars program in 2022, but he never competed in a race. Since winning the Indianapolis 500, Palou has been making the rounds, which began with him appearing at the Indiana Pacers' Game 3 Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the New York Knicks. Then, he went to New York City to celebrate his 500 victory, and threw out the first pitch at the New York Mets game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. As for how the race played out, Palou, who started in sixth place, took the lead from Marcus Ericsson with 14 laps to go, and led the rest of the way. It was the first Indianapolis 500 win of Palou's career. Palou will shoot to make it six wins in seven tries this season on Sunday in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience NASCAR Cup Series NTT INDYCAR SERIES Alex Palou recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
What should expectations be for NASCAR's Kyle Larson in Indianapolis 500?
NTT INDYCAR SERIES What should expectations be for NASCAR's Kyle Larson in Indianapolis 500? Published May. 21, 2025 3:31 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Kyle Larson will attempt the double for a second consecutive year, as he intends to race in the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) and, mere hours later, race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which begins at 6 p.m. ET. What should expectations be of the NASCAR star, as he attempts to pull off the feat? "I think the goal is to run the 1,100 miles. I don't think he has a chance to win at Indy," Kevin Harvick said about Larson on the latest edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour." "I think with the way that they qualified and all of the things that have happened this year, I think that hope is out of the picture, personally. I don't see it. I think that he could come back and be a real contender at the Coca-Cola 600. I think just being able to finish on the lead lap at Indy and run all 1,110 miles and check that box is probably the most realistic goal for this year, but still an amazing feat. "It doesn't look like he's having nearly as much fun this year as he did last year with a couple crashes already and everything that's happening. It'll be interesting to see if he moves forward with it after this year with it not being as much fun." Larson will begin the famed INDYCAR race in 19th place. Qualifying for the race was a struggle for Larson, as he crashed twice in qualifying setups. "Expectations were high. Going from what he [Larson] did last year to this year, the expectation was to go there and compete for a win, and that was over early," Harvick said. ADVERTISEMENT Last year, Larson started the Indianapolis 500 in fifth place but finished in 18th. His ability to race both the Indianapolis 500 and then the Coca-Cola 600 was hindered by a multi-hour weather delay in Indianapolis, which forced him to miss the first half of the nighttime NASCAR race. Then, the Coca-Cola 600 was cut short due to weather, and Larson never raced a lap after arriving at the track mid-race. As for how he's faring on the NASCAR circuit this season, Larson is first in the Cup Series in total points (469), with three wins, eight top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes. His three wins have come at Homestead-Miami Speedway (May 23), Bristol Motor Speedway (April 13) and Kansas Speedway (May 11). Larson is the only NASCAR driver competing in the Indianapolis 500. Meanwhile, racing legend Helio Castroneves — a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 who's beginning the 2025 edition of the race in 22nd place — competed in this year's Daytona 500. Granted, he didn't finish the race. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience NTT INDYCAR SERIES NASCAR Cup Series Kyle Larson share
Fox Sports
13-02-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
William Byron on driving historic No. 24 car: 'It's like being on the Yankees.'
William Byron is entering his eighth season driving the No. 24 car full-time for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. Of course, the No. 24 car is best known as being driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who drove his entire career for Hendrick Motorsports (1993-2015) and now serves as the racing team's vice chairman. What's it like to shoulder the burden that's driving such an iconic car? Well, Byron likened it to playing for an MLB team that has 27 World Series championships in the latest edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour." "I'm comfortable because it's our own thing now," Byron told host Kevin Harvick. It's our own car. We made it our own, but I wouldn't want to have it any other way. It's like being on the [New York] Yankees. It's just such a historic place. Driving the [No.] 24 car — it honestly has so much meaning. It just has the history, and you feel sort of responsibility to win. It never goes away. That pressure, I don't know how it would feel in a different situation, but that pressure never goes away. I won my first race, I won my 12th race, [and] it just continues, so there's always that expectation, but I wouldn't want it any other way. "I love driving there, and I feel like it's a nice home for me." The 2025 NASCAR season kicks off Sunday with the Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) at Daytona International Speedway, where Byron has had a great deal of success. Of Byron's 13 career wins on the NASCAR circuit, two have come at Daytona, including last season's race. Meanwhile, Byron won four races in the Xfinity Series in 2017, with one of those wins coming at Daytona. On Feb. 2, Byron finished 18th out of 23 drivers — there were multiple heats throughout the week to narrow the field — at the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray, finishing a lap behind. As for the last time that he was in a car with something on the line in the standings, Bryon finished third in total points (5,034) with three wins, 13 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 finishes last season. As for the No. 24 car, Gordon left the Cup Series entirely after the 2016 season; he drove eight races in 2016 in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who suffered a concussion. Meanwhile, Gordon became the new NASCAR color commentator for FOX Sports in 2016 after announcing three Xfinity races in 2015. His stint with FOX Sports lasted through the middle of the 2021 season, when he left to assume his current position as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. Byron, 27, will start 11th in Thursday night's Duel 1 at DAYTONA (7 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app). Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience NASCAR Cup Series Hendrick Motorsports William Byron recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
30-01-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
NASCAR bold predictions: Connor Zilisch to win race in rookie Cup season?
The 2025 NASCAR season is right around the corner. This Sunday the season kicks off with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), with the Daytona 500 to follow just two weeks later (Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). With that in mind, Kevin Harvick, Kaitlyn Vincie and FOX Sports Motorsports Insider Bob Pockrass each provided a prediction for the 2025 season on the latest edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour." Kevin Harvick: Kyle Larson-Christopher Bell rivalry will intensify What Harvick said: "I think the Larson-Bell rivalry is something that we all hope for but has a lot more opportunity to be in more places than just NASCAR. The Chili Bowl already had that, the micros and everything that they raced already has a little bit of that spice that I think is the ability to be able to see that on a racetrack. We've seen it in the past a little bit, but I think that that rivalry spices up because we see it in more places than just on the NASCAR track." Background: On Jan. 4, Bell edged out Larson by one-tenth of a second in the Tulsa Shootout, a micro-sprint racing event. This isn't the first time that Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, dabbled in other forms of racing, as he finished 18th in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 — and then hours later attempted to also race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which Bell ironically won in a rain-shortened race. Both Larson and Bell had competitive 2024 campaigns, with the former winning six races and posting 15 top-five finishes and the latter winning three races and posting 15 top-five finishes. That said, they each came up just short of a championship, as Joey Logano stunned the field in the NASCAR playoff to win his third championship. Kaitlyn Vincie: Shane van Gisbergen will win multiple Cup Series races What Vincie said: "I just feel like there's a lot of momentum around this team. I like the energy. I like his attitude. He told you he's not even setting goals for the year. I kind of like how he approaches the season. We know he's going to be really good on road courses. He's already won on one, of course, [at] Chicago, which's we're going back to. We have six of those [road courses] on the schedule. I think, wouldn't it be neat if he won at Mexico?" Background: Van Gisbergen emerged on the NASCAR scene in 2023, starting two races and winning his first, that being the Chicago Street Race. Last season, he appeared in 12 Cup Series races, posting two top-10 finishes. Van Gisbergen primarily spent the 2024 season in the Xfinity Series, winning three races, posting seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes. The 35-year-old van Gisbergen, who was previously a three-time Supercars Championship winner in Australia, is part of Team Trackhouse. Bob Pockrass: Connor Zilisch will end up in victory lane What Pockrass said: "The way he won Watkins Glen in his first Xfinity race [impressed me], and I know it's a huge jump from Xfinity to Cup … [but] he's really good on road courses. I'm not going to say he's going to go out and win COTA his first one, but I think that he will win a Cup race." Background: Zilisch will make his Cup Series debut in the No. 87 for Trackhouse at COTA. He will race full-time in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports. The 18-year-old Zilisch started six races in the 2024 Truck Series season and four races in the Xfinity Series. Most notably, Zilisch won his first Xfinity race, which was at Watkins Glen International, and had three top-five finishes. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience NASCAR Cup Series recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
