Latest news with #NASCARAll-StarRace
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
What to watch for in today's NASCAR Cup race in Mexico City
MEXICO CITY — With a forecast that could include rain during Sunday's race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the challenge for drivers will increase. 'I absolutely hate racing in the rain, but I'm good at it,' said Shane van Gisbergen, who starts on the pole for the first Cup race held outside the continental United States since 1958. 'I'd rather it didn't rain, but if it happens, we put the wets on and go.' Advertisement How can van Gisbergen dislike something he's so good at? 'I just don't enjoy it,' he said. 'It's just never fun. You're always sliding around, and it just turns stuff into chaos. It's fun to watch, but I don't really enjoy driving.' NASCAR: NASCAR All-Star Race Sore after Michigan crash, Alex Bowman seeks to turn around his fortunes in Mexico Alex Bowman has finished 27th or worse in seven of the last nine races. Michael McDowell, who starts fifth can relate. 'I like what SVG said because I feel the same way,' McDowell told NBC Sports. 'I'm good in the rain. I have a lot of experience in the rain, but I'm never super pumped for the rain because it's hard. It creates variables that are tough to overcome.' Advertisement One of the challenges in wet conditions is the water spray that cars in front create. The Weather Underground forecast calls for a 38% chance of scattered thunderstorms near the start of the race, increasing to about 60% by the end of the event. Should the track be wet at the beginning of the race (3 p.m. ET on Prime), it will make a front starting spot even more important. That makes his third starting spot even more valuable to Ross Chastain. 'You'll just get gapped out just from the spray being part throttle on the straightway, not being able to have any vision if you're back in the field,' Chastain told NBC Sports. 'I've been there and it's terrifying when you can't see. It's like driving blindfolded.' Wet conditions at the start also present opportunities. Advertisement 'You want to be aggressive, honestly, in the beginning if it is raining to get up front, be the first one or two cars so that you have the best vision you can,' McDowell said. The right (pit) decision? Trent Owens, crew chief for AJ Allmendinger had an interesting choice to make when it was time for him to pick his pit stall Saturday. Pit stalls are selected in order of how a team qualifies, so the pole-sitter gets the first pick and on down. Allmendinger qualified eighth, giving him the eighth pick of stalls. Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez's pit road is limited to 40 stalls. There will be 37 cars in the race. That leaves only three openings (and a small opening across the start/finish line). NASCAR: Clash at Bowman Gray - Practice RFK Racing seeks to build on Michigan finish in Mexico Advertisement RFK Racing placed three cars in the top 10 last week at Michigan for the first time since 2016, but Brad Keselowski is looking for win. Teams prefer to have an opening either in front of their stall (for easy access out) or an opening before their stall (for easy access into their box). When it came time for Owens to pick his pits, he had two viable options. He could pick the second pit stall — near pit exit. That would put Allmendinger in the box behind Shane van Gisbergen and in front of Kyle Larson. Or Owens could have picked pit stall 13, which was further away from pit exit but had an opening before it for easy access into the box. NASCAR Cup Series 2025: NASCAR Cup Series Coca Cola 600 May 24 Trackhouse Racing engineer excited for return home with NASCAR race in Mexico Advertisement Jose Blasco-Figueroa grew up in Mexico City and his mother's home is 25 kilometers from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Owens chose pit stall 2, meaning the first three pit stalls — van Gisbergen, Allmendinger and Larson — could have three of the top cars in the race. That could mean they could be pitting together. Add to it that the pit boxes are 26.5 feet long — the shortest in the series — and it could get tight. 'Our biggest reason is (van Gisbergen) is in stall 1 and we feel like he's the dominant car,' Owens told NBC Sports for his reasoning in picking stall 2. 'So we feel like when we pit we're not going to get blocked in. 'We could have chose (stall) 13, which has a small opening in, but it's also a narrow pit road, short pit boxes. We just feel like pit stall 2 can potentially limit our errors because (Larson), which is behind us, has a full pit stall opening behind him, so if (Larson's crew chief Cliff Daniels) plays nice, he'll stop back at his stall and give us enough room.' Advertisement That is likely to happen because that would allow Larson to exit his stall without being blocked in by Allmendinger. Much goes into winning a race, but could Owens' decision to pick pit stall 2 help Allmendinger get to victory lane? Too fast on pit road? Another key area to watch with pit road is toward pit exit. There are 11 timing loops on pit road used to determine pit road speeding. Pit road speed is 40 mph and with the 5 mph allowance, drivers can go 45 mph before they are penalized. Seven of the zones are either 147-feet-7 inches long or 157-6. But the last two are significantly shorter. The next-to-last timing zone — encompassing pit stalls 1-3 near pit exit — is 73-feet-2 inches. The last timing line, which goes to pit exit — is 46-feet-7 inches. Advertisement NASCAR's pit road speeding is determined based on time over distance. So if a driver enters a zone too fast, he can slow before the end of it and still make speed. With two shorter zones at the end of pit road, drivers won't have as much a a chance to do so. Get caught speeding on pit road in those two sections — or any for that matter — and the pass-through penalty will cost a driver positions on the track. 'You just can't afford to speed,' Ryan Preece, who starts second today, told NBC Sports. 'Track position is obviously a huge thing no matter where it is. For me, you want to push those lights, you don't want to give up one position, but if you overdo it, you're going to give up 36, so it's kind of a risk vs. reward type of situation.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Chris Buescher, RFK Racing penalized for inspection infraction after NASCAR Kansas race
Chris Buescher's pathway to making the 2025 NASCAR playoffs became significantly more difficult on May 15. Buescher and the No. 17 RFK Racing team were penalized 60 driver points and five playoff points for an L1-level infraction following inspection at the R&D Center this week post-Kansas race. Advertisement The team was also fined $75,000, and crew chief Scott Graves is suspended for two races beginning with the non-points paying NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro this weekend. NASCAR cited portions of the rule book dealing with the front bumper cover and vehicle assembly in issuing the penalty. RFK Racing issued a statement on May 15, stating that the team was evaluating options ahead of a decision to appeal. Buescher slides to 24th in the Cup Series standings after leaving Kansas in 14th in the playoff picture with a solid cushion to the cutline. That cushion is gone. NASCAR Cup Series updated playoff picture, points standings post-Chris Buescher penalty Kyle Larson (3 wins) Christopher Bell (3 wins) Denny Hamlin (2 wins) William Byron (1 win) Joey Logano (1 win) Austin Cindric (1 win) Josh Berry (1 win) Chase Elliott +134 ahead of playoff cutline Ryan Blaney +118 Tyler Reddick +113 Alex Bowman +81 Bubba Wallace +66 Ross Chastain +56 Chase Briscoe +34 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +14 Ryan Preece +7 Kyle Busch -14 points behind 16th John Hunter Nemechek -17 Carson Hocevar -21 Michael McDowell -23 Austin Dillon -24 Zane Smith -24 Todd Gilliland -24 Chris Buescher -27 AJ Allmendinger -33 This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Chris Buescher, RFK Racing penalized after NASCAR Kansas race
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Kyle Larson's ridiculous Memorial Day Double schedule might be tougher than the races
Kyle Larson's ridiculous Memorial Day Double schedule might be tougher than the races For the second time in as many years, Kyle Larson will attempt to join Tony Stewart as the only drivers to ever complete the full 1,100 mile Memorial Day Double. On Sunday afternoon, Larson will drive the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 for Arrow McLean. Immediately after he crosses the finish line, Larson will take a helicopter to the Indianapolis airport, board a private plane to Charlotte and scoot over to NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 for an evening race. Rain delays in Indiana and North Carolina scuttled Larson's attempt last year. Fortunately, the forecast looks nearly perfect this time around. Double 2.0: Kyle Larson reveals approach for rare second Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 Double attempt But trying to pull off the Double doesn't just mean figuring out travel logistics for the day of the races. It means balancing two highly-competitive race schedules for two very different types of cars. All May long, Larson has been bouncing back and forth between IndyCar and NASCAR with one of the more outrageous schedules you'll see in motorsports. Kyle Larson's May schedule Via NASCAR. All times ET. Sunday, May 11 – 3 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway Monday, May 12 – 7:30 p.m.: High Limits Racing sprint car event at Kokomo, Indiana Tuesday, May 13 – 12:15 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 ROP & Refreshers– 2:15 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 practice Wednesday, May 14 – Noon: Indianapolis 500 practice Thursday, May 15 – Noon: Indianapolis 500 practice Friday, May 16 – Noon: Indianapolis 500 practice– 4:30 p.m.: NASCAR All-Star Race pit road qualifying practice – 5 p.m.: NASCAR All-Star Race practice – 6:15 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 qualification draw– 7 p.m.: NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying Saturday, May 17 – 11 a.m.: Indianapolis 500 qualifying-5:10 p.m.: All-Star heat races (Hendrick Motorsports announced the No. 5 team will skip Saturday's All-Star heat races) Sunday, May 18 – 1 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 practice (Top 12)– 2 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 (Last chance qualifiers)– 4:05 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 qualifying – 5:15 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 last chance qualifying– 6:25 p.m.: Indianapolis 500, Firestone Fast Six– 8 p.m.: NASCAR All-Star Race Monday, May 19 – 1 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 practice Tuesday, May 20 – Media Tour in New York City Friday, May 23 (Carb Day) – 11 a.m.: Indianapolis 500 practice– 2:30 p.m.: Indianapolis 500 pit stop challenge Saturday, May 24 – 10:30 a.m.: Indianapolis 500 public drivers meeting– 1:30 p.m.: Coca-Cola 600 practice – 2:40 p.m.: Coca-Cola 600 qualifying Sunday, May 25 – 12:45 p.m.: Indianapolis 500– 6 p.m.: Coca-Cola 600 No matter what happens on Sunday, Kyle Larson deserves a very long, relaxing nap after this weekend.
NBC Sports
21-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Highlights: Odd moments in NASCAR
Relive some of NASCAR's interesting moments, starting with Michael Waltrip dropping the caution flag at the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race.
TimesLIVE
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Kyle Larson gears up for gruelling Indy-Charlotte Double
The respect those in the IndyCar industry have for Larson is indicative of his renown as a versatile driver. Whether it be a Cup Series car on Sunday, a Chevrolet Silverado in a NASCAR Truck Series race or a sprint car, Larson's versatility has put his name into the conversation as one of the world's best all-around race drivers. This year, the preparations are as time-consuming as they were in 2024. A full week of practice at Indianapolis was followed by Indy 500 qualifying on the same weekend as the NASCAR All-Star Race. While Larson qualified at Indianapolis, defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier turned laps in Larson's No 5 at North Wilkesboro. After appearing in the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, Larson's focus turns back to Indy, where he has two more practice sessions to dial in his No 17 Chevrolet for the Indianapolis 500. Larson admitted reacclimatising to an IndyCar is a difficult task after a year away from the cockpit. But his practice results - 24th on May 13, 13th on May 14 and 17th on May 15 - indicate a driver who is getting back into the IndyCar saddle with confidence and poise. 2024 saw Larson finish the Indianapolis 500 in 18th after a pit road speeding penalty. With a year of Indy 500 experience under his belt, however, don't be surprised if Larson finishes inside the top 15. His No 17 clearly has some speed, and as Kanaan said, Larson's adaptability makes him a threat to win no matter the vehicle he's in. However, even the world's best drivers aren't immune to mistakes. Larson crashed in the open test in April and in practice on May 15. Another crash in the Indy 500 itself would dash the hope of Larson completing all 1,770km. Even if the Indianapolis 500 doesn't go Larson's way, the Coca-Cola 600 should bear more fruit for the 32-year-old driver. Larson won the event in 2021, and along with being arguably the best driver in the Cup Series, he's won thrice in 2025, including the last Cup Series points race at Kansas. If Larson can make it to the end of the Coke 600, he'll likely be in the mix for the win.
