Latest news with #ToddGilliland
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Toronto Star
With Cup playoffs at stake, controversial limits of rough driving could be tested again at Richmond
Todd Gilliland (34), right, and Carson Hocevar (77) leave the Bus Stop during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) SW flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What to watch for in today's NASCAR Cup race on the streets of Chicago
NASCAR holds back-to-back weekends of racing on courses that turn right and left. Today it is the streets of Chicago. Next weekend it will be the road course in Sonoma, California. Much can change over the next two races — and particularly today's race with the possibility of rain in the forecast. Advertisement Here's a look at what to watch for in today's Chicago Street Race: A game of chicken … Unlike road courses, the Chicago street course has walls and barriers. Make a mistake and the penalty could be significant damage to the car. Drivers have to be daring but measured in their moves. 'If you go in (to a corner) side-by-side, even if you're the guy trying to make a pass and you make a mistake going into a 90-degree corner, if you lock up the inside tire, you could easily stuff yourself and the guy you're trying to pass in the tire barrier,' said Todd Gilliland, who finished seventh in last year's Chicago Street Race. Advertisement 'You just really, really have to balance it – risk versus reward. It's definitely a tougher place to pass. There are obviously a lot of really good braking zones, but it's almost like playing a game of chicken with yourself.' NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Chicago Street Race Shane van Gisbergen won in Mexico in the most recent Cup road course race. Three-time Cup champion Joey Logano was asked this weekend what his favorite part of the track is. 'It's probably Victory Lane, I just haven't seen it yet,' he said laughing. 'Up to this moment, it's been the ride home. Hopefully, it's not like that this time. Advertisement 'This track is very challenging in its own way. When you look at Turns 1 and 6, you have no run-off, so there aren't many street courses that I know of at least, where you have long straightaways with literally no run-off, so the risk is huge here. 'When you go to push it, you send it in there a little bit too far, and we've seen that where a car goes straight right into the tire barrier. You don't have the ability to make mistakes and just turn around and get back going again.' Watch the points race Bubba Wallace, who starts 37th, enters today's race holding the final playoff spot. He has a 23-point lead on Ryan Preece, who starts seventh. Erik Jones, who starts 34th, is 49 points behind Wallace. Eight races remain in the regular season. Advertisement Those just above Wallace also have to be worried. Alex Bowman is 39 points above the cutline. Chris Buescher is 52 points above the cutline. Bowman entered this race a year ago holding the final playoff spot. He won the event to secure a playoff spot. With AJ Allmendinger (three Cup road course wins), Michael McDowell (one Cup road course win) and Daniel Suarez (one Cup road course win) all outside the cutline, a win by them would take a playoff spot and move the cutline up. McDowell starts second, Allmendinger 16th and Suarez 18th. NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying Bubba Wallace holds final Cup playoff spot with 8 races left in regular season Advertisement Bubba Wallace leads Ryan Preece by 23 points for the final playoff spot heading into Sunday's Chicago Street Race. Buescher says he's focused on wins because of the likelihood the cutline will move up before the regular season ends. 'It's a must-win,' said Buescher, who starts eighth. 'I don't think you can look at it and say it's not. I think we need to go to the racetrack and we need to take chances and be fast. All of that brings points with it and if that's what we have to fall back to, then I hope we fall back and say that it was enough and we were proud that we were fast enough to earn those points in these stretches. 'I know over the last five weeks I saw a stat where our team has put more points on the board (183) than anybody else in the garage, so that's not because we're points racing. That's because we are bringing fast Mustangs to the racetrack. Advertisement 'We're executing at a high level across the board and we're working on just getting these small details, fine-tuning this last little bit to where we can be in contention to win or put a trophy up on the shelf and that ultimately is the lock in.' Will rain impact the race (again)? Rain has played a key role in the previous two editions of this race. The forecast for today's race does call for a chance of rain. A race that is partly in wet and dry conditions could prove challenging for teams. NASCAR: Grant Park 165 Cup Practice and Qualifying Chicago starting lineup: Shane van Gisbergen wins NASCAR Cup pole Shane van Gisbergen scores his third career NASCAR Cup pole. Advertisement 'I feel like most things that you would do for the car in the rain, are really going to hurt the car in the dry so trying to manage that the best you can and understand what those things are and what the weather is really going to do' Alex Bowman said. 'There have been so many times that we're sure it's going to rain and it doesn't rain and sure it's not going to rain it does rain, so I wish I could be wrong about my job as much as the weatherman. 'But yeah, I mean, I think it's continued to look like more rain (Sunday), so certainly have to be cognizant of it and, kind of know where we need to be with the race car to capitalize on that.' Said Brad Keselowski about the possibility of rain for the race: 'I hope it doesn't rain, not just for the competitors but for the fans. I hate it for them when it rains. This is such a unique experience and I just want it to be a perfect day for everybody.' Watch the back of the pack Three of the top four drivers in the points will start at the back of the pack and the driver holding the final playoff spot also will be starting in the back with them. Advertisement William Byron (points leader), Chase Elliott (second in points) and Denny Hamlin (fourth in points) all will start at the back of the field. NASCAR: Grant Park 165 How to watch Sunday's Cup race at Chicago: Start time, TV info, weather Alex Bowman is the defending winner of the Chicago Street Race. Byron and Elliott did not make qualifying attempts after contact with the wall in separate incidents in practice. Hamlin suffered a blown engine in practice. Byron is scheduled to start 38th, Elliott 39th and Hamlin 40th in the 40-car field. Also, Alex Bowman (qualified 11th) and Kyle Larson (14th) will move to the rear of the field after repairs to both cars, meaning all four Hendrick Motorsports cars will start at the back of the field. Starting 37th will be Bubba Wallace, who holds the final playoff spot by 23 points on Ryan Preece. Wallace had contact on his qualifying run.
New York Times
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR Mexico City takeaways: Perfect blend of sport and fans, Shane van Gisbergen shines
MEXICO CITY — In some ways, the timing for NASCAR's first Cup Series race in Mexico could not have been worse. It came under the shadow of fierce immigration protests and unrest in Los Angeles, and a portion of NASCAR's fan base had already been skeptical about the series going international. But none of that was apparent at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack. The beautiful melting pot of a thoroughly American sport and a highly enthusiastic Mexican fan base caught many in the garage by surprise. Advertisement Relatively unknown drivers like Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland, who have a combined two career victories between them, were mobbed like rock stars while walking in public areas of the track. Fans gave NASCAR the Formula One treatment by making homemade apparel and traveling long distances from around Mexico (90 percent of the ticket buyers were from the country, but only 44 percent from Mexico City itself). They were emotional over seeing the Cup cars in person for the first time and begged for NASCAR to announce it would return again next season. Dude. This is the mob for @ToddGilliland_ — Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 15, 2025 Long after the race, they were lined up outside the garage area to cheer and give high-fives to crew members from every team who were headed toward the exit gates. In example after example, there was a level of excitement for NASCAR that is sometimes not apparent even at the biggest American races. While NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy wasn't ready to proclaim the series would indeed come back in 2026, he was clearly moved by how his sport created a bond between people. Seeing Mexican police hold the flags of both countries as a children's chorus sweetly sang the anthems of each country before the race, Kennedy said, gave him chills and goosebumps. By that point, the weekend was already a success regardless of what happened in the race itself. 'No matter what's going on outside of this racetrack, even outside of this country, sports can be great unifiers,' he said. 'That's what we saw this weekend. People from all walks of life came together and watched an amazing race with some of the best drivers in the world. That's what I'm most proud of.' It was a bit humorous to see Shane van Gisbergen's victory compared to Harrison Burton's Daytona triumph last fall, with some fans lumping the two together as an indictment of NASCAR's win-and-in playoff system. Advertisement In reality, they were not very similar. While Burton earned his stirring victory at Daytona to snatch a playoff spot, that was a superspeedway race where timing and luck can often play a factor in the outcome. But in Mexico City, van Gisbergen's win was pure dominance from one of the greatest road racing drivers on the planet. There was simply no one in his class on Sunday, and he won by 16.5 seconds — the largest margin in a NASCAR Cup Series race since Nov. 2009. This was an entirely predictable outcome from the day it became clear the New Zealand native would be a rookie in the Cup Series for NASCAR's Mexico race (despite a track record of horrible predictions, even I got this one right). It's also exactly why Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks hired him in the first place. Under the current playoff system, everyone knows just one victory not only essentially locks a driver into the playoffs but also increases the season payout dramatically. The No. 88 car's charter value and its weighted three-year average will now be no lower than 16th for 2025 thanks to van Gisbergen's triumph, which more than justifies the gamble Marks took on him. So yes, while fans might think it's unreasonable for the 33rd-place driver to launch himself into the playoffs with a single win — much as Burton did while sitting 34th in the standings last year — it's also a major reason why van Gisbergen is in the car at all. There's nothing fluky about a road course ace winning on the type of circuit that makes up nearly a fifth of the regular-season schedule; ultimately, van Gisbergen did exactly what he was expected to do all along. Maybe it will get lost in the annals of NASCAR history because it was an Xfinity Series race and not a Cup race, but Daniel Suárez's win on Saturday was one of the sport's most storybook moments in recent memory. NASCAR hasn't had too many high-profile, sentimental moments of late, which is one reason why the same ones continue to be shown and discussed time and again (the 2001 Pepsi 400, for example, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race at Daytona International Speedway after the death of his father in that year's Daytona 500). Advertisement But we shouldn't let this weekend pass without looking back on what Suárez accomplished. After all, just getting to this point — with NASCAR traveling to his home country — was made much easier by his presence. Suárez entered both the Cup race and Xfinity race and gave his countrymen a reason to be excited. He tirelessly promoted the race and took on the pressure of being the face of the event — all while playing host to his American NASCAR family (he even sent media members a list of his favorite Mexico City restaurants to ensure they had a positive experience). But then in an unforced error in Xfinity Series qualifying on Saturday, he crashed his JR Motorsports car into a barrier and destroyed it. Suárez had to start in last place, in a backup car with no laps on it, and his chances of even a top 10 finish seemed unlikely on a road course. Except Suárez steadily made his way through the field and his team made the right strategy calls, suddenly putting him in position for an incredible victory. As he held off Taylor Gray in the final laps, the noise of the crowd could be heard over the engines — a rare occurrence in the world of throaty stock car racing. Suárez triumphantly climbed atop his car in the middle of a converted baseball stadium, turning to all three sides of the grandstands to salute the frenzied crowd. It was the sort of moment that NASCAR needs every now and again to remind people of racing's magic. Unbelievable moment! Incredible stuff here in Mexico City! — Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 14, 2025 Another week, another Carson Hocevar controversy. Or three. The most notable this week was another run-in with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in which Hocevar accidentally took out Stenhouse while running one lap down; in-car camera audio then captured a confrontation after the race in which Stenhouse vowed to beat up Hocevar when they returned to the United States — lest he risk ending up in a Mexican jail with an assault charge. Advertisement Of all people Hocevar could have made contact with, Stenhouse was the least ideal. Their run-in two weeks ago at Nashville seemed somewhat forgiven as long as Hocevar didn't do it again, and Stenhouse said last week at Michigan he was willing to focus on racing instead of getting into a tit-for-tat while both drivers attempted to make the playoffs. Then Hocevar ran into him again, and Stenhouse — who has already shown a proclivity to defend himself — is unlikely to let it go this time. Meanwhile, Hocevar also caused a race-altering caution flag when he spun and was apparently unable to re-fire his car. After the No. 77 sat there stalled for what seemed like an eternity, NASCAR finally called a caution with the leaders approaching at speed — despite it being in the middle of a green-flag pit cycle. That ruined the races of drivers like Ty Gibbs, who later said he was 10 seconds away from pitting and was seemingly the only driver who could hang with van Gisbergen. Gibbs felt he could have won the race if not for that caution but finished 11th instead. NASCAR did not view Hocevar's caution as intentional, but some in the garage did; he has a track record of trying to bring out the yellow flag, and thus is viewed with skepticism. Finally, Hocevar made closed-minded comments about Mexico City during a Twitch stream at the start of the weekend — including calling the city a 's—hole.' He later regretted it, issuing an apology on social media after the race. 'Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan,' Hocevar wrote. 'When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here. Advertisement 'Now that I've actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I've ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran, and I may have to move here to hide out from Ricky anyway.' He concluded: 'Count this as another lesson for me in a season I've learned so much. Don't believe everything you hear without seeing it yourself. If anyone should give anyone or any place the benefit of the doubt it's me. I'm sorry Mexico City. Consider me an ally going forward and an example of getting off Twitch and seeing things with my own two eyes.' Of all the various cultural observations I heard this weekend, Bubba Wallace's thoughts on hot sauce resonated the most with my experience. Wallace noted that in Mexico City, similar to some restaurants in the United States, a waiter will bring a few sauces with the meal and describe their degree of heat. One end will be the hottest, the other end will be the mildest. Except in Mexico, the 'hot' was really not that hot compared to what we have in America. They were much tastier than the burn-your-face-off, five-alarm fire heat that results in immediately chugging water. 'When you get home, ours is stupid hot — no flavor, nothing at all,' Wallace said. 'Their hottest one has a decent kick to it, but it has a tremendous amount of flavor to go with it. They are doing it right down here. I think we are just looking for who can be in the most pain in the States.' (Top photo of fans at Sunday's Cup Series race: James Gilbert / Getty Images)
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McDowell, Gilliland top Cup Series practice sessions in Mexico City
For the first time in history, NASCAR Cup Series drivers turned laps at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City in two practice sessions. Front Row Motorsports' Todd Gilliland was quickest in Practice 2 at 93.180 mph over Ross Chastain (93.041 mph) and Ty Gibbs (92.864 mph). Advertisement RELATED: Practice 2 results | At-track photos: Mexico City Ryan Blaney (92.836 mph) and Chris Buescher (92.726 mph) rounded out the top five. Ryan Preece (92.669 mph), Austin Cindric (92.651 mph), Joey Logano (92.641 mph), Daniel Suárez (92.632 mph) and Shane van Gisbergen (92.601 mph) completed out the top 1o. After posting the fastest time in Practice 1, Michael McDowell (92.163 mph) was 25th-fastest in the second session. Noah Gragson was the only driver who did not turn a lap in Practice 2, as Front Row confirmed on social media that he will go to a backup car for Sunday's race. Practice 1 Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell topped the leaderboard in Practice 1 at 92.657 mph, besting Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Chase Briscoe (92.547 mph) and Ty Gibbs (92.542 mph). Advertisement Austin Cindric (92.528 mph) and Kyle Larson (92.439 mph) rounded out the top five. Chris Buescher (92.427 mph), Joey Logano (92.401 mph), Ross Chastain (92.349 mph), Shane van Gisbergen (92.330 mph) and Todd Gilliland (92.276 mph) completed the top 10. MORE: Practice 1 results After being called up by JGR to replace Denny Hamlin for the weekend, Ryan Truex finished his first session in the No. 11 Toyota 36th-fastest with a speed of 90.946 mph. As the learning process got underway, the 15-turn, 2.42-mile Mexico City circuit proved to be tricky for the drivers. Turn 4 was one of the most challenging spots as Cindric missed his braking point and Noah Gragson contacted the wall in the same area. Others had trouble slowing their cars down in time to make the corner. Cup Series drivers get back on track Saturday at 2:05 p.m. ET for qualifying (Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This story will be updated.
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Todd Gilliland On Shocking NASCAR Crash: 'Zero warning!'
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. Todd Gilliland's NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway ended unexpectedly after he encountered a flat tire at high speed. The incident led him to lose control of his car, which then crashed into the wall and ended his race. Gilliland stated that the incident came with "zero warning!" The high-speed impact seemed brutal on video, and Gilliland confirmed that "it was a very unfortunate place" for his car to have a flat tire. Speaking to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, who asked if he received any tire warning, Gilliland said: "There was zero warning at all. Obviously, everyone is kind of pushing it. We've seen some left-rears down in practice, but that was a very unfortunate place for mine to go out that's for sure. Todd Gilliland, driver of the #34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. Todd Gilliland, driver of the #34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee."It's just wild that you have a long time to think about hitting the wall, but it's all good. It honestly wasn't even a bad hit at all, so I'm proud of my guys for making my car better throughout the day. It's unfortunate." When asked if he was running low tire pressure, Gilliland admitted that he wasn't aware of the pressure and that he pushed the car a "bit too far." He said: "To be honest, I don't know what we were, but we can both imagine that I'm sure we were pushing it. Everyone pushes it. We pushed ours a little bit too far." Todd Gilliland said there was little warning on the flat tire that put him in the wall. He said teams run on the edge of tire pressures and they likely went too far. @NASCARONFOX — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2025 A video shows Gilliland's car crashing into the wall after suffering a flat tire. The Cup Series race at Michigan was won by NASCAR icon Denny Hamlin, after Carson Hocevar, who led the race for 19 laps, suffered a left-rear tire blowout. Hamlin also battled William Byron in the last stage of the race, but they raced only until Byron ran out of fuel, leading him to pit and finish the race in P28. The setbacks paved the way for Hamlin's third victory of the season. Speaking to NBC Sports after the race, Hamlin said: "It's fantastic. Chris Gayle, this whole team has just done a great job. We've been so fast throughout the entire year, just haven't finished it for one reason or another. Feels good to come here at Michigan where we've been so close over the years. "This is such a gratifying day to restart 11th or something like that and drive through the field. I knew I was going to have to go 100 percent to get around everybody. Just worked them one by one."
