DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Five NASCAR Cup Series regular season races remain, four drivers are currently Playoff eligible based on points and three more are within striking distance. And there’s a new championship leader.
That’s the situation as the series moves to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the annual Brickyard 400 summer classic (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway hosted the Cleetus McFarland New England 900 on Friday, July 18 with a 90-lap feature event featuring nitrous infused Crown Victorias and a Van Prix feature event with minivans. NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece was the big winner of the night after outdueling former NASCAR Cup Series driver Greg Biffle over the final 13 laps after a late race restart.
STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT (July 18, 2025) – Ryan Preece put on a show for his hometown crowd as he returned to Stafford Motor Speedway victorious in Friday’s New England 900. Preece raced his way from the 15th starting position to claim a thrilling victory in the exhibition event organized by Cleetus McFarland and the Freedom Factory.
“That was the most fun I’ve had in a race car in a very long time,” said Preece.
Denny Hamlin prevailed in Sunday’s EchoPark AutoTrader 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway – a race that featured a 56-minute red flag for rain, late-race strategy decisions, and involved a pair of overtime restarts before the trophy was ultimately settled between a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
But the veteran Hamlin got it all right when it mattered most, getting a jump on the field in both overtime restarts and in the end holding off his newest teammate Chase Briscoe who was even on fresher tires. It marks back-to-back wins at the Dover concrete-mile for Denny Hamlin and a NASCAR Cup Series-best fourth victory of 2025.
Nick DeGroot of Motorsport reports that (t)he courts have ruled against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in their request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) as they seek a new preliminary injunction. The hope was that they would secure a TRO in order to prevent NASCAR from revoking their charters, but that has failed. They will compete as open entries at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend.
23XI fields the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace, No. 35 of Riley Herbst, and the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick. FRM has the the No. 4 of Noah Gragson, the No. 34 of Todd Gilliland, and the No. 38 of Zane Smith.
Read the rest of this article by Nick DeGroot here…
Photo by: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Barre, VT – Another Thursday in Barre meant yet another race day at Thunder Road Speedbowl affected by the rains of Mother Nature. Just ten minutes prior to the special 6:30pm Vermont Lottery Governor’s Cup Post Time, rains swept in for a half-hour spell with successful track drying getting Thursday’s program underway by 7:30pm.
The poor weather necessitated a change in schedule with the Maplefields/Irving Oil Late Models getting feature racing off and running with the 46th running of the Vermont Lottery Governor’s Cup 150. A Plus/Minus handicap draw event as part of the Squier Cup presented by Milton CAT, the Governor’s Cup saw four-time winner Jason Corliss earn an incredible +7 in Heat #1 with former Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour champion Jimmy Hebert to his outside at the start.
After back-to-back road course races, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the bread-and-butter of its schedule with a visit to the famed one-mile Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 (2 p.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Although Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen shows up at the Monster Mile fresh off two road course trophy hoists – in Chicago and Sonoma – it’s Hendrick Motorsports drivers who remain ranked one-two-three in the series championship driver standings.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (July 17, 2025) – After making its groundbreaking oval debut at Martinsville Speedway last year, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin will return to the famous short track alongside NASCAR’s top-tier series.
Mazda’s signature spec series, now in its 20th season, will replicate its single-day exhibition event on Thursday, October 23, leading into the penultimate weekend for the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck series championships.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400
The Place: Dover Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1 Mile Concrete Oval
The Date: Sunday, July 20
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,055,250
TV: TNT, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 400 miles (400 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 120),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)
