By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
It didn’t take long to bust every bracket in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge.
The first two stages of Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway took care of that. A seven-car wreck on Lap 57 and a colossal 22-car incident 12 laps later wiped out most of the top choices to win the $1-million top prize in the five-race tournament.
Overview:
Date: June 29, 2025
Event: Road America SpeedTour (Round 7 of 12)
Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli
Division: Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series
Location: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Layout: 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course
Format: 25 laps or 75 minutes
Weather: Sunny, upper-80s
TA2 Winner: Mike Skeen of TeamSLR/Guthrie’s Garage
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 29, 2025) – 2020 Champion Mike Skeen returned to Victory Lane in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series for the first time since 2022, leading every single lap at Road America on his way to capturing the checkered flag. Polesitter Skeen’s No. 2 Guthrie’s Garage machine had dominant speed, allowing him to defend the point position through multiple restarts and pull out to tremendous gaps under green-flag conditions. Behind him, fifth-place starter Tristan McKee (No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) quickly advanced to the front and passed second-place starter Corey Day (No. 17 HendrickCars.com/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) on lap two, and the trio of TeamSLR-built M1 racecars defended their podium positions for the remainder of the race. Thomas Annunziata (No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry), who made his first laps this weekend at Road America in the race, advanced from the 23rd spot to finish fourth, and seventh-place starter Valentin Aguirre (No. 12 Memo Corse/CAN/Elf Oil Ford Mustang) claimed his first-career top-five finish.
TA
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 28, 2025) – For the second weekend in a row, the CD Racing team of Chris Dyson and Matthew Brabham dominated the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA/GT race, with the team earning its second 1-2 finish in as many races. This time, it was Dyson’s No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang that took the checkered flag, securing his second win of the 2025 season at Road America. Brabham (No. 21 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) started the race from the pole, but Dyson took the point position in the first turn and never looked back, leading until the checkered flag waved and securing his 28th-career victory. Brabham was never far behind, holding off challenges from Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) and Paul Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang), but he was never unseated from the runner-up position.
By Reid Spencer
HAMPTON, Ga. – Timing his pass on the last lap to perfection, Georgia native Chase Elliott charged past Brad Keselowski and held off the driver of the No. 6 Ford to win Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Echo Park Speedway.
The popular victory in the first event of the NASCAR Cup Series’ In-Season Challenge broke a 44-race drought for Elliott dating to last year’s win at Texas Motor Speedway. The win was the second at EchoPark for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and the 20th of his career.
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
The final weekend of June will be one of “firsts” when it comes to NASCAR racing.
For the first time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series will race at a venue for the second time, though in the interim, Atlanta Motor Speedway has acquired new entitlement as EchoPark Speedway.
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
Jesse Love has won the pole position for the last three races at recently-christened EchoPark Speedway but hasn’t won a race there.
In fact, Love has been an excellent stalking horse for teammate Austin Hill, who has underscored Richard Childress Racing’s absolute dominance at the 1.54-mile track by winning the last three races and five of the last six—all since the repaving and reconfiguration was completed in 2022.
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
The addition of Lime Rock Park to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule doubtless was welcome news to series leader Corey Heim.
With proven ability to succeed at any type of race track, Heim has claimed two of his 15 victories on road courses—from the pole at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2023 and from the second starting position at Circuit of the Americas last year.
(Antigonish, NS), June 26, 2025 – The NASCAR Canada Series resumes this Saturday, June 28, with the Riverside 300, marking the second event of the 2025 season. The event will feature 300 laps of racing on the high-banked 1/3-mile asphalt oval.
Last year’s winner Kevin Lacroix, in the No. 74 Adaptive One Calipers / NAPA Racing Chevrolet, returns to Riverside International Speedway aiming for another strong performance.
Evans Mills, N.Y. – (June 27, 2025) – The Race of Champions Modified Series is gearing up for its return to New York’s North Country with the running of the “Rocket 76’er” at Evans Mills Raceway Park on Saturday, July 5, 2025. The event is presented by Bob Johnson Auto Group in Watertown and Pulaski and NAPA Auto Parts, and will feature a 76-lap feature paying $5,000 to win and $500 to start.
