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This weekend NASCAR heads to New Hampshire, where the Cup Series will be taking part in the USA Today 301. One team that will be looking for their first win of the season is Joey Logano’s No. 22 team. There are reasons for optimism. Logano has won there twice in his career, and his Team Penske teammates have found victory lane in recent weeks. When I asked Logano’s Crew Chief Paul Wolfe during his media availability this week what kind of confidence it gives him to see his Team Penske counterparts win, he was open about the fact that he feels confident coming into Loudon. “I think it’s great. It’s great for the company. I mean, don’t get me wrong, as the 22 team we want to win too, but I think Roger’s always expressed over the years - when one team wins we all win.  I think the way we’re structured, as well as we’ve been working together with the 12 team here recently, we wanted to be the team spraying champagne the other night. But you’ve got to look at it and know that we were a part of that, in a way, in helping build the program and the way we all work together, so It definitely gives us confidence.” “Like I said, if we can’t be in victory lane, There’s nothing better than seeing one of our team cars there because it gives you another data point of - OK, we’re on the right path here; the things we’ve been working are correct and we’ll keep massaging it as we move forward to Loudon this weekend.” Time will tell if the No. 22 team can reach victory lane in a points-paying race this season. Paul Wolfe seems adamant that they can.  The green flag drops on the USA Today 301 at 2:30 p.m. EST Sunday afternoon.    Photo Credit:(X.com/JoeyLogano)

Gene Haas, Co-Owner of Stewart-Haas Racing has annouced that he will remain in NASCAR next season. He will obtain one legacy charter from Stewart-Haas Racing as well as operate a two-car Xfinity Series team next season. The new team will be known as Haas Factory Team. The following is his statement. “My commitment to motorsports hasn’t changed, just the scope of my involvement,” Haas said. “Operating a four-car Cup Series team has become too arduous but, at the same time, I still need a platform to promote Haas Automation and grow HaasTooling.com. “Maintaining my presence in Cup allows Haas Automation to compete at NASCAR’s highest level, which is important to our customers and distributors. The Xfinity Series program provides a full weekend experience for our guests, and it delivers added depth and scale to our overall operation.” Joe Custer will be the president of Haas Factory Team and it will operate out of the existing Stewart-Haas facility in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Drivers and team partners will be announced in the lead-up to the 2025 NASCAR season. Photo Credit: (X.Com/ColeCuster)

By Adam Carabine We've ranked all 34 full-time drivers in the Cup Series (there are 36 charters, but the Rick Ware 15 and Kaulig 16 have rotating drivers, so they're excluded). Rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs. Zane Smith – This week: 34th – Last week: 34th Where has Zane Smith been? Has anyone seen him? Harrison Burton – This week: 33rd – Last week: 33rd A top-25 at Sonoma and a Top-20 at Iowa are decent, but I want to see more improvement before he moves up the power rankings. Austin Dillon – This week: 32nd – Last week: 32nd He did well at Gateway, and then undid all of his progress with a 36th at Sonoma.  19th at Iowa is fine, but he should be better in this equipment. Corey LaJoie – This week: 31st – Last week: 31st LaJoie will keep you on your toes from week-to-week.  You never know what you’re going to get.  You might’ve expected a step back at a road course – P11 at Sonoma.  But then back to earth with a 21st at Iowa. Austin Cindric – This week: 30th – Last week: 28th After his win, it’s been not much fun for Cindric fans.  Topped off with a P30 at Iowa, this team needs a boost. Michael McDowell – This week: 29th – Last week: 29th He moved up a spot after a P2 at Sonoma, but a fairly uninspired 23rd at Iowa won’t keep that momentum going. Carson Hocevar – This week: 28th – Last week: 30th Hocevar has suddenly taken over as the leading Spire driver, at least over the last two weeks.  Is he starting to get used to driving the Next-Gen car? Daniel Hemric – This week: 27th – Last week: 25th I think Hemric has joined Zane Smith in the upside down.  We haven’t seen much from him. John Hunter Nemechek – This week: 26th – Last week: 24th Just when you think it’s been a rough couple of weeks for the 42 team, you realize the results have been better than the two previous weeks. Erik Jones – This week: 25th – Last week: 22nd Misery loves company at Legacy MC it seems.  Jones qualified 32nd, finished 32nd at Iowa.  What else is there to say? Ryan Preece – This week: 24th – Last week: 21st I’ve said it before, it’s crunch time for the SHR drivers.  This is your audition for a ride next year.  Everyone is watching.  27th at Iowa isn’t sparking joy. Justin Haley – This week: 23rd – Last week: 23rd Haley’s stock is on the rise.  Talk about auditioning, though it seems Haley is happy at Rick Ware Racing for now.  That’s three Top-15s in a row now. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – This week: 22nd – Last week: 26th Stenhouse returned to an old favourite track of his in Iowa and came up with a Top 5.  Solid effort that’s rewarded by a jump in the Power Rankings. Josh Berry – This week: 21st – Last week: 27th Another jump in the Rankings, Berry had a stellar day at Iowa.  It even looked like he might take the win at one point, as he led 32 laps.  He settled for a P7, but that’s a start. Chase Briscoe – This week: 20th – Last week: 18th Briscoe had a strong qualifying effort at Iowa, but unfortunately finished 28th.  That’s a couple of rough races in a row, but if the rumours are to be believed, he should be getting an upgrade next year… Noah Gragson – This week: 19th – Last week: 20th Gragson has been the best performer at SHR for a few weeks now.  A P16 at Iowa is probably not as good as it should be with this team, but who knows how checked out everyone is. Todd Gilliland – This week: 18th – Last week: 19th He continues to rise after getting his contract extension a few weeks back.  P12 at Iowa, P10 at Sonoma too.  Those are wildly different tracks, and yet he’s excelling. Daniel Suarez – This week: 17th – Last week: 17th By the time you read this, he’s officially become an American citizen!  He’s had a couple of decent finishes to go with it, though this week he stays static on the Rankings. Bubba Wallace – This week: 16th – Last week: 16th He wasn’t pleased with his road course racing in Sonoma, even though he cracked the Top 20.  It’s a discipline he’s wanting to get better at.  Iowa had him come home 17th.  He can do better, but it’s also about managing the weeks where you’re not your best. Kyle Busch – This week: 15th – Last week: 13th Despite a P12 for Busch at Sonoma, it’s been an absolutely horrid stretch for the veteran driver.  DNF and 35th at Iowa, he’s not happy. Joey Logano – This week: 14th – Last week: 15th His streak of winning at new environments came to a close when he didn’t win the inaugural Iowa Cup race, but P6 is nothing to scoff at.  He’s still 6 points out of a playoff spot, heaven forbid another non-playoff driver wins… Alex Bowman – This week: 13th – Last week: 14th Again, he’s quiet, but he’s putting up solid numbers.  He finished 8th at Iowa, and certainly has a sizeable lead on the playoff line for now. Chris Buescher – This week: 12th – Last week: 11th It was a solid finish at Sonoma for Buescher, which we’re accustomed to seeing, but a lousy 18th at Iowa bumps him down a spot this week. Ross Chastain – This week: 11th – Last week: 10th A couple of decent weeks in a row, including a top-5 at Sonoma, but the competition within the Top 10 of the Power Rankings is so fierce, you’ll need to do better to move up. Ty Gibbs – This week: 10th – Last week: 9th It’s been a couple of rough weeks in a row for Gibbs.  It will be interesting to see how the 54 team bounces back after what is essentially some of the worst adversity they’ve faced all season long. Ryan Blaney – This week: 9th  – Last week: 12th A win certainly helps move you up the standings, but a win in such a dominating fashion like Blaney’s at Iowa?  That’ll get you into the Top 10.   Plus that’s after a P7 at Sonoma too. Christopher Bell – This week: 8th – Last week: 8th Watch out for this guy.  He’s got fast cars, he’s on a mission to prove he belongs, and he’s had some decent playoff experience for a driver on the younger side. Chase Elliott – This week: 7th – Last week: 7th Two straight finishes within the Top 5, including a day filled with quality passes in Iowa… Is Chase Elliott back, guys? Brad Keselowski – This week: 6th – Last week: 5th Speaking of people who are ‘back,’ Keselowski and RFK are cooking these days.  Brad isn’t the best road course racer, but managed to pull out a Top-15 at Sonoma, followed by a Top-10 at Iowa.  I’m not ready to put him in my Final Four just yet, but he’s making a hell of a case. William Byron – This week: 5th – Last week: 5th Following up a disappointing weekend in Sonoma with a P2 in Iowa is a solid way to stay in the Top 5 of the Power Rankings.  A few wins in the bag doesn’t hurt either. Tyler Reddick – This week: 4th – Last week: 3rd A Top-10 at Sonoma, but then a P22 at Iowa (a lap down, too).  He falls back a spot this week, but look to see him rebound at New Hampshire. Martin Truex Jr. – This week: 3rd – Last week: 4th The finish wasn’t what it should’ve been in Sonoma, but the underlying stats pointed to a Top-5 day.  A P15 in Iowa after a speeding penalty shows some resilience.  He’s still motivated, despite the big retirement announcement. Denny Hamlin – This week: 2nd – Last week: 2nd Having me question my entire scoring metric, Hamlin remained in 2nd after a blown engine on lap 2 in Sonoma.  He followed it up with a P24 in Iowa, 2 laps down.  He’s built up a lot of cache, but maybe not enough for that.  Perhaps back to the drawing board. Kyle Larson – This week: 1st – Last week: 1st A rough Iowa finish couldn’t completely halt the momentum he carried after a win in Sonoma on a strategy call.  He’ll remain the top dog this week, but the competition is getting fierce with the playoffs on the horizon.

Each week here at Racing Refresh we like to take a look back to the week that was in motorsports on X. Let's get started! 10. This is great news. Radioactiive tends to be a weekly highlight. I'm still hoping that someone gives us a NASCAR weekly show to watch, if not daily. 9. You got to love this graphic. So simple, yet, so heartwarming. 8. What an impressive run for Josh Berry at Iowa. I was starting to think it could be his day. If he keeps this up he'll have a Cup ride next season. 7. I know plenty of people are critical of Fox, but this is a wonderful move for IndyCar. Fox is a large network, and that is a good thing. 6. One of the most unique concepts in NASCAR returns in just a few weeks. The question is, will the weather corporate? Time will tell. 5. Well, I'm not going to disagree with Mario Andretti. 4. Could Martin Truex Jr go out on top? It's not out of the realm of possibility. Truex is still extremely competitive. 3. Jimmie Johnson droving scheme that was designed by his daughters is pretty cool. 2. Could we see Martin Truex Jr in a 23XI car at some point next season. I think it's very possible. 1. Congratulations to Martin Truex Jr on one hell of a career.

(Photo Credit: Twitter.com/NascarFc ) Press Release | TOYOTA RACING Statement on Martin Truex Jr. from David Wilson, president, TRD U.S.A.   “Martin has been a fierce competitor, champion and loyal friend to Toyota and TRD for over a decade. He is the only NASCAR driver to win Cup races in a Toyota Camry across three different race team organizations – a remarkable achievement. His genuine personality and consistent performance have made him a fan favorite and someone who will truly be missed on-track each week. Martin’s racing achievements highlight just how talented of a racer he is, and his outstanding work off-track with the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation showcases the incredible person he continues to be. Martin is a future Hall of Famer, and someone we will always be honored to call a part of the Team Toyota family.”

Press Release | NASCAR BETHESDA, Maryland (June 14, 2024) – Global restaurateur HMSHost , part of Avolta AG (SIX: AVOL) and a world leader in creating dining for travel venues, has teamed up with NASCAR to create the ultimate pit stop at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), NASCAR Drafthouse. The new dining spot will have travelers racing to Terminal 1 to fuel up on a turbo-charged, all-day menu of Southern comfort favorites for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a full bar and convenient grab-and-go options.   The officially licensed NASCAR Drafthouse bolsters HMSHost’s long-time presence at STL. The 90-seat full-service restaurant and bar, located in Terminal 1 near gate C15, is poised to become a sought-after destination for NASCAR fans of all ages, with its memorabilia-adorned walls, numerous TVs, and menu offering a range of hearty, flavorful appetizers, entrées, burgers, sandwiches, and early-morning fare.   “NASCAR is an icon of the motorsport world, and HMSHost is thrilled for the opportunity to offer travelers and diehard NASCAR fans a fun new food and beverage experience at St. Louis Lambert International Airport,” said HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Bryan Loden. “NASCAR Drafthouse pairs the energy of this renowned racing brand with HMSHost’s culinary expertise to create a restaurant that makes a traveler’s journey as exciting as their ultimate destination. We are proud of our continued partnership with St. Louis Airport Authority to transform the passenger experience.”   “St. Louis is a passionate NASCAR market and we’re thrilled to partner with an industry leader like HMSHost to bring the NASCAR Drafthouse concept to life here, providing visitors to and from the region a great new spot to refuel on the road,” said Megan Malayter, Managing Director, Licensing and Consumer products at NASCAR.    “NASCAR Drafthouse is a unique experience for travelers at St. Louis Lambert International Airport,” said STL’s Airport Director and CEO Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. “The restaurant also satisfies patrons with its Southern comfort food selections. We are proud to be the airport location for this first-of-a-kind dining experience.”   Travelers starting their morning at NASCAR Drafthouse can dine on breakfast options like flaky biscuits and sausage gravy, a diced ham omelet with mushrooms and cheddar, or a sweet and savory beignet. The lunch and dinner menu features an assortment of stick-to-your-ribs BBQ and seafood dishes such as farm-raised fried catfish, spicy grilled shrimp and creamy grits, chicken fried steak, and tender pulled pork mac and cheese. Juicy burgers, classic sandwiches, gumbo, and salads round out travelers’ multitude of options, with a selection of convenient grab-and-go choices available, as well.   NASCAR Drafthouse visitors can also enjoy an impressive array of draft and canned beer that includes Anheuser-Busch products as well as wine and specialty cocktails like “The Caborita” and “The Checkered Flag,” featuring Cabo Wabo Tequila. The spirits menu even includes moonshine — a nod to NASCAR’s earliest days when numerous future race-car drivers got their start as moonshine runners, building fast cars to haul illegal moonshine throughout the Southeast. Alongside several Sugarlands Shine offerings, NASCAR Drafthouse also features Midnight Moon®, the award-winning moonshine inspired by the family recipe of legendary bootlegger and NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson. Of course, an abundance of non-alcoholic beverages are available, as well, including Coca-Cola and Monster Energy products.   NASCAR Drafthouse at St. Louis Lambert International Airport is open seven days a week from 4:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Press Release | SPIRE MOTORSPORTS IOWA CITY , Iowa (June 11, 2024) – Gainbridge®, Spire Motorsports, and the University of Iowa Athletics Department and Learfield’s Hawkeye Sports Properties announced Corey LaJoie will drive a special Iowa Hawkeyes-themed paint scheme in the June 16 NASCAR Cup Series’ Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway. The No. 7 Gainbridge/Iowa Hawkeyes Chevrolet will take the track featuring special black and gold striping with the Iowa Hawkeyes athletics logo on the hood and the athletics website on the rear TV panel. Gainbridge®, a Group 1001 company, is a proud sponsor of Iowa Athletics and earlier this year signed a multi-year partnership with Hawkeye legend Caitlin Clark as a brand ambassador. Gainbridge® is also an anchor partner of Spire Motorsports and the primary sponsor of LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet. All Iowa Athletics sponsorship agreements are managed by its multimedia rights holder Hawkeye Sports Properties, the locally based team of Learfield, the media and technology company powering college athletics. “The No. 7 is extra special this weekend as we bring together two unique sports properties from our portfolio and give Iowans a home-state car to pull for in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway,” said Mike Nichols, Chief of Sponsorship and Activation at Group 1001. “From Caitlin Clark to now this, Gainbridge® has stepped up to support Iowa athletics and we hope that all of Iowa will rally around Corey LaJoie and cheer him on to victory lane.” “The NASCAR event at Iowa Speedway is a marquee event for the state and we’re thankful that Gainbridge® is shining a big spotlight on Learfield and Iowa athletics,” said Gabe Aguirre, Vice President & General Manager, Hawkeye Sports Properties. “We’re all rooting for Corey LaJoie in that No. 7.” The Iowa Corn 350 powered by Ethanol will be televised live on USA Network Sunday, June 16, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 17th of 36 races on the 2024 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Each week at Racing Refresh we like to look back to the week that was in the world of motorsports on X. Let's get started! 10. The King has been cool since before most of us were even born. He's showing no signs of slowing down. 9. Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions, but, it sure feels like any progress made with the charter negotiations has hit a snag. Hopefully, a deal will be reached soon. The business side of the sport may come to a halt otherwise. 8. I have to agree with Kevin Harvick here. I hope if MTJ decides to retire at the end of the 2024 season, he announces it soon. Better yet, he should give it one last go in 2025 so people have a chance to enjoy him for a final time. 7. Jack Roush sounds like he was a tough man to work for back in the day. But, to be as successful as he has been in this sport, you have to want it a little more. 6. The NBC portion of the schedule begins this week! I'm looking forward to it! 5. Talk about a who's who. 4. We miss Steve to this day. 3. The end of this wonderful show is a sad day for NASCAR 2. SVG vs Austin Hill is the feud the Xfinity Series needs. 1. We have lost an icon.

By Adam Carabine The newly repaved Sonoma Raceway did not disappoint in its Cup Series debut, as Kyle Larson took the checkered flag.    Much was made about the new surface and how the race would be much faster than years past.  The last time Sonoma was paved was over 20 years ago. In qualifying and practice, lap times were 4-5 seconds faster than last year’s pole lap set by Denny Hamlin.   Earlier this year at COTA, the race ran with no natural cautions (only the two stage breaks), and there were questions circulating about whether the increased speeds might lend itself to another race like that, but Sonoma quickly proved that would not be the case.   Unrelated to the track surface, Denny Hamlin’s engine blew up on lap 2, ending his day early.  That might have been a harbinger of things to come.   Joey Logano emerged as an early favourite, as he led the field to green after winning the pole on Saturday.  He led every lap until the second caution of the day came out for a Ty Gibbs incident (which also ended his day).  In an attempt to do something different strategy-wise, Logano pit, hoping to trade some track position for future dividends.    Unfortunately for Logano, on the ensuing restart there was a big incident involving many drivers in turn 3A, and he was caught in the middle of it.  While he was able to continue running, his hopes of winning were quickly dashed, and he finished the day P21.   Tyler Reddick took over the lead when Logano pit, as the 45 team opted to stay out on a differing strategy.  Reddick held the lead through the end of Stage One, and into Stage Two, despite more calamity on the track.   There were another four cautions in the second stage, including three over the course of just eight laps. Reddick opted to flip the second stage, and Chris Buescher took the stage win.    As the final stage started winding down, the strategy fell right into Kyle Larson’s lap.   Once the leaders got to a point in the race where they’d be able to make it to the end on fuel, they started peeling off, making their way to pit road.  In theory, this would be their last stop, and they should be able to cycle back to the lead – assuming it stayed green.   However, Kyle Larson stayed out for another 20 laps or so, opting to take fresher tires over fuel.  He came back out on the track on lap 81 in 21st.    With a mixture of other cars still pitting ahead of him, and the leaders on older tires, Larson spent the next 20 laps reeling everyone in, eventually taking the lead with 8 to go.    Both Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. had been putting up a fun fight for the lead, and at one point Truex did catch Chris Buescher, but Larson was able to capitalize on the two of them and passed them both on the next lap.    It was a gutsy call from a veteran crew chief in Cliff Daniels, as there were plenty of unknowns about tire wear coming into the weekend.  Despite an extended practice session on Friday, most teams took advantage of the extra time to do some “R&D,” as Daniels put it post-race, rather than focusing on long tire runs.  Not a single team ran more than a 15-lap run in practice.   Cliff Daniels added, “We just don’t get that many opportunities with a full open practice to change springs, geometry, and other things.  A lot of us had planned changes that were outside of our weekly impound-style changes.  Without cars running that many laps in practice, you just didn’t see the number of laps on tires to know – is blistering a thing? Is wear a thing? You just didn’t quite have the data to go off of to understand that.”   Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, said, “The tires held up really, really well today. I think we knew that if the tires didn’t blister, then the pace would hold on.  If you could get off-strategy [to the rest of the field], then you might have a fuel or a tire advantage, and that’s the way it worked out.”   Luckily for Larson, his tires held on, and he was able to hang on to win the Toyota Save Mart 350.  Martin Truex Jr. was trending for a runner-up finish but ran out of gas on the last lap, falling back to finish 27th.   Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain rounded out the remainder of the Top Five.