Author Archives: PressBox

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship was set to be decided over a seven-race Chase that opened Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Layne Riggs carrying the No. 1 seed and a 25-point lead over the field. Riggs entered the playoffs as the top seed after a regular season that produced a series-best six wins and 598 laps led, and he said he planned to stay aggressive rather than protect the points lead. He also confirmed he will return full time to Front Row Motorsports next season in the No. 34 Ford and wants to add some Cup Series starts.

Kaden Honeycutt, of TRICON Garage, entered second in the standings, 25 points behind Riggs after the reset, after spending five weeks atop the championship standings for the first time in his career. Honeycutt and Riggs occupied the top two spots for much of the season, and Honeycutt said the seven-race format suits his team because it has no weak spots over that stretch. He added that he felt confident and optimistic heading into the postseason opener.

Honeycutt won twice in the regular season, at Watkins Glen International and Richmond Raceway, and finished with a career-best 11 top-five results, nearly triple his previous single-season high. He credited crew chief Scott Zipadelli and the No. 11 team’s championship-caliber experience for helping him improve his racecraft and race management. Honeycutt said the late-August win at Richmond lifted his confidence after struggles at Wilkesboro and IRP, and that he stayed sharp during the five-week break by racing late models. Chandler Smith was third in the Chase standings and said he wanted to finish strong for Front Row Motorsports.

Stellantis may be exploring a short-term engine supply deal that could allow Dodge to return to NASCAR’s Cup Series as soon as 2027, but the move remains unresolved and no agreement has been announced. The engine question is viewed as the main obstacle to a comeback, since Cup competition requires a homologated manufacturer program. It remains unclear which builder could supply engines, whether NASCAR would approve the arrangement or whether the timeline is realistic.

Industry executives said one possible path would be for Stellantis to use an existing engine supplier while it develops its own engine, and ECR Engines was mentioned as one possible option. They also said Ford was unlikely to take part in such a deal. Tim Kuniskis said Dodge is the likely candidate for a Cup return after its last full run ended in 2012, when Brad Keselowski won the title for Team Penske in a Dodge Charger.

Kaulig Racing is being viewed as the likely landing spot for a Dodge return. Earlier reports in 2026 said Dodge’s body had already undergone wind-tunnel work and that Stellantis had made progress on engine production, leading to talk of a 2027 Daytona 500 debut. NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said he wants Dodge in Cup in 2027 if the sport can get it right, and said a successful long-term launch matters more than rushing the move. Stellantis declined to comment, and it has already returned to NASCAR this season through Ram in the Craftsman Truck Series.

The documentary *SUÁREZ* centered on Daniel Suárez’s return to Mexico City for NASCAR’s 2025 race weekend, a homecoming that came as the series made its historic comeback to the city. The film, which premiered Sept. 17 on FS1 after a Sept. 15 preview on FOX Deportes, showed Suárez racing in front of family and fans in Mexico and later became available on Tubi on Oct. 17 in the United States, Mexico and Latin America.

Produced by FOX Sports, NASCAR Studios and Wilmer Valderrama’s WV Alternative, the documentary traced Suárez’s rise from Monterrey, Mexico, to becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. It also examined the sacrifices Suárez and his family made along the way and included interviews with family members and others close to him.

*SUÁREZ* also covered the challenges of that Mexico City weekend, including a qualifying crash that put Suárez in a backup car and forced him to start at the rear of the field. The film showed him overcoming that setback and winning in front of his home crowd. NASCAR’s Mexico City event was its first championship race outside the United States since 1958.

Goodyear will bring the same left-side and right-side tire combination to NASCAR Cup Series teams for Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway that the series used in the spring at Thunder Valley. The Cup Series race, the third Chase event of the season, is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Goodyear said the tires are meant for Bristol’s high-banked concrete surface, which changes over 500 laps, and are designed to help rubber build into the track and create multiple grooves. Cup Series teams already have experience with the setup from earlier in the season.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will also use familiar Goodyear tire setups at Bristol this weekend. O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams will race a combination they have used at Pocono, Indianapolis, Iowa and earlier Bristol events, while the Truck Series will use a right-side tire for the first time after the left-side tire has appeared four times this season. Both support series will use inner liners on the right-side tires. Bristol’s race weekend opens with the UNOH 250 on Sept. 17, followed by the Food City 300 on Sept. 18 and the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Sept. 19.

NASCAR’s fan-powered “Swear Jar” tracker had counted 468 profanities on Cup Series radio after two Chase races, adding $5 for each word to a prize pot that reached $2,340. The campaign launched Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway and was running during the 10-race Chase for the Cup, with eight races left when the tally was reported.

The latest update came after World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison added 245 curse words to the total, following Darlington’s 223 the week before. NASCAR posted the update Tuesday after Kyle Larson won the Enjoy Illinois 300. The Gateway race also produced a track-record 18 cautions. NASCAR said the most common expletive so far was the f-word, listed as “f–k” or “f-ck,” with 235 uses. Bullsh*t was recorded 103 times, and “shtshow” also appeared in the radio chatter.

The profanity tracker has drawn attention beyond the races themselves. A Sports Business Journal report said NASCAR’s in-app profanity campaign generated 974 million earned media impressions in its first week. Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested attaching each tracked curse word to a driver’s name so the profanity total would become a standings race, a proposal that carried irony because NASCAR once penalized him for profanity in a live post-race interview after his 2004 Talladega win. Fans can guess the top swear and the total after each race for a chance at the full pot, with entries closing Nov. 1 before the Cup playoffs end Nov. 8 in Miami.