Latest news with #JRMotorsports'
Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Connor Zilisch gives JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 100th win in Pennzoil 250 at IMS
INDIANAPOLIS — While others faltered late in Saturday's Pennzoil 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Connor Zilisch was there to capitalize as he picked up his third win in a row and JR Motorsports' 100th victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson fought with Justin Allgaier for the race lead on a Lap 86 restart and briefly lost control of his car, sliding into Allgaier as the pair exited Turn 2. The contact sent Allgaier into the outside wall exiting the corner and allowed Zilisch to go underneath both drivers on the back stretch to get the race lead with Taylor Gray in second and Sam Mayer third. 'Justin could have left (Kyle) a little more room and Kyle probably could have backed it up or drove it in deeper to get clear, but those moments happen and I feel bad that it took Justin and Kyle out the race,' Zilisch said. Mayer led 32 laps earlier in the race after battling with Allgaier who led a race-high 37 laps. With Allgaier and Larson not being factors for the win, Mayer's focus changed immensely especially with a championship on the line. 'Seeing (that crash) firsthand changes your perspective on the race and what you can accomplish,' Mayer said. 'And before that I'm just trying to set sail and get as many points as I can. And then when (Allgaier) had his misfortune, you're trying to capitalize at that point. So we did that and a lot of the other contenders had issues but, yeah, I think it's going to be a race against me and (Zilisch) there for the championship because I think we have the most momentum right now.' The carnage wasn't quite over yet. With 10 laps to go, Aric Almirola bumped Austin Hill as the pair battled for fourth place going to Turn 3. Hill's car got sideways but he regained control of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. As the duo moved into the north short chute, Hill and Almirola had contact again, sending both to the wall. Almirola believed the contact was intentional. 'He blocked me three times, I finally got him loose in (Turn) 3,' Almirola said. 'He had damage on the nose so he was really slow in the corners and so it was time to go, we're coming to nine laps to go, the leaders are starting to put a gap on us so it's time to go and I got him loose and he just turned left and hooked me in the right rear. Honestly, one of the biggest hits in my entire NASCAR career. Very reminiscent of the hit I took when I broke my back. So glad that I'm OK, thankful to everybody back at the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing for building amazing race cars and making them safe.' NASCAR gave Hill a five lap penalty for reckless driving. On the following restart with four laps to go, Gray grabbed the lead from the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Zilisch tried twice to get the lead from Gray and succeeded on the penultimate lap of the race, getting underneath Gray off of the second corner. 'Riley (Herbst) won the race last year doing the same exact thing,' Zilisch said. 'And everybody at Chevrolet, … I've sat with them in a room and watched races and just studied for countless hours and I wouldn't know as much as I do today without them, I wouldn't be as good as I am today without them, I wouldn't be the person I am today without them.' Try as he might, Gray's No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota just wasn't handling quite right at the end of the race. '(Sheldon Creed) did a good job pushing me on the restart and before the caution I thought we were a good bit better than (Zilisch),' Gray said. 'And then with the long red flag, just heat cycling and, and heat soaking all the tires and stuff just got me a lot tighter firing off for that second or that last green flag run. So just really struggled off of (Turn) 2 and that's where (Zilisch) was able to capitalize on me the most.' As Zilisch snatched the lead from Gray, Mayer followed Zilisch to get second place for himself. Mayer could not catch the 19-year-old, finishing .339 seconds behind with Gray in third, Larson fourth ahead of Ryan Sieg. William Sawalich finished sixth, Sammy Smith was seventh ahead of Daniel Dye, Jesse Love and Dean Thompson rounding out the top 10. Mayer led every lap to win the race's first 30-lap stage and Allgaier won the second 30-lap stage over Zilisch by a few inches. The race had six cautions for 29 laps.
NBC Sports
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
How to watch Friday's Xfinity race at Atlanta: Start time, TV info and weather
In the first of seven tracks that the Xfinity Series will revisit this season, the circuit will race Friday night at EchoPark Speedway for the second time in 2025. The 1.54-mile oval will play host to the fourth of six drafting races this year. Rising star Connor Zilisch is coming off a victory at Pocono Raceway that marked his first oval win and his fourth consecutive top five since missing the Texas Motor Speedway race with a back injury. Zilisch is among five drivers accounting for JR Motorsports' eight wins: Justin Allgaier (three wins), Zilisch (two), Sammy Smith, Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez. The team needs four victories to hit the 100 mark in Xfinity. Georgia native Austin Hill has won three consecutive Xfinity races and five of the past six at the track south of Atlanta. Dustin Long, Details for Friday's Xfinity race at Atlanta (All times Eastern) START: The command to start engines will be given at 7:29 p.m. ... The green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:41 p.m. PRERACE: The Xfinity garage will open at 1:30 p.m. ... Qualifying will begin at 3 p.m. ... Driver introductions are at 6:55 p.m. DISTANCE: The race is 163 laps (251.02 miles) on the 1.54-mile oval. STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 45. Stage 2 ends at Lap 90. ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 38 cars entered at EchoPark Speedway. TV/RADIO: CW will broadcast the race starting at 7 p.m. ... Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage. FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Partly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms with winds light and variable and a high of 89 degrees. It's expected to be 80 degrees with a 30% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race. LAST TIME: Austin Hill took the lead from Aric Almirola on the final lap and beat Justin Allgaier by 0.216 seconds on Feb. 21, 2025.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
As controversy gets heated up, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals why he chose to let go of the Trademark Dispute
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has stopped his effort to trademark the Junior Motorsports No. 8. This happened after Lamar Jackson opposed Earnhardt's application. Earnhardt explained the situation on his podcast. He mentioned JR Motorsports' previous attempts to trademark versions of the number. Earnhardt decided to avoid a legal battle with Jackson. In a safe move, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has backed off his attempt to trademark the Junior Motorsports No.8, just days after Lamar Jackson filed a notice of opposition against Earnhardt. Earnhardt has explained the entire situation in his latest podcast series named Dale Jr. Download. Giving a background, Earnhardt, who drove the number eight car in NASCAR, also applied last year for the number 8 trademark. 'Budweiser No. 8,' NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains the history of 'No.8' In his latest podcast, he said that his company, JR Motorsports , has secured trademark rights for the No.8 on his Budweiser car. Operation Sindoor India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan India-Pakistan tensions: Delhi airport issues travel advisory Operation Sindoor: Multiple explosions heard at several Pakistan air bases This is not the first attempt, but the company has earlier tried to secure trademark protection from different versions of numbers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo 'I learned on social media about the same time as everybody else did that Lamar was contesting our trademark application,' Earnhardt said while explaining. 'We learned that the Budweiser No. 8 trademark is not going to be continued and renewed by Teresa,' he said in the podcast. 'We were a bit surprised by that because she kept the one trademark. Haven't talked to Teresa. Don't know why that was her decision, but we saw an opportunity to pick up the number and see if we could get the trademark,' Earnhardt added. After choosing to back off and not taking the legal battle ahead, Earnhardt said, 'He wasn't suing me, he was just contesting it, and there's a part of trademark process where if you believe somebody's applying for a trademark and it will hurt your brand, you can oppose it. . . . When I learned about it, I thought for sure it was over the Bud 8. . .' Earnhardt wanted to put the nasty story to an end, and hence, he tried to get trademark protection for one specific version of the number, but Jackson objected. This is enough for Earnhardt to back off. 'The next day, actually, we filed the paperwork to abandon the acquisition of that trademark for the JR Motorsports 8. We got what we wanted, and down the road, I was not gonna argue with Lamar over something that I didn't plan on using,' Earnhardt cited. Also read: Trademark dispute erupts after NASCAR's Dale Jr. throws light on Quarterback Lamar Jackson's legal action
NBC Sports
05-04-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
NASCAR Xfinity results: Brandon Jones snaps 98-race winless streak with Darlington win
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Brandon Jones took the lead with 12 laps to go and went on to win Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington Raceway. Jones snapped a 98-race winless streak with the victory — his second at Darlington and sixth of his Xfinity career. MORE: Darlington results Chase Elliott finished second and was followed by JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier, Ross Chastain, Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. Sammy Smith placed ninth, as all five JR Motorsports cars finished in the top 10. Chastain and Christopher Bell made contact while racing for second with less than 25 laps to go in the race. The contact damaged Bell's car and he fell back in the field, finishing 25th. #NASCAR … Ross Chastain on the contact with Christopher Bell in the Darlington Xfinity race #NASCAR … Christopher Bell on the contact with Ross Chastain during the Darlington Xfinity race. Stage 1 winner: Harrison Burton Stage 2 winner: Justin Allgaier Next: The series races at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway on the CW Network.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR meets with Xfinity Series drivers before Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. — NASCAR officials met with the entire field of Xfinity Series drivers early Friday morning before any on-track activity at Darlington Raceway — a meeting triggered by an incredibly aggressive showing for the series at the Martinsville Speedway short track a week ago — a race so chaotic that Chase Elliott — a former Xfinity Series and Cup Series champ — called it 'embarrassing' for the sport. Although aggressive moves characterized much of the second half of the race, a big wreck on the final lap started up front with the then-leaders — Joe Gibbs Racing's Taylor Gray and JR Motorsports' Sammy Smith — precipitated angry confrontations post-race. Gray (off track) and Smith (on track) were both penalized for their actions. Advertisement RELATED: Throwback Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Darlington Veteran Austin Hill was the big beneficiary of the on-track situation between the two, driving through the melee up front to claim his second win of the year — credited with only leading that last lap. Hill shared that the meeting went well and that he expects his fellow drivers to be more mindful of the way they race going forward, calling NASCAR very 'firm' in its morning message. 'I think it's going to calm down a lot more than you think today,' Hill said ahead of Saturday afternoon's Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington. 'We'll have to wait and see, but I think we're all going to still be aggressive and trying to win the race, but it's going to be a very respectful race.' WATCH: Jeff Burton breaks down 'unacceptable' Xfinity finish The next trip to Martinsville in late October determines which four playoff drivers advance to the Championship 4 with a shot to win the 2025 Xfinity Series title. 'NASCAR made it very clear they don't want to be in the ball-and-strike business, they don't want to be making all these calls, so they said for us to help them with that,' Hill said. 'They [NASCAR] also said if they have to step in and start making calls and black-flagging people and parking people and all those things, they'll do it. I agree with where NASCAR stands with that, but I also think we in the Xfinity Series need to do a better job going forward and not putting it in NASCAR's hands.'
