Roger Diez
A new winner in NASCAR Cup at Pocono; same old winner in IndyCar at Road America. As the racing season approaches its peak, the championship picture becomes a little clearer.
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NASCAR Cup driver Chase Briscoe, in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19 Toyota, has had a winless season — until Pocono. After a three-hour rain delay, Briscoe held off teammate Denny Hamlin, who was going for his fourth season win in search of the championship that has eluded him for 20 years. Hamlin as team owner did not fare as well, as his 23XI team suffered a rash of brake rotor failures with both Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst out early. Teammate Tyler Reddick avoided that issue but finished 32nd, a lap down. Michael McDowell’s No. 71 Chevy also had a rotor failure. Briscoe becomes the 10th winner of 2025, provisionally locking himself into the playoffs. There are still six open playoff spots with 10 races to go in the regular season. So, it is still mathematically possible that no one without a win will make the playoffs.
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This weekend, all three top NASCAR series are in action, one at a new venue and two at an old venue with a new name. The Craftsman Trucks are at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, a relatively short road course at 1.53 miles and only half a dozen turns. The trucks qualify Saturday at 6:30 a.m. on FS1 and race at 10 a.m., broadcast on Fox. The Cup and Xfinity series are at Echo Park Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Xfinity series practice, qualifying, and race took place Friday. The Quaker State 400 for the Cup cars airs at 4 p.m. on TNT and Max. Christopher Bell won there four months ago, his only victory at the facility. Other former winners in the field include Joey Logano, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch with two wins each, and one-time winners Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Hamlin.
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At Road America, Alex Palou proved to be the equal of teammate Scott Dixon at saving fuel to win his sixth IndyCar race of the season while Dixon pitted for a splash two laps from the end. Nine races in and only he and Kyle Kirkwood have taken the checkered flag. It was another fraught race for Team Penske as Scott McLaughlin finished the best of the team in 12th and Will Power only managed a 14th-place finish. Josef Newgarden crashed 30 laps into the 55-lap event. Rookie Louis Foster took his first pole for RLL Racing. Palou’s win gave him 386 season points, widening the points gap to Kirkwood to 93. Pato O’Ward is 111 points back, while Felix Rosenqvist’s second-place finish put him in a tie for fourth with Scott Dixon, both 155 points in arrears. The series is dark this weekend, returning July 6 at Mid-Ohio.
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Formula 1 is back in action this weekend at Red Bull’s home track for the Austrian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen leads all active drivers with four wins at the Red Bull Ring, most recently in 2023. Mercedes driver George Russell is the defending winner with a single win while Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also have one victory each. Since the series returned to the venue in 2014 after a 10-year absence, Mercedes has scored six wins, Red Bull four, and Ferrari one. Qualifying airs Saturday at 7 a.m. on ESPN2 and Sunday’s race coverage on ESPN begins at 6 a.m.