In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers wraps up the 2025 NASCAR championship weekend in Phoenix.
Regarding the ongoing lawsuit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR, Denny Hamlin had the following comment at Martinsville last Saturday: “I think both sides probably feel strong about their case. … I think one of us is on a suicide mission.” Gee, I wonder which one that might be?
It was good to see that NASCAR got serious when they suspended Sam Mayer after he wrecked Jeb Burton on the cool-down lap at Martinsville. As a result, Mayer was not allowed to race at Phoenix. Ryan Sieg replaced him.
NASCAR has announced that they will be letting Cup drivers run more races next year in both Xfinity and Truck. I’m not sure of the reasoning behind this, but I don’t agree with it. Their presence will take money away from the regular runners in the two classes.
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I found it interesting that the Pro Mods running at the NHRA National Event at Las Vegas all got down the track with no loss of traction. No smokers, no wheel spins, and nothing but side-by-side racing all the way down the track! Just what the fans pay to see – side-by-side racing.
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NASCAR Cup – Denny Hamlin (Toyota) won the pole for Sunday’s championship race at Phoenix Raceway. The other three points contenders were the Chevs of William Byron (2nd) and Kyle Larson (3rd) and the other Toyota of Chase Briscoe (12th). 38 cars: 16 Chevs, 13 Fords, and 9 Toyotas. Surprisingly, Stage 1 went clean and green with Byron winning the stage. On lap 72, John Hunter Nemechek spun on the backstretch after “contact” for the first race caution.
On lap 106, Shane van Gisbergen spun, bringing out the caution. At the same time, one of the Final Four, Chase Briscoe, had lots of smoke coming out from under his right rear – flat tire, not motor! On lap 149, A.J. Allmendinger got into the wall after apparently having a blown right-front tire. Yellow. With three laps to go in Stage 2, Ty Dillon had a flat right rear and bounced off the wall. Caution. Hamlin won the stage.
On lap 220, Carson Hocevar brought out the yellow with a flat right-front tire. Briscoe continued to show smoke. On lap 258, Austin Cindric shortened his car up quite a bit after another right-rear tire failure and a big hit into the wall. On lap 278, the yellow came back out for J.J. Yeley, whose front end was way out of whack after sliding up and into the wall. On lap 308, with four laps to go, contender Byron hit the wall after a right-front tire failure and lots of smoke. Let the conspiracy theories emerge! NASCAR Overtime!
Hamlin was the leader over Blaney and Logano at that time. The leaders took new tires. At the flag it was Ryan Blaney over Brad Keselowski and, ta-da, Kyle Larson.
Kyle Larson is the 2025 Cup Series Champion. In the final points it was Larson over Hamlin by 3, over Briscoe by 15, and Byron by 30.
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NASCAR Xfinity Series – Brandon Jones nabbed the pole for Saturday’s championship race at Phoenix Raceway over Taylor Gray (both in Toyotas) and Sheldon Creed (Ford). 38 entries: 27 Chevs, 6 Fords, and 5 Toyotas. The points contenders lined up with Connor Zilisch 4th, Justin Allgaier 5th, Jesse Love 6th, and Carson Kvapil 14th.
Things went smoothly until one of the Burtons – Jeb – bounced off the wall but kept going back to his pit. No yellow. Gray won Stage 1. I had to laugh at the Timeline AI Guy as he stated that “the CAUTION FLAG waves at Indianapolis as we reach lap 97 of 200”! Justin Allgaier won the caution-free Stage 2. Good so far! On lap 113, Daniel Dye tapped the back of Leland Honeyman, who spun, bringing out the first race yellow.
On lap 153, Ryan Sieg, driving for the suspended Sam Mayer, backed into the wall hard after getting hit by Christian Eckes. It appeared that Sieg slowed in the corner for some reason. At the flag it was Jesse Love for the win and the championship over Aric Almirola and former points leader Zilisch.
In the final points it was Love over Zilisch by 6, over Allgaier by 8, and up 16 on Kvapil.
Jesse Love is the 2025 Xfinity Series Champion.
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NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – Layne Riggs grabbed the pole for the season-ending championship race Friday night at Phoenix Raceway over Chandler Smith (both in Fords) and Brent Crews (Toyota). Points leader Corey Heim (Chev) started 6th. The other three points drivers were Ty Majeski (Ford) starting 8th, Kayden Honeycutt (Toyota) filling in for injured Canadian driver Stewart Friesen starting 5th, and Tyler Ankrum (Chev) who started 21st. Canadian Cole Butcher started 18th in the second Friesen Toyota. 34 trucks: 16 Chevs, 10 Fords, 6 Toyotas, and no Rams (yet)!
Well, that didn’t take long. Lap 1, and Dawson Sutton wadded up his truck after it appeared that Daniel Hemrick slid up and hit Sutton. Butcher got a little damage but was able to continue. The rest of Stage 1 ran caution-free, and Heim picked up the stage win. That good luck held through Stage 2, with Heim also picking up that win. On lap 112, Clayton Green got behind on his steering in 1 and spun. Yellow. As always, yellows breed yellows, and one lap after the green, Andres Perez de Lara got loose in 3, and Gio Ruggiero and Ben Rhodes had their trucks destroyed. The red flag came out for track cleanup.
With three laps to go in the race, Connor Mosack spanked the wall after earlier contact and damage to his left front. NASCAR Overtime! The trucks were running four and five wide, but at one point I counted seven trucks side by side! Just after the restart, Grant Enfinger, Butcher, Tanner Gray, and Ankrum got tangled up in 3. Yellow. Then red for cleanup. At the flag it was Heim for the championship over Majeski and Honeycutt. Butcher finished 23rd. Sadly, it was the last race for Matt Crafton after a very successful career in the Truck Series.
In the final points it was Heim over Majeski by 5, over Honeycutt/Friesen by 6, and Ankrum by 17.
Corey Heim, who led the points for the better part of the season, is the 2025 Craftsman Truck Champion – a well-deserved victory.
Formula One – Next race: Brazil, Sunday.
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NHRA – The series dropped into Las Vegas the weekend before the huge SEMA Show. Great timing.
Top Fuel – Brittany Force topped the 13 entries with a 3.697 at 338.85. Canadian Dan Mercier qualified 10th. Force marched right through the field and took out Shawn Langdon in the final with a 3.704 at 337.33. Three upsets (lower-qualified car wins) and four smokers (one or both cars have traction issues).
Funny Car – Austin Prock was quickest of the 21 entries, putting down a 3.885 at 335.23. Canadian Spencer Hyde qualified a stout 5th. Matt Hagan took out Prock in the final, running 3.877 at 327.03. Three upsets and five smokers.
Pro Mod – Billy Banaka put down a 5.716 at 250.46 to top the 19 entries. Canadian Justin Bond qualified 8th. J.R. Gray took out Banaka in the final with a 5.749 at 250.04. Seven upsets and zero smokers!
Pro Stock – Greg Anderson led the 21 cars with a 6.572 at 206.76. Canadians Eric and Matt Latino were 7th and 8th. Dallas Glenn beat Matt Hartford in the final with a 6.602 at 206.61. Four upsets and one smoker.
Pro Stock Bike – Gaige Herrera put down a 6.800 at 199.17 to cover the 17 entries. Herrera took the final with a 6.809 at 198.17 to beat Angie Smith. No upsets.
Next race – Pomona, Sunday, November 16.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
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