Newgarden salvages season with home track victory at Nashville
By INDYCAR
OUTLAWS RETURN TO QLISPE
LEBANON, Tenn. (Aug. 31, 2025) – Sweet relief finally arrived at home, sweet home after the most frustrating of seasons for Josef Newgarden.
Nashville-area native Newgarden broke a 20-race drought dating back to August 2024 to earn his first victory of 2025 and 32nd of his illustrious NTT INDYCAR SERIES career at his home track Sunday, winning the season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by WillScot at Nashville Superspeedway.
“Glad we got one without anything going wrong,” Newgarden said. “Happy to celebrate this team. They deserve it. It’s rewarding for our team. Tough, tough year, but good to get a win at the end.”
Two-time series champion Newgarden drove his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by .5021 of a second over the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of four-time and reigning series champion Alex Palou, who celebrated with the Astor Challenge Cup for the third straight year in post-race ceremonies.
Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet after prevailing in a stirring duel down the stretch of the 225-lap race with Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. It’s just the second time this season that Team Penske – the most winning team in INDYCAR SERIES history – put two drivers on the podium.
Ashley, Prock, Enders, Herrera get wins at U.S. Nationals
From NHRA Media
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 1, 2025) – Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley won the prestigious Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals for the first time in his career, defeating racing legend Tony Stewart on a holeshot in the final round on Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 14th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Ashley went 3.839 seconds at 326.16 mph in his 12,000 horsepower Scag Power Equipment dragster to hold off Stewart, who went 3.815 at 321.88, as his .027 reaction time made the difference in a thrilling side-by-side finale on drag racing’s grandest stage.
It is the third victory of the year for Ashley, who now has 18 career wins.
“When you win Indy, it’s just something that nobody can take away from you and the fact that my father won here 18 years ago, to have him here now and to win this event in Top Fuel, it really is special. It’s just different than any other race,” Ashley said.
In Funny Car, Prock finished off a flawless weekend that netted the points leader $330,000, defeating John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the final round after a run of 3.903 at 332.92 in his 12,000 horsepower Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS.
A day after winning the PlayNHRA All-Star Callout, Prock finished off the regular-season championship, with those two wins handing Prock $230,000. He added the $100,000 U.S. Nationals victory for a second straight year, continuing a remarkable season that may be even more dominant than last year’s championship season.
“To win Indy in my rookie season (in Funny Car) was obviously really special,” Prock said.
After a tumultuous regular season, Pro Stock’s Erica Enders persevered at The Big Go, snapping a 30 race winless streak and winning her 50th national event after going 6.564 at 209.95 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/ Melling Performance car to hold off Matt Hartford.
It’s the fourth Indy win for the six-time world champion, but this one will certainly rank as one of the most memorable. Her last victory came at the opener in 2024.
“That monkey’s been on my back since Gainesville, the season opener 2024, and it’s been grueling,” Enders said.
Hartford advanced to the final round for the second time this season and the 19th time overall thanks to round wins against David Cuadra, Cristian Cuadra and Fernando Cuadra Jr. He’ll open the playoffs third in points.
Dallas Glenn clinched the regular-season title in Pro Stock during the second round when he defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Greg Anderson fell to Fernando Cuadra Jr.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera was again clutch when it counted, using an incredible .003 reaction time to defeat teammate Brayden Davis in the final round on a holeshot. Herrera’s 6.834 at 199.32 on his RevZilla/ Motul/ Vance & Hines held up thanks to the stellar reaction time, holding off Davis’ 6.799 at 198.93 at the finish line.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series opens the Countdown to the Championship playoffs with the 40th annual NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish on Sept. 11-14 at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa.
Briscoe wins second straight Southern 500
From Reid Spencer-NASCAR Wire Service
DARLINGTON, S.C. (August 31, 2025) — Chase Briscoe was perfection in a world of mistakes, a no-funny-business driver in a comedy of errors.
And at the end of the final green-flag run on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway—after a 20-lap stint of unrelenting tension—Briscoe was a back-to-back winner of the Cook Out Southern 500 and a guaranteed participant in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Briscoe led 309 of 367 laps and swept the first two stages, but he had to hold off a determined charge by Tyler Reddick after the race restarted on Lap 320. Reddick got close in the final 10 laps, driving beneath Briscoe entering Turn 3, but didn’t have the impetus necessary to complete a winning pass.
Briscoe crossed the finish line 0.408 seconds ahead of Reddick and 0.537 seconds ahead of non-Playoff driver Erik Jones in third to secure his second victory of the season, his second at the Lady in Black and the fourth of his career.
“Yeah, I think this is definitely what we’re capable of doing,” said Briscoe, who led Toyota drivers to their third 1-2-3-4 finish in NASCAR Cup history, the last coming at Bristol in 2017. “We haven’t been able to go out and dominate a race like that. The potential has been there from day one.
Briscoe is the first driver to win consecutive Southern 500s since Greg Biffle accomplished the feat in 2005 and 2006.
John Hunter Nemechek was fourth in his No. 42 LEGACY Motor Club Camry. Chevrolet driver AJ Allmendinger ran fifth, followed by Toyota drivers Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, as Toyota placed six drivers in the top seven positions in a Cup race for the first time.
