NASCAR Rant Report - Wednesday, March 26th

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Major headlines out of the Monday and Tuesday:

Reflecting on the Homestead-Miami Weekend
Austin Hill for Five Cup Races
Penalties for Multiple Xfinity Teams

Plus, miscellaneous topics so far this week.

Reflecting on the Homestead-Miami Weekend:

The Homestead-Miami Speedway weekend was eventful, with Kyle Larson emerging as the standout driver. Larson was aiming for a weekend sweep, but he only landed two of the three victories, winning but the Truck Series and Cup Series races, but after a late race restart in the Xfinity Series race, he ultimately finished fourth despite dominating the day. He will again be attempting the three-race weekend sweep in a few weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Ryan Blaney arguably had the best car on Sunday but ended up going home with an engine failure late in the race. This was Blaney’s third consecutive DNF, and the second of two engine failures in the last three weeks. He had not suffered an engine failure since 2018 before Phoenix two weeks ago.

The Cup race on Sunday had 2,464,000 viewers on FS1, which is up 3% compared to last year's sixth race of the season and up 5% from last year's Homestead race. Saturday’s Xfinity race was watched by 751,000 viewers and Friday’s Truck race had 396,000 viewers.

The weekend also highlighted the ongoing debate about the NASCAR championship race location. There are rumors that Homestead-Miami Speedway might reclaim the season finale from Phoenix Raceway in 2026, with Las Vegas potentially hosting in 2027. Financial incentives from the host cities and race quality are key factors in this decision.

Driver Quotes:

Kyle Larson: "I just wanted to take the green flag and kick everybody’s ass today, honestly. I wanted to get the lead early and just dominate like I was yesterday. But then the green flag flew, and it was like the opposite. I was going backward and getting pissed off in the helmet and just frustrated, but I just figured that that day was not going to go like that. Then you just forget about all that."

Alex Bowman: "Pressure from the baddest dude on earth and I made a mistake and gave it to him. I guess I choked that one away, for sure."

Bubba Wallace: "Great weekend, good job boys, Thank you. Let's keep doing this. I ain't gonna hang my head over that one."

Ryan Blaney: "I didn’t have any warning. It just laid over when I got back to wide-open down the front, and that was all she wrote. It just stinks. We had a really fast Ford Mustang. We led a lot of laps. We lost a little bit of track position there with some stuff on pit road, but got back to third and it was a great race between me and Bubba and Larson."

Denny Hamlin: "I was just in a spot where I really wanted to get to second behind Bubba really really badly. I thought I was going to be better in the long run, which I had been. I knew it was do or die. …I couldn’t make the bottom work as good as others could in [turns] three and four."

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

Want some non-AI content? Check out the previous Editorial:
Motorsports ‘Hot or Not’ – Saturday, March 15th

Austin Hill for Five Cup Races:

Austin Hill will compete in five Cup Series races in 2025 with RCR, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet sponsored by United Rentals. Hill's schedule includes races at Darlington, Chicago, Daytona, Bristol, and Talladega. Andy Street, Hill's Xfinity Series crew chief, will make his debut as a Cup Series crew chief.

Hill has had great success in the Xfinity Series, with 11 wins and a Championship 4 appearance in 2024. He has made 10 Cup Series starts since 2022, with his best finish being 14th at Daytona in 2023. United Rentals has been a long-time supporter of Hill's career, and their partnership with RCR extends to associate sponsorships in the Cup Series for Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch.  Hill expressed excitement about continuing his relationship with United Rentals and gaining valuable experience in the Cup Series, while his primary focus remains on winning the Xfinity Series championship.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

Penalties for Multiple Xfinity Teams:

NASCAR issued penalties to four Xfinity Series teams following the Homestead-Miami weekend due to lug-nut infractions. During the post-race inspection, officials found one unsecured lug nut on each of the following cars: the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet driven by Daniel Dye, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driven by William Sawalich, the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driven by Austin Hill, and the No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Anthony Alfredo. Each team was fined $5,000 for violating Section 8.8.10.4a of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

Miscellaneous:

Despite positive fan reception, NASCAR will not use multiple tire compounds, such as the Primary and Option tires, for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Kyle Busch will race against his 9-year-old son, Brexton, for the first time at Millbridge Speedway. The event, dubbed the "Battle of the Buschs," will be streamed on DirtVision.

Fifteen-year-old Max Reaves won his debut ARCA Menards Series East race at Five Flags Speedway, becoming the youngest winner in series history. Reaves is a Joe Gibbs Racing development driver.

Lucas Oil will sponsor Kyle Busch's No. 8 Chevrolet for three races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, starting at Martinsville Speedway. The partnership with Richard Childress Racing and ECR Engines has been ongoing for over a decade.

Window World will sponsor the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, now named the Window World 250. The event will take place on May 17.

Chase Elliott will honor Ken Schrader with a throwback paint scheme for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. The No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro will feature a design inspired by Schrader's 1994 No. 25 Kodiak Chevy.

Michael McDowell will feature a "Race the Rock" paint scheme on his No. 71 Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway to promote NASCAR's return to Rockingham Speedway.

Jeremy Clements will run a throwback paint scheme honoring Harry Gant at Darlington Raceway. The design will replicate Gant's 1985 No. 33 Winston Cup Chevrolet.

NASCAR Truck Series driver Parker Kligerman conducted an experiment where fans with no racing experience competed in driving challenges. Using a Lucid Air Grand Touring, contestants were tested on acceleration, cornering, and car control. Kligerman's brother, Bard, surprisingly outperformed him, winning $3,500

Jimmy Wilson, the longtime NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour director, has been promoted to Senior Technical Director of NASCAR's Regional department. He will oversee technical standards for the ARCA Racing Series, Modified Tour, and Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on these topics.

Thumbnail image credits on our Source Materials Page.

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