Frontstretch Newsletter: Fast Friday Continues and Chocolate Myers' Indy Double

Published: Fri, 05/16/25

Updated: Fri, 05/16/25

Frontstretch Newsletter: May 16, 2025
Volume XIX, Edition LXXV

What to Watch: May 16-18

For information on the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Weekend, see the Frontstretch Folio below.

- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is the primary support in North Wilkesboro. Practice is scheduled for 9:35 a.m. ET Saturday morning with live coverage starting at 9:30 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 2. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.

Coverage of the Window World 250 will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX Sports 1. The green flag will fall at 1:50 p.m. ET.

- NTT IndyCar Series teams are picking up the boost today. Practice No. 5 for the Indianapolis 500 is ongoing right now on FS2. Coverage will move to FS1 at 4 p.m. ET.

Saturday will start with Practice No. 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET on FS2. Day No. 1 of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 will begin at 11 a.m. ET on FS1. Coverage will move to FS2 at 1:30 p.m. ET, then to FOX at 4 p.m. ET.

Sunday will have Practice No. 7 at 1 p.m. ET on FS2, split into one group for those in the top 12 and a Last Chance group. Qualifying for the pole and the last row will be on FOX at 4 p.m. ET.

- Formula 1 teams will race in Europe this weekend for the first time in 2025. Today's practice sessions are already complete.

Free Practice No. 3 is scheduled for 6:25 a.m. ET Saturday morning and will air live on ESPN2. Qualifying will be at 9:55 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

Coverage of the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna will begin with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. Race coverage will begin at 8:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap at 9 a.m. ET.

- SRO America teams are racing this weekend at Sebring International Raceway. Today is primarily a practice day, but TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School has both of their races today at 12:20 p.m. ET and 4:50 p.m. ET on the GT World YouTube channel.

GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, Pirelli GT4 America SprintX, GT America powered by AWS, McLaren Trophy North America and Toyota GR Cup North America will both race on Saturday and Sunday. All of these races can be viewed live on the GT World YouTube channel. The GT World Challenge America races will also air on RACER Network at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday (tape delayed) and live at 1:15 p.m. ET Sunday on RACER Network.

- The zMAX CARS Tour wraps up their weekend at North Wilkesboro tonight with the Window World 100. Coverage will air live on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET. The race will also be simulcast on FLORacing.

- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams are staying in Canada for the weekend. Next up will be the Partsource World of Outlaws Invasion at the quarter-mile Cornwall Motor Speedway. Coverage will begin Sunday night at 5:45 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

- World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series teams will be at Marion Center Raceway in Pennsylvania for the Connor Bobik Memorial. Coverage will be on DirtVision tonight and tomorrow night at 6:15 p.m. ET.

- Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series teams will be busy this weekend. Tonight, the touring series will be at Ransomville Speedway north of Buffalo, N.Y. Coverage from Ransomville will begin at 6 p.m. ET on FLORacing.

- Tomorrow night, the High Limit teams will move on to Utica-Rome Speedway in Verona, N.Y., nearly 200 miles away, for more action. Action from Utica-Rome will begin at 6 p.m. ET on FLORacing.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

NORTH WILKESBORO:

Chase Folsom (@cfolsom_racing)

Mark Kristl (@MarkKristl)

INDIANAPOLIS:

Christopher DeHarde (@CdeHarde)

Alex Gintz (@AlexGintz1)

Michael Massie (@m_massie22)

Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from North Wilkesboro!

TV Schedule: Here

Today's Top News:

(Photo: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Josef Newgarden Fastest in 4th Indy 500 Practice

Team Penske's Josef Newgarden was fastest overall in Indianapolis 500 Practice No. 4 with a lap at 226.632 mph. Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen tapped the wall and spun exiting turn 2 during the session.

BJ McLeod Running Charlotte Truck Race for Spire

Spire Motorsports announced Friday morning that BJ McLeod will drive the No. 07 Chevrolet in the upcoming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Feazel Sponsoring Carson Kvapil at Kansas, ROVAL

JR Motorsports announced Thursday that Feazel will serve as Carson Kvapil's primary sponsor in two Xfinity Series races later this year.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography and Chris Owens of Penske Entertainment.

Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.

Around the World in Motorsports: May 15-16

- Fast Friday at Indianapolis can have some crazy things happen. For Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyffin Simpson, one little twitch in turn 4 sent him into the wall and into the air. Simpson walked away uninjured, but his No. 8 was heavily damaged.

- In Free Practice No. 1 at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari Friday morning, McLaren's Oscar Piastri was fastest overall with a lap at 143.445 mph. He was .032 seconds faster than teammate Lando Norris. Williams' Carlos Sainz Jr. was third, then Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

There was one red flag during the session when Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto went off-course at Rivazza and went into the barriers. This ultimately cut the session short by a couple of minutes.

Free Practice No. 2 saw the McLarens top the chart again. Piastri was fastest with a lap at 145.830 mph, just .025 seconds faster than Norris. Alpine's Pierre Gasly was third, then Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The session was red-flagged with six minutes to go when Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar went off at the Tamburello chicane and hit the barriers before getting stuck in the gravel. Hadjar was ok.

- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams were at Ohsweken Speedway for the final night of the Federated Auto Parts Showdown at Ohsweken Thursday night. Here, David Gravel started fifth and dropped down to sixth.

From there, he charged up to the front and passed Connor Morrell with nine laps to go. Gravel then pulled away to take the Ohsweken sweep, his eighth win of the year.

Gravel won by 4.196 seconds over Morrell. Dylan Westbrook was third, then Sheldon Haudenschild and Chris Windom.

Gravel expanded his points lead to 178 over Buddy Kofoid. Logan Schuchart is third, then Carson Macedo and Haudenschild.

Frontstretch Videos:

Norm Benning Clarifies Issues After Being Parked at Bristol; Talks About Trucks in His Garage

Keelan Harvick Finishes 3rd in 1st Race at North Wilkesboro, Dawson Sutton on Runner-Up Finish

Josh Berry Prepares for North Wilkesboro All-Star Race, Spencer Davis on Future CARS Tour Plan

"I'm Really Glad That It's Survived" - Kaden Honeycutt Dominates Pro Late Models at North Wilkesboro

Bringing The Heat: Harrison Burton Battling In Xfinity

Newsletter Exclusives:

Frontstretch Folio: NASCAR All-Star Weekend
by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series is back at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race. The field will first be filled out with the All-Star Open. Coverage of the 100-lap preliminary event is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX Sports 1. All-Star Race coverage starts with NASCAR RaceDay at 7 p.m. ET. Race coverage starts at 8 p.m. ET. Both the All-Star Open and All-Star Race race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's NASCAR All-Star Race was dominated by Joey Logano. He led all but one of the 200 laps en route to victory.

Logano won by .636 seconds over Denny Hamlin. Chris Buescher was third, then Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.

All-time at North Wilkesboro, Richard Petty is the winningest driver on the tricky oval with 15 career victories. Darrell Waltrip, who will be in the booth Sunday, has 10 wins. Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough each had five wins, while Bobby Allison, Terry Labonte and Junior Johnson each had four. No driver is still active that competed at North Wilkesboro while it was still on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar as a points race.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: .625-mile oval, 250 laps (156.25 miles) for All-Star Race, 100 laps (62.5 miles) for All-Star Open
Banking: 14 degrees

Frontstretch: 990 ft.

Backstretch: 990 ft.

Grandstand Seating: 25,000
Pit Road Speed: 35 mph
Pace Car Speed: 40 mph
Opened: 1947, re-opened 2022

Website: https://www.northwilkesborospeedway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWBSpeedway

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NWBSpeedway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Friday, May 16, 5:05 - 5:55 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2

Qualifying: Friday, May 16, 6:10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Heat Races: Saturday, May 17, 5 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 (All-Star Race only)

Say What?!

"Any chance to race I love, and any chance to win a bunch of money, I love. It’s fun to go to a track like North Wilkesboro that has so much history and to have the All-Star race there is cool. We’re fortunate enough to be locked in so that part is nice. It’s fun to have my pit crew with me at driver intros. They are a great group of guys and have a lot of personality and are fun to be around so it’s nice they get the opportunity to walk out into the fans with me too." - Ross Chastain

"It’s a lot of fun. North Wilkesboro is an amazing place. It was like going back in time with the fans so close and racing on the short track. It was very, very cool. Fans told me they grew up going to that track so it meant a lot to them to bring it back. It was special for them. It’s funny I didn’t know Wilkesboro existed five years ago. So, I learned about its history and the sport’s history. We are going to go there Sunday and fight for a trophy. The money is great, but just like the old days, we really want the trophy. All of us started racing not for the money but for the trophy." - Daniel Suarez

"I’ve always loved going to the North Wilkesboro Speedway. The energy there is incredible, and the track delivers that classic short-track, beating-and-banging style of racing. I’ve been fortunate to win the Fan Vote the past two years, so hopefully I can make it three in a row and get this No. 4 team into the main event." - Noah Gragson

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

Today at Frontstretch:

Friday Faceoff: What Is the Ideal All-Star Race Format?

by the Frontstretch Staff

Fire on Fridays: The 3 Nominees Who Belong in the NASCAR Hall of Fame

by Michael Massie

Dropping the Hammer: Kansas Speedway Doesn’t Deserve 2 Races

by Daniel McFadin

Norm Benning Clarifies Issues After Being Parked at Bristol, Talks 2025 Season

by Jared Haas

‘Double Chocolate Sunday’: Meet the Gasman Who Conquered Racing’s Greatest Day

by James Jackson

NASCAR 101: Teams Are Refusing to Learn From Prior Penalties

by Samuel Stubbs

NASCAR TV Schedule This Weekend: North Wilkesboro, May 16 – 18

by Phil Allaway

Open Wheel Archive: The 1995 Indianapolis 500

by Tom Blackburn

Bringing the Heat: Harrison Burton Talks His Return to Xfinity

with Harrison Burton, Dalton Hopkins, James Jackson, Bryan Nolen and Matthew Schwartz

Short Track Weekly: CARS Tour’s FS1 Debut the Latest In A Dream Year for Dylon Wilson

by Chase Folsom

Here’s Who’s Performing & Appearing at North Wilkesboro

by James Jackson

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from North Wilkesboro, Indianapolis, Imola and Sebring.

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