NASCAR Substack

Sean Gardner / Getty Images Winning the Brickyard 400 was a transformative feat for Corey Heim. The 23XI Racing driver has emerged as NASCAR’s breakout star of the season with victories in arguably the two most high-profile races of the summer. Two months ago, it would have been hard to make the case that Heim would be a virtual lock for the Chase as a 2027 rookie.

The crown jewel Brickyard 400 saw the latest chapter in the growing Carson Hocevar-Corey Heim rivalry that stems back to their battle for the Craftsman Truck Series title tilt in 2023. In short, Hocevar came out off pit road during a green-flag cycle just behind the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota of Heim and as the “Hurricane” tried getting around Heim on fresh tires, Heim blocked Hocevar to stifle the No. 77’s momentum.

Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media Pit lane at Indy was chaotic as expected with crew members ending up on hoods and having their tires hit due to the tight conditions. Those groups that could keep their cool in the chaos and quickly recover were able to end up on top. Bozi Tatarevic@BoziTatarevic Close call for @WilliamByron tire carrier @rpatton22 as @shanevg97 hit one of his tires on the way into his pit stall. Ryan recovered quickly and didn’t get behind on the stop.

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Meg Oliphant | Getty Images “The Toddfather” has never seen “The Godfather.” “Maybe I should watch that as it’s gaining a little bit of traction, at least with my fans,” Todd Gilliland said this week about the nickname whose origins admittedly leave him at a loss.

Editor’s Note: People Who Race tells the stories behind the faces in motorsports and are told by veteran award-winning television broadcaster Kaitlyn Vincie. For Katelyn Larson, life at the race track began when she was just three weeks old, traveling to races with her family. Since then, she’s had a front-row seat to watching both her brother, Brad Sweet, and her husband, Kyle Larson, achieve incredible success in racing.

Turns out you don’t have to visit a natural-history museum if you want to see a T-Rex. We’re referring to the notorious No. 24 Chevy Monte Carlo that Jeff Gordon ran in the 1997 Winston Million. It was blazing fast, technically innovative (so to speak), and deemed naughty after he won the race. It’s also one of the multitude of race cars and artifacts visitors can examine up close at the “Jeff Gordon” exhibit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, open now through February of 2027.

David Jensen | Getty Images Pit lane at North Wilkesboro Speedway brought plenty of excitement, whether that was tire changers hopping over hoods during two-tire stops or chaos with cars overlapping and even crashing as they entered and exited their pit stalls.

Alejandro Alvarez / NASCAR Digital Media Every race weekend, the uber-talented photographers on NASCAR’s social team capture an unfathomable amount of amazing images. Here's a behind-the-scenes peek of quality photos showing what the weekend looked like at North Wilkesboro Speedway.