Athlon Sports Racing
WELCOME TO THE THREE-TIME CLUB, LOGANO
SPORTS NEWS ON THE GO OR WITH YOUR CUP OF JOE • Athlon Sports’ daily newsletters delivered straight to your inbox every morning
Racing
EDITOR’S NOTE
2025 MOTORSPORTS PREVIEW • SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE OF THE RACING WORLD
LOOSE LUGS • No sport loves its history like NASCAR, and 2024 was one for the record books. Three of the seven closest finishes in NASCAR Cup history happened in 2024 … plus NASCAR levied the biggest ever fine for a fight and had its biggest wreck (in terms of number of cars involved).
BY THE NUMBERS
FROM A TRADE TO A DRAFT TO A SALARY CAP TO A DRIVERS’ UNION
COUSIN CARL IS BACK, SORT OF
WELCOME TO NASCAR’S POST-MODERN ERA
MODERN ERA SUPERLATIVES
SMOKE’S NEXT CHAPTER • Just when we thought we had Tony Stewart figured out, this modern-day A.J. Foyt has not only found yet a new disciple of racing to conquer, but has entered into a new phase of life.
Streaming TV TALK • A VIEWER’S GUIDE TO ALL-THINGS MOTORSPORTS IN 2025, AS STREAMING OPTIONS ENTER THE VIEWING LANDSCAPE
GOING SHORT TRACK RACIN’ WITH … DALE JR. • Tony Stewart went drag racing. Jeff Gordon went into the front office. Martin Truex Jr. is probably going fishing. Carl Edwards … well no one knows exactly where he went. But DALE EARNHARDT JR. has gone back to his roots – to the bullrings of the Southeast.
Q/A: SVG • Three-time Bathurst winner? Check. Rolex 24 at Daytona podium? Check. 81-race Supercars winner? Check. Three-time Supercars Champion? Check. SHANE VAN GISBERGEN now sets his sights on the NASCAR Cup Series as one of the most decorated international drivers the sport has seen in years. Athlon Sports sat down with SVG to talk about all things racing.
10 TOUGH QUESTIONS AND THEIR POLITICALLY INCORRECT ANSWERS
2024 FINAL STANDINGS DRIVER PROFILES
KYLE LARSON
THE “SWEET” TASTE OF VICTORY • Katelyn Larson (née: Sweet) is raising the bar for post-race celebrations.
CHRISTOPHER BELL
CALL ’EM OUT, CHRIS • Could Martinsville ‘24 have been a turning point in Christopher Bell’s career?
TYLER REDDICK
TALE OF THE TAPE • 23XI team owner Michael Jordan and his driver, Tyler Reddick, have little in common on the surface. They are separated by 33 years and 13 inches and differing racial backgrounds. Jordan is an NBA legend while Reddick is on his way to becoming one in NASCAR. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find similarities.
WILLIAM BYRON
BYRON the BUILDER • WILLIAM BYRON’S METICULOUS NATURE SUITS HIM ON AND OFF THE TRACK
RYAN BLANEY
CHASE ELLIOTT
JOEY LOGANO
DENNY HAMLIN
CHASE BRISCOE
BRAD KESELOWSKI
CHRIS BUESCHER
ROSS CHASTAIN
ALEX BOWMAN
BUBBA WALLACE
KYLE BUSCH
TY GIBBS
AJ ALLMENDINGER
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN
CARSON HOCEVAR
DANIEL SUAREZ
AUSTIN CINDRIC
MICHAEL McDOWELL
NOAH GRAGSON
TODD GILLILAND
JUSTIN HALEY
JOSH BERRY
RICKY STENHOUSE JR.
ERIK JONES
RYAN PREECE
COLE CUSTER
ROUNDING OUT THE FIELD
TRACK PROFILES
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY (OVAL)
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY (ROVAL)
CHICAGO STREET RACE
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DOVER MOTOR SPEEDWAY
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
IOWA SPEEDWAY
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
LAS...