MOORESVILLE, N.C. Veteran racer Corey LaJoie announced a multifaceted NASCAR effort in 2025 that will see the 33-year-old return to the NASCAR Cup Series and appear on Prime Video NASCAR broadcasts as an analyst.

LaJoie will drive the No. 01 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing in a limited schedule, beginning with the season-opening Daytona 500. The No. 01 aligns with LaJoies desire to create a Stacking Pennies Performance Brand, the genesis of which began four years ago with his Stacking Pennies podcast. Built on the notion that small victories over time lead to success,

Stacking Pennies is now one of the most popular NASCAR podcasts.

DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change will be the primary partners for LaJoie at Daytona, where small victories will be needed to ensure a place in the 67th Daytona 500. As an open entry, the No. 01 DuraMAX/Take 5 Oil Change Ford Mustang does not have a guaranteed starting spot.

LaJoies Daytona 500 drive begins Feb. 12 with time trials and continues Feb. 13 with the Duel, twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500. If LaJoie is one of the two fastest open drivers in time trials or scores the highest finish among open drivers in his respective Duel, his place in the Great American Race will be secured.

Rick Ware is someone who makes things happen. Hes a great guy who has been a generous friend in helping me get this vision of Stacking Pennies Performance off the ground, LaJoie said. Hes allowed me to put the No. 01 on his Ford Mustangs, building off the brand fans have related to, supported, and cheered for over the past several years. Im proud of what weve accomplished and excited for whats ahead, beginning at Daytona with DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change.

DuraMAX is thrilled to partner with Take 5 Oil Change and bring our combined passion for performance and speed to the iconic Daytona 500, said Dan Oehler, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for RelaDyne, parent company of DuraMAX. Having Corey LaJoie behind the wheel as both the driver of our branded car and a proud ambassador for DuraMAX strengthens our connection to the racing community. Coreys dedication and skill truly embody the values of our brand, and were excited to work with him in representing our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction on and off the track.

At Take 5 Oil Change, were excited to team up with RelaDyne and Corey LaJoie and showcase our shared values of speed, reliability and excellence at the Daytona 500, said Mo Khalid, EVP and President of Take 5 Oil Change. Partnering with RelaDyne and Corey LaJoie is a natural fit, as this partnership represents the passion and performance we at Take 5 Oil Change strive to deliver every day. This collaboration highlights our commitment to innovation and our strengthened connection with our customers.

LaJoies make-it-or-break-it, all-in approach is nothing new. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has scraped and clawed for every opportunity throughout his racing career. His resiliency in a race car and ability to articulate what he sees from the drivers seat have made LaJoie an industry thought leader.

Prime Video, which debuts its five-race slate of NASCAR Cup Series broadcasts with the May 25 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, has tapped into LaJoies personality and punditry by making him an on-air analyst.

In many ways, my driving career has been more successful than I ever couldve dreamed, yet I lose sleep feeling I never reached my full potential behind the wheel, LaJoie said. The pursuit of bettering myself and others around me has never been more important than it is right now. My presence on the track will look different than it has in previous years, and its going to bring a new host of challenges, but my heart is set on making a lasting impact in the sport and the communities NASCAR reaches. Between Rick Ware, Prime Video, and the support of partners DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change, Im able to follow my heart.

SALISBURY, N.C. Niece Motorsports will once again field four entries in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season. The fourth, part-time entry, branded as the No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado RST, features a blend of youth and experience split among multiple drivers.

Bayley Currey will return as a driver for the No. 41 team. Currey, who has made 48 starts for the team since 2019, is coming off an 18th-place points finish following his first full-time opportunity in 2024.

Having gained experience in all three NASCAR national series, Currey is known for his consistency behind the wheel and mechanical knowledge.

The 29-year-old will open the season driving at Atlanta Motor Speedway, primarily backed by Masked Owl Technologies. Masked Owl largely supported Curreys efforts throughout 2024, and the company is eager to re-sign with the team for a second-consecutive season.

Im grateful to Al Niece and everyone at Masked Owl Technologies for continuing to believe in me and what we have going on the No. 41 team, Curry said. This year will be fun to work with other drivers as we share the same goal of improving every week.

Since we arent driving the whole year and points arent the main focus, I think that allows us the opportunity to try some different things to contend for wins. We are going to give it our best shot in every race.

Ross Chastain will compete in five Truck Series races in addition to his full-time NASCAR Cup Series role with Trackhouse Racings No. 1 Chevrolet.

Chastains schedule will see him compete in events at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Michigan Intl Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Intl.

A five-time race winner, Chastain has been instrumental to Niece Motorsports success since 2018. Last year, the veteran delivered the team its ninth victory at Darlington Raceway.

Im looking forward to racing at all these tracks on my schedule this year, said Chastain. Its hard to believe that this will be the eighth year that Al Niece has put me in one of his trucks. Everyone at Niece Motorsports treats me like family when I show up, and I think thats a testament to what Al and Cody (Efaw) have built here in Salisbury.

Im also very thankful that Justin Marks and everyone at Trackhouse is on board with letting me compete in other series to stay sharp on Sundays. We had some good runs last year and know what to improve on to make this year even better, I feel like this team is as strong as ever now.

Rounding out the No. 41 driver lineup will be Matt Gould, son of Niece Motorsports winningest crew chief, Phil Gould.

Gould, 19, made his Truck Series debut at the Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin in 2024 and later drove in one additional start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Primarily a Late Model Stock competitor in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, Goulds schedule will be reveled at a later date.

Im very excited to get another opportunity to race in the Truck Series with Niece Motorsports, said Gould. I feel like we were on track to have some good results last year in my first couple of starts before issues prohibited it. So this year, to have more opportunities ahead as I continue to learn will be great.

Ive known Ross for six years now; hes done so much for me, and Bayley and I are like brothers. So, its going to be awesome to work with them.

Currey, Chastain and Gould will work alongside full-time teammates, Matt Mills (No. 42), Christian Rose (No. 44) and Kaden Honeycutt (No. 45).

Competition personnel for the team will be revealed in the near future, along with additional partnership announcements.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. As seems to be the case every year now, it came down to the final hour of the Rolex 24 At Daytona or the final 24 minutes of that hour before the outcome was decided in all four classes of racing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and GTD. And in the end only the LMP2 winner enjoyed anything like a comfortable margin of victory over its closest pursuer.

Sure, 14 full course yellows over the course of the race kept things close. But so evenly matched is the competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship that at least half a dozen cars (as well as the eventual winners) could have emerged victorious in the waning minutes of the race.

What did we learn?

Numbers Matter

Roger Penske once observed numbers matter at this place. While speaking about a different series and a different place, that philosophy held true at the Rolex 24 as the final hour ticked down when Porsche Penske Motorsport (PPM) alone among the GTP teams had two cars left at the front of the field. As a result, they played a canny strategy during a late full course yellow to keep some potential competitors from regaining the lead lap. Specifically, by pitting the Penske Porsche 963 in second at the time and leaving the lead Penske Porsche on track, they prevented competitors from getting a wave around the pace car.

We really used our two-car approach to make sure one of the PPM cars was controlling the pace of the race and controlling our own destiny, said PPM Managing Director Jonathan Diuguid, who also noted the two cars combined to lead 517 of 781 laps. I think that put us in position to win and cover all the bases and attacks from the Acuras and the BMWs and the Cadillacs of the world.

Fast forward to the closing stages of the race when Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 fought it alone against the two Penske Porsches. Sure, there was a chance Porsche Penskes Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell could have tangled while jousting for first place. And their intramural battle did enable Blomqvist to close to within striking distance; indeed, he ultimately demoted Campbell to third place with a few laps remaining. But by that time Nasr had made his escape and came home 1.335 seconds clear of the Acura.

Speaking of numbers mattering. The Vanthoor family enjoyed a rare, indeed possibly unprecedented, sweep of Rolex 24 glory with BMW M Team RLLs Dries Vanthoor capturing the pole while older brother Laurens took home a coveted Rolex Daytona timepiece along with PMM stablemates Nasr and Nick Tandy.

You can see how many laps a Vanthoor led, quipped the elder Vanthoor. Its special to see my younger brother up there Its quite unique and difficult to put into words, but I wouldnt want to be in the skin of our dad or mom because I think they sweated a bit watching TV.

Meanwhile Tandy became the first driver to win sports car racings Great 96, aka the Rolex 24, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Spa and the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring.

To get the big four 24-hour wins, said Tandy, one would be just an incredible career, so to get four and a few Sebrings and a few Petits (Le Mans) is dream come true stuff.

Life After GTP

No matter how well you understand that the competition in LMP2, GTD PRO and GTD classes is as fierce and professional as in the GTP class, to find yourself out of a GTP ride that has been yours for a few seasons cant be easy. But a bevy of ex-GTP drivers proved there is indeed life after GTP in this years Rolex 24.

Chief among them would be Sebastien Bourdais who teamed with John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez and Job Van Uitert to take the LMP2 win in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA, the first Rolex 24 win for the 2022 WeatherTech Championship LMP2 championship team. That win gives Bourdais, who found himself on the outside looking in for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTP season when Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) parted company (but who drives for Cadillac Hertz Team Jotas Hypercar effort in the World Endurance Championship), the distinction of having won the Rolex 24 Hours in two different prototype classes as well as in the old GT Le Mans class when he drove the CGR Ford GT.

Nor was Bourdais alone in showing theres life after GTP. Dane Cameron, not retained by PPM after teaming with Nasr to win the 2024 Rolex 24 and the 2024 WeatherTech Championship GTP championship, was very much in the mix for the LMP2 win in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA before a mechanical issue sidelined Spike in the final hour. Likewise, Connor De Phillippi was shifted to the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO after two seasons racing the BMW M Hybrid V8. Similar to Cameron, De Phillippi battled for a class win in this case GTD PRO before eventually coming home third.

Motown Celebration

The 2025 Rolex 24 was a good race for Motown; a very good race for Motown. After all, Chevrolet and Ford aficionados, employees and executives alike came away with much to celebrate given that the No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 captured the GTD PRO honors in the hands of Dennis Olsen, Frederic Vervisch and Christopher Mies while Matt Bell, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhoefer and Orey Fidani collected the GTD trophy in the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

There was plenty to celebrate in the Ford Multimatic camp given that this was the Mustang GT3s first win in global competition after its troubled debut in last years Rolex 24. After a years worth of competition and development, not only did the Mustang run the 24 hours with nary a major mechanical issue, it also had the speed to take two of the three spots on the podium with the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 finishing third.

We had to learn the hard way in the first race, which is one of the toughest races in the world, straightaway, Mies said. But there have been things in the background and also on the team side. I must say this is probably the biggest improvement compared to last year. It just feels like we made another good step in terms of preparation.

While Corvette Racing was denied a chance to vie for the GTD PRO win, AWA took home top honors in GTD. This gave Corvette a Rolex 24 trophy and also underlined the viability of the Corvette GT3 as a legitimate customer race car, not only a high-tech thoroughbred in need of factory support and expertise to function at a winning level. AWAs best finish in 2024 was fifth place at Road America, so the first podium achieved with the car was a big one.

There were trials and tribulations in the first part of (last) season, said Bell, but from the very get-go the silver lining was the thing was awesome to drive. So we knew the fundamental thing that you need in racing is pace.

You need a car that you can go and win with, and if youve got a hardworking group of people around it, if theres anything to fix, its going to get fixed. We knew from last year if we stayed on this train, theres going to be success coming.

TULARE, Calif. The late summer swing across the west coast will start one day later for Kubota High Limit Racing with the Thunderbowl Raceway date being pushed back to Aug. 15.

Originally scheduled on Thursday with a TBA on Friday, Tulare will simply run one night later allowing teams more travel time coming west from the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa. It will be the series second trip of the year to the Thunderbowl with an early-season stop also scheduled for March 19.

Tulares Aug. 15 show is the kick-off to the original west coast swing for Kubota High Limit Racing with nine races taking the series through California, Oregon and Washington. The three-week trip west is highlighted by Crown Jewel events like the $100,000-to-win Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway on Aug. 21-23 and the $102,626.26-to-win Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway on Aug. 28-30.

High Limits season will begin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a two-day event on March 13 and 15. The 60-race tour will conclude with All-In Championship Weekend at The Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 17-18.