Good morning! If big heavy stock cars grinding gears and sliding around making left AND right turns is your thing, you’re going to really enjoy this weekend! NASCAR makes it’s way West for it’s annual trip to Sonoma Raceway and we finally get our first taste of NASCAR/Hendrick Motorsports’ Garage 56 entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans!

Motorsports Moneyline

Sonoma Driver Odds (provided by BetMGM)

+500 Kyle Larson

+500 Tyler Reddick

+550 Chase Elliott

+900 William Byron

+1000 Kyle Busch

Trending Up 📈

Daniel Suarez - Suarez is the reigning winner from Sonoma last year. He hasn’t had the best season, however, he is coming off of two top 10’s in the past two races which should be enough momentum to get his season back on track this weekend.

Trending Down 📉

Aric Almirola - Almirola has notoriously struggled at road courses throughout his career. He hasn’t finished higher than 12th at Sonoma. Don’t look for him to be near the front this weekend.

eRacr's AI Generated Fantasy Lineup

Based on current trends and previous race statistics here is the ideal lineup for your NASCAR Fantasy team heading into Sonoma:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Kyle Larson

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. AJ Allmendinger

5. Christopher Bell

Garage: Denny Hamlin

Le Mans

Ferrari Frenzy at Le Mans

Ferrari stole the show in an exhilarating 🎢 Qualifying Practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With sparks flying, Ferrari-AF Corse led the pack, their Ferrari 499P Hypercars zooming into pole position. Antonio Fuoco was the star of the evening, progressing from the top eight to the very top of the timesheets 🕐 with a time of 3’25.421. "The Italian didn’t stop there, improving to a 3’25.213, to set the fastest time," noted sources on the ground.

Toyota Gazoo Racing gave a tough fight, but a few red flags 🚩 halted their stride.

Alessio Rovera proved to be another scene-stealer, nabbing provisional pole position for the AF Corse Ferrari in the GTE Am class 🚗.

"The car had quite a bit of damage...the team has done an incredible job," said Ben Keating, praising his crew's efforts despite a few setbacks. Buckle up, folks, it's game on for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 🏎️💨

Garage 56: Jacked Up at Le Mans

🏁 The NASCAR Garage 56 entry—a reimagined Chevrolet Camaro ZL1—sped ahead in the Le Mans 24 Hours pit stop challenge, beating 16 competitors despite being the only team to use a manual jack. 💪 This high-octane combo of NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, IMSA, and Goodyear, changed four tires in a mere 10.364 seconds! 🏎️

Hendrick’s pit crew coach Evan Kureczka's words: "It was actually our fastest stop of the day."🥇 "We put on a great show for the fans." A real testament to the crew, which, by the way, competed together for the first time. 🤝

Can't wait to see how the team, featuring stars like Jenson Button and Jimmie Johnson, performs this weekend! 🌟

More Le Mans

🎥 Documentary on NASCAR’s Garage 56 Le Mans adventure to air on Amazon Prime Video

🏀 LeBron James named as Le Mans 24 Hours official starter

🏆 Pagenaud wants to be back at Le Mans every year after 12-year absence

F1

Key Player for Alfa Romeo

James Key, ex-McLaren Technical Director, is 🚗 zooming over to Sauber Group (aka Alfa Romeo). The move is part of their gearing up for Audi's grand entry to F1 in 2026 🏎️💨. Key, an F1 old-timer with a quarter-century's experience, is set to start on September 1st, replacing Jan Monchaux.

Sauber's CEO, Andreas Seidl, is excited: "James's appointment is a crucial step on this journey… He will lead the transformation process of the technical side of the team."

Key's thrilled too: "There is a huge amount of work ahead of us… but we have a journey ahead of us and a roadmap to follow which I am eager to get started." 🗺️💪

McLaren's Drive for Trust

McLaren is revving up its efforts to assure Lando Norris that his faith in the team wasn't misplaced when he inked a contract through 2025 📝. Amid shaky performance and a recent reshuffle in the technical department, Andrea Stella, the new team principal, stated: “Lando’s put quite a lot of trust in McLaren...And we very strongly want to prove that this trust was well-placed.” 🏁 

Rookie Oscar Piastri is also in the team's spotlight, impressing with his performance despite limited experience. Stella commended Piastri's humility and ability to cope with adversity, stating: "So far his performance is possibly beyond what we expected". Now, the pit lane is watching closely as the team aims to deliver on its promises. 🏆

Red Bull Expects to Feel the Heat from Mercedes

Red Bull's boss Christian Horner acknowledges Mercedes' considerable improvement following the Spanish Grand Prix. Admitting Mercedes made a "big step," he anticipates significant pressure as the F1 season progresses 🏁. This comes after Mercedes endured a rocky start in 2023, with a redesign recently taking shape.

Horner 🗣️: “They’re a quality team, and for sure they’re going to be putting us under pressure in the second half of the year.” Despite this, Red Bull's winning streak continues, leading the constructor standings by 135 points over Mercedes 🏆. But with the Mercedes team regaining form, the tides may be shifting.

More F1

😎 How F1 became fun again for Nico Hulkenberg

🚀 Motorsport: Aston Martin plans Canada upgrade as F1 development push ramps up

NASCAR

Austin v. Austin

Austin Cindric is in the clear. Following some hot wheel-to-wheel action with Austin Dillon at Gateway, NASCAR ruled that Cindric won't face any penalties. Last week's big race drama saw a similar incident end in a suspension, so the stakes were high. NASCAR's Senior VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer, deemed it "hard racing." 🚗💨👀

Cindric defended his actions on social media, insisting that the contact was not intentional. "Did AD (Austin Dillon) and I make contact? Yes. Was that contact intentional? Absolutely NOT," Cindric clarified. He's even reached out to Dillon for a pro heart-to-heart. 🗣️💼

More NASCAR

🏎️ Kobayashi’s NASCAR debut will realize childhood dream

🚩 Erik Jones’ Legacy Motorsports penalized by NASCAR

✍️ Andy Lally to run NASCAR Cup road courses for Rick Ware Racing

IndyCar

Daly and ECR: Finish Line Reached

Conor Daly and Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) are parting ways 👋. After a difficult season, Daly's final race in the No. 20 Chevy 🚗 was Detroit Grand Prix. Ed Carpenter, team owner, described it as his "most difficult decision", acknowledging Daly's contributions to IndyCar. The move aims to address performance issues, despite technical changes and investments. Daly, starting in 2013, became full-time with ECR in 2022, placing 17th in the championship. This year, Daly delivered an eighth place at Indianapolis 500, but remains 20th in standings. He thanked ECR, while eagerly eyeing future opportunities. As for the No. 20, a new driver will join ECR's Rinus VeeKay later in June. 📈🚀

More IndyCar

🚧 Detroit GP organizers promise track improvements

GLOBAL MOTORSPORT

Take a trip to far away motorsport lands

📈 Thruxton sets new record with stunning BTCC weekend

👥 WRC drivers discuss future improvements in constructive meeting

🥇 Kyle Larson takes third consecutive win at Eagle Raceway High Limit Sprint race

🔧 WEC introduces new identification markings on tyres

The Money Lap Podcast

Episode 6 is out NOW! In this episode, the duo begins with a humorous anecdote where Landon, tricked by Bubba Wallace, ends up congratulating Ryan Blaney. They also discuss the latest achievement in the Isle of Man TT, where Michael Dunlop has set a new lap record, pushing the boundaries of speed in this iconic event.

Watch and Listen Now

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Standings

Memes

ONBOARD OF THE DAY

Cadillac Northstar LMP onboard at Le Mans 2001

Gear up for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans set to take place this weekend! Hop on board the Cadillac Northstar LMP as he rips around the historic Circuit de la Sarthe!