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business, racing, sports

Trackhouse preparing major leadership change around Ross Chastain from Rick Hendrick’s camp: Reports

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Another crew chief move is in the pipeline in NASCAR, and this time it’s Ross Chastain and his crew’s turn for a change. Phil Surgen currently serves as the crew chief for the 32-year-old driver, but this partnership is slated to end ahead of the 2026 season. Hendrick Motorsports’ engineer Brandon McSwain is expected to take over as Ross Chastain’s crew chief, moving over to Trackhouse Racing.

Phil Surgen has worked alongside Chastain since 2021. The two first collaborated at Chip Ganassi Racing, and when Chastain decided to join Trackhouse Racing, Surgen followed him. Since then, the duo has shared a strong working relationship and even competed for the Cup Series title together. However, reliable sources within the NASCAR community have revealed that Surgen’s tenure as Chastain’s crew chief may soon come to an end.

According to RACER, Hendrick Motorsports engineer Brandon McSwain will replace Surgen starting in 2026. McSwain has frequently stepped into the role of crew chief during his career and notably guided William Byron during a one-off appearance at the fall Daytona race. His impressive track record has led Trackhouse Racing to place their confidence in him, with an official announcement regarding his appointment as Chastain’s crew chief expected soon.

### How Did Ross Chastain and Phil Surgen Perform at Martinsville Speedway?

Under Phil Surgen’s guidance, Ross Chastain has flourished as a race winner. Together, they have claimed six victories, with the potential for more still within reach. Although Chastain did not advance to the Round of 8, which ultimately cost him a shot at the Cup Series title, the pair consistently delivered strong performances on race weekends.

One notable example was at Martinsville Speedway. Chastain started the race in 13th position and faced a setback when he found himself a lap down. However, strategic decisions from Phil Surgen helped turn the race around. After taking a wave-around, which acted as a free pit stop, Surgen made critical adjustments that revitalized the car. This strategy enabled Chastain to recover and finish a commendable fourth at the checkered flag.

Chastain reflected on the race, stating,
“We went a lap down; made some good adjustments when we took the wave-around. It was a free pit stop, per se, later, and Phil Surgen did a bunch of adjustments that brought the car back to life. We caught that caution, which took us from around 10th into the top five. I think we just watched William Byron cement himself into the championship race.”

So far, Ross Chastain has participated in 143 races with Trackhouse Racing, building a solid foundation and achieving notable success alongside Phil Surgen. As the 2026 season approaches, all eyes will be on the new driver-crew chief pairing with Brandon McSwain taking the helm.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/nascar/news-trackhouse-preparing-major-leadership-change-around-ross-chastain-rick-hendrick-s-camp-reports

auto, entertainment, sports, television

Sports on TV for Oct. 25 – 26

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(All times Eastern)
Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts

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### Saturday, Oct. 25

#### Australian Rules Football (Women’s)
4 a.m. FS2 — Melbourne at Brisbane

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#### Auto Racing
1:25 p.m. ESPNEWS — Formula 1 Practice, Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
4:30 p.m. TRUTV — NASCAR Cup Series Practice, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
4:55 p.m. ESPNEWS — Formula 1 Qualifying, Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
5:40 p.m. TRUTV — NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
7:30 p.m. CW — NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Race, Round of 8, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
2:30 a.m. (Sunday) FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia

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#### College Football
Noon
ABC — Mississippi at Oklahoma
ACCN — Virginia at North Carolina
BTN — Rutgers at Purdue
CBSSN — Ohio at E. Michigan
CW — SMU at Wake Forest
ESPN — Syracuse at Georgia Tech
ESPN2 — South Florida at Memphis
ESPNU — Appalachian St. at Old Dominion
FOX — UCLA at Indiana
FS1 — Northwestern at Nebraska
TNT — Kansas St. at Kansas
TRUTV — Kansas St. at Kansas

12:45 p.m.
SECN — Auburn at Arkansas

3:30 p.m.
ABC — Alabama at South Carolina
ACCN — NC State at Pittsburgh
BTN — Illinois at Washington
CBS — Minnesota at Iowa
CBSSN — FAU at Navy
CW — Toledo at Washington St.
ESPN — Missouri at Vanderbilt
FOX — BYU at Iowa St.
FS1 — San Diego St. at Fresno St.

4 p.m.
ESPN2 — Baylor at Cincinnati
ESPNU — Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech

4:15 p.m.
SECN — Texas at Mississippi St.

7 p.m.
ESPN — Stanford at Miami
FS1 — Wisconsin at Oregon

7:30 p.m.
ABC — Texas A&M at LSU
ACCN — Boston College at Louisville
CBSSN — Colorado St. at Wyoming
NBC — Michigan at Michigan St.

7:45 p.m.
SECN — Tennessee at Kentucky

8 p.m.
ESPN2 — Houston at Arizona St.
ESPNU — N. Dakota St. at S. Dakota St.

10:15 p.m.
ESPN — Colorado at Utah

11 p.m.
ESPNU — Alabama St. at Alabama A&M (Taped)

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#### College Volleyball (Women’s)
8:30 p.m. BTN — Michigan St. at Nebraska
10:30 p.m. BTN — Maryland at UCLA

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#### Figure Skating
3 p.m. NBC — 2025 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: The Cup of China, Chongquing, China

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#### Golf
4 a.m. ESPN2 — Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship: Third Round, Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course, Dubai, UAE
5 a.m. GOLF — DP World Tour: The Genesis Championship, Third Round, Woo Jeong Hills CC, Cheonan, South Korea (Taped)
1:30 p.m. GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Simmons Bank Championship, Second Round, Pleasant Valley Country Club, Little Rock, Ark.
4:30 p.m. GOLF — PGA Tour: The Bank of Utah Championship, Second Round, Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah
7:30 p.m. GOLF — LPGA Tour: The Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, Final Round, New Korea Country Club, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Midnight GOLF — LPGA Tour: The Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, Final Round, New Korea Country Club, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

5 a.m. (Sunday)
ESPN2 — Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship: Final Round, Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course, Dubai, UAE

6 a.m. (Saturday)
GOLF — DP World Tour: The Genesis Championship, Final Round, Woo Jeong Hills CC, Cheonan, South Korea (Taped)

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#### Horse Racing
Noon FS2 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races
7:30 p.m. FS2 — Breeders Crown from Woodbine Mohawk Park, Ontario, Canada

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#### Mixed Martial Arts
10 a.m. FX — UFC 321 Early Prelims: Undercard Bouts, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Noon FX — UFC 321 Prelims: Undercard Bouts, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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#### MLB Baseball
8 p.m. FOX — World Series: L.A. Dodgers at Toronto, Game 2

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#### NBA Basketball
7:30 p.m. NBATV — Oklahoma City at Atlanta

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#### NHL Hockey
3 p.m. NHLN — Colorado at Boston
7 p.m. NHLN — Montreal at Vancouver

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#### Rodeo
10:30 p.m. CW — PBR: Team Series Day 2, Las Vegas

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#### Soccer (Men’s)
7:25 a.m. CBSSN — English League Championship: Watford at Coventry City
9:55 a.m. CBSSN — English League Championship: Wrexham at Middlesbrough
10 a.m. USA — English Premier League: Fulham at Newcastle United
12:30 p.m. NBC — English Premier League: Brighton & Hove Albion at Manchester United
3 p.m. USA — English Premier League: Liverpool at Brentford FC
11 p.m. CBSSN — CF Monterrey at Cruz Azul

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#### Soccer (Women’s)
8:45 a.m. FS2 — FIFA U-17 World Cup Group Stage: Ivory Coast vs. Spain, Group E, Sale, Morocco

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#### Tennis
4:30 a.m. TENNIS — Guangzhou-WTA Semifinals
6 a.m. TENNIS — Guangzhou-WTA Semifinals
9 a.m. TENNIS — Basel-ATP & Vienna-ATP Semifinals
11 p.m. TENNIS — Tokyo-WTA Singles Final
4 a.m. (Sunday) TENNIS — Guangzhou-WTA Singles Final

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### Sunday, Oct. 26

#### Auto Racing
2 p.m. NBC — NASCAR Cup Series: The Xfinity 500, Playoffs Round of 8, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
4 p.m. ABC — Formula 1: The Mexico City Grand Prix, Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City

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#### College Basketball (Men’s)
7 p.m. ESPN2 — Exhibition: Duke at Tennessee

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#### College Soccer (Women’s)
Noon ESPNU — Oklahoma St. at West Virginia
3 p.m. BTN — Washington at Oregon
SECN — Vanderbilt at South Carolina
5 p.m. BTN — Southern Cal at UCLA
SECN — Kentucky at Texas A&M
7 p.m. ACCN — Duke at NC State

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#### College Volleyball (Women’s)
Noon
ACCN — Stanford at Georgia Tech
1 p.m.
BTN — Rutgers at Iowa
ESPN — Florida at Arkansas
SECN — Auburn at Oklahoma
3 p.m. ESPN — Louisville at North Carolina

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#### German League Basketball
10 a.m. NBATV — Bayern Munich at Alba Berlin

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#### Golf
5 a.m. ESPN2 — Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship: Final Round, Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course, Dubai, UAE
6 a.m. GOLF — DP World Tour: The Genesis Championship, Final Round, Woo Jeong Hills CC, Cheonan, South Korea (Taped)
1:30 p.m. GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Simmons Bank Championship, Final Round, Pleasant Valley Country Club, Little Rock, Ark.
4:30 p.m. GOLF — PGA Tour: The Bank of Utah Championship, Final Round, Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah

—

#### Gymnastics
Noon NBC — FIG: 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships from Jakarta, Indonesia (Taped)
2 p.m. CNBC — FIG: 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Jakarta, Indonesia (Taped)

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#### Horse Racing
1 p.m. FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

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#### NFL Football
1 p.m. CBS — Regional Coverage: Miami at Atlanta, N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati, Chicago at Baltimore
FOX — Regional Coverage: Cleveland at New England, N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, San Francisco at Houston, Buffalo at Carolina
4:05 p.m. FOX — Tampa Bay at New Orleans
4:25 p.m. CBS — Regional Coverage: Dallas at Denver or Tennessee at Indianapolis
8:20 p.m. NBC — Green Bay at Pittsburgh

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#### NHL Hockey
1 p.m. NHLN — Colorado at New Jersey

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#### Rodeo
5 p.m. CW — PBR: Team Series Day 3, Las Vegas

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#### Soccer (Men’s)
7:55 a.m. CBSSN — Scottish Premier League: Celtic at Heart of Midlothian
10 a.m.
CBSSN — Serie A: AS Roma at Sassuolo
USA — English Premier League: Manchester City at Aston Villa
11 a.m. ESPN2 — LaLiga: Barcelona at Real Madrid
12:30 p.m. USA — English Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur at Everton
1 p.m. TRUTV — U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team vs. German Men’s Deaf National Team, East Hartford, Conn.
2 p.m. FS2 — Canadian Premier League Postseason: Atletico Ottawa at Forge FC, Semifinal
5:30 p.m. FS1 — MLS Eastern Conference Playoff: Chicago at Philadelphia, First Round Game 1
6 p.m. FS2 — Canadian Premier League Postseason: York United at Cavalry FC, Semifinal

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#### Tennis
4 a.m. TENNIS — Guangzhou-WTA Singles Final
9 a.m. TENNIS — Basel-ATP & Vienna-ATP Singles Finals
11 p.m. TENNIS — Paris-ATP, Jiujiang-WTA, Hong Kong-WTA & Chennai-WTA Early Rounds

6 a.m. (Monday) TENNIS — Paris-ATP, Jiujiang-WTA, Hong Kong-WTA & Chennai-WTA Early Rounds

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#### Volleyball (Women’s)
6:30 p.m. ESPNU — Athletes Unlimited: Team McCage vs. Team Valentin-Anderson, Madison, Wis.
9 p.m. ESPNU — Athletes Unlimited: Team Coopers vs. Team Thompson, Madison, Wis.

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https://wtop.com/sports/2025/10/sports-on-tv-for-oct-25-26/

general

Ranking every NASCAR Round of 8 driver by average finish through the 2025 playoffs before Martinsville showdown

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Martinsville will serve as a do-or-die race for a myriad of NASCAR Cup Series drivers fighting to secure their place in the championship showdown in Phoenix. While Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe have already locked in their berths for the final four, the situation is far less clear for the remaining Round of 8 contenders.

With only a single round left before the cutoff, it seems increasingly likely that only one driver will advance to Phoenix on points. Recent race weekends have seen a variety of drivers take victory lane, adding to the unpredictability of the playoff battle. Let’s take a closer look at the average finishing positions of the Round of 8 drivers heading into Martinsville since the postseason began.

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### NASCAR Round of 8 Drivers Ranked by Average Finishing Positions in the Playoffs

**#8 Chase Elliott**
Placing last among the Round of 8 drivers is Chase Elliott, with an average finish of 16.25. Although Elliott recently won a race at Kansas Speedway and appeared poised to mount a title challenge reminiscent of his 2020 campaign, he has managed only one top-10 finish since. Compounding his struggles, Elliott was the first driver to retire from the Talladega race and currently sits 62 points below the cutoff line. This means a win at Martinsville is his only path to the championship fight in Phoenix.

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**#7 William Byron**
Another Hendrick Motorsports driver finds himself on the lower end of the average finishing ladder: William Byron, the NASCAR Regular Season champion. Despite earning bonus points for the Regular Season title, Byron is 36 points below the cutoff. His inconsistent performances throughout the playoffs—only two top-10 finishes in the last eight races—have dropped his average finish to a disappointing 16.00.

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**#6 Ryan Blaney**
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney, holds an average finish of 15.62 during the playoffs. However, two rough race weekends in the Round of 8 have left him 47 points beneath the cutoff line. Unless Blaney can secure a victory at Martinsville, his elimination from the Round of 8 seems all but certain.

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**#5 Kyle Larson**
Kyle Larson was considered a championship favorite heading into the postseason and has shown solid form in recent weeks. Holding an average finish of 13.25, including strong second-place results at the Roval and Las Vegas, Larson currently sits above the cutoff line and remains in a realistic position to advance to the final four.

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**#4 Denny Hamlin**
Denny Hamlin has already clinched his spot in the final four with a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This marked his sixth race win of the season, more than any other driver in the 2024 Cup Series so far. Despite this success, Hamlin’s average finish is only slightly better than Larson’s, standing at 12.62. This is due to some inconsistent showings—two playoff wins balanced by finishes outside the top 20 at Bristol, the Roval, and Talladega have impacted his average.

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**#3 Joey Logano**
The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano, finds himself on the brink of elimination. With an average finish of 12.12—the third highest among Round of 8 drivers—Logano’s performance hasn’t translated into a strong points total. Though he has earned three top-five finishes since Darlington and a top-10 at Las Vegas, Logano currently sits 38 points below the cutoff line.

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**#2 Christopher Bell**
Another Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Christopher Bell, is in the hunt for his maiden NASCAR Cup Series title this year. Bell boasts an impressive 7.5 average finish during the playoffs and holds the highest position among contenders fighting for a berth in Phoenix based on points. Since Darlington, Bell has not finished outside the top 10 and also secured a victory at Bristol, bolstering his championship aspirations.

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**#1 Chase Briscoe**
Chase Briscoe emerged victorious at the fall NASCAR race in Talladega. Like Hamlin, he has won two races during the playoffs and possesses a stellar average finishing position of 5.62. These strong results have earned Briscoe a spot in the championship showdown in Phoenix, where he also currently holds the highest points total among Cup Series drivers.

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As Martinsville approaches, the stakes couldn’t be higher. For many Round of 8 drivers, it’s a last shot to punch their ticket to Phoenix and keep their championship dreams alive. With victory lanes scattered among several competitors so far, this race promises intense competition and high drama as the playoff field is finalized.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/nascar/ranking-every-nascar-round-8-driver-average-finish-2025-playoffs-martinsville-showdown