What are expectations of Connor Zilisch when returning injuries?

1. How is Kyle Larson double in his second attempt at the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600?

Jake Altmayer: Although I assume that Kyle runs Larson in front and implementing the victory in the Coca-Cola 600, I am still not sure how he experiences 500 tariffs in his second attempt. Larson showed great speed in his debut last season and ran into the top 10, but a late racestrata led to him to take 18th place. This year the Californian will begin in the middle of the pack, and although I would expect that it progresses from there, he also suffered several accidents in the weeks before the race, which will definitely cause concern. Nevertheless, Larson is undoubtedly one of the largest and most versatile drivers in the world, so it would not be a big surprise for me that he ends the top 10 in both 500 and 600s on Sunday (provided Mother Nature is together this time).

Christopher Hansen: After the rain last year, Larson prevented all 1,100 miles from completing, he will achieve this in 2025 and carry out competitive runs in both races. Although Larson can achieve the experience with an 18th place in the top 10 in the 21st century in the 21st century, Larson will be a threat to simply win because Hendrick Motorsports in history, just because Hendrick had a lot of success, achieved a top 10. If Larson doesn't win on Sunday evening, I expect it to run near the front when the checkered flag flies.

Mike Neff: Assuming that the weather cooperates do the top 10, he becomes seventh place in Indianapolis. The Charlotte Motor Speedway will be another impressive intermediate run for No. 5, and it will end up in the Victory Lane.

Tom Blackburn: Expect that Larson is very competitive. He did not qualify as well as in 2024, but many drivers who are once as he were, fought with the hybrid weight, which previously dropped familiar balance like Helio Castoneves and Marco Andretti. However, a few things are in his favor. His team from the NTT IndyCar series Arrow McLaren has some hot rods for the race – teammate Pato O'Ward starts in the front row – and Tony Kanaan actually finished in the car, which he hadn't done since hybrids were added. Knowing what the car can do with this weight helps Kanaan to communicate with the driver with Larson Driver, and that's the key to bringing the car according to his wishes. As long as the event does not affect (crossed thumb), Larson can fight for a top 10.

2. Who was the largest trunk from this year's Nascar Hall of Fame class?

Kevin nothing: Jack Sprague. His career as Nascar Craftsman Truck Series is more than a little underestimated. He won 28 times, is a three-time series champion and never got worse than ninth in 12 full-time games. His efforts not to be fertile is a probable reason why he stopped this year, but you cannot tell the history of the first years of the truck without mentioning Sprague. It was an integral part of the early history of the series and is one of the best that ever drive a truck. It should be in the hall.

Neff: The class this year only had one snub: Larry Phillips will continue to be ignored by the electoral committee. Phillips was probably the best racing driver with the best racing driver of all time and won next to Dick Trickle somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 races. He is the first driver to win five Nascar Weekly Series championships. He has been nominated since 2014 and is the only driver on this list that has not yet been recorded.

Hansen: Sprague should have been voted in class 2026 because he is one of the most winding drivers in the history of the truck series. Sprague is a 28-time winner of the series, who was connected to the Veteran Mike Skinner for third place and as the winner of three championships. He was one of the more versatile drivers of his time. The legendary Hendrick Motorsports -Motorbauer Randy Dorton would also have been a deserved candidate for the Hall of Fame, as his engines contributed to building the foundation and transforming Hendrick into the iconic organization that we know today. Dorton was part of the nine Nascar championships from Hendrick in the three tour series, together with the winning of third dayTona 500s, six Coca-Cola 600S, four Brickyard 400s, southern 500 and five Nascar All-Star races.

3. What are your expectations of Connor Zilisch on his return of injuries and his oval debut in Cup this weekend?

Neff: Connor Zilisch will argue about the XFINITY Series victory. He has already shown his skills for intermediate products. There should be no difficulty climbing back into the car and returning to the front part of the pack. As for the Cup series, it will certainly be a challenge. Four hundred rounds around Charlotte are a long, exhausting day at night. The ultimate result will most likely be a top 20 finish, provided that it ends the full route. It will test his fitness.

Altmayer: Zil will record exactly where he stopped in the Nascar XFinity series, and we will see how he runs in front and fights for a top 10 end on Saturday. As far as his performance in the 600 is concerned, I would not be surprised that he is fighting a little, since he not only lacks the oval experience in the next gene car, but also for a team (trackhouse racing) that has found problems at a constant speed this season. In addition, there is the strenuous length of the race, and Zilisch may be for a long Sunday evening.

Nothing: Not very high. If he completes all 400 laps (or nearby) without incidents, this will be a success. I know that he wants to run in the top 10, but 600 miles is a very long distance. Zil will be behind the wheel at least four hours, and he has a not so minoric injury. This race is the ultimate test of endurance and endurance and completely differs from every race that he has ever run. He has to drive the full distance, and this will be the most important cup race that he will run this year. I expect that he will go all rounds and no more than one round behind the racing winner.

V. Should the stage lengths be set in the 600?

Altmayer: Absolutely. The Coca-Cola 600 should be a test of mental and physical endurance for the drivers. Therefore, divide them into four 100-round segments with guaranteed breaks between the type of defeats the entire endurance element of the event. I would like to see how the race is either divided into three phases, like all other points races on the schedule (which would make a significantly longer power amplifier possible), or even better the stage breaks together and instead hold the race green, while after each segment they still give points to the top 10. This would enable another strategy between the teams when to order and at the same time test the endurance of the drivers over 600 miles better.

Hansen: Since the 600 is the only cup race that has four stages, each are 100 rounds, I see no problem with the stages that have all the same length, since drivers and teams can split each level in the middle with 50 laps up to date.

Nothing: Yes. The last level break should be removed. No cup race should ever have a shorter last stage than a companion Xfinity Race. A 200-round last stage would be a suitable end for the longest race of the season.

What does Mike Neff not do? Mike announces several shows for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association every year. It also appears everywhere from PRN -PIT reporters and the press box with Alan Smothers to Sirius XM radio. He has announced on routes throughout the southeast, starting on the Millbridge Speedway. He also announced on the East Lincoln Speedway, the Concord Speedway, the Tri-County Speedway, the Caraway Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kevin Nix has been together at FrontStretch since February 2023. He is a video assistant and works on the back-end to optimize the video and audio quality of all AT track interviews. Nothing also writes about news for the website every Monday.

Nothing concluded a master in sports journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and mass communication from ASU in Phoenix, Arizona. He also has Bachelor's degrees in communication and political science. In his downtime he likes to read video games and go for walks in the weather in Arizona – if it is not too hot.

Tom is an Indycar writer for front track, which will take part in March 2023. In addition to writing the IndyCar preview and frequent expenditure of Inside Indycar, it will appear as a fill guest in the open Wheel Podcast The Pit Straße. He calls Fort Wayne at home as a local hosier. Follow Tom on Twitter @Tomblackburn42.