NASCAR

After his viral tumble set the internet ablaze following his big NASCAR Xfinity Series win on Saturday ... Connor Zilisch is now able to look back on the moment and laugh, saying, "It's gonna be tough to make a comeback from generational aura debt."

Zilisch made the self-depricating comment Monday night on X, saying now that he knows everything will be alright, he can poke fun at himself for his mishap in victory lane ... which resulted in him breaking his collarbone.

"At least I won," he wrote. Good point.

NASCAR racer Connor Zilisch was forced to pump the brakes on celebrating his big Xfinity Series win in New York Saturday when he tumbled from his car and broke his collarbone.

The horrific ordeal was caught on video -- Connor was climbing onto the roof of his No. 88 Chevrolet racecar to celebrate his W when his left foot seemingly got stuck in his window ... making him take a hard fall to the ground.

Paramedics quickly arrived to render aid ... and he was transported from Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International to a local hospital "awake and alert" for further evaluation.

Hulk Hogan's gone, but his presence will still be felt at the big NASCAR race this weekend ... as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is planning to have several tributes to the WWE legend etched onto his ride.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the driving star and his Hyak Motorsports team will be bringing back their red, white and blue Real American Beer paint job for their No. 47 Chevrolet to honor Hulk at Sunday's "Go Bowling at the Glen" Cup Series event on Sunday at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

Additionally, Stenhouse Jr.'s car will feature a "HULKAMANIA Forever" decal that has an image of Hogan tearing off his shirt on it.

Ever imagine what it would be like to see the top talent in NASCAR, F1 and IndyCar join forces for an epic competition?? Kyle Larson tells TMZ Sports he'd LOVE to see it to happen ... 'cause it would be a must-watch spectacle for all racing fans!!

The Hendrick Motorsports driver zoomed by the TMZ offices this week for a sit-down with Lucas Widman ... and he weighed in on the idea of putting the best from all major organizations together to determine the true "best driver."

"Dude, it would be awesome," Larson said. "It would be so cool if you could ever get myself, Max [Verstappen], or whoever the greatest racecar drivers of their discipline together to try and somehow figure out who may be the best, I think it would make for great TV."

The plane crash that took the life of dirt track racing legend Scott Bloomquist has been ruled a suicide.

According to a National Transportation Safety Board final report, obtained by TMZ Sports ... Bloomquist appeared to intentionally fly his aircraft into a barn on his family property in Moorseburg, Tenn. "as an act of suicide."

Officials wrote in the report the cause of death was blunt force injuries.

Wanna hear a really nasty story?? Urine luck.

IndyCar star Conor Daly admitted to wetting himself as he waited out the start of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday ... revealing he had to do the entire race "sitting in my own pee."

The 33-year-old Indiana native opened up about his race experience at Monday's victory banquet ... and while he finished 8th in the event, the takeaway was more about No. 1 -- specifically during the rain delay that postponed the start by about 45 minutes.

IndyCar star Pato O'Ward has the best Indy 500 starting position of his career leading into Sunday's race ... and he tells TMZ Sports he's ready to duke it out and take full advantage of his opportunity.

The 26-year-old Arrow McLaren driver has come REALLY close to winning the iconic event -- most recently finishing second after being passed on the last lap in 2024 -- but has never taken the checkered flag at the Brickyard.

O'Ward says he's not dwelling at all on last year's heartbreak going into this weekend ... but it's clear he's ready to rewrite his story at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe says the folks at Netflix were a godsend when his wife went into labor with twins ... telling TMZ Sports having the "Full Speed" cameras rolling for the whole thing actually calmed their nerves!!

Briscoe -- along with drivers like Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell -- is featured in the second season of the hit show ... and while the project covers the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, it also chronicles the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's family expanding by two!!

Briscoe told us the opportunity to have professionals capture baby Cooper and Collins' big debut to the world was a deciding factor in being a part of the second installment of the series ... and he was thrilled with the results.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't wanna go toe to toe with Lamar Jackson over a trademark for the number eight ... with the racing superstar announcing he's making changes to his brand to appease the NFL MVP.

Dale Jr. attempted to file papers for a stylized version of the digit he used for the majority of his on-track career recently ... which was later protested by Jackson's legal team, as the Baltimore Ravens quarterback owns several trademarks related to the number.

Jackson's crew claimed granting Dale Jr. the trademark could hurt his business ... as his fans might mistakenly buy the NASCAR Hall of Famer's merch instead of his if approved.

Frankie Muniz earned his highest-place finish in the NASCAR Truck Series last Friday in Daytona ... and the "Malcolm in the Middle" star hopes to build on his strong performance -- telling TMZ Sports he's "more hungry than ever" to succeed in the sport.

We caught up with the actor-turned-driver following his 10th-place finish at the Fresh From Florida 250 ... and he said he was thrilled to see everyone's hard work pay off.

"It feels amazing," he said. "Obviously, to get a top 10 is something that I had really hoped as a goal for this season, and to do it in the first race, it just re-motivates to keep going for more."

It might've started off as a silly social media prank, but Daytona 500 winner William Byron really is shooting his shot at Sabrina Carpenter now ... telling TMZ Sports he'd love to welcome her to a NASCAR race!!

The 27-year-old was targeted by an X account fresh off Sunday's big win ... which made it seem like he celebrated his second straight first-place finish at the historic race by flirting with the "Espresso" crooner in her Instagram comments.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver leaned into the joke ... following up on his X account to prove he was a good sport about it all.

Danica Patrick is taking shots at Kamala Harris' bevy of A-list backers ... accusing the group of Hollywood elites of having ties to disgraced music mogul Diddy.

The retired NASCAR driver slammed the Vice President's celebrity supporters during what she said was an unscripted speech at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania Sunday.

Danica confirmed to the crowd she was "winging" her address, noting she wasn't "paid to be here" and that she didn't "need a telephone" to give her speech. That was an apparent dig at rapper Cardi B, who read off her phone after facing teleprompter issues during Harris' rally in Milwaukee Friday.

Frankie Muniz has McDreamy in his corner ahead of his full-time gig with the NASCAR Truck Series ... 'cause Patrick Dempsey tells TMZ Sports he hopes his fellow actor/racer crushes it!!

The 38-year-old former "Malcolm in the Middle" star -- who got into motorsports after his time in front of the camera -- was announced as the driver of the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing last week ... and, will have a full-time seat for 2025.

Dempsey couldn't be more stoked for Muniz ... telling TMZ Sports he's been closely following the guy's career on the track -- and, he's got what it takes to make some noise.

Kurt Busch has pled guilty to a criminal charge of driving while impaired, TMZ Sports has learned.

An Iredell County, N.C. court official tells us the former NASCAR champion entered the plea on Wednesday.

The official says in exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the reckless driving and speeding charges he was facing in the case.

5:32 PM PT -- Keanu Reeves lost control of his car in his pro auto racing debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, narrowly avoiding a crash.

Keanu was coming out of Turn 9 when his car spun into the grass ... though he was able to avoid smashing into the wall.

Video shows Keanu spinning out, and after a brief pause he gets back on the track and finishes out the race.

Keanu was uninjured and he qualified 31st out of 35 cars. Next up for Keanu is another race on Sunday.

Keanu Reeves sure knows a lot more than kung fu ... and he's gearin' up to prove it Saturday as he readied to make his professional auto racing debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In exclusive pictures and video obtained by TMZ ... Keanu can be seen preparing for practice runs Saturday morning behind the wheel of the No. 92 Eagles Canyon Racing Toyota GR86.

The GR Cup Series races happening over the weekend are a part of the Indianapolis 8-hour event ... but separate from the endurance race.

Michael Jordan's racing team is suing NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France ... alleging the guy and his organization are "monopolistic bullies."

His Airness' 23XI Racing -- along with Front Row Motorsports -- filed the lawsuit in federal court in North Carolina on Wednesday ... after the two teams say they refused to sign updated pacts with NASCAR over "unfair terms."

In the suit, the teams said they wanted more when it came time to extend their charter agreements beyond 2024 -- namely, a bigger piece of the revenue pie -- but France and NASCAR wouldn't budge.