Aug. 30, 2026

Good morning and happy Sunday! It’s race day part deux for IndyCar fans.

College football season started yesterday for a small subset of fans - my father-in-law is an NC State grad, no one ask him about their game vs. Virginia - but the day’s true Hail Mary took place down in Daytona Beach.

Ryan Preece actually did it, and we need to talk about it. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: He really made it happen.

With his back against the wall, Ryan Preece pulled off a dramatic Daytona International Speedway win in overtime to score a last-gasp berth in the Chase after overcoming a 31-point deficit to Shane van Gisbergen. (NASCAR.com)

Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric also locked up playoff berths. Brad Keselowski was eliminated from contention early on. Van Gisbergen won Stage 1 and was in contention to advance through the final laps, but pitted for fuel late and ended up caught in the last-lap melee.

A few late night notes from Daytona:

• Van Gisbergen did everything he could in Daytona, even claiming Stage 1 to bolster his odds. But in the end, it wasn’t enough to lock up a Chase berth. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• Opinions were mixed on NASCAR’s new-look Superspeedway package. It seems like it may have been directionally better in the end. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

• Zane Smith was right there in contention to win, but felt like he was just wrecked on the final lap. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Harrison Burton was substituted in for Riley Herbst at 23XI Racing as he suffered from lingering effects tied to last week’s crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Chris Knight / Catchfence)

• Carson Hocevar was caught out after losing control late in the race. The moment caught him by surprise. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• Chase Elliott is in the postseason field, but feels the seeding matter little if drivers can’t perform over the next 10 weeks. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• Here’s how the Chase standings officially stand heading into next weekend’s opener at Darlington Raceway:

IndyCar: Well, that was a bummer. The field only made it to lap 90 of 250 in Saturday’s weekend-opener, leading to a postponement of the race to today and a tight doubleheader for IndyCar teams. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Moto

MotoGP: Marc Marquez is creeping closer to the championship lead. The elder brother fended off Alex to claim Saturday’s Sprint at Aragon. (MotoGP)

Rally

• Sami Pajari is closing in on a Rally Paraguay win after a largely drama-free Saturday. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

Dirt

High Limit Racing: Rico Abreu’s done it again. The defending High Limit champ surged past Brent Marks on a late restart to score the Gold Cup and a $100,072 prize at Silver Dollar Speedway. (HighLimitRacing.com)

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: After a miserable Friday, Carson Macedo bounced back on Saturday for a sixth-to-first drive to victory at Fix It Forward Speedway. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

World of Outlaws Late Models: It came down to a last-lap pass and a photo finish on Saturday night. Ethan Dotson snuck ahead of Daulton Wilson at the line for a big win at Shelby County Speedway. (Spence Smithback / WorldofOutlaws.com)

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series: Jonathan Davenport’s still got it. The veteran ended Ricky Thornton Jr.’s recent run of dominance with a wire-to-wire win at Port Royal Speedway. (James Essex / LucasDirt.com)

USAC: Justin Grant surged past Kyle Cummins on lap 28 of 40 and never looked back to claim USAC’s Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo Speedway. (Richie Murray / USACRacing.com)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Jimmie Johnson’s last Cup Series livery has arrived. He’ll run it in the Daytona 500 next February.

• Days of Thunder 2 is happening, y’all. Maybe I should finally watch the first one. (Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Lando Norris is staying put. The defending champ has re-upped with McLaren through 2030. (Luke Smith / The Athletic)

• What does Norris’ re-signing mean for McLaren and his teammate, Oscar Piastri? (Filip Cleeren / Motorsport)

• Haas F1 Team has fielded Ryo Hirakawa, Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara in a TPC test at Portimao as it considers its options for 2027. (Hadyn Cobb / Motorsport

• Isack Hadjar plans to be back for the Italian Grand Prix after missing Zandvoort with a wrist injury. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Moto

• Adelaide’s MotoGP circuit layout has been revealed. (Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)

• Sad news from overnight: A rider was killed in a crash at The Bend Motorsport Park. (Andrew van Leeuwen / Speedcafe)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

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On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Autodrom Most, airing on the NASCAR Euro Series YouTube channel

• NASCAR Euro Series V8GP Race 2: 8:15 a.m.

IndyCar

At The Milwaukee Mile

• IndyCar Snap-On Makers and Fixers 250 Race 1: 9 a.m., FS1/FOX One

• Indy NXT Race: 11 a.m., FS1/FOX One

• IndyCar Snap-On Makers and Fixers 250 Race 2: 1 p.m., FOX/FOX One

Sports Cars

At Road America, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• GT World Challenge America Qualifying: 10:05 a.m.

• McLaren Trophy America Race 2: 11 a.m.

• GT America Race 2: 11:58 a.m.

• Toyota Gazoo Racing North America GR Cup Race 2: 12:53 p.m.

• GT World Challenge America Race: 2:30 p.m.

At the Nurburgring, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• GT World Challenge Europe Race: 8:30 a.m

Moto

MotoGP at Motorland Aragon, airing on VideoPass

• Moto2 Feature: 6:15 a.m.

• MotoGP Michelin Grand Prix of Aragon: 8 a.m., also airing on FS2

Rally

WRC Ueno Rally del Paraguay, airing on Rally.TV

• SS18 Encarnacion 1: 6 a.m.

• SS19 Artigas 1: 7:30 a.m.

• SS20 Artigas Oeste: 9:45 a.m.

• SS21 Artigas 2: 10:33 a.m.

• SS22 Encarnacion 2 Wolf Power Stage: 1 p.m.

Dirt

• MARS Late Models (Belle-Clair Speedway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Nodak Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

• Weekly Racing (Huset’s Speedway): 7:25 p.m., DirtVision

• American Sprint Car Series (Sheridan Speedway): 8:15 p.m., DirtVision

Short Tracks

• Oxford 250 (Oxford Plains Speedway): 1:30 p.m., Racing America

• SLM Triple Crown (Slinger Speedway): 5:20 p.m., FloRacing

Number of the Day: 671

That’s how many combined starts Ryan Preece (248) and Ryan Sieg (423) had in their respective series’ before going on to claim breakthrough wins this weekend in Daytona. Not a bad NASCAR weekend for guys named Ryan, eh?

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 29, 2026

Good morning and happy Saturday! It’s Cup Series race day at Daytona. We’ve got a busy day of racing ahead. But first, we’ll take a look back to a solid day for underdogs on Friday. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Ross Chastain will lead the Cup Series field to green tonight at Daytona International Speedway. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: It took 424 tries to make it happen, but Ryan Sieg is finally a NASCAR O’Reilly winner. Making an appearance in the No. 38 instead of his usual No. 39, Sieg surged to the lead in overtime and expertly blocked both lanes over the final lap to claim an emotional breakthrough at Daytona. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

Friday’s race formally set the field for the O’Reilly Series Chase. Justin Allgaier made it a runaway up front, but the fight at the cutline came down to a few points. In the end, Parker Retzlaff earned an underdog opportunity for Viking Motorsports while Sam Mayer, Taylor Gray and Rajah Caruth claimed the final spots over William Sawalich and Brent Crews. (Dalton Hopkins / Frontstretch, Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

IndyCar: Oval expert Josef Newgarden led the way in an eventful Friday practice at The Milwaukee Mile. (Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com)

It was an expensive session for Kyle Kirkwood and Christian Rasmussen.

Sports Cars

GT World Challenge Asia: FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom’s Cheng Congfu and James Yu Kuai rolled to the front near the halfway point of Race 1 and held on from there for a win at Okayama International Circuit. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)

Moto

MotoGP: Marco Bezzecchi was quickest in opening practice at Aragon. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Rally

WRC ueno Rally del Paraguay: It was a chaotic opening day in Paraguay, with four different leaders before it was all wrapped up. In the end, a puncture for Mitch Evans gave Sami Pajari the early edge. (Mark Paulson / DirtFIsh

The recap some of the drama:

• Takamoto Katsuta crashed out early while Oliver Solberg took the lead. (Mark Paulson / DirtFish)

• That advantage would be short-lived, as Solberg suffered engine issues and a puncture in SS3. Hayden Paddon took over the top spot. (Mark Paulson / DirtFish)

• …Until he also suffered a puncture, giving the top spot to Evans before he suffered a puncture of his own. (Mark Paulson / DirtFish)

• Thierry Neuville dropped out of the race with suspension damage and Sebastien Ogier hemorrhaged time with issues. (Mark Paulson / DirtFish)

• Ouch:

Dirt

High Limit Racing: I don’t see a recap for this one yet, but California’s Dylan Bloomfield scored a surprise first High Limit win in Friday’s prelim at the Gold Cup. (High Limit Racing / X)

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: It was a good night for first-time winners. While Ryan Sieg was celebrating in Daytona Beach, 26-year-old Garet Williamson was earning a similarly major first triumph with the Outlaws at River Cities Speedway. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

World of Outlaws Late Models: On the other end of the Outlaws storylines was continued greatness, as Bobby Pierce earned a record-extending 20th win on the year at Adams County Speedway. (Spence Smithback / WorldofOutlaws.com)

USAC: Cale Coons took Friday’s win at Kokomo Speedway’s Sprint Car Smackdown, getting the better of challenger Thomas Meseraull. (Richie Murray / USACRacing.com)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Daniel Dye will go O’Reilly Auto Parts Series racing full-time next year in a multi-year deal with Jordan Anderson Racing. (Chris Knight / Catchfence)

• Without true track time, the Cup Series’ new aero package will send the field into the unknown this evening. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• RFK Racing isn’t likely to knock Shane van Gisbergen out of the Chase this evening, but at least the team’s having fun with the opportunity.

IndyCar

• There was big chatter over an IndyCar race in Colombia in 2028, but it appears Mayor Alejandro Char was being optimistic - or at least premature. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Five drivers, including championship frontrunner Alex Palou, are taking grid penalties for today. (RACER)

• This is a make-or-break Saturday for Kyle Kirkwood’s bleak championship hopes. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Ferrari is planning to bring an upgraded engine to the Italian Grand Prix. (Franco Nugnes / Motorsport)

• Sergio Perez knows his remaining time in F1 is limited. He hopes to use it to lift up Cadillac. (Jake Boxall-Legge / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• Tip of the cap to NASCAR/sports car/acting star Frankie Muniz, who scored an emotional GT4 America victory Friday at Road America. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• The 2027 McLaren Trophy America calendar is here. It’ll have 10 races across five weekends, all ran in support of bigger tours. (Stephen Kilbey / Daily Sportscar)

• Balance of Performance isn’t a favorite in sports car discussions, but replacing it with something like a cost cap isn’t so simple. (Heiko Stritzke & Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Daytona International Speedway

• Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400: 7:30 p.m., NBC

At Autodrom Most, airing on the NASCAR Euro Series YouTube channel

• V8GP Race 1: 8:15 a.m.

• OPEN Race 1: 11 a.m.

—Sunday Morning—

• OPEN Race 2: 4:25 a.m.

IndyCar

At The Milwaukee Mile

• Indy NXT Practice: 9 a.m., FS2/FOX One

• USF Pro 2000 Qualifying: 10 a.m., USF Pro Championships channel on YouTube

• IndyCar Qualifying: 11 a.m., FS1/FOX One

• Indy NXT Qualifying: 12:30 p.m., FS1/FOX One

• IndyCar Snap-On Makers and Fixers 250: 2:30 p.m., FOX/FON One

• USF Pro 2000 VP Racing Grand Prix of Milwaukee: 5:30 p.m., USF Pro Championships channel on YouTube

Sports Cars

At Road America, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• TC America Race 2: 10:55 a.m.

• Pirelli GT4 America Race 2: 1:55 p.m.

• McLaren Trophy America Race 1: 4 p.m.

• GT America Race 1: 5:08 p.m.

• Toyota Gazoo Racing North America GR Cup Race 1: 6:03 p.m.

At the Nurburgring, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• GT3 Revival Series Race 1: 7:35 a.m.

• GT World Challenge Europe Practice: 10:15 a.m.

—Sunday Morning—

• GT World Challenge Europe Qualifying: 3:40 a.m.

• GT3 Revival Series Race 2: 5:10 a.m.

At Okayama International Circuit, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• GT World Challenge Asia Race 2: 8:35 p.m.

—Sunday Morning—

• Japan Cup Race 2: 12:05 a.m.

Moto

MotoGP at MotorLand Aragon, airing on VideoPass

• Baggers Practice: 6:10 a.m.

• Moto3 Qualifying: 6:45 a.m.

• Moto2 Qualifying: 7:40 a.m.

• MotoGP Tissot Sprint: 9 a.m.

• Baggers Race 1: 10:10 a.m.

—Sunday Morning—

• Baggers Race 2: 2:55 a.m.

• MotoGP Warmup: 3:40 a.m.

• Moto3 Race: 5 a.m.

Rally

WRC ueno Rally del Paraguay, airing on Rally.TV

• SS9 Bella Vista 1: 7 a.m.

• SS10 Bella Vista Sur 1: 8:10 a.m.

• SS11 Hohenau 1: 9 a.m.

• SS12 Trinidad 1: 10 a.m.

• SS13 Bella Vista 2: 12:45 p.m.

• SS14 Bella Vista Sur 2: 2:04 p.m.

• SS15 Hohenau 2: 3 p.m.

• SS16 Trinidad 2: 4 p.m.

• SS17 Encarnacion Costanera: 5:05 p.m.

Drag Racing

• PDRA Drag Wars (Galot Motorsports Park): 8:45 a.m., FloRacing

Dirt

Major Races

• Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (Port Royal Speedway): 5:45 p.m., FlORacing

• USAC Sprint Car Smackdown (Kokomo Speedway): 6:20 p.m., FloRacing

• NAPA All Star Sprints (Sharon Speedway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Red River Valley Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

• World of Outlaws Late Models (Shelby County Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

• American Sprint Car Series (Big Sky Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

• High Limit Racing Gold Cup: 9:15 p.m., FloRacing

Other Offerings

• Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 5:30 p.m., DirtVision

• KKM Challenge Series (US 24 Speedway): 5:45 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Cedar Lake Speedway): 6 p.m., DirtVision

• USAC MRA Sprints (Valley Speedway): 6:15 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Land of Legends Raceway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• IMCA Championship Night (141 Speedway): 6:55 p.m., FloRacing

• MARS Late Models (I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Knoxville Raceway): 7:30 p.m., DirtVision

• USAC Southwest Sprints (Thunder Raceway): 8:30 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

Major Races

• Oxford 250 Day 2 (Oxford Plains Speedway): 4 p.m., Racing America

• CARS Tour West (All American Speedway): 8 p.m., FloRacing

NASCAR Weekly Racing, airing on FloRacing

• Jennerstown Speedway: 5:45 p.m.

• Berlin Raceway Championship Night: 6 p.m.

• South Boston Speedway: 6:35 p.m.

• Langley Speedway: 7 p.m.

Other Offerings

• INEX Legends (Riverhead Raceway): 4:45 p.m., FloRacing

• Reveal the Hammer Outlaws (New Paris Speedway): 5 p.m., Racing America

• Weekly Racing (Midvale Speedway): 5 p.m., Racing America

• RoC Sportsman (Holland Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Young Owosso Championship Night 1 (Owosso Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America

• Modifieds & Outlaw 350 Supermodifieds (Anderson Speedway): 7:30 p.m., Racing America

• Summer Classic (Montgomery Motor Speedway): 8 p.m., Racing America

Number of the Day: 2

Ryan Sieg’s led 516 laps in his lengthy O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, including 65 in the tour’s prior race at Iowa Speedway. He led just two on Friday night in Daytona Beach, but they were the ones that paid.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 28, 2026

Good morning and happy Friday. It’s just about time to get another busy weekend of racing underway. Sorry this is a bit late - I got kiddo’d this morning and she comes first.

We don’t have too much to discuss today. There are a few silly season notes and a new documentary on the way. But first, we need to put our political caps on. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Story

1) Ukraine lodges complaint after FIA’s lift of Russian ban (Motorsport)

Ukraine lodged a formal complaint with the FIA on Thursday after its decision to lift the ban on Russian and Belarussian drivers competing in international events. The Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU) is requesting an urgent investigation into Russia’s Russian Automobile Federation.

The country’s athletes had been banned from representing the Russian flag since February 2022, when Russia began its attempted invasion of Ukraine. That’s been the status quo in the years since, with Russian competitors able to drive under a neutral FIA flag or representing other countries. But the FIA world council chose to lift the ban in mid-August, reportedly at the urging of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The FAU quickly responded to the decision with a written letter to Ben Sulayem requesting a reversal. A week later, it’s now gone ahead with a formal complaint, noting that the RAF has opened and operates offices in regions recognized by the United Nations as sovereign Ukrainian territory - a move it claims is in breach of the FIA’s statutes and international sporting code.

“This is a clear breach of the FIA statutes by the Russian Automobile Federation, which, as an FIA member organization, is bound to comply with them,” FAU president Oleksandr Feldman said in a statement. “We urge the FIA president to take urgent action to have these offices closed, and for the Russian automobile federation to be sanctioned for its actions.”

This is the latest in a string of controversial moves and decisions tied to the FIA and president Ben Sulayem, who has steadily consolidated power and exerted increasing influence over the organization. But it’s not without precedent - the International Olympic Association provisionally lifted a similar ban on the Russian Olympic Committee in July.

(Source(s): Andrew Benson / BBC, Olympics.com)

Race Recaps

Dirt

High Limit Racing: Rico Abreu put on a show to kick off the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway. Abreu rolled from ninth to first to claim a frantic weekend opener in Chico. (HighLimitRacing.com)

USAC: Thursday’s Sprint Car Smackdown XV opener at Kokomo Speedway as a tale of two halves, with Kyle Cummins surging to the front for the final 15 circuits en route to his 10th USAC win of the season. (Richie Murray / USACRacing.com)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Carson Kvapil is returning to JR Motorsports for a full-time run in the No. 8 Chevrolet next year, replacing the outgoing Sammy Smith. (Kevin Rutherford / Frontstretch)

• Joe Gibbs Racing is sticking with Brandon Jones as the company works to finalize its driver lineup for 2027. (Toby Christie / TobyChristie.com)

IndyCar

• Alex Palou will pay homage to the late Alex Zanardi on the 30th anniversary of ‘The Pass’ at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Alpine’s sticking with its current lineup for 2027, bringing back Franco Colapinto to pair with Pierre Gasly. (Thomas Maher / Planet F1)

• A new docuseries on Lando Norris is coming to Prime Video next year. (Fleur Mealing / The Race)

• Red Bull’s giving prospect Nikola Tsolov a test run at Imola as it evaluates its Racing Bulls lineup for 2027. (Hadyn Cobb / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• McLaren’s MCL-HY Hypercar impressed in a 30-hour test at MotorLand Aragon. (Stephen Lickorish / Sportscar365)

• Veteran star Sebastien Bourdais is in search of a new opportunity as he ponders the future of his sports car career. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Moto

• MotoGP appears poised to cancel the Qatar Grand Prix without a replacement in the latest fallout from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. (Simon Patterson / The Race)

• Yamaha’s bringing in Izan Guevara into its Pramac satellite time for 2027. (Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

• Ai Ogura has undergone thumb surgery in Barcelona after his training injury. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Regional/Niche Series

Drag Racing

• The NHRA’s 20-race schedule for 2027 has arrived. (NHRA.com)

• Check out this throwback livery for the U.S. Nationals:

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Daytona International Speedway

• O’Reilly Series Qualifying: 3 p.m., ESPN Unlimited/The CW App

• Cup Series Qualifying: 5 p.m., truTV

• O’Reilly Series Winn-Dixie 250: 7:30 p.m., The CW/ESPN Unlimited

IndyCar

At The Milwaukee Mile

• IndyCar Practice: 6 p.m., FS1/FOX One

Sports Cars

At Road America, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• TC America Race 1: 12:50 p.m.

• Pirelli GT4 America Race 1: 4 p.m.

At Okayama International Circuit, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• GT World Challenge Asia Qualifying: 7:55 p.m.

• Japan Cup Qualifying: 8:50 p.m.

• GT World Challenge Asia Race 1: 11:35 p.m.

—Saturday Morning—

• Japan Cup Race 1: 2:45 a.m.

At the Nurburgring, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

—Saturday Morning—

• GT World Challenge Europe Practice: 4:45 a.m.

Moto

MotoGP at MotorLand Aragón, live on VideoPass

• MotoGP Practice: Live Now

• Baggers Practice: 10:25 a.m.

—Saturday Morning—

• Moto3 Practice: 2:40 a.m.

• Moto2 Practice: 3:25 a.m.

• MotoGP Practice: 4:10 a.m.

• MotoGP Qualifying: 4:50 a.m.

Rallycross

In France, live on the FIA Rallycross Championships YouTube page

—Saturday Morning—

• Euro RX of France Qualifying 1: 4:30 a.m.

Number of the Day: 4

Tonight will mark what could be Austin Hill’s final O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at Daytona International Speedway for Richard Childress Racing. Over the past five years, Hill has triumphed four times on the 2.5-mile oval. But in a unique twist, those wins have all come in the February opener instead of the World Center of Speed’s summer weekend. The Georgian will get a final chance to remedy that and sweep this track’s O’Reilly races this year later today.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 27, 2026

Good morning and happy Thursday. Can you believe we’re already creeping up on another race weekend? This week’s flown by for me.

We’ve got plenty to discuss today, from NASCAR’s 2027 schedules to some silly season notes around the racing world. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) NASCAR rolls out 2027 schedules (NASCAR)

The 2027 NASCAR national series schedules have arrived - and for the first time in a while, they’re here without any flashy new Cup races.

One day after announcing that San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado will be back on the calendar on August. 1, 2027, NASCAR officially unveiled its full plans for the upcoming season.

Here they are:

The biggest changes of note were previously known. The Cup Series’ exhibitions are both shifting, with North Wilkesboro Speedway going back to the All-Star Race weekend to give Dover Motor Speedway its points race back and the preseason Clash returning to Daytona International Speedway. In its place, the Craftsman Truck Series will venture to former Clash host Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time on Aug. 20. It’ll be the shortest track (.25-mile) to ever host a race for the series.

That’s one of five Truck Series standalone from a NASCAR perspective, including another IndyCar pairing in St. Petersburg (March 6), Lime Rock Park (July 10), Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 23) and the recently-announced return to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Sept. 5).

In a welcome break for the NASCAR industry, the weekends of March 28 (Easter) and Aug. 8 will be complete off weeks for all three national tours. The latter will be followed by Bristol Motor Speedway (Aug. 14), which returns to its traditional NASCAR slot after recently serving as a playoff round. World Wide Technology Raceway (Aug. 22) and Darlington Raceway (Sept. 5) are also shifting out the Chase, making way for Richmond Raceway (Sept. 11), Watkins Glen International (Sept. 19) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sept. 26).

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will kick its Chase off at Richmond, with the Truck Series beginning its postseason two weeks later in New Hampshire. With Rockingham Speedway off the schedule amid the financial woes of its owner, the IHRA, the O”Reilly Series won’t have a single standalone race.

NASCAR’s entire closing slate, including the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will remain unchanged.

It’ll be a year of relative stability after successive years of flashy new or returning venues on the Cup Series side, from the Clash’s initial move to Los Angeles and returns of classic venues like North Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray to a trip to Mexico and street races in Chicago and San Diego. But the consistency will be short-lived - NASCAR has confirmed plans to race at a different naval base in 2028 as part of its return to Southern California next year. The sport’s chief operating officer, Ben Kennedy, said in a Wednesday media call that NASCAR has given the Department of Defense a wish list, including underserved markets like the Pacific Northwest, and will begin doing the work to narrow down the possibilities based on viability moving forward.

(Source(s): Zack Albert / NASCAR.com, Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

2) FIA planning to open powertrain choice starting with 2029 WRC season (Rally)

The FIA World Rally Championship’s incoming era is all about inclusivity. As it turns out, that may be taken to the extreme on the powertrain side.

DirtFish reporter David Evans shared Wednesday that starting in 2029, when the current plans to use a Rally2 engine are complete, FIA depute president Malcom Wilson wants the series to be “open for business” relative to new technology.

With one obvious caveat, anyways.

“The target is to make it so that the manufacturer has to be in the WRC,” Wilson told DirtFish.We want to make it cost effective, (providing a) return on investment, so that manufacturers have to be here. We don’t want to be having to push and try and get enquiries, it has to become an obvious choice.”

But as long as the manufacturer is in WRC, the FIA is open to multiple concepts. “We have that (flexibility) in cross country,” Wilson said. “We have diesel, we have V6, we have V8, we have turbo-charging and it works.”

“We have to accept that it’s not going to be like it’s been for the last 100 years.,” he later added. “It’s a changing world. Like I said, if somebody wants to come with hybrid, hydrogen, electric, we’re open for business.”

(Source(s): David Evans / DirtFish)

3) Lee Pulliam lands full-time NASCAR opportunity (NASCAR O’Reilly)

Late Model Stock ace Lee Pulliam is set for a surprising rise to NASCAR’s second series in 2027.

Pulliam announced on the “Dale Jr. Download” Tuesday that he’ll compete full-time for Peterson Racing Group in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next year, piloting the No. 87 Chevrolet. The 38-year-old will also join Peterson for races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway this year.

The move is likely to be well received within the industry. Pulliam is one of grassroots racing’s biggest modern stars, with four NASCAR Weekly Series titles and two Virginia Triple Crown championships. He’s a two-time winner of Martinsville Speedway’s prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300, a one-time victor of Langley Speedway’s Hampton Heat and once won South Boston Speedway’s signature race, the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, six-consecutive times. He sat out of the car for four years in the early 2020s, but returned to occasional action starting with the ValleyStar 300 in 2024.

Pulliam made his O’Reilly debut in a one-off effort with JR Motorsports at Martinsville in March, finishing fifth.

“I couldn’t be any prouder and more excited to be given this opportunity,” Pulliam said in a team release. “So many people have helped me get to this moment in my career and believed in me along the way.

“This proves that hard work and determination is still rewarded today. Big thanks to Doug (Peterson, owner) for the opportunity to do this together. I have dreamt of this moment ever since I could walk. Racing has always been in my blood, and I’ve dedicated my entire life to the sport.”

Peterson Racing Group is in the midst of its first full-time O’Reilly Series season in a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, having split its No. 87 between Austin Green (18 races) and Nick Sanchez (five races). Green has earned three top-10s, while Sanchez gave the organization its best finish to date (sixth) at Iowa Speedway earlier this month.

(Source(s): Kevin Rutherford / Frontstretch)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• NASCAR’s scheduling may be similar for now, but the series is planning a new approach for the next media rights deal in 2032. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

• The Truck Series may have a new entitlement sponsor next year in FedEx Freight. (Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic)

• Judge Susan Rodriguez declared Wednesday that Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports can proceed with counterclaims against Joe Gibbs Racing. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• After confirming Austin Hill’s official rise to the Cup Series next year, Richard Childress Racing announced Carson Brown and Chandler Smith as the drivers to replace him and the Wood Brothers Racing-bound Jesse Love next season. (Toby Christie / TobyChristie.com)

• Sammy Smith hasn’t announced where he’s landing yet, but Smith is leaving JR Motorsports at season’s end. (Joy Tomlinson / Frontstretch)

• As expected, William Byron’s rear tire changer and Jackman have been suspended for the next two races. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Landon Brown is running the ARCA Menards Series finale at Kansas Speedway for Nitro Motorsports. (Kevin Rutherford / Frontstretch)

• Tyler Reddick revealed that he’s been diagnosed with sleep apnea as part of a partnership with Resmed. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• What’s that? Valtteri Bottas in a Cup car? (Dougith / Reddit)

IndyCar

• IndyCar’s Washington D.C. gamble has officially paid off. The race delivered FOX an average of 3.28 million viewers - easily the biggest non-Indy 500 race of the tour’s post-split era. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

• On that note, it’s hard not to call the Freedom 250 a success. Could it help establish street racing consistently in the nation’s capital? (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

• Could IndyCar venture south of the border next season? RACER’s Marshall Pruett reported Wednesday that teams are being told to prepare for a trip to Brazil’s Autódromo International Ayrton Senna in Goiânia. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• Graham Rahal’s gotten a bit politics-adjacent on the timeline this week, arguing with a few politicians that took issue with IndyCar’s race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• It’s easy to forget that Nolan Siegel is just 21 years old. And while his days appear numbered at Arrow McLaren, the prospect is making the case that he deserves more IndyCar opportunities. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• This is no surprise, but it’s still relevant: F1’s ratings have fallen off a cliff in America since the move to Apple TV. (Jared Beilby / USA Today)

• Some schedule notes:

  • Imola could be on the table as a host of the championship decider if Middle Eastern disruptions continue. (Franco Nugnes / Motorsport)

  • If things linger into 2027, the Chinese Grand Prix could kick off the season. (Jon Noble / The Race)

• If you were hoping to finally figure out the confirmed final running order of June’s Monaco Grand Prix, I’m sorry to disappoint you. A judgment from the FIA’s International Court of Appeal could take up to three weeks based on the complexity of the arguments tied to the case. (Jon Noble / The Race)

• Speaking of court, the FIA is considering legal action over online abuse sent to its stewards after Franco Colapinto’s penalty n Zandvoort. (Filip Cleeren / Motorsport)

• Remember that story of Mercedes not having the money to afford an upgrade war with McLaren?McLaren team principal Andrea Stella isn’t buying it. (Filip Cleeren / Motorsport)

• The FIA has made no change to its engine rankings, meaning Red Bull will be the lone one unable to upgrade its F1 power unit as part of the Additional Development and Upgrades Opportunities program. (Jon Noble / The Race)

• Have a Disney+ subscription? You’ll soon be able to was Max Verstappen pass 100 challengers in a karting race - probably, anyways:

Sports Cars

• Ford has rolled through its first Hypercar test at Circuit Paul Ricard ahead of a planned 2027 entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship. (Francesco Corghi / Motorsport)

• Michelin and Goodyear have seen their deals with the FIA and ACO for World Endurance Championship usage extended through the next six seasons. (Francesco Corghi / Motorsport)

• IMSA and Road America have pushed back their 2027 race weekend by one week. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• GT World Challenge America is bringing 23 entrants to its Road America. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)

Regional/Niche Series

Moto

• Liberty Media is sticking with the status quo. It has installed Carlos Ezpeleta as its deputy CEO. (Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)

• A couple MotoGP silly season stories:

  • KTM’s satellite program, Tech3, is bringing in Luca Marini for the next two seasons. (Germán Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)

  • Fermin Aldeguer has signed with VR46 for 2027 and 2028. (David Emmett / Moto Matters)

  • Pramac accounted early Thursday that Jack Miller will leave MotoGP after a 16-year stint next year, switching over to World Superbike. (Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)

• MotoGP title contender Ai Agura, down 37 points to frontrunner Jorge Martin, has been ruled out of the Aragon Grand Prix and is likely to be knocked out of title contention after suffering “fracture close to his left thumb” in training. (Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

• Another series is getting a “Drive to Survive” style docuseries. Who is it now? None other than the DTM. (Sven Haidinger / Motorsport)

Rally

• The FIA has indicated China’s bustling automotive industry as a target for future World Rally Championship entry. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

Formula E

• I found this surprising: While all other FIA tours lean away from the Middle East, Formula E is seemingly doubling down on its Jeddah opener for now. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

• Sebastien Buemi is out of Formula E and onto sports cars next year, but he isn’t ruling out a comeback just yet. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Douro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

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On Track Today

All Times ET

Rally

WRC Ueno Rally del Paraguay, live on Rally.TV

• Shakedown: 9:59 a.m.

Drag Racing

• PDRA Drag Wars (Galot Motorsports Park): 4 p.m., FloRacing

Dirt

• USAC Sprint Car Smackdown (Kokomo Speedway): 6:15 p.m., FloRacing

• High Limit Racing Gold Cup (Silver Dollar Speedway): 9:30 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

• Run-What-U-Brung (Thunder Road Speedbowl): 7 p.m., FloRacing

Number of the Day: 12

The past two IndyCar races at the Milwaukee Mile have averaged 12 lead changes, with the final overtake coming in the last 33 laps of each race. Last year it was Christian Rasmussen that made the decisive move, capping off a spirited drive through the field for his first oval win. Both he and prior winner Scott McLaughlin would love to repeat the feat and notch their first wins of 2026 in this weekend’d doubleheader.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 25, 2026

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Richard Childress Racing had time to make a proper decision over its second Cup ride heading into 2027. And after taking the summer to mull it over, the company is sticking with the status quo. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Story

1) Richard Childress Racing signs Austin Hill for full-time Cup run (NASCAR Cup)

After stepping up to the NASCAR Cup Series amid the most challenging of circumstances, Austin Hill will get a chance to create his own legacy with a full-time effort in 2027.

Richard Childress Racing confirmed Monday that Hill has signed on for the 2027 season, making his rise to Cup in the No. 33 Chevrolet official after five seasons in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

“I’m extremely thankful to Richard and everyone at RCR for believing in me and giving me this opportunity,” Hill said in a team release. “Every race car driver dreams of competing full time in the NASCAR Cup Series, and to have that opportunity with RCR is something I don’t take for granted. I’ve learned so much this year about what it takes to compete at this level, and I’m excited to take everything I’ve learned during my time at RCR and apply it to this next chapter.

“I want to do everything I can to help this organization continue moving forward. I’m excited for what’s ahead and ready to get to work.”

Hill has been competing in the renumbered No. 33 since May’s Coca-Cola 600. He was drafted in after the sudden passing of Kyle Busch. The Georgian has made 15 starts in the season to date, with a best result of 18th at Pocono Raceway in June.

He’s made 30 Cup starts overall, earning a career-best result of ninth at the Chicago Street Course in 2025. The 32-year-old has 16 wins in 169 O’Reilly starts for RCR, having consistently finished in the top-six in the series standings. Hill is still competing full-time in the series this year and sits seventh in the standings with two wins.

RCR’s other star O’Reilly driver, Jesse Love, is stepping up to Cup with Wood Brothers Racing next year. That same team’s current driver, Josh Berry, was rumored to be in discussions to take over the No. 33. But in the end, RCR is rewarding Hill for his patience and giving him a full season to showcase his abilities.

“Austin Hill is a talented race car driver and his continued growth, work ethic and success across multiple levels of NASCAR competition have positioned him for his next step with RCR,” Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, said in a release. “He’s put a tremendous amount of effort into his career, especially this year with everything he’s taken on.

“We’ve watched Austin grow as a driver and as a person, and we’re proud to have him continue that growth with RCR in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

(Source(s): Kelly Crandall / RACER)

More on Hill’s Cup move: RACER’s Kelly Crandall shared a second story on Hill’s challenging step up to Cup and efforts to blaze his own trail.

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• It looks like Rockingham Speedway could end up on the auction block amid the current IHRA chaos. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• Let’s take a closer look at the Max Reaves controversy on the Springfield Dirt Track. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

IndyCar

• In the hours after the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, race organizers expressed openness about its return. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• Christian Lundgaard could be Alex Palou’s teammate next year, but he was as happy as anyone else to see him lose in Washington D.C. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Honda once again flexed its street course muscle in the nation’s capital. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” is coming back for season nine. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

• Fernando Alonso showed strong pace in the Netherlands, but he still wants more from Honda after its recent updates. (Chris Medland / RACER)

• The Dutch Grand Prix was popular, but that wasn’t enough to save it. (Madeline Coleman / The Athletic)

• Red Bull was happy with Liam Lawson in his one-off return to the top team. (Ed Hardy / Motorsport)

• Ferrari made Lewis Hamilton a “guinea pig” in Zandvoort. What was the program actually trying to achieve? (Ed Hardy & Filip Cleeren / Motorsport)

• F1 Academy is expanding its 2026 rookie test program, adding a training camp at Loughborough University. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• Like NASCAR’s recent efforts, IMSA is working to streamline its yellow flag periods and cut the time under caution. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• Remember longtime television personality Rutledge Wood? He’s going to complete the rest of the Toyota GR Cup North America season starting this weekend at Road America. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

Regional/Niche Series

Moto

• KTM has put in significant work on its engines, opening seven of them and changing major parts in an effort to revive them. (Germán Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)

Rally

• With WRC27 and Rally2 cars going head-to-head next year, there’s talk of a return to qualifying in an effort to set the running order fairly. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

Supercars

• Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle and Reuben Goodall topped the first portion of Supercars’ enduro test at Queensland Raceway. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)

• Grove Racing has diagnosed the issues that derailed Matt Payne’s Sprint Cup title run in Ipswich, saying the major failure came in the valve train. (Andrew van Leeuwen / Speedcafe)

Formula E

• Opel has signed Mitch Evans as its star addition for the company’s debut Formula E season. (Sam Smith / The Race)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

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On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• Short Track Super Series (Middleford Speedway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 24

Austin Hill’s yet to find his footing in a difficult Cup campaign for Richard Childress Racing, but the Georgian has 24 combined wins across NASCAR’s second and thirst tours. He secured eight Craftsman Truck Series wins across three multi-win seasons from 2019 through 2021 and has continued to win multiple races annually in five years at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series level.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 24, 2026

Good morning and happy Monday. I hope you enjoyed the busy day of racing we saw yesterday. From an F1 showdown in Zandvoort to a classic NASCAR chase through traffic at the Magic Mile, the day brought a host of memorable moments.

We’ve got a lot to break down, so I say we get to it. Let’s talk racing.

A Quick Note: I did some freelance work this weekend for RACER this weekend, so you’ll see a few of my stories listed below. I try to be objective and not favor myself when this happens, but wanted you to be aware.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Team Penske’s strong run of form continued Sunday with another win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - albeit just barely.

After losing track position with a pit road issue earlier in the race, Ryan Blaney regained the lead with a two-tire call and narrowly fended off Bubba Wallace in the closing laps to claim Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 - his 20th Cup victory. Josh Berry was also on the charge late, but ran out of time in third after a slow last stop. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

It was an eventful race, started in the wet before transitioning to dry with many crashes and a final long run to the finish. The race also set up the final Chase storylines heading into the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway. Austin Cindric (+44) and Shane Van Gisbergen (+31) are the only ones at real risk, with Ryan Preece (-31) the lone driver within true striking distance if they have issues. (Aaron Bearden / RACER)

Other notes from New Hampshire:

• Denny Hamlin had a difficult day, but salvaged seventh to lock up the Chase’s No. 1 seed a week early. (NASCAR.com)

• Wallace had a real shot at Blaney late, but locked up a tire with five to go and couldn’t recover quickly enough to catch his friend. (Chris Knight / Catchfence)

• Berry had to settle for third in a race where he felt the desperation to show his worth behind the wheel. (Aaron Bearden / RACER)

• Takeaways from The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi included Penske’s pace and a good day for Ryan Preece.

• Christopher Bell had a scary moment with tire changer Blake Houston, but rallied to claim fourth. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• Carson Hocevar went for a spin before the race even got underway. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

ARCA Menards Series: While NASCAR battled in the wet at New Hampshire, ARCA’s competitors took to the dirt of the Illinois State Fairgrounds’ mile for the annual Calypso 100.

It came down to a controversial finish. Gavan Boschele muscled his way past Max Reaves late, but Reaves responded with contact that sent Boschele around to ultimately claim the event. (Brandon White / ARCARacing.com)

Boschele was furious afterwards and had to be escorted away from the victory celebrations. He shared his disdain afterward on social media:

IndyCar: A Florida man won a street race at the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon.

In a race that started with President Donald J. Trump waving the green flag, Kyle Kirkwood snuck past pole sitter Alex Palou and put together a dominant driver to claim the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C. over Christian Lundgaard and Will Power.

Notes from the nation’s capital:

• As he’s done consistently in these sporting appearances, President Trump used every opportunity to involve himself in the event’s story. He took a lap around the track in ‘The Beast’ and waved the green flag to start the race.

• So, it turns out Alex Palou is human. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Strong points contender David Malukas and Sting Ray Robb both crashed out of the event early.

• Nolan Siegel earned a career-best finish of sixth as he races with an uncertain future. (Alex Gintz / Frontstretch)

Formula 1: Lando Norris doesn’t think he has the car to win another championship this year, but it sure can win some races.

In what could be F1’s final trip to Zandvoort, Norris beat championship frontrunner Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to the checkered flag to secure the Dutch Grand Prix. It was the defending champ’s second win of the year. (F1.com)

Here are the race highlights.

Final takeaways from F1’s battle in the Netherlands:

• The unfortunate key highlight of the race was a hard crash for home hero Max Verstappen, which led to a red flag. (Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

• Mercedes is genuinely worried about McLaren’s pace, claiming it doesn’t have the money to match its upgrades. Perhaps a troubling sign for the frontrunners? (Jon Noble & Edd Straw / The Race)

• The team’s veteran driver, George Russell, was understanding of the team order to let Antonelli through on Sunday. (Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

• Another week, another set of Ferrari strategy frustrations for Lewis Hamilton. (Luke Smith / The Athletic)

• Both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda played their part well in substitute roles for Red Bull and Racing Bulls. (Michael Finley / Frontstretch)

• On the opposite end, Williams teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon had a tough outing that included contact. (Filip Cleeren & Ronald Vording / Motorsport)

• Nico Hulkenberg managed an eighth-place run on Sunday, but only after a scary near-miss with Audi teammate Gabriel Bortoleto. (F1.com)

• Franco Colapinto was frustrated after enduring a pair of penalties during the race. (Federico Faturos & Ronald Vording / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

IMSA: It was a slow start to the year for the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, but the car’s heating up with the championship up for grabs.

Andrew Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell piloted the machine to a second victory for Pfaff Motorsports at VIRginia International Raceway to draw within striking distance of the GTD Pro title with two races remaining. (John Oreovicz & Tony Dizinno / IMSA.com)

Drag Racing

NHRA: Matt Hagan has gone to the Funny Car points lead, besting Jordan Vandergriff to win the Brainerd Nationals alongside Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock). (NHRA.com)

News and Notes

Worldwide Racing Series

Moto

• Enea Bastianini will move to Trackhouse next season in MotoGP, replacing inbound Yamaha factory rider Ai Ogura. (Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• Sad news: The All Star Circuit of Champions confirmed the passing of race director Noel Dawson on Sunday evening. (ASCoC / X)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

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On Track Today

All Times ET

Short Tracks

• Wild Thing Kart Series (Stafford Motor Speedway): 6:15 p.m., FloRacing

Number of the Day: 4

Sunday marked Josh Berry’s fourth-straight top-10 with Wood Brothers Racing - the program’s best streak since a run of five with Morgan Shepherd in 1994.

The latter effort resulted in Shepherd’s career-best points finish (sixth). The first could just save Berry’s career.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 23, 2026

Good morning and happy Sunday. It’s a big race day for multiple tours around the world, but perhaps none are more important than IndyCar’s showdown in Washington D.C.

And yet it could be a tough day for the IndyCar field, because Saturday’s qualifying has set today up to be a status quo weekend for Alex Palou. Meanwhile, the Truck Series’ Chase field is set, Supercars’ Sprint Cup has come down to a dramatic late twist and Bobby Piece just keeps winning.

There’s plenty to recap. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Welcome back to the front, Tyler Reddick. The early season dominator knocked Josh Berry off the top spot late to score a pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen slotted in fifth to give himself a strong chance to sow up what will likely be the final Chase spot. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

Craftsman Truck Series: The final Truck Series rave before the Chase played out like many of the others. Layne Riggs dominated to emphatically claim the regular season title while late chaos allowed Tyler Ankrum to sneak up to the final Chase spot. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

Notes from a busy day at the Magic Mile:

• Stewart Friesen did everything he could with a strong top-five run, but lost out on a Chase spot after the late chaos let his rivals move forward. (Lee Spencer / Catchfence)

• Ankrum was happy to make the Chase, but a bit frustrated with his day overall.

IndyCar

• Uh oh. Alex Palou pipped Kyle Kirkwood in qualifying to secure pole for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and position himself for yet another victorious romp. Could Palou turn IndyCar’s big opportunity into a snoozer? (Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com)

Notes from a busy day at the nation’s capital:

• McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes this weekend is a huge commercial opportunity for the series. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Take a look around the track with Palou:

• The sightlines really are unlike any other in racing:

Formula 1

F1:

• The Sprint was as straightforward as it gets. George Russell quietly prevailed over Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris in a snoozer. (F1.com)

  • Here are the highlights - what few there are, anyways.

• Saturday’s qualifying was more eventful, as Lando Norris narrowly denied Russell another pole in a dramatic showdown. (F1.com)

  • Qualifying highlights can be seen here.

F1 Academy: Payton Westcott left little doubt on Saturday, rolling from pole to a lights-to-flag victory in Zandvoort’s Reverse Grid Race. (F1.com)

A couple quick notes:

• Max Verstappen is feeling “flu-like” and struggling ink hat could be his final home race. (Ronald Vording / Motorsport)

• Honda brought engine upgrades to Zandvoort. They aren’t enough. (Jon Noble & Josh Suttill / The Race)

• Saturday was a “wake-up call” for frontrunner Kimi Antonelli after mistakes cost him a pole opportunity. (Luke Smith / The Athletic)

Sports Cars

IMSA:

• Andrea Caldarelli has put Pfaff Motorsports on pole for the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. (RJ O’Connell / RACER)

• Ford’s Gregory Liefooghe led Stephen Cameron Racing to its first Michelin Pilot Challenge win at Virginia International Raceway, overtaking Mike Skeen with just minutes remaining. (Daily Sportscar)

European Le Mans Series: IDEC Sport will lead the field to green today at Spa-Francorchamps after a surprising first pole run from Valerio Rinicella. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)

Michelin Le Mans Cup:

• ANS Motorsport’s Maxwell Dodds managed the conditions of a drying track to score pole at Spa-Francorchamps. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)

• Saturday’s LMP3 battle went to The R-ace P’s No. 85 team, as Daniel Frost and Enzo Peugeot survived an attrition-filled afternoon to notch a victory. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)

Suget GT: Ren Sato snuck past Koudai Tsukakoshi to notch his first GT500 win in the Suzuka 300km. (Jamie Klein / Sportscar365)

Supercars: The Sprint Cup title was Matt Payne’s to win - until it wasn’t.

Payne was in position to claim the miniseries championship until his motor gave out at the halfway mark of Sunday’s weekend finale at Ipswich. That left him vulnerable, and Broc Feeney took advantage with a dominating victory to secure both the race and title. (Zac Dowdell / Supercars.com)

Notes from Ipswich :

• Walkinshaw TWG Racing and Supercars plan to review Chaz Mostert’s engine Monday after an unidentified engine failure with the B-spec engine. (Andrew van Leeuwen / Speedcafe)

• Payne entered Sunday with a 110-point edge and only needing to finish 17th. He was fifth when his engine and day went awry. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)

Drag Racing

NHRA: Doug Kalitta and Austin Prock have secured the No. 1 qualifiers at the Brainerd Nationals. (Drag Illiustrated)

Vintage/Historic Racing

IROC: Unc’s still got it.

Making a rare post-retirement start, Jeff Gordon showed off his road course skills to sweep the weekend in Washington D.C. and earn his first wins as an individual driver since his final Cup Series season in 2015. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

Dirt

High Limit Racing: It was all Corey Day on Saturday night. The Californian led 34 of 35 laps to claim another win at Placerville Speedway. (Kyle McFadden / FloRacing)

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: It was a thriller on Saturday night at Jackson Motorplex, with Logan Shuchart chasing down Sheldon Haudenschild after losing the lead to him early on to score the victory. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

World of Outlaws Late Models: There’s just no stopping Bobby Pierce this year. Pierce scored his second-straight win in the Hawkeye 100 to reach a record 19 wins on the year with many races still to come. (Spence Smithback / WorldofOutlaws.com)

USAC: It was a dusty day the Springfield Mile, but Briggs Danner managed the conditions to notch a Silver Crown victory after a dominant Justin Grant suffered an engine failure and Denny Jennings ended the race early with a gnarly front stretch crash. (Richie Murray / USACRacing.com)

Short Tracks

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: It was a predictably eventful, drafting focused showdown for the Mods at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. But Jon McKennedy was undaunted. McKennedy survived both an emptying fuel tank and stout field to score a Mohegan Sun 100 win. (Brandon White / NASCAR.com)

CARS Tour: Carson Loftin made the most of a three-car battle on the final lap to secure a Late Model Stock win at Anderson Motor Speedway, while Brody Monahan dominated the Pro Late Model feature. (Zach Evans / Racing America)

Southern Super Series: It’s been a tough year for veteran Bubba Pollard, but the Georgian bounced back to form in a Georgia Summer Nationals win at Cordele Motor Speedway. (Daniel Vining / Short Track Scene)

Today’s Top Stories

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• While the NASCAR Cup Series is returning the Clash to Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR is still returning to Bowman Gray Stadium with a Craftsman Truck Series race. (Zack Albert / NASCAR.com)

• Former super sub Regan Smith is the latest addition to Ram’s all-star program in the Truck Series. He’ll race at both Bristol Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway later this year. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Kimi Antonelli will serve a major grid penalty at his home event in Italy due to a planned engine change. (F1.com)

• The Athletic’s Luke Smith has taken a moment to say goodbye to the Dutch Grand Prix, a race he calls the happiest of the year.

Grassroots Racing

Short Tracks

• Tasha Porter Kummer wants to save Greenville Pickens Speedway. She needs $3.7 million to do it. (Lyn Riddle / The State)

• Burt Myers clinched his 12th Bowman Gray Stadium Modified championship on Saturday night. (Scotte Sprinkle / Short Track Scene)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

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On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway

• Cup Series Dollar Tree 301: 2 p.m., USA

IndyCar

In Washington D.C.

• IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix: 1 p.m., FOX/FOX One

Formula 1

At Zandvoort

• F1 Dutch Grand Prix; 9 a.m., F1 TV/Apple TV

Sports Cars

At Virginia International Raceway, airing on Peacock

• VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race: 8:40 a.m.

• Mustang Challenge Race: 9:45 a.m.

• IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge: 12:10 p.m.

Dirt

• IRA Sprints (Angell Park Speedway): 5:50 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Huset’s Speedway): 7:25 p.m., DirtVision

Number of the Day: 4

New Hampshire has been a good track for Christopher Bell, giving the Oklahoman two Cup wins and four finishes of sixth or better in six series starts. He could use another one of those strong runs - and especially a win - to help bolster his Chase positioning with the postseason drawing near.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 22, 2026

Good morning and happy Saturday. Welcome to another race weekend.

We actually get to see cars on track this in Washington D.C. That’s a real thing that’s happening. It still feels crazy, doesn’t it?

There are many small, interesting stories going on right now, but nothing major of note. So we’re just going to recap yesterday’s races, roll through some notes and send you on your way. Simple and sweet. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Craftsman Truck Series: Despite being untelevised, the Truck Series proved died significant drama in Friday’s qualifying session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Layne Riggs secured pole in the session, notching his fourth top qualifying result of the year over Kaden Honeycutt, Gio Ruggiero and Connor Zilisch. (Toby Christie / TobyChristie.com)

The true fascination from the session came deep in the field, With five extra trucks on-hand, it stood to reason that some notable drivers could be sent home. That ended up included Team Reaume’s Luke Baldwin, but Frankie Muniz has selflessly agreed to step aside so Baldwin can race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

Less fortunate is Toni Breidinger. Rackley W.A.R. actually put Breidinger in its locked-in No. 26 Chevrolet, shifting full-timer Dawson Sutton to the No. 27 to try to lock both teams into the race. But Sutton’s truck had significant brake issues in practice and he never made a lap in qualifying.

Rackley needed to prioritize Sutton. So Breidinger ended up qualifying in on owner points, but won’t race today. Mason Massey, Derek White and DL Wilson also DNQed from the race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

Formula 1:

• George Russell will lead the field to start today’s Sprint at Zandvoort after leading McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in qualifying. (Formula1.com)

Highlights can be seen here.

• Kimi Antonelli was quickest in the preceding practice session. (Josh Suttill / The Race)

Supercars

• Brodie Kostecki started off the Ispwich weekend with a win, beating pole sitter Matt Payne off the start line and holding on in a quick sprint. (Zac Dowdell / Supercars.com)

• The second race went to Will Brown, giving the 2024 champ his first win on over a year. (Zac Dowdell / Supercars.com)

Dirt

High Limit Racing: With the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series off for the week, Corey Day joined High Limit and rolled from third to first to win Friday’s feature at Thunderbowl Raceway. (HighLimitRacing.com)

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: It was another late night for the Outlaws after rain pushed the feature into early Saturday morning, but Sheldon Haudenschild didn’t mind. The Ohioan toppled Carson Macedo and Garet Williamson to prevail at Ogilvie Raceway. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

World of Outlaw Late Models: It came down to a three-wide battle on Friday night at Maquoketa Speedway. In the end, Hudson O’Neal emerged with the lead and win.(Spence Smithback / WorldofOutlaws.com)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Chatter abut the end of NASCAR’s California Speedway plans has apparently been tied to a misunderstanding:

• NASCAR has moved the start time for its New Hampshire Cup race by an hour. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• This is a tough watch, but worthwhile for fans. Kurt Busch opened up on the final words he told his brother in an exclusive sit-down with TODAY’s Crag Melvin.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kurt+busch

• Dover, Delaware, was hit by a tornado on Thursday night. It’s awful news for a lovely community, but the track seems to be okay. (Jayski)

• Bust out your old Sterlin Marlin diecasts. The No. 40 is coming back to the Cup Series in a one-off to honor Dollar General’s 40th anniversary.

• 23XI Racing has a shop dog with a familiar name - Rowdy. (Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic)

• Don’t worry too much about the actual “renders” or content of this post - it’s just ai slop - but Boris Said is apparently planning something of a racing country club in Southern California.

IndyCar

• Here’s a breakdown of this weekend’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix circuit in Washington D.C. (Jeff Gluck & Madeline Coleman / The Athletic)

• We don’t know where Mick Schumacher is going next year, but he apparently does. (Heiko Stritzke & Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• IndyCar and Shell have unveiled a 100% renewable race fuel planned for use next season. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• If you thought IndyCar’s Washington D.C. weekend wouldn’t get tied into politics, you were being silly. President Donald Trump is expected to wave the green flag and take a lap around the course prior to Sunday’s race. It’s going to be a unique spectacle, if polarizing for some. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Rinus Veekay is on a hot streak this year with Juncos Hollinger Racing. Now he wants to find a way to victory lane. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• While he’s back in F1 this weekend, the rumors of Yuki Tsunoda making an IndyCar switch aren’t slowing down. Days after Motorsport reported plans for Tsunods to try to score an IndyCar ride, RACER’s Marshall Pruett is reporting the same.

• …And no, Tsunoda isn’t the only silly season hand being played right now. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• No, TWG isn’t selling Cadillac. At least that’s what those involved are saying as Mark Walter’s other major sporting entities go up for sale.(Luis Ramirez / Motorsport)

• In other American billionaire news, the NFL’s Woody Johnson is buying a significant minority stake in Aston Martin’s F1 program. (Thomas Maher / Planet F1)

• McLaren has made early waves this weekend with a new-look rear wing. (Jon Noble & Matthew Somerfield / The Race)

• Max Verstappen had a foot out the door of F1 early in the year, so what’s kept him with Red Bull through 2030? (Andrew Benson / BBC)

• Liam Lawson is getting a shock Red Bull F1 return this weekend. Team principal Laurent Mekies feels it’s well deserved. (Ben Waterworth / Speedcafe)

• The move is also providing one final F1 opportunity for Yuki Tsunoda. (Ben Waterworth / Speedcafe)

Sports Cars

• Awful news: Longtime GT driver and coach Cedric Sbirrazzuoli has died at age 39 following a bout with cancer. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• After years of IMSA competition, DragonSpeed is heading for the exit door at season’s end. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• Pietro Fittipaldi’s little brother is finding success in Indy NXT, but Pietro feels done with that era and is focused on securing a Hypercar or GTP seat. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

• Ricky Taylor will make his race debut with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA next month at Lone Star Le Mans. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• Mustang Challenge will visit Daytona International Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as part of a new-look schedule next year. (Natalie Johnston / Daily Sportscar)

Regional/Niche Series

Moto

• Two riders have died in qualifying for the Manx Grand Prix - an event that takes place on the treacherous Isle of Man course. (Greg O’Keeffe / The Athletic)

• Johann Zarco suffered major knee injuries in May’s Catalan Grand Prix. Three months later, he’s planning a competitive return in Aragon. (Simon Patterson / The Race)

• Fabio Quartararo had two key reasons to make a shift to Honda - getting a fresh start and, hopefully, riding with an improved bike. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Rally

• We last saw Sebastien Ogier suffering a vicious crash at Rally Finland, but the veteran is feeling ready to return in Paraguay next week. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

• Ott Tanak is making an American Rally Association debut next month at Overmountain Rally Tennessee with Toyota. (Luke Barry / DirtFish)

Formula E

• Andretti Global will be Nissan’s sole customer team to kick off Formula E’s GEN4 era. It hopes the shift will be what it needs to make the next step. (Dominik Wilde / RACER)

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• It sounds like Cleetus McFarland is going indoor dirt racing this winter:

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

As a small note, NASCAR has both the Truck Series and Modified Tour on-track for practice and qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway today, but none of it is televised.

All Times ET

NASCAR

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway

• Cup Series Practice: 10:30 a.m., truTV

• Cup Series Qualifying: 11:35 a.m., truTV

• Truck Series Team EJP 175: 1:30 p.m., FS1/FOX One

• Whelen Modified Tour Mohegan Sun 100: 4:30 p.m., FloRacing

IndyCar

In Washington D.C.

• IndyCar Practice: 9 a.m., FS1/FOX One

• IndyCar Practice: 1 p.m., FS2/FOX One

• IndyCar Qualifying: 5 p.m., FS2/FOX One

Formula 1

At Zandvoort, airing on F1 TV and Apple TV (F1)

• F1 Sprint: 6 a.m.

• F1 Academy Reverse Grid Race: 8:35 a.m.

• F1 Qualifying: 10 a.m.

• Porsche Supercup Race 1: Noon

—Sunday Morning—

• F1 Academy Feature: 4:30 a.m.

• Porsche Supercup Race 2: 5:45 a.m.

Sports Cars

At Spa-Francorchamps, airing on WEC+

• European Le Mans Series Qualifying: 6:30 a.m.

Supercars

At Ipswich, airing on SuperView

• Aussie Racing Cars Race 3: 6:30 p.m.

• Trans Am Race 3: 7 p.m.

• Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia GR Cup Race 2: 8:10 p.m.

• Supercars Qualifying: 8:55 p.m.

• Supercars Top Ten Shootout: 9:40 p.m.

• Aussie Racing Cars Race 4: 10:35 p.m.

• Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia GR Cup Race 3: 11:05 p.m.

• Porsche Carrer Cup Australia Race 2: 11:50 p.m.

—Sunday Morning—

• Supercars Race 28: 1:20 a.m.

Moto

• American Flat Track (Peoria Motorcycle Club): 12:25 p.m., FloRacing

Drag Racing

• NHRA Brainerd Nationals (Brainerd International Raceway): 9 a.m., NHRA.tv

• World Fuel Altered Nationals (Eddyville Raceway Park): 6 p.m., FloRacing

Dirt

Major Races

• USAC Silver Crown Bettenhausen 100 (Illinois State Fairgrounds): 11 a.m., FloRacing

• NAPA All Star Sprints (Butler Motor Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Jackson Motorplex): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

• World of Outlaws Late Models (Maquoketa Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

• American Sprint Car Series (Riverside International Speedway): 8:15 p.m., DirtVision

• High Limit Racing (Placerville Speedway): 8:30 p.m., FloRacing

Other Offerings

• Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 5:30 p.m., DirtVision

• IRA Sprints (Wilmot Raceway): 5:50 p.m., FloRacing

• RoC Sportsman (Shangri-La II Motor Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Living Legends Dream Race (Port Royal Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Land of Legends Raceway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• Weekly Racing (Cedar Lake Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• Weekly Racing (Sharon Speedway): 6:30 p.m., DirtVision

• IMCA Weekly Racing (141 Speedway): 6:55 p.m., FloRacing

• KKM Challenge Series (Southern Illinois Raceway): 7 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

Major Races

• CARS Tour (Anderson Motor Speedway): 4:30 p.m., FloRacing

• Race for the Million (Colorado National Speedway): 6:45 p.m., FloRacing

NASCAR Weekly Racing, airing on FloRacing

• Jennerstown Speedway: 5:45 p.m.

• Berlin Raceway: 6 p.m.

• South Boston Speedway: 6:30 p.m.

• Hickory Motor Speedway: 7 p.m.

• Langley Speedway: 7 p.m.

• Bowman Gray Stadium (Finale): 7:45 p.m.

Other Offerings

• Championship Night (Oswego Speedway): 6:15 p.m., FloRacing

• Slamfest (Slinger Speedway): 7 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 10

There was a time when Chevrolet owned the Magic Mile. Bowtie drivers won six-straight races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from 2009 through 2012. But it’s been a full decade since Kevin Harvick last delivered Chevy to victory lane at the tracking the Cup Series. The 10 races since have been split evenly by Toyota and Ford, including another two wins for Harvick and 2018 and 2019.

Given the success both brands have enjoyed on flat tracks this year, it’ll be little surprise if that trend continues on Sunday.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 20, 2026

Good morning and happy Thursday. After years of chatter about a trip to Montreal that has yet to bear fruit, NASCAR is finally going back to Canada in 2027. But it’ll be the Truck Series making the trip in a return to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

It’s an excited addition that should have fans prepared for late race chaos, and it was set to lead today’s newsletter until my tired eyes saw major news from F1 this morning. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) Max Verstappen extends with Red Bull through 2030

As it turns out, all the silly season drama tied to F1’s biggest modern stars was for naught.

Four-time champion Max Verstappen officially signed an extension with Red Bull this week, the team confirmed early Thursday morning. He’ll continue on as the team’s lead driver well into the current regulations.

The news will come as relief for Red Bull. Verstappen was previously contracted through the 2028 season, but had clauses in his contract allowing him to leave at season’s end based on the organization’s results. There had been a particular level of rumor and concern about a leap to current frontrunner Mercedes - potentially in place of George Russell, which could have set off a cascade of silly season moves. There was also chatter that Verstappen could leave F1 entirely, disenchanted by the current ruleset.

But in the end, Verstappen’s decided to stay put.

“We have the best people and I’m excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again,” Verstappen said in a team release. “This remains the ultimate goal that all of us have been working towards and will continue to pursue.

“I have always said it: the team is like a second family for me and I feel very at home. … To continue this journey with the same team that I have been with my whole career is really special and something I have always wanted to do.”

Thursday’s news will add some stability to Red Bull, which has seen significant turnover in leadership including a team principal change in past year. Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is leaving for McLaren at season’s end.

The announcement comes as Verstappen prepares for what could be his final home race in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. The event is expected to fall off the calendar moving forward.

(Source(s): Andrew Benson / BBC)

2) NASCAR sending the Truck Series back to CTMP in 2027 (NASCAR Trucks)

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is heading back to Canada in 2027.

Series officials confirmed Wednesday that NASCAR’s third tour will venture to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) next season, returning to the Ontario road course for the first time since 2019. The race will take place on Sept. 5, serving as the tour’s regular season finale.

Despite having limited history with NASCAR national competition, CTMP serves a special place in the sport’s history. Its debut race in 2013 was the site of Chase Elliott’s first NASCAR national series victory in a controversial, crash-filled finish with Ty Dillon. It saw Ryan Blaney win in a photo finish the following year, gave eventual Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric his first NASCAR win in 2017 and saw future Cup competitors Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek triumph in 2015 and 2016

The track provided memorable finishes in both 2016 and 2018. The first saw Nemechek squeeze Cole Custer into the outside barrier after contact, leading Custer to tackle Nemechek during his celebration afterward. Justin Haley stole the victory in 2018, sneaking through after then-teammates Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland collided in the final corner and spun.

Defending series champion Brett Moffitt won what turned out to be the final race of the track’s initial NASCAR tenure in 2019. It was initially slated to return in 2020 and 2021, but those races were called off amid the COVID-19 pandemic and CTMP faded from NASCAR discussions.

That is, until Wednesday. Now the sport is set to return north of the border in what will surely be another memorable road course race. It’s unclear if the race will replace any specific race on the current Truck schedule.

(Source(s): Logan Kendall / Frontstretch)

Race Recaps

Sim Racing

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series: Garrett Manes is an eNASCAR winner. Manes pulled below Blaze Crawford when he ran out of fuel on the final lap and delivered a playoff-clinching win at Daytona International Speedway. (Justin Melillo / eNASCAR.com)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• ESPN reporter Robert Klemko shared an incredible piece on Kyle Busch and the lessons his passing have given a sport built on significant risk. If you read one thing from today’s newsletter, make it this.

• Chicago Sun Times reporters Fran Spielman and Kaitlin Washburn offered more analysis of NASCAR’s decision not to return to Grant Park. Yes, money was a factor - but so was an apparent date swap.

• Connor Zilisch’s signing is a small setback for Corey Day, but it doesn’t mean Hendrick Motorsports isn’t a believe in its rising star. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

• Jimmie Johnson’s last Cup livery could be interesting.

IndyCar

• No, Kyle Larson’s unique Knoxville Nationals double last weekend doesn’t mean he’s any closer to an Indy 500 return. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• One day after announcing Alex Albon’s return, Williams has confirmed that Carlos Sainz will also be back next season on a multiyear deal. (Chris Medland / RACER)

• That could be good news for Sainz, keeping the Spaniard on the F1 grid. But The Race’s Edd Straw argues that he’s being wasted at Williams.

• McLaren and Red Bull’s Monaco Grand Prix appeal will come next week. (Ed Hardy / Motorsport)

• Netflix will launch its Michael Schumacher documentary on Oct. 2. (Ben Waterworth / Speedcafe)

• Cadillac’s surprising team principal shift is the clearest sign of the company’s growing pains. And no, you shouldn’t expect a sale amid TWG’s current legal trouble. (Luke Smith / The Athletic)

• F1’s summer break is over. Here’s how the drivers spent it. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• Former IMSA owner, competitor and chief executive officer Charlie Slater passed away last week at age 69. (Holly Cain / RACER)

• Action Express Racing is planning a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. (Stephen Kilbey / Daily Sportscar)

• Ligier expects to field LMP2s with customer teams Algarve Pro Racing, Inter Europol Competition and Panis Racing next season. (Jamie Klein / Sportscar365)

• Road America was a messy race for IMSA, but Tommy Milner feels most of its chaos was tied to GTP and LMP2 drivers and has gone to bat for GT driving standards. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

Regional/Niche Series

Formula E

• The FIA plans to crack down on team collusion starting next season. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Sim Racing

• eNASCourt doesn’t have the same ring to it, but the concept’s alive and well. eNASCAR setup provider RYCO-Motorsports is being sued by Team Conti LLC on the basis of fraud tied to stolen setups.(Sydney Haulenbeek / X)

Grassroots Racing

Short Tracks

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has come to Cleetus McFarland’s defense after his crash-filled Late Model debut at Berlin Raceway. (Chad Thurnquist / Short Track Scene)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• Southern Nationals (Toccoa Raceway): 7 p.m., FloRacing

• High Limit Racing (Santa Maria Speedway): 8:30 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 4

With its tight final corners that entice drivers to make desperation dives, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park frequently yielded last-lap passes during its first stretch of Truck Series races. In fact, four of the track’s seven Truck contests ended with a lead change on the final lap.

And of the three that didn’t one of them came this close to ending in the same way:

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 19, 2026

Good morning and happy Wednesday. We’re slowly creeping toward another race weekend.

We finally have news of a decision for NASCAR’s Chicago plans in 2027 - and for at least one more year, it’ll be Chicagoland (or ‘The Region’ as many in the area call it) instead of Chicago proper.

Oh, and Isack Hadjar is apparently out for the Dutch Grand Prix - check the bottom note of the F1 section below. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) NASCAR goes with Chicagoland Speedway for 2027, Chicago Street Race A No-Go (NASCAR Cup)

After making a successful return to the calendar this year, Chicagoland Speedway will again be on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2027.

And yes, it’ll be the only Chicago-area host of note.

Uncertainty has surrounded the future of NASCAR’s Chicago efforts over the course of the year. It was clear there would be a date on the 2027 schedule - fans just weren’t sure where it would be.

With negotiations ongoing between the sanctioning body, city of Chicago and state of Illinois, it was possible that the sport could bring back the Chicago Street Race it held from 2023 through 2025. But Chicagoland Speedway had also delivered a successful race weekend in Chicago’s absence on the 2026 calendar, leaving longtime supporters calling for the oval to remain on the schedule.

For a time, it appeared possible that both venues could hold races. But in the end, an impasse over costs reportedly kept NASCAR from pulling off a return to Chicago. Negotiations could continue and a Chicago race could still be on the table for 2028, but time has run out for a 2027 return.

Instead, it’ll be Chicagoland that gets the call for the second-straight year. The NASCAR-owned facility held national series weekends from 2001 through 2019, including many races in the Chase, before going dormant through the first half of the 2020s.

Unable to return to Chicago and in need of race within the city’s region, NASCAR brought back Chicagoland in 2026. The event was a smashing success, yielding a capacity crowd and putting on a predictably-entertaining intermediate oval battle with the Next Gen car.

With Chicago off for another year, any hopes of NASCAR returning to a street course lie with a potential return to Naval Base Coronado. The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi reported Tuesday that such a return “remains likely.”

(Source(s): Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the championship weekend again in 2027. (Catchfence)

• Georgia’s Terrell Williams has been charged with multiple infractions tied to the burglary at the house of the late Greg Biffle’s family after their passing last December. More arrests are expected. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• NASCAR declared yesterday (8/18) Kyle Busch Day. It’s worth looking through social media to see the various tributes that poured in if you haven’t already. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• Defending champ Kyle Larson was this week’s guest on the “12 Questions” series. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Alex Albon is staying put at Williams for another year in 2027. (Filip Cleeren / Motorsport)

• As most would have expected given the circumstances, Ukraine’s government has called on the FIA to reverse its decision lifting the ban on Russian competitors. (Andrew Benson / BBC)

• The disputes tied to a messy Monaco Grand Prix are going to FIA court. (Ben Waterworth / Speedcafe)

• TWG’s Mark Walter has sold the Los Angeles Lakers and is still in the midst of financial and legal trouble. What could it mean for the Cadillac F1 team? (Samarth Kanal / The Race)

• It’s been a chaotic F1 career for Liam Lawson, but the Kiwi is finally finding some stability. (Jon Noble / The Race)

• Of course, as I say that, an early morning report linking Isack Hadjar to a wrist injury could lead Lawson back into Red Bull proper this weekend at Zandvoort, with Yuki Tsunoda taking his place at Racing Bulls. (Ben Waterworth / Speedcafe)

Sports Cars

• Extensive hydrogen fuel tank crash testing is underway as the FIA plans for their potential World Endurance Championship introduction in 2030. (Stephen Lickorish / Sportscar365)

• Grasser is appealing the disqualification of Mirko Bortolotti in the DTM round at Oschersleben. (Sven Haidinger / Motorsport)

Regional/Niche Series

Moto

• With a transfer window seemingly drawing closer, MotoGP’s teams are proving they need saving from themselves. (Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

• It sounds like a new MotoGP-inspired film could be on the way. (Rubén Carballo-Rosa / Motorsport)

Rally

• Esapekka Lappi is set to rejoin Hyundai for the WRC Rally Chile. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

Drag Racing

• Keep an eye out for a new Kalitta - Mitch, son of Doug - in Top Alcohol Dragster action at the Brainerd Nationals. (Drag Illustrated)

Formula E

• Just about everything that could go wrong did in Lucas di Grassi’s Formula E swan song. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• Kyle Larson didn’t expect to make it to the Knoxville Nationals last weekend, but Hendrick Motorsports gave him a much-needed assist. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

Short Tracks

• The North-South Shootout is shifting to Southern National Motorsports Park this year. (Chase Folsom / Short Track Scene)

• Greenville Pickens Speedway has a small, but outspoken group of people fighting for its survival. Key among them is Tasha Porter-Kummer, and she needs help. (Matt Weaver / Short Track Scene)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• Super DIRTcar Series (Utica-Rome Speedway): 5:45 p.m., DirtVision

• Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• FloRacing Night in America (Mason City Motor Speedway): 6:45 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 2

During his time in the No. 88 Chevrolet, Alex Bowman won what at the time seemed like Chicagoland Speedway’s last Cup race in 2019. Seven years later, Bowman earned his third (and most recent) top-five at the same place. Perhaps a final trip to Chicagoland will provide the Showman a chance to ride off into the sunset with a win next season.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 18, 2026

Good morning and happy Tuesday. We’ll cut right to the chase with this one - yet another driver is set to go from the No. 88 to the No. 48 in the NASCAR Cup Series. He’ll be replacing the one that did it last.

The expected signing has happened, so we might as well discuss it. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) Connor Zilisch signs with Hendrick Motorsports for 2028 (NASCAR Cup)

Hendrick Motorsports has its next star prospect.

Three weeks removed from Alex Bowman’s announced retirement from full-time racing at the conclusion of the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports confirmed Monday that his replacement in 2028 will be Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch.

Zilisch will pilot the No. 48 Chevrolet, with Ally continuing the sponsor the team through the transition. He’ll have two seasons of Cup competition under his belt at that point, having joined the series as a rookie this year. No terms of the deal were disclosed, beyond it being for multiple years.

“Connor is a truly gifted young racer,” Hendrick Motorsports Owner Rick Hendrick said in a team release. “His talent behind the wheel is exceptional, but I’m even more impressed by the person he is.

“When someone with that kind of ability and character becomes available, you do everything you can to bring them into your organization. We have tremendous confidence in Connor, and we believe he’s the right driver to build on the legacy of the No. 48 Ally team for many years to come.”

Zilisch has been one of NASCAR’s biggest rising stars, making a meteoric ascent to the Cup Series after dominating the 2025 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season. He’s had a difficult debut campaign in NASCAR’s top flight, but is still seen as one of the sport’s most promising young stars.

With Bowman transitioning out, Zilisch’s move up to Chevrolet’s top program seemed to be a foregone conclusion. But it will come with a bittersweet sting for Trackhouse Racing - the company that identified his potential early and signed him to a developmental deal in January 2024, when he was competing primarily in Trans-Am and the MX-5 Cup.

“It’s a bittersweet moment for Trackhouse, but I am truly happy for Connor to get an opportunity that many drivers only dream of,” Justin Marks, founder of Trackhouse Racing, said in a release. “While our goal was always to have him in our cars for the long term, I’m still excited for the opportunity we have with him now and in 2027.

“At Trackhouse, our mandate remains to work hard, accomplish big things with Connor while we have him, and position this 88 Chevy team to move into the 2028 NASCAR Cup season ready for a new, inspiring, and talented driver that will author the next chapter in this amazing book we are writing. But not yet.”

The loss of Zilisch leaves Trackhouse at a crossroads. It found quick success and became a signature team early on, making the Championship 4 with Ross Chastain and signing star drivers including Zilisch, Zane Smith and Shane van Gisbergen. But the company has struggled for pace in recent seasons.

Only road course savant van Gisbergen has been a winning contender this year. Original signee Daniel Suarez is poised to make the Chase and outrun all its drivers with Spire Motorsports. Smith never even made it into the team and now competes for Front Row Motorsports. With Zilisch on the way out and the program struggling, there’s a real chance other teams could make moves for both van Gisbergen and Chastain in the next few years.

There will be additional repercussions to track leaving Monday’s announcement. With an apparent commitment to remaining a three-car team, Trackhouse will need to look for a new driver to put in its No. 88 Chevrolet. Hendrick has its own rising prospect in dirt racing standout Corey Day, who finds himself fifth in the O’Reilly Series standings with two wins in what’s proven to be a year of significant growth. With major stars in each of its four seats, the company may need to look elsewhere to secure Day a spot on the Cup Series grid when his time comes.

But for the next 12 months, there’s little to discuss. Bowman has another year to complete and Zilisch will remain at Trackhouse for one final season.

(Source(s): Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic, Nick DeGroot / Motorsport, Adam Stern / Sports Business Journal)

A quick additional read:

• RACER’s Kelly Crandall asks the obvious question: Was this ever going to end any other way?

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Keep an eye out for a big update in the home break-in case after Greg Biffle’s passing last December. (David Hodges / WBTC)

IndyCar

• Could Yuki Tsunoda end up on the IndyCar grid next year with Meyer Shank Racing? (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Longtime IndyCar journo David Malsher-Lopez took to X on Monday to confirm the end of RACER Magazine and his time with RACER generally.(David Malsher-Lopez / X)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• F1’s made a big push for improved overtaking statistics this year. RACER’s Edd Straw argues that it’s oversimplified.

• With the benefit of retrospect, Guenther Steiner admits he stayed at Haas F1 Team for too long. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• The Ford Hypercar has broken cover in a test at Paul Ricard. (Stephen Lickorish / Sportscar365)

• Finn Wiebelhaus will replace Nate Cicero in McCumbee McAleer Racing’s Ford Mustang GT4 for the rest of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, which is interesting. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• Even more fascinating is this statement from Ford Racing, which implies that a bad action led to Cicero’s untimely exit:

“Ford Racing holds every member of our program to a high standard of conduct, on and off the track,” a statement from the manufacturer read.

“Effective immediately, Nate Cicero is no longer part of the Driver Development program.”

Regional/Niche Series

Rally

• Champion rally driver Alex Fiorio has died at age 61 after a battle with cancer. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

• DirtFish’s David Evans remembered Fiorio in a piece shared after his passing.

• Check this out: Rally Superman Equivalent-Ad-9907 (on Reddit) made this website to track live and upcoming rally streams. (StartingGrid.net)

Supercars

• Whoo boy. Supercars has lost its appeal of the non-penalty to Kai Allen in Perth. Keep an eye out - this could drive some tension a future discussions between Supercars and Motorsport Australia. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)

Formula E

• A couple early silly season stories with Formula E’s 2025-26 season complete:

  • Maximilian Guenther is moving on from DS Penske. He’s expected to shift over to Envision Racing. (Dominik Wilde / RACER)

  • Norman Nato has departed from Nissan for the second time. It looks like the move could spell an end to his time with the series.

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• After Brenham Crouch injured his arm in a crash at the Knoxville Nationals, Dominic Scelzi will fill in for CJB Motorsports through High Limit Racing’s West Coast swing. (Jeremy Elliott / Sprint Car Unlimited)

Short Tracks

• D.J. Copp’s been all over the American racing world, even owning a Truck Series team for a while. After that ended, his time in the sport seemed done. But Copp got the itch and it let him to Pro Late Model racing. (Chase Folsom / Short Track Scene)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• Super DIRTcar Series (Land of Legends Raceway): 5:45 p.m., DirtVision

• Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• FloRacing Night in America (Marshalltown Speedway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing

Sim Racing

• eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (Daytona International Speedway): 8 p.m., iRacing on YouTube/Twitch

Numbers of the Day: 6

That’s all the top-10s Alex Bowman and Connor Zilisch have amassed across 44-combined Cup starts this season. It’s been a difficult year for both drivers, with Bowman struggling after missing races with vertigo and Zilisch hit with an atypically-difficult rookie year.

Both drivers will hope to make a step back in the right direction before their paths cross next fall.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 17, 2026

Good morning and happy Monday. I hope you had a restful Sunday with most racing series taking the day off.

It took time for IndyCar to get on-track in Markham. But once the field finally got to the green flag, it delivered a memorably chaotic street race. Meanwhile, Formula E was left to unpack a dramatic final weekend dominated by team games.

This’ll be a quick one. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

IndyCar: A bit of chaos was just what Marcus Ericsson needed.

The Andretti Global ace charged through the field and passed Romain Grosjean in the final laps to score his fifth IndyCar win and end a 63-race winless drought in Markham. (Curt Cavin / IndyCar.com)

Some of the other stories from a dramatic day in Canada:

• It was a bittersweet podium for Grosjean, who lost the lead with five laps remaining and settled for second.(Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Louis Foster had a promising weekend, starting on pole and leading early. But he ended up slamming into the circuit’s wall.

• If you hoped that Alex Palou’s rare poor qualifying effort meant his title rivals would gain ground, I’ve got some bad news for you. (Chris DeHarde / Frontstretch)

• Will Power was happy with the track and his day after a fierce rally from last to third. (David Malsher-Lopez / RACER)

• Mick Schumacher showed early pace, but ended out crashing out of the race after running as high as eighth. (Heiko Stirtzke / Motorsport)

• Even Scott Dixon got caught up in the chaos.

Sports Cars

DTM: Marco Wittman rolled off sixth Sunday and seemed poised to chase a podium at best. But when his rivals started making mistakes, Wittman struck for his third DTM victory. (Sönke Brederlow / Motorsport)

Formula E: Pascal Wehrlein is a two-time Formula E champion.

In a race that proved just as dramatic as the preceding Saturday showdown, Wehrlein found himself dropping through the field after similar defensive teammate games from Antonio Felix da Costa and others. But even with. 14th-place finish, Wehrlein was able to hold on to the five-point edge he entered the day with and claim his second title in the all-electric series.

Taylor Barnard snuck into the lead and held on up front to become Formula E’s youngest winner. Jaguar secured the teams title.

A few notes from the London finale:

• A sour Da Costa defended Jaguar and claimed Wehrlein took out fellow title contender Jake Dennis on purpose. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

• There was no love lost between Wehrlein and Dennis. (Dominik Wilde / RACER)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• The surging Joey Logano is chasing his fourth NASCAR Cup Series title. His teams’s slogan is “4 the Haters” after all the upset about his last championship in 2024. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Kimi Antonelli is 19 years old and already poised to secure his first F1 title. How does Mercedes keep its wunderkind grounded? (Luke Smith / The Athletic)

Regional/Niche Series

Supercars

• Anton De Pasquale snuck over to the United States during Supercars’ break to take part in a GM academy program in North Carolina. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

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On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• Super DIRTcar Series (Brewerton Speedway): 5:45 p.m., DirtVision

Number of the Day: 133

That’s Alex Palou’s points advantage with just four races left in the IndyCar season. You can go ahead and crown him - IndyCar itself will probably do so early with a title clinch in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, there’s just six points separating second through fourth, with Kyle Kirkwood sitting four points clear of David Malukas and six points ahead of Christian Lundgaard.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 16, 2026

On a night where it seemed the Cup Series would compete head-to-head with the Knoxville Nationals, rain in Iowa shifted the Nationals back and made for a unique Double involving - who else - Kyle Larson. Oh, and Alex Palou showed that he’s actually human. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Get ready for even more chatter about even-year Joey Logano, because the three-time champ is heating up.

Logano kept a hard-charging Chase Briscoe at bay over the final laps to continue his meteoric rise in the standings with a Richmond Raceway win. Logano’s risen from 20th to ninth in six races. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

Truck Series: Kaden Honeycutt came to TRICON Garage to win races and chase a title. He lived up to those hopes on Saturday, leading 225 of 250 laps for a dominant victory at Richmond. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

Other notes from a busy day in Richmond:

• Briscoe had to settle for a runner-up run on another strong night. The Hoosier’s been creeping up the standings in recent weeks. (Zack Albert / NASCAR.com)

• Austin Cindric had a much-needed strong day to bolster his Chase odds. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• Shane van Gisbergen wasn’t positioned to do the same, but caught the right cautions in a strategic race to salvage 14th and keep his Chase hopes intact.(Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)

• A solid afternoon for Tyler Ankrum saw him rise above the Truck Series cutline in Richmond. (Lee Spencer / Catchfence)

• There was a bit of drama in the Truck race, as former champs Ty Majeski and Corey Heim raced each other hard during the event. (Zach Catanzareti / Kickin’ the Tires)

• Tristan McKee notched a solid top-10 in his Truck Series debut. (Zach Evans / Racing America )

• Here’s what drivers had to say:

• Elliott Sadler and brother Hermie enjoyed one final NASCAR weekend together at Richmond.

IndyCar

IndyCar:

• Louis Foster’s back out front. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing prospect will lead the field to green on Sunday after ending qualifying well clear of Christian Lundgaard. (Curt Cavin / IndyCar.com)

• The biggest surprise of Saturday came from Alex Palou, who crashed out of qualifying and will start outside the top-10 for the first time since 2024. (Eric Smith / IndyCar.com)

• Will Power’s in for a tough day after a hard crash in practice. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

DTM: Matteo Cairoli delivered his third win of the year in an attrition-filled showdown at the Nürburgring, with just 12 cars running at race’s end. (Sönke Brederlow / Motorsport)

Formula E: In a race overshadowed by messy team tactics, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein dominated to take the championship lead into Sunday’s title decider. (Ed Hardy / Motorsport)

Here’s a basic rundown of the tactics at play, from qualifying slowdowns to defensive driving in the race.(Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Vintage/Historic Racing

IROC: On a day when most eyes were focused elsewhere, former Cup stars Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson may have delivered the finish of the weekend. Busch narrowly inched ahead of Johnson at the line to claim a photo finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. (Zach Evans / Racing America)

Dirt

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: He actually did it.

Kyle Larson entered Saturday night knowing he’d need some help from Mother Nature to take advantage of his pole qualifying effort at Knoxville Raceway. And unlike in his Indy 500 efforts, the Californian caught the right break.

From there, the race was on.

After rain delayed the start of the iconic event, Larson made it to Iowa from Richmond Raceway and delivered a dominant drive for another Knoxville Nationals win. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series: Dan Ebert has earned the first Super Late Model victory of his career on one of the discipline’s biggest stages. The ex-Snowmobile racer became Batesville Motor Speedway’s 18th different Topless 100 winner, taking the checkered flag 4.984 seconds clear of Dale McDowell.(LucasDirt.com)

News and Notes

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Formula 1 will be back in action next week. Here’s a little video recap of the season to date.(Formula 1 / YouTube)

• Gabriel Bortoleto is one of F1’s newest stars, but he expects to spend man years with Audi. (Jake Boxall-Legge & Erick Gabriel / Motorsport)

Moto

• It’s an era of parity for MotoGP, where just four active riders have yet to win a race in their careers. (Rubén Carballo Rosa / Motorsport)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

IndyCar

In Markham

• IndyCar Warmup: 8:30 a.m., FS2/FOX One

• IndyCar Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham: Noon, FOX/FOX One

Sports Cars

At Road America

• USAC Road Racing: 9:20 a.m., FloRacing

Formula E

• London E-Prix Race 2: 10 a.m., The Roku Channel

Off-Road

• AMSOIL Championship Off-Rad: 10:30 a.m., FloRacing

Dirt

• Super DIRTcar Series (Weedsport Speedway): 4:45 p.m., DirtVision

• USAC National Midgets (Jacksonville Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

• Go-Kart Night (Slinger Speedway): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing

Number of the Day: 264

Joey Logano’s on a heater. The three-time Cup Series champion has earned 264 (40.06%) of his 659 total points in the season to date over the past five races, rising from 18th to ninth in the points and all-but locking himself up for a playoff berth. He’s averaged 52.8 points per race during the stretch, well clear of the 20.79 he was managing beforehand.

For comparison, dominant regular season champ Denny Hamlin’s averaged 40.38 points per race through the year to date. Logano could be a real title contender in the Chase if he can keep up this pace.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 14, 2026

Good morning and happy Saturday! It’s going to be a late one between NASCAR and the Knoxville Nationals. If you struggle to stay up like me these days, make sure you have your caffeine supply of choice on tap.

As a native Hoosier, I’ll always have a soft spot for the Indiana-based NTT IndyCar Series, which is why it pains me to report whenever the tour has messed up. But the series and its promoter dropped the ball in a major way yesterday and we need to talk about it.

Let’s talk racing… Or a lack thereof.

Today’s Top Stories

1) Delayed track build costs IndyCar a day on track in Markham (IndyCar)

There’s been concern throughout the ongoing NTT IndyCar Series that an upcoming street race could see complications from a condensed planning and construction schedule.

But here’s the thing - that race isn’t taking place until next week. This week’s debutant had more time and was initially anticipated to have a smooth weekend hosting America’s top open wheel tour.

Yet there the IndyCar field found itself on Friday evening, forced to look for blame and apologize to fans after a completely botched day saw all track activity ultimately called off in the Ontario city of Markham.

The IndyCar field was initially set to take to the street course - a replacement for Canada’s traditional Toronto street race at Exhibition Place, shifted 30km northeast and a month later in a move partially due to timing surrounding the World Cup - at 3 p.m. ET on Friday. But as teams and fans arrived at the circuit, it was clear that promoter Green Savoree Promotions hadn’t finished assembling the track.

Multiple elements were incomplete, from safety fencing and the installation of timing and scoring cables to race bridges. IndyCar initially tried to postpone practice until later in the day, but ultimately had to call off the afternoon entirely as it became clear that construction wouldn’t be complete by day’s end.

“IndyCar is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said on Friday. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”

This weekend’s race is poised to launch a new era for IndyCar in Canada, shifting to a 12-turn, 2.19-mile circuit in Markham’s downtown district. The move was announced in September 2025. Markham’s first race weekend will now begin at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, with plans for two IndyCar practice sessions and qualifying, assuming the track is ready.

FOX Sports also used Friday to announce the broadcast team for next weekend’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., adding Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick to the fold for a 90-minute pre-race show.

Here’s to hoping - for IndyCar’s sake, potential political chatter notwithstanding - that its race weekend gets off to a smoother start.

(Source(s): Joey Barnes / Motorsport (x2))

2) FIA lifts sanctions on drivers from Russia, Belarus (Multiple)

More than four years after banning individuals from Russia and Belarus from contesting international motorsport competitions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the FIA has officially lifted the restrictions on their ability to compete for their home countries. Drivers will still need to follow “any applicable transnational, national and local laws.”

The ban itself has been more symbolic than threatening in recent years. Competitors were never outright banned. They were forced to sign a commitment to neutrality and compete under a neutral ‘FIA flag’ or represent another country instead of being recognized as Russian or Belarussian competitors. Last year’s Indianapolis 500 pole sitter, Robert Shwartzman, has raced under the Israeli flag. Daniil Kvyat and Nikita Bedrin have competed with Italian racing licenses.

That requirement is now moot after a call to lift the sanctions became binding at an Aug. 3 meeting of the World Motor Sport Council. This follows a similar provisional lifting of Russia’s suspension by the International Olympic Committee in July.

The FIA released the following statement on its decision:

“Russian and Belarusian drivers, national teams, individual competitors and officials are allowed to participate in international/zone competitions without any restrictions. The requirement of signing a commitment to neutrality no longer applies.”

While the country’s drivers are free to represent their home flag, Russia and Belarus will continue to be banned from holding FIA-sanctioned events on their territories with the conflict ongoing.

Given the ties, one point of interest moving forward will be the decision-making of motorcycle racing’s governing body, the FIM. The group has held firm on more significant sanctioning through the years, fully banning Russian and Belarussian competitors from contesting international motorcycle racing events.

(Source(s): Jack Cozens / The Race)

3) Cadillac makes sudden change in team principal before F1’s post-summer return (F1)

Formula 1’s newest team is moving on to a new team principal as the end of the sport’s summer break draws near.

Cadillac announced Wednesday that Marcin Budkowski has replaced former leader Graeme Lowdon, effectively immediately. He’ll be the organization’s public-facing figure when F1 returns next weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix.

“We’re grateful to Graeme Lowdon for his leadership and the role he played in forming the Cadillac Formula 1 team from the ground up,” team CEO Dan Towriss said in a statement. “His contributions helped establish a strong foundation in our build-up phase, and we thank him for his commitment and wish him well.”

Towriss later confirmed to various media that he’d made the decision himself and informed Lowdon that morning. The now-exited team principal had previously led Manor prior to its F1 exodus.

The shift is more surprising by its abruptness than anything else. Lowdon’s leadership and experience proved key through Cadillac’s building stages, but he was never expected to be a long-term choice once the program was fully launched. Budkowski’s arrival is similarly understandable, coming after stops in various roles from F1 itself to Alpine, Ferrari and McLaren.

When the decision came, it happened quickly. But it’s ultimately just the speeding up of an expected transition.

(Source(s): Valentin Khorounzhiy / The Race)

An additional read: Motorsport’s Ronald Vording took a look at the “why” behind Cadillac’s timing, looking toward the future - with an apparent emphasis on AI.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Ryan Blaney’s done it again. Days after he delivered a pole run in qualifying at Iowa Speedway, the 2023 champ delivered another quick time to secure the top spot for a rare Saturday night race at Richmond Raceway. (Holly Cain / NASCAR.com)

Truck Series: Shane van Gisbergen had a disappointing 31st-place Cup qualifying effort. But before that - and before the Truck Series race was ultimately washed out to Saturday - the Kiwi notched his first Truck pole at the same track. (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)

Before the planned race, a pair of cameos gave us one final bit of nostalgic, brotherly banter between Elliott and Hermie Sadler:

Dirt

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars:

• With a funky new pink livery, Sheldon Haudenschild was positioned to open Knoxville National week in style. And boy did he. Haudenschild rolled from third to first on the final lap and beat James McFadden for an electric prelim night win. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

• Thursday saw Kyle Larson roll from eighth to first to claim pole for a Knoxville Nationals star he’ll be unlikely to make - without a weather-based assist at Richmond Raceway, at least. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

• Hard Knox night was a washout, meaning racing will kick off at noon ET today. (WorldofOutlaws.com)

Short Tracks

Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin: Days before his Craftsman Truck Series debut, Tristan McKee outdueled veteran Bubba Pollard to score a big midweek victory at Berlin Raceway. (Brandon White / NASCAR.com)

It was a tough debut for YouTuber Cleetus McFarland, who qualified 22nd out of 27 cars and ultimately crashed out of the race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Noah Gragson has signed a one-year deal to return to Front Row Motorsports next year, with an option to extend beyond that. (Gabriel Goodman / Frontstretch)

• It’s expected news, but that doesn’t make it sting any less: Rockingham Speedway is off of NASCAR’s schedule for 2027. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• Tip of the cap to M&Ms, which will pay proper respect to the late Kyle Busch with a one-off livery return including key moments from his career with Ty Gibbs in the Bristol Night Race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Christopher Bell has pulled out of today’s Truck Series race after last night’s postponement. Leland Honeyman Jr. will take his place. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Gibbs has a noteworthy request for future Cup seasons: removing the digital mirror. (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• After making triumphant return to points racing, North Wilkesboro Speedway will again host the All-Star Race in 2027. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• The teams of Christopher Bell and Cody Ware were penalized for pre-race inspection failures on Friday. (NASCAR.com)

• Daniel Dye has secured a four-race slate in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Jordan Anderson Racing. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• NASCAR is launching a new documentary series called Start/Finish that will honor its legends. First up? Mark Martin. (Catchfence)

• Richmond Raceway will kick off the Chase in 2027. (Catchfence)

• Could NASCAR’s top flight come to Europe in the future? (Tyler Lauletta / Motorsport)

• Outspoken veteran Denny Hamlin was this week’s guest for the “12 Questions” series. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

IndyCar

• IndyCar has rolled out the first eight races of its 2027 calendar.(Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• No surprises here. They are:

  • St. Petersburg (Mar. 7)

  • Phoenix Raceway (Mar. 13)

  • Arlington (Mar. 21)

  • Barber Motorsports Park (April 4)

  • Long Beach (April 18)

  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (May 15)

  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500): May 30

  • Detroit (June 6)

• Road America has also unveiled its plans for a June 24-27 weekend. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Formula 1 has expanded its commercial partnership with Disney through 2028 and will feature Pixar’s CARS franchise on various F1 merch. (Fleur Mealing / The Race)

• Max Verstappen’s bringing a special helmet for what could be his final Dutch Grand Prix. (Max Verstappen / Instagram)

Sports Cars

• A post-race disqualification for a non-compliant wheel bearing has cost Mirko Bortolotti and the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 the car’s first win in DTM. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)

• Speaking of the DTM, its 2027 calendar has been revealed and include some clashes with other tours. (Sven Haidinger / Motorsport)

• Some recent entry lists:

  • A 45-car field will contest the Michelin Le Mans Cup’s return to Spa-Francorchamps. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)

  • IMSA is bringing 23 cars to its Michelin GT Challenge sprint race at VIRginia International Raceway. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)

  • The provisional Suzuka 1000km list has 28 cars set to compete. (Jamie Klein / Sportscar365)

• Julien Andlauer is joining DKR Engineering for an LMP2 run at Spa-Francorchamps. (Stephen Lickorish / Sportscar365)

Regional/Niche Series

Moto

• An F1-esque budget cap could be coming to MotoGP in the future. (Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)

• Jorge Martin still loves competing in MotoGP, but he’s smartly cut out a longstanding obsession with winning races. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Drag Racing

• Here’s a look at the fall of Darryl Cuttell’s would-be racing empire, the IHRA. (Steven Cole Smith / Hagerty)

Formula E

• Happy trails to Sebastien Buemi, a Formula E OG that’s retiring from the tour after a decade of competition. (Sam Smith / The Race)

• …A move that’ll allow him to focus on Toyota’s World Endurance Championship program.

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• Nearly a decade removed from his NASCAR career, Kasey Kahne remains as passionate and competitive as ever at the Knoxville Nationals. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

• Chase Briscoe had two dreams in the dirt racing haven of Indiana, driving in NASCAR and owning a a full-time sprint car team. With last week’s news, he’s finally accomplished them both. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

Short Tracks

• It’s go time for Cleetus McFarland’s Late Model Series at Berlin Raceway. Here’s what you need to know.

• The CARS Tour is planning to double the winner’s purse in the upcoming trip to Anderson Motor Speedway. (Daniel Vining / Short Track Scene)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Richmond Raceway

• Truck Series Black’s Tire 250: Noon, FS2/FOX One

• Cup Series Cook Out 400: 7 p.m., USA

IndyCar

In Markham, Ontario

• IndyCar Practice: 10 a.m., FS2

• IndyCar Practice: 2:30 p.m., FS1

• IndyCar Qualifying: Starting at 6:30 p.m., live at 7 on FS2.

Sports Cars

At Snetterton, airing on the GT World YouTube channel

• British GT Qualifying: 10:25 a.m.

• Ginetta GT Championship Race 1: 11:40 a.m.

• Ginetta Junior Championship Race 1: 12:15 p.m.

—Sunday morning—

• British GT Warmup: 4:45 a.m.

• Ginetta Junior Championship Race 2: 5:15 a.m.

• Ginetta GT Championship Race 2: 5:50 a.m.

At Road America

• USAC Road Racing: 9:20 a.m., FloRacing

Formula E

• London E-Prix Race 1: 10 a.m., The Roku Channel

Off-Road

• AMSOIL Championship Off-Rad (Bark River, MI): 10:30 a.m., FlORacing

Dirt

Major Races

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Hard Knox Races (Knoxville Raceway): 11 a.m., DirtVision

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Knoxville Nationals Feature Night (Knoxville Raceway): 5:30 p.m., DirtVision

• USAC National Midgets (Coles County Speedway): 6:45 p.m., FloRacing

• Lucas Oil Topless 100 (Batesville Motor Speedway): 8:15 p.m., FloRacing

Other Offerings

• KKM Challenge Series (Greenwood Valley Speedway): 4:45 p.m., FloRacing

• Championship Night (Fonda Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Cedar Lake Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• Weekly Racing (Sharon Speedway): 6:30 p.m., DirtVision

• Captain of the Creek (141 Speedway): 7 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

Major Races

• Cleetus McFarland Late Model Series: 1:30 p.m., FRDM+

NASCAR Weekly Racing, airing on FloRacing

• Jennerstown Speedway: 6:20 p.m.

• Bowman Gray Stadium: 7:45 p.m.

Other Offerings

• NASCAR Youth Series (Richmond Raceway KY): 8 a.m., FloRacing

• Mr. Supermodified (Oswego Speedway): 5:15 p.m., FloRacing

• RoC Modifieds (Lancaster National Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Great Lakes Pro Am Series (Lake Erie Speedway): 8 p.m., FloRacing

• Summer Showdown (Evergreen Speedway): 9:30 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 3

Ryan Blaney has 16-career Cup Series poles. Three of them have come in the past five races. Blaney took the top spot at EchoPark Speedway, did so again at Iowa Speedway last week and follow it up with another pole Friday in Richmond. In one of the two other races during this stretch (North Wilkesboro Speedway), Blaney also led the field to green after qualifying was washed out.

Not a bad stretch for the No. 12 team.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 12, 2026

Good morning and happy Wednesday. We’re hours away from kicking off the Knoxville Nationals proper in Iowa and seeing Cleetus McFarland give Late Model racing a go at Berlin. But first, we’ve got a land speed record and new streaming deal for Formula E to discuss. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) Formula E locks in Disney+ streaming deal for 2026-27 season (Formula E)

Disney may not be getting Formula 1 back anytime soon, but the Mouse is still going to have an FIA-sanctioned open wheel series on its roster next season.

Formula E announced Tuesday that it will be streamed live on Disney+ and ESPN channels once its Gen4 era kicks off later this year.

Disney+ will be the global streaming home of the all-electric tour across 144 territories, including the UK and US, with races also shown on ESPN+. All track sessions will be shown live.

The move is a significant shift in presence for Formula E, which has seen some countries not broadcast every race live and others confuse fans with a mix of offerings. United States fans have been presented races on CBS Sports and The Roku Channel.

“There are a small group of organizations you can talk to about doing this, and what you want is global scale, you want somebody that’s going to treat your product in a way that is conducive with what we think it is and what it’s going to become in the future, something super premium and super exciting,” Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told The Race’s Sam Smith.

“I think from their (Disney+) side, they understand the power of sports and how important sport is becoming for appointment-to-view television. Sports is one of the only categories and genres that continues to grow year on year on year, and they’ve seen the power of that.”

“They understand the tailwinds we’ve got around technology, around innovation, around sustainability, so they’re very interested in being part of a growing sport.”

Formula E has lived in its own section of the motorsports world since its arrival in 2014. The tour’s unique all-electric cars provide a different technical playground for manufacturers, while the races themselves have supplied unique quirks and gimmicks over the years. The limited battery capacities saw drivers hop from one car to another mid-race in the tour’s early seasons. It’s brought things like the power-boosting Attack Mode and energy top-up PitBoost pitstops to the races in recent years.

With a shift to Disney+, the series should find stability and potential to establish a foothold that will return investment to its stakeholders. Disney will gain a racing series to add to its sporting portfolio, filling a niche as it and other streamers fight for live sports rights and the dedicated fanbases that come with them.

(Source(s): Sam Smith / The Race)

2) JCB Hydromax sets new speed record for hydrogen-powered vehicles (Other)

JCB’s Hydromax streamliner has set a new world record speed for hydrogen-powered vehicles at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

With Wing Commander Andy Green OBE behind the wheel, the unique car completed two runs of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph to give an average of 406.320 mph. The FIA has recognized it as a Category A, Group XIV - Class 7 FIA World Flying Record Start Land Speed Record.

The record itself isn’t a major surprise. The preceding speed record for a hydrogen combustion vehicle was 185.5 mph from BMW’s H2R in 2004. But the car also beat out the record 303 mph for any hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and even outshined JCB’s two-decade-old land diesel speed record (350.092 mph).

“Twenty years ago we came to Bonneville with JCB Dieselmax and showed what British engineering could do with diesel power,” JCB chairman Lord Bamford said. “Today we have done it again – this time with engines powered by hydrogen. This record was set by production-based engines, the same engines powering JCB diggers right now.

“That is the point of JCB Hydromax: it shows hydrogen works, and it works today at the highest level with zero emissions.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem acknowledged the accomplishment in a release, saying it showed ““how innovation, performance, speed, and sustainability can go hand in hand” as motorsport continues to be “a catalyst for technological progress pushing the boundaries of what is possible.”

It’s the latest in a string of speed records for JCB, which also owns records for the fastest backhoe loader (72.58 mph) and tractor (135.191 mph).

(Source(s): Dominik Wilde / RACER)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Corey Heim will finally be a Cup rookie next year… Sort of.

• Steve Park is coming back to a Cup race as the honorary pace car driver at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Catchfence)

• It’s catching people by surprise - and maybe not a welcome one for his detractors - but Ty Gibbs is a bonafide title contender this season. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• Darlington Raceway has revealed its dates for 2027, including the expected shift of the Southern 500 to the regular season to keep its Labor Day weekend slot. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• NASCAR’s Euro Series has found a solid niche for the sport overseas. But long before its tenure, Britain made an attempt at its own stock car series. I kid you not, it was called ASCAR:

IndyCar

• The Federal Aviation Administration plans to close the airspace above the busy Reagan National Airport for three hours on the day of IndyCar’s Washington D.C. street race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• FOX Sports is debuting a new Owl Cam at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. (Adam Stern / X)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Apparently Franco Colapinto was victim of a robbery during F1’s summer break. (Oliver Harden / Planet F1)

• Racing Bulls is showing pace and chasing its best F1 constructors’ title finish ever. And it’s not policing its drivers racing each other along the way. (Chris Medland / RACER)

Sports Cars

• A small update to the exit of Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class leader Nate Cicero’s shock leave from the series: McCumbee McAleer Racing put out a statement saying “we are disappointed to announce that our relationship with Nate Cicero has come to an end. Effective immediately, Nate is no longer associated with MMR in any capacity. We will have no further comment on the topic.” It feels like there’s more to this story, but perhaps we’ll never know. (RJ O’Connell / RACER)

• Some additional details have been confirmed for the recently-announced 24H Nürburgring Series, including race lengths and a Polo Cup class. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)

• Ford is planning to bring its Mustang GT3 to the Suzuka 1000km for the first time next month. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)

Regional/Niche Series

Moto

• MotoGP will hold its 2027 season launch event in Brazil. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

• The series could also follow F1’s lead and move the Qatar Grand Prix to another country as Middle Eastern uncertainties continue. (Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)

Supercars

• Brad Jones Racing has locked in Bryce Fullwood, Brad Vaughan and Jordan Boys as its co-drivers, effectively finalizing the final Endurance Cup lineup for the year. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)

• It turns out an undersized part has played a role in Will Brown’s recent lack of speed. (Phil Branagan / Motorsport)

Formula E

• This weekend’s London decider has nine drivers in the title fight heading into the weekend. It’ll likely come down to the final laps. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Sim Racing

• The FIA MENA Esports Championship will come back to Gran Turismo 7 both this year and in 2027. (Thomas Harrison-Lord / Traxion)

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• If you take this Redditor seriously, it sounds like New Jersey’s New Egypt Speedway is closed down for good. (Reddit / NASCAR)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Knoxville Nationals Night 1 (Knoxville Raceway): 6 p.m., DirtVision

• Super DIRTcar Series (Sharon Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

Short Tracks

• Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin (Berlin Raceway): 5 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 110

Alex Palou’s dominance can’t be contained. The Spaniard has six wins in 13 races at a time when no one else has more than two and sits 110 points clear of second-place Kyle Kirkwood in the standings. That’s even better than the 99-point cushion he held on Pato O’Ward through the same amount of races in 2025.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 11, 2026

Good morning and happy Tuesday. One thing you may not know about me is that outside of racing, I’m a (typically disappointed) Tottenham Hotspur soccer fan. I rarely discuss this because soccer and racing have little crossover. But there’s relevance today, because one of the world’s top racing tours is reportedly considering mirroring soccer’s transfer window. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) MotoGP considering a rider transfer window for future silly seasons (MotoGP)

MotoGP is in the midst of a particularly interesting silly season in 2026. But at the same time that’s been rolling through, series stakeholders have considered a change to the system for signing riders in the future.

Motorsport’s Oriol Puigdemont reported Monday that MotoGP’s stakeholders are considering the introduction of a specific time window when teams would be allowed to sign riders. The report comes three days after a convening of the IRTA Management Council - a group including representatives from the teams’ association, IRTA, the teams themselves and even MotoGP sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta this time around - at Silverstone.

Over the course of a lengthy meeting, one of the topics that came up was the establishment of a rider transfer window, when teams could complete rider signings. This would match a similar concept in multiple mainstream sports, but particularly soccer.

The change is being considered to avoid a repeat of what’s played out in 2026. During the first half of this year, a surprisingly early period of rider moves that kicked off with Fabio Quartararo’s move in January has overshadowed much of the on-track action. Nearly the entire grid was sorted out by MotoGP’s summer break, when moves were traditionally finalized in the past.

Opinions are reportedly mixed on the concept. Some consider the idea “viable and positive,” while others are reluctant about a shift they feel would be difficult to pull off. The process would be complicated, particularly when it comes to the promotion of riders racing in lower categories like Moto2.

(Source(s): Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)

Race Recaps

Dirt

Front Row Challenge: Kyle Larson is unlikely to be able to contest the Knoxville Nationals, but his Iowa race week’s off to a solid start on a dirt. One night after claiming the Capitani Classic, Larson rolled from 11th to his third straight Front Row Challenge win at Southern Iowa Speedway.(Ottumwa Courier)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Richard Childress Racing will feature the late Kyle Busch’s signature bow on the hood of its No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend. (RCRracing / X)

• Josh Berry’s future is shrouded in uncertainty, but he helped his cause with a strong day at Iowa Speedway. (Chris Knight / Catchfence)

• A couple future Truck Series additions:

  • John Hunter Nemechek is joining TRICON Garage for the upcoming trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Cameron Bebeau / Frontstretch)

  • Shane Van Gisbergen will join Spire Motorsports this weekend at Richmond Raceway.(Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

IndyCar

• Dennis Hauger had a solid run Sunday in Portland. It’s been a reprieve amid a difficult summer stretch for the rookie. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• There’s still work to be done, but F1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali says the series is progressing in its plans foe a return to Africa. (Chris Medland / RACER)

• F1 cars have a lot of sensors:

• Here’s a quick update on Cadillac’s F1 factory construction. (Ben Vinel & Stuart Codling / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• Robert Wickens will always have the challenge of accommodating his condition with hand controls and an electronic braking system, but the Canadian is still targeting GT3 outings in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)\

• With Maximilian Paul out injured, Grasser Racing Team is surprisingly bringing former DTM winner Christian Engelhart with it to the Nürburgring. (Sven Haidinger / Motorsport)

• Craft-Bamboo Racing is bringing two cars to next month’s Suzuka 1000km. (Jamie Klein / Sportscar365)

• Darren Leung hopes to make a Le Mans 24 Hours start with Paradine Competition in the future. (Stephen Lickorish / Sportscar365)

Regional/Niche Series

Rally

• Elfyn Evans and Jon Armstrong had their first taste of a potential Rally Scotland for next year. This piece takes a look at their takeaways. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)

Drag Racing

• With the IHRA World Finals looking unlikely at this stage. Bill Bader Jr. and Summit Motorsports Park are offering a $150,000 guaranteed purse for a weekend on October. 22-24. (Drag Illustrated)

Formula E

• Jake Dennis is leading the Formula E point standings heading into the tour’s championship weekend. He still feels like an underdog. (Sam Smith / The Race)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

Dirt

• Winged Sprint Car Shootout (Marshalltown Speedway): 7:45 p.m., FloRacing

• KKM Challenge Series (Hamlin Speedway): TBD, FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 2

Austin Dillon rolls into Richmond Raceway’s annual Cup race weekend having won back-to-back races at the unique Virginia short track. Unfortunately for Dillon, this time around a win’s the only thing to chase. The former playoff regular has struggled in the Next Gen era and finds himself 27th in points entering this week, well out of Chase contention with the win-and-in format. But a victory for the 36-year-old would surely be relished by Richard Childress Racing amid an emotional, difficult season for the team.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 11, 2026

Good morning and happy Monday. We saw a familiar storyline play out Sunday in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NTT IndyCar Series, with championship implications in each. Oh, and an early celebration cost someone a victory in Moto2. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Christopher Bell spent the most recent Cup Series race before Sunday’s trip to Iowa Speedway stuck just behind a slower Toyota teammate in dirty air. Two weeks later, the same story played out.

The difference this time was the implication to the overall season. Instead of part-timer Corey Heim, it was Ty Gibbs that kept Bell at bay in lapped traffic after a two-tire stop to notch his second Cup win. (Reid Spencer / NASCAR.com)

In doing so, Gibbs rose to second in the series points, positioning himself as one of the year’s top title contenders as the Chase draws near. He took a moment afterward to honor former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch.

Other stories from the Hawkeye State:

• Tyler Reddick dropped in the standings again after an early wreck with Erik Jones that he took fault for. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• It was the same old song and dance for Bell at race’s end. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• The overall chaos of Sunday’s race saw a significant shakeup in the Cup Series standings just a handful of weeks before the Chase. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• Brake issues had Toyota scrambling coming into Sunday’s race. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

• The Athletic’s takeaways included Reddick’s slump, Jones falling out of real Chase contention and a poor day for Shane Van Gisbergen’s Chase prospects while his teammates ran well. (Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

• Here’s what drivers had to say leaving Sunday’s race:

IndyCar

IndyCar: Here we go again. Alex Palou delivered another dominant drive from second to score his sixth win of the year and all-but clinch yet another IndyCar title at Portland International Raceway.(Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com)

Indy NXT: We’ll keep this recap simple, because Alessandro de Tullio did the same on track. The AJ Foyt Racing prospect led all 35 laps from pole to take a comfortable second win of 2026. (Paul Kelly / IndyNXT.com)

Final takeaways from Portland:

• Felix Rosenqvist and Will Power claimed podium finishes in Portland, but they were frustrated by the impact back markers had on the fight for the win. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Rinus Veekay’s strong underdog year continue with a fourth-place run for Juncos Hollinger Racing. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)

• Marcus Armstrong’s year of poor luck continued with his third engine failure in four races. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• Here’s a run through what various drivers had to say after the race:

Moto

MotoGP: The past 11 British Grands Prix had seen 11 different winners heading into Sunday’s race. So naturally, Raul Fernandez made it an honest dozen.

Fernandez dominated Sunday’s race to give Trackhouse another victory over Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. (MotoGP.com)

A couple quick reads from Silverstone’s MotoGP showdown:

• It was an atypically poor weekend for Ducati’s factory squad. (Megan White / The Race)

• Holeshot devices have been banned in MotoGP, so why did both Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura have ride-height device issues? (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Moto2: Oh no. Manuel Gonzalez was poised to take another championship lead-extending citron in Sunday’s Silverstone feature when he let off and began celebrating early.

By the time he realized his mistake, the Intact GP rider was back to 14th. That opened the door for Filip Salač to secure his maiden Moto2 win over Ivan Ortola and Alex Escrig. (MotoGP.com)

Moto3: With points leaders Maximo Quiles sidelined on Sunday, David Almansa rolled to a hard-fought victory over Alvaro Carpe, while Carpe himself took advantage of Quiles’ absence to surge into the title fight. (MotoGP.com)

Dirt

Capitani Classic: Kyle Larson had a tough day with the Cup Series at Iowa Speedway. But the Californian made it down the road to Knoxville Raceway and scored a victory in the Capitani Classic to round out the day. (TJSlideways.com)

Short Tracks

CARS Tour:

• In a pair of crash-filled races that pushed well into Sunday morning due to rain, Matt Gould pulled off a Late Model Stock upset after besting Trenton Lapcevich on a late restart… (Buddy Pulley / Short Track Scene)

• …While T.J. DeCaire survived an attrition-filled Pro Late Model race to earn a big victory at Hickory Motor Speedway. (Buddy Pulley / Short Track Scene)

News and Notes

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• It’s been an awful year for ex-F1 Academy competitor Maya Weug, who opened up about her struggles to secure a racing seat on social media. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Regional/Niche Series

Supercars

• Supercars is tweaking its fuel capacity regulations for the Enduro Cup and Finals Series races. (Andrew van Leeuwen / Speedcafe)

Grassroots Racing

Short Tracks

• You might have missed this sick (unintentional) drift from Saturday’s racing at Stafford Motor Speedway:

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

Other Moto

• American Flat Track (Jackpine Gypsies): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing

Dirt

• Front Row Challenge (Southern Iowa Speedway): 8 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

• Wild Thing Kart Series (Stafford Motor Speedway): 6:15 p.m., FloRacing

Numbers of the Day: 7 & 8

The chronically online have already heard of “6-7,” now let me present to you: 7-8.

Sunday’s runner-up result was Christopher Bell’s seventh of the year, continuing an unfortunate streak that has the Oklahoman sitting sixth in the championship standings despite being tied for second in top-fives (10).

And yet Bell isn’t the worst off of underwhelming expected title contenders entering the year. Defending champion Kyle Larson ended Sunday in 33rd to notch his fourth finish outside the top-10 in the past five races and eighth overall on the year.

The Californian is back to 10th in the standings amid a winless year himself and unlikely to be a true title contender this fall. Ouch.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 9, 2026

Good morning and happy Sunday. It’s race day for the Cup Series, IndyCar and MotoGP - at least if you’re up early enough to catch it. I remember a time when I was writing about Formula E in its infancy and would occasionally get comments pondering whether Elon Musk (then tied primarily to the electric car brand Tesla) would make his way into the motorsports world.

Well, Musk finally has a tie to racing, but it’s not a positive one. It’s a lot to make sense of, but I say we give it a try. Let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Story

1) SpaceXAI suing Darana Hybrid, owned by IHRA owner Darryl Cuttell.

The recent switch of priorities and decision to effectively shutter all racing tied to the IHRA and its owner, Darryl Cuttell, is beginning to make sense - and it somehow involves Elon Musk.

The Ohio-based Darana Hybrid, a known electro-mechanical contractor for Musk companies and namely what is now SpaceXAi, fielded two mechanic’s liens against CTC Property on July 30 and 31 totaling roughly $136.9 million for work performed between 2024 and June of this year. The liens are legal claims against a piece of property, effectively keeping the client from selling, refinancing or abandoning a building until the bill is resolved.

That was only part of the alleged picture. Cuttell, who owns Darana Hybrid, said the $137 million alleged in the liens was a portion of what his company was owed, claiming it was all he could document well enough to attach to the property. Cuttell later indicated that SpaceXAI still owns Darana Hybrid roughly 40 percent of its total bill, which stretches beyond $1.5 billion. That’s led to estimates of $570 million allegedly owed from the Musk-led company to Cuttell.

He claims that payments stalled out after the former xAI and SpaceX combined into SpaceXAi earlier in 2026 - the latest in a string of consolidation efforts from Musk-led companies. That’s led to nearly $200 million is money owed by Darana Hybrid to its own vendors and subcontractors.

A pair of other companies - USW-Menard Inc. and TorcSill Foundations - have also field liens totaling $2.2 million tied to work with the company. The work is all tied to data center infrastucture - primarily SpaceXAI’s massive Colossus I and Colossus II centers in Memphis. It isn’t the first time Musk has been accused of ripping off his vendors.

SpaceXAI fired back with a lawsuit earlier this week, accusing Darana Hybrid and Cuttell of fraud, breach of contract and overbilling. It claims Darana charged labor rates far above contractual limits and diverted company funds to projects unrelated to the data center construction.

What projects, you might ask?

Enter the IHRA.

The lawsuit alleges that Cuttell used proceeds from the contracts to support his drag racing ventures, including work tied to Darana Motorsports Park and the IHRA. It states that “Cuttell owns an international racing association, and he saw in the Memphis project a way to fund his racing ambitions at CTC’s expense.”

Cuttell acquired the IHRA in Dec. 2024, moved its headquarters to Ohio and went on an acquisition spree. The company acquired multiple tracks, including recent NASCAR returnee Rockingham Speedway and former NHRA schedule regular Maple Grove Raceway. At the same time it launched a short track racing series and tried to bring IHRA Australia into the fold.

The moves were quick and tricky to keep up with. Over the past couple months, the same company’s descent has proven even quicker and messier. Essentially every racing series tied to Cuttell has paused its 2026 season. Racers, sponsors and more have alleged a lack of payment from the IHRA.

Every series, track and team tied to Cuttell’s various racing endeavors has found itself cast into uncertainty. NASCAR’s popular O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series standalone weekend at Rockingham isn’t expected to continue next year. It’s believed some of the properties could be resold, which always comes with the risk of them going to someone with non-racing ambitions. Competitors in various niche series are uncertain if they’ll get the opportunity to compete again in 2027 and beyond.

And given that this is tied to one of the world’s biggest (and most litigious) companies, that uncertainty may stretch on for quite some time.

(Source(s): Courtney Anderson / Yahoo Finance (x2)AZ, Audrey Ash, Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken & Kyung Lah / CNN)

Race Recaps

NASCAR

Cup Series: Ryan Blaney was Iowa Speedway’s first Cup winner - and if Saturday was any indication, he may also be its first multi-time victory. Blaney laid down a top time of 23.474s to deny Kyle Larson and claim his third pole of 2026. (Reid Spencer / NASCAR.com)

He accomplished the feat wearing a special Kyle Busch helmet:

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: It took Carson Kvapil some time to notch his first O’Reilly Series win.

The second, though? It came much quicker.

Two weeks after his Brickyard breakthrough, Kvapil rolled through a pair of overtimes into back-to-back wins, leading home Rajah Caruth and William Sawalich in the effort. (NASCAR.com)

Ryan Sieg started the race on pole for the first time in his lengthy career and was in contention late, but contact from Brent Crews sent him into the all in an overtime restart.

ARCA Menards Series West: A chaotic final lap played out just right for Mason Massey at Portland International Raceway. (Brandon White / ARCARacing.com)

Massey entered the last lap fourth. But Sam Corry and Ethan Tovo took themselves out of contention by muscling themselves out of the lead and Kyle Steckly messed up in the final corners. That allowed Massey to slip through down the final straight for a surprising victory over Steckly and Hailie Deegan.

IndyCar

IndyCar: The Indy 500 champ’s back at the pointy end of the field. Felix Rosenqvist laid down a top time of 58.4828s in the closing moments of the Firestone Fast Six to deny points leader Alex Palou and claim his eighth-career pole. (Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com)

Moto

MotoGP: Have yourself a day, Jorge Martin.

The championship leader was the star of the show in Silverstone, setting a lap record in qualifying an leading home a 1-2-3 for Aprilia in the Sprint. (MotoGP.com)

Other Open Wheel

• It was a weird finish overnight at Sugo, with Igor Fraga losing out to Nirei Fukuzumi due to a safety care. )Jamie Klein / Motorsport)

Dirt

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: There was no drama up front in Saturday’s Ironman 500. Logan Schuchart dominated to pick up his second win in the signature event. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series: A trip to his home track netted the biggest win of Josh Rice’s career on Saturday night. Rice got the best of Jonathan Davenport in a late battle to secure his first win in the North/South 100 at Florence Speedway. (James Essex / LucasDirt.com)

Short Tracks

USAC Silver Crown Series: C.J. Leary’s got the big pavement tracks figured out. Two months removed from a victory at WWT Raceway, Leary supplied another one Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, rising from fifth to first in the opening 47 laps and surviving a late challenge from Mario Clouser to score the victory. (USACRacing.com)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Haas Factory Team is expanding its O’Reilly Auto Parts Series operation, bringing on Dean Thompson to pilot a car in 2027. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• The company’s president, Joe Custer, took questions as part of the announcement. That naturally included inquiries about its single-car Cup team and its long-term future. Despite the challenges, Custer says it has no plans to sell and is seeking a closer technical relationship with GM.(Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Both Ryan Preece and Todd Gilliland saw their car chiefs ejected after inspection failures in Iowa. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

• Frontstretch asked various drivers about NASCAR’s stage caution changes. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• Williams is in a difficult spot. Team Principal James Vowles has admitted that the program is sacrificing short-term improvements for major long-term infrastructure upgrades to stay within F1’s cost cap. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• Welcome back to team ownership, Chase Briscoe. The Joe Gibbs Racing star has acquired High Limit Racing regular Brent Marks Racing. Marks himself will continue to pilot the Winged Sprint Car. (Kyle McFadden / FloRacing)

• Barring delays or other schedule shifts, Kyle Larson won’t be able to contest next weekend’s Knoxville Raceway. He’s going to try to lock into the feature anyways. (Matt Weaver / Motorsport)

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Iowa Speedway

• Cup Series Iowa Corn 350: 3:30 p.m., USA

IndyCar

At Portland International Raceway, also airing on FOX One

• IndyCar Warmup: 1 p.m., FS1

• Indy NXT Race: 2 p.m., FS1

• IndyCar OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland: 4 p.m., FOX

Moto

At Silverstone Circuit, airing on MotoGP VideoPass

• MotoGP British Grand Prix: 8 a.m., also airing on FS1

• Moto3 Feature: 9:30 a.m.

• Baggers Race 2: 11 a.m.

Dirt

• Weekly Racing (Knoxville Raceway): 7:30 p.m., DirtVision

Short Tracks

• ISMA/MSS Supermodifieds (Oswego Speedway): 10:30 a.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Thunder Road Speedbowl): 4 p.m., FloRacing

• Mid-Am Racing (Slinger Speedway): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing

Number of the Day: 3

With Saturday’s top qualifying effort complete, Ryan Blaney has as many poles this year (3) as in any full season of his NASCAR Cup Series career, tying 2018 and 2022 for his personal best effort. With a full 13 races remaining, there’s a strong chance the 2023 champ will reach a new personal high in 2026.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

Aug. 8, 2026

Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope your day’s off to a better start than me - with low sleep and an unexpected power outage since 4 a.m. C’est la vie.

There wasn’t a relatively quiet day on the news front yesterday, albeit with some significant notes includes an exiting point leader in IMSA. But we do have a few races to discuss. Let’s talk racing.

Race Recaps

NASCAR

ARCA Menards Series: It was a big night for Tristan McKee at Iowa Speedway - both in the short-term and big picture.

The 16-year-old, who just celebrated his birthday on Monday, claimed a dominant victory in Friday’s JR&CO 150. With rival Max Reaves coming home fourth, McKee took a two-point advantage in the ARCA Menards Series East title race with just Bristol Motor Speedway left on the series schedule. (Brandon White / ARCARacing.com)

Carson Brown, who’ll make his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut today, came home second. ARCA national points leader Jake Bollman came followed in third to bolster his own championship advantage.

IndyCar

• You’ll never guess who topped the charts in opening practice at Portland. Okay, yeah. It was Alex Palou. (Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com)

Moto

MotoGP:

• It was a busy return from summer break on Friday, as Alex Marquez topped the charts in opening practice… (Megan White / The Race)

• …While Marco Bezzecchi led the way in the second session. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)

Dirt

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: Chris Windom is finally a World of Outlaws winner.

The 35-year-old was already accomplished as a USAC Triple Crown champion. But he added a new price to his resume on Friday, dominating the 40-lap feature at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park for his first win with the so-called Greatest Show on Dirt. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series: It was a night for last-lap passes at Florence Speedway. Both Brandon Overton and Josh Rice used overtakes at the last gasp to secure victories in Friday’s Twin 25s. (James Essex / LucasDirt.com)

Short Tracks

CARS Tour: Corey Heim (Late Model Stock) and Mason Walters (Pro Late Model) were quickest in Friday’s practice at Hickory Motor Speedway. (Daniel Vining / Short Track Scene)

SMART Modified Tour: A trip back to Pulaski County Motorsports Park was just what Jake Crum needed.

In the tour’s first race at the facility in three years, Crum passed pole sitter Burt Myers early and chased him back down after a mid-race stop for tires to score a victory over Ryan Newman and Cayden Lapcevich. (Scotte Sprinkle / Short Track Scene )

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• TNT Sports’ NASCAR tenure is done for the year, but the brand plans to keep the successful elements of its slate going in 2027. (Adam Stern / Sports Business Journal)

• This may be nothing, but a fan on Reddit claims to be having a weird time renewing tickets at Kansas Speedway and is concerned it could be dropping to one race next year. That seems unlikely - it would go against reporting from The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, who’s usually spot on about schedule news - but it’s something to keep an eye on, if nothing else.

• Keep an eye out for something from Haas Factory Team this morning:

IndyCar

• Both Caio Collett and David Malukas will face six-place grid penalties tomorrow due to unapproved engine changes. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• Arrow McLaren has found itself searching for speed early on at Portland International Raceway. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• F1’s weight savings games are ongoing, with the FIA eager to take another 80kg out of the car in the next regulations. (Ronald Vording / Motorsport)

• Summer break is supposed to be a time of rest. But when you’re as competitive and relentlessly efficient as F1, even a break is something to be optimized. (Chris Medland / RACER)

• Could Sergio Perez quietly be positioning himself for a move to Williams next year? (Alex Harrington / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• Sad news: Ford Racing Driver Development Team member and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS points leader Nate Cicero is leaving racing “to focus on personal matters and would appreciate privacy at this time.” (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• Porsche Penske Motorsports’s No. 6 team was issued a post-race penalty for Kévin Estre’s run-in with the No. 31 Cadillac of Jack Aitken at Road America. Estre has been placed on probation for the remainder of the year. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)

• PONOS Racing is bringing an all-pro lineup to the 50th Suzuka 1000km on September. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)

Moto

• After initially being blocked by rival manufacturers, KTM has finally been given the green light to open the sealed engines on its RC16 bikes and make improvements prior to the Aragon Grand Prix.(Germán Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)

• It’s been nearly three months since Johann Zarco’s vicious May crash in Barcelona. As the LCR rider works to recover, Zarco has reportedly already been on a production bike at Circuit Andorra - Pas de las Casa.(Germán Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)

Grassroots Racing

Dirt

• Rocket Chassis is heading back in the right direction:

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Nathan K. Thomas, Spencer Pullins, Tyler Sorenson, Kate Ertmann, Seth Whitesel, Becky Partin, Buzz Baylis, Hannah Landvater, Jeff Brown, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Nathan A. Ulery and Sue Parzych.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Iowa Speedway

• O’Reilly Series Practice: 11:30 a.m., ESPN Unlimited/The CW App

• O’Reilly Series Qualifying: 12:35 p.m., The CW/ESPN Unlimited/The CW App

• Cup Series Practice: 2:05 p.m., truTV

• Cup Series Qualifying: 3:10 p.m., truTV

• O’Reilly Series HyVee Perks 250: 5 p.m., The CW/ESPN Unlimited

At Portland International Raceway

• ARCA West Portland 112: 9 p.m., FloRacing

IndyCar

At Portland International Raceway

• Indy NXT Practice: Noon, FS1

• IndyCar Practice: 1 p.m., FS1/FOX One

• Indy NXT Qualifying: 3 p.m., FS1/FOX One

• IndyCar Qualifying: 7 p.m., FS1/FOX One

Moto

At Silverstone Circuit, airing on MotoGP Videopass

• MotoGP Practice: 6:10 a.m.

• MotoGP Qualifying: 6:50 a.m.

• MotoGP Qualifying 2: 7:15 a.m.

• Baggers Qualifying Practice: 8:10 a.m.

• Moto3 Qualifying: 8:45 a.m.

Motocross

• AMA Loretta Lynn National MX Championship (Loretta Lynn’s Ranch): 8 a.m., FloRacing

Other Moto

• American Flat Track (Jackpine Gypsies): 7 p.m., FloRacing

Drag Racing

• PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown (Bristol Dragway): 8:45 a.m., FloRacing

Dirt

Major Races

• Lucas Oil North/South 100 (Florence Speedway): 3:15 p.m., FloRacing

• NAPA All Star Sprints (Stateline Speedway) 6 p.m., FloRacing

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars/Xtreme Outlaw Midgets (I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park): 7 p.m., DirtVision

• 360 Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville Raceway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

Other Options

• ISMA/MSS Supermodifieds (Oswego Speedway): 5 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Fonda Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Port Royal Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Land of Legends Raceway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision

• IMCA Weekly Racing (141 Speedway): 6:55 p.m., FloRacing

• MARS Late Models (Macon Speedway): 7 p.m., FloRacing

Non-Racing

• National Dirt LM Hall of Fame Ceremony: Noon, FloRacing

Short Tracks

Major Races

• USAC Silver Crown (Iowa Speedway): 10:10 a.m., FloRacing

• CARS Tour (Hickory Motor Speedway): 4:30 p.m., FloRacing

NASCAR Weekly Racing, airing on FloRacing

• Riverhead Raceway: 5:30 p.m.

• Jennerstown Speedway: 6 p.m.

• Berlin Raceway: 6 p.m.

• Langley Speedway: 7 p.m.

• Bowman Gray Stadium: 7:45 p.m.

Other Options

• NEMA Midgets/Lites (Wiscasset Speedway): 5 p.m., Racing America

• Oxford Championship Series (Oxford Plains Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America

• RoC Modified Race (Holland Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Pro late Models (Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America

• Sportsman Showdown (Owosso Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America

• Vore’s Compact Tour (Angola Motorsport Speedway): 6:30 p.m., Racing America

• National Crown (Anderson Speedway): 7:30 p.m., Racing America

Number of the Day: 1

That’s how many wins the top five drivers in the ARCA Menards Series point standings have secured in what’s proving to be a strange title fight for the series.

The lone victory came for Thomas Annunziata, but he finds himself sitting second in the standings thanks to Jake Bollman’s supreme consistency. Bollman has nine top-fives and has finished on the lead lap in 13 of the year’s 14 races, minimizing opportunities for others to gain ground despite failing to reach victory lane thus far.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.

April 7, 2026

Good morning and happy Friday. Welcome back to another race weekend. Whether you love or hate stage racing in NASCAR, you should be relatively happy with the change the sanctioning body made Thursday.

We’ve got some races to watch this afternoon. But first, let’s talk racing.

Today’s Top Stories

1) NASCAR changes rules to allow for early stage breaks with ill-timed cautions (NASCAR)

Stage breaks aren’t going away in NASCAR anytime soon, but common sense has prevailed in the event of cautions near the end of the stage.

NASCAR announced Thursday that stages will now end if there’s a caution inside of the 10 laps remaining, opening the door for the sanctioning body to avoid halting the momentum of races in the event of ill-timed yellow flags just prior to stage ends. The change will begin this weekend at Iowa Speedway.

The field will be frozen and points will be paid out as soon as the order can be confirmed using scoring loops and video replay. Pit road will be opened as soon as possible, with hopes of getting the race back underway.

In making this change, NASCAR’s brass hope to avoid the lengthy caution periods that have extended race times in recent years. This was a talking point leaving the Brickyard 400, where teams spent the better part of a half-hour riding under yellow as a late caution led to a one-lap shootout in Stage 1. The sanctioning body had confirmed through its “Hauler Talk” podcast that competition officials were reviewing ways to mitigate the length of caution periods around stage ends.

“What happened at Indy, where we have seen far too often, a caution comes out before the stage break and we run a number of caution laps and we try and get back green, and the stage break comes and we’re back to caution, long period of caution laps and not enough green flag racing,” NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell said in a social media statement. “We heard you. We want to make a change.”

It’s worth noting that this rule could be adapted moving forward. A flat 10 laps in simple and will work for the remainder of the 2026 schedule, with only ovals left on the calendar. But it may need a revisit for 2027, when the series returns to lengthy road courses.

There could also be potential unintended consequences should teams stay out and catch a timely yellow, benefitting from unusual (or even unplanned) strategic plays.

But this is poised to be well-received overall - a common sense solution that will improve the overall flow of races throughout the year.

(Source(s): NASCAR.com)

2) F1 financials hits hard in Q2 as Middle East issues shift the calendar (F1)

Formula 1’s finances have taken a noteworthy hit as a result of the current issues in the Middle East.

The series released financial details Thursday that indicated a 38% drop in revenue compared to the prior year in the second quarter of 2026. The revenue fell from $1.22 billion in 2025 to $764 million the year.

Operating income took an even bigger hit, falling from $293 million to $73 million - a 61% drop. Overall, the adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation) fell from $361 million to $139 million. Teams took a hit as a result, receiving $316 million compared to $513 million one year ago.

These results are unfortunate, but they’re also heavily skewed thanks to the loss of races in the quarter. Impacted by both pre-planned calendar shifts and changes tied to the current conflicts in the Middle East, F1 had just five races during this time period compared to nine in 2025. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were unable to host the series, Imola dropped off the calendar (though it could come back as part of the Middle East-led adjustments) and the Japanese Grand Prix shifted to Q1 in March.

Reporting such diminished financials is unfortunate, but it’s also not cause for major concern given the extenuating circumstances. With Malaysia sneaking onto the calendar in Bahrain’s place and others possibly joining at the end of the season, F1 could get back into the 22-or-23-race range by year’s end. That would mitigate the impact of these initial race losses.

F1 could also see more revenue in the future - not from an expanded Grand Prix calendar on Sunday, but from the addition of additional sprints as soon as next year.

But for now, the financials aren’t looking as stellar as they have in recent years. Consider this one of the most tangible signs of the impact from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

(Source(s): Jon Noble / The Race)

News and Notes

America’s Top Tours

NASCAR

• Tip of the cap to USA Sports for trying something different. Trevor Bayne will be a pace car analyst at the beginning of the race and during restarts. (Kristian Hernández / Sports Video)

• William Sawalich is set to return to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2027 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season. (Toby Christie / TobyChristie.com)

• Multiple tracks have confirmed their 2027 dates this week, with the highlights being a July 4 weekend for Iowa Speedway and a move into the Chase for New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)

• The Chase is one month away. Who’s in a good spot? What drivers are running out of time? (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)

IndyCar

• Marcus Ericsson will be back with Andretti Autosport in 2027.(Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• Phoenix Raceway’s date releases for 2027 include an IndyCar return in March, once again in combination with NASCAR. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

• IndyCar’s silly season has already seen big moves this year. More is on the way, but it’s in a holding pattern with big names closing in on deals. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)

Worldwide Racing Series

Formula 1

• What’s that? North Carolina is considering trying to score a Formula 1 race? (Erik Spanberg / Biz Journals)

• Drivers have complained about wanting to see tire pressures brought down in F1. But because of the teams, a rule change proposal isn’t coming. (Jon Noble / The Race)

• Most of the F1 field has been relaxing or conditioning during the summer break. Valtteri Bottas went an qualified to race in something entirely different - bicycle racing’s UCI Gravel World Championship.(Lydia Mee / Motorsport)

Sports Cars

• There are reports of multiple DTM engineers quitting at Ford’s HRT, What’s going on with the Nürburgring-based organization?

• GT World Challenge is coming back to Bathurst next year. It hopes to turn that into a long-term tenure at the iconic circuit. (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)

• JDC-Miller Motorsports hopes to bring Kaylen Frederick into its midst for next year’s IMSA season. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

• Paul Miller Racing is openly considering what to do next year, with a GTD Pro return possible but not guaranteed. (Stephen Kilbey / Daily Sportscar)

• DragonSpeed is coming back to SRO America later this year with 18-year-old prospect William Hedman - son of one of the team’s longtime drivers, Henrik. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)

Regional/Niche Series

Supercars

• Kai Allen dodged a penalty last weekend when tire pressure monitoring sensors saw two of his tires below the 16 psi minimum pressure while on the grid. Supercars has lodged an appeal against the steward decision not to penalize Allen for the infraction. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)

Grassroots Racing

Short Tracks

• Conner Jones will pay homage to the late Greg Biffle (and his spotter, Joel Edmunds) with the CARS Tout this weekend:

The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.

Want to see your name here? Support Motorsports Beat on Substack.

On Track Today

All Times ET

NASCAR

At Iowa Speedway

• ARCA Menards Series JR&CO 150: 7 p.m., FS1/FOX One

IndyCar

At Portland International Raceway

• Indy NXT Practice: 4:30 p.m., FS2/FOX One

• IndyCar Practice: 5:30 p.m. FS1/FOX One

Moto

At Silverstone Circuit, airing on MotoGP Videopass

• Moto2 Practice: 5:50 a.m.

• MotoGP Practice: 6:45 a.m.

• Baggers Practice: 8:40 a.m.

• Moto3 Practice: 9:15 a.m.

• Moto2 Practice: 10:05 a.m.

• MotoGP Practice: 11 a.m.

• Baggers Practice: 1:05 p.m.

—Saturday Morning—

• Moto3 Practice: 4:40 a.m.

• Moto2 Practice: 5:25 a.m.

Motocross

• AMA Loretta Lynn National MX Championship (Loretta Lynn’s Ranch): 8 a.m., FloRacing

Other Moto

• FIM Speedway (GP-Riga Latvia): 12 p.m., RACER+

Drag Racing

• PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown (Bristol Dragway): 8:30 a.m., FloRacing

Sim Racing

• Radical Esports Cup (Lime Rock Park): 5 p.m., iRacing on YouTube/Twitch

Dirt

Major Races

• NAPA All Star Sprints (Stateline Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing

• Lucas Oil North/South 100 (Florence Speedway): 6:45 p.m., FloRacing

• World of Outlaws Sprint Cars & Xtreme Outlaws Midgets (I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park): 7 p.m., DirtVision

• 360 Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville Raceway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision

Other Offerings

• Weekly Racing (Utica-Rome Speedway): 6:15 p.m., FloRacing

• Weekly Racing (Williams Grove Speedway): 7 p.m., DirtVision

• MARS Late Models (Sycamore Speedway): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing

Short Tracks

Major Races

• NAPA SK 5K (Stafford Motor Speedway): 5:15 p.m., FloRacing

• SMART Modified Tour (Pulaski County Motorsports Park): 5:50 p.m., FloRacing

Other Offerings

• Wall of Fame Night (Riverhead Raceway): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing

• IMCA Season Championship (Marshalltown Speedway): 7:45 p.m., FloRacing

• Demo Derby Night (Five Flags Speedway): 9 p.m., Racing America

• Big 8 Series (Madison International Speedway): TBD, Racing America

Number of the Day: 1

Last year’s trip to Iowa Speedway saw William Byron earn his second win of the year and rise into the points lead. In the year since, Byron has secured only one other win and struggled through a disappointing 2026 season.

Once poised to be among the top drivers to benefit from the return of the Chase format, Byron now finds himself 12th in points and totally removed from championship discussions. One has to wonder when the No. 24 team will turn things around.

Looking to catch up on your own? Take a look through the resources I use to help complete this newsletter.