Author Archives: PressBox

August 23, 2026

Megan Abubo mixes surf, travel on France World Tour stop

World Tour stop in southern France gave Megan Abubo a mix of surfing and travel, as she spent long beach days in the Hossegor and Seignosse area, ate at local restaurants, shopped at markets and tested sandbars between sessions. She stayed with fellow competitors Amee Donohoe and Sam Cornish and said the trip included affordable wine, local food, long daylight hours and late mornings that took some adjusting.

Abubo finished 17th in the event and said she was disappointed with the result. After the contest, she joined other early losers for a night out, then spent the rest of the week sightseeing, relaxing, surfing and training before heading to Brazil. She described the trip as a mix of work and vacation.

Before leaving France, Abubo cut her hand while surfing and went to the hospital with Jessi Miley-Dyer. Abubo said Miley-Dyer drove her there and had trouble handling the manual transmission on the way.
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August 23, 2026

Ryan Blaney Rebounds to Capture Second Straight NH Win

Ryan Blaney won the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, holding off Bubba Wallace by about 0.586 seconds to claim his third victory of the 2026 season and the 20th Cup Series win of his career. Blaney also picked up his second straight New Hampshire victory, and he did it after recovering from a slow mid-race pit stop and a lug nut problem that dropped him back in the field. He regained the lead on a two-tire final pit call and led a race-high 115 of the 301 laps.

The race unfolded on a damp track after rain delayed the start, with teams beginning on wet-weather tires before the surface dried and later changing back to slicks. The event produced nine caution flags and 15 lead changes among seven drivers. Tyler Reddick started from the pole and led the opening lap before spinning, Kyle Larson won Stage 1, Blaney took Stage 2, and Josh Berry finished third behind Wallace, with Christopher Bell fourth and Larson fifth. The day also featured a Lap 84 collision between Carson Hocevar and Connor Zilisch, which sent Hocevar spinning and left him a lap down.

The result also shaped the regular-season standings and playoff picture. Denny Hamlin finished seventh, clinched the regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed for The Chase, while Blaney moved into second in the standings, 77 points behind Hamlin. Wallace remained 75 points above the cut line, while Ross Chastain and Zilisch were eliminated from postseason contention after their early problems. The Cup Series heads to Daytona for the final regular-season race before the Chase begins.
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August 23, 2026

Zandvoort Closes Its F1 Chapter With Street and Grandstand Party

Zandvoort bid farewell to Formula One and the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday with a Final Lap party, ending the seaside circuit’s modern run after organizers decided not to pursue a new contract. Local organizers said they could not take on the financial risk without government support. The event was the sixth and final Dutch Grand Prix of the modern era, and celebrations continued in the grandstands and in the streets late into the evening.

The circuit opened in 1948 and joined the Formula 1 world championship in 1952. After a 36-year absence, Formula One returned in 2021 and turned Zandvoort into one of the sport’s most popular weekends, drawing tens of thousands of orange-clad Max Verstappen fans known as the Orange Army. Former sporting director Jan Lammers said the comeback had once seemed like “a crazy idea,” and said the return brought more success and fan support than organizers had expected.

Drivers marked the farewell by praising Zandvoort’s old-school layout, fast corners and limited runoff. Verstappen said the track would be missed and called it “one of the most rewarding and special circuits to drive.” Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll also said they would miss the circuit. Verstappen won the first three Dutch Grands Prix after Formula One returned to Zandvoort, while McLaren drivers Norris and Piastri won in 2024 and 2025.
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August 23, 2026

McLaren’s Norris turns pole into Dutch GP win

Max Verstappen’s final home Dutch Grand Prix ended on the opening lap at Zandvoort after a damp final corner caught out the Red Bull driver and sent him into the barriers. Verstappen said a wheel went over the inside white line before he lost control. The crash brought out an immediate red flag. Gabriel Bortoleto also spun at the same corner but continued as the race moved to a restart.

Lando Norris converted pole into victory for McLaren, taking his second straight F1 win and his second of the season. He briefly lost the lead to Kimi Antonelli at the restart, then regained control in the second half of the race. Norris made the decisive move around the outside of Turn 1 on lap 54 and finished more than 11 seconds clear.

Antonelli finished second and George Russell was third after a late Virtual Safety Car led to a team-order swap. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, Charles Leclerc fifth and Oscar Piastri sixth after a slow pit stop and a loss of grip. Liam Lawson was seventh for Red Bull, and Norris said McLaren still needs to improve its slow-speed performance as he remained 83 points behind championship leader Antonelli.
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August 23, 2026

Hamilton Says Ferrari Lost a Podium Chance in Zandvoort

Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari’s biggest problem at the Dutch Grand Prix was getting its tyres up to temperature, as he and Charles Leclerc both needed two warm-up laps in qualifying and still struggled for grip at Zandvoort. Hamilton qualified fifth, ahead of Leclerc in sixth, but said the SF-26 was still not ready for Turn 1 after an out-lap and a preparation lap. He called the tyre warm-up issue “nuts,” said Ferrari needed more preparation than McLaren and Mercedes, and added that the timing could have been costly if rain had arrived before the end of the session. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur did not agree with Hamilton’s view of the main qualifying issue, and said the team’s fifth and sixth places were below expectations.

Hamilton said Ferrari made progress with setup changes after a difficult Sprint, when he finished seventh and described the car as feeling like “a completely different car.” He said the changes left him happier with the balance in qualifying, but the tyre performance still prevented him from extracting the most from the car. Leclerc’s weekend also reflected Ferrari’s uneven form, as he was stronger in the Sprint, finishing second after starting on Soft tires, then dropped to sixth in qualifying after Ferrari changed power strategies and engine modes on his car. Ferrari finished Saturday with a third-row lockout, while Hamilton said the team would review the data and believed the race pace and tyre management could still be stronger on Sunday.

That race pace and strategy became an issue on Sunday, when Ferrari delayed team orders as Hamilton grew frustrated on the radio and asked whether he was being used as a guinea pig. He said he thought he had better pace and fresher tyres than Leclerc and believed Ferrari had wasted time by not swapping the cars sooner. Ferrari eventually double-stacked under a virtual safety car, but Hamilton could not pass George Russell late in the race and finished fourth, just ahead of Leclerc. Afterward, Hamilton disagreed with Ferrari’s view that he had simply been unlucky, saying the team had lost time earlier and that cost it a possible podium. Ferrari had saved a fresh set of Soft tyres for the 72-lap race and believed they could help, but Hamilton’s comments underlined how tyre warm-up, qualifying pace and race strategy all combined to leave the team short of its target in Zandvoort.
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August 23, 2026

Day follows Tulare victory with another High Limit win at Placerville

Corey Day closed out Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing’s final event of 2026 with a second straight feature win at Placerville Speedway, capping his final sprint car weekend of the season in Jason Meyers Racing’s No. 14 car. Day started on the pole, briefly lost the lead to Tanner Holmes on Lap 12, then retook it one lap later before a Lap 31 red flag and pulled away to win by 1.413 seconds.

The victory came one night after Day also won at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, giving him back-to-back High Limit wins in California. It was Day’s second career win at Placerville, his 16th career High Limit victory and his sixth feature win in 13 High Limit starts this season. Day said he will now focus on his NASCAR ride with Hendrick Motorsports for the rest of the season.

Landon Brooks finished second for the second straight night after starting eighth, giving him his second podium in two nights. Shane Golobic placed third, Tanner Holmes was fourth and Giovanni Scelzi finished fifth.
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August 23, 2026

Honda HRC Progressive sweeps both classes at Budds Creek

Hunter Lawrence reclaimed the 450SMX points lead at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, after heavy morning rain left the penultimate round of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship wet and muddy. Lawrence won the class with a 1-1 moto sweep, giving him his sixth race victory of the season and seventh career win. He moved ahead of his brother and teammate Jett Lawrence by one point and set up a winner-take-all finale. Guilllem Prado finished second in the class, Haiden Deegan was third and Jett Lawrence took fourth.

Chance Hymas completed a Honda sweep by winning the 250SMX class for Honda HRC Progressive. Hymas became the summer’s seventh different winner in the division and earned his third career victory. Davies finished second and rookie Gordon was third. Davies also moved back into the 250SMX championship lead by 14 points over Kitchen with two motos left.

The track dried enough later in the day to allow competitive racing after the morning rain, and Honda HRC Progressive swept both class victories at the penultimate Pro Motocross Championship round.
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August 22, 2026

Bowman Gray to host first points NASCAR race since 1971

NASCAR will bring the Craftsman Truck Series to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time in 2027, with the race set for Friday, Aug. 20 at the quarter-mile track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. NASCAR announced the move Saturday night during Bowman Gray’s season-ending meet, where Rajah Caruth drove a No. 7 Chevrolet truck onto the track. The event will be the first points-paying NASCAR national series race at Bowman Gray in 56 years, with the track’s last such race dating to 1971.

NASCAR said the 2027 Truck Series event will be part of Bowman Gray’s traditional finale weekend, but the format and procedures will be announced later. Officials also said Bowman Gray cannot accommodate the full 36-truck field in its feature race. The track, known as the “Madhouse,” has hosted the Cup Series Clash exhibition over the past two years.

The Clash will move back to Daytona International Speedway next season, where it is scheduled for Feb. 13. NASCAR said the Bowman Gray Truck Series race is expected to produce another intense short-track event, and past Bowman Gray points-race winners include Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison.
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August 22, 2026

Missouri Thunder top Texas, then rout Nashville in Austin

Missouri Thunder continued their surge at Gambler Days in Austin by edging the Texas Rattlers 268.35-267.65 in a rematch of the 2025 semifinals, then beating the top-ranked Nashville Stampede 353.45-263.7 at Moody Center on Saturday night. Maverick Smith scored 89.05 points on his ride against Texas, and Missouri rode four of five bulls against Nashville, with Paulo Eduardo Rossetto posting an 89.45-point ride and Julio Cesar Marques, Felipe Furlan and Smith also making rides. The win over Nashville was Missouri’s fifth straight.

Nashville remained two games ahead in the 2026 PBR Teams standings and became the first club to reach 10 wins after shutting out the Kansas City Outlaws 88.75-0. Daniel Feitosa helped seal that victory with an 8-second ride on Short Fire. The Austin Gamblers also opened their homestand with a 177.55-87.5 win over the Florida Freedom, led by Sage Steele Kimzey’s 91.25 points on Smooth Whiskey and Jose Vitor Leme’s 86.3 on Pop My Collar; Bruno Carvalho had Florida’s lone ride at 87.5.

Other Saturday results included the Arizona Ridge Riders’ 3-1 ride advantage in a win over the Oklahoma Wildcatters for their third straight victory, the Carolina Cowboys’ third straight win, an 88.7-88 decision over the New York Mavericks behind Adriano Salgado’s third-frame ride, the New York Mavericks’ win over the Oklahoma Wildcatters that snapped a six-game losing streak, and the Florida Freedom’s victory over the Arizona Ridge Riders to end a five-game skid. Competition was scheduled to resume Sunday at 1:45 p.m. CT.
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