PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

April 20, 2026

Davenport Leads All 60 Laps, Beats Ricky Thornton Jr.

Jonathan Davenport won The Gauntlet dirt late model feature at Davenport Speedway in Bulls Gap, leading all 60 laps of the 60-lap race. It was Davenport’s seventh win of the season, and promoter Vic Hill had posted a $100,000 bonus that boosted Davenport’s total take for four nights to more than $137,500.

Ricky Thornton Jr. finished second, Mike Marlar third, Cody Overton fourth and Chris Madden fifth. Organizers scheduled a Saturday finale that paid $30,000.

Chris Madden won the Friday-night 50-lap Gauntlet preliminary at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap. Starting from the pole, Madden took the lead on lap 30 after Davenport suffered mechanical issues and fended off a late challenge from Zack Mitchell to earn $20,000. Some reports said Davenport’s Saturday victory “capped a sweep” of the weekend’s high-paying programs, and those accounts conflict with preliminary results showing Madden’s Friday $20,000 win.
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April 20, 2026

Incheon Seeks KRW1.04t to Fund Songdo F1 Bid

Incheon has advanced a bid to return to the Formula 1 calendar, proposing a 4.96-kilometer street circuit routed through Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok is leading the push and has proposed a five-year hosting stint. Early plans call for the circuit to use existing roads in Yeonsu-gu, a new pit building and temporary grandstands for up to 120,000 spectators, and to take advantage of proximity to Incheon International Airport and Subway Line 1. City officials began promoting the idea in April 2024 and have targeted 2028 for a race, including a request to stage a double race that year.

A feasibility study led by the Korea Industrial Development Institute in partnership with German circuit designer Tilke, which began in June 2025, confirmed the site’s potential. The study estimated tourism revenue of roughly 580 billion to 590 billion won and projected creation of about 4,800 to 5,000 jobs. Officials put the project cost at about KRW1.04 trillion, with an estimated funding split of KRW237.1 billion from government and city coffers and KRW802.5 billion from private investors. Mayor Yoo said the Grand Prix could “transform Incheon from a transit hub into a global destination.”

Organizers still need backing from local and national governments, a promoter to win a tender and formal approval from Formula 1. They must satisfy technical, financial and political requirements and plan to identify private partners by the end of the year. Political support is divided and looming local elections add uncertainty, and planners say they must demonstrate long-term financial viability to avoid a repeat of the previous Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam, which ran from 2010 to 2013 before falling off the calendar amid cost concerns and waning local interest. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has described South Korea as an “untapped, social-media-connected market.”
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April 20, 2026

Round 14 – Cleveland Recap

Round 14 of the 2026 AMA Supercross season brings the 450 Class to Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field on April 18th, marking the series’s return after three decades and serving as the final Triple Crown event of the year. While Cooper Webb entered the season as the reigning 450SX champion, all eyes are on the intense championship battle as Hunter Lawrence currently holds a 10-point lead over Ken Roczen, with Eli Tomac closely trailing, making consistency crucial in this three-race format. The day’s schedule includes FanFest from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, qualifying sessions beginning at 9:00 AM on Race Day Live via Peacock, followed by Opening Ceremonies at 2:30 PM and the Main Event kicking off at 3:00 PM on NBC and Peacock.
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April 20, 2026

Willcox rebounds after CT exit, readies Challenger bid

A new video edit titled “Fail to Fiji” chronicles Jacob Willcox’s mental recovery after injury, competitive setbacks and narrowly missing requalification for the World Surf League Championship Tour. Filmmaker Chipo framed the six-month edit around the mental toll of Willcox’s injury and the Newcastle loss, following the Western Australian as he chased swells, tried to rediscover his “why” and ultimately traveled to Fiji to reset and reflect.

Willcox was relegated from the Championship Tour in 2024 and launched a bid to requalify for the 2026 CT. He began the campaign by winning the season’s first Challenger Series event and received a wildcard into the Margaret River Pro, where he beat fellow Australian Oscar Berry in Round One before drawing world champion Yago Dora. Judges did not uphold Dora’s interference claim in that heat, which led to heated words in the water and an alleged on-land confrontation. An injury at the US Open sidelined Willcox for several events and he later suffered an ankle tweak that required rehabilitation. After his promising start his form dipped, producing results of 9th, 25th, 49th, 33rd and 13th at subsequent events. He entered the tour’s final stop at Newcastle sitting 10th in the rankings, finished 49th there and dropped to 12th, missing the top-10 cutoff for automatic promotion back to the CT. The edit and reporting say the injury and a missed heat win in Newcastle cost him requalification.

Willcox said he struggled with “head noise” on the trip home. He chased a Pacific swell to Fiji, linked up with former CT surfer Wade Carmichael and surfed Cloudbreak. He said time in the ocean brought him peace and perspective, and the final footage of the edit is intended to remind viewers why he believes he belongs on the Championship Tour. Willcox intends to return to the Challenger Series for another qualification attempt this year.
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April 17, 2026

Players: Fighting Still Promotes NLL, Lax Mag Poll

An anonymous poll of five players from each of the NLL’s 14 teams found unanimous agreement that fighting still serves a purpose in the league. Ninety-three percent of respondents said viral fight videos help promote the NLL, 0 percent said they hurt and 7 percent said they neither help nor hurt. Many players said fights boost awareness and excitement for the sport.

Responses were split on whether fighting deters American collegiate players from pursuing the NLL: 4 percent said “yes, a lot,” 22 percent said “yes, some,” 37 percent said “no,” and 37 percent said “who cares.” Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they had not thought less of a teammate for not fighting, 22 percent said they had, and none of the poll respondents expected fighting to be banned soon. Twenty-six percent said fighting might eventually be banned and 74 percent said it never would be.

Lax Mag published the survey results alongside its All-Time and Current Fight Club rankings and maintains the Fight Club coverage series and the NLL Fight Club Player Poll. Lax Mag’s current and all-time top-10 fighter lists rely on contemporary statistics and historical comparison and are framed within broader debates about game identity, fan engagement, and officiating. The magazine noted a modern decline in fighting driven in part by teams emphasizing face-off specialists over enforcers and by protracted officiating reviews, and it recalled that during the OG LaxMag era Fight Club pieces and players such as Tim O’Brien and Geoff Snider drove outsized traffic.

League attendance figures show strains: six of the nine lowest average home attendances have come since 2020, and the current NLL regular season is averaging under 8,000 tickets per game, a figure buoyed significantly by Buffalo’s Banditland. Taken together, the poll and the rankings highlight a tension between persistent player endorsement of fighting as culturally and commercially valuable and league-level trends that have reduced on-field fighting.
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April 17, 2026

Figueroa vs Brito set to headline BKFC 88 in Denver

BKFC 88 held its official weigh-ins Friday at the National Western Center in Denver, and promoters released complete weigh-in results, photos and video ahead of the live broadcast. The release confirmed which fighters made or missed weight and finalized the card.

Main-card weigh-ins included Chris Camozzi (205 pounds) and Esteban Rodriguez (204.6 pounds). The interim BKFC cruiserweight title bout listed Ramiro Figueroa (154.8 pounds) vs. Elvin Brito (155 pounds). The heavyweight pairing showed Copeland (listed at 265 pounds; sources differ on his first name, Jose vs. Josh) vs. Corey Willis (254.8 pounds). Other main-card matchups were Josh Fremd (204.4 pounds) vs. Jared Torgenson (211.4 pounds), Deron Winn (201.6 pounds) vs. Erick Lozano (205.6 pounds), and Octavin Turner (124.8 pounds) vs. Joby Steffensmeier (124.8 pounds).

Prelims and undercard weigh-ins included Angelo Trujillo (121.2 pounds) vs. Anthony Yost (126.2 pounds) and Matthew Maestra (154.8 pounds) vs. Ruben Arroyo (153.6 pounds). The release also confirmed additional lighter-weight and undercard pairings, including Rodney Hinton vs. Andrew Yates and multiple flyweight and bantamweight bouts. The event will stream live on the BKFC App and Fubo Sports Network, with prelims scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET and the main card at 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET.
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April 17, 2026

BKFC posts weigh-in photos for Fight Night Australia

BKFC posted official weigh-in photos and results ahead of Fight Night Australia, scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Center. The photos accompanied the posted results, providing visual confirmation of fighter weights and finalizing the official scales ahead of Saturday’s fights. The card will stream live on the BKFC app at 5:00 a.m. ET / 2:00 a.m. PT, and Fox Sports will exclusively stream the event in Australia.

Haze Hepi weighed 247.25 lbs for his matchup with Krzyzstof Wisniewski, who weighed 236.1 lbs. Mark Flanagan checked in at 225.25 lbs for his matchup with Dilan Prasovic, who weighed 249.3 lbs. Patrick Tolone weighed 268.7 lbs for his matchup with Fetongi Tuinauvai, who weighed 258.9 lbs. Darcy Braine weighed 335.9 lbs for his matchup with Richie Fa’osa, who weighed 262.3 lbs.

Josh Kuhne weighed 165.25 lbs and Mick Whitehead weighed 162.9 lbs, and both are listed on the Fight Night Australia card.
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April 17, 2026

Cadillac confirms four 2026 FP1 sessions for Colton Herta

Cadillac F1 Team announced a targeted FP1 program that will give Colton Herta four Free Practice 1 appearances during the 2026 season as part of his role as the team’s designated rookie and Test Driver. His first outing in current F1 machinery is scheduled for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on June 12, with three further FP1 appearances to be confirmed. Cadillac said the sessions will satisfy the mandatory rookie quota and described the initiative as balancing on-track exposure with integration into the team environment, a point reinforced by CEO Dan Towriss and team principal Graeme Lowdon.

Lowdon pointed to Herta’s NTT IndyCar Series record and his strong start to Formula 2 as the rationale for the FP1 opportunities, and Towriss said the runs will aid Herta’s development both on and off track and help him learn Grand Prix operations. Herta, 26, said he “can’t wait to get behind the wheel,” that he was eager to learn from every appearance, and that he hopes to support the team and teammates “Checo and Valtteri.” Cadillac has already completed a seat fitting with Herta and run him in simulators at its Charlotte headquarters as part of his preparation.

Herta is combining the FP1 program with a rookie Formula 2 campaign after switching from IndyCar, where he is a nine-time race winner and finished runner-up in the 2024 championship. He races for Hitech in F2, placed seventh in the Australia feature on his series debut and sat 10th in the F2 Drivers’ Championship after the opening weekend as the series heads to Round 2 in Miami. Cadillac said the FP1 outings will accelerate Herta’s acclimatization to Formula 1 race weekends while formalizing a pathway for his development within the Silverstone-based outfit.
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April 17, 2026

Colton Robinson to run full 2026 USAC Midget season with KKM

Colton Robinson, a 16-year-old from Titusville, Florida, will run the full 29-race USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule in 2026 for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, vying for Rookie of the Year. Robinson will return to KKM for a second year after making eight USAC starts in 2025 and will pilot the No. 67K. His full-season campaign will be backed by primary sponsor Precise Tooling Solutions and will begin at the Kokomo Grand Prix on April 24 and 25 at Kokomo Speedway.

In 2025 Robinson posted two top-10s, finishing ninth at Merced Speedway and 10th at Bloomington Speedway, and he qualified both nights of the BC39 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He graduated from karting and micro sprint competition and has wins at Port City Raceway and Marion County Speedway. Robinson said his goals for 2026 are to improve, be competitive every night and put the team in position to win.

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports will field Robinson at 21 tracks during the 29-race schedule. KKM, based in Columbus, Indiana, has 164 USAC National Midget feature wins and 13 entrant titles, and it is the series’ winningest entrant.
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