PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

October 8, 2026

Gzim Selmani says frustration with fight business drove his viral BKFC promo

Gzim Selmani said his viral post-fight promo after stopping Dan Curtin at BKFC Newcastle in March grew out of years of frustration with the fight business, including his failed attempt to land a bout with GLORY heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven after leaving WWE. Selmani said he contacted GLORY and offered to fight Verhoeven, but believed the promotion was protecting its champion and did not want to risk a knockout loss.

Selmani said he turned to bare-knuckle fighting because he wanted to prove he could knock people out without gloves. He is scheduled to face Brad Lee at BKFC 95 in Newark later this month. Selmani also dismissed former BKFC champion Ben Rothwell’s claim that he turned down a fight offer, saying no such offer was made, and warned that he would knock Rothwell out too.
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October 8, 2026

Denny Hamlin enters Charlotte 40 points behind Kyle Larson

Denny Hamlin entered the Charlotte race 40 points behind Kyle Larson after finishing 16th at Las Vegas, continuing a playoff run that had left the veteran still seeking his first Cup Series championship in his 22-year career. Hamlin had entered the Chase as a strong title favorite, but a points reset had already cut his 89-point lead over Ryan Blaney to 25 points before the playoffs began.

Larson seized control of the title race over the first five Chase events, turning a 55-point deficit into a 40-point lead after Las Vegas. His results were fifth, first, second, first and second, including a runner-up finish at Las Vegas and a win at Kansas. That stretch produced a 95-point swing, a 2.2 average finish and 273 points, the best first five races of the Chase format era. Racing Insights raised Larson’s championship probability to 46.3% after Las Vegas, while Hamlin’s odds fell to just under 17%.

The final five races at Charlotte, Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami were expected to settle the championship. Hamlin still had strong track history at several of those remaining venues, and a win at Charlotte would sharply improve his title chances. Another poor result for Hamlin could leave Larson with roughly a 90% chance to win the championship.
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October 8, 2026

Hardee’s renews multi-year deal with 23XI Racing and Bubba Wallace

Hardee’s renewed its multi-year partnership with 23XI Racing and Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 team, keeping the brand attached to the car, uniforms and Wallace’s firesuit. The renewal was announced in Franklin, Tennessee, before the Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hardee’s first joined the partnership in 2025 and said it will remain a primary sponsor of Wallace’s No. 23 team, with branding on the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE at select races, on team uniforms and equipment throughout the season, and on Wallace’s firesuit.

Hardee’s said the first year of the partnership produced stronger social media engagement and strong results for Bubba-themed digital offers in its My Rewards program, including the Bubba Wallace Full Throttle Meal. Wallace said he was excited to continue representing Hardee’s and its NASCAR legacy.

Hardee’s also is offering My Rewards members a free No. 23 collectible die-cast car with any $15 qualifying purchase from Oct. 8 to Nov. 10 at participating locations. The timing of the offer is tied to Wallace’s Oct. 8 birthday and the Charlotte Motor Speedway race weekend.
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October 8, 2026

Hamilton recovers to third after Ferrari wet-tyre error in Bahrain

Ferrari’s wet-weather strategy error in Bahrain is still lingering as Lewis Hamilton looks ahead to this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. In Bahrain, Ferrari put both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on slick tyres on a wet track, and Hamilton said he had initially argued for intermediates because it was “really wet” and “dangerous.” He called the decision “not good enough,” but defended it as a collective call made with Fred Vasseur, Matteo Togninalli, his engineer and himself. Ferrari said it believed the circuit was dry based on onboard footage from the safety car, while Hamilton pointed out that Max Verstappen and other drivers were on intermediate tyres. Ferrari has already discussed the mistake and said it will try to improve future decision-making, and Hamilton also noted that McLaren made the same error. Despite losing places from second and fourth on the grid, Hamilton recovered to finish third in Bahrain, his first podium since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in early July.

Hamilton is now hoping Ferrari’s car will be strong in Singapore, where he said the Marina Bay street circuit and high-drag layout should suit it. He said qualifying will be especially important there because it is the season’s final Sprint weekend. Leclerc also said Singapore looks pretty good for Ferrari on paper, but warned that the team cannot rely on past results and that winning there would be difficult.
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October 8, 2026

Christopher Bell finishes 23rd at Las Vegas after power-steering failure

Christopher Bell said a catastrophic power-steering failure cost him a chance to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he qualified third and finished 23rd, one lap down in the South Point 400. Bell said he drove much of the second half without power steering, and although he is still recovering from a broken wrist suffered in June at Michigan, he said the wrist was not the limiting factor. His shoulders, hands and arms were badly fatigued from wrestling the car.

Bell said finishing second and third in the stages limited the damage, but he still left Las Vegas 55 points behind championship leader Kyle Larson with five races remaining. He said he would have been about 40 points behind Larson without the mechanical issue, and that the deficit likely means he needs to win races to have a realistic shot at the title. Bell said he plans to keep racing aggressively rather than focus on points.

Larson later apologized to Bell, but he also dismissed Bell’s claim on Corey LaJoie’s “Stacking Pennies” podcast, calling it “bullshit.” Larson said a driver with “zero percent power assist” on an intermediate track would not be able to keep racing.
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October 8, 2026

Lando Norris hopeful McLaren has fixed straight-line speed issue before Singapore

Lando Norris said he is hopeful McLaren has identified and fixed a recurring straight-line speed problem that had been costing him pace, after the team made changes to auxiliary components on his Mercedes power unit and worked on the fuel system to address a recurring fuel injection issue ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris said the problem may have been worth two or three grid places in qualifying and had cost him about two-tenths of a second per lap. He also said the lack of straight-line performance had been frustrating and had left him behind Oscar Piastri in recent races.

McLaren hoped the changes would improve the situation before Singapore FP1 and viewed the weekend as an important test of whether the problem, and the recent dip in performance, were one-offs. Norris said the issue should be less pronounced on Singapore’s tight street circuit, where straight-line speed is less decisive, but he said he would not know whether the fix works until he gets on track.
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October 8, 2026

PBR Teams challenge process gives coaches 30 seconds

At PBR Teams events, challenged rides are sorted out in a replay booth run by J.J. Quintana from a cramped room behind the chutes. Quintana and Shawn Terrell review calls with about 10 camera angles, including shark cage, bullfighters and jib camera views, and the system uses Dream Catcher to save clips for later review.

When a coach challenges a call, officials use super slow motion to inspect details such as hand contact, rope position, chute fouls, disappearing shadows and finger movement. Some decisions come down to one frame, or to a 2-of-3 vote among officials. The replay process expanded in 2026, when Royd Doyal and Justin Maples joined reviews after each challenge.

Teams have 30 seconds to decide whether to challenge a call. J.W. Hart led the league with 23 challenges and 12 wins, while Nashville and Oklahoma had each challenged nine times as of the article. Nashville still had not won a challenge.
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October 8, 2026

FIA heat hazard rules require cooling systems for Singapore Grand Prix cars

The debate over Formula 1’s cooling vests has intensified again after the FIA declared a heat hazard for the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay, triggering rules that require teams to fit cars with advanced driver cooling systems and add weight for the equipment. Drivers can still choose whether to wear the vest, and if they do not want the weight penalty when a heat hazard is declared they can carry ballast instead. Mercedes said neither Kimi Antonelli nor George Russell will use the vest this weekend and will instead focus its budget-cap spending on car updates.

The system has been hard to perfect because the cooling effect lasts only about 20 to 40 minutes and the cockpit tubing has been described as uncomfortable. The FIA has offered teams an extra $50,000 in cost-cap allowance for a vest that lasts a full race and another $75,000 if comfort issues are solved, but Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord said those allowances do not justify the development risk. Russell said Mercedes has not spent the cost-cap resources needed to make the vest robust enough and urged the FIA to help drivers with the technology.

The issue resurfaced after drivers had mixed reactions to extreme heat and humidity at Sepang. Some said the cooling systems helped briefly, while others questioned whether the vests fit the sport. Max Verstappen said the vest was not needed, would restrict movement and would not stay effective for a full race, and Isack Hadjar said they should be banned because Formula 1 is supposed to be tough and artificial cooling has no place in the sport. Russell and Lewis Hamilton nearly suffered heat stroke at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, an episode that helped push cooling vests into Formula 1 use in 2025.
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October 8, 2026

Brad Keselowski passed on 23XI Racing and took RFK Racing deal as owner-driver

Brad Keselowski’s move to RFK Racing came after a failed push to join 23XI Racing on terms that included a large financial package and an ownership stake, Denny Hamlin said. Hamlin said he contacted Keselowski about driving for 23XI, but the team was not willing to make the offer Keselowski wanted. Hamlin compared the situation to his own decision to start 23XI Racing, saying he wanted enough influence as an owner-driver.

Keselowski said Roush Fenway Racing already had a contract ready for him to sign, and he gave 23XI a chance to match the other offer. The 23XI deal did not move forward, and Keselowski took the No. 6 Ford for the 2022 Cup Series season.

Keselowski later joined RFK Racing as a driver and minority owner, and Hamlin said RFK could provide the ownership role he wanted. Hamlin said Keselowski became an owner-driver at RFK, helped the team win seven races since his arrival and made the organization much more competitive. Hamlin also said RFK could not agree to Keselowski’s request to keep racing for several more years, and Keselowski is moving toward free agency for the 2027 Cup Series season.
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