Author Archives: PressBox

  • Karter Sarff Wins First USAC Midget Feature at Paragon

    Drake Holds Off Grant, Takes USAC Midget Win in Nebraska

    Kale Drake won the USAC National Midget feature Saturday night at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska, giving RMS Racing its first USAC National Midget victory in nearly two years. The $10,000 victory was Drake’s first with the team since joining for the 2026 season and the fourth USAC National Midget win of his career.

    Drake started on the outside of the front row after finishing fifth from 19th in Friday’s event. He led the opening 13 laps before Justin Grant moved ahead on lap 14. Drake reclaimed the lead on lap 22 and held it to the finish, with Grant briefly back in front on laps 23 and 24 before Drake closed out the 40-lap race in front.

    Jacob Denney finished second, 0.922 seconds behind Drake, after winning the previous two USAC National Midget races earlier in the week. Grant finished third, Gavin Miller was fourth and Drake Edwards came from 11th to take fifth. Bradley Cox flipped on lap 2 and Kyle Jones flipped on lap 33. Garrett Benson earned hard-charger honors after climbing from 23rd to 11th. Denney remained the national midget points leader with 842 points, followed by Kevin Thomas Jr., and the series was set to resume Aug. 14-15 at Coles County Speedway in Mattoon, Illinois.

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  • Haudenschild Reels In Williamson for Wilmot Win

    Haudenschild Reels In Williamson for Wilmot Win

    Sheldon Haudenschild won the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ O’Reilly Auto Parts presents the Larry Hillerud Memorial finale on Saturday night at Wilmot Raceway in Wisconsin, taking the lead for good with two laps remaining after a late battle with Garet Williamson. Williamson had led early, and the two traded slide jobs and crossover moves in the closing laps before Haudenschild pulled away for his 52nd career World of Outlaws victory.

    Williamson finished second, while David Gravel placed third, Spencer Bayston was fourth and Logan Schuchart rounded out the top five. The result gave Haudenschild and KCP Racing four victories in their last seven races.

    Haudenschild and KCP Racing have also collected 10 podiums in their last 12 Features. The World of Outlaws series now heads to a two-race Ohio swing at Attica Raceway Park on July 14 and Eldora Speedway on July 17-18.

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  • Pierce Passes Hoffman at Sharon for Fourth Track Victory

    Pierce Passes Hoffman at Sharon for Fourth Track Victory

    Bobby Pierce won the World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on July 10, 2026, giving him his fourth career victory at the track. The win was his 17th World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph of the season and the 59th of his career.

    Nick Hoffman led the first third of the 60-lap race before Pierce took over in Turn 3 and stayed in front the rest of the way. Source details said Hoffman got too high in Turn 2 as Pierce completed the pass in Turn 3. Hoffman finished second, followed by Ryan Gustin in third, Tim McCreadie in fourth and Tyler Erb in fifth.

    The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is next scheduled to race in the Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway on July 24-25.

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  • Hunter Lawrence wins RedBud 450 as foreign sweep makes history

    Lucas Coenen Sets Fast 450 Pace in Southwick Qualifying

    The Crestview Construction Southwick National served as Round 6 of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, and its first motos marked the midpoint of the 22-race summer schedule. Southwick was the series’ only predominantly sandy track, and Hunter Lawrence arrived with the red plate after winning at RedBud, carrying a two-point lead over his younger brother Jett Lawrence into the event.

    The 250 class took a hit before racing after points leader Jo Shimoda was ruled out following a collarbone fracture and a mild concussion in second qualifying. Sacha Coenen led the 250 field as the Coenen brothers returned to competition.

    In 450 qualifying, Lucas Coenen topped the session by a full second over Jorge Prado, setting the pace on a demanding Southwick layout.

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  • Bacon Keeps 1-Point Lead as Eastern Storm Tightens

    Denney leads 29 laps to win USAC feature at Jefferson County

    Jacob Denney captured Friday’s USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series feature at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska, leading the final 29 laps of the 30-lap race. The Galloway, Ohio, driver in a Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports Toyota earned his second straight Mid-America Midget Week victory and his second consecutive USAC national midget win, after also winning earlier in the week at Mitchell County Fairgrounds.

    The win was Denney’s third USAC national midget victory of 2026, matching his previous single-season best from 2025, and his ninth overall win this year. It also made him the seventh Toyota-powered driver to reach 30 career national midget feature wins. Gavin Miller led the opening lap before Denney took over on lap two and never gave back the lead.

    Jacob Boxell finished second, Miller placed third, Cannon McIntosh was fourth and Kale Drake came from 19th to finish fifth and earn hard-charger honors. Justin Grant was the fast qualifier at 11.122 seconds, Brecken Reese won the first heat race and Matt Sherrell won the C-Main. Denney left Jefferson County Speedway atop the series standings with 775 points, 56 ahead of Kevin Thomas Jr., and the series was scheduled to return there July 11.

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  • Bezzecchi withdraws after Sachsenring crash fractures clavicle

    Bezzecchi withdraws after Sachsenring crash fractures clavicle

    Marco Bezzecchi withdrew from the rest of the German Grand Prix weekend after a heavy qualifying crash at Turn 7 on Saturday left him with a complete, displaced fracture of his left clavicle. Aprilia said he lost the rear of his bike before being thrown over the handlebars, then was taken by ambulance to the circuit medical center, where X-rays under MotoGP medical director Dr. Angel Charte confirmed the collarbone fracture. Bezzecchi is returning to Italy for surgery with Dr. Giuseppe Porcellini.

    Reports varied on his exact position in Q2 when the accident happened. One account said Bezzecchi briefly moved into second place behind Marc Marquez, while another said he was third in Q2, after an earlier lap had put him provisionally seventh on the grid. Aprilia confirmed he will miss the German Grand Prix.

    The injury came after Bezzecchi said on Friday that he was “in trouble with my body” as he returned to the bike after a heavy crash at Assen. He was not fully fit when he arrived at Sachsenring, finished seventh in Friday practice, and said the main issue was his body rather than his mindset as he prepared to “suffer” through the weekend.

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  • PBR Teams Lands 21 National Partners as Season Starts

    PBR Teams Lands 21 National Partners as Season Starts

    Professional Bull Riders said sponsorship revenue for PBR Teams has risen 386% since the league launched in 2022 and is up another 13% year over year as it enters its fifth season. The league said it now has 21 national partners, including Auris with the Oklahoma Wildcatters, Energy Transfer with the Arizona Ridge Riders, Go Bowling with the New York Mavericks and a renewed deal between Ariat and the Texas Rattlers. PBR also pointed to a sold-out stadium event at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium in March as part of the league’s growth.

    The 2026 season begins this weekend with Bulls and Beats at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, the first neutral-site opener in PBR Teams history and the first of 12 regular-season events in a 35-game schedule. The July 10-12 opening weekend includes concerts by Brad Paisley, Bailey Zimmerman and Miranda Lambert, and it will be shown on FOX Nation and The CW. The launch comes after the Carolina Cowboys’ 2025 championship and with the Florida Freedom entering the season atop the regular-season standings.

    The league said the 2026 season will air on CBS, Paramount+ and The CW, with about 100 hours of live coverage across the regular season, playoffs and championship. The first weekend features matchups including the Carolina Cowboys against the Nashville Stampede and the Austin Gamblers against the Kansas City Outlaws, while Oklahoma opens under new head coach Greg Rhodes and Kansas City plans a larger role for Cassio Dias. PBR said it plans to expand from 10 teams to 12 in 2027 and will return to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in November for the fifth straight championship there.

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  • Battle at the Border Friday rained out, no makeup set

    Battle at the Border Friday rained out, no makeup set

    Thunderstorms and the threat of more rain forced World of Outlaws Late Model Series and Sharon Speedway officials to cancel Friday’s portion of the Battle at the Border in Hartford, Ohio, with the decision made alongside Precision Weather Service and based on safety for fans and teams. Friday’s event will not be made up.

    Fans who bought tickets in advance will receive a face-value credit to their MyDirtTickets.com account for two years. Ticket buyers can request a refund by Aug. 10 if the credit does not work for them.

    The Battle at the Border is still scheduled to return Saturday, July 11. Saturday’s program is set to feature a 60-lap feature paying $20,000 to win, with grandstand gates opening at 4 p.m., an autograph session at 5 p.m. and hot laps at 7 p.m.

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  • Stewards hand Zarco delayed penalty for Barcelona pileup

    Stewards hand Zarco delayed penalty for Barcelona pileup

    Johann Zarco will have to serve a double long lap penalty when he returns to MotoGP after stewards ruled on the Catalan Grand Prix crash that left him with a knee injury and has kept him out for a fifth straight race. The sanction was finalized nearly two months after the incident, with the FIM MotoGP Stewards delaying their review because of Zarco’s medical condition before announcing the penalty at the Sachsenring ahead of the German Grand Prix.

    Zarco was judged responsible for the restarted-race pileup at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in May, a dangerous opening-lap crash that involved Luca Marini and Francesco Bagnaia. He crashed under braking at Turn 1 after the sequence began with an earlier red-flag incident involving Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez. Zarco said the scene was so chaotic that trackside marshals “didn’t want to touch me,” and he recalled his left leg being trapped between the swingarm and seat unit before he let go of the bike. The stewards classified it as his first offense of the season, and critics argued the race should have been stopped rather than restarted.

    Zarco has not needed surgery and is following rehabilitation to regain strength and mobility after suffering serious knee ligament damage. He has already missed races in Italy, Hungary, Czechia, the Netherlands and Germany, with Cal Crutchlow replacing him. Zarco is not expected back until September, with Misano mentioned as a likely return if he is fit, and he has told LCR team boss Lucio Cecchinello, “Get ready, I’m coming back.” Reports that he might move into a Honda test rider role were dismissed, and he remains under contract with LCR through 2027.

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