Author Archives: PressBox

August 1, 2026

NASCAR plans 2027 Cup playoff overhaul, reports say

NASCAR is reportedly close to a major overhaul of its 2027 Cup Series schedule and playoff format, with Bristol Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway expected to drop out of the 10-race postseason. Under the reported plan, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International would move into the playoff field, giving the Chase a mix of short tracks, a road course and intermediate ovals. The changes are aimed at putting more emphasis on versatility, and the official 2027 schedule has not yet been released.

The reports say Bristol’s Night Race would return to its traditional August regular-season slot and Darlington’s Southern 500 would go back to serving as the Labor Day weekend finale. Watkins Glen is the only swap that NASCAR has already confirmed, with the road course set to move from May to September starting in 2027. That change would restore a road course to the postseason after the Charlotte Roval was removed from the 2026 playoff schedule.

Other parts of the 2027 calendar remain unresolved. NASCAR’s return to the Chicago street race is still tied up in funding talks, with no public agreement yet between NASCAR and Chicago officials, and the final Illinois state budget includes $5 million for the event, short of the $15 million NASCAR reportedly sought. Reports also say San Diego Naval Base Coronado is likely to return to the schedule, North Wilkesboro is the leading candidate to host the All-Star Race, and NASCAR is expected to race again in the Chicago area in 2027.
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August 1, 2026

Mercedes Uncertainty Puts Russell on Audi’s 2028 Radar

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said George Russell could emerge as a candidate for Audi’s 2028 Formula 1 seat as uncertainty around his Mercedes future grew. Steiner linked the situation to Toto Wolff’s comments about Max Verstappen, which added to speculation that Mercedes could be weighing a Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli lineup. Wolff said Antonelli needed time to develop, described Verstappen as a driver at the peak of his abilities, and said he would not be scared by a superstar pairing because of his experience with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Russell has not been confirmed to leave Mercedes, and the article said he could become one of the biggest names on the 2028 driver market if Verstappen joined Antonelli at Mercedes.

Steiner said Russell’s position at Mercedes had become more complicated because Antonelli had been in strong form, with the Italian leading the championship into the summer break on 219 points, ahead of Hamilton on 169 and Russell on 160. Steiner said Russell may already be looking at new opportunities and may not want to spend the rest of his career alongside Antonelli if he cannot beat him for the world title. He also said Russell and Mercedes had both signaled continuity for 2027, and Russell reaffirmed his commitment to the team.

Audi was presented as a realistic alternative because the manufacturer is moving toward its full works Formula 1 effort, having taken over Sauber for the 2026 season. Steiner said Audi had become an attractive option as it invested heavily in the project and made solid progress with its chassis and power unit. He also said Russell would face competition from Carlos Sainz for an Audi seat, and stressed that Russell was not necessarily leaving Mercedes imminently.
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August 1, 2026

Rain Pushes USA Nationals Friday Card to Saturday

Heavy rain in the New Richmond, Wisconsin, area pushed Friday’s USA Nationals program at Cedar Lake Speedway to Saturday after officials said the grounds were saturated. World of Outlaws Late Model Series and track officials said Friday tickets will be honored for the makeup program, while only Saturday tickets will be valid for the regularly scheduled Saturday show. The rescheduled Friday card is set to start with hot laps at 5 p.m. CT, and the Saturday program will begin about 45 minutes after that card ends. For Saturday, pit gates are scheduled to open at noon, grandstand gates at 3 p.m., and an autograph session at 3:30 p.m.

The weather delay came one night after Tyler Erb won Thursday’s 30-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature at Cedar Lake Speedway for his first victory at the Wisconsin track and his third series win of 2026. Erb led every lap, with Hudson O’Neal applying pressure on restarts and briefly pulling alongside him on a Lap 8 restart. Brandon Sheppard got by O’Neal for second on a Lap 23 restart but did not catch Erb before the finish. Nick Hoffman finished fourth and Devin Moran was fifth.
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August 1, 2026

Miller runs out of fuel as Ballou storms to $10,000 win

Robert Ballou’s return to Bloomington Speedway ended with a comeback win Friday in the 35th Sheldon Kinser Memorial, nearly a year after a crash at the track broke his back and ended his season. Ballou took the lead on the final lap when Gavin Miller ran out of fuel on the back straightaway after leading laps 7 through 29. The victory was worth $10,000.

The win was Ballou’s first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victory since the Lincoln Park round of Indiana Sprint Week in July 2025, ending a 39-race drought. It was his seventh career Indiana Sprint Week victory and his first USAC win at Bloomington in his 30th series start there. Miller was denied his first career series victory.

Mitchel Moles finished second after starting 13th, Justin Grant placed third and Jake Swanson was fourth in the 30-lap feature. Hayden Reinbold earned fast qualifying honors, Briggs Danner was the hard charger from 24th to eighth, and Kyle Cummins remained the USAC national points leader and the Indiana Sprint Week points leader after the race.
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July 31, 2026

Shafer, MBM penalized for shifter boot issue after DNQ

NASCAR fined MBM Motorsports $5,000 and docked the No. 69 Truck Series team 25 owner points and Jonathan Shafer 25 driver points after a pre-qualifying inspection at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park found a safety violation involving the shifter boot. The issue was cited under Rule Book Sections 14.2.3.6 A and B, which cover age and safety certification labeling, and the penalty left MBM with minus-14 owner points and Shafer with minus-25 driver points.

Shafer drove the No. 69 Ram at Indianapolis Raceway Park, but the truck did not qualify for the race. Sources described the result as uncommon for the 2026 season.

The penalty came nearly a week after the IRP weekend, and no other penalties were listed in that week’s NASCAR report. Shafer had three DNQs this season, all with MBM Motorsports. The Truck Series is set to resume Aug. 14 at Richmond Raceway, with two races remaining before the 10-driver Chase field is finalized.
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July 31, 2026

McKee to Open Five-Race Truck Plan in Richmond

Spire Motorsports announced that Tristan McKee will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut Aug. 14 at Richmond Raceway, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Chad Walter’s team. The race will be the first of five Truck Series starts planned for McKee in 2026, with additional races scheduled for New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.

McKee turns 16 on Aug. 3, which makes him eligible for Truck Series competition on tracks 1.25 miles or shorter. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, driver is the inaugural signee in Spire’s Ascent Driver Development Program and has built a strong record in CARS Tour, Trans-Am and ARCA competition. He became the youngest winner in CARS Tour history at 12, won the 2025 Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series championship, has two victories in nine ARCA starts and has three ARCA Menards Series East wins in five starts this season.

Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson said McKee had earned the chance to race in the Truck Series, and said the team would judge success across the five-race plan rather than by a single result. McKee enters the move to trucks three points behind the ARCA Menards Series East championship lead.
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July 31, 2026

Danny Pens, midget racing star, dies at 65

Former midget racer Danny “The Kid” Pens of Coal City, Illinois, died July 30 at age 65. Pens was a second-generation driver whose career began in 1981 with the World of Outlaw Midgets, where he was named rookie of the year after finishing ninth in the points standings.

Pens earned his first feature win at Joliet Memorial Stadium in July 1981 and went on to collect 68 feature victories in his career. He won the World of Outlaw Midgets title in 1985, the ARCA Gulf Coast Midget Series championship in 1987 and the ARCA/World Wide Auto Racing crown in 1988.

He also won three straight United Midget Auto Racing Association titles from 1990 through 1992 and captured his lone USAC national midget race at Rosemont Horizon in 1988. Pens was elected to the Mazon Speed Bowl/Grundy County Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009, and some of his last starts came with the Illini Racing Series in 2017.
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July 31, 2026

Rachel Brookes says Sky F1 exit was planned for months

Rachel Brookes said her exit from Sky Sports F1 had been planned for months before she announced it in June, and she rejected speculation that Max Verstappen played any part in her departure. Brookes, who left after 14 years with Sky, said the move was not as sudden as it appeared and that the online abuse she received after interviewing Verstappen had already been resolved before she went. She said many people assumed her departure was linked to that interview about Verstappen’s incident with George Russell at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, but she said it was not the reason she left.

Brookes said she had time to say goodbye to colleagues, teams and drivers, and described the reaction inside the Formula 1 paddock as warm and supportive. In a TikTok video, she shared pictures of walking and talking with Lewis Hamilton before the two embraced, and said she had told him about her departure. Brookes said Hamilton gave her a massive hug and hoped to see her back in the paddock soon. She also said Charles Leclerc gave her the biggest hug in Canada, and other drivers sent video messages saying they would miss her.

Brookes said the paddock felt like a family and that she was overwhelmed by the response to leaving Sky. She said she still expected to be involved in Formula 1 and hinted that her career in the sport was not over. Brookes also praised Craig Slater as the person ready to step into her role at Sky.
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July 31, 2026

Thailand to open MotoGP’s 2027 season at Buriram

MotoGP has confirmed that Thailand will open the 2027 season at Buriram from March 5-7, giving the Chang International Circuit the first race of the new 850cc era and the first competitive outing under the sport’s 2027-2031 technical regulations. It will be the third straight year Thailand has hosted the championship opener, and the first confirmed race on the 2027 calendar.

The new rules will cut engine capacity from 1,000cc to 850cc and add 100% sustainable fuel. They will also tighten aerodynamic limits, ban ride-height devices and holeshot devices, and switch the championship from Michelin tires to Pirelli.

MotoGP said Buriram’s repeat selection reflected the strength of its partnership in Thailand and the circuit’s suitability for starting a new technical cycle. The 2026 Thai Grand Prix drew a record 228,228 fans over three days, with Pedro Acosta winning the sprint and Marco Bezzecchi taking the grand prix, and the announcement came amid speculation that Thailand could face competition from a potential Formula 1 bid.
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