PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

October 24, 2026

Joan Mir to rejoin MotoGP grid at Malaysian Grand Prix

Joan Mir is set to return to action at the Malaysian Grand Prix, rejoining the grid for MotoGP’s penultimate flyaway race of 2026 after missing the Austrian, Japanese, Indonesian and Australian races because of illness. His illness problems began at the San Marino Grand Prix in September, and his last track appearance was at Misano, where he also retired before his absence.

The Honda HRC Castrol rider announced his comeback on social media while training on a flat-track bike and wrote, “See you in Malaysia.” Mir said he hopes to be competitive again in Malaysia, where he finished on the podium in 2025. That Sepang result was his most recent podium finish.

Honda used multiple replacement riders while Mir was sidelined, and in Australia the team had lined up only one rider after Luca Marini withdrew because of illness.
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October 24, 2026

Cody Overton wins Modoc 100 for first World of Outlaws Late Model feature

Cody Overton won his first World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature in the Modoc 100 on Oct. 23, 2026, at Modoc Speedway in Modoc, South Carolina, celebrating the victory in front of his home fans. Overton led all 40 laps, then survived a late caution and held off Bobby Pierce to secure the win, with Jonathan Davenport finishing third, Chris Madden fourth and Nick Hoffman fifth.

Overton also won his heat race and the Bilstein Pole Award. The victory came after he had already won seven regional Late Model races in James Trantina’s car and capped a difficult season for him.
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October 24, 2026

Alpine says Franco Colapinto has full support after Clarkson joke

Jeremy Clarkson drew backlash in Argentina after joking on Sky Sports F1 that Franco Colapinto had a grid penalty “for being Argentinian, probably” during United States Grand Prix weekend at Circuit of the Americas. Clarkson, appearing as Alpine’s guest, also referenced Top Gear’s controversial 2014 trip to Argentina during the same appearance.

Martin Brundle was standing beside Clarkson when the comment was made. Brundle laughed and shook his head after the remark. Alpine later issued a statement backing Colapinto and said it was aware of comments made by a team guest in a recent television interview, adding, “Franco is our driver and has our full support.”

Colapinto was already serving a 10-place grid penalty for the weekend after using a fourth control electronics unit of the 2026 season. He qualified 14th and was set to start at the back of the 22-car grid.
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October 24, 2026

Lando Norris qualifies eighth after track-limits deletion at Turn 19

Lando Norris said McLaren’s car was very difficult to drive after Friday practice in Austin, even as chief technical officer Rob Marshall said the team’s revised front and rear corner and diffuser package delivered a measurable aerodynamic gain. Norris finished seventh in second practice, 1.082 seconds behind Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri was eighth, and both McLaren cars were behind Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls in the session.

McLaren’s problems carried into qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, where Norris had his final Q3 lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 19. The deleted effort dropped him from sixth to eighth on the grid, and Norris criticized his qualifying performance even though he said the McLaren felt the best it had all weekend. He also said the car remained difficult to handle, especially in the slow-speed sections and sector three, and he believed McLaren had the pace for a front-row start.

Piastri qualified seventh and said McLaren had tried several changes without finding a fix for its handling issues. Kimi Antonelli took pole position ahead of Max Verstappen.
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October 24, 2026

Antonelli on pole for United States Grand Prix as Ferrari fade in qualifying

Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the United States Grand Prix in Austin ahead of Max Verstappen, while Ferrari’s strong practice pace disappeared in qualifying. Ferrari had topped all three practice sessions before the session, but that speed did not carry over at Circuit of the Americas.

Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth, leaving both Ferrari drivers behind Antonelli and both Red Bulls on the grid. Leclerc said Ferrari’s result was very disappointing because tire preparation and cooler track temperatures left the car out of its optimal window. Hamilton said Ferrari was losing time on the straights, especially to Mercedes and Red Bull, and said the team could have been on the front row if it had equal power. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said the team had the pace to fight for pole or at least the front row.
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October 24, 2026

Sammy Smith wins Progress Group 250 at Talladega

Jesse Love remained atop the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings after Talladega, where he finished third and kept the points lead with 2,401 points. With two races left in the championship battle, Justin Allgaier was second, 19 points behind Love, followed by Corey Day 29 back, Sheldon Creed 50 back, Carson Kvapil 59 back and Sam Mayer 96 back.

Sammy Smith won the Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, edging teammate Carson Kvapil by 0.084 seconds after Kvapil led a race-high 67 laps. The race was scheduled for 94 laps with stage breaks on laps 25 and 50.

Love also set the tone before the race by winning the pole for the Progress Group 250, beating Jake Finch by 0.002 seconds for the top qualifying spot. It was Love’s fifth straight Talladega pole and his 12th career O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole. Sam Mayer qualified third, Carson Kvapil fourth, Austin Hill fifth, Rajah Caruth sixth and Anthony Alfredo seventh. Corey Day qualified 10th on speed but was set to start from the rear, while Lavar Scott, Patrick Emerling and Carson Ware failed to qualify. Lee Pulliam did not set a qualifying time after a brake issue on pit road.
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October 24, 2026

Phillip Island weather delays Moto3, Moto2 and Australian MotoGP schedule

Poor visibility at Phillip Island delayed Sunday track action at the Australian MotoGP because the medical helicopter could not fly, and MotoGP officials expected conditions to improve around 11 a.m. local time. The worst weather of the weekend hit the circuit as Sunday brought forecasts of 15 to 35 mm of rain, strong winds and cool temperatures.

The delay pushed back the original schedules for Moto3, Moto2 and the main Australian MotoGP race, which was due to start at 2:00 p.m. AEDT. MotoGP warm-up was scheduled for 9:40 a.m. AEDT, Moto3 for 11:00 a.m. and Moto2 for 12:15 p.m. AEDT.

The third Australian Superbike Championship race, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. AEDT, was abandoned because of the inclement weather.
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October 24, 2026

Hamilton leads final practice as Verstappen finishes second

Lewis Hamilton led final practice for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas with a lap of 1:34.893, the only time under 1 minute, 35 seconds. Max Verstappen was second, 0.168 seconds back, and Charles Leclerc was third, 0.234 seconds behind Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli took fourth, George Russell was fifth, Oscar Piastri sixth, Nico Hülkenberg seventh and Lando Norris eighth. Track limits repeatedly disrupted the session and erased several laps, including quick efforts from Leclerc, Antonelli and Norris.

Ferrari completed a sweep of the weekend’s practice sessions after Leclerc set the pace in both Friday runs. He opened with a 1:36.052 in FP1, 0.084 seconds ahead of Verstappen, then topped FP2 in 1:35.291, 0.042 seconds clear of Antonelli. Ferrari brought upgrades to the floor, sidepod inlet and diffuser for the weekend, while Mercedes also arrived with updates and Antonelli said the car felt better in FP2.

Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren all looked close enough in practice to be contenders for pole position. Qualifying will begin at 1600 local time.
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October 24, 2026

Chase Briscoe wins Talladega pole for YellaWood 500

Chase Briscoe won the pole for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a lap of 51.466 seconds at 186.065 mph, giving the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the No. 19 Toyota his first pole of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season and his first career Talladega pole.

Austin Hill qualified second, just 0.032 seconds behind Briscoe. Connor Zilisch was third and Shane van Gisbergen was fourth. Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson also were among the top 10 qualifiers.

Larson entered the race as the points leader with a five-point lead over Bell and three races left, while Briscoe was third in the standings, 24 points behind Larson. Tyler Reddick was the slowest Chase qualifier in 33rd, and Joey Logano, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney qualified outside the top 10.
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