PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

August 20, 2026

Two races remain as Daytona and New Hampshire decide Cup field

New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Dollar Tree 301 lands as the next-to-last race before the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, with two races left to set the playoff field. Seven drivers have already clinched spots, including Chase Elliott for Hendrick Motorsports, and Joe Gibbs Racing arrives with all four of its drivers locked in. Denny Hamlin leads the standings by 115 points over Ryan Blaney after Richmond, and he brings four wins in 2026 and four straight top-five finishes into Loudon.

The race also shapes up as a test of track position and manufacturer strength. Toyota has won three of the four Next Gen races at New Hampshire and brings the deepest lineup, with five drivers already posting at least 10 top-five finishes. Christopher Bell, who has won at Loudon in 2022 and 2024, and defending winner Ryan Blaney are among the favorites. DraftKings lists Blaney at +450, Bell at +550, Hamlin and Joey Logano at +600, Chase Briscoe at +800 and Kyle Larson at +900. Toyota also has Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in the playoff field, while Chevrolet has not won at Loudon since 2012 even though it owns a track-best 19 Cup victories there.

The playoff bubble gives the weekend added weight, with New Hampshire and Daytona left to decide the field. Ross Chastain is two spots outside the cutline, and Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski and Erik Jones are also outside it. Shane van Gisbergen has a 50-point cushion over the cutline, Austin Cindric is 57 points above it, and Larson, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher and Carson Hocevar can still lock in spots on points. The undercard includes Josh Berry, who has three straight top-10s and finished second at New Hampshire last year, plus Connor Zilisch, who is set for his first NASCAR national-series start and will run both the Truck and Cup races, and Austin Hill, who will make his first Cup start at New Hampshire.
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August 20, 2026

Jets owner Woody Johnson takes stake in Aston Martin F1

Woody Johnson has bought a minority stake in Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team and will join the board as vice chairman immediately, the team said. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Aston Martin said Johnson will help drive commercial growth, especially in the United States, and will not have a day-to-day management role.

Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, said he wants to help Aston Martin compete at the highest level and grow its U.S. fanbase. Reports also said he has a stake in Crystal Palace, with one source putting that holding at 43% and another describing it as a major stake acquired last year. Johnson is an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021.

Lawrence Stroll remains Aston Martin’s executive chairman and controlling shareholder. Stroll said Johnson’s experience and investment strengthen the team as it enters its next phase. The deal comes as Aston Martin sits 10th in the Constructors’ Championship after a difficult start to the season, with an upgrade brought to the Hungarian Grand Prix and a Honda engine upgrade scheduled for the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend.
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August 20, 2026

Johann Zarco targets Aragon MotoGP return after knee injury

Johann Zarco was set to make his MotoGP comeback at the Aragon Grand Prix after more than three months out with serious knee injuries from a crash at the Catalan Grand Prix in May. LCR Honda said the return depended on a mandatory medical examination at the circuit on Thursday, with medical clearance needed for him to ride from Friday at the Aug. 28-30 event. If he passed the fit test, Aragon would be Zarco’s seventh appearance of the 2026 season.

Zarco’s injuries came in a Turn 1 crash at the restarted Catalunya race that also involved Francesco Bagnaia and Luca Marini. His left leg was trapped in Bagnaia’s Ducati rear wheel, and early concerns included ligament and meniscus damage and a possible fibula tear. Later scans showed his MCL and PCL were healing well, and surgery was not required. Zarco had missed six grands prix, and his planned return to racing had been moved back from an earlier target at LCR’s home round in Misano.

His recovery included gradual training on a supermoto bike and a Honda CBR1000RR-R, along with riding in Andorra. Zarco’s personal doctors had already cleared him to attempt the comeback, and LCR said Cal Crutchlow, who filled in for six races during Zarco’s absence, would travel to Aragon as backup if needed. Zarco was also set to serve a double long lap penalty for causing the Catalunya incident in his next grand prix.
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August 20, 2026

Cadillac Quashes F1 Sale Rumors Amid Walter Scrutiny

Cadillac dismissed speculation that its Formula 1 team could be sold as federal scrutiny continues around majority owner Mark Walter and his business empire. At the Dutch Grand Prix, General Motors motorsports communications executive Adrian Atkinson read a TWG Global statement saying the company is not considering a sale of the Cadillac team or any other part of TWG Motorsport. Atkinson said CEO Dan Towriss was in Washington, D.C., for an IndyCar race. Cadillac said it remains focused on building its F1 operation.

The rumors followed Walter’s record $12.5 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers and reports that he may sell part of his Chelsea stake, which fueled questions about whether other assets could change hands. Walter, who leads Guggenheim Partners and co-chairs TWG Global, owns TWG Motorsports, the majority stakeholder in Cadillac F1. TWG Global said it is cooperating with the inquiries, and no formal charges have been filed against Walter.

U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission inquiries are examining how investments and loans were classified across Walter’s affiliated financial entities. Several businesses tied to him have received subpoenas, although Walter and the companies involved have not been accused of crimes. New team principal Marcin Budkowski said there had been no discussion of a sale before he took the job and pointed to the team’s new factory and planned personnel announcements as signs of commitment. Cadillac F1 is in its first season after being approved in March 2025, and the team said its operations remain active.
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August 20, 2026

NASCAR releases Cup and Truck orders for New Hampshire race weekend

NASCAR heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for a New England doubleheader, with qualifying orders set and the schedule locked in for Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series action. The Cup Series practice is set for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET, followed by single-car qualifying at 11:35 a.m. ET on truTV. The Craftsman Truck Series will practice Friday at 4 p.m. ET and run single-truck qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET. NASCAR’s Cup and Truck qualifying orders were released based on metric scores that determined the lineup.

Cody Ware leads the 36-car Cup Series qualifying order, with Ty Dillon second and Zane Smith third. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are listed at the back of the field. In the Truck Series, Dawson Cram and Michael Christopher Jr. are at the top of the 41-truck qualifying order, followed by Dawson Sutton. Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt and Christian Eckes are listed at the end of the order. Kaden Honeycutt was also listed last in one source, while another placed Connor Mosack, Honeycutt and Eckes at the end.

The Cup race, the Dollar Tree 301, is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network and HBO Max, with coverage also on PRN and SiriusXM. It is the penultimate race before the 2026 Chase field is finalized. The Craftsman Truck Series Team EJP 175 is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1 and FOX One, and the Truck race will decide its postseason field after the weekend. Friday’s schedule also includes Whelen Modified Tour and Truck Series practice and qualifying sessions, and the Whelen Modified Tour Mohegan Sun 100 is set for 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FloRacing.
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August 20, 2026

Red Bull locks in Verstappen through 2030

Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 future was settled on Friday when Red Bull announced a new long-term contract extension that will keep the four-time world champion with the team through the end of 2030, ending months of speculation over his next move. The deal was announced ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen’s home race.

The extension came after reports that Red Bull and Verstappen were still negotiating and not close to agreement. Those reports said his previous contract ran through 2028 and included performance-based exit clauses, while Red Bull wanted to remove those clauses and Verstappen was seeking a richer financial package. Verstappen had been linked with Mercedes and McLaren, but a move in 2027 had looked unlikely because those teams were tied to their current lineups.

Verstappen joined Red Bull in 2016 and has won 71 races and four Drivers’ Championships with the team. His most recent win came in 2024, and he missed out on a fifth title by two points to Lando Norris as McLaren won both championships last season. Verstappen said he was excited to keep working with Red Bull, called the team a “second family,” and said its main goal remained getting back to the top.
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August 19, 2026

Turner Carries 15-Point WMX Lead Into Budds Creek

The 2026 Women’s Motocross Championship heads to Budds Creek Motocross Park in Southern Maryland for its penultimate round, with Lachlan Turner holding a 15-point lead over Charli Cannon entering the final two rounds and four motos of the season. Turner, Cannon and the rest of the WMX field will race at the Yamaha Racing Budds Creek National.

Budds Creek also will serve as Round 27 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship and the penultimate race of the Pro Motocross season on Saturday, Aug. 22. The 450SMX and 250SMX title fights will move closer to their conclusions, with Jett Lawrence leading Hunter Lawrence by 10 points in 450SMX and Cole Davies trailing Levi Kitchen by one point in 250SMX. Jorge Prado and Haiden Deegan remain in contention in the 450SMX title chase, and both Davies and Kitchen have previously won at Budds Creek.

Yamaha Motor Corp. USA is providing title support at Budds Creek for the fourth straight year. The weekend also will feature expanded WMX broadcast coverage, with Friday’s moto streaming on YouTube and SMX Video Pass and Saturday’s deciding moto airing on Peacock, SMX Video Pass and NBC.
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August 19, 2026

Bettenhausen 100 Draws 33 Cars, 4 Past Winners to Springfield

Thirty-three USAC Silver Crown drivers and cars are entered for Saturday’s 63rd Bettenhausen 100 Presented by Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt mile oval in Springfield, Illinois. The field includes four past Bettenhausen 100 winners, Brian Tyler, Justin Grant, Russ Gamester and Shane Cockrum, along with C.J. Leary, who enters as the USAC Silver Crown points leader.

The entry list also features several familiar names, including Jerry Coons Jr., Shane Cottle, Mario Clouser, Kyle Steffens, Kaylee Bryson and Leary. Coons and Cottle are former Bettenhausen runner-up finishers, and Leary is among the drivers looking to improve on previous finishes in the event.

Six 2026 rookies are entered, led by Hayden Reinbold, with Mark Bitner, Chelby Hinton and Bret Tripplett also named. Mitchell Davis and Colten Cottle are listed as first-time USAC Silver Crown competitors. J.J. Yeley will miss the race because of a scheduling conflict, and the Shawn Wood No. 27 entry is listed as TBA.
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August 19, 2026

Reliability, not pace, could decide Mercedes’ 2026 battle

Mercedes’ 2026 title campaign is being shaped as much by reliability as by pace, with deputy team principal Bradley Lord saying grid penalties for George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli now seem “almost inevitable.” Mercedes has been pushed close to, or beyond, its planned power unit allocation after a run of failures and component changes, including Antonelli reaching the limit of several power unit parts by the Belgian Grand Prix and a water leak in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying that forced Russell onto his fourth internal combustion engine. Battery and control electronics failures also caused retirements for Russell in Canada and Antonelli in Barcelona.

The team still leads both championships after winning eight of the first 11 Grands Prix, but the gap has narrowed as rivals have closed in. Antonelli, the 19-year-old rookie, leads Russell by 59 points and is 50 points clear of Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes is 72 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. Lord said it is too early to back one driver and that Mercedes’ first aim remains the constructors’ championship, with the team preferring to keep both cars competitive. He said that if a Mercedes can win a race, it must win the race.

Team principal Toto Wolff and technical director James Allison have said the second half of the season will be decided by development and race-day execution, but reliability may matter more than upgrades. Wolff said Mercedes has left points on the table and still has more performance to unlock, while Allison said the W17’s reliability problems and power unit issues have already cost points. With 12 races left and the season resuming at the Dutch Grand Prix, Wolff said one or two retirements could quickly change the championship picture, and Mercedes must balance upgrades, budget cap limits and the risk of more grid penalties.
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