Author Archives: PressBox

May 26, 2026

WSL revamps CT format, right-point waves reshape early standings

The World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) opened the season after a seven-month offseason with a slate of format changes that reshaped early standings. The league removed the Final 5, reinstated cumulative points, eliminated the mid-season cut and non‑elimination rounds, added a new New Zealand venue and introduced bonus points for the Pipeline finale. Four early events across Australia and New Zealand followed, and those rule changes produced a start weighted toward right-point waves that affected the initial rankings and heat outcomes.

On the men’s tour, Brazilian goofy‑footers Italo Ferreira, Miguel Pupo, Gabriel Medina and Yago Dora led the standings after the Oceania events. George Pittar won at Margaret River, while several regular‑footed contenders — including Kanoa Igarashi, Jack Robinson and Jordy Smith — underperformed early in the season.

On the women’s side, Lakey Peterson, Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore won the three most recent events, and 20‑year‑old Sawyer Lindblad moved into the top five following a final and a semifinal. The tour is scheduled next to the Punta Roca stop in El Salvador, then Brazil.

Equipment and shaper trends tracked closely with results. Surfboard Empire’s CT Shaper Rankings presented by Veia showed Lost retook the lead from DHD after the Oceania swing, holding a 9,140‑point advantage; Marcio Zouvi’s Sharp Eye moved into third, leapfrogging Channel Islands.

Individual surfer‑board links also stood out. Carissa Moore recorded her first CT win of the season at Raglan riding a Lost board, and both women’s Raglan finalists rode boards sporting Mayhem decals. Italo Ferreira won on an IF15 model shaped by Simon Jones, a PU build made at the request of his coach Leandro Dora; that same IF15 assisted Timmy Patterson to a win. Matt Biolos remained prominent after three consecutive CT Shaper of the Year titles and a Stab in the Dark All‑Stars win. Lost’s large points cushion positioned the brand as the early favorite for upcoming South American events, with surfers Griffin, Yago, Carissa, Gabriela and Caroline noted as typically strong in those conditions.
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May 26, 2026

Ex-Last Chance U lineman Blake Sharp wins 4th PBR award, proposes

Blake Sharp closed the PBR World Finals at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth by winning his fourth straight PBR Stock Contractor of the Year award and immediately proposing onstage to his longtime girlfriend, Dr. Caitlin Wenzel. After accepting the award, Sharp proposed and Wenzel answered “hell yes,” drawing cheers from Sharp’s partners and the World Finals audience.

It was his fourth straight win, a streak that began in 2023. The award recognizes Sharp’s consistent excellence and the respect he has earned within the sport. He runs a stock-contracting business that hauls, conditions and cares for top bucking bulls nationwide.

Sharp is a former East Mississippi Community College lineman who appeared on the first season of Last Chance U, and his football-honed toughness has helped shape his approach to stock contracting.
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May 26, 2026

Ransom prevails over Pegasus by 0.01 to win World Champion Bull

Ransom edged Pegasus by 0.01 points to claim the YETI PBR World Champion Bull, a razor-thin victory that capped one of the closest title races in PBR history. Ransom finished the calculated season average at 45.96 points to Pegasus’s 45.95, overturning a 0.05-point deficit held by Pegasus before the final short round to secure the crown.

Ransom was crowned at the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. He was also named the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Finals for the top combined score across his three World Finals outs.

The bull is owned by D&H Cattle Co. and Flinn. Ransom collected a $100,000 World Champion bonus plus a $25,000 Bull of the Finals award.

The World Champion Bull ranking used each animal’s eight highest-scored outs from the combined 2025 PBR Teams season and this season’s Unleash The Beast regular season, plus two World Finals outs — a formula that produced the 45.96-to-45.95 margin that decided the title.
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May 26, 2026

Kofoid Pulls Away From Reutzel at Huset’s, Wins by Nearly 4 Seconds

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid continued his dominance at Huset’s Speedway, winning the World of Outlaws Stars and Stripes Salute finale in Brandon, South Dakota. Kofoid drove the No. 83 Roth Motorsports sprint car to victory in the 35-lap, $20,000-to-win feature, crossing the line nearly four seconds ahead of the field. The result was Kofoid’s sixth win at Huset’s Speedway, his fifth win in his last seven visits, and extended his streak at Huset’s to eight consecutive finishes of fourth or better, underscoring Roth Motorsports’ continued strength at the Brandon oval.

Kofoid timed 23rd in qualifying, advanced to second in his heat race and drew the eight in the redraw to start seventh in the main. He climbed onto the podium by Lap 7 and took the lead from Aaron Reutzel on Lap 13 after Reutzel led the opening 12 laps. Sheldon Haudenschild finished second, Aaron Reutzel third, David Gravel fourth and Donny Schatz fifth. The victory was Kofoid’s sixth of the 2026 season and the 28th World of Outlaws triumph of his career, tying him with Kerry Madsen for 25th on the series’ all-time win list, and it ended Reutzel’s recent domination of the event.
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May 26, 2026

After early charge, Alonso stops on lap 23 with cockpit pain

Fernando Alonso retired from the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve because an ongoing seat and cockpit-positioning problem made the car unbearably painful to drive, forcing him to stop on lap 23 (some reports said lap 24). Alonso said he needed to “stop the pain,” and the same issue had already knocked him out of the Saturday sprint. Aston Martin’s overnight attempts to fix the seat failed and, with points effectively out of reach and no rain forecast, the team chose to park the car.

Alonso had made an aggressive start on soft tyres and briefly rose into the top 10 on lap three, marking his first appearance in the points this season before his pace faded, and he was reported as running 12th when he retired. The exit was Alonso’s third retirement of the year. He described the teams package as “sub-par machinery,” said he had “more hope” for Monaco because the street circuit relies less on raw engine power, and acknowledged gearbox improvements since Miami. Alonso estimated Aston Martin still faced roughly a three-second deficit that will need engine and aerodynamic upgrades expected in the second half of the year.

Aston Martin trackside chief Mike Krack said both drivers had made ground early in the race but the squad lacked overall pace. Krack described the seat problem as a worsening pressure point and suggested the team may have pushed drivers’ cockpit positioning “a step too far” as they sit increasingly low in the chassis. The team said it will revisit cockpit set-up and attempt to build a new seat ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The weekend underlined broader setup and performance deficits for the team, with teammate Lance Stroll struggling for tyre temperature, grip and straight-line pace and finishing 15th after starting from the pit lane, leaving Aston Martin with limited points at their home race.
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May 26, 2026

Antonelli wins fourth straight at Canadian GP, leads by 43

Kimi Antonelli extended his championship lead with a fourth consecutive victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. The win — his fourth straight from the start of his F1 career — left him 43 points clear after five races, making him the first driver to win his opening four Grands Prix in succession.

The result underlined Mercedes’ strong pace and points advantage in the constructors’ battle but heightened pressure inside the team over intra‑team battles and mechanical reliability, issues that could decide the title fight.

The weekend featured tense wheel‑to‑wheel duels between Antonelli and team‑mate George Russell. Russell had sprint pole and won the Sprint, but Antonelli clipped him in that Sprint, forcing Russell onto the grass. In the Grand Prix the pair swapped the lead repeatedly in a roughly 30‑lap scrap.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff intervened over the radio during the weekend and again in the race, ordering the drivers to “tidy up” and warning the team would step in if intra‑team battles threatened results. Antonelli said maintaining “respect” and handling borderline incidents internally was vital for a title fight and cited the 2016 Hamilton–Rosberg feud as an example he did not want repeated. Russell acknowledged Antonelli’s advantage, saying, “Right now, it’s [Antonelli’s] to lose,” and that he had “nothing to lose.”

The duel ended when Russell stopped on lap 30 with a mechanical failure variously described as a power‑unit, battery or engine problem, removing him as an immediate challenger and clearing the way for Antonelli to run untroubled to the flag. Antonelli finished 10.7 seconds ahead, with Lewis Hamilton second for Ferrari and Max Verstappen third — Verstappen’s first podium of the season.

With 17 race weekends and 449 championship points still available, Mercedes’ pace gives them the upper hand in the constructors’ battle, but mechanical reliability and tight team management will be decisive as the season continues.
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May 26, 2026

Ross Brawn joins Pramac board as non-executive strategic adviser

Pramac announced that Ross Brawn has joined its board as a non-executive strategic adviser to team principal Paolo Campinoti (reported in some outlets as Paolo Campinotti).

Pramac said the role is strategic rather than day-to-day and provided no contract length or operational details. Campinoti said he expects Brawn’s “vision and winning mentality” to be valuable to the team, and Brawn said he was delighted to join and looked forward to supporting Pramac where his experience is useful.

Brawn brings more than four decades of F1 and motorsport experience and a résumé that includes 22 world championships—11 Constructors’ titles and 11 Drivers’ titles. His career includes technical director roles at Benetton (1991–1996) and Ferrari (1996–2006), leading BrawnGP to the 2009 championship, serving as Mercedes team principal (2010–2013) and holding senior roles at Formula One Management from 2017 to 2022. Some coverage also described him as having held senior positions after Liberty Media’s takeover of Formula 1.

Pramac framed the appointment as a targeted effort to accelerate on-track performance and strengthen organizational structure as it seeks better results this season. Pramac sits bottom of the MotoGP team standings this season with six points. Observers have suggested the team may have recruited Brawn to leverage his familiarity and contacts at Liberty Media as MotoGP faces proposed regulatory changes, including a contested bike limit, and commentators linked the hire to a broader pattern of crossover activity between F1 and MotoGP.
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May 26, 2026

Tight points and big purses raise stakes for Hoffman, Pierce

High purses and a rescheduled marquee race have drawn top competitors to the World of Outlaws Late Model Series’ four-night Pennsylvania–Ohio swing, anchored by the rain-rescheduled Connor Bobik Memorial at Marion Center Raceway on May 27 and the Blaster 57 at Mansfield Speedway on May 30.

The Marion Center finale will pay $30,000 to the winner, making it one of the highest-paying midweek races. The rescheduled mid‑May Showdown lets teams reuse setups from the rained-out event; that split-field Showdown produced winners Logan Zarin and Jared Miley.

The tour will move roughly three hours west to Wayne County Speedway on May 28 as part of the stretch.

Mansfield Speedway, purchased and reopened by Matt Tifft earlier in May, will host the Blaster 57 on May 30. The Blaster 57 pays $57,000 to the winner and $5,700 to start and is part of a more-than-$240,000 purse for Feature starters. Drivers with Dirt Million experience expected to chase the Mansfield payday include Bobby Pierce, Dennis Erb Jr., Tyler Erb, Nick Hoffman and Tim McCreadie. National stars Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran and Brandon Sheppard will use the week to prepare for the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora; O’Neal enters the stretch with 14 wins this year.

The championship picture remains tight behind leaders Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce, with 35 points separating third-place Tim McCreadie and sixth-place Drake Troutman. The schedule shift and large purses underline an intense stretch of competition that could influence entries and strategy across the three events.
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May 25, 2026

Aaron Reutzel sweeps past Donny Schatz, leads every lap at Knoxville

Aaron Reutzel continued his hot streak at Knoxville Raceway, sweeping past polesitter Donny Schatz from the outside of the front row, then leading every lap of the 25-lap World of Outlaws feature to Victory Lane. The win paid $20,000 and was Reutzel’s sixth victory of May and his sixth in the last eight races, pushing his monthly earnings past six figures and his 2026 haul to nearly $200,000. The triumph was his eighth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory, his 12th 410-class win at Knoxville, and increased his combined 410/360 Knoxville total to 28, a result that tied him with Jimmy Sills and Cody Darrah for 56th on the World of Outlaws all-time win list.

Reutzel held off late traffic to secure the feature as Donny Schatz finished second in the CJB Motorsports No. 15, marking Schatz’s fourth podium of the 2026 season. Rico Abreu placed third to extend his streak to five consecutive podiums, with David Gravel fourth and J.J. Hickle fifth. Austin McCarl initially crossed sixth but was later disqualified after losing a muffler. In the support program, Tasker Phillips charged from the fourth row to win the Randall Roofing 360 20-lap feature in the 3-Way Motorsports No. 1TAZ, his second straight Knoxville victory and sixth career win at the track. Officials also noted Knoxville Raceway will host the Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars on May 29–30.
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