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August 10, 2026

George Russell announces engagement to Carmen Montero Mundt

George Russell announced his engagement to Carmen Montero Mundt during Formula 1’s summer shutdown, sharing photos on Instagram from an intimate candlelit beach dinner. He captioned the post with ring and white heart emojis, and fellow drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri were among those who congratulated the couple in the comments. Alexandra Leclerc also sent congratulations.

The couple’s relationship began in 2020, but reports differ on how they first met. One account says they were introduced by mutual friends, while another says they met on a blind date in London through a mutual Spanish acquaintance at Soho House in White City. Russell and Montero Mundt had been together for six years before he proposed, and their relationship grew as he moved from Williams to Mercedes. At the time they met, Russell was preparing for his second Formula 1 season with Williams and Montero Mundt was studying in London.

Montero Mundt has become a regular presence in the Formula 1 paddock at race weekends. She works in the financial sector and recently launched the skincare brand Barriers. In June 2026, she told The Times that she brings Russell stability and helps him disconnect from racing. Jewelry experts cited by Marie Claire Australia estimated her oval yellow diamond ring at eight to 10 carats and worth more than $1 million.
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August 9, 2026

RFK, Front Row lose pit picks after failing Iowa inspection twice

Two NASCAR Cup Series teams were penalized after failing pre-race technical inspection twice Saturday at Iowa Speedway, with Ryan Preece’s No. 60 RFK Racing Ford and Todd Gilliland’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford both eventually clearing on a third attempt. The failures cost RFK Racing car chief Jerry Cook and Front Row Motorsports car chief Joe Marra the rest of the weekend, and both teams lost their pit stall selection for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350. Because the cars passed on the third try, neither team had to serve a drive-through penalty at the start of the race.

The inspection problems came as Preece entered the weekend 17th in points, 38 points below the provisional final playoff spot with four regular-season races left. Preece had not posted a top-five finish in 2026 and was 35th after a slow practice run. Gilliland came in 23rd in the standings after winning the In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis, and he had been fourth fastest in practice.

NASCAR also said Sunday that the Nos. 6, 9 and 11 cars of Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin would start from the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments ahead of the Iowa race, adding to a busy penalty list at the 7/8-mile oval in Newton.
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August 9, 2026

Nashville Stampede sweeps Freedom Days, widens PBR lead

The Nashville Stampede strengthened their grip on the top of the PBR Teams standings after a perfect 3-0 weekend at Freedom Days in Sunrise, Florida. Nashville improved to 7-1, extended its franchise-best win streak to seven games and opened a two-game lead in the standings. The Stampede went 10-for-15 over the weekend and got rides from Alan de Souza, Daniel Feitosa, Rogério Venâncio and Riquelmi Silva. Reports varied on the final score of their win over the New York Mavericks, with one source listing a 356.3-89.55 result. Earlier Saturday night, Nashville also beat the Texas Rattlers 259.45-89.15 at Amerant Bank Arena.

The Florida Freedom stayed unbeaten on their home dirt and earned their second straight win at Amerant Bank Arena by edging the New York Mavericks 89-86.8. Austin Richardson had an 89-point ride for Florida on Blazin Halos Late Night Toss. The final day of Freedom Days was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 9, with action set to resume at 1:45 p.m. ET and air live on The CW at 2 p.m. ET.

The Austin Gamblers beat the Missouri Thunder 178.1-90.6, the Carolina Cowboys defeated the Oklahoma Wildcatters 261.95-175.45 and moved above .500, and the Arizona Ridge Riders topped the Kansas City Outlaws 266.9-174.4. Arizona and Kansas City each finished the weekend undefeated. PBR Teams is scheduled to return Aug. 14-16 for Stampede Days in Nashville, Tennessee.
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August 9, 2026

Ty Gibbs Wins Iowa Cup Race for Second 2026 Victory

Ty Gibbs won the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney for his second Cup victory of the 2026 season. Gibbs also benefited from a two-tire strategy call, and one report said he recovered from an early pit-stop problem that dropped him to 28th before he surged back to the front in the closing stages. Christopher Bell finished second, Blaney was third, Josh Berry was fourth and Denny Hamlin placed fifth.

Blaney had opened the race by winning Stage 1, leading all 70 laps from the pole, with Joey Logano second and Kyle Larson third. Bell won Stage 2, with Logano second and Ross Chastain third. Gibbs was in the lead in a Stage 3 report, with Bell second and Blaney third. The 350-lap race at Iowa Speedway also featured an early Lap 4 crash that ended the races for Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones.

Chastain finished in the top 10 and earned 13 stage points, a result that helped keep his Chase hopes alive. Connor Zilisch logged front-running laps and collected stage points. Elsewhere in the field, William Byron finished ninth, Logano was 14th, Chase Elliott 15th and Kyle Larson 33rd after contact and a four-wide incident. Tyler Reddick finished 36th and last.
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August 9, 2026

Reddick’s Iowa crash dents Erik Jones’ playoff push

Tyler Reddick’s crash at Iowa damaged Erik Jones’ NASCAR playoff hopes after the two Toyota drivers got together early in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. Reports placed the wreck on lap 4 or lap 5, but it happened while Reddick and Jones were battling for eighth place in Turn 1, when Reddick got loose, slid up the track and hit the outside wall, collecting Jones and bringing out a caution. Both drivers were sent to the garage, later evaluated and released from the infield care center, and both were done for the day, with Jones credited with a 35th-place finish and Reddick 36th.

Jones said he and the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team needed “a few perfect weeks” to reach the postseason, and the early crash left the path much harder. He entered Iowa 18th in the standings and 44 points below the playoff cutline, and the wreck further hurt his chances after a race in which his team needed a strong result.

Reddick said the mistake was his fault, saying he “got out of shape at a corner entry” and calling the crash “gut-wrenching.” He also said he was frustrated at knocking out a fellow Toyota teammate who was fighting for a playoff spot. Reddick entered the race after winning the first three events of the season, but he had been struggling recently and falling in the standings, with Denny Hamlin having built an 84-point lead over him after Indianapolis.
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August 9, 2026

Haas Factory Team adds Thompson for third O’Reilly car

Haas Factory Team will expand to three full-time cars in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2027, and Dean Thompson will join the organization to drive its third entry on a multi-year deal. The 24-year-old will move from Sam Hunt Racing’s Toyota program to a Haas Chevrolet, with team president Joe Custer announcing the move at Iowa Speedway on Saturday.

Thompson is in his second full-time season in the series and has 57 career starts, one top-five finish and 10 top-10s. He posted eight top-10s in 2025 and has added two more through the first 22 races of 2026, with his best result this year a sixth-place finish at Talladega in April. Before moving up, he ran in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series from 2022 to 2024, making 70 starts and earning 11 top-10 finishes.

Custer said Thompson has shown strong progression and said he will compete at the highest level. Thompson said his long relationship with Joe Custer and Cole Custer helped lead to the opportunity, and he said he is excited to join Haas Factory Team and race for wins and a championship. Thompson Pipe Group and MCM Transportation will serve as primary partners on the Chevrolet, and Haas said the car number and crew chief will be announced later. The team currently fields two full-time O’Reilly Series cars for Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer, and it remains committed to its single-car Cup Series operation with Cole Custer.
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August 9, 2026

Fernandez leads Aprilia 1-2-3 at Silverstone

Trackhouse Aprilia dominated the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with Raul Fernandez leading every lap to claim the win. Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi completed an Aprilia 1-2-3, while Aprilia also swept the Sprint podium. Fernandez said the victory came from understanding the limit of the medium rear tire from the start and managing tire wear and fuel over the race.

The result also tightened the title picture. Martin had taken pole, won the Sprint and recovered to second in the Grand Prix after a poor start caused by a rear ride-height device that did not disengage properly. He left Silverstone 31 points clear of Bezzecchi, whose podium ended a difficult run since his Mugello win, shaped by crashes, injuries, outside criticism and his own doubts. Bezzecchi’s result was also his first podium since returning from collarbone surgery.

Ducati had a difficult weekend. Alex Marquez was the first Ducati rider home in fourth after a Turn 1 mistake cost him a chance at the podium, Fabio Di Giannantonio finished sixth and said Ducati was behind Aprilia, and Marc Marquez took seventh after tire degradation hurt his pace. Francesco Bagnaia crashed out on lap eight and left scoreless, while Fabio Quartararo’s 12th-place finish was deleted by a tire-pressure penalty, promoting Pol Espargaro to 13th. Pedro Acosta finished fifth for KTM and said the team needed serious improvements, and Cal Crutchlow endured a double DNF in his first British Grand Prix appearance since 2021.
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August 8, 2026

Chase Briscoe Buys Brent Marks Racing, Launches New Team

Chase Briscoe has acquired Brent Marks Racing, rebranding the team as Chase Briscoe Racing in the High Limit Sprint Car Series and setting it up as a full-time operation with 410 winged sprint cars. Brent Marks will remain the primary driver and serve as general manager, and Magical Vacation Planners has signed on as the organization’s first new sponsor.

Briscoe said the purchase brought him back into sprint car racing, connected to his family’s 50-year, three-generation history in the sport and gave him a chance to build a national team and create opportunities for developing racers. He also said he wanted an ownership stake because winged sprint car racing has room to grow commercially, pointing to High Limit’s TV exposure on FS1, Amazon Prime and Flo, along with its charter model. Briscoe called the move a childhood dream and said it gave him an established elite organization and a full-time car on a national tour.

Marks said he initially thought Briscoe’s interest was a joke before deciding to sell after losing business support from Allen Murray last year. He said the move would ease the burden of running the family team and let him focus more on driving. Marks finished third in the 2025 High Limit standings with five wins, and he has won marquee races including the Kings Royal, the Historical Big One and the Williams Grove National Open. Briscoe first contacted Marks in the spring, and Christopher Bell praised the deal as good for dirt-track racing.
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August 8, 2026

C.J. Leary wins Iowa 100 in Silver Crown return

C.J. Leary won Saturday night’s Iowa 100 at Iowa Speedway, giving the event its first USAC Silver Crown race since 2015. Leary started fifth, moved to second by lap 24 and took the lead when Chase Cabre’s car lost power on lap 47. Leary then led the final 54 laps to beat teammate Mario Clouser for a Team AZ Racing/Petty-Rossi/Curb-Agajanian 1-2 finish. It was Leary’s first career visit to Iowa Speedway and his seventh career USAC Silver Crown victory, tying Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood and George Snider for 18th on the all-time wins list.

The win also stretched Leary’s championship lead from 36 points to 45. Iowa Speedway’s return to Silver Crown racing came during a busy weekend at the track, which also featured NASCAR national series competition on the 7/8-mile oval in Newton, Iowa.
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