PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

August 6, 2026

NASCAR to use green-and-checkered finish after late cautions

NASCAR changed its stage-break procedure across its national series for the rest of the 2026 season, starting this weekend at Iowa Speedway, in a move aimed at reducing long caution periods and back-to-back yellows. Under the new rule, if a caution comes out with 10 laps or fewer remaining in Stage 1 or Stage 2, that stage will be declared official at the moment of the caution.

After that, the race leader will return to the start-finish line for a green-and-checkered finish under yellow, and the ensuing caution period will count as the stage break. Any remaining laps from that stage will be added to the next stage, and NASCAR said the top-10 finishing order and stage points will still be determined using all available timing and scoring resources.

NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said the change came after fan complaints about too many caution laps and not enough green-flag racing. NASCAR also said the update lets stage points be awarded right away and allows pit road to open as soon as it is safe.
More
August 6, 2026

Bristol’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race returns to August slot

Bristol Motor Speedway’s 2027 NASCAR Cup Series schedule centers on two tripleheader weekends, including the return of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race to its traditional late-summer slot. The spring Food City 500 weekend is set for April 9-11, opening with the Tennessee Army National Guard 250 on Friday, the Suburban Propane 300 and qualifying on Saturday, and the Food City 500 on Sunday. The August weekend runs Aug. 12-14, opening with the UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics on Thursday, followed by the Food City 300 and qualifying on Friday before the Night Race on Saturday night.

Bristol said the Night Race’s move back to August is a major calendar change, after 44 consecutive seasons in late summer before shifting in recent years. The race is returning after a seven-year run in the postseason, and Bristol officials said both weekends remain key traditions for fans. Tickets for the 2027 weekends are expected to go on sale soon.

The Bristol announcement comes as NASCAR also swaps Bristol and New Hampshire Motor Speedway on the 2027 schedule. New Hampshire will host a playoff weekend on Sept. 25-26, its 16th postseason race, and the track’s Cup event will be the third of 10 playoff races. The Truck Series playoff opener also will be held at New Hampshire on Sept. 25.
More
August 6, 2026

Florida Freedom host first home event at PBR Team Series stop 3

PBR Teams Freedom Days presented by Breedlove Wound Care returns to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, this weekend for Stop No. 3 of the 2026 season, with all 10 teams in action. The Florida Freedom, third in the standings at 3-2, will host their only home stand of the regular season and stage their first home event of the year Aug. 7-9. Florida opens against the Missouri Thunder, who also enter the weekend at 3-2. Competition begins Friday at 7:45 p.m. ET on Paramount+, continues Saturday at 6:45 p.m. ET with a same-day tape delay on The CW at 10 p.m. ET, and wraps up Sunday at 1:45 p.m. ET on The CW. CBS’s Game of the Week on Sunday at noon ET will feature the New York Mavericks against the Florida Freedom.

Beyond the host-team spotlight, the weekend also carries several league storylines. Boudreaux Campbell is back in the mix, Nashville is closing in on the 1,000-point milestone, Texas will be without Claudio Montanha Jr., and Carolina is expected to add Derek Kolbaba and Ezekiel Mitchell. Arizona’s matchup with Carolina will also feature Keyshawn Whitehorse.
More
August 6, 2026

NASCAR sets Iowa Speedway weekend schedule and qualifying

NASCAR’s national series heads to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, for a three-day weekend from Friday, Aug. 7 through Sunday, Aug. 9, with ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Cup Series action on a 7/8-mile track. Friday’s card includes ARCA practice and qualifying, then the JR&CO 150 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX One and MRN, while Saturday brings O’Reilly practice and qualifying, Cup practice and qualifying, and the HyVee Perks 250 and Cup coverage across multiple networks and streaming platforms.

Cup Series practice is set for Saturday at 2:05 p.m. ET on truTV, with single-car qualifying at 3:10 p.m. ET. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has practice at 11:30 a.m. ET and single-car qualifying at 12:35 p.m. ET, with coverage listed on The CW, the CW app, ESPN Unlimited and the ESPN app. NASCAR also released the qualifying order, with Connor Zilisch first in the Cup lineup and Joey Gase first in the O’Reilly order. Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe were among the last Cup drivers listed, while Rajah Caruth, Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil were near the back of the O’Reilly list.

Sunday’s Cup race, the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, HBO Max and MRN. The watch guide also mentioned Peacock. The Cup Series is making its third visit to Iowa Speedway, and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will run its 23rd race at the short track. Denny Hamlin entered the weekend first in the standings, with Tyler Reddick 84 points back and Ryan Blaney 120 points behind.
More
August 6, 2026

Phoenix Raceway sets March 2027 NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader

Phoenix Raceway announced its 2027 schedule, and the centerpiece of the spring weekend is the return of the NTT IndyCar Series to the 1-mile short oval on March 13, 2027. The race will be part of a NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader weekend from March 12-14, with the spring program also including an ARCA Menards Series race on Friday, March 12 and the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, March 14. IndyCar’s 2027 season is set to open with the same three tracks as 2026, St. Petersburg, Phoenix and Arlington, after the 2026 Phoenix weekend drew improved attendance and viewership and was viewed as a success.

Phoenix Raceway, which is owned by NASCAR, said the spring weekend will again pair NASCAR and IndyCar, with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and IndyCar sharing the track on Saturday, March 13. The track said full 2027 schedules, broadcast details and race times will be announced later.

The fall portion of the schedule is set for Oct. 22-24 and will feature Chase races in all three national NASCAR series. The weekend opens with the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series on Friday, Oct. 22, includes NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and ARCA Menards Series West races on Saturday, Oct. 23, and ends with the Freeway Insurance 500 on Sunday, Oct. 24 as Cup Series championship positioning intensifies. Phoenix Raceway also said limited tickets remain for its 2026 Chase weekend, scheduled for Oct. 16-18.
More
August 6, 2026

Williams calls FW48 a flop as 2026 recovery work begins

Williams has already moved on to long-term recovery work after a difficult start to its 2026 Formula 1 season, with team principal James Vowles saying the FW48 has been “a flop” and cannot be fully fixed this year. He said the team is focusing on curing the car’s worst handling traits and building a better platform for the future, even as the current car has been blighted by production delays, excess weight and balance problems. Those delays also meant Williams missed private testing in Barcelona at the end of January, and the FW48 arrived late, overweight and off the pace.

The on-track results have reflected those problems. Williams sits ninth in the constructors’ standings with 11 points, has not scored since the Monaco Grand Prix in June and managed only 11 points through the first 11 races. Carlos Sainz called the season an “eye-opener” and “character building,” saying Williams had overachieved in 2025 when it finished fifth and scored podiums, but has fallen farther from the front than expected under the new rules. He said the team still has a lot of work to do to fight at the front again.

Alex Albon said the planned upgrade for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is unlikely to be a quick fix, since much of it was designed long ago and the team is already focused on next year’s car. He said Williams understands the car’s weaknesses and is working hard to address them, but described the FW48 as overweight, unbalanced and frustrating to drive. Sainz said a turnaround is possible, but it will take time, budget-cap money and detailed analysis, while Vowles said the factory work is not being reflected in the results and Williams is already working on its 2027 car.
More
August 6, 2026

Red Bull warns 2026 F1 development may slow after heavy push

Red Bull’s 2026 F1 car has developed a narrow operating window, with technical director Pierre Wache saying the RB22 struggles on corner entry stability and with mid-corner understeer, and that small changes in track conditions or minor damage can wipe out its performance. Wache said the car initially lacked load and had steering feel problems early in the season, but those issues were corrected, and Red Bull is still working to understand what is not functioning as it tries to improve the package. He also said it is hard to know whether last year’s late development push hurt the 2026 project.

The team has already made 36 changes this season and introduced upgrades at every race except the Chinese Grand Prix, with the biggest updates arriving in Miami and Austria. Team principal Laurent Mekies said it is probably difficult to imagine keeping that development rhythm, and warned that the 2026 spending cap of $215 million could force Red Bull to slow its pace in the second half of the year as it balances this season’s car against next year’s. The FIA’s ADUO system has rated Red Bull’s engine the fastest, limiting further engine-related upgrades.

Those limitations have left Red Bull more than 200 points behind Mercedes after 11 races, fourth in the constructors’ standings and the only top-four team without a win. Max Verstappen finished second at the Hungarian Grand Prix but said he was unhappy with the car’s oversteer and described the race as one of the hardest of his season. Wache said Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar have both been frustrated by the car’s balance, gear ratios and overall feel, and that Red Bull has made progress as it tries to avoid its first winless season since 2015. Verstappen heads into the summer break with his contract break clause active, and attention now turns to how the car performs at Zandvoort.
More
August 6, 2026

MotoGP Extends Silverstone British GP Deal Through 2028

MotoGP and Silverstone have extended their partnership through 2028, keeping the British Grand Prix on the FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The agreement was announced on the eve of the 2026 British Grand Prix weekend and ended speculation that the race could move to Donington Park or drop off the schedule.

Silverstone has staged the British round since MotoGP returned there in 2010, and the circuit said the deal reinforces its role as the UK home of elite international racing. MotoGP chief Carmelo Ezpeleta said the partnership would help the series invest further in the event and strengthen its presence in the UK, while Silverstone chief Stuart Pringle said it reaffirmed the circuit’s commitment to two-wheel racing and a long-term partnership.

The extension comes as MotoGP continues to target the British market, which it treats as important despite not matching Formula 1’s draw at Silverstone. Last year’s British Grand Prix drew just under 100,000 fans, and MotoGP has staged a London watch party and moved the pre-event press conference to the capital to build interest. Silverstone has hosted more than 2 million fans for MotoGP events, and the next British Grand Prix is expected in August 2027, when MotoGP’s new 850cc machines are due to race.
More
August 5, 2026

Hamlin Opens as Favorite for Iowa Cup Race

Denny Hamlin opened as the betting favorite for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway, with DraftKings listing him at +400. Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell were next at +500, Kyle Larson was +750, and William Byron and Joey Logano were among the longer shots. The race is scheduled for 350 laps at the 0.875-mile track, with the green flag set for 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and the Motor Racing Network. The Cup Series returns from its final off week of the 2026 season for its third race at Iowa Speedway, and some previews also pointed to Blaney as the track favorite based on his previous Iowa results.

Hamlin enters Iowa leading Tyler Reddick by 84 points in the regular-season standings and carrying a 95% probability of winning the regular-season title in NASCAR’s statistics. He has four victories, 12 top-five finishes and a record 20th postseason berth already secured. Four drivers have clinched playoff spots, Hamlin, Reddick, Blaney and Ty Gibbs, and there are four races left before the playoff field is set. Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Cindric are near the cutoff line, while Logano, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman are among the drivers listed to watch.

Joe Gibbs Racing has all four of its Cup drivers in the playoff picture, with Hamlin leading the group as the points leader. Hamlin has led 836 laps in 14 races on non-drafting ovals this season and enters with a nine-race top-five streak on those tracks, though he finished 24th in both of his previous Cup starts at Iowa. Christopher Bell has finished second six times this season and is still trying to clinch his playoff berth, while Chase Briscoe won the pole at Iowa last year and led 81 laps in a runner-up finish. Ty Gibbs is fourth in the standings, has career-best numbers in top fives, top 10s, stage wins and stage points, and has scored 216 points over the last five races, the most in that span.
More