PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

August 31, 2026

Lachlan Turner Overcomes Crashes for Third WMX Title

Lachlan Turner clinched her third straight WMX title at Ironman Raceway, overcoming crashes in both motos to secure the championship by six points over Charli Cannon. Turner entered the finale with a 13-point lead, finished fifth in Friday’s moto and then recovered from an early crash in Saturday’s race to take fourth, enough to lock up the crown. She became only the third rider in WMX history to win three consecutive titles.

Cannon won the weekend with a perfect 1-1 moto sweep, her first in the United States and the second WMX victory of her career. Her Friday win cut Turner’s lead, and Cannon closed the season as the runner-up with 261 points to Turner’s 267.

Mayla Herrick and Daniela Guillen also reached the Ironman Raceway podium, with Herrick going 3-2 and Guillen posting a 2-3 result in her U.S. debut. Mikayla Nielsen finished third in the final WMX standings on a tiebreaker over Jordan Jarvis.
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August 31, 2026

Antonelli says enjoying F1 fuels Mercedes title charge

Kimi Antonelli says shifting his focus from chasing wins to enjoying F1 has helped drive his second-season title charge for Mercedes. The 20-year-old leads the 2026 championship by 59 points over teammate George Russell, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also in the hunt, after becoming the youngest driver to top the standings following consecutive victories in China and Japan. He has six wins and six podiums this season, and advice from Roger Federer and other athletes to be himself and enjoy the moment has helped him stay calm.

Antonelli said the difficult moments in his rookie year made him mentally and emotionally stronger and helped him handle pressure more calmly. He spent part of the summer break watching races on TV and talking about F1 in a relaxed way, and he believes the season is only halfway over, so the job is not done. He now says setbacks are turned into strong results rather than allowed to snowball.

His next test is his home Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Mercedes is set to fit a new power unit, which will trigger a 10-place grid penalty, but Antonelli still expects a better Monza experience than last year after retiring at Imola and finishing ninth at Monza.
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August 31, 2026

Denny Hamlin opens playoffs as NASCAR title favorite

Denny Hamlin enters the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as the top seed and the championship favorite, carrying a 25-point lead over Ryan Blaney under the revised format. Hamlin won four races in the regular season at Las Vegas, Nashville, Michigan and Pocono, led a series-high 880 laps, and said his team felt strong heading into the 10-race Chase. He also said the run starts with Darlington Raceway, a track where he has not been at his best in his last two races, and called improving there his top priority before the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sept. 6.

The 2026 Chase is a 10-race, no-elimination format decided by total points, with the top 16 drivers reset at the start of the postseason. The schedule begins at Darlington and ends at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8. Hamlin said the rest of the playoff calendar suits him well, with Martinsville and Homestead-Miami among the tracks he expects to like. He also said he felt confident he could win every playoff race.

Ryan Preece secured the final playoff spot with his Daytona victory, completing the 16-driver field as the No. 16 seed. Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano are among the other leading contenders, with Logano’s late surge highlighted by two wins after he was as low as 20th in June. Team Penske also arrives on a roll after Ryan Blaney’s New Hampshire win gave the organization four victories in the last six races, although Penske drivers have been challenged on 1.5-mile ovals.
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August 31, 2026

Eli Tomac to Retire After 2026 SMX Playoffs

Eli Tomac announced that he will retire from professional Supercross and motocross at the end of the 2026 SMX World Championship Playoffs, saying the decision was the hardest of his career. The 33-year-old will close out a 17-season run that began in 2010, with his final events set for the last three SMX rounds in September.

Tomac leaves the sport with one of the strongest resumes in the history of American off-road racing. He has won two AMA Supercross 450SX titles and four AMA Pro Motocross 450MX championships, along with the 2013 250MX title and the 2012 250SX West championship. He also won the 2024 FIM World Supercross SX1 crown, set a record with his eighth Daytona Supercross victory in 2026, and helped Team USA win the 2022 Motocross of Nations at RedBud.

His 2026 season included four 450SX main-event wins for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and he finished fifth in the Pro Motocross finale at Ironman Raceway, his best Pro Motocross result of the season. Over his career, Tomac has totaled 57 450SX main-event victories and 32 450MX overall wins. Red Bull KTM said it will finish the season with him through the SMX Playoffs and the SMX World Championship Final in Ridgedale, Missouri, on September 26, 2026.
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August 30, 2026

Kofoid Wins Magic City Showdown, Takes Outlaws Lead

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid won the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature at Nodak Speedway in Minot, North Dakota, completing the Gerdau Metals Recycling Magic City Showdown after thunderstorms and heavy rain on Sunday evening pushed the rest of the event to Monday. The World of Outlaws and SLS Promotions said Sunday tickets would be honored Monday.

Kofoid edged Carson Macedo in a 30-lap main event that featured a late-race duel and several lead changes in the closing laps. Macedo started on the pole, briefly retook the lead on the final lap with a slide job, but Kofoid passed him back underneath in the last corner to secure the victory.

The win was Kofoid’s 11th of the 2026 season and moved him into the World of Outlaws points lead. It was also the 33rd World of Outlaws victory of his career. Sheldon Haudenschild finished third, Garet Williamson was fourth and Spencer Bayston placed fifth.
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August 30, 2026

Macedo Charges From Sixth to Win at West Fargo

Carson Macedo won the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ Danny Schatz Memorial on Saturday at Fix It Forward Speedway in West Fargo, North Dakota, ending a 24-race drought and giving him his fifth victory of the season and 63rd career World of Outlaws win. Macedo started sixth in the 35-lap feature, reached second by Lap 12 and took the lead three laps later before pulling away for the victory.

Jason Johnson Racing entered the event after dealing with hauler problems and a crash the day before the race. Garet Williamson finished second, Bill Balog was third, and David Gravel and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid rounded out the top five.
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August 30, 2026

Marquez’s Aragon masterclass sends title battle to Misano

Marc Marquez completed a perfect weekend at MotorLand Aragon, winning both the Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix to cut Jorge Martin’s championship lead from 40 points to 19 and move into second in the standings. Marquez recovered from an early rear ride-height mistake, then passed Marco Bezzecchi in a close battle and pulled away to win by about 1.7 seconds. It was his fourth Grand Prix victory of the season and his record eighth premier-class win at Aragon.

Pedro Acosta gave KTM its best result of the weekend by finishing second, 1.754 seconds behind Marquez, and said he had extracted the maximum from his package. Acosta said he briefly had a chance to fight for his first win of the year, but would have run out of tire life if he had kept matching Marquez’s pace. He said KTM still lacked enough qualifying speed and short-distance performance, and said he was working on changing his riding style to improve tire consumption. Bezzecchi took pole, led early, and finished third after saying the Marquez brothers had a little more pace than he did. Jorge Martin salvaged two fifth-place finishes and kept the title lead, but said Aragon’s lack of grip made the weekend one of the toughest of the season.

Elsewhere, Francesco Bagnaia described his Aragon weekend as “humiliating and mortifying” after crashing out of Sunday’s race for a second straight non-finish. He said he felt unable to ride naturally on the current Ducati and called the situation one of the lowest points of his career. Fabio Quartararo also had a brutal weekend, retiring from the Sprint with an engine blow-up before finishing last in the Grand Prix, and said Yamaha’s latest updates had made the bike worse. The championship now moves on to Misano, where several riders said they hope to reset after a difficult round at Aragon.
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August 30, 2026

Ethan Dotson Rallies From Ninth to Win at Shelby County

Ethan Dotson won Saturday’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature at Shelby County Speedway, making a last-corner pass on a green-white-checkered restart to beat Daulton Wilson by a car length. Dotson started ninth and used the high line over the final two laps, getting to Wilson’s outside off Turn 2 and clearing him exiting Turn 4.

A late incident between Wilson and Bobby Pierce set up the restart. Wilson was ruled the leader after the incident, while Pierce was sent to the tail for the restart. The victory was Dotson’s first World of Outlaws win of the season.

Justin Duty finished third, Tristan Chamberlain was fourth and Nick Hoffman placed fifth.
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August 29, 2026

Adelaide unveils $96m MotoGP street circuit for 2027 debut

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has unveiled the official layout for Adelaide’s new A$96 million street circuit, which is set to host MotoGP from 2027 and has been described as the world’s first city-center MotoGP race. The 4.13-kilometer track has 15 corners and reuses sections of Adelaide’s former Formula One circuit, including Stag Corner, Rundle Road, Brewery Bend and Dequetteville Terrace. MotoGP said the layout was developed with the FIM and local partners to meet modern safety standards while accounting for community and environmental impacts.

Simulations of the circuit project MotoGP bikes reaching speeds of up to 343 km/h, with premier-class lap times of about 1 minute 26 seconds. The redevelopment is expected to be completed around November 2027. Organizers said the plan is intended to deliver an exciting but safe race that also leaves a legacy through upgrades to parklands and public spaces and protections for green space.

The project includes the removal of 42 significant trees and 335 other trees, the relocation of 88 trees and A$15 million for habitat restoration. Malinauskas said 95% of the 8,895 trees in the precinct will remain untouched, and 10 new trees will be planted for each tree removed. The plan drew opposition from some locals worried about habitat loss. Malinauskas said the event is expected to return annually through 2032, draw tens of thousands of visitors and showcase South Australia to a global audience of more than 630 million people.
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