PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

August 29, 2026

Haas prioritizes 2026 fix before 2027 lineup call

Haas is taking its time on its 2027 Formula 1 driver lineup, with team principal Ayao Komatsu saying the team is not in a rush to make a decision as it continues to evaluate interested drivers behind the scenes. Oliver Bearman is expected to stay with the team, while Esteban Ocon’s seat remains under review. Both drivers are out of contract at the end of the 2026 season.

The latest evaluation effort came during a three-day Testing of Previous Cars run at Portimao from Aug. 26-28, where Ryo Hirakawa, Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara drove the 2025-spec VF-25. Haas also held a similar test last month at Fuji with Sho Tsuboi and Nirei Fukuzumi.

Komatsu said Haas’ immediate priority is improving performance in 2026, with the team focused on getting the best from Bearman and Ocon and giving them a better car and setup. He said Haas has slipped after a strong start to the 2026 season, as rivals developed faster under Formula 1’s major regulation change. Komatsu added that Haas is working to address its downforce and drivability issues, and that the team’s 2027 driver decision remains open for now.
More
August 29, 2026

Bobby Pierce Wins First Outlaws Race at Corning

Bobby Pierce won the first World of Outlaws Late Model Series race ever held at Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa, extending his record with a 20th series victory this season. Pierce took the lead from pole-sitter Nick Hoffman on Lap 28 after Hoffman bobbled in Turn 4, then led the final 18 laps to secure his second straight win at the track and his seventh career World of Outlaws victory in Iowa.

The victory was Pierce’s 62nd career World of Outlaws win, leaving him 12 behind Darrell Lanigan’s third-place total on the all-time list. Tim McCreadie ran second after starting 13th, with Hoffman third, Tyler Erb fourth and Ryan Gustin fifth.

The World of Outlaws series was scheduled to close its Iowa swing at Shelby County Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 29.
More
August 29, 2026

Rico Abreu Outlasts Brent Marks for Third Gold Cup Crown

Rico Abreu won the 72nd Mike Curb Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, collecting $100,072 after a late red flag turned the finish into a six-lap sprint. Brent Marks had led from lap 17 and was ahead by 2.924 seconds on lap 34 before the stoppage, but Abreu got by on the restart and beat him by 0.460 seconds. James McFadden finished third, Shane Golobic was fourth and Daison Pursley placed fifth.

The victory gave Abreu his third Gold Cup title and made him the fifth driver to win the event three times, alongside Steve Kinser, Al Pombo, Jac Haudenschild and Corey Day. It was also his 31st career Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing win and his third six-figure payday. Abreu left Chico with a 50-point lead in the series standings after 37 of 54 races. The finale featured multiple cautions and red flags, with crashes involving Max Mittry and Justin Peck, both of whom climbed out okay.

Abreu’s Gold Cup weekend also included an earlier 30-lap feature win from ninth on the grid, his 30th career High Limit Racing victory and fifth of the season for Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing. In that race, he passed for the lead on lap 28 and held off Kaleb Montgomery, while McFadden finished third, Max Mittry fourth and Shane Golobic fifth. Dylan Bloomfield also broke through for his first career High Limit Racing win in a preliminary feature, starting fifth and beating Abreu and Daison Pursley after multiple cautions and red flags. Bloomfield, Abreu, Pursley and Golobic were locked into the $100,072-to-win finale, and the series was set to continue its West Coast swing in Oregon on Aug. 31.
More
August 29, 2026

Williamson, Macedo split North Dakota Outlaws victories

The World of Outlaws’ North Dakota swing produced back-to-back storylines at the start of the series’ second leg, as Garet Williamson scored his first career victory Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks and Carson Macedo ended a 24-race winless streak Saturday at Fix It Forward Speedway in West Fargo. The two races came during the middle of the series’ North Dakota tripleheader, with the weekend set to finish Sunday at Nodak Speedway in Minot.

Williamson, starting on the outside of the front row, passed David Gravel on Lap 26 of the 40-lap feature in Turns 3 and 4 and held on for the win. Gravel led the first 25 laps after setting fast time and winning the Dash, then finished second. Michael “Buddy” Kofoid placed third, followed by Spencer Bayston and Logan Schuchart. Williamson became the 159th different driver to win a World of Outlaws race, the fourth first-time winner of 2026, and the 20th different winner this season.

Macedo started sixth in the 35-lap Danny Schatz Memorial and climbed to second by Lap 12 before taking the lead from early pacesetter Bill Balog three laps later. He went on to collect his fifth victory of the season and the 63rd World of Outlaws win of his career. Garet Williamson finished second in that race, with Balog third, Gravel fourth and Kofoid fifth. The win came one night after Jason Johnson Racing dealt with hauler problems and Macedo crashed in a backup car.
More
August 28, 2026

Ryan Sieg wins Daytona overtime for first NASCAR victory

Ryan Sieg won the Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway in overtime, capturing his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory in his 424th start. Sieg used a late two-tire pit stop to get into contention, started the two-lap restart from the second row, and beat Austin Hill to the line by 0.149 seconds in the No. 38 RSS Racing Chevrolet. The win ended a decade-long winless streak for RSS Racing.

The finish locked in the 12-driver Chase field and reshaped the cutoff. Austin Hill won Stage 1 and Rajah Caruth won Stage 2, then Caruth used the stage points to survive after spinning on Lap 97 and finishing 32nd. Taylor Gray advanced by avoiding a five-car wreck and finishing 26th. William Sawalich and Brent Crews were eliminated in crashes, and Harrison Burton also missed the field.

Carson Kvapil led a race-high 50 laps but fell to third after a last-lap caution sent the race to overtime. Anthony Alfredo finished fourth, Brandon Jones was fifth and Justin Allgaier was sixth. Allgaier ended the regular season as the points leader and top seed for the Chase. Post-race inspection found one unsecured lug nut on the Nos. 1 and 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolets, which cost Kvapil and Allgaier pit-stall selection at Darlington but did not change their finishes or points.
More
August 28, 2026

Ross Chastain captures Daytona pole for Coke Zero Sugar 400

Ross Chastain took the pole for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, turning a 48.808-second lap at 184.396 mph in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. He edged Chris Buescher by 0.051 seconds for his first pole of the season, the third of his NASCAR Cup Series career and his first at Daytona.

Chastain called the result a life achievement and said it carried extra meaning because he grew up less than two hours from the track. As a child, he used to camp near Turn 1 and study race-day papers to follow the pole sitter. He also said qualifying speed may not directly translate to race success under NASCAR’s new superspeedway package, which features a reduced rear spoiler and lower horsepower to create larger runs. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is the regular-season finale and will set the 16-driver playoff field.

Austin Hill qualified third, Ryan Preece fourth and Riley Herbst fifth, followed by Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson in the top 10. Trackhouse Racing placed all three of its cars inside the top seven, and Chevrolet had five cars in the top 10. The field was set from 41 entries for 40 starting spots, with Gray Gaulding the only driver who failed to qualify. Ty Gibbs got a second qualifying lap after NASCAR mistakenly triggered the caution lights as he exited Turn 2, and Brad Keselowski qualified 21st after his No. 6 Ford failed inspection twice and lost pit selection.
More
August 28, 2026

Official lineup puts Rajah Caruth on Daytona pole

Rajah Caruth won the pole for Friday night’s Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway, earning the first pole of his NASCAR O’Reilly Series career in his 46th start. Driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, he posted a lap of 49.118 seconds at 182.232 mph to edge teammate Carson Kvapil by 0.086 seconds on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. One report initially listed Jesse Love as the pole starter, but the official starting lineup put Caruth in the No. 1 position.

Chevrolets swept the top six qualifying spots. In the official starting lineup, Kvapil was second, followed by Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith and William Sawalich, while Austin Hill, Anthony Alfredo and Taylor Gray completed the official top 10.

Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones, Corey Day, Nick Sanchez, Dean Thompson and Justin Allgaier did not advance out of Round 1. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and was set to air on CW, the ESPN App and MRN.
More
August 28, 2026

Daniel Dye signs JAR’s first multi-year 2027 No. 32 deal

Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport announced at Daytona International Speedway that 22-year-old Daniel Dye signed a multi-year contract to drive the team’s No. 32 Chevrolet full time in the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Champion Container, Dye’s longtime primary sponsor, will move with him to the team. Jordan Anderson Racing said the agreement is the first multi-year driver deal in its history.

Dye said he was excited to have found a home with the team and said he will keep using his platform to promote Race to Stop Suicide, a national suicide-prevention initiative. Team president Jordan Anderson said the partnership grew naturally during the four-race program this season and gives both sides long-term stability as the team keeps building the No. 32 program.

Dye has 48 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts and two full seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He previously ran full time in the O’Reilly Series for Kaulig Racing in 2025 and in the Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2024. In 2026, he has been running part time across NASCAR’s three national touring series and in select ARCA Menards Series races, and his 2026 Truck Series opportunity ended after he was suspended for homophobic comments directed at IndyCar driver David Malukas during a Whatnot trading card stream.
More
August 28, 2026

Aston Martin upgrades lift Alonso, but Monza looms

Aston Martin’s recent upgrades have lifted the AMR26 in race trim, but the team is bracing for tougher weekends on circuits with long straights. Chief trackside officer Mike Krack said Fernando Alonso’s ninth place at Zandvoort, after starting 18th, was helped by the car’s upgraded chassis and the Dutch track’s short straights. He said the package has been stronger since the Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Honda power unit still lacks power and that weakness is likely to be exposed at Monza and Baku.

Alonso’s result gave Aston Martin its best finish of the season and two points, with the team switching from a planned two-stop strategy to a one-stop race after traffic limited its pace and clean air allowed better use of speed. Alonso said the team brought four or five new components during the break, improved the Hungary package and made another step forward in the Netherlands, with the biggest gains coming from the chassis and setup work. He said the B-spec AMR26, which debuted in Hungary and returned in Zandvoort, still had drivability, downshift and engine-braking issues, and that Honda needed more work before the Italian Grand Prix.

Krack said Aston Martin is still learning how to get the most from the new chassis and engine package and will need a few more races to optimize it. He said the car also showed better cornering performance and that the team had a good setup in Zandvoort. Alonso said Monza would likely not suit Aston Martin, although he still expected chances to score at other circuits, while Carlos Sainz said the team is now “in a different league” from Williams after the recent upgrades.
More