PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

August 23, 2026

Norris recovers to seal second straight F1 win at Zandvoort

Lando Norris won a rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort that was interrupted by a first-lap crash for Max Verstappen and marked the circuit’s final race on the Formula 1 calendar. Norris started from pole, recovered after losing the lead at the restart, and sealed his second straight victory to stay in the championship fight, although he said McLaren still did not have a car strong enough for a full title challenge.

Verstappen’s home race ended in the opening-lap chaos after he lost control in the damp final corner and hit the barriers, bringing out a red flag. Antonelli briefly led after the restart, but Norris retook control on lap 54 and finished 11.536 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driver. George Russell took third after Mercedes ordered him to let Antonelli back through on fresher tires, and the team said the move was the safest way to protect its result with Ferrari closing in behind.

Oscar Piastri finished sixth after a slow pit stop and a drop in pace, Charles Leclerc was fifth, Lewis Hamilton fourth, Liam Lawson seventh and Fernando Alonso ninth, which gave Aston Martin its best result of the season. Norris’s win left Antonelli still leading the championship, with Norris 83 points back.
More
August 23, 2026

Hamilton Says Ferrari Lost a Podium Chance in Zandvoort

Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari’s biggest problem at the Dutch Grand Prix was getting its tyres up to temperature, as he and Charles Leclerc both needed two warm-up laps in qualifying and still struggled for grip at Zandvoort. Hamilton qualified fifth, ahead of Leclerc in sixth, but said the SF-26 was still not ready for Turn 1 after an out-lap and a preparation lap. He called the tyre warm-up issue “nuts,” said Ferrari needed more preparation than McLaren and Mercedes, and added that the timing could have been costly if rain had arrived before the end of the session. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur did not agree with Hamilton’s view of the main qualifying issue, and said the team’s fifth and sixth places were below expectations.

Hamilton said Ferrari made progress with setup changes after a difficult Sprint, when he finished seventh and described the car as feeling like “a completely different car.” He said the changes left him happier with the balance in qualifying, but the tyre performance still prevented him from extracting the most from the car. Leclerc’s weekend also reflected Ferrari’s uneven form, as he was stronger in the Sprint, finishing second after starting on Soft tires, then dropped to sixth in qualifying after Ferrari changed power strategies and engine modes on his car. Ferrari finished Saturday with a third-row lockout, while Hamilton said the team would review the data and believed the race pace and tyre management could still be stronger on Sunday.

That race pace and strategy became an issue on Sunday, when Ferrari delayed team orders as Hamilton grew frustrated on the radio and asked whether he was being used as a guinea pig. He said he thought he had better pace and fresher tyres than Leclerc and believed Ferrari had wasted time by not swapping the cars sooner. Ferrari eventually double-stacked under a virtual safety car, but Hamilton could not pass George Russell late in the race and finished fourth, just ahead of Leclerc. Afterward, Hamilton disagreed with Ferrari’s view that he had simply been unlucky, saying the team had lost time earlier and that cost it a possible podium. Ferrari had saved a fresh set of Soft tyres for the 72-lap race and believed they could help, but Hamilton’s comments underlined how tyre warm-up, qualifying pace and race strategy all combined to leave the team short of its target in Zandvoort.
More
August 23, 2026

Day follows Tulare victory with another High Limit win at Placerville

Corey Day closed out Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing’s final event of 2026 with a second straight feature win at Placerville Speedway, capping his final sprint car weekend of the season in Jason Meyers Racing’s No. 14 car. Day started on the pole, briefly lost the lead to Tanner Holmes on Lap 12, then retook it one lap later before a Lap 31 red flag and pulled away to win by 1.413 seconds.

The victory came one night after Day also won at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, giving him back-to-back High Limit wins in California. It was Day’s second career win at Placerville, his 16th career High Limit victory and his sixth feature win in 13 High Limit starts this season. Day said he will now focus on his NASCAR ride with Hendrick Motorsports for the rest of the season.

Landon Brooks finished second for the second straight night after starting eighth, giving him his second podium in two nights. Shane Golobic placed third, Tanner Holmes was fourth and Giovanni Scelzi finished fifth.
More
August 23, 2026

Hunter Lawrence wins Budds Creek, retakes 450SMX lead

Heavy morning rain turned the penultimate round at Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, Maryland, into a mud test before the track dried enough for racing, and Honda HRC Progressive swept both class wins. Hunter Lawrence won the 450SMX class with a 1-1 score to reclaim the points lead from his brother and teammate Jett Lawrence by one point, setting up a winner-take-all finale. In the 250SMX class, Chance Hymas earned the overall victory with a 2-1 score, giving him the day’s other win and making him the summer’s seventh different winner in the division.

Hymas said the Budds Creek victory was his first since Thunder Valley last year after a shoulder injury and a bout of frozen shoulder left him questioning whether he was still meant to race. He said he started the season far below the level that produced wins in 2024 and 2025, then began to turn things around with a top-five at High Point and a moto win at Millville before Budds Creek. Cole Davies finished second overall in the 250SMX class and rookie Landen Gordon was third, with Davies moving back into the championship lead by 14 points over Levi Kitchen with two motos left.

Kitchen pressured Hymas through the Budds Creek race, and both Kitchen and Michael Mosiman were penalized for riding outside the track markers at the start. Kitchen won the holeshot in the first 250SMX moto before being docked four positions, dropping his result from 10th to 14th. Mosiman lost three positions after a similar move. Jett Lawrence also went off course in the first 450SMX moto, but officials judged that he lost time rather than gained an advantage, so he received one rider license point under the new 2026 system. AMA racing director Mike Pellitier said the license-point rule is meant to discourage riders from leaving the track even when no positions are gained.
More
August 22, 2026

Bowman Gray to host first points NASCAR race since 1971

NASCAR will bring the Craftsman Truck Series to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time in 2027, with the race set for Friday, Aug. 20 at the quarter-mile track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. NASCAR announced the move Saturday night during Bowman Gray’s season-ending meet, where Rajah Caruth drove a No. 7 Chevrolet truck onto the track. The event will be the first points-paying NASCAR national series race at Bowman Gray in 56 years, with the track’s last such race dating to 1971.

NASCAR said the 2027 Truck Series event will be part of Bowman Gray’s traditional finale weekend, but the format and procedures will be announced later. Officials also said Bowman Gray cannot accommodate the full 36-truck field in its feature race. The track, known as the “Madhouse,” has hosted the Cup Series Clash exhibition over the past two years.

The Clash will move back to Daytona International Speedway next season, where it is scheduled for Feb. 13. NASCAR said the Bowman Gray Truck Series race is expected to produce another intense short-track event, and past Bowman Gray points-race winners include Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison.
More
August 22, 2026

Missouri Thunder top Texas, then rout Nashville in Austin

Missouri Thunder continued their surge at Gambler Days in Austin by edging the Texas Rattlers 268.35-267.65 in a rematch of the 2025 semifinals, then beating the top-ranked Nashville Stampede 353.45-263.7 at Moody Center on Saturday night. Maverick Smith scored 89.05 points on his ride against Texas, and Missouri rode four of five bulls against Nashville, with Paulo Eduardo Rossetto posting an 89.45-point ride and Julio Cesar Marques, Felipe Furlan and Smith also making rides. The win over Nashville was Missouri’s fifth straight.

Nashville remained two games ahead in the 2026 PBR Teams standings and became the first club to reach 10 wins after shutting out the Kansas City Outlaws 88.75-0. Daniel Feitosa helped seal that victory with an 8-second ride on Short Fire. The Austin Gamblers also opened their homestand with a 177.55-87.5 win over the Florida Freedom, led by Sage Steele Kimzey’s 91.25 points on Smooth Whiskey and Jose Vitor Leme’s 86.3 on Pop My Collar; Bruno Carvalho had Florida’s lone ride at 87.5.

Other Saturday results included the Arizona Ridge Riders’ 3-1 ride advantage in a win over the Oklahoma Wildcatters for their third straight victory, the Carolina Cowboys’ third straight win, an 88.7-88 decision over the New York Mavericks behind Adriano Salgado’s third-frame ride, the New York Mavericks’ win over the Oklahoma Wildcatters that snapped a six-game losing streak, and the Florida Freedom’s victory over the Arizona Ridge Riders to end a five-game skid. Competition was scheduled to resume Sunday at 1:45 p.m. CT.
More
August 22, 2026

Schuchart passes Haudenschild late to win at Jackson

Logan Schuchart won the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series feature Saturday night at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota, using a late pass on Sheldon Haudenschild in the 30-lap race. Schuchart started on the front row, lost the lead in traffic, then reeled Haudenschild back in. Sources place the winning move on lap 26 or with three laps to go.

Haudenschild had taken the lead on lap 18 before finishing second. Schuchart pulled away after retaking the top spot and held off the field for Shark Racing. Carson Macedo finished third after passing Donny Schatz late, Schatz took fourth, and Emerson Axsom finished fifth. Source 3 also listed Michael Kofoid sixth and David Gravel seventh.

The victory was Schuchart’s third of the season and the 47th of his career. Five of those wins have come at Jackson Motorplex, tying Eldora Speedway for the track where he has won most often. The World of Outlaws series was scheduled to open a three-race North Dakota swing the following weekend at River Cities Speedway, Fix It Forward Speedway and Nodak Speedway.
More
August 22, 2026

Justin Grant leads 87 laps, but Danner gets the victory

Briggs Danner won the 63rd running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented by Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, giving the Allentown, Pennsylvania, driver a major USAC Silver Crown victory at the one-mile dirt oval. The race was scheduled for 100 laps but ended after 96 because of time constraints. Danner stayed close to Justin Grant throughout the race, took the lead on lap 88 after a late restart, and led the final nine laps to the win.

Justin Grant led the first 87 laps before finishing 16th. Jake Swanson finished second, Jerry Coons Jr. was third, C.J. Leary finished fourth and Saban Bibent placed fifth. The race also included flips for Bret Tripplett on lap 1, Joey Moughan on the lap 1 restart and Danny Jennings on lap 97.

Leary left Springfield as the USAC Silver Crown points leader with 482 points, followed by Grant with 413 and Mario Clouser with 374. The next Silver Crown race was scheduled for Sept. 5 at Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.
More
August 22, 2026

Tyler Reddick takes New Hampshire pole for 23XI Racing

Tyler Reddick earned the pole for Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, giving 23XI Racing its fifth pole of the season after he rebounded from a difficult practice session. Reddick said the team made a strong adjustment in qualifying after a poor practice, and he hopes to turn the top starting spot into a race win after starting 2026 with three straight victories before a summer slump dropped him to fourth in the standings. He said he plans to lean on his teammates to better understand what they are doing well.

Reddick’s teammate Bubba Wallace had speed in practice but qualified 23rd, and he said he was frustrated as he worked to secure his postseason spot. Wallace also said Michael Jordan’s recent visit to the team’s Airspeed facility and shop helped reinforce self-belief and trust within the group. Denny Hamlin said Jordan’s message supported the team and pushed it to improve as it headed toward the playoffs.

Josh Berry qualified second and was set to start on the front row behind Reddick. Berry said uncertainty about his 2027 ride had eased his mind a little after being told in June he would not return to Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Ford next season. Crew chief Rodney Childers said Berry had been unfairly judged because he had not had competitive equipment, and pointed to Berry’s recent improvement, including a fourth-place finish at Iowa. Shane van Gisbergen kept his fifth-place starting spot after a concern about an unapproved adjustment was cleared up, and NASCAR confirmed no starter change was made to the No. 97 Chevrolet.
More