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April 23, 2026

World of Outlaws May slate sharpens setups and fires up fans

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series framed May as a crucial tune-up stretch ahead of the summer season, promoting a 10-track, six-state swing as “The Greatest Show on Dirt.” Organizers in Concord, North Carolina said the May slate is designed to give teams opportunities to take notes and fine-tune setups as the series moves into its busiest months, while keeping fans engaged at several fan-favorite venues.

The schedule opens May 1 at Attica Raceway Park with the Kistler Engines Classic and continues May 2 at Sharon Speedway. A midweek Gettysburg Clash is set for May 5 at Lincoln Speedway, followed by the Hershey Sprint Car Experience on May 7. The Morgan Cup at Williams Grove runs May 8–9. The #LetsRaceTwo program at Eldora is scheduled for May 15–16; Eldora has hosted the World of Outlaws series 242 times and Steve Kinser has 41 World of Outlaws wins there.

The rescheduled Hy-Vee Perks 40 is set for Jacksonville on May 19. Huset’s Speedway will host the Stars and Stripes Salute on May 24 with a $20,000 winner’s prize, presented as a prep event for the June BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals. The Don Mack Classic at River Cities is May 29 and the month closes May 31 with the Magic City Showdown at Nodak, where hometown driver Donny Schatz, among the all-time leaders with 317 World of Outlaws victories, has earned multiple wins. The May slate combines traditional marquee stops and regional showcases as a ramp-up toward high-stakes summer finales.
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April 23, 2026

McLaren to run B-spec MCL40 in Miami, then again in Canada

McLaren will introduce a “completely new” aerodynamic B-spec MCL40 at the Miami Grand Prix on May 3 and plans to run the revised car again at the Canadian Grand Prix. Team principal Andrea Stella called the package an “entirely new MCL40” and a “philosophical shift,” describing it as a planned technical overhaul to make the car more competitive.

The move follows a difficult start to this season for the defending constructors’ and drivers’ champions, who have struggled for pace and reliability. Lando Norris finished fifth at the Australian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri failed to score in the opening races before scoring a podium in Japan. The team also endured problems in China that reports variously described as a double-DNF or failures to start. Cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds created an enforced April break that gave McLaren extra factory time to concentrate on the upgrades.

McLaren will use Miami to measure the upgrades’ effectiveness and hopes the B-spec will restore last season’s competitiveness; the team has won the last two editions of the Miami Grand Prix. Stella cautioned the package “may not dramatically reshuffle the order,” noting rivals Mercedes and, to some extent, Ferrari have also had development time and that outcomes will depend on both McLaren’s changes and concurrent work by competitors. The team drew confidence from a past mid-season turnaround, with reports pointing to either 2022 or 2023 as the precedent.
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April 23, 2026

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Recap

The 2026 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, originally scheduled to be held from April 17-19 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, has been cancelled. The decision was announced on March 14, 2026, due to the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war, with safety concerns for drivers and staff cited as the reason for the cancellation. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was the defending champion of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, securing his third win of that season at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
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April 23, 2026

Justin Barcia returns for final three Supercross rounds

Justin Barcia will return to competition this weekend to ride the final three rounds of the AMA Supercross Championship for Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati, the team announced. Barcia is entered for Philadelphia, Denver and Salt Lake City, and Ducati posted on Instagram, “the wait is over, Bam Bam is back!” He said he is excited to be back and that he had not been on the gate since early January.

Barcia has been sidelined since an opening-lap crash with Malcolm Stewart at Anaheim 1 that produced a concussion and a back injury. Reports differ on the exact back injury; some outlets reported two transverse fractures, while others described a fractured transverse process. He was carted out of Angel Stadium, later walked out of a local hospital, and missed 13 rounds during rehab.

A former two-time 250SX champion, Barcia has logged 180 premier-class Supercross starts, six 450 main event wins and 33 podiums, and he is resuming a bid to reach 200 career 450 main events. Troy Lee Designs framed the short Supercross return as an opportunity to regain seat time, rebuild race rhythm and evaluate the bike and crew ahead of the outdoor season. Barcia will contest the final three Supercross rounds before switching focus to the Pro Motocross season opener on May 30; outlets vary on whether the outdoor campaign begins at Fox Raceway or Pala, California. The team has worked on bike updates and saw improving results after teammate Dylan Ferrandis returned from a thumb injury; Ferrandis sits 11th in the Supercross standings after finishing sixth at Nashville two weeks before the announcement.
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April 23, 2026

Premier Chevy Dealers Clash Starts April 24-25 at Knoxville

Knoxville Raceway will open the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season with the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash on April 24-25. The two-night Clash is expected to draw a large field and will be the tour’s first visit to Knoxville this season.

Knoxville is scheduled for nine World of Outlaws nights, making it the tour’s most-visited track. The Premier Chevy Dealers Clash consists of at least two legs, with the second leg set for June 12-13. The series will return for the Stars and Stripes Salute on May 23, and Knoxville will host the 65th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s on August 12-15.

Published schedule notes and previews emphasize Knoxville’s central role on the calendar and continued sponsorship and event branding by NOS Energy Drink and Casey’s. Promotional coverage uses local nicknames, “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” and “The Greatest Show on Dirt,” and previews referenced Knoxville regulars and a “High Limit” appearance for the Clash weekend.
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April 22, 2026

Talladega Cancels Alabama Gang 100, Refunds Announced

Officials from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision and Talladega Short Track canceled the Alabama Gang 100, scheduled for this weekend at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama. The decision followed consultation with Precision Weather Service and forecasts of widespread thunderstorms and heavy rain Friday night into Saturday. Officials cited safety, logistical concerns and the high cost of travel for teams as reasons for not running the event.

Organizers said participant and crew safety took priority and confirmed the Alabama Gang 100 will not be rescheduled; no alternative dates or contingency plans were provided. Talladega Short Track said it will refund purchased tickets, pit passes and camping spots and provided a phone number and email for fans with questions. The cancellation affects teams, fans and support personnel who had planned to travel.

The World of Outlaws tour will resume at Independence Motor Speedway on Tuesday, April 28, and then move to Mississippi Thunder Speedway for the Dairyland Showdown April 30–May 2.
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April 22, 2026

Reinbold’s Eldora win, Most Improved award set 2026 USAC run

After a breakout 2025 season and winning the USAC National Most Improved Driver award, 22-year-old Hayden Reinbold of Gilbert, Arizona, will contest the full 29-race USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in 2026. He will drive the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19AZ entry and has returned to full-time USAC National Midget competition for 2026. The campaign will open April 24-25 at Kokomo Speedway with the Kokomo Grand Prix.

Reinbold’s 2025 season produced his first USAC National Midget victory in September at Eldora’s 4-Crown Nationals, his 101st national start, where he also recorded his first fast qualifying time. He finished the year 11th in the standings with two top-five and seven top-ten results, and USAC named him the National Most Improved Driver, the first Arizona to earn the honor since Jerry Coons Jr. in 2001.

Reinbold began his USAC National Midget career in 2020 as a 16-year-old at Tulsa’s Port City Raceway. Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports calls the 2026 full-season effort a step up in commitment and ambition, seeking stronger results across the USAC National Midget tour as Reinbold builds on the extra seat time that drove his 2025 improvement.
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April 22, 2026

Ferrari: SF-26 Miami upgrades followed long-planned program

Ferrari downplayed suggestions that F1’s enforced five-week April break prompted an ad hoc or accelerated development push, saying the SF-26 upgrades follow a long-planned, evidence-driven path rather than a reaction to the hiatus. Chassis technical director Loic Serra told Motorsport.com, “development is not happening in one week or one month,” and said “missing a race or two does not alter what teams learn in the factory,” describing the pause as a limited disruption that did not justify radical or experimental changes.

The team said SF-26 development began in early 2025, with more than a year of virtual work followed by on-track testing, and it expects to bring a substantial upgrade package to the Miami Grand Prix on May 3. Ferrari confirmed it trialed items such as the “Macarena” wing and halo-base winglets, and said further development will be limited in the short term, with small incremental parts more likely to appear at races than wholesale package swaps.

The break followed the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, reports linked the cancellations to conflict in the Middle East and, in one account, the Iran war. Other teams used the downtime to rush aerodynamic and mechanical parts for Miami and to prepare responses to incoming 2026 regulation changes. Serra expressed skepticism that rivals could or would stage rapid, consecutive upgrades for Miami and Montreal, citing the non-linear nature of development and cost constraints, and he questioned the value of bringing parts only to replace them at the next event. Ferrari presented its program as deliberate, factory-led and continuity-driven rather than driven by the brief calendar interruption.
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April 21, 2026

Hy-Vee Perks 40 rescheduled to May 19; April ticket holders

Organizers postponed the original April date and rescheduled the Hy-Vee Perks 40 to May 19 in Jacksonville, Illinois. Tickets purchased for the original April running will be honored at the May 19 event.

The tour is also scheduled to stop at Knoxville Raceway on April 24-25 for the opening leg of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash. Tickets for that event are available.

To reduce travel disruption among Midwest dirt tracks, the tour will follow a condensed late-May sequence. The World of Outlaws is scheduled at Knoxville Raceway on May 23 and at Huset’s Speedway on May 24 for the Stars and Stripes Salute, with each event paying $20,000 to the winner.
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