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It was an intense weekend in Australia. Seeing the brand-new regulations out in force, with the excitement of a new season awaiting us all.   With hometown hero Oscar Piastri expected to make a comeback from last year’s unfortunate error. However, the Aussie hearts would break again after an issue with excessive power on the lap to the grid would result in Piastri hitting the barrier between turns 4 & 5, ending his weekend before it even started. The devastation was seen around the world for Piastri fans. Mclaren fans weren’t left out, with teammate Lando Norris still able to score points for the team ending up P5. An unfortunate end to Oscar Piastris day, out before the race began. Mercedes was the strongest out of the gates with a 1-2 finish in Australia, George Russell taking the top step and Kimi Antonelli in P2. They had the expected pace we all predicted they would but did struggle from the line given the race starts were better from other teams. Ferrrari were another force to be reckoned with alongside the Mercedes duo. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both got brilliant starts in the race with Leclerc even making it to P1 by the first corner of lap 1. The race starts looked brilliant and brought real potential for the team. By the race completion, Charles Leclerc was P3 with Lewis Hamilton very close behind in P4. The podium at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix The race itself was full of unexpected dramas. Isack Hadjar out qualifying his teammate Max Verstappen wasn’t on the table, but another issue with power resulted in Verstappen starting P20, whilst Hadjar started P3, his first top 3 for the season. This wouldn’t last long with an engine issue forcing Hadjar to retire on lap 10, whilst Max Verstappen would have an impressive result ending up P6 and scoring vital points for the team.   The rookie Arvid Lindblad had a successful result in his first race out as an F1 driver, keeping himself within the top 10 and finishing P8, scoring essential points for Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson however stalling his car at the race start, could only manage P13, a disappointing result given the experience he has. A close call between Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto after Lawson stalled his car. A quiet weekend remained for Williams, who appear to be working out issues and may get there at some point, however only managing P12 with Alex Albon and P15 with Carlos Sainz.   Similarly, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Alpine driver Franco Colapinto also had a tough but quiet weekend. Ocon would finish just outside the points in P11, whilst Colapinto would finish P14. Their teammates however had a great weekend, both receiving points for the team. Oliver Bearman finished in P7, and Pierre Gasly took out the 1 singular point in P10. This looks like promising ability from these two teams.   Aston Martin were able to complete more laps than they first predicted, with Fernando Alonso initially retiring, but coming back out for more data and would go to complete only 21 laps. Whilst Lance Stroll was able to successfully complete 43 laps, with some of that being laps for data.   Some of our unfortunate retirees from the race included Nico Hulkenberg who could not start the race and the Honorary Aussie Valtteri Bottas in the new Cadillac car. Their teammates however were able to complete the race. Audi was able to get into the top 10 with Gabriel Bortoleto in P9, whilst Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was 2 laps down on the field and could only manage P16. A difficult first race for Valtteri Bottas at the Australian Grand Prix. We move on this weekend to the Chinese Grand Prix, with a Sprint race inbound. New regulations, less practice sessions could mean chaos for the drivers.

Race 4: The sheer chaos that we usually witness during this race weekend for the supercars, is typically insane to watch. They return to Albert Park and typically we witness lots going on. It delivered in all races across the weekend.   Brodie Kostecki took the pole position spot just ahead of James Golding and despite Kostecki being unwell and struggling with sickness, he still went on to dominate and win the first race. Brodie Kostecki overcame illness to win Race 4 Matt Payne managed to make up a couple spots to finish in P2, ahead of the Redbull Ampol Racing car of Broc Feeney. He is once again determined to prove his skill this weekend with a race win, which could come in race 2.   James Golding, although starting P2 did lose a couple places and was forced to settle for P4, whilst his teammate Aaron Cameron struggled with grip and lost the car, forcing him to the back of the pack. Eventually he went on to finish P23.   Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters, Will Brown and Ryan Wood all had an exciting race, with some extremely close battles throughout the entirety of the session. Ryan Wood even attempted a brilliant overtake which worked on Will Brown. Chaz Mostert would finish P5, whilst his teammate Ryan Wood finished P7.   Cam Waters even with all the pressure put onto Mostert was forced to settle for P6, just behind him. Will Brown struggling in the race and would finish P8.   The remaining 2 in the top 10 were Anton De Pasquale who had a very quiet race, along with Cooper Murray. Both had a decent qualifying with De Pasquale losing positions and would end up P9 on track, whilst Murray moved up 3 spots to settle for P10. Early dramas and excitement for Anton De Pasquale and Cooper Murray with a top 10 finish. Race 5: Brodie Kostecki once again took another race win, closing the gap in the championship and ensuring his ability to gain the Larry Perkins Trophy after the weekend. Matt Payne forced to settle for P2, as Brodie Kostecki takes another race win. Early on in lap 1, there was dramas towards the back end of the field between Zach Bates and Macauley Jones. In addition, we saw dramas with Will Brown and Cooper Murray.   Will Brown was impressing with his ability to overtake within the midfield, pushing to the limits to gain position on track. We also saw the rookies getting into that midfield battle too, showing off their capabilities as young drivers.   Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney got into a spat on lap 4, resulting in Mostert losing track position to Jack Le Brocq, whilst Aaron Cameron was forced to defend against Feeney. Amidst the fight, Mostert was faced with steering damage from that battle earlier on in the race.   Matt Payne had his own battle going on against Brodie Kostecki who would take the race lead on lap 4. This battle began to reel Ryan Wood into the fight as well, with a large gap to P4 Aaron Cameron.   By lap 11, we saw chaos as Broc Feeney locked the tyres, forcing him to oversteer and bump into Aaron Cameron, which resulted in drama as Cameron bumped back and Kai Allen saw an opportunity, until he didn’t. Allen was then hit by a very frustrated Cameron, spinning both cars on the final corner. A costly moment for Aaron Cameron in a fight with Broc Feeney cost him track position in Race 5. The Toyota Supras had a great weekend, with Ryan Wood getting their first podium and drivers like Andre Heimgartner with some brilliant overtaking moments.   This race was the first opportunity for a podium for the Toyota Supras, with Ryan Wood who secured the third-place position. Matt Payne managed to maintain the P2 position, whilst fighting to try and close the gap to P1, but nothing could be done to stop Kostecki on the Friday.   Race 6: This was the race for Broc Feeney. The only non-Kostecki race win and Broc Feeney used all his skill as a talented driver to ensure a win for himself in Melbourne. An early defensive manoeuvre saw him maintain P1 against Aaron Cameron.   Matt Payne was out early, parked at turn 4 with an unfortunate triple puncture situation after being pushed wide by James Golding. A tough race result for the driver who at that time was leading the championship. Drama on early laps of race 6, which resulted in the triple puncture for Matt Payne By lap 2, we experienced more chaos with a Jack Le Brocq being sandwiched between Cooper Murray and Will Brown and running into Murray. This brought out our first safety car period.   On the restart on lap 5, Feeney was competitive from the start. Aaron Cameron and Brodie Kostecki all saw what was happening and managed to maintain track position.   Lap 7 would see more on track dramas with Thomas Randle bumped by Ryan Wood and losing control of his car, before hitting the wall. This became the 2 nd safety car period of this race.   By lap 11, through pure frustration and all, Will Brown and Aaron Cameron both lost track position after running into one another on track. Such a difficult result for these 2 drivers, given their spot on track and the points they would’ve gained.   There were penalties with racing infringements including a 30 second one for Ryan Wood. An unfortunate result, but an overall difficult race day for him, being stuck in mid pack and finishing P13.   Feeney did have a concerning moment around lap 12, going wide and through the grass, before returning to track. This moment could’ve cost him the race win.   With an early end to the race, given safety car periods, Broc Feeney would go on to win race 6 in Melbourne, just ahead of Brodie Kostecki who was pushing to the absolute limit to try and gain that position but couldn’t do anything to stop Feeney on the day. A shock P3 also occurred with Cam Waters overtaking Aaron Cameron for that spot. Broc Feeney wins in race 6 in Melbourne.   Race 7: We thought we had seen it all. Race 7 was the race to watch. We expected drama as per Melbourne, but what we got was even more.   Will Brown was the pole sitter for the first time since May 2025. He had an impressive race start, maintaining the lead of the race into the first turn, however his teammate didn’t have the same luck.   Broc Feeney was forced to slow after being cut off by Ryan Wood but then bumped from behind by Kai Allen. Cooper Murray was also involved in this incident, being only a passenger to that moment after a decent race start. Zach Bates also part of that, in a separate incident, but within the same corner. All drivers were okay and sent for precautionary checks. Drama occurred early on in the final race for the Melbourne Supersprint. As a result of the earlier race start incident, Kai Allen and Ryan Wood had tyre punctures but were able to get back to the pitlane.   The race restarted on lap 4, and Will Brown had a good restart compared to Randle and Cameron. Thomas Randle was able to gain on Brown within the main straight.   Kostecki once again having an easy time with the overtakes in Melbourne, able to overtake Aaron Cameron for P3 by lap 6. Lap 7, he had overtaken Thomas Randle for P2 on the second last corner and began the chase for the race win.   There was lots of intense battling within the midpack, and by lap 12, Kostecki was right with Brown for that top spot and a minor lockup by Will Brown resulted in an open door for Kostecki. A tough result for Brown to deal with, given how little the mistake was, but just being unable to keep it on track, resulted in an easy overtake.   It was a 3 out of 4 race wins in Melbourne for Brodie Kostecki, with P1 in Race 7, followed by Will Brown in P2 after that unfortunate situation and P3 was Thomas Randle with the great defensive skills in the last half of what remained of Race 7. Kostecki had an impressive return to the top step with 3 out of 4 race wins in Melbourne.   Upcoming Race Weekends: Now we begin to prep for our 1 st of 2 races in New Zealand with the 1 st one being a return to Taupō for the Super 440 on April 10-12, followed by a first time race weekend in New Zealands South Island and Christchurch, racing at Ruapuna Raceway, which takes place on April 17-19.

HM: Shane van Gisbergen is once again in the honorable mention spot, with a P2 at COTA. Still sitting P6 in the standings, SVG heads to Phoenix. Of the 10 ovals that SVG has seen multiple times in Cup, Phoenix holds his 4th lowest average finish with a 27.5, only trailing Bristol, Daytona, and Las Vegas. SVG still sits P5 in the standings, and is off to back to back top 6 finishes. Trackhouse does have a Phoenix win back in 2023, but only has 2 top 10s since then in 10 combined races, none of them coming with SVG. Once again, quick shoutout Chris Buescher. His road course top 20 streak of 22 races came to an end after being caught up in Kyle Busch’s and Jesse Love’s mess, but he does have 7 top 15 finishes in his last 8 Phoenix starts, including 6 straight. 5 of these 7 are top 10s, 3 of which are top 5s. 10: Denny Hamlin stays at the 10 spot with a 10th place finish. This is only Hamlin’s 3rd road course top 10 since the Next Gen debuted in 2022 (23 races). A quiet day was just what the doctor ordered for this 11 team, as they gained 4 spots to 23rd. Hamlin heads to Phoenix, a track he has only finished outside the top 20 at once since 2018 (Hamlin finished 35th in the race preceding this statistic, the 2017 fall race. Hamlin cut a tire in an act of revenge from Chase Elliott, after leading 193 of the 312 laps run, of which Hamlin only ran 275). He's led multiple laps in 4 of the last 5 Phoenix races, including a race high 208 in last year’s championship race, a race Hamlin had locked up until a late race caution and GWC. No doubt he’s a heavy favorite this weekend, as is only this low due to 2 poor plate finishes. 9: Joey Logano finished 15th at COTA. Back to back mid pack runs keeps Logano 6th in points, but over half of his points have come from winning his Duel race and finishing 3rd in the Daytona 500. Logano’s going cold, but we are heading to his 8th best track on the schedule. Going back to 2019, Logo has as many wins as he does finishes worse than 11th, both with 3. Of these 14 races run, 8 are top 10s and 6 are top 4s. While he didn’t lead any laps in November, a race he finished 4th in, the two races prior saw Logano lead the 3rd most laps with 81 in the spring of 2025 and the 2nd most laps with 107 in the fall of 2024, a race in which he won both the race itself and the NASCAR championship. Joey is definitely no slouch at Phoenix, though his fall race stats do look better than his spring. 8: Unless things go horribly wrong this year, I don’t expect William Byron to drop any lower than he already is. A 13th at COTA is Byron’s worst finish at the track in the 6 years of running, while also breaking a 3 year top 5 streak. He did pick up his first lap led of the season and sits 13th in the points. He doesn’t have any flashy finishes so far, but he has been very consistent, scoring 25, 25, and 26 points in the 3 races run so far. Aside from his Daytona 500 win last year, it took him until race 23 to win again, so a sluggish start from Byron is not anything I’d put too much stock into. He finished 6th in the Phoenix spring race last year and was cruising to a P3 in the championship race before a tire failure with 5 laps to go resulted in a 33rd. Phoenix is Byron’s 5th best track on the schedule with 9 top 10s in 16 starts, including 5 of his last 7 finishes being 6th or better, with a win sprinkled in March of 2023. He’s led double digit laps in 5 of the last 6 races, and has collected points in 20 straight stages. 7: Christopher Bell had about as quiet a day you could have while finishing 3rd. He didn't collect any stage points, didn’t lead a single lap, and ran 5th to 15th all day long. After restarting 15th on the final restart, he methodically worked his way through the field, helped by Connor Zilisch’s late race spin, and passed Ryan Blaney for 3rd with 10 to go, which was the first time he entered the top 3 all day. As far as Phoenix goes, Bell has won the last 2 spring races, and 8 of his last 10 finishes have been P11 or better, including 4 top 6s. Bell led 0 laps in the championship race last year, but in the 3 prior races combined for 298 laps led of the total 936. He has 4 straight top 11s, and would likely have bumped that number to 7 if it wasn’t for a tire failure while running in the top 7 in the 2023 championship race. 6: After starting midpack, Kyle Larson ran top 10 for the good bit of Sunday and finished a solid P6. He gained 6 sports in the points standings and now sits 15th. Larson’s first top 10 of the year should be a breath of fresh air for 5 fans, but he still is looking for the race winning speed we haven’t seen out of this 5 car, aside from a few one off races, since this time last year. Larson ran well, but never once looked to be a race winning car. Phoenix is Larson’s 5th best track on the schedule (not counting Dover, which would sit 3rd and push Phoenix to 6th). Larson only has one win, his championship triumph in 2021. In his 23 starts at Phoenix, he has 11 top 5s and 15 top 10s, including 12 of his last 14 finishes being 9th or better. 9 of these starts are 4th or better. All this considered, Larson has led a lap in only 9 Phoenix starts, and only 5 of these races consisted of leading more than 3 laps. He’s only led 13 laps total since the fall of 2023, so while he often runs up front at Phoenix, he rarely finds himself at the front. 5: Chase Briscoe stays at the 5 spot, but was looking to make a jump in the standings. Briscoe jumped out to the lead early, completing the first 8 circuits out front before being passed by Ryan Blaney through the stadium section on lap 9. He stayed in the top 5-10 the rest of the day, before a mechanical failure on lap 63 took him out while running in 3rd. Briscoe finished last, but his effort showed this team hasn’t skipped a beat since the end of last year. Briscoe sits 27th in points right now, but I wouldn’t be worried. While he only has 4 top 10s in 10 Phoenix starts, he did capture his first NASCAR Cup Series triumph here in 2022. Briscoe had less than stellar results here last year, due in part to a crash and a tire failure, but showed decent speed in the fall. 4: Bubba Wallace finishing well in back to back superspeedway races? To be expected, he’s one of the best superspeedway racers on the planet. Bubba Wallace finishing one spot shy of a top 10 and collecting the 9th most points on the day while maintaining his 2nd place points position on a road course? Slightly more unexpected, and that’s why I jumped him so high. Wallace will be the first to tell you his road course game is below average, but there’s been visible improvements over the past couple years, including last Sunday. Wallace only has 3 top 10s at Phoenix in his 16 starts, but both of last years were cut short due to a wreck and a brakes failure. Prior to these 2, Wallace had 4 straight races of no finish worse than 16th and an average finish of 11.75. I think another top 15 is in store for this 23 car, barring a rough day. 3: Ryan Blaney stays at 3, after having possibly the best car at COTA. Bad pit strategy and a fading racecar late in this one leave him P8. Phoenix is Blaney’s 5th best track on the calendar, and his 2nd of tracks he has more than 5 starts at. While Blaney only has 1 win at Phoenix, it was in the most recent running, after a last lap pass moved him by Brad Keselowski to get the final NASCAR win of 2025. Blaney’s engine grenaded down the frontstretch in the spring race, otherwise he'd likely have 11 straight top 10 finishes. Of the 10 top 10s mentioned, only 1 was a finish worse than 6th, with Blaney having an average finish of 3.8 in them. He’s also led at least a lap in 8 of these 11 races, with double digit laps led in 6 of them. 2: Chase Elliott stays at 2. After a surprisingly off day, Elliott made a bold call to pit under green when he noticed Ross Chastain without a wheel and in the gravel. This put Elliott as the first car on fresh tires in 12th, and with some luck, snuck through the Zilisch wreck and ended up in P7. Elliott heads to Phoenix. He’s seen success here, winning in 2020 along with the title, but has only seen 2 top 5s since, none of which have been in the Next Gen car. Elliott only has 3 top 10s since this car debuted 5 years ago, but they have come in the last 3 races. He also led 30 laps in the most recent race here, ending up P10. Elliott is never really bad at any race track, and I expect no different at Phoenix. 1: What do I say that hasn’t already been said? Tyler Reddick just became the first person in history to 3-peat to start the season. Reddick heads to Phoenix, a track he’s seen little success at. It ranks at 16th in terms of average finish for Reddick, and of his 12 starts, he only has 2 top 5s and 4 top 10s. He did lead 68 laps in the spring race in 2024, along with finishing 10th, but only has 1 top 10 since, and has yet to lead another lap since. I don’t see a 4-peat happening this week, but I also didn’t see him winning the 500 or Atlanta either. As the years have gone on, it’s typically been a bad idea to count out Tyler Reddick. One thing’s for sure, he’s going to reign atop the points standings for the foreseeable future.

David Malukas celebrating his first career pole position at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by: Joe Skibinski) David Malukas scores his first career NTT P1 Award at Phoenix Raceway for the Good Ranchers 250. Malukas will lead the field to green in the first oval race of the season, alongside his teammate Josef Newgarden on the front row. The surprise of qualifying was NTT Indycar rookie, and former F1 driver Mick Schumacher, son of 7-time Formula 1 champion, Michael Schumacher. In Schumacher's first oval start, he qualifies 4th, just behind his teammate Graham Rahal. The unlucky drivers in qualifying were Andretti Global driver Will Power, and the Meyer Shank entry of Felix Rosenqvist. Rosenqvist had crashed in opening practice and sustained too much damage to be repaired in time for qualifying, therefore did not set a lap time. On Will Power's qualifying attempt, he lost control going into turn 1, and backed the car into the outside wall, recieving heavy damage, and was unable to set a lap time. Both Power, and Rosenqvist will start at the back of the grid for the race.

Alex Palou celebrates the win with his team in the opening round of the 2026 NTT Indycar Series season at St. Petersburg (Photo by: Chris Owens) Reigning series champion Alex Palou is no stranger to victory lane as he wins the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to kick off the NTT Indycar Series season. Palou wins in St. Petersburg for the second year in a row, and claims his 20th career win in his 99th start in the series. The Spaniard is also the first driver since Sebastien Bourdais in 2017-2018 to win the first race of the season in back-to-back years. However, as Palou cruised to a dominant victory, there was chaos throughout the field in today's grand prix. On the opening lap, Sting Ray Robb locked up the front tires heading into turn 4 and went into the tire barrier, collecting Santino Ferrucci, and rookie Mick Schumacher bringing out the full course yellow. Ferrucci and Schumacher's days were done due to the damage they recieved in the incident, but Sting Ray Robb was able to continue. Not long after, the race got back underway and Robb recieved a penalty from race control for avoidable contact. On the restart, David Malukas locked up the front left tire heavily, and shortly after receieved a puncture and had to slowly nurse his Verizon Chevy back to the pitlane but was able to continue. In addition on lap 24, Will Power on his new team with Andretti Global goes into the pit lane due to a damaged rear suspension after colliding with the wall, making his debut with his new team, a weekend to put behind them. Later on, the first cycle of pit stops began on lap 36 with race leader Scott McLaughlin the first of many to head into the pit lane. The lap after Marcus Ericsson pitted and did the overcut on McLaughlin and was able to stay ahead. Meanwhile, Marcus Armstrong was able to breifly overcut both Ericsson and McLaughlin when he pitted but coming out of the pit lane Ericsson made a brave move into turn 4 and got ahead of Armstrong. While all of that was going on, Alex Palou was able to run enough laps in clean air and take the lead of the race. The trouble didn't stop there as on lap 40, Scott Dixon lost his right rear tire heading into turn 4, ending his day. On Dixon's pit stop, the rear tire changer had issues getting the wheel nut tightened on the PNC Bank Honda as the car was dropped for Dixon to be released from his pit box. Furthermore, on lap 64, McLaughlin gets a good exit out of the final corner, and is able to make the pass on Ericsson moving up into the second position. The battle for 3rd heated up as Ericsson threw a heavy block on Marcus Armstrong, making Armstrong go deep into turn 1, losing positions to the McLarens of Christian Lundgaard and Pato O' Ward. Ericsson continued to struggle while staying out on track and due to this, Kyle Kirkwood and his team made the decision to go for the undercut to get ahead of everyone in the fight for third. With the decision of the undercut of Kyle Kirkwood, he was able to get by Scott McLaughlin and up into second. With 12 laps to go, fuel became an issue for Kirkwood as he was forced to save fuel in order to make it to the end of the race. In the closing laps, Scott McLaughlin goes for the move on Kirkwood into turn 10 to reclaim second place and shortly after, Christian Lundgaard gets by the Andretti driver, putting himself in the final podium position in third place. Coming to the checkered flag, Alex Palou wins the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in dominating fashion leading 59 of the 100 laps. Joining him on the podium were Scott McLaughlin after starting the race from pole position, finishing in 2nd, and in 3rd was Christian Lundgaard with another strong result since joining McLaren last season. Christian Lundgaard (Left), Alex Palou (Middle), Scott McLaughlin (Right) celebrate on the podium in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Photo by: Chris Owens) Next Saturday the NTT Indycar Series heads to the first oval race of the season at Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona.

Tomac Owns Daytona Again! Round 8 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship delivered a legacy-defining moment as Eli Tomac captured his record-breaking eighth Daytona Supercross victory. The Colorado native now stands alone as the most successful racer in the history of Daytona International Speedway surpassing even NASCAR icon Richard Petty in total wins at the venue. The path to victory was anything but straightforward. Tomac launched fourth in the 450SMX main event behind championship heavyweights including Hunter Lawrence, Ken Roczen, and Cooper Webb. Lawrence secured the holeshot before Roczen seized early control, while Webb slotted into third with Tomac stalking from behind. The defining sequence unfolded just before halfway. Tomac methodically dispatched Webb, then Lawrence, before executing a decisive outside drive on Roczen to take the lead with 12 minutes remaining. From there, he managed the race with precision, extending a margin that would hold to the checkered flag. The win, Tomac’s fourth of the season and 57th career victory cuts Lawrence’s championship lead to a single point. Daytona once again belonged to Tomac. NASCAR’s Latest Courtroom Battle Escalates NASCOURT is back! The latest trial had an update that unfolded inside the Western District of North Carolina courthouse. Joe Gibbs Racing is seeking a temporary restraining order against former competition director Chris Gabehart, who recently accepted a Chief Motorsports Officer role at Spire Motorsports. JGR alleges Gabehart violated a non-compete agreement and improperly retained proprietary data claims tied to a lawsuit reportedly exceeding $8 million. Judge Susan C. Rodriguez stopped short of issuing an immediate ruling Friday, instead encouraging both parties to negotiate through the weekend. A key sticking point centers on whether Gabehart accessed or retained sensitive competitive data after announcing his departure, and whether his new role at Spire materially overlaps with his prior responsibilities. Gabehart’s defense acknowledged he photographed internal information on a personal device but maintains no proprietary data was shared. Forensic analysis of devices including personal electronics, is now part of an agreed investigative framework. The judge emphasized the speculative nature of potential harm but acknowledged the razor-thin competitive margins in NASCAR. A ruling could arrive Monday unless a negotiated compromise emerges. Marquez’s Thai GP Ends in Shock In Buriram, a podium charge turned into sudden retirement for reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. With five laps remaining at the Thailand Grand Prix, Marquez suffered a catastrophic rear tyre deflation after contact with an aggressive Turn 4 kerb. Michelin later clarified that extreme track temperatures combined with harsh kerbing likely bent the wheel rim, causing rapid air loss rather than a structural tyre defect. The incident was especially costly given Marquez’s pace, he had been the fastest rider on track while pursuing third. Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi admitted he had never witnessed a similar failure. Other riders reported pressure-related concerns in the oppressive heat, but Marquez’s failure was the most dramatic. The retirement also snapped Ducati’s four-year podium streak, compounding the manufacturer’s disappointment. Global Uncertainty Surrounds WEC and F1 Recent geopolitical tension is casting a shadow over international motorsport. The FIA World Endurance Championship confirmed it is closely monitoring escalating conflict in the Middle East ahead of its scheduled Prologue and Qatar 1812km at Lusail. Airspace closures, missile strikes in Gulf states, and airport disruptions have introduced logistical complications particularly with teams already shipping equipment to the region. Formula 1 is also watching developments, though its immediate calendar remains in Oceania and East Asia before heading to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April. Past precedent notably the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend disruption saw F1 continue as business as usual but with a possible WW3 on the horizon there may be a different approach. The recent strikes in the region caused a Pirelli tire test to be canceled and some equipment for F1 and it's support series may have shipping delays to the next race.

Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin celebrates pole position at the opening race of the 2026 NTT Indycar season at St. Petersburg (Photo by: Joe Skibinski) Scott McLaughlin set the fastest time in qualifying for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and will start on pole position for the third time in the last five years. After going winless in 2025, McLaughlin looks to bounce back and fight for the win in tomorrow's Grand Prix. This qualifying session had a lot of shocking moments throughout the field as far as how the grid will line up for Sunday's race. In round 1, group 1, It was Andretti Global driver Marcus Ericsson quickest in that group followed by Pato O' Ward, Romain Grosjean, Louis Foster, Scott McLaughlin, and Felix Rosenqvist who moved on to round 2. One of the shocking moments was Josef Newgarden last in group 1. Newgarden struggled a lot in the session and was not able to set a quick enough lap time to move on to the second round of qualifying. Another surprising exit in that round was Kyle Kirkwood who just missed the cutline to advance as well as his teammate Will Power. Fast Forward to round 1, group 2, it was Team Penske newcomer David Malukas fastest in that round followed by Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong, Dennis Hauger, Christian Lundgaard, and Kyffin Simpson who advanced to round 2 of qualifying. In addition, just like group 1, group 2 also had a shocking exit. Scott Dixon did not make round 2, and it was the first time since 2013 he did not make the second round of qualifying at St. Petersburg. In addition, as the checkered flag fell on the second round of qualifying, it was Scott McLaughlin setting the quickest time, and behind him were Palou, Ericsson, Hauger, Malukas, and Grosjean. NTT Indycar rookie Dennis Hauger set a blistering lap time in the final minutes of round 2 to put himself through to the Fast 6 shootout for pole, and his teammate Roman Grosjean was able to advance as well. With both Dale Coyne Racing cars going through, it was the first time since Detroit in 2022 both cars advanced to the Fast 6. However, despite the shocking moments, and drama unfolding, it was not enough to deny Scott McLaughlin pole position as he claimed the NTT P1 Award for Sunday's Grand Prix. Marcus Ericsson slots in behind in 2nd, and rookie Dennis Hauger in his debut Indycar race weekend starts 3rd ahead of reigning series champion Alex Palou in 4th with David Malukas in 5th, and Romain Grosjean in 6th. Dennis Hauger in the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda entry at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Photo by: Gavin Baker/Getty Images) Dale Coyne Racing stole the spotlight with both Hauger and Grosjean. Heading into qualifying nobody had any high expectations from the team considering the past couple of seasons their pace has been around the midfield, and even towards the back of the grid. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicks off tomorrow at 12:00 PM ET on FOX.

Scott McLaughlin In The #3 Dex Imaging Penske entry at St. Petersburg fastest in opening practice (Photo by: Joe Skibinski) Scott McLaughlin for Team Penske tops the timing sheets in opening practice as it was a wild start to the season as opening practice was not kind to a number of drivers. As the session began, Dale Coyne Racing rookie Dennis Hauger, who moves up from the Indy NXT Series after winning the championship in 2025, gets held on the pitlane for 5 minutes during the session due to a rear spring coming loose from the car. With 25 minutes left in the session, Alexander Rossi goes for a spin, blocking part of the track and the red flag is displayed but keeps it out of the wall. Not long after the red flag is lifted, Rinus Veekay and Scott McLaughlin have a very close call heading into turn 11, nearly making contact with each other as it appeared McLaughlin was backing off his lap, meanwhile Veekay was still on a push lap. In addition, Josef Newgarden went for a spin in turn 13 coming out of the chicane and lost control of the car, sliding through the grass but was able to just keep it out of the barrier. Later on, in the first practice session for group 1, it was Scott Dixon who found the barrier in turn 9, bringing that practice session to an end. Dixon entered turn 9 with oversteer and made heavy contact with the wall, destroying the left front of his car, and David Malukas just behind him narrowly avoids him. The trouble didn't stop there as in group 2 practice, Louis Foster locks up in the final corner and goes into the tire barrier nose first making heavy contact, ending his session. The top 5 drivers at the conclusion of the first practice session are Scott McLaughlin, followed by Felix Rosenqvist, Kyle Kirkwood, Kyffin Simpson, and Marcus Ericsson. Practice 2 begins tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM ET.

Prema Racing Drivers Robert Schwartzman (#83) and Callum Ilott (#90) racing at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course During The 2025 NTT Indycar Season (Photo by: Kevin Dejewski/ ShutterSpeed Action Photography) Prema Racing will miss the opening round of the 2026 NTT Indycar Series Championship. It was confirmed earlier this year, the Rosin Family has suddenly departed from the Organization. During the offseason there has been speculation and rumors of Prema not having the funding they need to have in order to compete this season. Prema was not present during pre season testing, nor both drivers Callum Ilott and Robert Schwartzman were present at Indycar content day either. Last year it was announced Prema Racing would compete full time with two cars for the 2025 season. This decision surprised the paddock knowing their involvment with the Junior Formula series, making the committment to Indycar very challenging. There is still no confirmation on the reason why Prema Racing is absent from the Indycar Paddock. It is still to be believed both Ilott and Schwartzman are under contract with the team but if Prema were to sell Assets to another team, Ilott and Schwartzman could potentially drive for the new buyers or look elsewhere for other opportunities. Max Chilton driving for Carlin at the 2021 Indianapolis 500 (Photo by: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports) Carlin Racing back in 2021 went under a very similiar situation to what Prema is going through right now. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Carlin struggled with sponsorship and performance after the departure of Max Chilton. It was confirmed at the end of the 2021 season, the four year stint Carlin had in Indycar. Juncos Hollinger Racing absorbed the team as all of the equipment, and staff members transitioned from Carlin to Juncos Hollinger for the 2022 season. Carlin was also considered a powerhouse team in the lower Formula Series, and with Prema potentially leaving Indycar as well, it looks like history may be repeating itself.

Alex Palou leading the field during the 2025 Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca (Photo by: Joe Skibinski) The 2026 NTT Indycar series season is approaching fast and with the off season just about to be over, here are 5 drivers in the NTT Indycar series to keep an eye on for this season. #1 Pato O' Ward Pato O' Ward at the 2025 Indianapolis 500 (Photo by: Penske Entertainment) Pato O' Ward finished runner up to Alex Palou in the 2025 NTT Indycar championship standings with 2 wins, 2 poles, 10 top 5's, and 12 top 10's with 258 laps led. O' Ward is now entering his 8th season in the NTT Indycar series and has been known as a seasoned veteran for quite some time now. Pato O' Ward is looking to have a strong start to the 2026 season and will be competitive right out the gate coming off his best season. #2 David Malukas David Malukas piloting the #4 AJ Foyt entry (Photo by: James J Black) David Malukas is entering this season with a brand new team, being Team Penske. There's a lot of expectations for Malukas as it was announced during the off season he is replacing Will Power who has made the switch over to Andretti Global. In 2025 Malukas scored 2 top 5's and 5 top 10's in his first full season back in the series, and is looking to have a breakout year as he is for sure going to compete for race victories alongside Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott Mclaughlin. #3 Will Power Will Power at the 2025 Indianapolis 500 (Photo by: Motorsport.com ) Will Power is switching teams heading into the new season as he joins Andretti Global alongside Marcus Ericcson and Kyle Kirkwood. This is the first time being on a new team since 2008 with KV Racing Technology and also the first time being back in a Honda powered car as well. There are a lot of questions on how Power will do with his new team since it was relatively shocking to see him depart from Team Penske considering the success he has had with being the teams most recent champion back in 2022, and also the only driver who has denied Alex Palou of a title since 2020. #4 Kyle Kirkwood Kyle Kirkwood celebrating pole position at the 2025 Grand Prix of Long Beach (Photo by: Chris Owns) Kyle Kirkwood is one to look out for this season as he is entering 2026 with high hopes. For a long period of time during the 2025 season he was the only different driver going toe-to-toe with Alex Palou winning multiple races, up until Scott Dixon at Mid Ohio. Kirkwood has progressively been getting better over the course of his career as he enters this season as Andretti Global's leading driver. #5 Alex Palou Alex Palou celebrating victory at the 2025 Indianapolis 500 (Photo by: Honda Racing) Alex Palou, the defending series champion looks reclaim the crown once again heading into the new season after a record breaking season. Palou enters the 2026 campaign as the first three-peat champion since Dario Franchitti from 2009-11, and the youngest 4-time champion since Sebastein Bourdias in 2007. 2025 had the young Spaniard have a career defining season with 8 wins, 6 poles, 14 top 5's and 15 top 10's with an astonishing 778 laps led and winning the title by 196 points over Arrow McLaren driver Pato O' Ward. Honorable Mention: Christian Lundgaard Christian Lundgaard in his first season with Arrow McLaren (Photo by: Chris Owens) Christian Lundgaard had a breakout year in his first season at Arrow McLaren securing 1 Pole, 6 top 5's, and 11 top 10's. The Danish driver has been so close multiple times to securing his first win with McLaren and his pace over the course of last season has put him head to head with teammate Pato O' Ward. Lundgaard does have 1 career win dating back to the 2023 season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at the streets of Toronto. Expect to see Christian Lundgaard compete for a lot more wins heading into the 2026 NTT Indycar season.

Formula One is taking a leap into the unknown in 2026. The beginning of a new era with radically different power units, new cars and some new teams has all the ingredients for an exciting season where no on really knows what the outcome will be. With testing now complete and the season opener in Melbourne just a week away, Luke, Javi and Cass predict how all 12 teams will perform in 2026. McLaren Luke The reigning champions looked to have produced a fairly strong car for the new regulations. They may not be the strongest team on the grid this year, but they will probably still be capable of fighting for wins. It will be interesting to see how Oscar Piastri performs this year, whether losing out on the championship last year negatively affects him or drives him on to be better. Javi McLaren as the current title holders don’t look like the favourites at the moment. They have completed a lot of mileage and do look to be fighting at the top of the table, but they seem to lack a little more speed overall. Cass Mclaren is an interesting team. Despite leading the championship last season, they do appear on the backend of the top 4 as of right now. They were not necessarily proving why they won last season, they were just there. They don't appear to be as competitive as of yet, but we do have an entire season with upgrades and innovations to come later in the year, but as of right now, they appear on the same level as RedBull. Photo: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images Ferrari Luke Ferrari have been through this time and time again, and will be wary of  having high expectations going into the season. But after testing, they are believed to have possibly the strongest car on the grid, or at least in the top two along with Mercedes. Off the back of an awful 2025, both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be hoping their pace in testing is genuine as they will both want to be the one to end Ferrari’s 19 year wait for a Drivers’ Title. Javi Ferrari were seen innovating back in Bahrain with their new idea of the DRS. And even though it failed, they still had a lot to be happy about. They look to be the team closest to Mercedes and their engine has been quite reliable so far. The prancing horse could finally see their fortunes change. Cass Ferrari is showing real potential to be one of the big competitors after their success in pre-season testing. They proved they are fast and have shown various strengths, including the creation of a very different rear wing. It appears innovative and differs from their main competitor Mercedes. Although it wasn’t the greatest component, the engine proves it is able to hold up and be a strong and reliable unit for the team. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both appeared very comfortable and confident in the teams ability as well as the new car. Photo: @F1 / X Mercedes Luke Performance in testing suggests that Mercedes have aced the new regulations, and that they have the best car right now. This could be the first year we see George Russell be a serious title contender. One thing to look out for, though, is the upcoming vote on banning their compression ratio trick mid-season, which could see their performance drop off in the second half of 2026. Javi Mercedes are probably the top team. Though their pre-season has been marked by their engine “exploits”, their pace has been amazing all-round and are considered the front-runners for Melbourne. Cass Mercedes, like Ferrari are also looking to be a major leading competitor. The initial tests were of concern when we found out about issues regarding the car, however arriving at testing they showed what they’re made of. Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have their own points to prove, and it showed during testing. They were strong, topping the time sheets quite a lot, which proves they can lead this season and start it off with a bang. Photo: Getty Images Red Bull Luke Red Bull will be hoping for a better season than 2025. If it wasn't for the brilliance of Max Verstappen they would have been a lot lower than third in the constructors' championship. They have struggled to find a competitive teammate for Verstappen and will be hoping that a new regulation cycle will help Isack Hadjar get closer to Verstappen than his previous teammates. Early signs suggest they are third fastest for now. Javi Red Bull have jumped further ahead compared to last year. The RBPT power unit has surprised a lot of people though it was expected that they would come up with a pretty solid power unit. They have shown great pace in the long and short runs and are likely to be third fastest when we get to Australia. Cass Red Bull with their new driver lineup of Verstappen and Hadjar are proving to be a well-rounded pairing. Whilst Hadjar is still new; in testing he proved he can hang with the more experienced drivers. This may be useful to the team, especially in pushing Verstappen to improve himself. The collaboration with Ford heading into the new season, has many possibilities. From what we saw in testing, they are still a major competitors, but we do have to wait and see for their true potential coming into the Australian Grand Prix. Photo: Marcel Van Dorst / Getty Images Aston Martin Luke It looks very much like Honda has let down Alonso yet again. The signs from testing are that their struggles are down to a mix of the Honda engine being tragically underpowered and unreliable, as well as just not being compatible with the rest of the car. The arrival of Adrian Newey looks like it will have an extremely disappointing start. Expect to see them at the back of the grid at least until they can bring some major upgrades. Javi Aston Martin have been the big surprise, but for all the wrong reasons. The Adrian Newey designed AMR26 had very high expectations, but chassis issues along with an underpowered and very unreliable Honda PU means they sit around 3 seconds off Mercedes.  Cass A team struggling to prove their ability in the sport very early on is Aston Martin. With concerns over the car, it leaves many people wondering what they’ll be capable of coming into the new season. We clearly expected a strong team, given Adrian Newey was joining and expected "greatness", we never thought we would see the day they had difficulties. From struggling with RPMs to being almost 4 seconds behind in pre-season testing, its left many of us wondering “what can they actually do?”. Will we see them at the Australian Grand Prix? Photo: Getty Images Racing Bulls Luke 2025 was a great season for Racing Bulls, with Isack Hadjar's podium in The Netherlands being the highlight. They look to be in a good position to build on last year and might be fighting at the front of the midfield. Javi Racing Bulls have been looking rough. They have done many laps but they seem to lack the ultimate pace they will need to get into Q3. The Ford RBPT powered car might well be ninth fastest in Melbourne. Cass Racing Bulls are going to either impress or disappoint their fans. With rookie Arvid Lindblad arriving to the team alongside Liam Lawson, this looks to be a strong pairing. They were quiet in the testing with very little going on, but still putting in the work to figure out the car and its details though. This could be one of the teams to watch this season. Photo: Getty Images Williams Luke 2026 was supposed to be the next big step in Wiliiams' journey back to the top and there was plenty of optimism around the team after finishing 2025 in 5th. But missing the Barcelona shakedown and arriving in Bahrain with an overweight and disappointing car could see 2026 go down as a big missed opportunity for them. They still look to be firmly in the midfield battle but they might have been anticipating much more. Javi Williams were expected to be towards the front up until the beginning of the pre-season. The reports of them being 30kg overweight and missing the Barcelona shakedown has certainly hurt the Grove team’s expectations, but they managed to recover quite well in Bahrain and seem to be comfortably in the midfield. Cass Williams had a very impressive result in the 2025 championship finishing 5th in the title battle. This season however started off rocky with overweight cars and losing lots of testing time compared to their rivals. It put them on the backfoot heading into Bahrain pre-season testing. They can still prove us wrong, with a good lineup with duo pairing Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, but they do have lots of work to go still. Photo: Joe Portlock / Getty Images Haas Luke Haas are showing early signs of having a great year in 2026. They completed the third most laps in testing and look like they're in the fight to be the leading midfield team. All the signs are looking like this could be the best season so far for the American team. Javi Haas has truly improved since Ayo Komatsu’s arrival, and this pre-season shows that they could well be the best midfield team this season. Very few issues for the American outfit was followed up by great pace during testing. Cass Haas have proven they are more than the small American team that they were a few years back. With the driver lineup they have now, they look to be a huge threat to the top of the midfield. They had some decent running time in testing, but now await their first official outing in Australia. They can threaten the likes of Williams and Aston Martin with their potential and start the season off strong. Photo: Joe Portlock / Getty Images Alpine Luke If their pace in testing is genuine, Alpine may have made the biggest improvement from 2025. They finished last in 2025, committing most of their resources to this year's car instead. This paired with the switch to Mercedes engines as Renault ended its F1 engine programme sees them jump up to potentially being the best of the rest. A much improved season could go a long way for a team that also seems to be on the brink of collapse. Javi Alpine have seen a great improvement compared to 2025. Now powered by Mercedes, the Enstone team has had a great pre-season and their drivers could well enjoy a great beginning of the season. Cass Alpine have improved on their previous years, with more points earned in 2025. However, so far their testing times have proven they are also a team that could be strong. They did plenty of running in testing, some of their times proved what we all expected, that they are more then the previous year's results suggested. Now pairing up with Mercedes and being supplied an engine from them, this could be the vital resource they need to prove themselves in the tough world of F1. Photo: Alpine Audi Luke Audi had some teething issues with their new in-house power unit and gearbox, but they look to have a good platform to build on as the season progresses. For now they look to be just at the back of the midfield. They had a great 2025 while they were still Sauber and have a really promising driver lineup of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Javi Audi turned up to pre-season as one of the best prepared teams, completing a good amount of laps during the whole 3 weeks. They did suffer a minor issue back in Barcelona with their PU but other than that the German outfit does look like it could be in the battle to get to Q3 early in the season. Cass Audi can have a good start to their season. They have two great drivers with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. They have to provide a good car for them though, given previous years they have had a car that could not perform but drivers that can. I am unsure on this teams true potential though, having not seen lots of information regarding their time on-track in testing. They appear to be towards the back of the field unfortunately, but are hoping to gain positions when it comes into the new season. Photo: Audi F1 Team Cadillac Luke Expectations for Cadillac's first season have been low. And while they are definitely the slowest on the grid as expected, they had a solid and respectable pre-season. This season is less about results for them and more about gaining experience to hopefully propel them up the grid in the coming years. Javi Newcomers Cadillac have enjoyed a pretty solid pre-season. Although very off the pace as expected, the new American team has had zero problems so far and is looking to bring a lot of updates during the first half of the season. Cass Cadillac is sort of a dark horse heading into this season. With it being their first official year, I don't necessarily expect brilliant results week in and week out, but I do expect that their driver pairing will provide a great foundation for the team to grow on. Bottas and Perez are essential to this team in 2026, providing their previous knowledge and experience from other years with the big guns like Mercedes and RedBull. Photo: Glenn Dunbar / Getty Images 2026 has all the factors to be the most unpredictable season in recent memory. After testing, we have a rough idea of the pecking order. But due to the uncertainty of the new regulations, it could be completely different by the time the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi in December.

I wanted to let Atlanta pass before dropping my first power rankings of the season, given Daytona can be a lottery. But seems like Tyler Reddick doesn't view it that way with back to back wins. Here are my NASCAR Power Rankings. HM: Shane van Gisbergen is off his best oval finish ever, a P6 at Echo Park Speedway. Only his 2nd ever top 10 at an oval, SVG overcame 2 spins, which puts him at 15th in the point standings. He normally wouldn’t make it to this high, but with COTA on the horizon, all eyes are on him to win. If he can win at COTA, he’d be the fastest person to ever get 7 wins in the Cup Series at 53 starts, surpassing Tony Stewart’s record of 61 races. Quick shoutouts also to Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, and the RFK boys of Buescher and Keselowski. 10: Denny Hamlin drops a good bit. It’s hard to imagine what all he’s going through right now, but the season is underway and Hamlin said he should be more comfortable as he gets back into the swing of things. 2 poor finishes of 31st and 13th, including 0 stage points, leave Hamlin buried in 27th in points. More bad news? We’re heading to a road course this weekend. I almost left Hamlin off this list, but knowing what this team is capable of in a few weeks, I’ll keep him on here for the time being. The good news for Hamlin fans is that, of his 6 worst racetracks statistically wise, after Sunday, 3 of them will have passed, with Daytona being 3rd worst, Atlanta being 4th worst, and COTA being 6th worst. He won’t run into another track on this list until Talladega in April. Before that, we head to Hamlin’s 8th, 11th, 1st, 7th, 14th, and 13th best track, so Hamlin fans have a lot to look forward to once we leave Austin. 9: Christopher Bell had a bad start to the season, with a 35th at Daytona and a 21st at Echo Park. It’s not like he didn’t have speed. Bell led 9 laps in both races, before being wrecked at the very end of both races, most notably Atlanta, where he was wrecked by Carson Hocevar for 2nd. The next 2 tracks favor Bell. He won at both COTA and Phoenix last year, including another win at Phoenix in 2024, along with a career average finish of 15.0 and 12.9 at them respectively. A cold start should be no issue for this 20 team. 8: I did not have Bubba Wallace ranked at the beginning of the year, and that was a mistake on my part. He led the most laps at Daytona and the 3rd most laps at Atlanta. He also scored the 4th most points in the 500 and the 2nd most points at Atlanta. Wallace sits 2nd in the points, however he heads to his worst track on the schedule. Wallace’s best finish in 5 starts at COTA is only 15th in 2024, with 3 sub 30th place finishes. He did win a stage last year, not to mention that Wallace’s finishes at road courses as a whole have gotten better. He doesn’t have a shot at the win, but Bubba will be fighting for a top 15, maybe a top 10 if the cards fall correctly. 7: Joey Logano’s had a decent start to the year, with a 3rd at the 500 and an 18th at Atlanta. He had decent speed on Sunday, leading 26 laps, but a few accidents took him out of contention. Logano sits 6th in points right now, but much like the rest of his competitors, heads to his worst track on the schedule. With an average finish of 19.4, no track is worse for Logano. A lone 3rd in the first running in 2021 is his only bright spot, as other than an 11th in 2024, his next best finish is a 24th in last year’s race. 6: For a minute there, William Byron looked to become the first person ever to 3-peat the Daytona 500. Instead, a bobble relegated him to 12th. After running top 10 all day in Atlanta, once again he was wrecked late, after a broken toe link seemed to veer Byron’s car across the racetrack and wrecked himself and a good chunk of the field. Byron is now sitting 13th in points, which, barring a bad race at COTA, is the lowest he’ll drop this year. COTA is Byron’s 2nd best track on the schedule with a 6.2 average finish. It’s his best overall with a minimum of 5 starts at (only Iowa is better with 2 starts to Byron’s name). He has a win in 2023, and his last 3 finishes have all been top 5. His 2 outliers? A 12th in 2021 and an 11th in 2022. He’s also led 71 of the 238 laps run in the last 3 years (29.8% of the laps run), the most of anyone in this timeframe. The next closest is Tyler Reddick with only 51 (21.4%). 5: Chase Briscoe has had a fast car the first two weeks, but his finish only reflects that in 1 race. After leading 23 laps in the Great American Race, 2nd to only Bubba Wallace, Briscoe was swept up in the big one and relegated to 36th, 12 laps down. A much different story played out at Atlanta, however. Briscoe led the 4th most laps with 27, but lived to see the finish, a solid 2nd. Also collecting stage points in the 2nd stage, Briscoe sits 16th on the cutline. He heads to COTA, which is statistically his best road course. Other than a 30th in 2022, Briscoe doesn’t have a finish worse than 15th, including a P6 in 2021. His qualifying leaves much to be desired, however, as his best start is only 14th, and he has 2 starts outside the top 25. If he wants to have a shot at the win, Briscoe needs a top 10 starting spot. 4: The defending champ drops 2 spots to #4. Kyle Larson had a decent 500, leading 7 laps and finishing 16th. He turned heads at Atlanta, for both the right and wrong reasons. Larson’s Hendrick ride had speed, as he started off the day with points in stage 1, and he was headed for more in stage 2, until a bad block on SVG ended his day early. Larson’s due for a head loss every now and then, but this one was alarming, no doubt. It’s now been 26 races since the 5 has seen victory lane, and I don’t see that changing this weekend. Other than a silver in the inaugural race at COTA, Larson has not finished better than 14th in 2023, including 2 sub 25th place finishes. It’s his 6th worst track on the schedule, and by far his worst road course with an 18.8 average finish at COTA, compared to a 15.0 at Sonoma and a 14.6 at the Glen. Larson’s a decent road racer, but I don’t see it happening this week. 3: Ryan Blaney drops to 3 after a surprisingly quiet superspeedway swing. He finished 27th at Daytona and 10th at Atlanta, leading only a combined 8 laps in the 2 races. It’s definitely not bad, considering he’s 8th in points right now, but Blaney, and honestly Team Penske as a whole, seemed to lack the superspeedway prowess they normally have. COTA’s a decent track for Blaney, with every finish being relegated between 21st and 6th for him. Not too good, not too bad. This week should lead perfectly into one of Blaney’s best tracks of Phoenix. 2: Chase Elliott has speed right now. I don’t think many people saw that coming into 2026. He won his duel race, finished 4th in the Daytona 500, and 11th at Atlanta. Elliott has been arguably the most consistent driver over the past 3 years, he just hasn’t had the wins to back it up. Now, he looks like he could win any week, and there’s not much better a place we could head to. Other than an outlier in 2024, with a 16th, Elliott has never finished worse at COTA than 4th. What is concerning, however, is that he’s only led 5 laps, all of which came during his win in 2021. Elliott looks to be picking up right where he left off in 2025 though, and that first win of the year might come sooner rather than later. 1: I said that Tyler Reddick had no chance to win at Daytona…good pick me. Not only did he win the Great American Race, he backed it up with 2 in a row at Atlanta, being the first person since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to win the first 2 races of the season. Hopefully this year turns out better for him than Kenseth, as not only did Kenseth go winless the rest of the year, he missed the Chase at the end of the year and wouldn’t see victory lane for over 2 years. I don’t think either of these will happen. Reddick looks poised to continue his momentum right into his best track on the schedule. With a 4.6 average finish, it’s his best by over 4 positions. His worst finish was only 9th in the inaugural race, a race he sat on the pole for. Since then, he's finished 5th, won 5th again, and 3rd last year. He’s never qualified worse than 4th, and has led at least one lap every year since 2022. All things considered, it’s very possible he could 3-peat the beginning of the year, which has never been done before.