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.

NASCAR is in a weird place as they have to balance tradition, growth, and competitive integrity, and the schedule has to flow. It needs a mix of momentum, variety, and fun. Here is my dream NASCAR Schedule if there were no restrictions. NASCAR Clash – New Smyrna Bring it back to Florida. Holding the Clash at New Smyrna revives Speedweeks as an important part of the NASCAR Schedule and helps with building hype for Daytona. It reconnects NASCAR’s biggest stars with short-track culture and energizes local fans before the sport’s biggest event. 1. Daytona No changes. The Daytona 500 stays exactly where it belongs in the NASCAR schedule. 2. Atlanta Following Daytona with another drafting-style track gives NASCAR a second chance to convert 500 viewers into weekly fans. 3. Texas COTA is a great facility, but I don't think it fits NASCAR as they perform better on shorter or narrower tracks, also Austin feels like an F1 city now and there's no changing that. Texas keeps the schedule oval-focused early too even though it needs work. 4. Phoenix Whether fans love it or not, Phoenix produces strategy-heavy racing and belongs in the early stretch. 5. Las Vegas Modern, competitive, and consistently solid. Wish it was closer to downtown though. 6. Los Angeles Street Circuit With Auto Club gone, NASCAR still needs a footprint in Los Angeles. A single street race positioned for casual and new fans makes sense in the country’s biggest media market. Not sure where you would put it or if you use the Long Beach layout. 7. Darlington A crown jewel. Unique, demanding, and puts on a great show 8. Bristol Back-to-back intensity with Darlington sets the tone for who’s truly competitive at this point in the season. 9. Martinsville Short-track racing belongs in this stretch. Even if the Next Gen hasn’t been perfect here, Martinsville always delivers storylines. 10. Talladega Time to bring back drafting chaos. 11. Kansas Quietly one of the best tracks on the calendar. 12. Nashville Superspeedway Strong regional base and a solid lead-in to the 600. All-Star Race – Pikes Peak International Raceway The All-Star Race should rotate through under-served markets. Colorado provides a fresh region and makes the event feel special again. 13. Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600) Untouchable. NASCAR’s biggest oval race stays put. 14. Michigan High-speed, manufacturer-heavy racing fits well after Charlotte. 15. Brands Hatch NASCAR needs international exposure to stay globally relevant. A rotation between Brands Hatch, Montreal, Motegi, Interlagos, and Mexico City keeps things fresh. And for Brans Hatch it's in a great location given it's proximity to London. One-week break 16. Chicagoland Massive market, strong racing potential. 17. Dover Start a very short Northeast swing with an aggressive concrete oval. 18. New Hampshire Underrated and strategically important for New England. 19. Indianapolis Too important to racing history to ignore. 20. Iowa A loyal fanbase that deserves consistency. 21. Sonoma Time to diversify again with a road course. 22. Richmond One date only. It doesn’t need two, but it still belongs. 23. Pocono Fuel mileage and strategy before the pressure of the Chase ramps up. 24. Watkins Glen A fan-favorite road course that can shuffle the standings. 25. Daytona With the modern format, it won’t have the same cutoff drama as before, but it still creates massive storylines heading into the Chase. The Chase: 26. World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway opens the Chase with a technical oval that demands discipline. 27. Darlington the southern 500 is a big test and will let fans see who the true favorites are. 28. Bristol No hiding at Bristol and the starts will shine here. 29. Road Atlanta Instead of stacking drafting tracks, mixing up the Chase with a road course will be fun. 30. Talladega You still need unpredictability somewhere. And Talladega will provide a key moment. 31. Las Vegas A strong intermediate with West Coast presence. 32. Kansas Late-season momentum builder. 33. Martinsville A true mental test before the finale. 34. Charlotte Oval One last traditional oval battle before the championship race. And since there's no need for the Roval it will be must see TV. 35. Homestead-Miami Speedway (Finale) Ending the season somewhere that consistently produces great racing across every generation of car. And it crowns a champion in a major market with a championship atmosphere.

This Checkered Weekend had a little bit of everything, legal tension in the NASCAR garage, a long-awaited first win, a breakthrough moment under the lights in Supercross, and financial reshuffling in Formula 1. Another NASCAR Lawsuit? Spire Motorsports confirmed they have hired former Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart as Chief Motorsports Officer, a role that will oversee multiple disciplines within the organization. On the surface, it’s a big move for an expanding race team. But the move is already entangled in legal action. Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit alleging Gabehart accessed proprietary competition data while negotiating with Spire Motorsports, including syncing files to personal devices and accessing a folder labeled “Spire.” The suit also claims photographs of sensitive team data were stored on a personal Google Drive account. Gabehart issued a statement forcefully denying the allegations and is expected to formally respond in court. Three attorneys from Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. Cary B. Davis, Anna Claire Tucker, and Spencer T. Wiles have filed notices of appearance on his behalf. Beyond the immediate headlines, this dispute raises broader questions in the modern spec-car era. With shared chassis and tightly controlled technical rules and proprietary data. Simulation tools, setup libraries, workflow systems become competitive edges. The resolution of this case could define what senior-level executives are legally allowed to retain when transitioning between teams. On track at Atlanta Motor Speedway, drivers were careful not to fuel the fire. Christopher Bell acknowledged his working relationship with Gabehart but made clear the legal implications were beyond his role. Meanwhile, Wally Brown has stepped back into the competition director position at JGR. New Spire driver Daniel Suarez reflected on racing against Gabehart during the 2016 Xfinity championship fight, calling him “extremely smart and competitive.” The legal battle may unfold in courtrooms, but its competitive implications will be felt in the garage. A Winless Streak Ends! While executives sorted through lawyers, one of the sport’s most persistent streaks finally ended Saturday night in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. After 137 career starts and 15 runner-up finishes, Sheldon Creed finally stood in Victory Lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The win came in chaotic fashion. Austin Hill took the lead from Ross Chastain coming to the white flag, but Chastain stayed within striking distance down the backstretch. Hill threw a late defensive block to the inside. The cars made contact. Hill spun sideways. Creed surged through the smoke and crossed the line first. It wasn’t the cleanest path to a first win but few breakthrough victories ever are. For Creed, the statistic that defined his career is gone. In Arlington, another breakthrough came on two wheels. At AT&T Stadium, Round 7 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship Hunter Lawrence captured his first premier 450SMX victory. The 20-minute main event saw Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb trade early control before Lawrence inserted himself into the fight. Meanwhile, Eli Tomac charged from 11th to the front group within the opening laps, setting up a four-rider battle separated by mere seconds. Lawrence’s decisive move came in the whoops after relentless pressure on Roczen. Once clear, he managed the gap despite a late push from Tomac and secured the win by 2.8 seconds. It marked the fifth different winner in seven races this season and pushed Lawrence into a four-point championship lead over Tomac. After four runner-up finishes to start the year, the breakthrough finally arrived and it may prove pivotal in a title fight that is tightening by the week. Stroll Buys Aston Martin...Again Lawrence Stroll is set to purchase the naming rights of the Aston Martin F1 Team for £50 million as the automaker works to stabilize its financial outlook. The deal, pending shareholder approval, comes amid reports of earnings pressures tied to macroeconomic headwinds, including tariff impacts and weakened demand in China. On the competitive side, the team’s pre-season testing program in Bahrain was disrupted by battery-related power unit issues ahead of its 2026 Honda partnership. The upcoming season represents a new chapter, with Adrian Newey stepping into a leadership role and Honda supplying power units. But early reliability setbacks underscore the challenge ahead. The business structure may be evolving but performance questions remain unanswered.

From the first lap there was plenty to talk about. From Broc Feeneys major dominance after last seasons dramatic end, he put that all behind him to lead the championship once again, alongside Matt Payne. From 10th to 1st in the Shootout result for Broc Feeney. It was a race to remember for some, whilst others suffered a tough result. For Broc Feeney, it was a strong result again with another P1 finish, ahead of Matt Payne in P2 and a late promotion for Cam Waters to P3. From push and shove moments to missing tyres on track, the drama was nonstop. Kai Allen and Broc Feeney got into it early with some on track action, before Feeney pushed ahead. By lap 29, James Golding was forced to limp back to the pits after losing a wheel. The pit crew would attempt to reattach a wheel, but due to threading issues relating to the wheel nut. He later returned to the track, but 2 laps down on the rest of the field. The chaos of a loose tyre, results in Golding losing his on track. Around the end of the safety car period, we saw an unexpected rain patch begin to make its way over the track. This eventually caused drama on the restart, with Anton De Pasquale and Will Brown colliding into one another. Both would manage to continue however were quite far down in the field. By the end of the race, we'd seen multiple penalties, including an early 15 second penalty for Rylan Gray. This was served in his pitstop. Lap 38-40 saw more penalties including one for Will Brown (15 seconds), Zach Bates (5 seconds) and Andre Heimgartner (5 seconds). These were all officially served during pitstops and were not added to final times. A last lap incident also resulted in Brodie Kostecki recieving a 15 second penalty for a on track incident. This would drop him to P12. Due to this, all 5 supras managed to finish within the top 10. Chaz mostert and Ryan Wood finished in P4 and P5, whilst Cam Hill, Andre Heimhartner and Macauley Jones finished P7, P9 and P10. Brodie Kostecki recieves a 15 second penalty for an incident with Aaron Cameron. There were concerns for multiple drivers with issues relating to cool suits, including a failure of them for both Broc Feeney and Will Brown who were forced to drive in extremely tough conditions, as well as David Reynolds. Both Will Brown and David Reynolds were taken to the medical centre, where they recieved the necessary treatment. We now wait for the next race weekend which takes place the same weekend as the Australian Grand Prix (March 5-8). This race weekend consists of 4 short sprint style races, full of drama and chaos. 2025 Melbourne Supersprint.