In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers reports on the F1 race in Montreal, the APC Late Models at Flamboro, NASCAR at Sonoma, IndyCar’s stop at Road America, NHRA’s event at Bristol and much more.
Formula One has released the specs on their new for 2026 race car and it looks promising. The cars will lighter, narrower and shorter with tires reduced in width. The DRS system has been eliminated but a new ‘passing feature’ has been added.
The front and rear wings will be adjustable allowing them to build down force in the corners while allowing increased speeds on the straights. It is reminiscent of the old Can-Am cars and Outlaw Sprint Cars were the crowd could witness the rear wings moving during the races.
Good stuff. The electrical power available has been increased as well as the regenerative braking capabilities. In a move bowing to the ‘tree huggers’ they also announced that both the medical and the safety vehicles will be powered by ‘sustainable fuel’!! Well that should really help the environment!! LOL
There has been some negative feedback about the IndyCar race at Detroit last week. I did not get to see the race as it wasn’t televised in Canada nor could I do the Live Stream (‘not available in your country’). But I followed their Live Timing feed and it looked to me like almost half the laps were run under caution. I don’t recall the Belle Isle course ever having those problems. Is there a fix? I don’t know.
The Formula 1 ‘Silly Season’ game of Musical Chairs has seen at least one of those chairs removed. And that is good news for Sergio Perez.
Red Bull has signed him for two more years thus eliminating all the negative comments about him. Well done. More to come.
F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo had a very unique helmet in Montreal. It featured maple syrup pouring over it. Really cool.
A heads up to the many racers out there. We have all heard of the multitude of car thefts happening right now. Well, apparently vehicles are not the only things being stolen. Golf carts have been taken recently so if you have a cart at the race track keep your eyes on it at all times.
So, is UFC honcho Dana White working on a deal with NASCAR to start the EV version of Cup racing? Apparently, a meeting is being held the first week of July. Stay tuned.
And continuing in the rumour department is the National Hot Rod Association finally establishing a Canadian division? We have heard that rumour now for nearly 60 years. And the rumoured Tech Director has actually been racing for almost all of those 60 years!! Here’s hoping.
An open letter to NASCAR Canada. Fans have been promised for several years that ‘we are working on it,’ … ‘it’ being their website. Has not happened, especially the Live Timing feature. And, yes, I know there is an app. Either fix the website or get rid of it. You are much, much better than that.
NASCAR Cup Series: Joey Logano (Ford) got the pole for the Save Mart 350 Sunday at Sonoma Raceway ahead of Tyler Reddick (Toyota) and Ryan Blaney (Ford).
It didn’t take long for a caution as Denny Hamlin did a great smoke show blowing up on lap 2 right at start/finish. On lap 16 another Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota had problems when Ty Gibbs had a flat right front tire and spanked the wall in Corner 1 hard right in front of the BIG Toyota sign.
Ouch, a Toyota hitting the wall in front of the Toyota sign during the Toyota/Save Mart 350. On the restart Chase Briscoe got together with Austin Cindric with Briscoe’s car appearing to have lost much of it’s rear body work.
Meanwhile Logano, restarting 21st after pitting, got tapped and spun by Ricky Stenhouse (haven’t we heard THIS song before??) bringing out another yellow for both incidents. Tyler Reddick won Stage 1.
On lap 32 another Aussie Supercar driver Will Brown pulled off track in a strange spot with problems for a yellow. On the restart lap Josh Berry got together with Erik Jones and then Christopher Bell and they collected Martin Truex, Cam Waters and Austin Dillon for a yellow.
Other than some ‘offs’ things ran smoothly to the end of Stage 2 won by Chris Buescher. After the restart some more offs including Ryan Preece and Harrison Burton but no cautions.
On the white flag lap all kinds of drama came out. Truex ran out of gas then Ross Chastain got into Kyle Busch. Kyle Larson got the win over Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher. Truex dropped all the way to 27th after crossing the line on the white flag in 2nd.
Larson leads the points by 14 over teammate Chase Elliott and by 26 on Denny Hamlin.
Their next race is Iowa, Sunday at 3.30 on TSN 2.
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Aussie Supercar star Shane Van Gisbergen (Chev) won the pole for the race at Sonoma Raceway of Saturday. Ty Gibbs (Toyota) was 2nd with Austin Hill (Chev) 3rd. Canadian Alex Labbe qualified 19th of the 39 cars that timed.
One car went home as they started 38. The first stage ran caution free with Van Gisbergen getting the win. With the exception of a few cars spinning off course but getting back on track Stage 2 was also caution free and Ty Gibbs picked up the stage win.
However, on the subsequent pit stop Gibbs had problems and fell out of the top ten. That was costly as Gibbs got involved the first race caution along with a bunch of other cars on lap 50. About 15 cars got collected on the restart at the top of the hill in Corner 3.
On lap 65 Jesse Love spun in turn 10 and was sitting in a precarious spot on the track. That brought out another caution. With two laps to go there was a bunch of hitting and spinning but luckily no yellows. At the flag it was Van Gisbergen for the win ahead of Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer. Labbe finished 19th. A couple of hours of fun running around in Wine Country.
In the points Cole Custer leads both Austin Hill and Chandler Smith by 12.
Their next race is Iowa, Saturday at 3.30 on TSN 2.
NASCAR Craftsman Trucks: Their next race is Nashville, Friday, June 28.
Formula One: The ongoing stewards’ head scratching continued in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix at the start of FP2 on Friday. At the green one of the Ferraris went out on a WET track with rain tires but was called back to the pits. Even though it was raining they had not yet declared a wet track. And the Ferrari had gone out two minutes before the declaration. Wow. Needless to say the FP2 results offered little technical help to the teams.
In qualifying George Russell (Mercedes) won the pole Saturday during iffy weather conditions ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) who had the exact same time as Russell with Lando Norris (McLaren) 3rd. Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) started 9th. Sadly, Sergio Perez did not get out of Q1 considering he just got the new contract with Red Bull.
Jacques Villeneuve, a commentator for Sky News for the race, made some comments questioning why Daniel Ricciardo was still in F1. Shots fired!! Daniel responded with a fifth-place qualifying spot. I must say I don’t disagree with the original comments. Villeneuve also had an interesting chat with Ferrari honcho Fred Vasseur. Fred shut Jacques down a couple of times. Interesting.
Full on rain greeted the start of the race Sunday but the cars managed to all get away safely except for one car going off course. The first yellow came out at lap 25 as Logan Sargeant spun into the wall in his Williams.
Ferrari was not having a good day as the Leclerc car dropped out first with problems then Carlos Sainz got off on the grass for a yellow and a DNF. Then Perez spun as well. The rain was causing lots of problems.
The best part of the race was that there were plenty of passes on track. Even on the wet track. Good stuff.
At the flag it was Verstappen over Norris and Russell. Stroll finished a stout 7th. What was the Quebec Minister of Tourism thinking wearing horse riding boots to a car race?
In the Drivers’ Championship Verstappen leads Leclerc by 31 and Norris by 56.
In the Constructors’ Championship Red Bull leads Ferrari by 24 and McLaren by 92.
Their next race is Spain, Sunday, June 23.
IndyCar: Linus Lundqvist nabbed the pole on a wet track for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America over Colton Herta and Marcus Armstrong.
Exiting Corner 1 on the first lap Armstrong got into pole sitter Lundqvist spinning both of them for a yellow. Several cars got damaged in the ensuing smoke. On lap 4 another yellow for debris on the track. Lap 7 another caution when Christian Rasmussen punted Kyffin Simpson off the track.
But then, wonder of wonders, the skies parted, the sun came out, the planets aligned and the yellow flag did NOT come out again. At the checker it was Will Power for the win over Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. Power leads the points by 5 on Alex Palou and by 11 on Scott Dixon.
Their next race is Laguna Seca, Sunday, June 23.
IMSA: Their next race is Watkins Glen, Sunday, June 23.
24 Hours of Le Mans: This legendary event takes place this coming weekend, in France.
NHRA: The series dropped into Bristol, Tennessee for the Thunder Valley Nationals.
Top Fuel – Clay Millican topped the 16-car field with a 3.786. Tony Schumacher won over Doug Kalitta. 8 upsets (lower qualified car wins) and 7 upsets (one or both cars lost traction). In the points Justin Ashley leads Doug Kalitta by 26 and Shawn Langdon by 42.
Funny Car – Austin Prock continues to top the qualifying lists this year laying down a 3.958 to top the 16-car field. Prock took the win over J.R. Todd in the final. 7 upsets and 4 smokers. Prock leads boss John Force by 22 and Matt Hagan by 68.
Pro Mod – It appears that Drag Race Central forgot about the class in qualifying (they posted final qualifying and ladder Sunday morning). Kris Thorne ran a 5.786 to top the 23 entries. British Columbia racers Justin Bond and Jordan Lazic were 3rd and 10th. Unfortunately, neither driver advanced out of round 1. J.R. Gray won over Kris Thorne. 7 upsets and only 1 smoker. Jose Gonzalez leads Mason Wright by 60 and Kenneth Quartuccio by 71.
Pro Stock – Veteran Greg Anderson topped the 18 entries with a 6.615. Jeg Coughlin took the win over Greg Anderson. 3 upsets and 2 smokers. Dallas Glenn leads Erica Enders by 44 and Anderson by 50.
Pro Stock Bike – Matt Smith sat atop the 14 bike field with a 6.759. Gaige Herrera beat Jianna Evaristo in the final. 3 upsets. Herrera continues to lead the points by 142 on L.E. Tonglet and by 146 on Matt Smith.
Mountain Motor Pro Stock – John Montecalvo ran a 6.374 to lead the 13 qualifiers for the 8 car field. In the final Bo Butner took the win over Montecalvo. 1 upset. Bo leads David Pluchino by 25 and Bradley Waddle by 42.
Factory Stock – Lee Hartman ran a 7.897 to lead the 13 entries. 11 Camaros, 2 Challengers. David Janic won over Stephen Bell. 4 upsets. In the points Stephen Bell leads Mark Pawuk by 30 and Janac by 88.
Their next race is Virginia, Sunday, June 23.
IROC: Their first (and only??) race is July 20 at Lime Rock Park.
NASCAR Canada Series: Canada’s national stock car tour heads to ‘The Rock’ for their next race. Newfoundland plays host for the Saturday, June 22 event.
United Racing Series – APC Late Model Series. Rained out from Saturday to Sunday, at Flamboro Speedway, 20 cars took to the track to qualify for the series’ second race of the season.
Jake Sheridan won the pole over Kyle Steckly and J.R. Fitzpatrick. At the end of the 100-lap chase, it was Steckly ahead of Fitzpatrick, Shae Gemmel, Jo Lawrence and Blair Wickett. Steckly leads the points by three over Wickett and by 5 on Lawrence.
The series returns to action this coming Saturday at Peterborough Speedway.
VARAC Vintage Grand Prix: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be busy this weekend as the 44th edition of the VARAC Vintage GP takes to the legendary Grand Prix Circuit. In addition to the on-track racing action, there are many events and activities planned. You can check out the digital version of the event program here.
Ontario Sportsman Series their next race is at Sunset Speedway, on Saturday.
Delaware Speedway: Threatening weather surrounded the track Friday, but the rain stayed away until the Late Model main. In Super Stock Jay Cox won Heat 1, Trevor Collver won Heat 2 and then Collver nosed out Carson Nagy for the win in the 50 lapper. Ryan Dyson was 3rd over David McCullough and Lane Zardo.
Marshall Schrenk was fast qualifier for the Late Models in front of Gary Adriaensen, Jesse Kennedy, Ron Beauchamp and Ray Morneau. The rain finally came at lap 12 of the 75 lapper with Morneau out front. The balance of the race will be finished this Friday.
Their next race is Friday with the Late Models, Bone Stocks and V/8 Stocks.
Ohsweken Speedway: Their next race is the Renway Energy and McKeough Supply, Friday.
Flamboro Speedway: Their next race is the Don Biederman Memorial, Saturday. Flamboro hosted the APC Late Model Series and other classes this past weekend. The APC race was rained out until Sunday.
Southern Ontario Motor Speedway (Buxton): Their next race is this Saturday.
Full Throttle Motor Speedway: Their next race is the Fan Appreciation Night, Saturday.
Grand Bend Speedway: Their first race is Saturday.
Grand Bend Motorplex: They’re back in action this coming weekend.
St. Thomas Dragway: The London-area strip plays host to Mopar Day on Saturday and ProStreet 519 Sunday.
Toronto Motorsport Park. The Kohler, Ontario strip is in action this weekend with the 660 Sportsman Nationals. Tickets are available at their website for the Nitro Nationals.
PMRA: Their next event is June 20 – 22, Pro Mods, Quick 32 Sportsman Series & Pro Bike & Sled Series, Empire Dragway.
Shannonville Drags: Their next race is July 20 & 21.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
