In this edition of the Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers looks at recent news from the world of racing and updates on some of the major Canadian and international series and events.
NASCAR has decided that Austin Hill will serve a suspension following his on-track incident with Aric Almirola last week at Indianapolis. Hill sat out the Xfinity Series race at Iowa, with Austin Dillon stepping in. The decision is commendable, and hopefully, we’ll see more accountability like this, especially in the Cup Series.
In a major surprise, IndyCar.com reports that Roger Penske has agreed to sell one-third of Penske Entertainment—which includes IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and IMS Productions—to Fox for a reported $130 million. Fox and Fox Sports now have a vested interest in promoting and growing IndyCar, which is great news for the series’ future.
Canadian NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen was injured during a sprint car race at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec last week. He remains in hospital recovering from surgery to repair a broken right leg and fractured pelvis. We wish him a full and speedy recovery. A recent post (right) by his wife, Jessica Friesen, said that he’s back home and recovering from his injuries and surgeries. Christopher Bell filled in for one race, but Kaden Honeycutt will be in the truck until Friesen is medically cleared to return, likely next season. Get well Stew!!!
If you think Formula One’s stewarding has peaked, think again. During Free Practice 2 in Hungary, Max Verstappen, who is confirmed to remain with Red Bull, exited the pits with a towel still in his cockpit. To avoid it interfering with the pedals, he tossed it onto the grass. The stewards issued Red Bull a warning for releasing a car with a foreign object onboard. You really can’t make this stuff up.
There are rumours circulating online that 2025 may be the final season for Sunset Speedway. If true, it would be a major loss to the Ontario racing scene. The track has been a staple for many years and would be sorely missed. In an online post, the track’s owners say 2025 will be their last one running the track. It’s not yet clear if it’s for sale to other would-be promoters or if will fall silent or redeveloped like so many other paved ovals in recent years.
NASCAR Cup Series – In qualifying at Iowa Speedway, Chase Briscoe (Toyota) claimed the pole ahead of William Byron and Kyle Larson (both Chevrolet). The 37-car field featured 15 Chevrolets, 13 Fords, and 9 Toyotas. The race ran caution-free through Stage 1, won by Brad Keselowski. Lap 169 brought the first caution when Shane van Gisbergen spun and hit the wall exiting Turn 2.
At halfway, Ryan Blaney led Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin. Cody Ware spun on Lap 181, and on Lap 203 Todd Gilliland got loose, collecting Ty Dillon. Keselowski also won Stage 2. Multiple incidents followed in Stage 3, including spins involving Denny Hamlin, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Dillon. A piece of Todd Gilliland’s car brought out another yellow on Lap 284—one of seven cautions in the final stage alone. In the end, William Byron nursed his car home on fumes to take the win over Briscoe and Keselowski. Byron now leads the points standings by 18 over Chase Elliott and 45 over Kyle Larson.
Next race: Watkins Glen, Sunday at 2 p.m. on TSN 5.
NASCAR Xfinity Series – Jesse Love (Chevrolet) won the pole at Iowa, followed by William Sawalich (Toyota) and Carson Hocevar (Chevrolet). Connor Zilisch, winner of the last three races, qualified fourth. The 38-car field included 27 Chevrolets, 6 Fords, and 5 Toyotas. Austin Dillon, substituting for the suspended Austin Hill, was involved in a Lap 2 incident with Ryan Sieg. Zilisch won Stage 1. Ryan Ellis spun on Lap 90, bringing out the second caution. Taylor Gray led at halfway, followed by Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed. Ross Chastain won Stage 2. Additional cautions came after incidents involving Corey Day, Daniel Dye, Zilisch, and Matty DiBenedetto. In the final laps, Mayer prevailed over Jesse Love and Chastain. In the standings, Zilisch and Justin Allgaier are tied for the lead, with Mayer 16 points back in third.
Next race: Watkins Glen, Saturday at 3 p.m. on CW & USA.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Next race: Watkins Glen, Friday at 5 p.m. on CTV Speed.
Formula One – At the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren was fastest in all three practice sessions—Lando Norris led FP1 and FP2, and Oscar Piastri topped FP3. However, Charles Leclerc spoiled the party by taking pole for Ferrari ahead of Piastri and Norris. Canadian Lance Stroll qualified sixth for Aston Martin. The race ran smoothly, with Leclerc leading at halfway. Penalties were issued to Nico Hülkenberg (false start) and Pierre Gasly (causing a collision). Norris claimed the win over Piastri and George Russell (Mercedes), with Stroll finishing seventh.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Piastri leads Norris by 9 points, with Max Verstappen a distant third, 97 points back. Stroll is tied for 11th with teammate Fernando Alonso. In the Constructors’ standings, McLaren leads Ferrari by 299 and Mercedes by 323.
Next race: Zandvoort, Sunday, August 31.
IndyCar – Next race: Portland, Sunday at 3 p.m. on Fox.
IMSA – Qualifying at Road America featured 48 entries. In GTP, the Acura of van der Zande/Yelloly took pole over BMWs driven by Wittmann/van der Linde and Eng/Vanthoor. In LMP2, the AO Racing car of Hyett/Cameron topped the class. DragonSpeed Ferrari’s Costa/Altoe led GTD Pro, while Winward Racing’s Mercedes (Ward/Ellis) led GTD. Canadian teams AWA Racing (Fidani/Bell) and Pfaff Motorsports (Caldarelli/Mapelli) started near the back. The race featured multiple cautions—nearly half the 160-minute event ran under yellow. Incidents included early offs for Phil Di Resta and Brendan Iribe, a sand trap visit by Naveen Rao, and separate spins by both Corvettes. At the flag, Philipp Eng won GTP in his BMW, followed by Marco Wittmann and Renger van der Zande. Dane Cameron won LMP2, Neil Verhagen took GTD Pro in a BMW, and Kenton Koch claimed GTD in a Ferrari. The Pfaff Lambo finished sixth in class; AWA’s Corvette finished seventh.
Next race: VIR, August 24.
NHRA – Next race: Brainerd, August 17.
NASCAR Canada Series – Seventeen cars raced at Autodrome Chaudière near Quebec City. Donald Theetge won the pole over Alex Guenette and points leader Marc-Antoine Camirand. A Lap 46 incident involving local driver Maxim Gauvreau also sidelined Camirand with a broken driveshaft and transmission. Theetge led at halfway over Will Larue and Alex Labbé. Additional cautions came for spins by Larry Jackson and Andrew Ranger. The track’s dirt banking and lack of guardrails made for a unique racing surface. Larue took the win over Theetge and Kevin Lacroix.
Next race: Trois-Rivières, Sunday.
APC Series – At Sauble Speedway, Jake Sheridan won pole over Josh Stade and Cole Quinton. Kyle Steckly led at halfway and held on to win over Sheridan and Jo Lawrence. In the standings, Stade leads Sheridan by 8 points and Steckly by 9.
Next race: Sauble, Saturday, August 23.
Ontario Sportsman Series – Next race: Peterborough, this Saturday.
Delaware Speedway – In Super Stocks, Darrell Lake and Hudson Nagy won heat races, while points leader Trevor Collver won the feature over Nic Ramsay and Carson Nagy. Collver leads the standings by 14 over Carson Nagy and 23 over Ramsay. In the Mini Stock Invitational, Doug Butler won over Shawn Taylor and Carl Sault. The featured Super Late Models thrilled the crowd. Fastest qualifiers were Brandon Passer (Q1), JR Fitzpatrick (Q2), and Jake Sheridan (Q3). The race featured a Lap 20 caution for TJ Edwards and a hard crash for Brad Pearsall on Lap 65. Sheridan took the win over Shawn Chenoweth and Fitzpatrick.
Next race: Friday, August 8 is Fan Appreciation Night at Delaware Speedway, featuring the Late Models, V8 Stocks, and Bone Stocks, Friday. Click HERE for tickets and info.
Flamboro Speedway – Sean Chenoweth dominated the ‘$15,000 to win’ Ontario Outlaw Super Late Model Gold Rush 125 on Tuesday night at Flamboro Speedway.
The Hamilton, ON area track is back in action this Saturday (Aug. 9) with the Pro Late Models (50 Laps) battling for $2,000 to win (Based on 12 cars). The Ontario Pro Challenge, Mini Stocks & Pure Stocks are also on the card. Spectator gates open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 6:30. Visit the Flamboro Website for more info. The Flamboro Speedway Hall of Fame Reunion takes place Saturday, August 16.
Edmonton International Raceway – Saturday, August 9 at the Wetaskiwin, Alberta short track will be Transportation Appreciation Night at EIR. It’s your chance to meet the racers. The Late Models, Thunder Cars, Pure Stocks and Future Stocks will be in action. Visit EIR’s website for information about everything going on at Western Canada’s only NASCAR-sanctioned track!
Brockville Ontario Speedway – A strong crowd was on hand at Brockville Ontario Speedway as LA Knapp Construction presented a full night of action, headlined by the Empire Super Sprints’ return and a $2,000-to-win DIRTcar Sportsman feature.
Shane Pecore and Bobby Herrington led the 30-lap Sportsman race to green, with Pecore quickly grabbing the lead. Using the high side in turns one and two and the low side in three and four, Pecore held off constant pressure from Herrington. Several cautions kept the field close, but Pecore remained poised, holding the top spot to claim his second win of the season and 30th career Brockville victory. Herrington, Sylvain Dupuis, Jessica Power, and Xavier Andrews completed the top five.
In Empire Super Sprints action, Rick Wilson led early after starting on the pole, but Paulie Colagiovanni quickly found the high line after a restart and charged to the front. Once there, the Brewerton, NY driver dominated, stretching out a near half-track lead. Even in heavy traffic, Colagiovanni couldn’t be caught, scoring his first ESS win of the year and first ever at Brockville. Davie Franek took second ahead of Jordan Poirier, Dylan Swernik, and Joe Trenca.
The 25-lap Mini Stock Invitational featured a thrilling battle between Cornwall and Brockville regulars. Travis Lamarche and Jamie Larocque raced side-by-side over the final laps, with Lamarche edging ahead at the line by just 0.133 seconds. Larocque, Mike Saunders, Antoine Dumouchel, and Clayton Celovsky rounded out the top five. Racing continues Saturday, August 9 at 7 p.m. Click HERE for more BOS info.
Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs – Ontario Region – Next up for Ontario’s road racing sanctioning body is the Ottawa Sports Car Club (OSCC) Calabogie Summer Classic at Calabogie Motorsports Park on August 22 – 24. For info about all things CASC-OR click HERE.
Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Canada’s top two-wheeled racers take over CTMP’s legendary Grand Prix circuit on the Superbike Doubleheader Weekend, August 8-10. The country’s biggest motorcycle road racing event features two rounds of the Bridgestone Canadian National Superbike Championship (CSBK).
Other national classes on the schedule include the Pro Sportbike, Amateur Superbike, Amateur Sportbike, Twins, Ninja ZX-4RR Cup and Lightweight. Motorcycle enthusiasts can register for free demo rides (*see below for requirements) from top manufacturers like Kawasaki and Yamaha on the roads surrounding CTMP. When you want to take a break from the racing, check out the CTMP Marketplace with interactive displays, vendors, food trucks and the Beer Garden. For tickets and info, visit the CTMP site.
- Ohsweken Speedway – Next event: Christmas in August, Friday.
- Buxton Speedway – Next event: Ken Schrader Night, Saturday.
- Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Next event: Regular racing, Saturday.
- Sunset Speedway – Next event: Battle on the Hilltop, Saturday.
- Grand Bend Speedway – Next event: NASCAR Weekly Series, Saturday.
- Grand Bend Motorplex – Next event: Windsor Weekend, this weekend.
- St. Thomas Dragway – Next event: Misener Motorsports Summer Shootout, Sunday.
- Toronto Motorsports Park – Next event: RCSS & Outlaw Fast 16 Shootout, this weekend.
- Can-Am Stock/Super Stock – Next event: TMP, August 30–September 1.
- Quick 32 / PBSS / 5.50 Super Series – Next event: Empire Dragway, August 15–16.
- 660 Sportsman Nationals – Next event: Grand Bend, October 5.
- NHRA Canadian Championship (John Scotti) – Next event: Napierville, August 14–17.
- Shannonville Drags – Next event: No Box Bonus Weekend, August 15–17.
Comments? Reach out to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or on Facebook Messenger.
