This is the Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, by Dave Mathers, for July 2, 2026. Dave looks at action at the tracks this past weekend as well as news from around the world of motorsports.
In some cool news, it has been reported that IROC will be joining the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., the weekend of August 22 and 23. Some top names have been announced, including former NASCAR stalwarts Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott. They will join former IndyCar standouts Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti for the race. They will be driving ‘period correct’ Firebirds that raced in the series from 1996 to 2006. Sounds promising.
The internet has been literally vibrating after the Kevin Magnussen/Noah Gragson ‘interaction’ following the San Diego Cup race!! My position is that Gragson tried to close the door on Magnussen but failed. A lot of people have become fans of Kevin based on his post-race, post-argument interview. He is very smooth, like SVG, but with a much larger C.V.!! And, for bonus points, Magnussen set the fastest lap time of the race. Not bad for a guy who had never driven a Cup car before. VERY impressive. But wait, there’s more!! Gragson was warned before confronting Magnussen that there would be ‘long-term consequences’ if he punched Kevin. Smart advice.
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Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – featuring exotic prototype and GT machinery – makes its one and only Canadian stop as part of the Chevrolet Grand Prix, July 10-12. Experience Canada’s premier sports car racing weekend. Tickets on sale now! Early Bird Ticket Pricing Ends Wednesday at Midnight!
The Chevrolet Grand Prix brings a stacked lineup of international drivers and legendary performance marques to CTMP’s iconic Grand Prix circuit. Corvette, Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Mustang and Porsche will all go head-to-head on CTMP’s legendary Grand Prix circuit.
Alongside the headlining WeatherTech series (with the LMP2, GTD PRO and GTD classes), fans can take in a full card of action from the Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, and the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, for an adrenaline-loaded three days from the first green flag to final podium.
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Adding to the San Diego discussion topics is the SVG wreck taking out teammate Connor Zilisch as well as Austin Hill. My position is that SVG overcooked corner entry and smacked both Zilisch and Hill.
Apparently the ‘tall foreheads’ at Yahoo have decided it will be really neat to be able to email Denny Hamlin DURING the Cup race at Sonoma, and Denny might even reply. So much for ‘no texting while driving’!! Yahoo will definitely get a lot of attention for this, both good and bad. But, as P.T. Barnum reportedly said, ‘say what you want about me but spell my name right’!!
It seems that Kyle Steckly is now part of the TRD team in the U.S. He was racing a Toyota Saturday night at Delaware. Awesome news.
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EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: Canada’s national stock car series – the NASCAR Canada Series – is making its only Alberta stop at Edmonton International Raceway (EIR) in Wetaskiwin, AB on July 24-25, 2026.
Fans can expect two full days of racing action, including qualifying rounds, autograph sessions, and the main events NAPA 300 under the lights on Saturday night. That’s right, this year’s NASCAR Canada Series stop at EIR will feature two points races!
Visit EdmontonRaceway.com for tickets and event info, including news about the track’s weekly racing program and hands-on driving experiences.
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NASCAR Cup Series – Ty Gibbs (Toyota) won the pole for the Cup race Sunday at Sonoma Raceway over Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson (both in Chevs). There were 36 cars, including 17 Chevs, 10 Fords and 9 Toyotas. Other than a few ‘offs’ onto the dirt, Stage 1 went ‘clean and green’ and Gibbs got the stage win. Gibbs also won Stage 2. Just after the stage restart, Austin Cindric tapped Josh Berry, who spun in Turn 2 – the first race caution.
They ran green to the end and Shane Van Gisbergen got the win over Chase Briscoe and Connor Zilisch. Points leader Tyler Reddick finished dead last, four laps down, thus tightening up the points battle. All the other cars finished on the lead lap. SVG’s burnout was, once again, EPIC – burning the tires as he slowly drove down right beside the pit wall, high-fiving all his crew members. And, of course, the kicking of the rugby ball into the crowd. And the crowd went wild!! Good stuff.
In the points, Denny Hamlin takes over from Reddick by ONE point, with Ryan Blaney third, 104 back.
Next race – Chicagoland, Sunday at 6 P.M. on TSN 5.
NASCAR O’Reilly Series – Shane Van Gisbergen (Chev) won the pole for Saturday’s race at Sonoma Raceway over Brent Crews and Taylor Gray (both in Toyotas). Canadian Alex Labbe (Chev) qualified 24th. There were 38 cars – 31 Chevs and 7 Toyotas, but NO Fords. Things went well until Lap 8, when a tire carcass ended up on track, apparently caused by some ‘curb jumping’ by Ryan Sieg!! Anthony Alfredo nabbed the Stage 1 win.
On Lap 31, Ross Chastain’s car showed flames coming from underneath and, coincidentally, the caution came out for fluid on the track. Connor Zilisch, who had started DFL, came through the field and won Stage 2. The final stage ran caution-free (but NOT incident-free!!), and SVG got the win over Zilisch and Brent Crews. Labbe finished 19th.
In the points, Justin Allgaier continues to lead, now by 207 over Jesse Love and by 213 on Corey Day.
Next race – Chicagoland, Saturday at 5:30 P.M. on USA.
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FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY: Following Tuesday’s Gold Rush 126 (race report here), Flamboro Speedway returns to action Saturday, July 4 with another busy night of racing featuring the Round #3 of the Flamboro Grisdale Showdown Series Championship, The Norheat Ontario Pro Challenge Series, Grindstone Landscaping Canadian Vintage Modifieds, Klotz Auto Repair Mini Stocks and Hogan Law & McClurkin Properties of Cambridge Pure Stocks. Also on the card are the Kids Power Wheel Drag Races. Front gates open at 5 p.m. with racing starting at 6:30 p.m. For race information for both events, visit the Flamboro Speedway website.
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NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – Next race – Lime Rock, Saturday, July 11 at 1 P.M.
Formula One – Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) topped the charts in both FP1 and FP2, his teammate George Russell topped FP3 and, controversially, won the pole for Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The Murtal Mountains surrounding the circuit make for an idyllic setting. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (both in Ferraris) started second and third. Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) started 22nd.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) had an inspired first lap as he moved from fifth up to third. The yellow came out on Lap 25 when Carlos Sainz (Williams) rolled to a stop on track. At the halfway mark, it was Russell over Verstappen and Antonelli. Those two put on a brisk race right to the flag, with Russell winning over Verstappen and Antonelli. Stroll finished 19th.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Antonelli continues to lead Russell by 40 and Hamilton by 46.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes now leads Ferrari by 98 and McLaren by 143.
Next race – Silverstone, Sunday on TSN 5 at 10 A.M.
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BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY: Saturday, July 4: Billings Automotive presents Suprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints, 358 Modified, Sportsman, Rookie Sports, Mini Stock, and Kids Tire Race (Double features for Novice and Minis). Racing starts at 6 p.m. Visit the Brockville Ontario Speedway website for news and event information.
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IndyCar – Next race – Mid-Ohio, Sunday on Fox at 12:30 P.M.
IMSA – The Cadillac of Aitken/Bamber/Vesti was quickest of the GTP cars in qualifying for the Sahlen’s Six Hour Race at Watkins Glen on the weekend. The car of Dillmann/Garg/Clarke topped LMP2, while the Lexus of Hawksworth/Barnicoat was the quickest in PRO. The Lexus of Telitz/Pedersen/Montecalvo was the best in GTD. The Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini qualified 12th in PRO. There were 54 cars, including 11 P cars, 11 P2 cars, 12 PRO entries and 20 GTDs.
The yellow came out 15 minutes in for some debris from the P2 car of Jon Field on the exit of the Bus Stop. The yellow came back out at the half-hour mark for debris – somebody had hit one of the signs. At about the 45-minute mark, a bunch of cars got together under caution. The Roman De Angelis Aston Martin and the Colin Braun Acura P cars were out for the day. At about the 1:15 mark, Field looped it again and bounced HARD off the wall. Yellow. Just after the two-hour mark, the PRO Porsche of Luke Hargrove got into the guardrail hard. Yellow. At the 2½-hour mark, a couple of cars got together but kept going, but they left a tire carcass on the track. Caution.
At the halfway mark, it was the Bamber Cadillac in P, the Edgar Oreca in P2, the Barnicoat Lexus in PRO and the Barrichello Aston Martin in GTD. At the 3:10 mark, a P2 car pulled off track. Yellow. At 3:27, several door cars got tied up and spread debris all over the track. With about an hour and a half to go, the yellow came back out when the GTD Ferrari of Simon Mann got into the wall hard. On the last lap, Chris Mies got spun by one of the Vettes and wrecked his PRO Mustang, and the race ended under full-course yellow.
At the flag, it was Jack Aitken’s Cadillac in GTP, Dane Cameron in P2, Jack Hawksworth’s PRO Lexus and Riccardo Pera’s Porsche in GTD.
Next race – Mosport, Sunday, July 12.
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PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY: Weekly home track action continues Saturday, July 4th with the home track Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock, Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck and Super Stock divisions, plus the Trailers Plus Ontario Legend Car and KOD Disposal Ontario Bandolero Series, with timed King of the Hill spectator laps as the intermission feature. Grandstand gates open at 5:00, with racing at 6:00.
Admission is just $20 for Adults, $10 for kids 8-12, with kids ‘seven and under’ free. Visit the Peterborough Speedway website for additional info from Canada’s fastest 1/3-mile speedway.
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NHRA – The series dropped into the nicest track on the schedule on the weekend – Norwalk, Ohio. In 1988, I was sponsoring Herb Rogers and his Alcohol Funny Car. He called me and said that the race at Norwalk got rained out on Sunday and they were going to complete it on Wednesday.
I rounded up four guys and off we went in wife Linda’s new Lincoln Continental demo. We got there in just over three hours. That’s when I saw my first shoebox, and I have been hooked ever since. I was at half track, leaning on the fence, and the ’55 Chev of Charles Carpenter went by me and pulled harder in the second half than any door car I had ever seen. Awesome.
Top Fuel – Shawn Langdon took out Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel Challenge with a 3.695 at 333.08. He used that time to top the 15 entries. Rising star Maddi Gordon took out veteran Antron Brown in the final with a 3.786 at 333.16. 7 upsets and 8 smokers.
Funny Car – Austin Prock won the Funny Car Challenge with a 3.875 at 333.49 to beat Ron Capps. Prock ran a 3.863 at 337.41 to lead the 17 entries. Canadian Spencer Hyde qualified 13th. Ron Capps beat Jack Beckman in the final with a 3.969 at 328.54. 5 upsets and 5 smokers.
Pro Mod – Mike Stavrinos topped the 17 cars with a 5.654 at 254.47. Canadian Justin Bond qualified 10th. Kevin Rivenbark beat Billy Banaka in the final with a 5.714 at 251.53. 7 upsets and 3 smokers.
Pro Stock – Dallas Glenn took out Matt Hartford to win the All-Star Callout with a 6.556 at 207.98. Greg Anderson put down a 6.550 at 209.36 to top the 14 entries. Canadians Matt and Eric Latino qualified 8th and 12th. Aaron Stanfield took out Matt Hartford in the final with a 6.626 at 208.75. 7 upsets and 1 smoker.
Pro Stock Bike – Richard Gadson beat a red-lighting Gaige Herrera with a 6.850 to win the Pro Stock Motorcycle Challenge. Herrera used his red-light run of 6.768 at 199.08 to be best of the 15 qualifiers. Richard Gadson took out Herrera in the final with a 6.849 at 197.36. 3 upsets.
Factory Stock – Jason Dietsch was the quickest of the 19 entries with a 7.586 at 175.75. Taylor Dietsch got the win over Jonathon Allegrucci with a 7.711 at 178.10. 4 upsets and 1 smoker.
Next race – Sonoma, Sunday, July 19.
IHRA – Next race – Milan, July 11.
NASCAR Canada Series – Kevin Lacroix captured the Pinty’s 300 at Riverside International Speedway on Saturday, earning his third career NASCAR Canada Series victory at the Nova Scotia track. Donald Theetge topped both practice sessions and claimed the pole after qualifying was cancelled due to rain. Marc-Antoine Camirand led early before Theetge regained the top spot.
Andrew Ranger and Lacroix steadily advanced through the field, while Camirand recovered from a mid-race setback. Lacroix took control after passing Theetge and maintained the lead through two competition cautions. He held off Theetge in the closing laps to win, with L.P. Dumoulin finishing third.
Next race – Montmagny, Saturday.
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APC Series – The OSCAAR Series had both the Hot Rods and the Modifieds at Delaware Saturday. In the Hot Rod class, Steve Book won Heat 1, Lane Zardo won Heat 2 and Thomas Wunsch won the feature over Zardo and Zalen Martin. The Mods had Dale Reinhart winning Heat 1, Ryan Dick winning Heat 2 and Reinhart winning the main over Steve McCaw and Rick Burbridge.
In the Late Models, they had group qualifying. Brady Smith topped Q1 with an 18.575, Connor Pritiko was quickest in Q2 with an 18.445, Josh Stade topped Q3 with an 18.511 and then Jak Sheridan topped the field in Q4 with an 18.425. With the inversion, Pritiko started on the pole ahead of Kyle Steckly and Brandon Watson. The yellow came out on Lap 16 for debris on the track at start/finish. The next yellow came out on Lap 52 with Jonathon Aarts up against the wall in Turn 2. At halfway, it was Sheridan over Watson and Steckly.
Click HERE to view a full gallery from the evening, by Steve Traczyk.
On Lap 90, Sheridan had a slow spin off Turn 2 and then slowly backed into the outside wall. Spoiler adjustment? The next yellow flew on Lap 104 when Mike Bentley stopped on the backstretch with a flat tire. On Lap 122, Steckly got some help spinning off Turn 2 for what turned out to be the last caution. Sheridan took the win – his third in a row – over Watson, whose left front tire had been smoking in Turn 1 for several laps, with Shae Gemmell third.
Next race – Flamboro, Saturday, July 11.
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CANADIAN MOTORSPORT HALL OF FAME: Nominations for the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame ‘Class of 2026’ are being accepted until the end of day on July 31. If you think someone should be inducted, you should do a little bit of research, head to the CMHF.ca website, and submit a nomination on their behalf. If a person isn’t nominated, they’ll never be inducted.
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Ontario Sportsman Series – Connor James took the win in the race at Sauble Speedway Saturday night over Jade Franklin and Kevin Trevellin.
Next race – Delaware, Friday, July 10.
Delaware Speedway – Friday night saw the Bone Stocks, the Open-Wheeled Modifieds and the V/8 Stocks run along with the Super Stocks. In the Bone Stocks, Paul Fothergill won Heat 1, Charlie Verhoeven won Heat 2 and Michael Verberne won Heat 3. Those same three cars finished in the top three – Fothergill, Verberne and Verhoeven. The Mods had Steve McCaw winning Heat 1, Marshall Schrenk winning Heat 2, with Dale Reinhart taking the main over Schrenk and McCaw. Nic Ramsey won Heat 1 of the V/8 Stocks, Doug Stewart won Heat 2, while Ramsey won the main over Jeff Ferguson and Jay Doerr.
The Super Stocks saw Trevor Collver win Heat 1, Mason Collver win Heat 2 and the feature went to regular pace car driver and former winner Gary Adriaensen (filling in for the wedding-attending Darrell Lake), who took the win over Trevor Collver and Ryan Dyson.
Next race – Late Model, Super Stock and Modified, Friday.
Brockville Ontario Speedway – Billings Automotive presents Suprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints, 358 Modified, Sportsman, Rookie Sports, Mini Stock, and Kids Tire Race (Double features for Novice and Minis)
Ohsweken Speedway – Next race – Northeast Late Models, Friday.
Flamboro Speedway – Next race – Pro Late Models, etc., Saturday.
Peterborough Speedway – Regular racing featuring Bone Stocks, Renegade Trucks, Super Stocks, Legends, Bandoleros & King of the Hill
Buxton Speedway – Next race – L/M, Mods, TS, MS and MM, Saturday.
Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Next race – Hurricanes, Jr. L/Ms, etc., Saturday.
Grand Bend Speedway – Next race – NASCAR V/8 Sprint Cars, Saturday.
Grand Bend Dragway – Next race – Summer Spectacular, July 12 & 13.
St. Thomas Dragway – Next race – ONDR + Points Series, July 10 – 12.
Toronto Motorsports Park – Next race – Take it to the Track, Friday.
Can Am Stock/Super Stock – Next race – August 1 & 2, St. Thomas.
John Scotti NHRA Canadian Championship Series – Next race – Napierville, July 16 – 18.
Shannonville Drags – Next race – July 18 – 20.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
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