In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers is over the moon about the recent announcement regarding the upcoming ‘Class of 2026’ that will be inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. He also wraps up NASCAR’s championship deciding weekend in Miami and F1’s visit to Brazil during its tour of lands west of the Atlantic Ocean.
First of all, on this Remembrance Day, we remember and thank all who have served and sacrificed.
He made it!!!!! The late, great ‘Speedy’ Jack Monaghan will be inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame next February. Board Chair Peter Lockhart called me Friday to relay the great news, as I had nominated Jack. A well-deserved recognition for a very successful career. See below for an assortment of pics from several decades. Congrats to Jack’s family, friends and supporters and to all the Class of 2026 inductees. The gala welcoming them to the CMHF takes place February, in Toronto.
NASCAR has implemented a rule for 2027 that will put a lot of people out of work!! By switching from their “clear and concise” metric system for races where qualifying was rained out to Owner Points, they will effectively put many accountants, statisticians, nuclear scientists and mathematicians in the unemployment line!! All kidding aside, this was a VERY good decision!! They are also considering midweek races. LOVE it.
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Choko and Fast Eddie Annual Warehouse Sale Returns with Savings of Up to 80% Off
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the gearhead, racer, or truck enthusiast in your life? Don’t miss the Choko/Fast Eddie Annual Warehouse Sale, November 26-29 at Choko’s headquarters at 19 Anderson Blvd. in Uxbridge, Ontario.
Save up to 80% on jackets, T-shirts, hats, fleece, accessories and more from top brands including Chevrolet, GMC, Corvette, NASCAR, Kubota, Case IH, New Holland, Farmers Feed Families, Choko and Fast Eddie Speedwear. Plus, the famous Mystery Bags are back!
Use promo code WHSF26 to save an extra $5 on purchases of $50 or more. * Restrictions apply. Four days only! Visit Choko.com for more info or click HERE to see the full promotional flyer.
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One race, two idiots!!! Carson Hocevar brake-checked Austin Cindric, ruining his race, at Martinsville not once but four times!! He got a $100,000 fine and lost 25 points. His own team also suspended him from the final race. I guess his antics this year finally caught up with him. Josh Berry brake-checked Ryan Blaney, ruining his race, and got fined $50,000 and lost 25 points.
GREAT post on Ontario Stock Car Racing & News (Facebook page) last week!! And I totally agree with it. For some reason, “handicapping” at local tracks has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. Locally, I have watched points leaders start in the first heat (what used to be called the “slow heat”). This results in the slower cars getting discouraged and not coming back just to get embarrassed.
It used to be that the fastest cars started at the back, then put on a show coming through the pack. I still remember the pit tower announcing the lineups and hearing “and 10,” “and 72” and “and 28” at the very end of those announcements. The excuse given by the tracks is, “Oh, it’s all computerized.” Change the programming!!
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While walking around my alma mater, UWO (I know, I know, it is now Western University, but it will always be UWO to me!) with our puppy last week, I turned a corner and there, sitting just outside the Engineering building, was an electric race car. After seeing the little pieces of yarn all over the car, clearly for use in wind-tunnel testing, and talking with the four young men who were there, I was shocked to learn that even though Western has two wind tunnels, they had to take the car to the Ford Motor Company facility in Dearborn. Having heard about Western’s two units for years, I asked why they had to go off campus. Apparently, the two units are too small to hold a race car and are used mostly for scale models of buildings, planes, boats, cars and more.
Work continues at St. Thomas Dragway/London Motorsport (pics below). A crew of 10 is working hard to get things ready for the grand reopening next year. Track Manager Dan Fletcher advises that scheduling issues may delay the concrete starting-pad work until the spring, but the other work continues at full song.
NASCAR Cup – It was down to the wire for Kyle Larson, as he only needed nine points to win the 2026 Championship. Christopher Bell sat a distant 67 points back, with Denny Hamlin 70 out. In qualifying, Chase Briscoe nabbed the pole over Hamlin and Tyler Reddick (all in Toyotas), with Larson fourth and Bell sixth. There were 40 cars: 19 Chevs, 11 Fords and 10 Toyotas.
On lap 18, Larson scraped the wall and everybody got worried, but he kept going. With two laps to go in Stage 1, pole-sitter Briscoe appeared to blow up on the front straight, leaving fluid on the track. Reddick got the stage win. Stage 2 went clean and green, and Larson was confirmed by NASCAR as the 2026 Champion. Hamlin got the stage win.
On lap 252, Noah Gragson sent Daniel Suarez into the spin cycle in Turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Fifteen to go. At the flag, it was Ryan Blaney over Reddick and William Byron. Larson finished 20th.
In the final points, Larson won over Bell by 49 and Hamlin by 56.
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TOYO TIRES FALL REBATE: Get ready for the season ahead and save with the Toyo Tires Canada Fall Rebate! Purchase a qualifying set of four Toyo tires from a participating Canadian dealer between September 12 and December 19, 2026, and receive a prepaid Visa card worth up to $100. Eligible tires include popular Observe, Celsius, Open Country, Proxes and Extensa models. Visit ToyoTires.ca to explore qualifying tires, find a participating dealer and get complete rebate details today.
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NASCAR O’Reilly Series – In the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the championship was still available to several drivers. Qualifying saw Sheldon Creed win the pole over Austin Hill and Carson Kvapil (all in Chevs). Points leader Justin Allgaier started 11th. There were 38 cars: 29 Chevs, six Toyotas and three Fords. Basically like NHRA Pro Stock, an all-Chev class!!
Well, that didn’t take long!! On lap 8, Corey Day and Rajah Caruth, two Hendrick Motorsports teammates, got together after Day cut up in front of Rajah on the backstretch. Day spun down onto the wet grass and couldn’t get free. Yellow. Sam Mayer won Stage 1.
With one lap to go in Stage 2, Jeb Burton spun in Turn 3, ending the stage early. Mayer also won Stage 2.
On lap 142, Andrew Patterson overcooked pit entry and slid into the water barrels, spreading water everywhere. That brought out the red flag for cleanup. At the flag, it was Brandon Jones for the win over Kvapil and Brent Crews. Allgaier finished a safe seventh and clinched the championship.
In the final points, Allgaier beat Jesse Love by 14 and Kvapil by 28. Canadian Alex Labbe finished 34th despite running only seven of the 33 races.
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Leaf Racewear is heading to Syracuse, New York! Visit Leaf Racewear at the Northeast Racing Products Auction, Trade Show & Swap Meet!
The show takes place November 20 and 21 at the Exposition Center in Syracuse, New York (at the NYS Fairgrounds)!
Be sure to visit the Leaf booth where they’ll be ready and able to take your measurements for custom race suits and discuss all your racewear needs for the 2027 season.
If you can’t make it to Syracuse, you can connect with Leaf Racewear anytime at their website.
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NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – It was all on the line Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as there were only two drivers with any hope of winning the championship: Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs, who was 30 points back.
In qualifying, Nick Sanchez (Chev) topped Chandler Smith (Ford) and Corey Heim (Toyota). Chev/Ford/Toyota!! Riggs started fourth and Honeycutt fifth. Canadians Stewart Friesen (Toyota) and Cole Butcher (Ford) started fifth and 15th. There were 35 trucks: 13 Chevs, 10 Fords, seven Toyotas and five Rams.
Stage 1 went clean and green, and Heim got the stage win. At the halfway mark, it was Heim over Sanchez and Smith. Heim also won the caution-free Stage 2.
On lap 105, Sanchez “blowed up real good” and his truck actually caught fire. He got out safely. On the restart, Tanner Gray went low for a pass and spun, bringing out the second caution. At the flag, it was Honeycutt for the win and the 2026 Championship over Christian Eckes and Daniel Hemric. Friesen finished fifth and Butcher was 22nd.
In the final points, Honeycutt won over Riggs by 83 and Smith by 131. Friesen finished 12th, Butcher was 18th and Jason White 58th.
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THE NITTO TIRES REBATE PROGRAM IS ON NOW! Now’s a great time to put a new set of Nitto Tires on your ride and save! Purchase a set of four qualifying Nitto tires from an authorized, participating Canadian retailer between September 12 and December 19, 2026, and you could receive a $60 or $70 rebate via Pre-Paid Visa Card, depending on the tire model. Eligible tires include popular Nitto favourites for trucks, SUVs and performance vehicles, with numerous models qualifying for the offer. Claims must be submitted by January 30, 2027. Get the tires you want and some money back in your pocket! Visit NITTOTIRES.CA for more info.
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Formula One – There are rainstorms everywhere, but the rain in Sao Paulo was definitely Biblical!! The Brazilian Grand Prix was more of an endurance race than an F1 race.
Lando Norris (McLaren) was quickest in FP1, 2026 Champion Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) topped FP2, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was fastest in FP3 and then Norris came back to claim the pole over George Russell (Mercedes) and Antonelli. Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) was supposed to start 19th but got moved up to 16th with all the penalties.
Then the fun started!! Penalties for component changes, power-unit replacements, etc., rejigged the field. Max Verstappen started way back in 21st (down from 16th), Lewis Hamilton 20th (down from 11th), Charles Leclerc 14th (down from fourth) and Russell seventh (down from second). Got that!!
Kimi got the lead in the first corner, a very wet first corner. George Russell spun on pit exit but kept going. The yellow flag came out on lap 17 for a “track hazard” that was never identified. At the halfway mark, it was Norris over Hadjar and Verstappen. On lap 63, Hamilton slid off the VERY wet track but kept going. At the flag, it was Norris over Verstappen and Hadjar. Antonelli finished a comfortable fifth, while Stroll ended up 21st.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Antonelli leads Verstappen by 111 and Russell by 128.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads Ferrari by 142 and Red Bull by 237.
Next Race – Las Vegas, Saturday, November 21 at 11 p.m. on TSN 1 & 5.
NHRA – Next race: Pomona, Sunday.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
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