Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Will Aspin, the talented 19-year-old British/Italian racer, is gearing up for an exciting weekend at Brands Hatch (October 6-8) as he aims to conclude his Porsche Carrera Cup GB campaign on a high note. Despite battling bad luck throughout the season, Aspin’s determination and skill have shone through, resulting in a second-place finish in the Pro-Am class during his last outing.

This season, Aspin, in only his second year in the series, has faced adversity but has still managed to claim a podium spot three times, most recently at Silverstone just two weeks ago. As he heads to Brands Hatch, a circuit he holds dear, Aspin is determined to capitalize on his affinity for the track and the potential of his Attis Sports liveried Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machine.

Brands Hatch, once the home of the British Grand Prix, holds a special place in Aspin’s heart, particularly the high-speed corners on the full GP loop where he can push his Porsche to its limits. The track’s challenging and technical nature offers multiple approaches to cornering and the opportunity to exploit the kerbs to maximize performance.

Aspin shared his thoughts ahead of the weekend: “I really like racing on the Brands Hatch GP circuit, and it’s a great track for the 911 Cup car. It’s quite hard, it’s fast, and it’s really technical as there are so many different ways you can drive the corners around the back and how aggressive you want to be on the kerbs.”

He added, “I’m really looking forward to the weekend and hopefully, ending the season on a high. We just need some good luck to go our way to get the results we know we are capable of. We’ve continued to work hard all year, so it would be a nice reward for everyone if we could have some success.”

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team’s Driver Ambassador, Jessica Hawkins, achieved a historic feat by testing the AMR21 at the Hungaroring, Hungary, becoming the first woman to test an F1 car since 2018. This significant moment not only showcases her dedication and preparation but also sets the stage for her support of the team’s entry into the all-female F1 Academy series in 2024.

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team’s Driver Ambassador, Jessica Hawkins, made headlines last Thursday as she completed her first-ever Formula One test at the iconic Hungaroring circuit in Hungary. The 28-year-old, known for her podium finishes in the W Series and her championship-winning performance in British Karting, joined the AMF1 Team in 2021 in her role as Driver Ambassador.

Hawkins’ journey to the F1 test seat began with preparatory simulator work at the team’s Silverstone headquarters in 2022, marking the initial steps towards fulfilling her dream of testing a Formula One car.

The test day in Hungary marked a significant milestone in Hawkins’ role with AMF1 Team, as she shared driving duties with the team’s Test and Reserve Driver, Felipe Drugovich. Hawkins completed multiple runs in the AMR21, gaining valuable experience and providing the team with crucial feedback.

This extraordinary opportunity not only highlighted Hawkins’ dedication and talent but also signified her support for the team’s upcoming entry into the all-female F1 Academy series in 2024.

In a dazzling display of motorsport prowess, Formula 1 is poised to embark on a compelling journey across the American continent, marking the culmination of the season with three consecutive race weekends spanning from 20 October to 5 November. The destinations on this high-speed tour? The United States, Mexico, and Brazil.

Yet, it’s not just the geographic diversity that promises to captivate enthusiasts; it’s the precise configuration of tires that has the paddock abuzz. Tyre choices, a perennial topic of intrigue in Formula 1, offer a blend of familiarity and novelty this year.

For the forthcoming races in Austin, Texas, and Interlagos, Brazil, the tire nominations faithfully mirror those of the preceding year. Specifically, the C2 compound assumes the mantle of P Zero White hard, the C3 dons the designation of P Zero Yellow medium, and the C4 dons the resplendent attire of P Zero Red soft. These well-established tire options have treated fans to enthralling on-track showdowns, and there is every indication that history will repeat itself.

However, an intriguing departure awaits at the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City, where tire selections will notably lean towards a softer spectrum compared to the previous year. Prepare for the C3 to play the role of P Zero White hard, the C4 to assume the P Zero Yellow medium, and the C5 to take center stage as the P Zero Red soft. The utilization of softer rubber promises to give rise to audacious strategies and intense wheel-to-wheel battles, promising spectators an adrenaline-fueled spectacle.

Moreover, a significant development is set to unfold at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. During free practice sessions, an experimental version of the C4 tire will undergo rigorous testing, with a view to its potential adoption for the 2024 season. This initiative follows the successful evaluation of a novel C2 compound in Suzuka, as was witnessed last Friday. Each driver will be granted two additional sets of this experimental tire, providing them with the autonomy to utilize it at their discretion during the allocated free practice period.

Brett Moffitt qualified for Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway by the skin of his teeth, and it paid off in the end.

Doing a one-off in a newly opened #34 truck for Front Row Motorsports, Moffitt qualified thirty-first but worked his way to the front by the third stage and was the top driver throughout the final segment as he led over half of it. It was not a simple Saturday drive, however, as he had to survive multiple restarts due to crashes bunching up the field six times in Stage #3.

A crash between Colby Howard and Chase Purdy set up overtime, which was followed by an even bigger accident on the first attempt. After riding behind the leaders to start the second restart, Moffitt tailed Christian Eckes until the latter attempted to throw a block but ran too far outside and lost the draft as Moffitt’s line surged ahead. Moffitt and Parker Kligerman then committed to the inside in front of fellow Xfinity Series regular Chandler Smith before Kligerman was shuffled out exiting turn four.

As they went through the tri-oval, Smith’s last-ditch overtake on the outside instead allowed Ben Rhodes to link up with Moffitt coming to the finish.

“I really had the mentality coming into today because it had been so long since I’d ran a truck at a superspeedway that I just wanted to try and learn in every situation. Normally, I get really nervous or worked up, but I just took it as a learning experience,” said Moffitt. “It’s been a while since I had to control a race like that, so just to be able to go do that and execute and believe in my skills and believe in myself and believe in this race team it was huge. It’s just a huge confidence booster of a day and my first time ever winning at a superspeedway, so I am pumped about that.”

SCORE International‘s fiftieth season will conclude with the legendary Baja 1000 in November, which will be held on a very challenging course that stands at a daunting 1,310.94 miles (2,109.75 km) for Pro classes.

The race returns to a point-to-point format but the direction has been flipped. This time, the race will begin in La Paz at the southern tip of Baja California for the first time before working its way northwards to finish in Ensenada. The latter, where SCORE’s main office is located, was also the start and end point for the Baja 500 and Baja 400 loops.

The configuration change is a one-time event to commemorate SCORE’s golden anniversary. The 2024 Baja 1000 will return to a loop format starting and finishing in Ensenada.

After leaving La Paz, competitors spend the first fifty miles heading west to the Pacific Ocean for a run by the coast. The first of three physical checkpoints marks a break eastwards to the city of Loreto along the Gulf of California before reversing direction again. Checkpoint #2 is located right before the 600th mile and serves as a de facto halfway point.

While the first 500 miles also have them, much of the second half consists of highway sections where racers must abide by a sixty mph (96.56 km/h) speed limit. As they approach the 800-mile mark, the Sportsman classes will take a bypass onto Mexican Federal Highway 1 that shortens their total distance to 1,197.04 miles (1,926.44 km). All competitors then take Highway 5, crossing quadruple-digit mileage, into a series of washes to reach San Felipe where the season-opening San Felipe 250 took place.

Maserati MSG has confirmed that Indian racer Jehan Daruvala is set to race for the 2024 Formula E season following the departure announcement of Edoardo Mortara.

This is a shift from his position as reserve driver for Mahindra. After racing at the rookie practice session at the Rome E-Prix and at the rookie test in Berlin, the Indian driver currently races for MP Motorsport in Formula 2. He stands 12th in the driver standings, formerly a Red Bull Junior, scoring three wins and eighteen podiums.

Following his fourth year in Formula 2, Daruvala moves on to FE with Maximilian Günther as his teammate for his rookie season. After Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan, Daruvala is the third Indian to compete in a single-seater FIA World Championship race. This pairing would result in the partnership of the youngest racers in Formula E. The pair is set to prepare for the upcoming season during pre-season testing at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo from October 23–27.

“I am super excited for my first season in Formula E and my first season as a professional racing driver. I think it will be the hardest challenge in my career, and I am looking forward to it,” Said Daruvala.

“We’re excited about our driver lineup for Season 10, and we’re confident that the blend of Max’s experience with Jehan’s determination will prove to be a competitive combination. That experience will be invaluable for Jehan, who has already shown good promise in his two rookie test outings with Mahindra earlier this year. Over the past four years, he has shown hunger and determination in Formula 2, and has clearly demonstrated that he has what it takes to win races. Now, Jehan is ready to do the work it takes to succeed in Formula E.” Said team principal James Rossiter

The T3 category for Light Prototypes, or purpose-built racing side-by-side vehicles, is often used as a final stepping stone for drivers hoping to move up to the premier T1 class for prototype 4×4 cars. Guillaume de Mévius, who finished third in T3 at the 2023 Dakar Rally, thinks the gap between T3 and T1 could be narrowed to make such a transition easier but is not completely sure how.

Besides the obvious equipment advantage that T1 possesses, the disparity also stems from the differences in races that encompass cross-country rally. De Mévius oversees the T3 outfit GRallyTeam that races in the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, which consists of relatively short rounds that last two to three days and primary race on narrow forest and country roads. Conversely, the Dakar Rally and larger World Rally-Raid Championship conduct their events in wide open deserts across one to two weeks. Since the latter allows vehicles to showcase their power, T1 cars are able to pull away from the field there much easier than they do in Bajas, where there is far more parity across the classes. For example, T1+ entries—a higher subcategory of T1 for upgraded prototype cars—swept the podium at the European Cup’s latest round Baja TT Sharish Gin while the T3 of João Dias just missed the top three by less than a minute.

However, this is a double-edged sword as Baja success in a T3 car might not properly translate to the W2RC. To bridge the divide, de Mévius suggested raising the power for T3 cars, arguing that drivers eyeing a graduation to T1 need to be in cars with more comparable capabilities.

“It’s challenging, for sure,” de Mévius told Cross-Country Rally News following the Baja TT Sharish Gin. “The T3 category in the World and European Cups of Baja, Rally-Raid Championship, Dakar, and other big races, especially in the open desert, is different. In my opinion, in the open desert, we could even allow more power or capabilities for T3 to close the gap between T1 and T3. When you have drivers who aspire to join T1+, they need to learn the speed of T1+.

“Currently, I find the gap in the desert to be a bit too large. However, when you come here, in Europe or in Baja, the gap is much smaller between T1+ and T3 because the stages are narrower. T1+ might be too close to T3, making it challenging to find an ideal solution. 

The NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series will return to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the second straight year in 2024 for the NASCAR All-Star Race. The weekend is scheduled for 17–19 May.

“We are very grateful that NASCAR and FOX Sports have supported our efforts to bring the NASCAR All-Star Race back to North Wilkesboro in 2024,” commented Speedway Motorsports head Marcus Smith. “While NASCAR’s current seventy-fifth anniversary season still has some memorable moments to come, it’s hard to imagine a more magical moment than what we witnessed with NASCAR’s return to North Wilkesboro Speedway this past May.

“The success of the 2023 All-Star Race with fans coming from all fifty states and seven foreign countries would not have been possible without the support of the NASCAR industry, our state legislature, Governor Roy Cooper, and the Wilkes County community. We’re thankful to have the opportunity to bring back an international spotlight for the second consecutive year to North Wilkesboro and the great state of North Carolina.”

North Wilkesboro, an original NASCAR circuit that had hosted Cup races since the inaugural season in 1949, was reopened in 2022 after a two-decade dormancy, receiving the All-Star Race in 2023. The track underwent an extensive renovation process that continues even after racing returned, which will include repaving the surface before the All-Star; the pavement was last updated in 1981.

Kyle Larson swept the All-Star weekend in 2022, claiming both the Truck race and the All-Star. The weekend also saw the return of the Pit Crew Challenge, a competition to see whose team could complete a pit stop the quickest, with winner Ty Gibbs starting on the pole for the All-Star Open.

Guillaume de Mévius is having fun leading T3 outfit GRallyTeam in their début season in the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas. His brother Ghislan de Mévius is second in the standings entering the final round, while Guillaume himself has dabbled in the World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and Dakar Rally. Speaking with Cross-Country Rally News after the Baja TT Sharish Reguengos Mourão in Portugal, the penultimate round of the European Cup, de Mévius expressed his support for the series but feels there are some glaring flaws in the points format that take away from the championship.

“This year, the European Cup was very nice,” de Mévius began. “It was the first time for me and GRallyTeam to see this kind of championship. I think it was a very good championship, always with a lot of participants and nice organisation. Throughout the year, in Spain, Greece, Hungary, and here in Portugal, a lot of people came to see the race, so that’s very nice. It’s always good to see people on the side of the road.

“It’s a very nice championship. We like it. My brother likes it a lot. I know he wants to do it again next year, so he will be there next year fighting for the first place in T3. I think we have to continue to push for this kind of championship. Having the European Championship is important for us and for European people.”

Ghislain trails João Dias in the European Cup’s T3 category by just fourteen points with one race to go, with 93 points to Dias’ 107. However, even if Ghislain dominates the season-ending Baja Troia Türkiye on 20-22 October and earns the maximum forty points while Dias does not take part, Dias would still be the champion as the European Cup only counts the three best finishes. Dias has two victories at the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura and Baja TT Sharish Gin along with a second at the Hungarian Baja, while Ghislain’s top three results would be just two wins (Rally Greece OffRoad being the first) and a third at the Baja TT Sharish Gin.

Dropped races is not an uncommon quirk in motorsport, and even Formula One utilised it until 1990. The World Rally-Raid Championship, the highest step for cross-country rally above the Bajas, also has it for Rally2 bikes which allows riders to drop or skip a round without penalty.

American Outdoor Events appears to have a blueprint for short course off-road racing. Two days after revealing the tentatively named AOE Pro Series for the Pro short course categories, the company unveiled on Thursday a counterpart for the Sportsman classes. Unlike the Pro Series that is a brand new championship, the Sportsman—or Regional as AOE’s nomenclature has dubbed it—version will be an umbrella encompassing the existing Great American Shortcourse, Midwest Off Road Racing, and MidAmerica Racing series.

Each of the three series compete in a select region, with GAS being the top West Coast championship, MORR supporting the Midwest-based Championship Off-Road, and MAO competing in Oklahoma and Missouri. AOE hopes to expand it to the East Coast by 2025.

The trio will maintain their usual regulations for 2024 before AOE introduces a more uniform rulebook the following year, though each region can make various tweaks for variety. This allows competitors in one series to dabble in either of the others without having to modify their vehicles too much.

Although sportsman racers do not have the same financial backing as their professional counterparts, thereby making nationwide competition impossible for most, the AOE series also plans to at least provide some help towards larger racing opportunities. To this end, the sanctioning body will offer driver media and sponsorship relations classes while Pro Series broadcaster Speed Sport will offer free livestreaming of every race.

GAS competitors will join the Pro Series’ to-be-determined season opener on the West Coast. MORR’s racers have the most support rounds which includes both Crandon International Raceway events, ERX Motor Park, and Bark River International Raceway, while MAO’s compete at MidAmerica Outdoors and Lucas Oil Speedway.

The Verizon 200 is dead. Long live the Brickyard 400.

On Thursday, Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced its annual NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series race weekend will revert to the oval after a three-year experiment with the infield road course. The switch aligns with 2024 being the thirtieth anniversary of the inaugural Brickyard 400. The Xfinity race will take place on 20 July with Cup the next day.

“While it’s been exciting to watch the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series drivers tackle the IMS road course over the last three years, being back on the oval for the thirtieth anniversary is a much-anticipated homecoming for drivers and fans alike,” said track president J. Douglas Boles. “Whether you’ve been with us all 30 years or are a new fan, the celebration as we ‘come back around’ will be can’t-miss and truly unforgettable.”

Although Indianapolis is a historic venue, NASCAR elected to move the Xfinity event to the road course in 2020 to revitalise a struggling event. The Cup Series followed suit in 2021, creating a doubleheader weekend with Xfinity and the NTT IndyCar Series.

The road course, while shaking up the oval-based series, drew mixed reception from drivers and fans. Supporters viewed it as a welcome change to a race that had struggled to retain fans since the tyre debacle at the 2008 edition, whereas opponents view it as an affront to Indianapolis’ prestige.

Garrett Smithley is set to run his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, driving the #02 Chevrolet Silverado for Young’s Motorsports.

Smithley will hope his second attempt for Young’s goes better than the first when drove the #20 at Texas in 2022 but failed to qualify. This time, with the #02 sitting twenty-ninth in owner points, he has more insurance to make the race.

His last Truck race was at Charlotte in 2020, where he retired due to a mechanical failure and was classified thirty-sixth with Niece Motorsports. Although his first national series action came in the series in 2015, his Truck experience is relatively scant compared to the Cup and Xfinity Series with just nine total starts. Smithley’s best finish is a fourteenth at the 2015 Michigan race for MB Motorsports.

Much of his 2023 itinerary is at the Xfinity level. He began the season as the full-time driver at B.J. McLeod Motorsports but left after a disastrous start in which rainouts kept him off the grid for the first two races, followed by a one-off at DGM Racing before reuniting with his longtime employer JD Motorsports. Additional struggles relegated him to a limited calendar for the rest of the year.

His best finish so far of the Xfinity season is a sixteenth at Talladega and Daytona. In seven career Xfinity races at Talladega, he has a pair of top tens and a best run of eighth in 2020.

Wayne Spears, one of the most prominent team owners in West Coast stock car racing and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series during its infancy, died Monday at the age of 87. His #75 and #76 blue-and-white Spears Manufacturing cars and trucks, fielded under the Spears Motorsports banner, were iconic vehicles in both disciplines during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Spears, who had operated plastic piping maker Spears Manufacturing since 1969, had a lifelong hobby of owning stock cars. In 1987, he connected with West Coast drivers Bill Sedgwick and Roman Calczynski to compete in the NASCAR Southwest Tour and Winston West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West). Calczynski won the 1988 Southwest championship while Sedgwick claimed the 1991 and 1992 Winston West titles.

Whenever the top-level NASCAR Cup Series went westward for races at Phoenix, Riverside, and Sonoma, Spears brought his team to those races with Sedgwick, Tommy Kendall, and Ron Hornaday Jr. as drivers. Hornaday finished runner-up in the 1994 Winston West standings before going on to become a four-time Truck Series champion and 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.

“Heartbroken to hear about the passing of Wayne Spears. He was more than a team owner and sponsor to me – he was a mentor and a friend,” wrote Hornaday. “Wayne’s guidance, support and mentorship molded me into who I am today. His legacy will forever live on in the racing world. Rest in peace, Wayne. You’ll be deeply missed. Our prayers are with (wife) Connie and the entire Spears family.”

NASCAR introduced the Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, and many West Coast teams including Spears Motorsports took part in the inaugural championship. Sedgwick finished seventh in points before joining Darrell Waltrip’s team for 1996.

When GMS Racing announced in August that they would cease operations at the end of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Daniel Dye quickly revealed that he already had a ride lined up for 2024. Said seat turned out to be at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, where he will once again pilot a #43 Chevrolet Silverado RST.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside everyone at MHR and go run up front and compete,” said Dye on Wednesday. “I learned so much this year at GMS Racing and looking forward to using that knowledge next season and beyond in my career. I can’t wait to get to Daytona in February and get the new season underway.”

Dye is currently in his Truck Series rookie campaign, driving the #43 for GMS and sitting eighteenth in points with a best finish of eleventh at Gateway. He moved up to the Trucks after placing runner-up in the 2022 ARCA Menards Series championship.

Last Saturday, he made his Xfinity Series début at Texas and finished seventeenth. It is the first of three scheduled starts for Alpha Prime Racing with further races planned for Las Vegas and Phoenix.

He is no stranger to MHR co-owner Bill McAnally, who fielded an ARCA Menards Series West car for him at Portland in 2022. Dye won the pole and finished fourth.

Kyle Busch‘s eponymous Kyle Busch Motorsports has been one of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series‘ top organisations since their founding in 2010. After fourteen years, seven owner’s championships, and two driver’s titles, Busch has sold the team and the adjacent Rowdy Manufacturing to Spire Motorsports.

“When we started the Truck Series team back in 2010, I never imagined that we would be able to win 100 races with eighteen different drivers and that one day I’d be racing in the Cup Series alongside so many of the drivers that I once mentored at KBM,” said Busch. “I owe a lot of gratitude to so many people, starting with Samantha and my family for believing in this dream that I had. It took countless hours by so many amazing people to make KBM the winningest team in Truck Series history. I will always appreciate everyone that walked through the doors and gave their all to make this such a successful organization. Not only has it been the people that were employed here, but it’s also the families that supported them while they worked long hours and traveled on the weekend sacrificing time at home and missing family events. I certainly can’t say enough thanks to Toyota for the first thirteen years of support and to Chevrolet for stepping up to the plate this year. Due to their commitment and that of our great sponsors, we’ve been able to compete at the highest levels and hang a lot of banners.

“I’m at a different point in my life now than I was back in 2010. My family has grown, my Cup Series team changed this year and our son’s racing schedule has become as demanding as my own. It’s important to me to be able to spend more time with my family and my #8 team at Richard Childress Racing. It’ll be hard to walk away from the amazing facility that we’ve built. I’ll miss walking the shop floor talking with our employees, hosting our fan days in the lobby and spending countless hours there ensuring its success. However, I know at this point in my life and in my career that this is the correct decision.”

Spire Motorsports is a Cup Series team that fields a part-time Truck programme; both Spire and KBM are Chevrolet operations. As part of the sale, Spire also acquired KBM and Rowdy Manufacturing’s chassis and CNC machinery shop in Mooresville, North Carolina.

KBM served as the main Truck team for Toyota from 2010 through 2022, and various current Cup drivers started their national series careers with the outfit including Christopher Bell, William Byron, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace. The team also had an Xfinity Series arm from 2011 to 2013 that won a race with Busch’s older brother Kurt.