Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Jade Buford‘s full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign with Big Machine Racing Team in 2022 was cut short after a difficult eight races and he was replaced by multiple drivers, but he remained involved with the team and will continue to do so in 2023. On Thursday, the team announced they will field the #5 Chevrolet Camaro for Buford in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on 18 February.

It will be the first time that Big Machine fields multiple cars in a race as they usually run the #48, which will be piloted by Parker Kligerman in 2023.

“Big Machine Racing is so proud to announce a second entry for Jade Buford at Daytona. He had an incredible top-five run going last year before being caught up in a wild last lap incident,” team owner Scott Borchetta said. “This year, to double the excitement and our winning opportunity, we’re doubling up with our Big Machine Double SPIKED Coolers #5 Chevrolet Camaro, and I’m visualising a Big Machine Racing 1–2 finish.”

After making his NASCAR début in 2020, Buford joined Big Machine Racing Team for their inaugural Xfinity campaign in 2021 and finished twenty-third in points with a top ten at Michigan. Despite an expanded alliance with Richard Childress Racing for 2022, his performance dipped the following year when his eighth at COTA was his lone finish above twentieth across the first eight races. Hoping to light a spark in the #48, the team replaced Buford with a rotation that included Cup drivers from RCR, and Tyler Reddick would score their first win at Texas. Buford returned to the #48 at Portland and finished fourteenth in his final race of the year.

Despite losing his NASCAR ride, he stuck with Big Machine in the Trans-Am Series and scored a podium at the Music City Grand Prix in August.

Trevor Boys, whose stock car career spanned over three decades, died Thursday morning, his family announced. He was 65.

“It’s with great sorrow I have to announce the passing of a husband, a brother, a grandpa, an uncle, a son, a friend, a business owner, a racer and to me a father. Dad passed away in the early hours this morning in hospital,” posted his son Wheeler Boys.

“As a decorated person, I am positive Trevor had some sort of impact on you and almost everyone certainly has a story or two.

“He will of course be missed and forever loved. I am enlightened of the thoughts of him spending eternity on the big super speedway in the sky recounting with past loved ones. We will maintain the memory of what he leaves behind for us.

“For now, Keep those engines warm, the gas tank full and the checkered flags wavin, until we meet again”.

Joining Alpine F1 Team ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Pierre Gasly feels that his several years under the Red Bull umbrella and the evolution he has undergone since his 2017 debut have prepared him to make a successful transition to the French team. 

2019 saw Gasly struggle to integrate into Red Bull Racing after being promoted from sister-team Scuderia Toro Rosso. He was ultimately switched back to his previous seat midway through the season, with Red Bull deciding to give then-rookie Alexander Albon a chance to compete at the sharp end of the grid. 

Gasly told Autosport that his mindset has shifted dramatically since his stint with Red Bull, now with three full years with Scuderia AlphaTauri under his belt.

“It feels like it was an eternity ago that I was with Red Bull, and since then, so much has happened, professionally and personally.

“I really feel like I’ve developed in all areas. I remember when I came in Red Bull, the feeling that I had going there, and now the feeling, my approach and mindset that I have going into Alpine, is completely different. I have a lot clearer ideas. I think it’s more like clarity in my mind on what’s needed to perform, and what’s needed to be competitive.”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi‘s FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas defence did not begin as he hoped as he is skipping this weekend’s season-opening Saudi Baja-Hail in his home country following chest injuries sustained in a skiing accident while vacationing in Courchevel, France.

His vacation came during the three-week break between the Dakar Rally and Cross-Country Bajas opener. According to his doctor’s diagnosis, he suffered a “subtle costochondral injury and fissure fracture right 5th rib anterior mid axillary line with no apparent displacement.”

Al-Rajhi won the 2022 Cross-Country Bajas World Cup with victories in the Italian Baja and Saudi Baja-Hail (also known as the Hail International Rally and simply Saudi Baja), holding a nineteen-point edge over Miroslav Zapletal. He previously won the Baja-Hail in 2009 and 2010.

“Despite wanting to take part in the Baja in Hail, I felt severe chest pain (Tuesday) morning, so I had to go back to my doctor and have more tests done,” stated Al-Rajhi. “Initially, I was not diagnosed with broken ribs but I was diagnosed with edema which caused the continuous pain. The doctors advised me not to take part in the rally until I get better.”

The injury continues a rather brutal four months for Al-Rajhi and his team, who lost co-driver Michael Orr for the end of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Dakar Rally to leg injuries when their Toyota Hilux caught fire at Baja Poland. Dirk von Zitzewitz filled in for both, and Al-Rajhi went on to win Stage #7 at Dakar but a retirement two days later ended his hopes of a strong overall finish.

Kyle Sieg will race for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship alongside his older brother Ryan Sieg at the family-owned RSS Racing. The team announced his elevation to the full schedule on Wednesday. The younger Sieg will drive the #28 Ford Mustang.

“We are thrilled to announce that Kyle Sieg will run the full schedule in 2023 in the #28 Ford,” said the team. “A big thank you to all of our marketing partners for making this possible.”

Sieg, who is thirteen years younger than Ryan, made his Xfinity début in 2021 on a two-race schedule; the first start came in a partnership with DGM Racing. This increased ninefold to eighteen in 2022, during which he scored his first top ten when he finished tenth at Daytona.

He previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series, including an eleven-race schedule in 2021 with RSS in which he recorded top-ten finishes in all but four.

RSS will field three cars in 2023 with Ryan once again in the flagship #39. The third car, the #38, will be piloted by Joe Graf Jr. in all but five races.

Joe Graf Jr. will indeed race full-time in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series. Five days after announcing he would run twenty-eight of thirty-three races for RSS Racing, he signed a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the #19 Toyota GR Supra in the five remaining events.

“Joe is committed to success, which is something we are looking for in all of our drivers,” commented Steve DeSouza, Executive Vice President of JGR’s Xfinity programme. “We are anticipating a solid season from the #19 team and Joe’s addition to the driver lineup will help that team be competitive for the owner’s championship this season.”

Graf raced for SS-Green Light Racing from 2020 through 2022, scoring a pair of top tens at Talladega in 2021 and 2022. However, struggling performances and personal matters prevented him from being full-time in 2021 and 2022.

He replaces Brandon Jones, who moves to JR Motorsports. The #19 has become the team’s multi-driver car following Jones’ exit, with Ryan Truex also set to make six starts. Other drivers have not been revealed.

“Running five races with JGR is a fantastic opportunity for myself and for my marketing partners,” Graf said. “I think I can learn a lot from JGR and showcase my skills I’ve been growing in the series in the past three years. 2023 is shaping up to be a great year and I’m pumped to get started with the #19 group.”

After losing his ride at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Derek Kraus has found a new home at Young’s Motorsports, even if for just one race, as he will pilot the #20 Chevrolet Silverado RST in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway on 17 February.

“I am very excited about joining Young’s Motorsports for Daytona,” Kraus stated. “Over the years, Young’s Motorsports have shown on the superspeedways that they build very fast Chevrolet Silverados and I am excited to be able to drive one of them next month at Daytona.

“Young’s Motorsports has two victories at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but I sure would love the opportunity to deliver not only my first Truck Series win but the teams at a historical venue like Daytona.”

Kraus spent his entire NASCAR career with McAnally including the 2020 through 2022 Truck seasons as a full-time Truck driver. He recorded four poles and a combined twenty-four top tens during this stretch, but missed the playoffs all three years. He was replaced in the #19 by Christian Eckes for the 2023 season.

Prior to moving up to Trucks, he won the 2019 championship in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West for McAnally. Kraus has a combined twelve wins across the ARCA East and West divisions. His Truck début came in 2018 where he finished eighth at Phoenix.

The Superstar Racing Experience has added four new faces to the full-time roster for 2023, two of whom are already competing weekly in NASCAR.

In addition to respectively competing in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series, Brad Keselowski and Hailie Deegan will spend their summers vying for the SRX championship. It will be Keselowski’s first time competing for a title outside of the Cup Series, which he claimed in 2012, since he won the 2010 Xfinity Series crown.

“I’ve been watching the SRX series on TV over the years, and given our limited practice and qualifying time in motorsports now, this provides another outlet to gain track time and better my craft,” said Keselowski. “The addition of ESPN and return of Thursday Night Thunder is a huge plus as the series continues to deliver its exciting product to fans at home. This is an incredible opportunity for me to compete and I’m excited for it to kick off this summer.”

Deegan is set for her third full season in the Truck Series and first for ThorSport Racing. She and Keselowski are both Ford members. She has raced sporadically in SRX since the inaugural season in 2021, scoring a runner-up in her début at Knoxville.

“Ever since I did my first SRX race, I’ve been hoping that the schedule would work out to where I could race in it full time,” commented Deegan. “Coming back to the SRX series is already exciting as it is, but being able to run the full series makes it that much better. Going into this year, I was hoping I had no conflicts and could participate in the whole season.”

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner revealed that the team is feeling the impact of the cost-cap penalty they received after going over budget for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season. 

Between a seven million dollar fine and a significant reduction in wind tunnel time, Horner told RACER that the team has had to become more efficient in their development strategy.

“We’re probably 25% almost of the way through that penalty, and of course it has an effect. It’s limiting significantly, the amount of runs that we can do in our wind tunnel over each quarter. And I think that the team are they’re having to adapt to that.

“And it just means you have to be a bit more focused, and more disciplined in what we put through the testing process within the tunnel or within our simulation tools.”

Though this need to adapt has been an obstacle for the team, Horner is confident in the team’s ability to overcome the penalty and make the best of the resources they have. 

McLaren F1 Team have announced that Mick Schumacher will be their reserve driver for the upcoming 2023 season, as part of their arrangement with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

Schumacher lost his seat at the end of last season with the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, who replaced him with veteran Nico Hülkenberg for the upcoming 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. It was then announced in December of last year that the young German driver would join Mercedes in their reserve driver role, after leaving the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy. The role was in need of being filled following the departures of Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries, who both moved elsewhere.

It has today been confirmed that McLaren will be able to call on Schumacher for 2023 as their reserve driver, as part of an agreement with their engine supplier, Mercedes.

“McLaren will be able to call on Mick Schumacher as a reserve driver during the 2023 F1 season as part of our arrangement with Mercedes,” McLaren wrote on Twitter.

“Welcome to the family, Mick.”

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team became the first team to unveil their new livery for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship yesterday, to kickstart the new launch season.

The American team revealed pictures of their new VF-23 livery online on Tuesday ahead of a showcase at Silverstone on February 11, kicking off the sport’s launch season with an updated red, white, and mostly black livery that features new title sponsor MoneyGram.

The new Haas 2023 car is expected to look significantly different, with Haas looking to improve performance and push themselves further up the grid. 2022 saw Haas have their best season since 2018, and they will be looking to improve further on that with the arrival of experienced Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg to race alongside Kevin Magnussen.

Hulkenberg returns to F1 after a three-year absence, during which his stock actually rose with his brief reserve appearances. While he is highly regarded, especially for his junior career and time with Force India, the German still holds the record for the most race starts (one-hundred eighty-one) without a podium. He takes over from Mick Schumacher, the son of F1 great Michael Schumacher, who had a strong two years with Haas but ultimately made too many costly mistakes in 2021 and 2022.

Team owner Gene Haas was pleased with the new title sponsorship deal with MoneyGram, and spoke on his hopes for the team in 2023.

After going quiet for a year, Roper Racing will return for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season with Kaden Honeycutt piloting the #04 Ford F-150 in the first six races. His season begins at Daytona International Speedway on 17 February, followed by Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3 March), Atlanta Motor Speedway (18 March), Circuit of the Americas (25 March), Texas Motor Speedway (1 April), and Bristol Motor Speedway‘s dirt layout (8 April).

“Well the news is out for 2023! I could not be more excited for this opportunity with Roper Racing in the 04 Carquest Auto Parts, and Fly Alliance Ford 150! The plan is to run the first 6 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series and go from there,” posted Honeycutt.

The nineteen-year-old Honeycutt made his Truck Series début at Martinsville in 2022 for G2G Racing as a last-minute replacement. After a second start with G2G at Nashville where he nearly cracked the top twenty by placing twenty-first, he joined On Point Motorsports to finish out the year by running seven of the last eight events. Back-to-back top twenties at Bristol and Talladega culminated in a ninth at Phoenix.

Outside of the Trucks, he also races in the CARS Tour and does sim racing in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, the latter for RFK Racing. He competed in the ARCA Menards Series in 2018 and 2019 with five starts and a pair of top tens.

Roper Racing was founded in 2018 as a family operation with Cory Roper as owner/driver. After running part-time with middling performance out of a midpack team but plenty of bright spots, Roper hoped to race the full calendar in 2021 before the plan was dropped midseason. Nevertheless, Roper nearly won the season opener at Daytona but was edged out in a dramatic run to the finish. Chase Briscoe also made a pair of starts in the #04.

Orange juice and Monster Energy is definitely a mixture that university students would consume to stay awake for exams, but it is also a crossover for Riley Herbst.

Herbst will race in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time when he enters the season-opening Daytona 500 in the #15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing with sponsorship from orange drink brand SunnyD. Other planned starts include the remaining superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway.

“As a kid, you always dream of being able to race in the Daytona 500, and I’m able to accomplish that with Rick Ware Racing,” said Herbst. “It’s such a big event and for it be my first Cup start will be a crazy experience. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do behind the wheel of the #15 SunnyD Ford Mustang.

“I’m appreciative to RWR for this opportunity. They’re a team that has a lot of experience in the NASCAR Cup Series, so it’ll be a chance to learn. The Fords have been fast in the Daytona 500 the last few years and their teamwork has helped them find Victory Lane.

“I’m hoping to lean on and learn from the other Ford drivers throughout the week as I get more comfortable in the Next Gen car and prepare for the Great American Race.”

Ross Chastain riding the wall at Martinsville to clinch a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Round captivated the sports world. Any repeats of it, however, will result in a time penalty.

On Tuesday, NASCAR revealed sweeping rule changes with the 2023 season looming that impacts all three national divisions. For example, the aforementioned “Ross Chastain Rule” was implemented on safety grounds to discourage drivers from intentionally hitting the wall to shave off time.

Perhaps the largest rule change is the removal of stage cautions for road course races. Stage racing’s introduction in 2017 has generated mixed response, with supporters praising its system of rewarding drivers for consistently running up front throughout the day with points while critics mainly single out the two mandatory cautions for negatively impacting the race flow. The latter was especially problematic at road courses, where races are shorter and pit strategy prior to the stage breaks did little to improve the racing product.

Despite the breaks’ removal, stage points will still be awarded. The Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series‘ standalone races at Portland, Mid-Ohio, and Road America will still have the breaks, though said series already do not utilise live pit stops for such rounds.

While the road courses lose stage cautions, the superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) and dirt tracks (Bristol and Knoxville) gain the choose rule. Nicknamed the “choose cone”, it allows drivers to select on which lane—inside or outside—they would like to restart, with the leaders receiving the first option. Created in 2020, the choose rule was initially limited to intermediate ovals and short tracks. The choose rule will almost certainly shake up superspeedways, where drafting is key, as teams can drivers can pick certain lanes to work with a team-mate if they are nearby when the race resumes.

ABT CUPRA Formula E Team‘s return to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is certainly getting no easier, after a really difficult weekend at the Diriyah E-Prix double-header.

ABT’s return to the all-electric series certainly isn’t going as well as they would’ve liked, with the Germans most definitely finding themselves as the backmarker team. Given how late their entry into the first season of Gen3 was announced, their lack of pace shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise; however, the issue is that the list compiling the team’s problems “is getting longer”.

Surprisingly, one of the team’s smallest issues of last weekend was getting rookie Kelvin van der Linde up to speed, with the South African having been brought in to replace the injured Robin Frijns. Given that it was his first single-seater race, let alone Formula E race, he performed remarkably well. Van der Linde showed consistent progression throughout the weekend, and went on to finish sixteenth in Race One and eighteenth in Race Two.

He was actually the better of the two ABT Cupra drivers despite his complete lack of experience, with Team Principal Thomas Biermaier having praised the sport’s first-ever South African for his overall attitude.

“Compliments to Kelvin – not only for his performance here in Diriyah, but also for his diligent preparation over the past week and a half.”