Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Unlike its stick-band-ball counterparts or even Formula One with its Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, NASCAR does not have a union or a collective bargaining system for its drivers. In fact, the sanctioning body has historically been a staunch opponent of drivers unionising, as evidenced with Tim Flock and Curtis Turner being banned from the sport in 1961 for attempting to form one and the short-lived Professional Drivers Association boycotting the inaugural Talladega Superspeedway race in 1969 before disbanding as NASCAR merely brought in replacements.

Jeff Burton and seven other active and former Cup Series drivers aren’t exactly leading a union, but they still hope to have their voices heard by NASCAR. On Friday, the Drivers Advisory Council announced its inception with the goal of connecting drivers to NASCAR for dialogue surrounding the sport. Burton, a former Cup driver and current colour commentator for NBC, serves as the DAC’s director. Active drivers Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suárez are on the board of directors, as is Burton’s NBC colleague Kyle Petty. Among the council’s goals are to improve safety and grow the sport. Many have pointed to matters like driver disapproval of Speedway Motorsports reconfiguring Atlanta Motor Speedway as one of the impetuses for drivers wishing to have more involvement in NASCAR’s matters.

While a union is not the same as a council, the latter has previously formed by the drivers in 2014 before quietly dissolving after five years as drivers felt it had satisfied and outlived its purpose. Hamlin was a major player in having the DAC predecessor created, explaining in a 2020 NASCAR on NBC podcast episode that it came on the heels of NASCAR experimenting with different rules packages, a topic that permeated discussion for the rest of the Gen-6 car’s existence through 2021. He also noted that a fully fledged drivers’ union was entertained but never materialised due to opposition from NASCAR leadership.

Since the previous council’s demise, drivers usually give their input to NASCAR via informal meetings at the NASCAR hauler during race days.

A union also exists for team owners: the Race Team Alliance was founded in 2014, and its members all possess charters that guarantee their cars spots in every Cup race. Hamlin is technically a member of both the DAC and RTA as a co-owner of 23XI Racing, and he explained on Twitter that “[t]he drivers and the teams align 95% of the time. When that 5% is in play I will step aside on those issues. One thing is for sure. ALL parties have 1 common goal and that is to GROW the sport.”

Pascal Wehrlein took pole position for the Mexico City E-Prix on Saturday after coming out on top of a thrilling head-to-head battle with points leader Edoardo Mortara in Qualifying.

The Tag Heuer Porsche FE Team had shown pace all through Qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with both Wehrlein and team-mate André Lotterer making it into the semi final stage, however Lotterer was eliminated by ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Mortara.

Mortara was gunning for his first pole position in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship but came up just short, with his car appearing to be on edge on his final run, with the Swiss racer sliding across the line sideways after spinning.

This gave Wehrlein the chance to take pole position for the event that saw him lose the win on the run to the line to Lucas di Grassi after his energy ran out on the final lap back in 2019.

Wehrlein had dispatched DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne in his semi-final, however, Lotterer’s time in his semi-final defeat to Mortara will see him line-up third on the grid ahead of the two-time champion.

With launch season very much being in full swing, we could count on McLaren Racing doing something a little bit different and more spectacular than everyone else. Rather than just launch the Formula 1 team like its Formula 1 competitors have and will be doing over the course of the next couple of weeks, McLaren decided to launch all of its motorsports and sim racing efforts at the same time!

This massive launch event took place at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking and was broadcast on McLaren’s own channels as well as on Sky Sports F1. Personnel from all the teams involved were present, including Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo as well as IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward (who also took part in a test session with the Formula 1 team last year and is tipped to run two official F1 practice sessions this year) and Felix Rosenqvist.

As well as seeing the team personnel there, we got to see all the new liveries for each team. This included the official livery for the McLaren Shadow eSports team, which is notably very different to the livery that will be run on the real-life Formula 1 cars. It’s very clear that McLaren wants a ubiquitous McLaren ‘look’ across all its teams, which is no bad thing as it means new viewers to IndyCar, Extreme E and eSports will instantly know which cars are McLaren’s!

“I’m delighted to see us launch all three McLaren Racing programmes across the Formula 1, IndyCar and Extreme E championships today,” said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. “This is a first for us as a team, and in the wider world of motorsport, and it’s been fantastic to see how excited the fans have been as they get ready to join us on the next part of our journey.“

“Our Formula 1 team continues to make great progress year-on-year with Andreas Seidl at the helm, and this new era of regulations represents a real opportunity for the team,” Brown said about McLaren’s Formula 1 efforts. “I’m excited to see Lando and Daniel get behind the wheel of the MCL36 and take it to the competition this year. Lando made great progress in 2021, scoring four podiums, and Daniel’s sensational victory in Monza reminded the team what it feels like to win again. As we head into 2022, we’re looking to build on that progress and further close the gap to the teams at the front.“

McLaren Racing have released the MCL36 to kick-off their 2022 Formula 1 campaign, with a live show from the McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, UK. The MCL36 was revealed alongside the IndyCar and Extreme E contenders at the McLaren Racing 2022 launch, ahead of their respective campaigns.

Daniel Ricciardo is heading into his twelfth season as a Formula 1 driver and his second with McLaren. At the launch, Ricciardo spoke about his excitement for the new season, especially with the new 2022 regulations and how it will impact the competitiveness of the drivers across the whole grid.

“There’s always a nervous excitement around the start of the new season, but that’s turned up to 11 when you enter a new era of regulations. Having been through several regulation changes now, I feel like I’m able to use that energy to help me adapt to new cars, new ways of driving and ultimately new ways of racing. These new cars will feel very different to the previous eras I’ve driven, but I’m hopeful that will come with closer racing and more opportunities to get to the front of the pack.”

The Honey Badger was able to pick up McLaren’s only win last season, with an impressive victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Team-mate Lando Norris finished second in that race, making them the only team in the 2021 season to have a 1-2 finish. Ricciardo will be hoping to have more results like that this season, as McLaren look to close the gap on the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team and Oracle Red Bull Racing in the Constructors Championship.

In addition, Ricciardo reflected on his 2021 season including that win at Monza, and how his full focus is now on the upcoming season.

Lando Norris is feeling positive as he prepares for the 2022 Formula 1 season, he spoke at the launch of the McLaren MCL36, held at the McLaren Technology Centre.

The Mclaren Racing driver is excited to get back into the car after the off-season break and believes his best is yet to come, despite a highly successful 2021 campaign. Last season saw Norris achieve four podiums as well as a pole position at the Russian Grand Prix, among the highlights.

“It feels like a long time since we were last on – track in Abu Dhabi, and I can’t wait to get back in a car and put the MCL36 through its paces. Last year was my best in Formula 1 so far, and I’m really proud of what I achieved as a driver, and what we achieved as a team. But I know that the best is yet to come, and my aim is to carry the positive momentum we built up over the last year and take that with me into this exciting new era of Formula 1″

Norris’s other big news this week was that the British driver has signed a new long-term deal with the team, taking him up to the end of 2025. Norris assured fans that he wants to work hard and achieve the best possible results over the next year.

Talking about the contract and hopes for the future Norris added; “I’m in a good position heading into this year to build on the successes of 2021. I’ve grown up alongside McLaren and I’m really delighted to have recently confirmed my long – term future with the team. Together, I’m looking forward to finding out what we can achieve, and I’ll be working hard to maximise any opportunities that come our way.”

Jenzer Motorsport announced two of their drivers for the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship on Saturday (12 February), with Finnish driver William Alatalo joining the team alongside Ido Cohen.

Alatalo steps up from Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine after a 2021 campaign which delivered a podium at Circuit Paul Ricard.

He ran with Arden Motorsport last year, after a 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup season with JD Motorsport where he took two podiums, a pole position and eighth in the overall standings.

Following the conclusion of the FRECA season, he tested with the Swiss Jenzer team on the final two days of the post-season FIA F3 test at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia.

“I am extremely happy to drive FIA F3 with Jenzer Motorsport,” he said.

Alex Labbé has rejoined DGM Racing for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series for at least eighteen races, the team confirmed on Saturday. He will drive the #90 in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on 19 February before moving to the #36 for the West Coast races at Auto Club Speedway (26 February), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (5 March), and Phoenix Raceway (12 March).

While he is currently set for eighteen rounds, additional races can be added depending on sponsorship. At the moment, he has support from longtime sponsors Can-Am, Larue Snowblowers, and VR Victoriaville. Can-Am will be his primary sponsor at Circuit of the Americas (26 March), Road America (2 July), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (30 July), Michigan International Speedway (6 August), Daytona International Speedway (26 August), Bristol Motor Speedway (16 September), and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (8 October).

“I am so excited to be back with DGM Racing,” Labbé stated. Although we are scaling back the amount of races this year, I am confident it will allow us to be more competitive and successful as a team in the long run, Mario (Gosselin, team owner) has supported me for as long as I can remember, and I cannot thank him and Michelle (Gosselin) enough for what they’ve done over the years. Having the opportunity to race in NASCAR is a dream come true.”

He ran the full schedule for the team in 2020 and 2021, with the first coming in the #90 before moving to the #36. Since making his Xfinity début in 2016 for DGM (then King Autosport), he has ten top-ten finishes and a best run of fourth at the Charlotte Roval in 2020. His 2021 campaign ended with three top tens and a nineteenth-place points finish.

Doubt was initially cast on Labbé’s future with the team as Mason Massey, Kyle Weatherman, and Josh Bilicki were signed to run part-time schedules, indicating the team will not have a permanent driver running every race though Labbé could still conduct a full run with enough financial backing. Bilicki is in the #36 for Daytona, while Massey and Weatherman will respectively pilot the #91 and #92.

The inaugural Extreme E season ended on 18/19 December 2021 with the Jurassic X Prix. The race was originally not supposed to happen as it was a last-minute action taken by the series after the Amazon X Prix in Brazil was cancelled due to COVID-19. With little time to find a suitable replacement, Extreme E turned to the British Army, who quickly provided the Bovington Training Area as a track.

With the series’ presence on a military installation, the British Army Motorsport Association found resonance in Extreme E’s campaign for women to get involved in motorsport. Founded in 1960 as an extension of Army Motorcycling which began in 1937, the BAMA provides driver training and racing opportunities for service members in disciplines like Enduro, Karting, Rallying, and Trials.

Extreme E’s format stipulates a team must have one male and one female driver each, making it a perfect environment for the BAMA to showcase its Women in Motorsport initiative.

“Women have historically been under-represented in the military and motorsport, and with both sectors now moving towards more equal terrain, I realised that Army Motorsport was at risk of being left behind,” said Craftsman Laura Thomson, who works as BAMA’s media head. “We have some incredibly talented female competitors within our ranks but we are still greatly outnumbered. I hope that by creating such a group, we can advertise the opportunities and encourage female soldiers to venture into the exciting world of Army Motorsport. The recent Extreme E at Bovington was testament that women can compete successfully on the same level as men in motorsport.

“It’s important to highlight that as well as being a lot of fun, the skills and strengths gained within Army Motorsport, from logistics to physical endurance, are directly transferrable to a soldier’s military career.”

Jenzer Motorsport have kicked off their 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship driver announcements by welcoming second-year driver Ido Cohen to the team.

The 20-year-old Israeli driver took a best finish of 12th in his rookie 2021 season with Carlin Buzz Racing, and was unlucky not to score points in a team which only did so in Barcelona and Spielberg.

While Team Principal Trevor Carlin has promised “a bit of a restructure”, Cohen clearly felt his prospects were better at the Swiss team after testing with Jenzer on the third day at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia in November.

His single-seater career began in the 2018 Italian and ADAC Formula 4 Championships, both won in 2021 by F3 rival-to-be and Ferrari Driver Academy prospect, Ollie Bearman.

Cohen stayed in both series’ for a second season in 2019, finishing sixth in the Italian standings and 13th in Germany, won by Dennis Hauger and Theo Pourchaire respectively.

Oliver Bennett will have a new team-mate at XITE Energy Racing for the 2022 Extreme E Championship. On Saturday, the team announced Klara Andersson will serve as Bennett’s partner, replacing Christine “GZ” Giampaoli Zonca who moved to Veloce Racing.

XITE Energy is the official energy drink partner of Extreme E, a partnership that was extended on Thursday, and was co-founded by Bennett in 2017. The company frequently supports Bennett’s racing career in series like the FIA World Rallycross Championship and Nitro Rallycross.

When Bennett entered Extreme E for the inaugural season in 2021 for Hispano Suiza, XITE Energy took over title sponsorship to name it Hispano Suiza XITE Energy Team. Hispano Suiza was dropped from the branding ahead of the Ocean X Prix to just become XITE Energy Racing, and the banner is used for Bennett’s rallycross endeavours. The team finished last in the standings with a best finish of fifth at the season-opening Desert X Prix.

“I don’t think we saw the best of XITE Energy Racing in Extreme E last season,” Bennett opined. “The organisers have made some improvements to the cars for this season, so hopefully Klara and I will be able to show what we’re about in Saudi Arabia.”

The 21-year-old Andersson also comes from a rallycross background, having competed in the Swedish Rallycross Championship and winning its 2150 class title in 2021. In October, she became the first female driver to compete in the FIA RX2e Championship when she débuted and finished fourth at Spa-Francorchamps. Andersson also ran the RX2e finale at the Nürburgring, placing eighth.

As Spire Motorsports prepares for its first season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the team has hired a veteran to break in the new programme. On Friday, the team announced Austin Hill will drive the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on 18 February.

Hill is gearing up for his rookie season in the Xfinity Series, driving the #21 for Richard Childress Racing. It will be his first time in a Chevrolet after spending the last three years in a Toyota Tundra with Hattori Racing Enterprises, with whom he won eight Truck races during that stretch and the regular season championship in 2019. His final season with HRE saw him place ninth in points with two wins in the inaugural NASCAR race at Knoxville and the first Watkins Glen Truck race since 2000. His maiden race with HRE at Daytona saw him claim his first career NASCAR national series victory.

The #7’s sponsor United Rentals has partnered with Hill since 2017 when he was driving for Young’s Motorsports. The company will also support his Xfinity campaign.

“It’s a lot of fun to go to a track where I’ve have had success and won a race in the past,” said Hill. “Hopefully we can put on a good show for United Rentals and get back to Victory Lane.”

Spire, a Cup Series team since 2019, expanded into the Trucks for 2022 with leadership from manager Mike Greci and crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. Greci worked with Hill at HRE, while Manion spent the last two seasons as the crew chief for Zane Smith at GMS Racing, during which Smith finished runner-up in points both years.

In 2013, Nick Baumgartner finished third in the Stadium Super Trucks race at The Dome at America’s Center. Nearly a decade later, he can also add a racing-related gold medal in the Olympic Games.

The Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, saw Baumgartner compete for Team USA in snowboard cross; he has made the Olympic team each time since 2010, though he failed to medal in his first three tries before his breakthrough on Saturday. Just two days after a devastating defeat in the men’s individual event where he finished one position short of making the final, he and Lindsey Jacobellis brought home the gold in the inaugural mixed team snowboard cross event.

One of two American teams in the mixed races, Baumgartner and Jacobellis won both of their heat races to advance to the final. Baumgartner took the lead on an overtake while airbourne before passing the metaphorical baton to Jacobellis. In a dramatic battle with 2018 women’s snowboard cross gold medalist Michela Moioli of Italy, Jacobellis held off her rival to seal the victory. At 40 years of age, Baumgartner is the oldest snowboarder to win an Olympic medal, while his 36-year-old team-mate combined to make the oldest duo competing in the event.

Snwoboard cross is perhaps a fitting discipline for winter athletes with a penchant for motorsport, as it is basically a downhill race between competitors rather than a score-based event. Baumgartner’s experience also extends beyond the Olympics as a two-time Winter X Games medalist, winning gold in 2011 and silver the following year.

Since 2011, Baumgartner has also found himself behind the wheel of a short course off-road truck. He competed in the now defunct TORC: The Off-Road Championship, winning at Crandon in just his second career start in the Stock Truck class which he said at the time ranked “right up there with making the Olympic team and winning at X Games.” After claiming Rookie of the Year honours, he moved up to Pro Lite. He also participated in the 2012 SCORE International Baja 1000‘s Class 2 as a co-driver alongside Clyde Stacy, Mike Powell, and Steven Arlia, where their #219 overcame an broken axle to finish the full distance.

Ty Majeski began the 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season with what was to be his first full-time campaign in a national series, but it was cut short when he was abruptly released by Niece Motorsports at the halfway point. Two years later, he is back for another chance, this time with ThorSport Racing.

ThorSport confirmed Majeski’s commitment to the full 2022 Truck schedule on Friday, and he will drive the #66 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Cincinnati Incorporated will sponsor the #66 for “multiple” races beginning with the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on 18 February.

“Over the past year, I have built so many great relationships with incredible people at ThorSport Racing,” said Majeski. “I couldn’t be more honoured to chase a championship with them in 2022.”

Majeski has not had much luck in NASCAR’s national divisions. Besides his aborted 2020 season, he made fifteen Xfinity Series starts for what is now RFK Racing in 2017 and 2018 but only recorded three top tens as his #60 car was plagued by misfortune such as mechanical trouble and crashes before the team shut down the car. He moved to Niece for a one-off at Phoenix in 2019, finishing eleventh before running the first fifteen races of 2020 with three top tens. A four-race stint with ThorSport followed in 2021 with top tens at Charlotte and Nashville.

In contrast to his national series bad luck, he has seen substantial success in the regional and virtual worlds. He is a five-time and the defending ARCA Midwest Tour champion, the most in series history, and was the longtime #1 oval racer on iRacing. In 2019, he ran six ARCA Menards Series races and finished in the top five in all, including three victories. Other triumphs include the prestigious Snowball Derby in 2020 and the Slinger Nationals in 2018 and 2020.

As part of McLaren Racing‘s team-wide livery reveal on Friday that includes Formula One and Extreme E, the organisation’s NTT IndyCar Series side Arrow McLaren SP débuted a pair of Chevrolets with slight differences from their 2021 versions. While Pato O’Ward‘s #5 and Felix Rosenqvist‘s #7 have different primary colours as the former’s car is black and the latter’s is blue to reflect their sponsors, both use the new McLaren shade of papaya orange (called “Fluro Papaya”) and blue (“New Blue”).

O’Ward returns to the #5, sponsored by Arrow Electronics, for a third season. After a strong rookie season in 2020 (McLaren’s first in IndyCar), he broke through with a two-win campaign in 2021 at Texas and Detroit en route to a third-place points finish. At the end of the year, O’Ward joined McLaren’s F1 programme for the Abu Dhabi Young Driver’s Test, where he was the fourth quickest driver. Such a run sparked speculation about potentially moving up to F1 in the future, though at the moment, he is content with vying for the IndyCar championship. While McLaren boss Zak Brown described him as having “what it takes from a raw talent point of view to be a Formula One driver,” he also emphasised that O’Ward’s best shot of making it to F1 would be to win an IndyCar title.

“I am going into my third full season of IndyCar racing this year, coming off a strong run in 2021,” said O’Ward. “Every year, Arrow McLaren SP and I keep raising the bar for ourselves, and I plan it to be no different in 2022. We have another shot at the Indianapolis 500 this year and plan to be in the fight for the championship from the start.

“[…] I don’t have any expectation that this year will be easy. Bring it on and let’s see what we can do. I will be giving it absolutely everything in and out of the car so we can make the best out of 2022.”

Rosenqvist rejoins the blue-based #7 Vuse machine for a second season. His first year with McLaren was a difficult one, missing two races due to injuries sustained in a wreck at Detroit and finishing twenty-first in points with a best finish of sixth at Portland. Prior to McLaren, the Swede spent two seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing and won his maiden series race at Road America in 2020.

With the start of the 2022 Extreme E Championship a week away, McLaren Racing is set for its first foray into the electric off-road series with some very familiar colours. As part of the team-wide livery reveal that includes its Formula One and NTT IndyCar Series programmes, McLaren unveiled the “Fluro Papaya” and “New Blue” paint scheme that the Extreme E side’s Odyssey 21 will sport.

McLaren announced its entry into Extreme E last June, when the series was two rounds into its inaugural season. The decision came as the team expressed interest in expanding its horizons to include environmental and diversity goals. Tanner Foust and Emma Gilmour were tabbed as the team’s 2022 lineup, with Gilmour moving over from Veloce Racing while Foust is a newcomer.

Gilmour was Veloce’s reserve driver but saw action at the Arctic and Island X Prixes while regular driver Jamie Chadwick was competing in the W Series. The Veloce duo of Gilmour and Stéphane Sarrazin finished sixth and eighth in the two rounds. Veloce would place seventh in the standings with a runner-up finish at the Ocean X Prix. When Gilmour signed with McLaren in November, she became the team’s first female driver. Prior to Extreme E, she raced in New Zealand Rally Championship and rallycross, the latter of which included competing at the X Games in 2014.

“After the winter break Tanner and I are ready to get back in the car and we certainly can’t wait to be reunited with ours in its spectacular new livery,” Gilmour stated. “We haven’t seen the car since the ship left the UK to transport the cars to Saudi at the end of December. It’s going to be some reunion. We’ve got a great small team ready to see us through our first season as well as some epic and challenging race locations.”

Foust joins Extreme E, a car which he described in Friday’s reveal as like “a really fast marshmallow”, as one of the most iconic names in American drifting and rallycross. He won the 2012 Global Rallycross and 2019 Americas Rallycross Championships, a wealth of X Games rallycross and gymkhana medals, and even titles in Formula Drift and Rally America. In 2021, he competed in the newly formed Nitro Rallycross and placed sixth in the standings. His legend also expands outside of competition as a former co-host of the American adaption of Top Gear and performing stunts for films like The Fast and the Furious franchise and Ford v Ferrari.