Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Christian Horner says Red Bull Racing still have it all to play for despite a frustrating Hungarian Grand Prix saw them concede their advantage in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.

Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were caught up in a first lap, first corner crash initiated by Valtteri Bottas, and although the Dutchman was able to continue, the Mexican was forced to retire before the lap was out with significant damage to his RB16B.

Verstappen’s car also took a lot of damage in the incident that also involved McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris, and Red Bull’s mechanics worked wonders to fix the car under the red flag enough for him to be in with a chance of points.

Ultimately, Verstappen did struggle throughout the race due to the damage, but he was able to salvage two points by finishing ninth.  Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton’s second place meant the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver took over at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

“It is obviously an enormously frustrating way to end the weekend, but we are within 10 points of first place in the championship going into the summer break which means it’s all to play for,” said Horner, the Team Principal at Red Bull.

Max Verstappen admitted it was disappointing to be involved in a first lap crash for the second race in a row, with the Dutchman taking a lot of damage to his RB16B after being hit by Lando Norris at turn one at the Hungaroring.

Norris had already been hit by the out-of-control Valtteri Bottas heading into the turn on a damp track in Hungary, but the damage to Verstappen’s car was significant, and the Red Bull Racing driver was lucky to finish the race.

Verstappen struggled against cars he would usually breeze past, with a pass on Mick Schumacher proving difficult particularly telling as the Uralkali Haas F1 Team have regularly been the slowest team on the grid in 2021.

Ultimately, Verstappen finished on the road in tenth to score a single point, although Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification ahead of him moved him up to ninth and to two points.  However, he did lose top spot in the Drivers’ Championship to Lewis Hamilton.

“It was all out of our hands in the race and I can’t believe I got taken out for the second week running,” said Verstappen.  “The mechanics did what they could to get me back in the race but I was carrying a lot of damage on the car after the incident and it was super difficult to drive with, there was a lot of oversteer and understeer from the downforce loss.

14 August’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course will feature a duo of team-mates from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. On Thursday, MBM Motorsports announced Whelen Euro Series EuroNASCAR PRO regular Giorgio Maggi will attempt to make his NASCAR American début in the #42 Toyota Supra, serving as a team-mate to EuroNASCAR PRO championship leader Loris Hezemans. Maggi will be the first Swiss driver to race in a NASCAR national series.

“I’’s still really hard to believe because it seems so surreal,” said Maggi. “I first came into contact with NASCAR two years ago and honestly had no idea about this type of motorsport. Now I’m going to be right in the middle of it.

“I’m really looking forward to it, but I’m also a little nervous, I have to admit. I’m super excited to be the first Swiss to compete in a NASCAR national championship in the U.S.”

Currently in his second season at the EuroNASCAR PRO level, Maggi and his #18 Hendriks Motorsport car sits ninth in points with a best finish of fourth in the most recent race at Brands Hatch. As a rookie in 2020, he placed eleventh in the standings with a pole and runner-up finish at Croatia. The former ADAC GT Masters driver first débuted in NASCAR in 2019 when he finished runner-up in the Elite 2 (now EuroNASCAR 2) standings with three victories.

Hezemans, the 2019 EuroNASCAR PRO (then Elite 1) champion, has three career Xfinity starts in 2019 and 2021. After finishing twenty-second in his maiden race at Road America in 2019, he returned to America two years later with MBM at Phoenix, where he placed thirty-first in his first oval race. Another oval start came in June at Pocono with DGM Racing, finishing twenty-seventh.

Lawless Alan, holder of one of NASCAR‘s coolest names, has joined Niece Motorsports for a multi-race deal throughout the 2021 Camping World Truck Series playoffs, the team announced Thursday. His first start with the team will come in the playoff opener Darlington Raceway on 5 September, and he will also run the season finale at Phoenix Raceway on 5 November.

“We’re excited for the chance to get Lawless in our Chevrolets,” said Niece Motorsports general manager Cody Efaw. “He’s proven himself to be a talented driver, so we’re thrilled to have him behind the wheel. Darlington is one of my favorite tracks, and our team has run well there in the past, so it should be a great start to his races with our team.”

After racing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2019 and 2020, Alan began a limited slate in the Trucks in 2021 for Reaume Brothers Racing. He finished thirty-sixth in his series début on the Daytona Road Course in February, and ran three more races with a best finish of twentieth at Pocono. He will drive the #34 in Saturday’s race at Watkins Glen, where he starts twenty-fourth.

“I’ve learned a lot in the Truck races we’ve run so far, and being able to continue that education with a championship-caliber team is a great opportunity,” Alan commented. “I appreciate Mr. (Al) Niece and Cody putting me in the seat, and I plan on making the most of it.  Darlington is a challenging track and another one that I’ve never been to, so I’ll be putting time in on the sim and watching film, and hopefully I can have a good showing in the AUTOParkit Chevrolet and learn some things for next year.”

Alan’s number was not immediately revealed but he will presumably pilot Niece’s multi-driver #45.

For the first time in thirteen years, A.J. Allmendinger will race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, even if in a substitute capacity. On Thursday, GMS Racing announced Chase Purdy has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him out of the #24 Chevrolet Silverado for Saturday’s United Rentals 176 at Watkins Glen International. Allmendinger has been tapped to take over the ride in what will be his first Truck start since 2008.

“Late yesterday afternoon, GMS Racing driver Chase Purdy tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms,” read a statement from the team. “In accordance with NASCAR protocol and the CDC guidelines, Purdy will not compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Watkins Glen International. A.J. Allmendinger has agreed to substitute as the replacement driver of the #23 Barna Buggies Chevrolet. We wish Chase a steady recovery and hope to see him compete at the series’ next event at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway.”

Allmendinger currently races full-time in the Xfinity Series, where he has two wins and sits second in points. He made thirteen Truck starts between 2006 and 2008, a transition period for him as he was learning to adjust to stock cars after climbing the open-wheel ladder. Driving for Bill Davis, Michael Waltrip, and Morgan Dollar, he scored three top tens with a best finish of second at Charlotte in 2007. His last Truck race was in 2008 at Fontana, where he placed seventeenth.

Placing Allmendinger in the truck for Watkins Glen seems like a no-brainer. In addition to being one of the top road racers in NASCAR, he scored his lone Cup Series victory at the track in 2014. The move also continues the interim driver relationship between GMS and Allmendinger’s team Kaulig Racing. In May, Kaulig driver Justin Haley was replaced by GMS racer Zane Smith at Dover after the former was placed in COVID-19 protocol.

The news comes on the heels of surging COVID-19 cases, which prompted NASCAR to reintroduce mask mandates when indoors on Tuesday. The development effectively knocks Purdy out of playoff contention as WGI is the final race of the regular season, whereas he is nineteenth in points with a best finish of fifteenth. Fellow Truck driver Kris Wright had also missed a race in March after a positive test.

As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International, Rick Ware Racing has enlisted R.C. Enerson‘s services in what will be his series début. Enerson, an NTT IndyCar Series part-timer, will drive the #15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen.

Enerson began dabbling in stock cars as a road course ringer in the Xfinity Series at Road America in 2020, where he finished twentieth for SS-Green Light Racing; SSGLR currently has an Xfinity alliance with RWR. As an IndyCar driver, he has three career starts in 2016 and 2019. He failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in May, but he and Top Gun Racing will run the following week’s Indianapolis Road Course event in what will be the team’s maiden race.

“We are very excited to support @RCEnerson while he runs the @NASCAR Cup Series Race at @WGI in the #15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet,” tweeted TGR.

Interestingly, a Cup ride with RWR became available in what was virtually a trade between the NASCAR and IndyCar realms. Cody Ware, a Cup rookie who drives the #51, will be in Nashville to run IndyCar’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix which will be his second career start in the series. James Davison, himself an IndyCar-savvy driver who mainly drives the #15, moves to the #51 for WGI.

Enerson is the only Cup newcomer in Sunday’s race, while Kyle Tilley joins him as the event’s two road ringers.

Mitch Evans has ended speculation about his future within the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship by extending his contract with Jaguar Racing.

The New Zealander has signed a new multi-year deal with the British team having joined the outfit back in 2016 when the debuted in Formula E.  He has won two E-Prix and taken ten podium finishes in his time with Jaguar, and he heads to the season finale of season seven later this month still in contention for the title.

Evans says he was approached by other teams in recent months but is excited to remain with Jaguar, and he is looking to continue their upward swing and bring more success to the team.

“I’m not going anywhere!” said Evans.  “Having spent over five years with the team, I know exactly what we plan to achieve in the forthcoming seasons and I am excited to continue to be a part of the team’s journey.

“I have been approached by other teams but my home continues to be with Jaguar. We are seeing strong results on track, the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 boasts excellent performance and we are ready to rival anyone on the grid.

Robin Frijns will remain with the Envision Virgin Racing team for season eight of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after signing a contract extension with the team.

The Dutchman joined Virgin back in 2018 and has been one of the stars of the championship in recent years, although he has not won a race since the second race in New York City back in the 2018-19 season.

Frijns is a championship contender this year and sits second in the standings heading into the final double-header of the season in Berlin later this month, and he is delighted to be remaining with the team for the 2021-22 season.

“I am very happy to stay at Envision Virgin Racing for another season,” said Frijns. “We have a great car and a very talented, dedicated team who are doing a phenomenal job.

“Together we’ve managed to achieve a lot of consistency in one of the most unpredictable and competitive racing series in the world, which isn’t easy and is one of the reasons that has got us to the top of the standings.”

Dave Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams Racing, was delighted the team finally scored their first points of the 2021 Formula 1 season on Sunday, with Nicholas Latifi and George Russell both breaking into the top ten in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The initial wet start helped them move up from their lowly grid slots as a number of drivers ahead were involved in incidents at turn one, and their placement in the pit lane aided them at the restart of the race following a red flag.

Latifi was able to run third in the early laps before finishing eighth on the road, while Russell ended ninth.  Both drivers then moved up one spot when Sebastian Vettel was disqualified due to a technicality from second place.

Robson says the team made the most of the situation at the Hungaroring, and despite being tight with fuel at the end, they were able to bring home their first top ten finish since the 2019 German Grand Prix and their first two-car points finish since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.

“Today, a small amount of rain caused a big swing in fortunes for the field,” said Robson.  “We obviously benefited, not least from the crashes at the initial race start.

Amid the chaos in the Hungarian Grand Prix, perhaps the best feel-good story of the race was the first points of the season for Williams Racing, with both Nicholas Latifi and George Russell ending up inside the top ten.

Not since the 2019 German Grand Prix had Williams scored a point in Formula 1, and it was the first time that they scored points with both cars since the Italian Grand Prix of 2018.

Latifi ran as high as third in the early stages after capitalising on the multiple incidents at the start of the race, and although he was unable to keep some obviously quicker cars behind him, he was still able to finish eighth on the road for his first points in Formula 1.  This became seventh later in the day when Sebastian Vettel was disqualified.

“It is an amazing result for the team, and I am so happy for us,” said Latifi.  “The team has been knocking on the door of points for a few races now, so to get both cars in the points and to move up to P8 in the championship is amazing.

“The race from my side was very tough to manage, obviously the start in the first corner was what sealed it for me. We struggled in qualifying yesterday, so to come away with a result like this is better than anything we could have hoped for.

Pierre Gasly left the Hungarian Grand Prix disappointed, despite crossing the line in sixth.

The Frenchman managed to qualify in fifth, beating both of the Scuderia Ferrari’s and McLaren F1 Team’s drivers. Unfortunately for Gasly, he was in the wrong position when all the action happened on the first lap. Due to the race being a wet start, Valtteri Bottas wasn’t able to control his car going into Turn 1 and crashed into Lando Norris.

Gasly had to avoid all the chaos and found himself falling down the grid. He was able to cut his way back up to the top but was left annoyed with the result. Gasly was one of the many drivers that have benefitted from Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification and were promoted to fifth after the race.

Gasly said: “To be honest, I don’t really know what to think. We started P5, which is probably the best position we can hope for, but then I was almost taken out in the first corner incident and had to make my way back through the field to finish in P6.

“It’s good obviously to be finishing where we did, with everything that happened in the race, but I think it definitely could’ve been better. We were best of the rest in Quali and I was happy with the car, so there’s lots of positives to takeaway from this weekend but obviously we’ve lost a lot of points in the Championship which is disappointing.

As a NASCAR Cup Series driver, Ross Chastain is not allowed to run Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series event at Watkins Glen International. That does not mean a Chastain will not be in the #45 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports: on Wednesday, Niece announced his younger brother Chad Chastain will make his NASCAR début in the truck.

The younger Chastain, born seven years after his Cup-driving brother, mainly competes in short tracks in his native Florida and the southeastern United States in series such as the Florida Pro Truck Series and World Series of Asphalt. In 2015, he won the FASCAR Pro Truck and Pro Late Model track championships at DeSoto Speedway, followed by the Pro Late Model title at 4-17 Southern Speedway a year later.

“I was excited to get the call to come race with Niece Motorsports in this great ‘Protect Your Melon’ Chevrolet,” Chastain stated. “I’m thankful to everyone at Niece Motorsports for their hard work and our great partners with Buckle up New York and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. This will definitely be a new challenge, but I’m so excited for the opportunity and will do my best to make the most of it.”

Ross was initially supposed to race at WGI, but was barred from doing so as NASCAR rules prohibit Cup drivers from running the final race of the Truck regular season and the following playoffs. The development prompted him to share a meme of Bart from The Simpsons writing “I will pay closer attention to the NASCAR rules.” on the chalkboard. The news comes a day after he was announced as joining Trackhouse Racing Team for the 2022 Cup season.

“I guess a Chastain will get to buckle up and drive a Silverado this weekend,” quipped Ross in a social media video.

After a well deserved month-long break, the NTT IndyCar Series returns with a brand new race on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Alex Palou still leads the championship by a thirty-nine point margin over Patricio O’Ward, with Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon not far behind in third place. IndyCar’s most recent winner Josef Newgarden enters his home race in fourth place in the championship, while Marcus Ericsson rounds out the top five in what has been his breakout season.

This new 3.49 km, 11 turn circuit has been highly anticipated since its’ announcement last year, packed with unique features like the straightaways across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge. It is the first new street circuit since the Grand Prix of Houston in 2013.

This weekend will also mark the returns to the grid of Santino Ferrucci for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, reigning Indianapolis 500 Champion Helio Castroneves for Meyer Shank Racing, and NASCAR Cup Series regular Cody Ware for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing.

A new circuit will create a level playing field for the entire grid, and with only six races remaining in the championship, every point is crucial. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix of Nashville.

WHAT SHOULD I LOOK OUT FOR THIS WEEKEND?

In short, everything! This will be a completely new challenge for even the most experienced drivers on the grid, and with how competitive the field is, a surprise finish might be in store.

The upcoming Stadium Super Trucks weekend at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville will feature another new face. In a press release from last Friday, Crosley Brands announced Jacob Abel as one of six drivers who will drive a Crosley-sponsored truck. However, SST clarified in a Facebook comment that he is not a fourteenth entry and will presumably split a ride with Ricky Howerton, also a series newcomer.

Abel is in his first full-time season in Indy Pro 2000 after spending the last two years in limited competition. Driving for family-run Abel Motorsports, he sits seventh in points after seven races with two third-place finishes at Road America and Mid-Ohio; he also works as a driving instructor at the latter. Although the Music City Grand Prix will feature SST in support of the NTT IndyCar Series, Indy Pro 2000—the second-highest step in the Road to Indy—will not join them.

Other series that Abel has raced in include the Formula Regional Americas Championship (where he won at Mid-Ohio in June), the F3 Americas Championship (won two races in 2019), the F4 United States Championship, and USF2000. The 20-year-old Kentucky native also competes in sports cars, racing in the GT World Challenge America for Racers Edge Motorsports and scoring a podium at Virginia International Raceway. He became a Honda Performance Development junior driver in 2021.

“Kentucky native and Butler University Sophomore, Abel, will be making his foray into the action-packed world of Stadium SUPER Trucks in the upcoming round at the inaugural Music City Grand Prix in Nashville Tennessee,” read the Crosley statement. “Abel, who started his racing journey in 2015 with go karting quickly progressed up the racing ladder into the Road to Indy competing in two Cooper Tires USF2000 series events, and the F4 United States Championship Powered by Honda before jumping full time into the second rung of the Road to Indy ladder the Indy Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires Series.”

Other Crosley drivers at Nashville include company CEO Bo LeMastus, Howerton, Ricky Johnson, Arie Luyendyk Jr., and Jeff Ward. Crosley will also serve as the SST title sponsor for the weekend, which will include promotions in the area. Thirteen trucks, the most since 2018 at Long Beach, make up the grid.

Will Rodgers has a busy August ahead of him in the NASCAR road racing world. On Saturday, he will make his Camping World Truck Series début at Watkins Glen International in the #41 Chevrolet Silverado for Cram Racing Enterprises, followed by driving a newly opened #24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing in the following week’s Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. The latter will mark SHR’s first two-car effort.

Rodgers is one of the top road course drivers in NASCAR’s regional divisions, winning all but one race on such tracks in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East in 2017 and 2018 (the lone non-victory was a runner-up finish at WGI in 2018, where he won the previous year) while his only ARCA West triumph came on a road course at Sonoma in 2017. Road racing success has also come in sports cars as he finished on the podium in all but one of his eight Pirelli World Challenge starts in 2016, including five wins.

In June, Rodgers ran the Xfinity race at Nashville in SHR’s #26, finishing fourteenth in his first series start since 2019. He participated in four races that year, including two road courses, with a best finish of twelfth at one of them in Mid-Ohio. Kris Wright will drive the #26 at WGI and Indianapolis as SHR’s road ringer.

CRE’s #41 has primarily been driven by owner Dawson Cram, though Cody Erickson and Todd Peck have also made starts in 2021. Cram holds the truck’s best finish of the year as he placed seventeen on the Daytona Road Course in February, and it is currently thirty-third in owner points.