Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

In late August, Natalie Decker was scheduled to run the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona for Emerling-Gase Motorsports before abandoning the entry as NASCAR had not approved her sponsor Diesel Beverages, which sells drinks made from terpene. Now that NASCAR has formally signed off on the sponsorship, Decker has entered another superspeedway race as she joins Reaume Brothers Racing for the Camping World Truck Series event at Talladega Superspeedway on 1 October. She will pilot the #43.

Decker last raced in the Truck Series in 2020 when she made thirteen starts for Niece Motorsports, the first of which saw her score the first top five for a woman when she placed fifth at Daytona. She first entered the series in 2016 at Martinsville but failed to qualify, then focused on the ARCA Menards Series over the next two years before returning with a ninteen-race 2019 schedule with now-David Gilliland Racing. She finished sixteenth in her Talladega Truck debut that year.

She ran the Talladega ARCA race in 2018 and 2019, respectively finishing twenty-eighth and twenty-third.

While Decker has never raced for RBR’s Truck programme, she drove for the Xfinity Series arm in 2021 at the Daytona Road Course. Said stable was absorbed by Our Motorsports later in the season and she contested four races with her new team. Decker has attempted five Xfinity races in 2022 with RBR, RSS Racing, and MBM Motorsports, failing to qualify at Daytona and Talladega while recording a best run of twenty-seventh at Atlanta.

“We have been working with Natalie for awhile now, and we are all really excited to have her drive our #43 truck at Talladega,” said team owner Josh Reaume. “She brings a lot of great energy to the track and shop, which is very contagious, and we are looking forward to giving her a great opportunity when she returns to the Truck Series come October. I am very confident in Natalie that she will do an awesome job at Talladega.”

Chassis manufacturer KCMG will be funding a €10,000 prize fund for the upcoming FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 competition that will see drivers do battle for their country as they aim to secure Gold.

Following the maiden event at Vallelunder in 2019, KCMG will once again be providing a field of hybrid single-seaters for Formula 4 which is due to take place 26-30 October.

 “I’m really excited for the FIA Motorsport Games and delighted to see so much interest in the event,” said Paul Ip, KCMG Founder.

“KCMG and everyone involved are focused in preparing the cars, and we’re confident of having at least 20 cars on the grid again, which will make for a fantastic weekend.”

The carbon fibre composite monocoque for the Formula 4 cars and structural parts are manufactured by KCMG Composites in Taiwan. The KC-MG01 is powered by a 176bhp 1.4-litre turbo-charged engine with a 12kW battery.

Anthony Kumpen was one of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series‘ top drivers in the mid-2010s, winning the now-EuroNASCAR PRO championship in 2014 and 2016 and ten times before a suspension for failing a drug test in 2018 abruptly placed his career on hold. Over four years later, with his ban by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium having expired on 14 September, he is seeking a return to the driver’s seat with the NASCAR GP Belgium at Circuit Zolder on 8/9 October. While his team and number have not been revealed, he will likely race for PK Carsport, with whom he drove and now oversees as manager.

While pursuing his third NWES title midway through the 2018 season, Kumpen failed a doping test at that year’s 24 Hours of Zolder and received a four-year racing ban from the RACB. In an interview with Autosport.be, Kumpen explained a crash in the NWES weekend at Tours Speedway resulted in concussion-like symptoms that necessitated taking ADHD medication prescribed to him by a doctor, but a urine test subsequently revealed traces of amphetamines.

Kumpen did not deny the medicine’s contents but launched an appeal on grounds of the ruling being an administrative error, which ultimately failed. He told Autosport his “only mistake” had been failing to register the miedication for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), and decided against further appeals as he took responsibility for the matter.

While serving his suspension, he remained involved with PK Carsport as team manager. Under his watch, the team won the 2020 NWES title with Alon Day (who is also currently leading the PRO standings) and the 2022 24 Hours of Zolder overall.

“Now that I can race again, I want to race again, but competitively,” Kumpen told Autosport. “That’s why I’m opting for NASCAR again, especially because the next round is in Zolder, so for my own audience. I am very happy that all my sponsors are still behind me, because even the contracts for next year have already been signed.”

GB3 title contender Joel Granfors will be joining the Carlin team for the upcoming three-day FIA Formula 3 test session, which will take place at Jerez, Spain from Wednesday.

The Swedish driver is currently second place in the GB3 championship, just 16.5 points behind leader Luke Browning with three races remaining.

Granfors is looking to make the most of the test as he looks to move up the feeder series ladder, with the ultimate goal of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
 
“Getting the chance to drive an FIA F3 car for the first time will be exciting,” said Joel Granfors. “I’m really looking forward to trying it out this week at Jerez and to work with Carlin, one of the most legendary teams in motorsport.

The 17-year-old is looking forward to driving the 380-bhp Dallara-built F3 car, a step up from the Tatuus MSV-022 GB3 car that produces 250-bhp

“It will be a case of simply learning the car and getting a feel for the championship, and hopefully we can have a productive three days together.”  

JD Motorsports will return to fielding three cars for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the team announced Tuesday. A full lineup was not immediately revealed, though the team frequently fields multiple drivers, outside of Bayley Currey who returns to the #4 full-time.

“We’re very excited about how 2023 looks,” said team owner Johnny Davis. “I’ve been around this series for a long time, and the schedule looks to be the best it’s ever been. We’re going to be all over the country with our cars, and we’re going to have some great opportunities for partners to come on board and race with us.”

After running the #0, #4, #6, and #15 in 2021, JDM dropped to just the #4 and #6 for 2022; a perk of the reduction came in the team forming an alliance with upstart Jesse Iwuji Motorsports, who operates out of JDM’s shop. While Currey has run every race in the #4, Ryan Vargas is doing the bulk of the schedule in the #6 but has increasingly been pushed aside for other names due to sponsorship and performance issues. Others who have driven the #6 include Ty Dillon, Gray Gaulding, Bobby McCarty, and Spencer Pumpelly, while Brennan Poole will attempt the playoff races at Texas, Homestead, and Phoenix.

Currey, currently in his third straight year of regular Xfinity competition, is twenty-first in points with a best finish of tenth at New Hampshire. He nearly scored another top ten in the regular season finale at Bristol.

“We’ve had strong cars all this season and some good finishes,” Davis added. “We were especially excited about Bayley Currey’s eleventh-place finish at Bristol in the #4 Alka-Seltzer car. Bristol is one of the toughest tracks on the schedule. To finish every lap there is quite an achievement, and for one of our cars to come home eleventh shows where this team is headed.”

The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar was released to the public following approval by the World Motor Sport Council. The schedule features twenty-four Grands Prix, the most race weekends in an F1 season to date. 

Key additions include the much-anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will be held on 18 November as the penultimate race of the season, as well as the return of the Chinese Grand Prix and the Qatar Grand Prix. China was last held in 2019, while Qatar first appeared in 2021 and will return for the 2023 season and beyond. 

The historic Monaco Grand Prix remains on the calendar for 2023 after much debate regarding its inclusion moving forward, while the fan-favorite Belgian Grand Prix moves to 30 July, the date when the 24 Hours of Spa is traditionally hosted. Vacating the season’s European leg, the French Grand Prix will not be returning next year. 

The season opening Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for 5 March, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will close out the season on 26 November.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said that the expanded calendar is representative of the series’ increased global reach and ever-growing fan-base. 

Formula 1 will continue to race in Monaco until 2025, after a new three-year deal was agreed with the Automobile Club of Monaco.

The current contract was due to expire this year and there were doubts across the sport that Formula 1’s most famous race wouldn’t return. Also known as the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the season, it has now been officially confirmed that it will remain, following the release of the 2023 Calendar. Monaco will continue it’s run of appearances on the schedule since 1955, which excludes the Grand Prix of 2020 that was cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

The Grand Prix officially became part of the calendar in 1950. It is known as one of the trickiest circuits of the year, with the drivers having their patience, precision and talent tested for all seventy-eight laps of the race. The track has been questioned recently due to the size of the cars and the lack of apparent overtaking opportunities, with only one overtake having been completed in the 2021 Grand Prix.

However, the track still remains popular with the sport’s drivers and fans. The Monaco Grand Prix has seen some classic races in recent times, with the most recent being Daniel Ricciardo’s triumph in 2018, with the Australian racing to the line with only half of his power.

The track has seen some of the greats, with three-time world champion Ayrton Senna topping the charts with six wins at the circuit, followed by Graham Hill, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. Lewis Hamilton has the most wins on the circuit out of the current driver grid, with three to his name and his most recent one coming in the 2019 Grand Prix, where he beat Ricciardo.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am front-runner Will Aspin is targeting a strong finish to the season as the series heads to Silverstone this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2022 championship.

The teenager has had a mixed year in the series, after a strong start to the year, including a victory at Brands Hatch, he has suffered a run of bad luck that has seen him drop out of championship contention. Despite this Aspin has continued to push and bounced back with a podium finish at Thruxton last time out.

“I think it will be a good weekend. We learned a lot at Thruxton, focusing on what we can do and how to do it. We didn’t show it in qualifying, but I think being in the car every week in August was really beneficial for me and the team, so we can work together and make the whole package stronger and stronger,” explained Aspin.

Looking ahead the eighteen-year-old is attacking the race weekend with renewed focus after being behind the wheel for three of the last four weekends, including a maiden race in Europe in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux at Assen, “For Silverstone, we’ll go into the weekend and extract every bit of performance out of me and the car. Having all this time off over the break has helped me think about things, realise what I wasn’t doing well, and help me calm down a bit.

“I’ve got a test on Wednesday and I’m looking forward to getting back in the car as four weeks without being in it gets quite boring!

This weekend Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline driver Oliver White returns to Silverstone, the place where tasted success in the Walter Hayes Trophy, but this time as part of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB series.

White has scored points on his last three race weekends in the series and will be hoping to build on his experience in his first full season of sports car racing.

“I’m looking forward to Silverstone. This is a track that I’ve had a lot of success out in the past and I won the Walter Hayes Trophy there a few years ago. It’s quite a technical track, so it won’t be that easy to learn in the Porsche, but the advantage is it’s a short lap which means you get plenty of laps in testing and hopefully, I’ll get up to speed fairly quickly.

The 29-year-old is hoping to repeat the form that saw him have one of his best race weekends of the year with the upcoming test session at Silverstone on Wednesday.
 
“I think the last time I did a Wednesday test was Knockhill and in terms of competitiveness, it’s probably the best event I’ve had this year. Hopefully, I can do something similar, use the Wednesday to get properly up to speed and get amongst the front runners.“

While the Silverstone National circuit looks easy at first glance, its simplicity of it means there is more chance of a small error that could cost dearly.

Adam Smalley heads into the penultimate weekend of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season at Silverstone just twelve points behind championship leader Kiern Jewiss.

Last time out at Thruxton, the Lancashire-based driver collected a second and third place finish, this weekend he will be looking to make the most of his form and hit the front of the pack to add to his seven podium finishes, including one victory, so far this season.

“We had a great weekend last time out at Thruxton, one of our strongest so far, which has boosted our confidence going into Silverstone. We showed some great pace, we had a very strong car, and I’m confident that we can take that into this one,” said the Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline driver.
 
“The 992 style 911 GT3 Cup car is great around any track, and Silverstone is a tricky little circuit with only four or five corners. The whole field is going to be very tight, and it’ll be interesting to see how everyone compares.
 
“Qualifying has been crucial this season. It’s very difficult if you’re not in that top five, so it’ll be important that we do all our hard work in the official Wednesday test and carry that through, finesse it on Friday, and do the job on Saturday and Sunday. I’m currently lying third in the championship standings, and we closed in on the lead last time.

“I just need to keep focusing on myself. We’re getting stronger each time we go out so fingers crossed I can have a strong showing.”

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Following the announcement that Fortec Motorsport will be returning to the final two race weekends of the ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA with James Higgins, the Daventry-based team will be adding a second car to the upcoming meeting at Silverstone, with Marcos Flack in the driver’s seat.

Flack previously raced in the series in 2021 as he made his move from karting to single-seaters, he quickly proved himself as a frontrunner, taking podiums at Snetterton, Croft and Silverstone.

Since then the 16-year-old Australian has been busy racing in a part-season of GB3 Championship, including a breakthrough win at Silverstone, along with appearances in the Indy Pro 2000 series and the Italian, Spanish, and German F4 championships

“I’m looking forward to being back in ROKiT British F4, and to partner up with Fortec Motorsport,” said Flack.

“It’s a championship that I learnt a lot in last season, and I’ve got experience with the new Gen-2 car from racing in Italy and Germany this year. Fortec are a great team, and I’ve always run well at Silverstone, so the ingredients are there for us to have a good weekend.”

I’m very much looking forward to racing again this coming weekend after an enforced break – and certainly it’ll feel different as I’m now a very proud father to George, my first child.

More details on that later after I’ve brought you up to date on my racing activities since my last column – although that won’t take long.

My last races were on “home” soil when I recorded two eleventh place finishes in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Knockhill at the end of July – but that only tells half a miserable story racing back in Scotland.

I suffered a couple of scary barrel rolls in testing on the eve of the event after being hit up the rear. It severely damaged my Toro Verde GT entered 911 to the extent it was not repairable at the track.

I was totally blameless for the incident but thankfully was only shaken up and bruised. I was being supported at Knockhill by Dumfriesshire sponsors, PyroDry and Carronbridge Sawmills plus I’d got a lot of partners, prospects and guests attending the weekend’s action in attendance, the majority from around Scotland, but with some coming from as far away as Denmark.

As Kyle Larson pursues back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships, Hendrick Motorsports is keen to keep him involved for the forseeable future. The team announced Friday that Larson has signed a contract extension to keep him in the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the 2026 season.

“When Kyle joined our team, the expectations were sky high from both inside and outside the organisation. To say he’s exceeded them would be an understatement,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “Not only has Kyle proven himself as a champion driver, he’s performed at a championship level outside of the race car. We’re proud to continue our relationship and to see him represent our team and our brands in such positive ways. The years to come are very bright.”

Since joining Hendrick in 2021, Larson has become one of the Cup Series’ top drivers, leading the series in wins in his first year with ten en route to the championship. While his win total has dropped to two so far in 2022 at Las Vegas and Watkins Glen, he is fourth in points and a regular threat. He also notched an Xfinity Series win for satellite team JR Motorsports at The Glen.

HendrickCars.com, the online division of Hendrick Automotive Group, will continue as his primary sponsor. Although Larson’s successes have garnered outside interest, the Hendrick Automotive Group—which has its own autonomy separate from Hendrick Motorsports despite both being owned by Rick Hendrick—wanted to commit to him full-time. The only other company sponsoring him in 2022 is Valvoline, who has a team-wide partnership, for three races.

“I can’t explain how much this opportunity means,” commented Larson. “The chance to compete for the top team and best sponsors in racing is something every driver dreams about. I’m humbled to have incredible people in my corner and amazing support from so many fans. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group for believing in me, Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and our team. Even though we’ve done some great things so far, I truly believe our best is ahead of us.”

After abruptly retiring from the Baja 500, Bryce Menzies was able to turn around his SCORE International fortunes at the Baja 400 when he took the overall four-wheeler lead from Luke McMillin and never looked back. It is Menzies’ second straight 400 win and places him on the pole for the Baja 1000 in November.

McMillin beat Menzies in qualifying, but a flat tyre allowed Menzies to overtake him. Both drivers’ Trophy Trucks lost four-wheel drive during their runs, forcing them to re-adjust, while Menzies would also have a tyre go down though co-driver Oren Anderson quickly rectified the matter in just fifty seconds.

“It’ll take me fifty seconds just to get out and in (of the truck),” quipped Menzies.

“This race is so much fun. It’s very technical, very tight, but we had an awesome time. We only had one tyre go down all day. I had to go from learning to drive a four-wheel-drive to a two-wheel-drive so it made me have some fun today.”

The 500 marked a reversal of the San Felipe 250, where Menzies won the pole but finished second to McMillin; the duo also finished 1–2 at the 2021 400. McMillin’s older brother Dan joined him on the overall podium.

Red Bull Powertrains announced earlier this week that they are to partner with American tool manufacturer Snap-on, as it continues to develop capability at its state of the art Formula 1 powertrain facility, which is housed at the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes, UK.

Red Bull have recently fired up their very first 2026 prototype power unit (without ERS), as the Austrian side prepare for the distinct possibility that they may need to supply their own power units when the new engine regulations are introduced in 2026. Porsche had been in talks to supply Red Bull with powertrains, but any potential partnership broke down.

The new agreement means Snap-on will be providing hand and power tools for use at the facility, and in the testing labs that will help contribute to the short and long term success of the Red Bull Powertrains operation. On top of that Red Bull will use Snap-on’s Level Five Automated Tool Control (ATC) solution.

CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing Team and CEO of Red Bull Powertrains Christian Horner, is excited about the potential success that the partnership may bring.

“The creation of Red Bull Powertrains is one of the most ambitious projects we have ever undertaken at Red Bull and requires partnership with the highest achievers in every area of development. As a global innovator in the field of tool manufacture, Snap-on meets that criterion perfectly.