Aug. 8, 2026
Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope your day’s off to a better start than me - with low sleep and an unexpected power outage since 4 a.m. C’est la vie.
There wasn’t a relatively quiet day on the news front yesterday, albeit with some significant notes includes an exiting point leader in IMSA. But we do have a few races to discuss. Let’s talk racing.
NASCAR
ARCA Menards Series: It was a big night for Tristan McKee at Iowa Speedway - both in the short-term and big picture.
The 16-year-old, who just celebrated his birthday on Monday, claimed a dominant victory in Friday’s JR&CO 150. With rival Max Reaves coming home fourth, McKee took a two-point advantage in the ARCA Menards Series East title race with just Bristol Motor Speedway left on the series schedule. (Brandon White / ARCARacing.com)
Carson Brown, who’ll make his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut today, came home second. ARCA national points leader Jake Bollman came followed in third to bolster his own championship advantage.
IndyCar
You’ll never guess who topped the charts in opening practice at Portland. Okay, yeah. It was Alex Palou. (Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com)
Moto
MotoGP:
It was a busy return from summer break on Friday, as Alex Marquez topped the charts in opening practice… (Megan White / The Race)
…While Marco Bezzecchi led the way in the second session. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)
Dirt
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars: Chris Windom is finally a World of Outlaws winner.
The 35-year-old was already accomplished as a USAC Triple Crown champion. But he added a new price to his resume on Friday, dominating the 40-lap feature at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park for his first win with the so-called Greatest Show on Dirt. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series: It was a night for last-lap passes at Florence Speedway. Both Brandon Overton and Josh Rice used overtakes at the last gasp to secure victories in Friday’s Twin 25s. (James Essex / LucasDirt.com)
Short Tracks
CARS Tour: Corey Heim (Late Model Stock) and Mason Walters (Pro Late Model) were quickest in Friday’s practice at Hickory Motor Speedway. (Daniel Vining / Short Track Scene)
SMART Modified Tour: A trip back to Pulaski County Motorsports Park was just what Jake Crum needed.
In the tour’s first race at the facility in three years, Crum passed pole sitter Burt Myers early and chased him back down after a mid-race stop for tires to score a victory over Ryan Newman and Cayden Lapcevich. (Scotte Sprinkle / Short Track Scene )
America’s Top Tours
NASCAR
TNT Sports’ NASCAR tenure is done for the year, but the brand plans to keep the successful elements of its slate going in 2027. (Adam Stern / Sports Business Journal)
This may be nothing, but a fan on Reddit claims to be having a weird time renewing tickets at Kansas Speedway and is concerned it could be dropping to one race next year. That seems unlikely - it would go against reporting from The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, who’s usually spot on about schedule news - but it’s something to keep an eye on, if nothing else.
Keep an eye out for something from Haas Factory Team this morning:
IndyCar
Both Caio Collett and David Malukas will face six-place grid penalties tomorrow due to unapproved engine changes. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Arrow McLaren has found itself searching for speed early on at Portland International Raceway. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Worldwide Racing Series
Formula 1
F1’s weight savings games are ongoing, with the FIA eager to take another 80kg out of the car in the next regulations. (Ronald Vording / Motorsport)
Summer break is supposed to be a time of rest. But when you’re as competitive and relentlessly efficient as F1, even a break is something to be optimized. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Could Sergio Perez quietly be positioning himself for a move to Williams next year? (Alex Harrington / Motorsport)
Sports Cars
Sad news: Ford Racing Driver Development Team member and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS points leader Nate Cicero is leaving racing “to focus on personal matters and would appreciate privacy at this time.” (John Dagys / Sportscar365)
Porsche Penske Motorsports’s No. 6 team was issued a post-race penalty for Kévin Estre’s run-in with the No. 31 Cadillac of Jack Aitken at Road America. Estre has been placed on probation for the remainder of the year. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)
PONOS Racing is bringing an all-pro lineup to the 50th Suzuka 1000km on September. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)
Moto
After initially being blocked by rival manufacturers, KTM has finally been given the green light to open the sealed engines on its RC16 bikes and make improvements prior to the Aragon Grand Prix.(Germán Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)
It’s been nearly three months since Johann Zarco’s vicious May crash in Barcelona. As the LCR rider works to recover, Zarco has reportedly already been on a production bike at Circuit Andorra - Pas de las Casa.(Germán Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)
Grassroots Racing
Dirt
Rocket Chassis is heading back in the right direction:
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All Times ET
NASCAR
At Iowa Speedway
O’Reilly Series Practice: 11:30 a.m., ESPN Unlimited/The CW App
O’Reilly Series Qualifying: 12:35 p.m., The CW/ESPN Unlimited/The CW App
Cup Series Practice: 2:05 p.m., truTV
Cup Series Qualifying: 3:10 p.m., truTV
O’Reilly Series HyVee Perks 250: 5 p.m., The CW/ESPN Unlimited
At Portland International Raceway
ARCA West Portland 112: 9 p.m., FloRacing
IndyCar
At Portland International Raceway
Indy NXT Practice: Noon, FS1
IndyCar Practice: 1 p.m., FS1/FOX One
Indy NXT Qualifying: 3 p.m., FS1/FOX One
IndyCar Qualifying: 7 p.m., FS1/FOX One
Moto
At Silverstone Circuit, airing on MotoGP Videopass
MotoGP Practice: 6:10 a.m.
MotoGP Qualifying: 6:50 a.m.
MotoGP Qualifying 2: 7:15 a.m.
Baggers Qualifying Practice: 8:10 a.m.
Moto3 Qualifying: 8:45 a.m.
Motocross
AMA Loretta Lynn National MX Championship (Loretta Lynn’s Ranch): 8 a.m., FloRacing
Other Moto
American Flat Track (Jackpine Gypsies): 7 p.m., FloRacing
Drag Racing
PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown (Bristol Dragway): 8:45 a.m., FloRacing
Dirt
Major Races
Lucas Oil North/South 100 (Florence Speedway): 3:15 p.m., FloRacing
NAPA All Star Sprints (Stateline Speedway) 6 p.m., FloRacing
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars/Xtreme Outlaw Midgets (I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park): 7 p.m., DirtVision
360 Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville Raceway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision
Other Options
ISMA/MSS Supermodifieds (Oswego Speedway): 5 p.m., FloRacing
Weekly Racing (Fonda Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing
Weekly Racing (Port Royal Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing
Weekly Racing (Land of Legends Raceway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision
IMCA Weekly Racing (141 Speedway): 6:55 p.m., FloRacing
MARS Late Models (Macon Speedway): 7 p.m., FloRacing
Non-Racing
National Dirt LM Hall of Fame Ceremony: Noon, FloRacing
Short Tracks
Major Races
USAC Silver Crown (Iowa Speedway): 10:10 a.m., FloRacing
CARS Tour (Hickory Motor Speedway): 4:30 p.m., FloRacing
NASCAR Weekly Racing, airing on FloRacing
Riverhead Raceway: 5:30 p.m.
Jennerstown Speedway: 6 p.m.
Berlin Raceway: 6 p.m.
Langley Speedway: 7 p.m.
Bowman Gray Stadium: 7:45 p.m.
Other Options
NEMA Midgets/Lites (Wiscasset Speedway): 5 p.m., Racing America
Oxford Championship Series (Oxford Plains Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America
RoC Modified Race (Holland Speedway): 6 p.m., FloRacing
Pro late Models (Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America
Sportsman Showdown (Owosso Speedway): 6 p.m., Racing America
Vore’s Compact Tour (Angola Motorsport Speedway): 6:30 p.m., Racing America
National Crown (Anderson Speedway): 7:30 p.m., Racing America
That’s how many wins the top five drivers in the ARCA Menards Series point standings have secured in what’s proving to be a strange title fight for the series.
The lone victory came for Thomas Annunziata, but he finds himself sitting second in the standings thanks to Jake Bollman’s supreme consistency. Bollman has nine top-fives and has finished on the lead lap in 13 of the year’s 14 races, minimizing opportunities for others to gain ground despite failing to reach victory lane thus far.
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