Aug. 12, 2026
Good morning and happy Wednesday. We’re hours away from kicking off the Knoxville Nationals proper in Iowa and seeing Cleetus McFarland give Late Model racing a go at Berlin. But first, we’ve got a land speed record and new streaming deal for Formula E to discuss. Let’s talk racing.
Disney may not be getting Formula 1 back anytime soon, but the Mouse is still going to have an FIA-sanctioned open wheel series on its roster next season.
Disney+ will be the global streaming home of the all-electric tour across 144 territories, including the UK and US, with races also shown on ESPN+. All track sessions will be shown live.
The move is a significant shift in presence for Formula E, which has seen some countries not broadcast every race live and others confuse fans with a mix of offerings. United States fans have been presented races on CBS Sports and The Roku Channel.
“There are a small group of organizations you can talk to about doing this, and what you want is global scale, you want somebody that’s going to treat your product in a way that is conducive with what we think it is and what it’s going to become in the future, something super premium and super exciting,” Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told The Race’s Sam Smith.
“I think from their (Disney+) side, they understand the power of sports and how important sport is becoming for appointment-to-view television. Sports is one of the only categories and genres that continues to grow year on year on year, and they’ve seen the power of that.”
“They understand the tailwinds we’ve got around technology, around innovation, around sustainability, so they’re very interested in being part of a growing sport.”
Formula E has lived in its own section of the motorsports world since its arrival in 2014. The tour’s unique all-electric cars provide a different technical playground for manufacturers, while the races themselves have supplied unique quirks and gimmicks over the years. The limited battery capacities saw drivers hop from one car to another mid-race in the tour’s early seasons. It’s brought things like the power-boosting Attack Mode and energy top-up PitBoost pitstops to the races in recent years.
With a shift to Disney+, the series should find stability and potential to establish a foothold that will return investment to its stakeholders. Disney will gain a racing series to add to its sporting portfolio, filling a niche as it and other streamers fight for live sports rights and the dedicated fanbases that come with them.
(Source(s): Sam Smith / The Race)
With Wing Commander Andy Green OBE behind the wheel, the unique car completed two runs of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph to give an average of 406.320 mph. The FIA has recognized it as a Category A, Group XIV - Class 7 FIA World Flying Record Start Land Speed Record.
The record itself isn’t a major surprise. The preceding speed record for a hydrogen combustion vehicle was 185.5 mph from BMW’s H2R in 2004. But the car also beat out the record 303 mph for any hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and even outshined JCB’s two-decade-old land diesel speed record (350.092 mph).
“Twenty years ago we came to Bonneville with JCB Dieselmax and showed what British engineering could do with diesel power,” JCB chairman Lord Bamford said. “Today we have done it again – this time with engines powered by hydrogen. This record was set by production-based engines, the same engines powering JCB diggers right now.
“That is the point of JCB Hydromax: it shows hydrogen works, and it works today at the highest level with zero emissions.”
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem acknowledged the accomplishment in a release, saying it showed ““how innovation, performance, speed, and sustainability can go hand in hand” as motorsport continues to be “a catalyst for technological progress pushing the boundaries of what is possible.”
It’s the latest in a string of speed records for JCB, which also owns records for the fastest backhoe loader (72.58 mph) and tractor (135.191 mph).
(Source(s): Dominik Wilde / RACER)
America’s Top Tours
NASCAR
Corey Heim will finally be a Cup rookie next year… Sort of.
Steve Park is coming back to a Cup race as the honorary pace car driver at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Catchfence)
It’s catching people by surprise - and maybe not a welcome one for his detractors - but Ty Gibbs is a bonafide title contender this season. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
Darlington Raceway has revealed its dates for 2027, including the expected shift of the Southern 500 to the regular season to keep its Labor Day weekend slot. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)
NASCAR’s Euro Series has found a solid niche for the sport overseas. But long before its tenure, Britain made an attempt at its own stock car series. I kid you not, it was called ASCAR:
IndyCar
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to close the airspace above the busy Reagan National Airport for three hours on the day of IndyCar’s Washington D.C. street race. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)
FOX Sports is debuting a new Owl Cam at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. (Adam Stern / X)
Worldwide Racing Series
Formula 1
Apparently Franco Colapinto was victim of a robbery during F1’s summer break. (Oliver Harden / Planet F1)
Racing Bulls is showing pace and chasing its best F1 constructors’ title finish ever. And it’s not policing its drivers racing each other along the way. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Sports Cars
A small update to the exit of Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class leader Nate Cicero’s shock leave from the series: McCumbee McAleer Racing put out a statement saying “we are disappointed to announce that our relationship with Nate Cicero has come to an end. Effective immediately, Nate is no longer associated with MMR in any capacity. We will have no further comment on the topic.” It feels like there’s more to this story, but perhaps we’ll never know. (RJ O’Connell / RACER)
Some additional details have been confirmed for the recently-announced 24H Nürburgring Series, including race lengths and a Polo Cup class. (Ewan Wane / Daily Sportscar)
Ford is planning to bring its Mustang GT3 to the Suzuka 1000km for the first time next month. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)
Regional/Niche Series
Moto
MotoGP will hold its 2027 season launch event in Brazil. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)
The series could also follow F1’s lead and move the Qatar Grand Prix to another country as Middle Eastern uncertainties continue. (Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)
Supercars
Brad Jones Racing has locked in Bryce Fullwood, Brad Vaughan and Jordan Boys as its co-drivers, effectively finalizing the final Endurance Cup lineup for the year. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
It turns out an undersized part has played a role in Will Brown’s recent lack of speed. (Phil Branagan / Motorsport)
Formula E
This weekend’s London decider has nine drivers in the title fight heading into the weekend. It’ll likely come down to the final laps. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)
Sim Racing
The FIA MENA Esports Championship will come back to Gran Turismo 7 both this year and in 2027. (Thomas Harrison-Lord / Traxion)
Grassroots Racing
Dirt
If you take this Redditor seriously, it sounds like New Jersey’s New Egypt Speedway is closed down for good. (Reddit / NASCAR)
The Morning Warmup is fueled by our supporters. They include David Colyer, Bob & Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Mary Dzuro, Spencer Pullins, Jeff Brown, Seth Whitesel, Nathan A. Ulery, John R. Wilson Jr., Matt Call, Sue Parzych, Hannah Landvater and Becky Partin.
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On Track Today
All Times ET
Dirt
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Knoxville Nationals Night 1 (Knoxville Raceway): 6 p.m., DirtVision
Super DIRTcar Series (Sharon Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision
Short Tracks
Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin (Berlin Raceway): 5 p.m., FloRacing
Alex Palou’s dominance can’t be contained. The Spaniard has six wins in 13 races at a time when no one else has more than two and sits 110 points clear of second-place Kyle Kirkwood in the standings. That’s even better than the 99-point cushion he held on Pato O’Ward through the same amount of races in 2025.
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