In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, contributor Dave Mathers touches on news and events from the world of motorsports, including the Canadian and international scenes.
The tributes to Kyle Busch continue to roll in. Kyle Larson’s 8-year-old daughter Audrey won a kart race in Nebraska and did the Busch Bow in Victory Lane. On Saturday, Justin Allgaier’s entire JR Motorsports crew did the bow after Justin won the O’Reilly race. I hope this trend continues going forward.
The top three NASCAR series are having a silent Lap 8 to honour Kyle’s memory, similar to what happened with Dale Earnhardt Sr. Kyle’s No. 8 was painted on the grass in the infield at Nashville. Nice.
Want to see a real F1 car up close and personal – along with Mustang GT3s, Ford Raptors and the Lightning SuperTruck? The Red Bull Showrun is free and will be held July 18 on the Ford campus at 3 Parklane Boulevard in Dearborn, Michigan.
It was very entertaining to listen to Windsor Late Model driver Lloyd Rawlings take over as assistant announcer at Delaware Speedway Friday night. Lloyd shared some interesting stories about the final days of Checker Flag Speedway in Windsor, which closed at the end of 1992.
We had a CASCAR race there in the closing years (1991, maybe?), and I remember telling ‘Speedy’ Jack Monaghan that it would be a great spot to build a race track. And of course, I got punched in the shoulder!!
Lloyd said he came east to Delaware starting in 1993, while many other racers went to Flat Rock. I’ve sent Lloyd’s demo tape to Fox so he can replace Mike Joy when Mike retires!!
We talked in an earlier blog about officiating concerns. Three years ago, the Australian Supercar Series was dominated by Camaros. Ford lobbied for help and “changes” were made to the regulations. Three years later, the shoe is on the other foot – Ford has been dominating this year and, as a result, “changes” will be made!!
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WHAT? NOOO WAAAY!: The 660 Sportsman Spectacular is set for June 12 – 14 at St. Thomas Dragway. Shaun Umscheid (The What? Nooo waaay! guy) and his wife Julie will be at the track all weekend for meet & greets, autographs, and competition judging – don’t miss your chance to meet them!
Friday brings “Run What You Brung” from 4:00 – 8:30pm, followed by the Wheelie Contest and Burnout Contest, each with $500 up for grabs.
Saturday features showtimes at 2pm & 7pm with the Hellfire Jet Truck, OSM Jet Dragster, and Nostalgia Funny Cars, plus a full day of car show, ONDR, bracket racing, and Jr. Dragsters. There will also be an all-makes Car Show!
Sunday wraps things up with more ONDR, bracket racing, and Jr. Dragsters.
Spectator admission is $25 per day, with camping available – plan your weekend now and be part of the action! Click HERE for tickets and info.
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NASCAR Cup – Denny Hamlin started from the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway, ahead of runaway points leader Tyler Reddick (both in Toyotas) and last week’s winner Daniel Suarez (Chev). As qualifying was rained out, the lineup was set using “metrics.” All 38 entries qualified, including 17 Chevs, 11 Fords and 10 Toyotas.
And it was the Cracker Barrel 400 – perfect. Hands up if you’ve ever stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way to a NASCAR race!!
The weather forecast was something else: 6 P.M. – 80% chance of rain; 7 P.M. to 11 P.M. – 0% chance. I’ve never seen a swing like that. Then it changed again – 40% at 7 and 8. Hmm.
The green flag finally flew almost two hours late. The Competition Caution came out on Lap 35 to check the tires after the rain. On Lap 72, Connor Zilisch got into the fence in Turn 1, apparently from a broken brake rotor. Caution. A.J. Allmendinger won Stage 1.
Austin Dillon brought out the laundry on Lap 146 by spinning after getting some “help” from Chris Buescher. At the halfway mark, it was Ryan Blaney over Chase Elliott and Michael McDowell. On Lap 172, Dinger had a similar incident to Zilisch, hitting the wall in Turn 1 after a brake rotor failure.
Stage 2 ended under yellow when Corey Heim, Todd Gilliland and Cole Custer got together and spun. Daniel Suarez won Stage 2. One lap after the restart, Austin Dillon bumped Brad Keselowski, who then hit Austin Cindric. Yellow. Ten laps later, Buescher got into Bubba Wallace, who then collected Alex Bowman and William Byron. Yellow.
Two laps after the restart, John Hunter Nemechek slowed after getting a little loose and got rear-ended by Carson Hocevar, and then Gilliland spun. Caution. With 10 laps to go, Buescher nailed the wall. Caution.
The green came back out with four to go. Larson had spun with a flat right rear tire on the last lap, but the green stayed out. At the flag, it was Denny Hamlin over Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe – and they wrecked on the last lap!!
In the points, Reddick is in a different time zone, leading Hamlin and Blaney by a bunch!!
Next race – M.I.S., Sunday at 3 P.M. on TSN 5.
NASCAR O’Reilly Series – Rain cancelled qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway and I have no idea whatsoever how the starting lineup was established. Points leader Justin Allgaier started 17th? Really? Second in points Jesse Love started from the pole with Austin Hill second and Corey Day third (all Chevs).
38 cars took the green, including 31 Chevs, 6 Toyotas and 1 Ford. Cleetus McFarland spun in Turn 3 one lap before the end of Stage 1 to bring out the yellow. Love won Stage 1 and led all 45 laps. Points leader Allgaier won the caution-free second stage.
Allgaier kept the lead to the flag over Brent Crews and William Sawalich.
In the points, Allgaier extends his lead to 179 over Love and by 196 ahead of Corey Day.
Next race – Pocono, Saturday, June 13.
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FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY: This Saturday (June 6) at Flamboro Speedway (in Millgrove, ON), the track hosts Round #2 of the Grisdale Showdown Series, plus the Great Lakes Legends, Grindstone Canadian Vintage Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks!
Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. with racing starting at 6:00. Visit FlamboroSpeedway.ca for more info.
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NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – 38 trucks entered for the 36 spots at Nashville Superspeedway Friday night, including 15 Chevs, 9 Fords, 7 Toyotas and 5 RAMs. Layne Riggs (Ford) took the pole over points leader Kaden Honeycutt (Toyota) and Jesse Love (Chev). Canadians Stewart Friesen and Cole Butcher started 24th and 29th.
Surprisingly, the first stage ran caution-free and Riggs got the stage win. Parker Retzlaff cut across the nose of Mini Tyrrell entering his pit box and got spun under the caution. Just after the restart, Tyler Reif spun and hit the wall in Turn 4. Caution. Five laps later, Carson Ferguson spanked the wall in Turn 1. Caution.
Two laps after the restart, a multi-truck wreck involved Love, Jake Garcia and Tanner Gray as Gray slid up and took out Garcia and Love got collected. Three laps later, the yellow came out again for debris at pit in from the Garcia truck. Riggs also won Stage 2.
On Lap 119, Honeycutt lost power and stalled at pit in, bringing out the yellow. On Lap 129, Ben Rhodes lost a wheel trying to get to the pits. Caution.
The last lap was epic as three trucks battled for the win. Riggs won over Rajah Caruth and Chandler Smith. Friesen finished sixth and Butcher was 16th.
In the points, Riggs got around Honeycutt by 37 points, with Christian Eckes third, 93 back.
Next race – M.I.S., Saturday at 1.30 P.M. on CTV Speed (tape delayed Sunday at 1.30 P.M.).
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Formula One – Next race – Monaco, Sunday at 9 A.M. on TSN5.
IndyCar – Defending series champion Alex Palou won the pole for Sunday’s race on the Detroit street course over Will Power and Scott McLaughlin. David Malukas, second place in points, wadded up his car during qualifying and he will unfortunately start DFL.
On Lap 10 Christian Rasmussen spanked the wall exiting Corner 1. Full course caution. At the halfway mark it was Palou over Kirkwood and Scott McLaughlin. On Lap 66 Santino Ferrucci hit the back of Rinus VeeKay causing both cars to spin. Yellow. On Lap 72 Malukas got together with Mick Schumacher and both cars came to a stop in the corner. Caution.
On the restart McLaughlin got into the back of Power and actually lifted his rear wheels off the track. On Lap 80 Ferrucci rolled to a stop on track. Yellow. On Lap 90 Romain Grosjean got drop-kicked into the wall by Alex Rossi. Another yellow.
The kids played nicely after that. At the flag it was Palou over Kirkwood and Graham Rahal.
Next race – Gateway, Sunday at 9 P.M. on TSN 5 and Fox.
IMSA – 21 cars showed up for the race on the cool Detroit street course on Saturday. 11 GTP cars and 10 PRO cars. The Canadian Pfaff Motorsports Lambo qualified 10th in class.
The Caddy of Aitken/Bamber took the pole over the Taylor/Deletraz Caddy and the van der Zande/Yelloly Acura. The Garcia/Sims Vette took the PRO pole over the Milner/Catsburg Vette and the Hawksworth/Barnicoat Lexus.
Three minutes into the race and the yellow flies for a big piece of carbon fibre on the track, apparently off the Blomqvist car. At the halfway mark it was Aitken over Eng and Vanthoor in GTP and Garcia ahead of Mies and Hawksworth in PRO.
With just under 20 minutes to go another yellow for debris – a piece of carbon fibre on the track. With just over ten minutes to go Nick Tandy got into the tire barriers for a full course caution.
In a bit of a shocker the two Penske Porsches did not rise to the top per normal. They finished 5th and 8th. Jack Aitken took the flag in his Caddy over Philipp Eng in a BMW and Ricky Taylor in his Caddy. Antonio Garcia took the PRO win in his Vette with the Pfaff Lambo a very strong second followed by Chris Mies in a Mustang.
A double win for General Motors in the Motor City – and bragging rights!!
Next race – Watkins Glen, Sunday, June 28.
24 Hours of Le Mans – Sat, June 14 and Sun, June 15.
NHRA – For the first time in NHRA history they have put on a race in Maryland at Maryland International Raceway, aka Budd’s Creek. And it was a sell-out! Awesome news.
Top Fuel – 15 Top Fuelers showed up and Shawn Langdon set quick time with a 3.744 at 334.98. Langdon also won the Top Fuel Challenge over Leah Pruett, running a 3.762 at 334.90 to beat Doug Kalitta’s 3.766. Three upsets and seven smokers.
Funny Car – Jack Beckman topped the 16 entries with a 3.935 at 326.79. Austin Prock ran 4.079 at 312.57 to beat Matt Hagan in the Funny Car Challenge. Canadian Spencer Hyde qualified a very stout third. After a rough start to the year, Prock finally got the win with a 3.956 at 324.20 to take out Beckman. Six upsets and four smokers.
Pro Stock – Greg Stanfield was quickest with a 6.482 at 212.39. His son Aaron won the Challenge. Greg Anderson won the final with a 6.472. Six upsets and five smokers.
Pro Stock Bike – Angie Smith topped the field and swept the event. Five upsets.
Next race – New England, Sunday on Fox Sports Racing at 3 P.M.
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IHRA – Next race – Milan, this weekend.
NASCAR Canada Series – Next race – Chaudière, Sunday.
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EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: Canada’s national stock car series – the NASCAR Canada Series – is making its only Alberta stop at Edmonton International Raceway (EIR) in Wetaskiwin, AB on July 24-25, 2026.
Fans can expect two full days of racing action, including qualifying rounds, autograph sessions, and the main events NAPA 300 under the lights on Saturday night. That’s right, this year’s NASCAR Canada Series stop at EIR will feature two points races!
Visit EdmontonRaceway.com for tickets and event info, including news about the track’s weekly racing program and hands-on driving experiences.
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APC Series – Kyle Steckly won the pole at Flamboro. Jake Sheridan (#52) won the race over Junior Farrelly (#72) and Shane Chenowith (#89). And Jake’s brother Nick won the 360 Sprint Car race the same night at Ohsweken Speedway. I doubt we will get the smile off Ron’s face.
Sheridan now leads the points by 5 over Brandon Watson and by 10 over Farrelly.
Next race – Peterborough, Saturday, June 13.
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Brockville Ontario Speedway – On Saturday, June 20, LA Knapp presents the incredible ESS Super Sprints! Also on that night’s card are the 358 Modifieds, the Dirt North Sportsman Series & Mini Stocks. Watch BrockvilleSpeedway.com for tickets and additional event information about this and other events at ‘The Bullring.’
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Delaware Speedway – Finally, great weather!! And the fans came out in droves.
Bone Stocks – Justin Collver won Heat 1, Paul Fothergill won Heat 2 and Charlie Verhoeven won Heat 3. Colin Willems won the feature over Verhoeven and Collver. Verhoeven leads the points by 7 over Matt Langford and by 12 over Mitch Rawlings.
V/8 Stocks – Cody Coburn and David Rockwood won the heats. Thomas Jermy won the feature over Rockwood and Jordan Morris. Morris leads by 11 over Barry Watson and by 21 over Nic Ramsay.
Super Stocks – Darrell Lake and Jay Cox won the heats and Lake won the feature over Trevor Collver and Ryan Dyson. The top two were separated by just .01 seconds. Dyson leads the points by 1.
Next race – Late Model, Modifieds and Bone Stock, Friday.
Ontario Sportsman Series – The series dropped into Full Throttle Speedway and Connor James won the pole. Jade Franklin (right) won the race ahead of James and Chad McGlynn.
Next race – Flamboro, Saturday, June 13.
Ohsweken Speedway – Contractors Night, Friday
Flamboro Speedway – Pro Late Models, Saturday
Buxton Speedway – Saturday program
Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Ontario Late Models, Saturday
Grand Bend Speedway – First race Saturday
Grand Bend Dragway – Great Canadian Truck Show, June 13 and 14
St. Thomas Dragway – Points Series, this weekend
Toronto Motorsports Park – Canada Heads Up, Saturday and Sunday
Can Am Stock/Super Stock – St. Thomas, this weekend
John Scotti NHRA Canadian Championship Series – Luskville, June 19 – 21
Shannonville Drags – Nostalgia Weekend, this weekend
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
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