Joey Logano secured his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season by holding off Denny Hamlin at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday.
The 36-year-old ended a winless drought dating back to May 2025 at Texas Motor Speedway to claim his 38th career Cup win.
This triumph extends his streak of winning at least one race to 15 consecutive seasons, which is the longest active streak in the sport.
Hamlin was forced to settle for second place, with Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Shane Van Gisbergen completing the top five.
Historic venue returns to the calendar
The result represents a crucial boost for the three-time champion, who entered the weekend sitting outside the top 16 in the chase for the playoffs.
Logano took control during Stage 2 and dominated proceedings, leading an impressive 323 of the 450 laps in a remarkably clean race that featured just five cautions.
North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625-mile oval built in 1947, was hosting its first official points race in exactly 30 years.
Following extensive refurbishments by Speedway Motorsports to clear weeds and trees, the historic track previously hosted the non-points All-Star race between 2023 and 2025.
Blaney’s tough night and In-Season Challenge
It proved to be a frustrating evening for Ryan Blaney, who was forced to start at the rear of the field due to a power steering pump issue on his Ford Mustang.
The 2023 Cup Series champion later suffered a pit-road speeding penalty on lap 365, which dropped him out of the top five and cost him 15 vital positions.
Despite his struggles, Blaney defeated Christopher Bell head-to-head to reach the finals of the $1 million NASCAR In-Season Challenge.
He will face Todd Gilliland, who eliminated Chase Elliott, in next week’s decider at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.
Bowman and Reddick collide in the pits
Elsewhere on the track, Tyler Reddick’s race was compromised on lap 184 after being cut off by Alex Bowman near pit road.
The incident caused the driver of the number 45 car to spin out after Bowman misjudged his entry.
“I thought I had a hole but maybe I didn’t.”
Bowman admitted to his crew chief over the team radio following the collision.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship to 45 points following a commanding victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old secured his sixth win of the 2026 season on Sunday, establishing a formidable advantage over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton with 10 of the 22 scheduled rounds completed.
His triumph at Spa-Francorchamps stands in stark contrast to the Italian’s rookie campaign just 12 months ago.
From rookie struggles to title favourite
Drafted into Mercedes by team principal Toto Wolff to replace the departing Hamilton in 2025, the teenager initially endured a turbulent introduction to the sport’s highest level.
He suffered a dismal run during the middle of last season, finishing above ninth place only once in a 10-race spell.
That difficult period culminated at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, where he suffered a shock elimination in the first round of qualifying.
“Last year here, I probably reached the bottom, so it was a very difficult weekend for me mentally,”
“But this year was definitely a lot better. If you had asked me last year at this moment, I probably would have said no.”
Overcoming recent mechanical setbacks
The current championship leader’s advantage could be even more substantial had he not encountered recent misfortune.
An engine failure denied him a likely second-place finish behind Hamilton in Barcelona.
A subsequent wheel-guard issue at the British Grand Prix dropped him out of the points while he was hunting down Charles Leclerc for the race lead.
Despite these setbacks, his significant pace advantage over team-mate George Russell has cemented his status as the clear championship favourite.
Focus remains on the championship
The Mercedes prodigy is currently on course to become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.
However, he insists he is not taking his unprecedented position for granted as the paddock prepares for the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.
“I never want to relax too much,”
“Of course, it’s a great result and good redemption after last year because last year was a very dark moment for me and to get the win is very special.”
“But you can never relax because we have seen in the past how the situation can swing so quickly. So that’s why it’s important to really maximise and take every opportunity.”
Red Bull will revert to a conventional rear wing for the Belgian Grand Prix following two high-speed crashes involving Max Verstappen in recent races.
Reverting to a proven design
Team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed the decision to BBC Sport after the outfit discovered a recurring aerodynamic issue during a recent filming day at Silverstone.
The reigning constructors’ champions had pioneered a radical new design alongside Ferrari this season.
This innovative setup allowed the top flap to rotate more than 180 degrees, providing a larger opening and significantly reducing drag for increased straight-line speed.
‘Super-dangerous’ cornering issues
However, the advanced aerodynamic system has been directly linked to the Dutch driver’s recent incidents during qualifying in Austria and the British Grand Prix.
The underlying problem is believed to stem from airflow failing to reattach quickly enough when the wing closes on the entry to high-speed corners.
This sudden aerodynamic disruption results in a severe loss of rear downforce, which explains the uncharacteristic spins suffered by the three-time world champion.
“It’s quite obvious why,” the championship leader explained at Spa on Thursday.
“We will go back on the old one and see whenever the new one is ready again to be used by us.”
He had previously described the unpredictable handling characteristics caused by the experimental wing as “super-dangerous”.
Impact on the Belgian Grand Prix
The fast, sweeping corners of the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit demand immense aerodynamic stability, making the return to a standard straight-line mode a necessary safety precaution.
Mekies declined to elaborate further on the exact technical specifics behind the failure.
The Milton Keynes-based squad will now rely on their older, proven specification as they look to assert their dominance this weekend.
McLaren driver Lando Norris will serve a 10-place grid penalty at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components.
The British racer’s car is set to be fitted with a new battery, marking his fourth such component of the current campaign.
This change pushes the 24-year-old one unit beyond the seasonal limit sanctioned by the sport’s governing body.
McLaren opted for the replacement to utilise the newest specification of Mercedes power unit available.
The previous engine lacked crucial reliability upgrades introduced following a string of technical failures earlier this year.
Strategic penalty at Spa
Team management strategically selected the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to absorb the grid drop due to the track’s overtaking-friendly layout.
This weekend also represents the final race before the Woking-based outfit introduces the first of two major aerodynamic upgrade packages.
The Papaya team has slipped behind their primary rivals recently as competitors successfully implemented mid-season enhancements.
Engineers hope the upcoming developments, scheduled across the Hungarian and Dutch races either side of the summer break, will restore their front-running competitiveness.
Overtaking prospects and confidence
Taking the sanction in Belgium was deemed preferable to risking compromise in Hungary, where track position is paramount and passing remains notoriously difficult.
“I have to wait and see really how the overtaking is,” Norris said ahead of the weekend.
“We probably have a small straight-line speed advantage, comparing to people a little bit further back. So comparing to them we should have a good chance.”
The former Formula 3 European champion noted that while overtaking overall could be challenging, the massive slipstream effect on the long straights offers significant opportunities.
“To just overtake in general could be pretty difficult here, but the slipstream is pretty big,” he added.
“There’s no straight-line mode through some of the flat-out sections, therefore the slipstream is pretty large and you can gain a good amount from that.”
“But we know it’s better than Zandvoort, and better than Hungary taking penalties. I hope it’s not the end of my weekend before it started, but I’m still confident we can have a good race.”
Reliability woes
This latest setback follows a frustrating start to the season regarding both overall pace and mechanical durability.
The specific component triggering the penalty is the ‘power electronics’, a vital control computer housed within the energy storage module.
The Bristol-born driver previously failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix in March after a terminal issue with this exact unit.
A secondary element was subsequently withdrawn following practice issues in Japan, and later experienced another terminal fault during the Monaco weekend.
Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains has since developed a series of fixes to resolve these persistent electronic vulnerabilities.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen is demanding a response from Red Bull at the Belgian Grand Prix following a dangerous rear-wing failure that ended his race at Silverstone.
The Dutchman retired with just six laps remaining of the British Grand Prix when an RB22 component fault pitched him into the gravel trap at Stowe corner.
It marked the second time in nine days that a structural issue had compromised his weekend, following a similar high-speed spin during qualifying in Austria.
“At the moment, I’m honestly just looking forward to going home and not thinking about Formula 1.”
Dangerous failures spark frustration
The defending champion expressed deep exasperation at the recurring mechanical faults threatening his on-track safety.
“I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here, but that’s why you get really fed up with it,” he stated bluntly.
Red Bull have formally apologised to their star driver and promised a thorough investigation to ensure the component problem does not reoccur.
However, the four-time title winner had already expressed severe dissatisfaction with the car’s overall handling and top speed around the fast sweeps of the Northamptonshire circuit.
McLaren rumours and setup disputes
Beyond the mechanical retirements, tensions appear increasingly strained between the former constructors’ champions and their lead driver over tactical decisions.
The frustrated racer publicly questioned the team’s strategy after qualifying seventh, arguing he should have started from the pit lane to allow for crucial setup adjustments.
These on-track difficulties arrive amidst swirling media speculation regarding his future on the Formula 1 grid.
Paddock rumours continue to heavily link the driver with a sensational switch to McLaren for the upcoming season.
Crucial weekend at Spa-Francorchamps
The upcoming Belgian Grand Prix represents a pivotal moment for the Milton Keynes-based outfit to salvage their 2026 campaign.
Recent aerodynamic upgrades introduced at the Red Bull Ring initially appeared to resolve persistent weight issues before the costly structural failures emerged.
The demanding layout of Spa-Francorchamps will now heavily test the integrity of the RB22 as the team battles to reassure and retain their prized asset.
Seven-time world champion Marc Marquez secured his 10th German MotoGP victory with a dominant lights-to-flag performance at the Sachsenring on Sunday.
The Ducati rider translated a sprint race win and pole position into a flawless main event to finish 1.996 seconds clear of the chasing pack.
Aprilia-Trackhouse team-mates Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez completed the podium behind the commanding race winner.
Matching historic motorcycling records
This latest triumph marks the 33-year-old’s 13th overall victory at the German circuit across all competitive racing categories.
By securing a 10th premier-class win at the exact same venue, the Spaniard successfully equalled two monumental records held by Italian motorcycling legend Giacomo Agostini.
“I’m super-happy. It was a special weekend,” he said.
“I knew I needed to attack here to have any chance of winning the championship.”
Overcoming injury to mount title challenge
The veteran showed no lingering effects from the foot and shoulder surgeries he underwent in May.
His path to the chequered flag was further cleared when his younger brother Alex slid out of second place on lap 10 after misjudging a demanding corner.
A maximum points haul across the weekend elevates the resurgent rider to third in the overall standings.
He now sits just 18 points adrift of championship leader Jorge Martin, who could only manage a fifth-place finish on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Japanese prospect Ogura has climbed into second place in the fiercely contested riders’ table.
Bezzecchi suffers heavy qualifying crash
Marco Bezzecchi endured a disastrous weekend after fracturing his collarbone during a heavy fall in Saturday morning’s crucial qualifying session.
The 27-year-old had only recently escaped unhurt from a terrifying 120mph crash in the Netherlands two weeks ago.
He will now return to Italy for corrective surgery and consequently drops to fourth in the championship rankings.
The MotoGP paddock now heads towards the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, 9 August.
Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull at the end of the 2026 season after performance-related exit clauses in his contract were reportedly triggered by the team’s poor start to the campaign.
The Dutchman’s current deal runs until the conclusion of 2028, but he is now believed to have a clear early exit route.
Speculation surrounding his future has intensified in recent days, fuelled by his open dissatisfaction with the sport’s incoming technical regulations.
Retirement remains a possibility
The reigning world champion has been a vocal critic of the new generation of Formula 1 cars scheduled for introduction in 2026.
He has expressed significant concerns over the massive new emphasis on battery harvesting and power deployment.
Following the Chinese Grand Prix in March, the Red Bull driver even admitted that early retirement from motorsport was a very real possibility.
Social media fuels McLaren rumours
The rumour mill went into overdrive this week following a cryptic social media post from former Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton.
Hearing a big announcement is on the way before the end of the day. If it is what I think it is, it’s absolutely massive.
Fans immediately drew parallels to Buxton’s similar posts ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s shock switch to Ferrari in January.
Many expected a similar bombshell, with recent media reports suggesting a potential switch to reigning constructors’ champions McLaren in place of Oscar Piastri.
However, the anticipated announcement actually related to series legend Scott Dixon joining McLaren’s IndyCar operation next year.
Despite the false alarm, the revelation of active exit clauses ensures that the future of Formula 1’s biggest star will remain a major talking point.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has triggered an exit clause in his Red Bull contract following a disastrous British Grand Prix, clearing the path for a potential departure.
The Dutchman currently sits seventh in the drivers’ championship after an extremely frustrating weekend at Silverstone.
A rear wing defect caused him to crash in the closing stages of Sunday’s race, echoing a similar failure from the recent Austrian Grand Prix.
Red Bull issued a public apology after the visibly frustrated driver labelled the nature of his current vehicle as dangerous.
Contract escape clause activated
Verstappen’s current championship position mathematically confirms he will not enter the summer break in the top two.
This specific performance deficit triggers a contractual technicality that permits the former title-winner to negotiate a move away for the 2027 season.
Rumours of a shock switch had already intensified following a confirmed June meeting between his representatives and McLaren.
Patience wearing thin
Tensions within the reigning constructors’ champions were evident throughout the latest race weekend.
The highly competitive racer qualified a disappointing seventh, finishing two places behind less-experienced team-mate Isack Hadjar.
He later publicly criticised the garage for rejecting his request to make set-up changes that would have necessitated a pit-lane start.
Former world champion Jenson Button believes the ongoing situation requires a firm approach from the struggling superstar.
“I think that Verstappen must be ruthless and selfish.”
Speculation surrounding his ultimate decision is now expected to dominate the upcoming double-header in Belgium and Hungary.