Three-time NASCAR Canada Series champion Louis-Philippe Dumoulin was back in action in front of his home crowd last weekend, as part of the 55^th edition of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. Starting from fourth on the grid, the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car finished third in a race held under intense heat and frequently slowed by full-course-yellows. It was Dumoulin’s third podium in the last four races for him and his team, supported once again this year by thousands of fans packing the grandstands of the temporary street circuit in Trois-Rivières.

“The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières really is an exceptional event. Once again, it brought plenty of challenges that the entire #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab team handled brilliantly. We had an excellent car, but it became clear early in the race that the 27 and 96 cars were getting out of the Porte Duplessis corner much better than anyone else and had engine power that would be tough to match. Still, I didn’t give up; in fact, I managed to move up to second during a restart,” said Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

“I think I could have won this race with a bit of luck and if I’d been able to get into the lead on that last restart. But on merit, third place was the best possible result, and I’m not disappointed because it shows our team is truly competitive on all types of tracks: ovals, road courses, and temporary street circuits. At the GP3R, I nearly brushed the walls a few times and gave it everything I had to earn that podium,” he added.

This NASCAR Canada race at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières was the seventh round of the 2025 season, with five more to go. Louis-Philippe Dumoulin has climbed to fourth in the championship standings heading into two of his favorite events: at Complexe ICAR on August 23, and then at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the WeatherTech 200 one week later. At ICAR in 10 days, he will make his 175th career start in the series: “I’m focused on this next race. It’s a tricky track in terms of setup and tire wear management, but I’ve always performed well there and scored multiple Top 5 finishes—just never a win. Time to change that!” concluded the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab.

At the Complexe ICAR road course in Mirabel, with its concrete racing surface, NASCAR Canada drivers will be on track next Saturday, August 23, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. for the practice session. Qualifying will start at 1:00 p.m., and the race will go green the same day at 5:30 p.m.

LP Dumoulin PR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be back behind the wheel and driving in the zMAX CARS Tour, this time in his classic No. 8 paint scheme which he drove when he won Daytona in 2001.

Earnhardt will be making his second start of the 2025 season at South Carolina’s Anderson Speedway. The news comes just weeks after JR Motorsports (JRM) celebrated its 100th win, with Connor Zilisch’s triumph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his fifth of the season.

Now, the NASCAR legend is back on the track to race, after spending time as a commentator this season. Of note, the car and the paint scheme were also on display during the MLB Speedway Classic, a matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds.

The 50-year-old will be behind the wheel on August 16 and speaking to MLB before the Speedway Classic, Earnhardt explained what it meant for him to bring back the iconic paint scheme.

“The baseball car, to me, represents probably my proudest moment as a driver — or maybe the biggest moment, or the heaviest, the most emotional moment in my career: When we won at Daytona in July in 2001,” Earnhardt began to MLB.com as he promoted the MLB Speedway Classic.

Sign up to our NASCAR newsletter here.

“And a lot of people love that car, and know that car as soon as they see that car.” The NASCAR legend only raced in that paint scheme once and it was his win at Daytona after his father’s death earlier that year.

“It ran that one race,” Earnhardt said. “It only ran this race that one time, and everybody knows that race. So 1755117517 it just felt like, ‘Hey, why don’t we continue this?’ I’ll run another race. We’ll do the baseball car, we can help promote the game at Bristol. And my dad was a massive Braves fan. So of course I’m a Braves fan.”

He added: “To go out there and win in that moment just doesn’t seem real. … It’s hard to even believe today, after all these years, that that really is how things happened. It just feels like a movie.”

DON’T MISS

Earnhardt also believed that having fans see the car in its glory would remind them of the good times and bring them back to a time when they could be happy again.

“That night was just — I can’t even describe it to you, what it felt like to get out of the car,” Earnhardt said. “So I think when people see this car, it takes them back to that moment of closure, it takes them back to that moment of being able to smile again.”

Additionally, the 50-year-old shared via a JRM statement that his Daytona win in the paint scheme is “such a great memory” for him. “I am excited that we have this chance to collaborate with Bud and MLB to bring that scheme back again because of what it means to me and so many others,” his statement read.

Earnhardt will be driving the No. 8 car in the 2025 Bennett Equipment 225.

NASCAR has no plans to implement guidelines or rules around driver celebrations after Connor Zilisch broke his collarbone in a fall in victory lane at Watkins Glen.

“Right now, there is no best practices (from NASCAR),” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said on the newest episode of Hauler Talk. “We’re not legislating it. We haven’t said that drivers aren’t allowed to do this or that or anything else.”

Zilisch fell from the driver’s side door after winning Saturday’s race. The JR Motorsports slipped while his right foot was on the roof and his left was still on the driver’s door, where the window net was hanging from. As he fell, Zilisch’s left leg got caught in the window net.

Forde shot down the notion that the sanctioning body was going to begin instructing drivers how they could celebrate during Wednesday’s edition of Hauler Talk, the official NASCAR podcast. Zilisch had even mentioned earlier this week on the Door Bumper Clear podcast that an unnamed driver had revealed they were told by an executive from their team that standing on the car was no longer allowed. 

But if that’s the case it would seemingly be coming from the race teams. Forde acknowledged that in checking with series officials, no driver has been told they can’t stand on the door.

“However, I think there is one thing that we noticed was the window net,” Forde said. “We’re not going to have a NASCAR official make sure this happens, but we do have NASCAR employees in victory lane… and just make sure the window net is on the inside of the car. I think that was part of the problem, was that the window net was flapping on the outside. I think even Connor may have said that was a problem. One of our safety guys said the same thing. We were having dinner after the race, and he said he noticed that as maybe that being one of the issues.

“So, nothing as far as policy goes. (Just) make sure the window net is inside the car, and it’s one less thing you can slip on. But as of right this second, we have not put into any policies or best practices or anything like that.”

It is unknown whether Zilisch will be sidelined from any upcoming Xfinity Series events, nor if he choose to start an event and use a relief driver. The series is off until Friday, August 22 at Daytona International Speedway and there are three races left in the regular season. Zilisch underwent surgery on his collarbone on Tuesday.

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 in Richmond, Va., this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network; Countdown to Green Gets Underway at 7 p.m. ET

Live Coverage of Pro Motocross from Unadilla Begins Saturday at 1 p.m. ET Exclusively on Peacock

Penultimate Regular-Season Races of NASCAR Cup Series and Pro Motocross Seasons

STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 13, 2025 – NBC Sports’ motorsports action is headlined this week by the NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out 400 from Richmond, Va., this Saturday, Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and Pro Motocross from Unadilla in New Berlin, N.Y., this Saturday at 1 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock.

NASCAR CUP SERIES: RICHMOND

The NASCAR Cup Series continues this Saturday, Aug. 16, at Richmond Raceway with the Cook Out 400 at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Live pre-race coverage on USA Network begins at 7 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green.

NBC Sports’ broadcast team of veteran motorsports play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey, 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will call the action. Marty Snider, Dave Burns, and Kim Coon will serve as pit reporters. Marty Snider will host pre- and post-race coverage alongside Burton and Letarte.

NBC Sports NASCAR analysts won at Richmond Raceway three years in a row from 1997 to 1999, with Jarrett winning in 1997 and 1999 and Burton in 1998.

Last weekend’s race in Watkins Glen saw Shane van Gisbergen (25^th, -371 points) win his fourth road course victory of the season after previous wins in Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma. Christoper Bell (4^th, -85) finished in second place while Chris Buescher (10^th, -194) took third. Austin Dillon is the defending champion at Richmond Raceway. This is the penultimate race before the Playoffs begin on Aug. 31, with the top 16 drivers at the end of the regular season qualifying for the Playoffs.

The official home of the NASCAR Championship and Playoffs, NBC Sports will present the final 14 NASCAR Cup Series races in 2025 across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, culminating with the Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ 2025 NASCAR coverage. Live coverage of practice and qualifying will be presented on truTV this Friday starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.

BROADCAST TEAM

• Play-by-Play: Leigh Diffey
• Analysts: Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
• Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Dave Burns, Kim Coon

STUDIO TEAM

• Host: Marty Snider
• Studio Analysts: Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte

HOW TO WATCH

• TV – USA Network
• Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app

PRO MOTOCROSS: UNADILLA

The 2025 SMX World Championship^TM series and Pro Motocross season continues this Saturday, Aug. 16, from Unadilla MX in New Berlin, N.Y., live at 1 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock.

450 Class leader Jett Lawrence (412 points) and 250 Class leader Haiden Deegan (418 points) need to finish 50+ points ahead of second place this weekend to clinch their respective 2025 Pro Motocross Class Championships. Lawrence currently has a 47-point lead over his brother and last week’s first-time overall winner, Hunter Lawrence, while Deegan is currently 51 points ahead of Jo Shimoda.

NBC Sports’ Jason Weigandt and SuperMotocross analyst James Stewart, a seven-time AMA champion, will call this weekend’s action. Jason Thomas and Katie Osborne will serve as reporters.
Race Day Live qualifying coverage this Saturday from Unadilla gets underway at 10 a.m. ET on Peacock. All live Pro Motocross coverage, including races and qualifying, plus on-demand replays, will be available on Peacock this season. Click here for more details.

15-time AMA champion Ricky Carmichael and nine-time AMA Champion Ryan Villopoto sat down with last week’s race winner, Hunter Lawrence, to discuss his first 450 Class victory, the upcoming races, his love of fixing cars, and much more on the latest episode of the Title 24 podcast here.

BROADCAST TEAM

• Play by Play: Jason Weigandt
• Analyst: James Stewart
• Reporters: Jason Thomas, Katie Osborne
• Race Day Live: Jason Weigandt, James Stewart, Jason Thomas, Katie Osborne

HOW TO WATCH

• Streaming – Peacock (LIVE)
• Audio – SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio – Channel 85

–NBC SPORTS–

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) – Developers have withdrawn plans to build a multibillion-dollar data center in Iredell County, the mayor of Mooresville said Wednesday.

The plans had called for the campus to be built between Patterson Farm and Rustic roads in Mooresville, on land owned by Teresa Earnhardt — the widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt.

Those plans were met with significant opposition from the community, including from Earnhardt’s eldest son, Kerry.

Ahead of a public hearing, Kerry wrote on social media that his dad would have been “livid” over the proposal. Then, the day that the mayor said the plans had been pulled — Aug. 13 — Kerry published a 22-minute video on YouTube.

—> Previous Coverage: Mooresville neighbors fight rezoning effort led by widow of Dale Earnhardt

“I think, you know, some people have voices that reach further than others,” Kerry said. “And if my voice is that voice, I’m here to speak it … for our community, for our neighbors, for our family, for our friends.”

Kerry reemphasized in the YouTube video that the land was some that his father farmed and hunted on, and talked about the memories made on the property.

“It’s property that Dad was proud of,” Kerry said. “He would always go out there deer hunting, turkey hunting, but our favorite time was dove hunting … The smile he always had on his face when he was riding around, picking with guys, bringing them shells, bringing them snacks, bringing them drinks, riding the outskirts of the property to try to flush the doves back up — that’s what it was about.”

Others in the community expressed concerns over noise and traffic.

“Try to save some country land — if nothing else for the environment, for Pete’s sake,” one woman said before the plans were scrapped. “For green spaces, for kids to grow up safe and sound without traffic.”

Now, with the plans pulled, the Earnhardt land will stay as is, at least for the foreseeable future.

The Mooresville mayor said talk of the project has been removed from all future town meeting agendas and there is no longer an “active request” to build the data center.

The plan was first presented to town leaders in June and would have created more than 100 jobs.

Click here to read the original plans for the data center

Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.

NASCAR’s Cup and Truck Series are off to Richmond Raceway this weekend with the Trucks regular season concluding Friday night, followed by the penultimate race of the Cup Series regular season Saturday evening. ARCA heads to the Illinois State Fairgrounds for race 14 of the national series’ season. NHRA is back in action at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota for the penultimate race of its regular season. Finally, the GR Cup Series heads to famed Road America for the fifth event weekend of the year.

NASCAR National Series – NCS/NCTS

Heim back in No. 67 Camry XSE … Toyota Development Driver Corey Heim will once again pilot the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing in this weekend’s Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. The Georgia native makes his third start of the season in NASCAR’s top series and sixth of his career this Saturday night as he continues his development with 23XI Racing. Heim will also balance this Cup start with his full-time duties in the Truck Series this weekend, coming off a victory at Watkins Glen last weekend with his No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team.

Wallace continuing hot streak … Last weekend’s eighth-place result at Watkins Glen extended Bubba Wallace’s top-10 streak to four consecutive races, dating back to Dover Motor Speedway in July. The 23XI Racing driver now has 10 top-10s in total on the season, with four top-fives and his Brickyard 400 win. Saturday night’s race will mark Wallace’s 280th career Cup Series start.

Honeycutt debuts in No. 52 Tundra TRD Pro … Willow Park, Texas, native Kaden Honeycutt makes his first start with Halmar Friesen Racing in the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro this weekend in Richmond, as he fills in for the injured Stewart Friesen. Honeycutt has made 51 career starts in the Truck Series, with a career-best finish of third at both at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway earlier this season. He currently sits eighth in the Truck Series driver points standings, entering Friday night’s regular season finale.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series National