IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe has advised the Cadillac F1 team to consider NASCAR star Connor Zilisch as its driver for its debut season in 2026. Cadillac has been having discussions with several drivers, and given Zilisch’s impressive racing background, he has been linked to the American outfit.

Cadillac’s entry into the sport was approved in March this year, and the team has been in full swing to get racing next year. However, it has yet to announce its driver lineup. The outfit has made it clear that it prefers experienced drivers, but it hasn’t entirely ruled out rookie drivers who have the potential to make a significant impact on the grid.

Former Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez and Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas have been strongly linked to Cadillac, and speculation suggests the team has shortlisted them for the next year. However, there has been no official confirmation.

Hinchcliffe named five American drivers Cadillac should talk to, with Zilisch being one of them. The 19-year-old driver has been leading the Xfinity Series in points standings in his rookie year. He secured five race wins in the last eight rounds and is on his way to winning the championship.

Linking him to Cadillac, Hinchcliffe revealed Zilisch’s racing background and highlighted his ability to dominate different kinds of circuits. He wrote on F1.com:

“Zilisch had a promising road racing career going, winning in everything from Trans-Am cars to prototypes to stock cars. Without the financial freedom to simply choose the route he wanted to go, opportunities came up in stock cars before anyone in the open wheel world took notice – and that is our loss.

“Competing full time in the Xfinity Championship in 2025 he already has three wins in the season, including his first oval victory. Given his road racing background it is incredibly impressive that he is now competitive on the types of track that a lot of the drivers he’s racing against trained on exclusively on their rise to this level.”

Hinchcliffe added that if Zilisch was given a chance to compete in Formula 2, he could be race-ready for F1 in no time. However, it remains to be seen if this fits in Cadillac’s plans. He wrote:

“And that’s really my point on Zilisch – he seems to be one of the most adaptable drivers that I’ve ever seen. Watching what he’s done so far gives me the feeling that if he was given a proper programme in an open wheel car, and a season or two of F2 to cut his teeth, he could be F1-worthy in short order. And he has the time, because despite the impressive CV he is still only 19 years old.”

While Hinchcliffe does make a strong point, the chances of Zilisch securing a full-time entry in NASCAR’s Cup Series next year are high.

It took 24 laps to set the table and just a single circuit to devour the meal as Dawson Drimmie picked up the Trailers Plus Ontario Legend Car Series presented by Nadeau Collision win with a last-lap pass on Saturday, August 9th at Peterborough Speedway.

Paul Pierik and Caleb Drimmie brought the field of 21 starters to the green flag for the group’s headline event. After early leaders Pierik and Mark Griffin took their turns at the front of the pack, Mitch Wright – who started seventh in the original line-up – became the next race leader with a half dozen laps on the scoreboard.

With slower traffic going a lap down, the leaders broke into two-car groups, with Wright and Dawson Drimmie, Griffin and Cole McFadden, along with Keaton Pipe and Caleb Drimmie. A trio of yellow flags – on laps 12, 16 and 20 – brought the pack together, with the No. 21 of Wright maintaining the top spot.

With only a handful of laps remaining, Wright – who made his Stock Car debut with the Ontario Sportsman Series earlier in the night – looked to be on the way to adding another checkered flag to his Ontario Legend Car Series resume. Lap after lap, Wright kept the wolves at bay, with Dawson Drimmie tight on his rear bumper. As the white flag waived, Drimmie saw his chance; he worked around the No. 21 to score the win. Adam Cuthbertson was third, followed by Cole McFadden. Mark Griffin – who was earning championship points for the No. 08 of Parker Traves – was fifth at the checkered flag.

Robbie Sikes, Nick Portt, Jake Spencer-Walt, Mackenzie Milwain, Caleb Drimmie, Paul Pierik, Andrew McFadden, Gibson Baker, John Milwain, Matt Thompson, Joe Sherman, Hailey McNicol, Nathan Killins, Nathan Huffman, Keaton Pipe and Rob Eggleton rounded out the finishing order. Heat race wins went to Jake Spencer-Walt, Keaton Pipe, Dawson Drimmie and Mitch Wright.

In a post-race interview, Wright called his late-race battle with Drimmie the most fun he’d had in racing all year. The group will return to Peterborough Speedway on Saturday, August 23rd before a reunion with the Great Lakes Legends Series on Saturday, August 30th at Full Throttle Motor Speedway.

American SpeedFest is back for the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season. The highly popular American themed festival held yearly at the historic Brands Hatch Indy Circuit will once again host the drama and excitement from the powerful V8 powered machines on 6-7 June 2026. Tickets for the thirteenth edition of EuroNASCAR’s yearly United Kingdom round will be available on sale later this year.

SpeedFest will once again offer British motorsport fans their only opportunity of the year to witness live, officially sanctioned NASCAR action at a UK circuit. The NASCAR Euro Series will feature heavily on both days, with a pair of double-header race days, featuring plenty of stock car excitement. The NASCAR racing will headline a themed on-track line-up next summer, with all content on the Indy circuit tailored to transform the venue into something resembling a scene from Daytona. This will include American inspired support races, car displays, American food and drink and live music in addition to countless other activities for individuals of all ages.

Full details of both the 2026 SpeedFest programme and next year’s NASCAR Euro Series calendar will be shared in due course.

​​“Brands Hatch and American SpeedFest have been true highlights of our season for many years, delivering an incredible show both on and off the track. The passion and energy of the British fans are unmatched, and the atmosphere at SpeedFest is something every driver and team looks forward to,” said NASCAR Euro Series President Jerome Galpin. “We’re thrilled to return for 2026 to build another amazing event with our MSV Group partners and can’t wait to bring the excitement of Pure Racing back to the UK for another unforgettable weekend.”

MSV Group Motorsport Event Manager, David Willey, said: “We’re thrilled to have a SpeedFest date published early, so the many thousands of fans who love the event can begin planning for next summer. The NASCAR Euro Series is firmly established as a beloved staple of our annual calendar and we’re looking forward to working with Jerome Galpin and his entire team once again next year. SpeedFest is an event the entire Brands Hatch team loves working on and we’re excited about delivering another fun and memorable weekend for race fans!”

NASCAR Euro Series PR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Most Formula 1 teams and a few of the larger NASCAR organizations have created driver development programs to identify and provide opportunity to what they hope will be the stars of the future.

Will Turner and Turner Motorsport are applying the same principle across IMSA’s diverse sports car racing platform that includes the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

At the upcoming Michelin GT Challenge weekend at Virginia International Raceway, all three programs are in action on the same weekend for only the second time this season.

Since 1998, Turner Motorsport has fielded BMWs in more races than any other team in the world, and with great success, winning 10 championships.

For eras spanning more than two decades, Turner’s anchor driver was Bill Auberlen, IMSA’s all-time record holder with 65 race wins in IMSA’s top-level series.

In 2018, Turner paired Auberlen, then 49, with 23-year-old Robby Foley for a partial season in the Grand Touring Daytona class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

From 2019-22, they formed an effective full-time partnership. They won seven races and finished in the top five of the GTD standings every year, including runner-up in 2019.

As a result of their success, Foley’s FIA Driver Rating was elevated from Silver to Gold, meaning he could no longer be teamed with Auberlen (also then Gold-rated) in the GTD class.

Waiting in the wings was Patrick Gallagher, three years Foley’s senior but a longtime friend, only absent the same volume of top-series sports car experience.

Foley proved to be a great mentor, as he and Gallagher notched three second place finishes on the way to fourth in the GTD standings of the WeatherTech Championship.

Foley’s leadership was also reflected in two race wins and the Grand Sport class championship he shared with Vin Barletta that season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

“Right off the bat we recognized that Robby had some talent, but it wasn’t focused because he was jumping in every car he could be in just to be racing,” observed Turner; Foley regularly drove two Turner BMWs on most weekends for several years. “Bill Auberlen and the team helped him ramp up on a fast track to being the pro driver that he is today.”

Gallagher described his and Foley’s friendship and dynamic as co-drivers in their No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO: “Robby and I have been best friends for 10 or 15 years now; we both moved into some terrible rental house with air mattresses in Monticello, N.Y., a long time ago, and have kind of made the climb together.”

One of team’s other emerging drivers is Francis Selldorff, who joined the Turner organization in 2023.

In the inaugural year of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, he won the Grand Sport X class championship in a BMW M4 GT4 before advancing to GS in the Michelin Pilot Challenge in a Turner entry paired with Foley.

Now 24, Selldorff is teamed this year with Dillon Machavern in Turner’s No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 EVO Michelin Pilot Challenge entry. He broke through for his first win in the category in June at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Turner gives the now seasoned veteran Foley credit for assisting in the achievement.

“Robby and I immediately looked at each other after maybe the first hour of testing Francis and said, ‘This kid’s got some talent. He just needs some direction,’” Turner said. “With Robby’s mentorship – he’s awesome on the radio, he’s awesome on the data, and obviously he’s a super-fast driver – to have that tool in the box and then to combine it with our experienced team – we’re giving Francis all the tools for success. We’re expecting big things from him, and we already have our eyes on the next guys too.”

In the course of five years, Foley went from Turner Motorsport’s rookie driver to the hardened campaigner that holds it all together, as well as a coach and strategist on the pit box in races he’s not driving.

“It’s been fun, and an interesting process,” he reflected. “Obviously with Bill Auberlen’s extensive experience and legendary track record, I learned a ton from him and got to race with him for five years. When Bill basically didn’t have a place to race at Turner anymore because of my driver rating, the baton was passed.

“Now I’ve worked with Francis for a few years, and Patrick Gallagher, who I’ve known for a long time, just helping him adjust to GT cars,” Foley continued. “Francis has come such a long way in a short time. His great performance at Mid-Ohio was big for his confidence in his career. He’s still very new at this; he only started racing properly like two years ago. So, for him to already be at a race-winning level in GS is pretty impressive against a lot of impressive drivers.”

Foley and Gallagher have had new youngster Jake Walker, who’s coached by 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice, as third driver in Michelin Endurance Cup races for two seasons.

He’s matching Selldorff’s promise in VP Racing SportsCar Challenge competition with four Grand Touring Daytona X wins in the last five races in Turner’s BMW M4 GT3.

“Jake’s great. He’s a young kid and got a good family; he just kind of fit right in seamlessly to be honest with you,” Gallagher said. “The last thing we have to worry about with him is all the on-track stuff. It was just coaching him up on how to get in the pit box and all the little things that do make a difference.”

Foley recognizes how rare it is for a sports car team to have an internal ladder system, and he’s grateful for the role that Turner’s constant quest to create champion sports car drivers played in his career.

“I think Will has done a great job to build a team and program that is conducive to that,” Foley said. “He prepares good cars, consistent cars, and gives young drivers the kind of environment where they are the variable. They can learn from more experienced guys like myself and the other BMW drivers that join us from time to time.

“I’ve been the benefactor of it myself, for sure, and now it’s a lot of fun to kind of trickle it down to the new guys.”

A lifelong NASCAR fan, Jenna Mazza L’26 has a photo of herself at age 4 standing with legendary driver Jimmie Johnson’s diecast car. So, imagine her elation when she had the opportunity to take a photograph with Johnson himself this May at the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Mazza, at age 4, standing with legendary driver Jimmie Johnson’s diecast car.

This once-in-a-lifetime experience is just one of the many benefits that came along as Mazza spent her summer working in NASCAR’s legal department in Charlotte, North Carolina. NASCAR’s Internship Program includes opportunities for law students to learn about various areas that its legal department deals with daily. Mazza had the opportunity to learn about and draft contracts for licensing agreements, real estate issues with various racetracks, intellectual property (IP) use, privacy and media law.

During her internship, Mazza was also able to attend a screening of “American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans,” which began streaming on Amazon Prime in June, while learning about rights and clearances and music licensing.

Mazza smiles with driver Jimmie Johnson in May at the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I’ve learned so much and gotten exposure to the variety of work a legal department undertakes in a sports environment,” says Mazza, who will be a third-year law student this fall.

Mazza has long had her sights on working in sports law with a particular interest in areas related to IP, like copyrights, trademarks and licensing of team logos. And while she’d be thrilled to build a career with any sports organization, the opportunity to work with NASCAR was a dream come true. Not only did she gain legal experience, but this NASCAR fan also enjoyed the chance to be right where the action is—going into the pits and the infield, and attending not only the Coca-Cola 600 but also the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race and the developmental Arca Menards Series for prospective drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Mazza and her fellow group of interns pose in Victory Lane at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“The internship program really immerses you into all aspects of NASCAR and makes it a great experience for the interns, not only in terms of preparing you for what it’s like to work as a general counsel in a sports organization but also to get a first-hand look at the innerworkings of the sport itself,” Mazza says.

While her knowledge of NASCAR may have helped her secure this prestigious internship, the lessons learned at Syracuse Law, particularly classes she took as a second-year law student, provided her with the baseline legal knowledge in areas like intellectual property law and sports law that she believes also gave her a competitive edge.

Mazza adds the NASCAR internship to a list of other experiential learning opportunities she has had while at Syracuse Law, including working on two Congressional campaigns, an internship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York and another internship for the Oneida County (New York) Public Defenders Office.

As she returns to Syracuse Law to complete her degree, Mazza hopes to apply her hard-earned legal experience to a sports organization or a law firm that specializes in sports law after graduation. However, she can’t help but to hope to eventually return to work for NASCAR.

“My internship at NASCAR has shown me that anything is possible, just as in this sport, where you can start from the back of the grid and still win the race,” Mazza says. “The skills I’ve learned and the opportunity to be where the action is on the track are experiences I’ll never forget. And it’s very exciting to imagine what might be ahead for me.”

Mazza stands in front of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

A partnership between the YMCA of the Southern Interior of BC, Sandher Fruit Packers and Avion Motorsports will celebrate the resiliency and growth of local youth.

The Race to Success aims to uplift 10 at-risk youth in Penticton’s YMCA programs and celebrate their courage and the challenges they are working to overcome with a day at the races at Area 27 in Oliver.

“I was the same age as some of the children in these programs when I arrived in Canada and know what it feels like if you lack a safety net,” said Bill Sandher, founder of Sandher Fruit Packers. “This community gave our family a chance to grow, thrive, and give back. Now, it’s our turn to invest in the next generation — to show youth that their potential is limitless, and their efforts are recognized and celebrated.”

The day will include a nutritious lunch, a behind-the-scenes look at the fast-paced world of race car preparation, hands-on learning about race car mechanics, meet-and-greets with professional drivers, and a thrilling lap around the track. Each youth chooses their own speed from the passenger seat.

“At Avion Motorsports, we believe in equal opportunity and the power of mentorship — values we share with the YMCA,” Trevor Seibert, Founder and CEO of Avion Motorsports, said in emphasizing the alignment of values. “This event is more than just a ride; it’s a message to youth that they belong, they matter, and they can achieve great things.”