Ryan Blaney has yet to get payback on Carson Hocevar for wrecking him in the February race at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Blaney might feel more inclined to get back at Hocevar after a Spire social media person stoked the flames this past weekend.

Blaney and Hocevar went head-to-head in Round 1 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge this past Saturday, in Atlanta of all places. Hocevar, the No. 26 seed, knocked off the No. 7 seeded Blaney after a 10th-place finish. After the race, Spire decided to troll Blaney on social media.

In the development of the motorsport landscape, renowned filmmaker and ardent motorsport enthusiast Keanu Reeves is set to host a documentary series that delves into the behind-the-scenes efforts of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team as they prepare to join the F1 grid.

Supported by TWG Motorsports and General Motors (GM), Cadillac is gearing up for its debut in Formula 1 for the 2026 season, having received final approval to become the sport’s 11th team in March of this year.

Expressing his enthusiasm, Keanu Reeves, shared: “I’m very honoured and excited to be a part of telling the remarkable Cadillac Formula 1 Team story and its incredible journey into the world of Formula 1 racing.”

“Our goal with the docuseries is to bring audiences into the heart of this journey and showcase what it takes to participate in one of the most exclusive sports arenas in the world,” Reeves expressed.

Echoing his sentiments, CEO of TWG Motorsports and the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, Dan Towriss, added: “This is a story of bold ambition and relentless drive. We’re honoured to work with Keanu, whose passion and knowledge of racing runs deep, and proud to partner with GM on this incredible story.”

“We have an opportunity to welcome a new generation of fans to Formula 1, and Keanu’s creativity is the perfect spark to ignite that journey,” Towriss mentioned.

GM President, Mark Reuss, concluded: “General Motors and TWG Motorsports joined forces on a bold mission – to build a uniquely American Formula 1 team.”

“It’s a thrill to have Keanu Reeves document the Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s journey to our first season in the FIA Formula One World Championship,” Reuss concluded.

This entry marks an important moment for the American automotive giant as it seeks to carve out a presence in a sport traditionally dominated by European teams.

The docuseries, which has been granted exclusive access by the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, TWG Motorsports, and GM, will document the inception and development of F1’s newest team as they anticipate their first appearance at the season opener in Melbourne, Australia, next March.

Reeves, through his KR+SH company, will collaborate with North One to produce the series, stepping into the roles of host and executive producer.

This announcement comes shortly after his recent Emmy win for the acclaimed Disney+ documentary series “Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story.” The project will be led by Emmy-winning director and executive producer Simon Hammerson, alongside three-time BAFTA-winning executive producer Neil Duncanson.

Audiences can expect an intimate look at the unique challenges of assembling a competitive team on an accelerated timeline, alongside a first-hand account of the vision behind establishing a distinctly American presence in a sport long dominated by European powerhouses.

The docuseries is expected to air before Cadillac’s highly anticipated debut at Melbourne’s Albert Park in March 2026.

As the countdown to their inaugural season begins, Cadillac has yet to disclose the names of its two drivers for 2026, but will initially utilise Ferrari power units, with plans to run their own engines in the future.

Don’t miss out on the latest in sports business – Subscribe today to the free Ministry of Sport newsletter and stay ahead of the game. For even more exclusive insights, event tickets, professional development and networking events, become a MoS Member today!.

I’m blessed to have my dad still around after all these years. He turns 88 today, the second day of July. He’s always been such a big part of mine and my sisters’ lives that I know they feel the same.

Heading into the weekend at Chicago, Kevin Harvick and his crew from the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast have made their picks for the race. Harvick has an interesting winner in mind.

The former driver and current NASCAR analyst weighed one factor that might disproportionately affect the race. In fact, he made the call while surveying things live on the show.

“I’m going to look at the weather forecast,” Harvick explained. “I’m going to make this super technical. Let’s see. And I’m not going to tell you if it’s raining, because you’re not changing your pick. 10-day, 50% chance of rain on Sunday. Hmm. Yep. I’m going to go with Ty Gibbs.”

Gibbs is a solid enough choice to win the race. He’s had some recent success at Chicago, having finished third there last year.

His last few times out on road courses haven’t been great, though. He finished 11th at Mexico City, but that came after a 34th place finish at COTA, 35th at the Charlotte Roval and 22nd at Watkins Glenn

In any case, Gibbs has finished in the top 10 in both street races at Chicago to date. He’s had six top-10 finishes at road courses and four top-five finishes.

Harvick’s co-hosts on the podcast both went with different drivers. Kaitlyn Vincie went for one of the heavy favorites.

“My pick for the winner in Chicago is (Shane van Gisbergen),” she said. “SVG. Low-hanging f*cking fruit. I need help right now. I need help!”

While Vincie’s pick was a safe one, designed to get her back in the running in Harvick’s weekly picks segment, co-host Mamba Smith had a more adventurous selection. He picked the guy who was closing things down on winner Alex Bowman at Chicago before a late mishap last year.

“I’m really, honestly, I’m really up in the air about who I should pick on this one,” Smith said. “And I think I’m going to go with Tyler Reddick. He’s had speed there before. I think he kind of gave one up there before. And they need to keep these good runs going. So I’m going to go Tyler Reddick.”

Last year, Reddick appeared to have the speed to chase down Bowman and get there for the win. Then he clipped a wall, slowing him down enough in the final lap to ruin a shot at the win.

Could he get things straightened out this time? We’ll see. Sunday’s street race at Chicago begins at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.

For the first time, we will have two NASCAR celebrities involved in the evening’s events.

Bark River’s Greg Ives, who is still actively working with the team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Justin Allgaier, has confirmed that he will be there for this special holiday weekend event. He’ll be bringing his son Parker who is one of the top go-kart drivers in the South.

Also attending again will be NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter. He is coming off a good run in the American Speed Association Midwest Tour, where he got to participate with his son Penn for first time.

Sauter will be driving a car provided by Coleman Racing Products. The June 21 ASA Midwest Tour race at Norway Speedway drew 25 late models and any number of participants in that race could end up racing in this year’s Stateline Challenge.

Bark River native and NASCAR crew chief Greg Ives will be on hand for Saturday’s Stateline Challenge at Norway Speedway. (NASCAR photo)

The Speedway is expecting some surprises.

Headliners so far besides Sauter include 2024 winner Andy Monday, who is enjoying one of his best seasons in his young career. Also coming to Norway are two-time Marshfield Speedway champion Darren Jackson from Wisconsin Rapids, Tim Baumann, WIR champion TJ Spierowski, Midwest Truck Series driver Parker Cain, former track champion Dan Lindsley and Norway’s Adam Faull.

Also look for Norway Speedway’s weekly warriors, including point leader Joey Pontbriand. He had an amazing run in the ASA Midwest Tour race and looks to be ready to win his first Stateline Challenge. Scott Stanchina, 2023 track champion, has his car repaired after a bad crash in the tour race and led several laps last year at the Stateline.

Hall of Famer Bruce White is the only driver to compete in every single one of the Stateline Challenges and he will be lining up. Other weeklies include Kingsford’s Cory Cootware, Escanaba’s Joey Stankowicz, Parker Summerfield, Mike Lantagne, Abi Yelle and many more.

One big change this year will be an autograph session that involves all drivers that qualify for the Stateline Challenge along with Greg Ives, Johnny Sauter and Parker Ives.

Eli Whittkopf, defending track champion in the Whelen Fab 4 division, won his first feature event of the 2025 season at Norway Speedway on Friday.
(Lia Olson photo)

Time trials start at 5:45 pm and racing starts at 7 pm. Go to the Facebook page for driver updates. Camping is available. For information, please contact 906-361-0597.

Cootware and Nooyen get their firsts

Friday was Veteran’s Night and also Norway Speedway Hall of Fame night brought to you by Sayklly’s Candies of Escanaba.

The Norway Speedway Hall of Fame is located at the Thirty Whale Bar in Norway and its four new members include Escanaba’s Mark Jenshak Sr. and Spread Eagle’s Ryan Windell. Both drivers represented the best in Auto Value Super Stock racing.

Also inducted were Coca-Cola Late Model drivers Mike Reichenberger of Neenah, Wis., and Steve DeBakker of Norway. Reichenberger won three track championships at Norway Speedway and was a regular competitor for many years.

The late DeBakker won a championship in 1994 and had raced at Norway Speedway for almost 30 years. Stevie’s race car was parked outside the Legends Row Speedway Gift shop for all the fans to see. The ceremony was emceed by John Koehler and the families of all the drivers were in attendance.

In the Coca-Cola Late Model division the fast qualifier was Pontbriand at 14.589 and in the Auto Value Super Stock division it was Ryan Wender at 15.904. The Speedway used the twin feature format for the first time in a couple of years.

Cootware started toward the rear of the field, made his way up to the front and held on for his first feature win of the summer. Finishing second was defending track champion Pontbriand; third was Stanchina who worked diligently on his car all week after a hard crash in the ASA race.

Rounding out the top five were Stankowicz and Florence’s Devon Wilcox, who recorded his first top five after a great run.

In the second feature, Pontbriand came from the rear of the field and passed Cootware with seven laps to go and held on for the win. Cootware, meanwhile, had another great run holding onto second. Third was Stankowicz; fourth was Stanchina, and fifth was White of Spread Eagle, Wis.

Marquette High School graduate Yelle had her best finish with an impressive sixth place on her grandpa Allan Yelle’s memorial night.

In the Auto Value Super Stock division Hermansville’s Dean Bellmore swept both feature events in an impressive manner holding off hard charging rookie Andy Secrist and current track champion Wender. Fourth was rookie Zach Hanson and fifth was Izayah Reed. The second feature went to Bellmore, followed by Hanson, Secrist, Wender, and Payton Linder. It was Linder’s first night pulling double duty as the impressive young talent competed in her first late model event as well.

In the 141 Auto Sportsman division Green Bay’s Jeff Nooyen was a double winner, taking the fast heat and winning his first feature event. Second was Kingsford’s Jon Maenpaa; third, Menominee’s Travis Hulsizer; fourth, Baraga’s Dan De Kleyn, and fifth, BJ Schoneck of Marion, Wis. Fast qualifier was Nick Kroehler at 18.061.

In the Whelen Fab 4 division current track champion Eli Whittkopf took his first feature event of the season. He was followed by Trever Cronick, Cody Gunville, Andy Street and Ashlyn Van Den Heuvel. Fast qualifier was Cody Gunville at 17.773.

Summaries

Coca-Cola Late Models-Qualifying: Joey Pontbriand 14.589. Feature 1: 1st Cory Cootware, 2nd Joey Pontbriand, 3rd Scott Stanchina, 4th Joey Stankowicz, 5th Devon Wilcox, 6th Bruce White, 7th Abi Yelle, 8th Kaden Kostichka, 9th John Ostermann, and 10th Payton Linder. Feature 2: 1st Joey Pontbriand, 2nd Cory Cootware, 3rd Joey Stankowicz, 4th Scott Stanchina, 5th Bruce White, 6th Abi Yelle, 7th Kaden Kostichka, 8th John Ostermann, 9th Devon Wilcox, 10th Payton Linder.

Auto Value Super Stocks-Qualifying: Ryan Wender 15.904. Feature 1: 1st Dean Bellmore, 2nd Andy Secrist, 3rd Ryan Wender, 4th Zach Hanson, 5th Izayah Reed, 6th Payton Linder, 7th Anthony Schiefelbein, 8th Joe Ostermann, 9th Tom Neely, 10th Stewart Hornick. Feature 2: 1st Dean Bellmore, 2nd Zach Hanson, 3rd Andy Secrist, 4th Ryan Wender, 5th Payton Linder, 6th Joe Ostermann, 7th Anthony Schiefelbein, 8th Stewart Hornick, 9th Izayah Reed, 10th Tom Neely.

141 Auto Sportsman-Qualifying: Nick Kroehler 18.061. Heat 1: 1st Cole Neely, 2nd Paul Holton. Heat 2: 1st Jeff Nooyen, 2nd Travis Hulsizer. Feature: 1st Jeff Nooyen, 2nd Jon Maenpaa, 3rd Travis Hulsizer, 4th Dan De Kleyn, 5th BJ Schoneck, 6th Cole Neely, 7th Nick Kroehler, 8th Darren Peterson, 9th Todd Schmidt, 10th Troy LaFave, 11th Jordan Massicotte, 12th Emily Vincent, 13th Stewart Hornick, 14th Paul Holton, 15th Justin Larson.

Whelen Fab 4-Qualifying: Cody Gunville 17.773. Heat 1: 1st Trever Cronick, 2nd Cody Gunville. Feature: 1st Eli Whittkopf, 2nd Trever Cronick, 3rd Cody Gunville, 4th Andy Street, 5th Ashlyn Van Den Heuvel, 6th Chris Hallenbeck.

CONCORD, N.C. — Daniel Suárez, the only driver born in Mexico to win a NASCAR national series race, is out at Trackhouse Racing at the end of the current season.

The team and Suárez both called the parting a mutual decision that allows the 33-year-old driver an earlier opportunity to pursue a new ride for next year. The announcement was made Tuesday.

Trackhouse, which currently has charters for three full-time cars, launched in 2021 with one car and Suárez — who had previously competed in the top-tier Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing (2017-18), Stewart-Haas Racing (2019) and Gaunt Brothers Racing (2020) — behind the wheel.

While the organization did not name a replacement in the No. 99 Chevrolet, Suárez’s departure opened the door for the team to promote teen sensation Connor Zilisch. The 18-year-old Zilisch, who currently drives in the second-tier Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, has run three Cup Series races for Trackhouse this season, including last Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta.

Suárez has just two wins in 305 career starts on NASCAR’s top circuit, and he is a distant 29th in the Cup Series points standings this year with the regular season past its midpoint. Suarez made the 16-driver playoffs in 2022, when he wound up 10th, and again last year, when he ultimately finished 12th.

“We took a team nobody had even heard of in 2021 and in just a couple of years we were winning races and running upfront on a weekly basis,” Suárez wrote on social media. “Just like the seasons in a year, sometimes things change and we have agreed to each go in our own direction.”

Trackhouse founder and owner Justin Marks thanked Suárez for his contributions.

“The role Daniel has played in the Trackhouse origin story and its first five years will remain a valued part of the company’s history forever,” Marks said in a released statement. “His commitment, work ethic and dedication to the effort is one of the most impressive things I personally have seen in my career.”

Trackhouse also has Ross Chastain in the No. 1 Chevy and Shane van Gisbergen in the No. 88 Chevy under contract, along with Zilisch as its development driver. Chastain, who joined Trackhouse in 2022 when it added a second car, was the 2022 Cup Series runner-up and has six career wins, including the Coca-Cola 600 in May to secure a playoff berth. Van Gisbergen, who came on board as a full-time driver this year as Trackhouse added yet another car, won last month’s Cup Series race in Mexico City to lock up his own postseason spot.

Suárez, who became an American citizen last year, also has three Xfinity Series wins and one victory on the third-tier Truck Series during his NASCAR career. He became the only foreign-born driver to win a national series season title in 2016, when he won the Xfinity championship for JGR.

He made a triumphant return last month to his home country when he won the Xfinity Series race in Mexico City driving for JR Motorsports at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, yet the balance of celebrating a homecoming with looming contract negotiations weighed on the Monterrey native.

“It’s not the first time that I’ve been in this position. Definitely the first time with the Mexico race, but it’s not the first time that I’ve been in the position that we have to win or in the position that we have a contract negotiation in the middle of the season,” Suárez said ahead of that weekend when asked about being in the final year of his deal.

“It’s definitely a distraction. I won’t sit here and tell you that it doesn’t really matter. I’m trying to be as smart as possible and to put all this stuff on the side and just do my thing on the track.”

He’ll do his thing at the track in 2026 with yet another new team, although he still has an opportunity to give Trackhouse a full stable of three cars in this year’s 10-race playoffs.

Eight races remain in the regular season, a stretch that starts with Sunday’s return to the streets of downtown Chicago for the third year in a row. Suarez finished 11th in last year’s race — when Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman took the checkered flag — and was 27th in 2023, when van Gisbergen won while making his NASCAR debut in a Trackhouse part-time entry.