Since 1990, I’ve attended hundreds of races as a journalist—but rarely as a fan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of all forms of motorsports. But when I’m at a track, most of the time, I’m there to work.

I made an exception during the recent Montreal GP F1 weekend. The Netflix series has gotten my wife (Melody) and me engaged to the point where we thought it would be fun to experience a race weekend in person, as fans. This is a story and some galleries about our experience.

In short: it was fantastic. All of it.

More than just a race, it was a three-day party/festival that brought the entire city to life.

We arrived downtown late Thursday afternoon. Our hotel was on Crescent Street, just below where the main Grand Prix Street Festival was happening. Once we checked in, we parked the car—and didn’t go near it again until after the race on Sunday.

The only exception to the “not working” thing was the excellent Puma/Aston Martin event I attended Thursday evening. Held at the beautiful Dorsia Restaurant in Old Montreal, the event featured an incredible five-course meal with premium wine and cocktail pairings from the LVMH (Louis Vuitton/Moët Hennessy) portfolio.

Alongside great food and company, former World Champion Fernando Alonso made a brief appearance for a Q&A and photo session. Aston Martin’s Head of F1 Academy and Driver Ambassador, Jessica Hawkins, spoke after Alonso. An impressive young woman, she shared stories about driving an F1 car and her experiences across various forms of racing. Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak (7 Olympic medals!) was also there, celebrating her 25th birthday! It was a memorable night—and a fun kickoff to the F1 weekend.

And once dinner was over, I was officially “off the clock” for the weekend.

To get around, we bought three-day Metro passes—highly recommended. A labour disruption had threatened the transit system, but thankfully, subways and buses continued running during F1 weekend. Without transit, I can’t imagine how the event would have gone ahead. Or at least, not with full grandstands.

I don’t know the exact numbers, but it felt like 95% of attendees arrived at the track via the Metro. The closest station to the track is Jean-Drapeau, located on Île Sainte-Hélène—adjacent to Île Notre-Dame, home of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

I’ve been to the Daytona 500 and many large sporting events, and the crowds in Montreal felt just as massive. The promoter reported a three-day attendance of 352,000. I believe it.

Every practice and qualifying session on Friday and Saturday had packed grandstands, just like the main event on Sunday. We sat in Grandstand 34, on the inside of the hairpin (Turn 10), so we could witness the incredible braking and acceleration—and hopefully some passing. It did not disappoint.

The only downside—and I’m sure the promoters will smile reading this—was how tight the seating was. Every hard, aluminum seat was filled, and the bench space per person was very limited. You were literally shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, and knee to back with those around you. I now sympathize with sardines.

And God help you if your row had a few Kim Kardashian-types in it. People were literally spilling into the aisles. Pro tip: bring seat cushions! Our sore bums sent us to Dollarama, near our hotel, after Friday’s sessions. We paid $4 for foam pads, which beat the $45 CGV cushions at the concession stands. Bonus: our cheap, goofy seat cushions got a few laughs throughout the weekend.

Speaking of crowds—as Toronto tries to fine-tune its new Rogers Stadium venue in Downsview Park, it’s impressive how smoothly Montreal handles 115,000+ people per day. No one complained about the 20+ minute walk from the Metro station to the track. The flow of people through fences and pathways was clearly the result of decades of fine-tuning. Well done.

The weather was incredible all three days: blue skies, 20°C, and a light breeze off the St. Lawrence River. Apparently, that’s rare for Montreal GP weekend—no complaints from us!

After spending Friday at the track, we returned to the hotel and headed up to Crescent Street for the street festival. It felt like the entire crowd from the track—plus more—was there. We made a point to see The Hip Trip, a Tragically Hip tribute band. They delivered a fantastic one-hour set of high-energy classics. The lead singer did Gord Downie proud.

After the concert, we kicked off our Montreal smoked meat tasting tour. Friday’s stop was Reuben’s Deli & Steakhouse on Sainte-Catherine Street—delicious and close to the action. Saturday night, we walked up St. Laurent to Schwartz’s (the best!). And after the race on Sunday, we stopped at Smoke Meat Pete’s on Hwy. 20 in L’Île-Perrot. I’m drooling again just thinking about it.

Back at the track, there was plenty to do and enjoy. The sponsor activations were great—DJs, lounge areas, food and drink stalls. The $14 Heineken Silver tallboys felt like buying overpriced water, but they were the only game in town—and probably helped keep the crowd relatively sober.

As for the racing—it was excellent. There’s nothing like F1 cars: the speed, the braking, the acceleration. Even qualifying is something to behold—the way cars weave around each other, some flying, others crawling, all on the same track at the same time. It’s almost terrifying.

George Russell won on Sunday, in a race highlighted by the McLarens colliding with each other. Lewis Hamilton’s race went south after hitting a gopher on the way into the hairpin. Yes, a gopher. I know they’re a known “thing” at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but it was wild to see how many were darting across or near the track. I’m shocked they don’t round them up for the weekend.

The F1 Academy and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America support races were also very entertaining.

When the checkered flag flew at 4 p.m. Sunday, we skipped the podium ceremonies and headed straight for the exit. By 5 p.m., we were back in our car on Crescent Street and headed home to Toronto. Again, kudos to Montreal and the organizers for how efficiently they move crowds. Bravo.

Looking back, it was an incredible experience. If you get the chance, I highly recommend doing it at least once. We’re already thinking about doing it all again next year.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series trek to the Mid-Atlantic for their annual stop at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from links to qualifying order, average practice speeds, results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | In-Season Challenge hub

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT Sports. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

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Tires: Nine sets for the race (eight race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying). Teams will also have one set for practice.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Race day: Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Four sets for the race (three race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying). Teams will also have one set for practice.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Staff Report

ROCKINGHAM — The sounds of screeching tires and roaring engines will be heard on both sides of U.S. 1 this weekend with events at both Rockingham Dragway and Rockingham Speedway.

Dig or Die returns to the dragway for overnight no-prep action, with drivers lining up on the back side of the track and racing toward the tower.

No-prep racing is a throwback to drag racing’s roots in the ‘50s and ‘60s with “no special attention given to the racing surface,” according to a 2022 press release from the track.

Local business Full Custom Fabrication and Performance is hosting a racer appreciation party Thursday night, including limo rides for the drivers from and back to the track.

Racing starts at 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.

Dig or Die has one more event this season, Christmas Clash 6, scheduled for Dec. 5-6, which is the last race on the dragway’s schedule for the year.

Earlier this week, Rockingham Dragway announced a new policy in response to the theft of electric scooters at recent events.

Spectators will be:

• asked to show scooters on gate entry to staff
• asked to sign a form next to their name with scooter count.
• asked to take pictures of their scooter(s) on entry for record.
• responsible for their property, but the track will assist in gate management of scooter charged $5 per scooter on entry until further notice 

Every vehicle and trailer exiting the gate will be checked and if the scooter count doesn’t match, spectators will be referred to on-site deputies.

“We apologize for any delay on entry and exit that this will create but we cannot ignore the issue,” reads the post on the track’s Facebook page. “We are extremely disappointed to even have to address this in such an invasive manner.

“If this procedure proves to be ineffective, we will disallow all scooters at Rockingham Dragway. Please help us … prevent theft. We will not allow a few thieves to ruin our reputation and your visit. We want you, our customer, to feel protected and safe.”

DRIFT VIBES

MB Drift, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, will be at the speedway for its Summer Matsuri.

The grassroots series started in 2005 as a safe and legal way for drivers to drift and ran for 15 years at Myrtle Beach Speedway. When that track closed down in late 2020, the series was moved to the Rock.

Organizers have designed nine layouts on the infield road course for the two-day event, including classics like the “Initiation,” the “Chute” and the No. 3-shaped “Dale Lane” —named in honor of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. — as well as the new “Continental Drift” and an unrevealed “mystery layout.”

Like the Spring Matsuri and Halloween Havoc, the Summer Matsuri is a non-competitive event that gives drivers ample seat time and opportunities to hone their drifting skills, with night drifting on Saturday.

The event also includes drift games, a crazy shirt contest and music from the band Live Wire. Free ride-alongs are available for spectators 18 or older.

The track goes hot at 1 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.

MB Drift still has two other events lined up for the 2025 season: the third and final round of competition Aug. 30-31; and Halloween Havoc Oct. 25-26.

For more information on these and other motorsports events, visit the websites or social media pages for Rockingham Dragway, Rockingham Speedway and MB Drift.

Chris Knight

Chris Knight has served as a senior staff writer and news editor for CATCHFENCE.com since 2001.
In his 20-plus years with CATCHFENCE.com, he has covered NASCAR’s top three national series, often breaking news and providing exclusive at-track content, including in-depth race weekend coverage. He also offers insider coverage of the entire Motorsports platform, including the ARCA Menards Series.
In 2022, Knight became co-owner of CATCHFENCE.com.
In addition to his active duties at CATCHFENCE.com and other Motorsports-related endeavors, he is also a frequent contributor to SiriusXM Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 90. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Knighter01 or on Instagram, Snapchat, or Threads at @TheKnighter01. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

This August, the hills of Monterey will echo with the unmistakable scream of historic V12 engines as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca hosts an unprecedented celebration for the 75th anniversary of Formula 1.

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, one of the most prestigious vintage racing events in the world, will become a full sensory immersion into F1’s rich history.

From August 13-16, fans will have a rare opportunity to see, hear, and get up close with some of the most iconic machines that have ever graced the globe’s most famous circuits.

The on-track action promises to be a major highlight. A grid of 25 authentic F1 cars from the fan-favorite 1966-1985 non-turbo era will compete daily for the Mario Andretti Trophy.

This moving museum will bring legendary names like Tyrrell, Williams, Ferrari, Lotus, and Brabham back to life, allowing spectators to experience the raw power and glorious engine notes that defined a generation of Grand Prix racing.

Beyond the track, the event will feature an incredible exhibition of more than 30 rarely seen historic F1 cars, sourced from world-renowned museums and exclusive private collections. For many of these cars, it will be the first time they have ever been displayed together in one place.

The collection will span nearly the entire history of the sport, from a classic 1956 Maserati 250F and the iconic 1966 Eagle Mk1 to modern marvels like the 2024 World Constructors’ Championship-winning McLaren MCL38, as driven by Lando Norris.

“It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see this jaw-dropping collection of cars and F1 history,” said Mel Harder, president of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. F1’s Chief Commercial Officer, Emily Prazer, also added, “This is a fitting commemoration of 75 incredible years of Formula 1.”

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion has always been a premier showcase for authentic race cars, but this year’s official F1 celebration promises something truly special. For motorsport fans, it will be a rare chance to walk through 75 years of technological evolution and witness the machines that created legends, all in one iconic American location.