Rick Ware Racing will compete under the Chevrolet umbrella in 2026 with a multi-year technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, the team announced Monday.

Ware consistently fielded Ford entries since 2022, however the organization previously fielded Chevrolet entries as well.

“Chevrolet has always set a high bar with its people, its performance and its passion for racing, and partnering with them gives us the resources and support to make real progress on the racetrack,” said team owner Rick Ware. “Teaming up with RCR and ECR provides a foundation we can build on, not just for 2026, but for the future of our race team. We’re proud to be part of the Chevrolet family. The NASCAR Cup Series is the toughest and most competitive series in motorsports, and this is an important move for the long-term growth of our company.

“We’ve won in NHRA, American Flat Track, World Supercross and the CARS Tour, and we want to elevate our NASCAR performance to the level of our other programs.”

RWR will field the No. 51 entry for Cody Ware in 2026. Richard Childress Racing fields two full-time entries for Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch.

The partnership will include the use of ECR Engines.

“Rick and his team have shown a real commitment to growing their program, and we’re proud to support that effort alongside our partners at Richard Childress Racing and ECR Engines,” said Pat Suhy, manager, NASCAR Competition for GM Motorsports. “Bringing RWR into the Chevrolet fold is a win for all of us. Their drive to keep improving aligns with our dedication to performance and innovation.”

WEST FARGO — After a turbulent 2025 season that saw his long chapter with Tony Stewart Racing

come to an end,

Donny Schatz has found a new home for 2026.

Schatz, the Minot native and West Fargo-based sprint car champion, has inked a new full-time deal with CJB Motorsports for the 2026 World of Outlaws season.

Schatz’s plans for the upcoming campaign were announced on WorldOfOutlaws.com on Monday night.

David Samson / The Forum

Owned by Chad and Ann Marie Clemens, the Pennsylvania-based CJB will make its return to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series for the first time since 2023 after the team fielded an entry for driver Brenham Crouch on the High Limit Racing Series sprint car tour last season.

CJB will return to the WoO tour with Schatz piloting his signature No. 15 for the team. The 2026 season kicks off with the four-night DIRTcar Nationals at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 4-7.

Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing split in August after a near 18-year partnership that saw the wheelman win eight WoO points championships to go with 234 wins.

In all, Schatz is a 10-time Outlaws champion and has amassed 316 feature victories. The 48-year-old currently ranks as the third-winningest driver in series history as he enters his 30th full-time season in 2026.

Following his departure from TSR, Schatz ran multiple temporary deals to finish out 2025, driving for the teams of Tod Quiring, Dave Lunstra, Kevin Kozlowski and Jason Sides.

At CJB, Schatz will team up with veteran crew chief Barry Jackson. The team has picked up 52 Outlaws victories since its founding in 2005.

David Samson / The Forum

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Every December, BMW M Motorsport invites the customer racing teams from around the world to come together for an awards banquet and to honor championship winning teams and drivers. The driver who scores the most points racing a BMW as a privateer (works drivers don’t qualify) wins the prestigious BMW Sport Trophy, which went to Turner Motorsport driver Justin Rothberg for the second year in a row.

Rothberg had a fantastic 2025 season, winning the SRO GT World Challenge America championship with Robby Foley and also winning the SRO GT America championship on his own. “Super thrilled to be winning the Sports Trophy again this year,” he said. “The BMWs are great race cars and there’s so many talented drivers so it’s an accomplishment I’m proud of. It’s a testament to the great work from all the guys at Turner Motorsport: Will Turner for running such a well-oiled machine, Robby Foley for always putting in great drives and giving me the help and advice I need – and my parents for supporting me and putting me in a position to succeed.”

The team trophy went to FK Performance Motorsport, which became the first team to win the overall standings of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) with the BMW M4 GT4. The team also had a podium finish in the Nürburgring 24-hour race and competed in the ADAC GT Masters series, where they finished second in the standings. The Turner Motorsport team, which won the team trophy last year, finished third behind FK Performance Motorsport and Schubert Motorsport.

BMW was very successful worldwide with customer teams competing in the M4 GT4 EVO and M4 GT3 EVO. In 2025, there were 56 GT3 and 88 GT4 cars competing worldwide, covering over 700,000 kilometers in racing miles and achieving around 180 wins and 250 additional podium finishes across various classes. “It is truly special to welcome our most successful customer racers to Garching, where the heart of BMW M beats,” said CEO of BMW M Franciscus van Meel. “They perfectly embody the DNA of our brand and, with their performances on racetracks around the world, serve as ideal ambassadors. While we celebrate the victories and titles of our works drivers and teams, our emotional connection to customer racing is equally profound. Without it, BMW M Motorsport would not be the same. It is a central pillar of our racing program and will remain so in the future.”

—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BMW]

Marcus Ericsson will make his third start in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, driving the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in the GTD class.

The 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner will share the car with the already-announced trio of Danny Formal, Trent Hindman, and Graham Doyle. Ericsson’s run of even-year Daytona 24 Hours appearances began in 2022 when he drove for the Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac Racing team, then continued in 2024 when he drove for WTR in one of its two Acura ARX-06es.

“I’m super excited to be back racing with Wayne Taylor Racing for the legendary Rolex 24 Hours,” said Marcus Ericsson. “It will be my third time racing the Daytona 24 but the first time for me in the GTD class. I’m joining a great lineup with Danny, Trent and Graham, whom I know quite well already after being to quite a few races with the team in 2025 whilst supporting my brother, Hampus, in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo championship. I’m very thankful to Wayne, Travis (Houge, Vice President and General Manager of WTR) and DEX for the opportunity. I can’t wait to go racing!”

As he enters a critical third season of NTT IndyCar Series racing with Andretti Global, the 2026 Rolex 24 will be Ericsson’s first IMSA start in a Lamborghini GT3 car. But he’ll already have experience with the Huracán GT3 EVO2 after making his first start in the car this past weekend in the Michelin 12H Malaysia in Sepang, where he drove alongside his brother Hampus.

Formal and Hindman took the No. 45 WTR Lamborghini’s first win in July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) and will return for the full season in GTD, with Doyle accompanying them for the five-race Michelin Endurance Cup.

“I am very excited that we managed to sign Marcus for the Rolex 24,” said Wayne Taylor. “He drove for us previously and we know he will be a great addition to the GTD program. We are lucky to have him. Danny Formal, Trent Hindman and Graham Doyle did a great job in 2025, and we feel like we have a really good shot at a podium. We have drivers and crew that have experience with the car and with this event, so we are really looking forward to Daytona.”

“I’m delighted to see Marcus join WTR for this opportunity,” added TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss. “Moves like this reflect the potential of the TWG Motorsports portfolio in creating an opportunity for Marcus to race alongside Danny, Trent and Graham.”

The Indy NXT series has solidified next year’s group and open testing schedule that will hold six official gatherings for its eight entrants and 24 cars.

Group tests involve sharing the track with at least one other series and the use of sessions to alternate between those series; open tests provide NXT drivers with exclusive use of the track throughout the day. Group and open tests are organized by NXT; private test days arranged by teams are not permitted.

Among the highlights, IndyCar’s top development series will launch its preseason running in Florida with a two-day group run on Sebring’s short course across January 19-20 and return to the stand and make its first visit to the Miami International Autodrome, home of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, for two days of preparatory action across February 22-23.

The Sunday-Monday Miami group test takes place days before the start of the IndyCar and NXT seasons at St. Petersburg Feb. 27-March 1, and the rest of the tests fall within the active NXT championship.

After Miami, the series’ next gathering is for a single-day open oval test at Nashville Speedway on Thursday, April 2, and less than two weeks later, teams will reconvene for a two-day group road course test at Mid-Ohio across April 14-15.

One week after the stop in Ohio, NXT drivers will spend Wednesday, April 22, on the Illinois oval at World Wide Technology Raceway for an open test, and then it’s a two-month pause until the last organized test within the season as teams head to Wisconsin for the Tuesday, June 23, open test at the Milwaukee Mile.

NXT’s competition calendar is comprised of 17 races with a heavy emphasis on doubleheaders – 10 road and street course events will use the twin-race format – which concludes at the September 5-6 doubleheader in Monterey at Laguna Seca.

NTT Indy Car Series driver Callum Ilott will join Wright Motorsports as a full-time driver for the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Ilott, who raced in IndyCar with PREMA this year following earlier stops at Juncos Hollinger and Arrow McLaren, will share the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R with Wright owner/driver Adam Adelson, who purchased the team from founder John Wright in April.

It will be Ilott’s first full-season campaign in sports car racing since his 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship effort with Hertz Team JOTA, in which Ilott won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, driving one of JOTA’s privateer Porsche 963s. He drove for Wright Motorsports as a guest driver during the 2023 Indianapolis 8 Hour.

Ilott also said that his new program in IMSA will be run alongside a continued program in IndyCar. There are no clashes between the two series, outside of shared events at the Grand Prix of Long Beach and Detroit Grand Prix.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Wright Motorsports for the full season in GTD alongside my IndyCar season,” said Ilott. “Having raced with Wright Motorsports once before, I got a taste of how impressive the team is and I’m motivated to continue building on that throughout the year. It’s shaping up to be a great season ahead and I can’t wait to get to work with Adam, Elliott, Tom and the whole Wright crew.” 

2025 Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) Selected Driver, Tom Sargent, returns to drive the five-race Michelin Endurance Cup, while Adelson’s long-time co-driver Elliott Skeer will round out the four-driver crew for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.

“I’m extremely excited to get the 2026 season started off with Daytona,” said Adelson, who enters his third season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. “We have a new car in the 911 GT3 R Evo, and have been working hard in the off season to be able to extract the most of it as soon as we hit the track. 

“I’m also very excited that Callum is joining the team for the full season. We’ve been good friends for quite some time and always spoke about how cool it would be to race together, and I’m glad to see that come to fruition. For the Rolex 24, we have Tom and Elliott with us, and it’s a driver lineup I know we can count on to bring home a really strong result – hopefully better than last year!”

Wright Motorsports, who won the GTD class at the 2022 Rolex 24, will be one of at least five teams entering the newest 992.2-generation Porsche 911 GT3 R for its first IMSA race at Daytona – including Manthey’s two-car, two-class program, as well as AO Racing, Mühlner Motorsports, and RS1.