By Tom Coughlin

The Outlaw Predator Series will celebrate its 2025 racing season with an Awards Banquet and fundraiser tomorrow night. The event is open to the public and will be held at the Town of Florida Town Hall at 167 Fort Hunter Road, Amsterdam. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. and dinner—a large taco bar with your choice of beef, chicken, pulled pork, fish, shrimp, and taco salad—is at 6:00 p.m. Adults age 16 and up are $25, kids under 16 are $10, and children under 5 are free. This includes food and soft drinks. Bring your own beer. Various raffles will also be available to help raise funds for the 2026 season.

The Ranch at Carlisle has posted its upcoming 2026 event schedule. Saturday, Jan. 24, will be the AMA NYS Ice Racing Championship & Northeast Snow Drag Championship. Fans will see fast racing on prepared ice and snow. A heated tent and concessions are available, with spectator-friendly viewing areas. Spectator admission is $25 per person, with kids 6 and under free. Their winter schedule continues on Feb. 14 with the Winterfest Snow Drag & Ice Race combo (raindate for NYS Championship) and concludes on Feb. 21 with the Winterfest Snow Drag & Ice Race finale (second rain date for NYS Championship).

Good news for racers and fans in the Northeast was received on New Year’s Eve afternoon when Howard Commander, owner of Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., sent out a press release confirming the operator of the speedway going forward. Marcy Mangino DeVore, the widow of the late promoter Lyle DeVore, along with Pete Scully, have been charged with the management of “The Great Race Place” for the 2026 racing season. They will be aided by a team of returning track employees, staff members, race teams, and sponsors dedicated to carrying forward the legacy built by longtime track manager and promoter Lyle DeVore, who passed away in December 2025 after a hard-fought, four-year battle with cancer. Marcy and Pete are currently developing the 2026 race event schedule and planning for the 61st season opener on Friday, April 17, 2026, a Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified event.

On New Year’s Day, our other Friday night big car track, Utica-Rome Speedway, released its tentative schedule for 2026 at the Vernon oval known as the “Home of Heroes.” Open practice is scheduled for all classes on Saturday, April 11, with a rain date of Sunday, April 12. The 2026 points season will start on Friday, April 24, and end on Friday, Aug. 28. Weekly racing divisions will consist of DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, DIRTcar Crate 602 Sportsman, DIRTcar Pro Stocks, and Limited Sportsman. The schedule will feature four Sunday shows headlined by the Big Block Modified division, accompanied by a variety of other divisions. The 360 Winged Sprint Cars of the Empire Super Sprints will visit twice, including the annual Cole Cup on Sunday, Sept. 6. The 305 Winged Sprint Cars of the CRSA will also visit twice. The Super DIRTcar Series for 358 Modifieds will visit on Wednesday, July 15, and the SDS for Big Block Modifieds will visit on Wednesday, Aug. 19. There will be two five-dollar Fan Appreciation nights on Friday, May 22, and Friday, July 10. The schedule is subject to change.

Annually, there are roughly 2,000 entries in the Tulsa Shootout, and this year’s 41st annual event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was on track to hit that mark. The Tulsa Shootout is the world’s largest event for Micro Sprints and is held indoors at the SageNet Center. One area racer was out there attempting to advance through the “alphabet soup” of qualifying to make it into the A-Main features. Preston Trautschold of Roscoe, N.Y., who races locally in the Junior Slingshot division and was the 2025 track champion at both Utica-Rome Speedway and Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, was competing in the Junior Sprint division against some of the best racers from throughout the world. Heat races, Last Chance Qualifiers, and B-Mains bring the number of qualifying events up to 427 before the six A-Main features are run to see who goes home with a Golden Driller Trophy. The six divisions and the overall winners were: Junior Sprints, Jax Wittmer; Stock Non-Wing, Cullen Hutchison; Outlaw Winged, Daison Pursley; Restricted A Class, Braxon Vasconcellos; A Class Winged, Frank Flud; and Outlaw Non-Wing, Jonathan Beason. Trautschold made it into the LCQ on Saturday, where he started 12th and unfortunately finished 12th after having some issues; only the top eight were able to advance into the A-Main. Preston was pleased with what he accomplished and that he was able to carry the New York State flag for the Parade of States. Drivers taking part in the Shootout with a national following included NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs, NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and his children Owen and Audrey, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and his son Brexton, and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman and his daughter Brooklyn.

Racers and fans endured freezing cold temperatures and wind chill to attend the inaugural Chill Factor Enduro 50-lap event at the “Track of Champions.” 42 drivers were entered into the Chill Factor Enduro on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, to welcome in the new year with Fonda Speedway’s earliest-ever opening date. When the 50-lap enduro was finished, Josh Kane was declared the first feature winner for 2026 to begin the track’s 75th anniversary season.

The local racing community has lost another racer as Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame member Ron Quackenbush, age 85, of Gloversville, passed away last week. He was the driver of the no. 333.

The Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club had over 150 former members and racers in attendance at its Racers Reunion last Saturday. A good time was had by all.

You never know who you might encounter when checking out one of the area museums. While touring the Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich on Sunday, I happened to meet up with Crate 602 Sportsman champion Payton Talbot and his family. Payton mentioned that this was his first time visiting the very impressive display of motorized history. He also said that he was working on finalizing plans to race in Florida next month. If you have thought about going to the museum but were concerned about mobility, there are a limited number of assistance tools available, such as mobility scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, and children’s umbrella strollers. There are also a number of benches spread throughout the facility where you can take a break.

Registration has begun for the much-anticipated Fonda Speedway Race Car Show at the Via/Port Mall in Rotterdam in March. Registration can be done by sending an email to Jamie Page at jpage15@stny.rr.com. Be sure to register and contact your graphics person to be ready for the popular event.

Here are more dates to mark on your calendar: Afton Motorsports Park will tentatively hold practice on Saturday, April 4, 11, and 18, and will open on Saturday, April 25, with Big Block/Small Block Modifieds, Crate 602 Sportsman, Limited Sportsman, Mini Mods, 4-Cylinders, and Factory Stocks.

Niece Motorsports announced that multi-time winner and defending Coca-Cola 600 champion, Ross Chastain, back to its NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) driver roster in 2026.

Chastain, who enters his ninth year competing for the organization, remains a mainstay since joining in 2018. The Alva, Florida native has driven a Niece Motorsports truck to victory lane on five occasions – the most of any driver – and delivered the team’s first win at Kansas Speedway in 2019.

Throughout the 2025 season, the veteran driver made five NCTS starts with Niece Motorsports, finishing as high as second at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In each of his races, Chastain posed a threat as a contender for the race win.

Over the offseason, NASCAR adjusted the rules to allow Cup Series drivers with three or more years of experience to participate in eight races instead of five. Chastain plans to take full advantage of the opportunity by competing in as many races as possible.

“It’s great to be back with Niece Motorsports in a larger capacity this year,” said Chastain. “When I heard about the rule change, I knew we had to run more races together. We’ve got a great core group of people here in Salisbury and I want to bring them all back to victory lane. I’m thankful to have the opportunity and appreciate the ownership group and our partners for making it happen, along with everyone at Trackhouse for allowing me to run in the Truck Series.”

Driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado this year, Chastain will reunite with Phil Gould as his crew chief, who guided him to a runner-up points finish in 2019. He will share the ride with series newcomer, Landen Lewis, along with a third driver, who will be announced in the near future.

“We’re thrilled to have Ross (Chastain) in our trucks for more races this year,” said Cody Efaw, CEO of Niece Motorsports. “Ross has been a huge part of our team since he first joined us, and his input is invaluable. Considering the young group of drivers we have in the fold this year, Ross will be a tremendous asset for those guys to learn from. We look forward to having him contend for wins each time he straps into the No. 45 truck this year.”

Chastain’s race schedule will be revealed as the season progresses, along with primary partner announcements for the campaign.

On Friday, Front Row Motorsports announced some personnel changes to its organization. Of note, Noah Gragson and the No. 4 team will have a new crew chief this year.

Grant Hutchens will sit atop the pit box for Gragson this year, replacing Drew Blickensderfer, who moves into the role of Competition Director. Hutchens has worked as a Cup crew chief before, but only in a handful of races between 2021 and 2024. He worked with Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric at Team Penske, and also Harrison Burton at the Wood Brothers for nine races total.

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Elsewhere, Seth Barbour will continue as the team’s Technical Director, and Jonathan DeHart has joined FRM as its Aerodynamics Manager.

Blickensderfer is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 as a crew chief, but things didn’t go well for the No. 4 team this past year. Gragson lagged behind his teammates, and struggled to find results. He scored just one top five and three top tens, ending the year 34th in the championship standings, and the only full-time drivers ranked lower were Riley Herbst and Cody Ware. FRM teammates Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith ended the year 27th and 28th in the final standings, respectively.

Gragson’s best result came at Talladega, where he finished fourth.

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Audi Formula 1 team chief Jonathan Wheatley has revealed that he never planned on becoming a team principal after beginning his motorsport career as a junior mechanic at Benetton in the early 1990s.

Having joined Sauber as team principal in 2025, the Briton now heads into 2026 as the outfit transitions to Audi for the upcoming F1 season. The 58-year-old has reflected on his career to date and how he rose through the ranks, starting as a junior mechanic at Benetton before serving as chief mechanic at the same team and Renault, and as team manager and sporting director at Red Bull.

“This would be the least successful career in the world if I had, because it’s taken me 34 years to get here,” he told Motorsport Week when asked if he had always planned on becoming a team principal.

“No, back then, team principals were Ron Dennis, Flavio Briatore, Luca di Montezemolo. I mean, just to even think for a second that you could be a team principal was completely unattainable, because I generally have been happy working in a team environment.

“I never really saw myself doing the next step or the next step. I’ve just enjoyed every day in Formula 1. And like I said, I’ve been very lucky that people have identified me as maybe somebody who could take the next step. And then I think sometimes in your career, you get a significant phone call, and this was one of those.”

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal of Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

He added: “And I’ve just been tremendously privileged to have been, at no point in my career, massively career motivated. I’ve just enjoyed working with whatever team, and I’ve been offered opportunities, and I sit here today as a Team Principal of what’s going to be the Audi Formula 1 project, which is one of the most exciting things I can believe I can say in a sentence.”

Audi will enter the F1 grid in 2026 with the same driver line-up as Sauber in 2025 – Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto – but will now be under the new Audi branding as a works team.

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Jeff Gordon has expressed his excitement with Hendrick Motorsports’ new partner tipped to make a big impact behind the scenes. 

Heading into the 2026 NASCAR season, Hendrick will have a new partner to aid them in their quest to maintain their status as one of the top teams in the sport. On Thursday, Gordon and Hendrick announced that the team has partnered with Atrium Health on a new facility meant to aid the team’s drivers, such as Kyle Larson.

The 35,000-square-foot facility, called the Atrium Health Athletic Center, is set to open in late January and will feature amenities aimed at helping the drivers remain in top shape. The announcement comes after Hendrick Motorsports made a $14.2M piurchase after Rick Hendrick’s $1 billion admission.. 

“Excited to welcome @AtriumHealth to the team! Here’s a first look at the partnership in action,” Gordon’s post on X read, which showed renderings of what the new facility would look like, featuring photos of a spa area, weight room, and fully furnished locker rooms, among other amenities. 

Furthermore, Gordon elaborated on the benefits of having a facility with Atrium Health for the drivers, particularly since NASCAR differs from other motorsports, which he claimed would have an “impact where it matters most.” He also elaborated on the partnership in a release from Hendrick Motorsports, which was issued in conjunction with the social media posts. 

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“The demands of NASCAR are different from any other sport – the schedule is relentless, the margins are extremely tight, and performance is about preparation as much as it is execution,” the four-time Cup Series champion’s statement began.

“This new facility allows our coaches and staff to work side by side with Atrium Health clinicians, ensuring every aspect of training, recovery and readiness is aligned. Everything in this space is designed around our athletes and our teammates.

“At the end of the day, it always comes back to people, and this new partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting them the right way every day.”

Dr. Claude T. Moorman, the President of Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, explained they were “proud” to team up with Hendrick in creating a facility that integrates “sports medicine, performance services and clinical care.” 

“Our focus will be on supporting athlete fitness, injury prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, as well as optimizing performance throughout the NASCAR season, which is the longest season in professional sports,” his statement read.

“This partnership allows us to deliver high-level care in a purpose-built environment that meets the needs of both elite athletes and the broader workforce of the Hendrick organization.”

With Hendrick getting a new facility, it certainly can aid Larson’s, one of the team’s stars, quest to win another championship. In the 2025 season, Larson edged out Denny Hamlin in overtime to win his second Cup Series title, Hendrick’s 15th overall, the most in the sport.