Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com – May 7, 2025

Post-race technical inspections at ’Dega revealed issues with Joey Logano and Ryan Preece. Logano had a loose bolt attaching his spoiler, while Preece was cited for a spoiler angle violation. Needless to say, penalties followed.

Trump’s tariffs have hit a subject close to the hearts of automotive fans. Lionel, which imports model cars and other products from China, has been forced to raise its prices. Insert your own commentary here!

NASCAR team owner Jack Roush experienced a rough landing at Wittman Regional Airport in Wisconsin while arriving for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture convention last week. His Hawker/Beechcraft Premier 390’s nose reportedly hit the pavement, causing the plane to split in half and slide off into the grass. Roush suffered facial injuries but is expected to make a full recovery. This is strike two – let’s hope there’s no strike three!

Great news for the Miami Grand Prix: it has secured a 10-year extension, keeping it on the F1 calendar through 2041.

Discussions continue about the format for the upcoming NASCAR All-Star Race at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. Some have proposed a “run what ya brung” approach, while others prefer the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid). I lean toward the latter; a RWYB format could lead to chaos in tech inspection and on pit road. Accusations would fly – “he’s cheating!” “No, they’re cheating!” – distracting from the real focus: the racing. Let the All-Stars settle it on the track with driving skills, not technical gimmicks.

It’s finally happened – the Indy 500 Pace Car, a 2025 Corvette ZR1 driven by Michael Strahan for the start, is actually faster than the race cars. GM claims a top speed of 233 MPH, exceeding the anticipated Indy pole speed. This was achieved on a high-speed oval in Papenburg, Germany, with GM President Mark Reuss at the wheel. Maybe they could raise the 110 MPH pace lap speed to make things more exciting?

McLaren has some explaining to do after sending Lando Norris out in Free Practice One with a wrench and a flashlight loose on the floor of the car. Norris later complained about objects sliding in the corners. Who knew?

In a move toward transparency, NASCAR displayed the disqualified spoilers of Joey Logano and Ryan Preece from Talladega at Texas. Good stuff!

In my opinion, Texas Motor Speedway is a poorly designed track. I now understand why IndyCar stopped racing there. Linda and I visited during construction in fall 1996, and while I was impressed that the state and city were funding infrastructure upgrades like the widening of I-35W and the North-West Connector, I disliked the sharp corners on the front stretch. A smoother tri-oval, like Daytona or Talladega, would have been better. The bump in Turn 4 is fixable. Three and a half hours for 400 miles is unacceptable if NASCAR wants to retain viewers.

VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND AT TMP: We’re less than two weeks out from the Victoria Day Weekend Spectacular at Toronto Motorsports Park. One of the biggest annual events on Ontario’s drag racing calendar, the event – which runs May 16, 17 & 18 – will once again feature a schedule jammed with action. The high-octane weekend features the John Scotti NHRA National Open, a headline event in Canadian drag racing. For 2025, the series includes Canadian National Championship chases across seven NHRA classes: Stock/Super Stock, Top Dragster/Sportsman, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Sportsman Motorcycle and Junior Dragsters.

Also in action: Rick Ream in his one-of-a-kind 1950 Bullet Nose Studebaker Firetruck. Neale Armstrong and his 300 mph Jet Dragster (which is powered by a fighter jet engine), a vintage drag racing series and a Nostalgia Funny Car match race.

Click HERE or on the banner for tickets and info.

NASCAR Cup Series – Carson Hocevar won the pole for Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, beating out William Byron (both in Chevrolets) and last week’s winner Austin Cindric (Ford). The field included 38 cars: 16 Chevrolets, 13 Fords, and 9 Toyotas. I didn’t recognize the person who gave the “Start your engines” command. And that flyover? Other than the large aircraft, were those helicopters or drones?

Lap 21: Noah Gragson spun off Turn 2 while attempting to pass Daniel Suarez. No contact, just a caution. During the yellow, race leader Denny Hamlin (booed again during intros) was caught speeding on pit road – back of the pack! Then, insult to injury: his engine failed spectacularly on lap 75, likely due to an oil pan issue, and the car caught fire. The crowd loved it. Cindric won Stage 1.

Lap 89: Chase Briscoe spun off Turn 4 but continued. Meanwhile, Clint Bowyer bottle-feeding a baby kangaroo? Hilarious.

Lap 125: Josh Berry spun while leading, trying to lap a slower car.

Lap 161: Chris Buescher, running third, had a tire failure, prompting a debris caution.

Lap 170 restart: Bubba Wallace lost control – possibly nudged by Logano – and took out A.J. Allmendinger, Gragson, Chad Finchum, and Alex Bowman.

Lap 219: Jesse Love had a solo spin into the inside wall.

Lap 230: Kyle Busch spun on the infamous Turn 4 bump. Ricky Stenhouse barely avoided him.

Lap 237: Hocevar moved up the track and wrecked after contact with Preece.

Lap 247: Brad Keselowski lost it and triggered a pile-up involving Cole Custer, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Ty Dillon, and Cody Ware.

Lap 254: Tyler Reddick spun after coming down on Suarez but continued – still, the yellow flew. I strongly disagree with Joy, Harvick, and Bowyer that it was necessary; Reddick was safely out of the way.

With three to go: Michael McDowell lost the lead to Logano, spun, and hit the inside wall. NASCAR overtime!

I had to laugh at NASCAR Live Timing’s AI Timeline. It listed Chase Elliott pitting on lap 295 and seemed to give up after lap 251 due to all the cautions. Some bugs to fix, clearly!

At the flag, it was Logano, followed by Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney. In the points, William Byron leads Larson by 13 and Hamlin by 83.

Next race – Kansas, Sunday, 3 p.m. on TSN 5.

NASCAR Xfinity Series – With qualifying rained out, the grid was set by points. Austin Hill started from the pole, followed by Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love (all in Chevrolets). Kyle Larson subbed for the injured Connor Zilisch, starting 20th. Field: 38 cars (27 Chevrolets, 6 Fords, 5 Toyotas).

Lap 1: Ryan Ellis spun after a tap but recovered; yellow flag anyway. Even the announcer mocked the call.

Lap 21: Josh Bilicki spun after contact with Leland Honeyman – second caution. Allgaier won Stage 1.

Late in Stage 2: Kris Wright spun after brushing the wall; Hill won the stage.

Post-restart: Josh Williams spun in the wet grass, collecting six cars.

Lap 104: Sheldon Creed hit the wall after contact with Corey Day. Love was also involved.

Lap 155: Allgaier rear-ended Wright, spinning both.

Lap 188: Day hit the wall and displaced some tires.

Many cars were involved in incidents – lack of traction?

Does anyone know what Larson’s sponsor “Blues Hog” is?

With five to go: Sammy Smith hit the wall after Hill got loose and slid into him. NASCAR overtime.

On the restart: Cody Ware spun into the wall.

Final restart: Taylor Gray bumped Hill, letting Larson pull away for the win over Gray and Riley Herbst. Hill may not be thrilled.

In the points, Allgaier leads Hill by 51 and Mayer by 80.

Next race – Charlotte, Saturday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m. on USA and CW.

NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – Tyler Ankrum took the pole at Texas, ahead of Daniel Hemric (both Chevrolets) and Jake Garcia (Ford). Canadian Stewart Friesen (Toyota) started 23rd. Field: 32 trucks (16 Chevrolets, 10 Fords, 6 Toyotas).

Lap 20: Competition caution for tire check.

Lap 31: Giovanni Ruggiero touched the grass and slid up, collecting Kaden Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, and Friesen. Enfinger won Stage 1.

Post-restart: Layne Riggs was spun by Ty Majeski.

Lap 64: Riggs again slid into the grass. Friesen moved up to sixth.

With 20 to go: Frankie Muniz crashed hard in Turn 2.

With 13 to go: Friesen, then in third, hit the wall – another caution.

With 10 to go: Red flag for cleanup.

With 5 to go: Mosack and Garcia wrecked. NASCAR overtime.

At the flag: Corey Heim won over Hemric and Rajah Caruth. Friesen finished 24th due to damage.

In points, Heim leads Chandler Smith by 46 and Hemric by 80.

Next race – Kansas, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on CTV Speed.

Formula One – TSN missed Saturday’s Miami GP Sprint Race. They usually only cover the second of two Friday and Saturday sessions, but the Sprint was the first event Saturday – so I had to stream it.

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) topped Free Practice 1. Qualifying surprise: 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Hamilton’s replacement, qualified behind only the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) qualified 16th after being blocked by rumored replacement Max Verstappen.

Sprint race result: Norris over Piastri and Hamilton (Ferrari). Stroll finished 5th! But the stewards issued several post-race penalties: Lawson (unsafe pass), Albon (VSC violation), Bearman (unsafe release), and Leclerc (damaged car under green).

Main race qualifying: Verstappen on pole, followed by Norris and Antonelli. Stroll started 19th.

At the start: Norris passed Verstappen, but Max forced him off. No steward review?!

Lap 2: Jack Doohan slowed after contact with Lawson – VSC deployed.

Lap 20: Weather radar looked grim.

Lap 29: Oliver Bearman stopped – VSC again.

Midway: McLarens 1-2, followed by Russell.

Lap 33: Another VSC for Bortoleto’s car.

Late-race intrigue: Red Bull wanted Verstappen to stay close to Russell, hoping for a 5-second penalty on George. At the flag, it was Piastri over Norris and Russell. Stroll finished 16th, last running. Four DNFs.

McLaren may be rethinking Norris as No. 1.

Drivers’ standings: Piastri leads Norris by 16, Verstappen by 32.

Constructors: McLaren leads Mercedes by 105, Red Bull by 141.

Next race – Imola, Sunday, May 18.

IndyCar – At Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park, Alex Palou took pole over Scott McLaughlin and Colton Herta. 27 cars competed at one of the world’s most scenic venues, featuring a museum and top-tier infrastructure.

The race went green throughout, with Palou dominating. At halfway, it was Palou, Herta, and Rinus Veekay. At the finish: Palou over Lundgaard (great Canadian spotting by Jeff Gotelaer!) and McLaughlin. That’s three straight wins for Palou, who still had 63 seconds of push-to-pass left.

Palou leads McLaughlin by 60 points and Kirkwood by 69.

Next race – Indy Road Course, Saturday.

IMSA – Next race: Laguna Seca, Sunday.

NHRA – Next race: Route 66, Sunday, May 18.

CASC-OR: Ontario’s road racing sanctioning body kicks off its 2025 season May 10-11 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The BEMC Spring Trophy Races will feature: Formula Libre / F4 / VARAC Formula Classic, Formula Prototype Challenge Canada, Miata Canada Cup, Pirelli Tire Super Touring: GT 1 & 2, Pirelli Tire Grand Touring: GT 3, 4, 5, VARAC Classic & VARAC Modern Classic and VARAC Vintage Historics.

Barrie Automotive Flea Market: The 41st annual Spring Barrie Automotive Flea Market (BAFM) takes place June 5-8 at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds just off Highway 11 in Oro-Medonte. BAFM offers everything from collectibles and classic cars to those hard-to-find car parts. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you likely can’t find it anywhere. BAFM is a car lover’s dream! Visit www.thebafm.com or call (705) 487-3663 for info.

NASCAR Canada Series – First race: Mosport (CTMP), May 18.

APC Series – First race: Sunset, May 18.

Ontario Sportsman Series – First race: Delaware, May 16.

Delaware Speedway – First race: Friday.

Ohsweken Speedway – First race: Friday.

Flamboro Speedway – Next race: Saturday.

Buxton Speedway – First race: Saturday.

Full Throttle Motor Speedway – First race: Saturday, May 17.

Sunset Speedway – Next race: Saturday.

Grand Bend Speedway – First race: Saturday.

Grand Bend Dragway – First race: Weekend of May 18.

St. Thomas Dragway – First race: Weekend of May 24–25.

Toronto Motorsports Park – First race: This weekend, TMP hosts the opening event of the Race Cayuga Sportsman Series (RCSS). Click HERE to see the full schedule and itinerary.

Speed Promotions Racing (No Prep) – TMP, weekend of July 12.

Can Am Stock/Super Stock – First race: TMP, weekend of May 18.

Quick 32 Sportsman Series, PBSS, and 5.50 Super Series – June 21, Empire Dragway.

660 Sportsman Nationals – October 5, Grand Bend.

John Scotti NHRA Canadian Championship Series – First race: Weekend of May 18 at TMP.

Shannonville Drags – First race: June 7–8.

Comments? Reach out to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or through Facebook Messenger.