NASCAR has released the plans for the June 19–21 races next year on the Coronado Island Naval Base near San Diego, California. It’s going to be the longest race on the schedule at 3.4 miles in length, featuring 16 corners. Linda and I attended the 1988 Super Bowl in San Diego as winners of a Ford Motor Company of Canada dealer contest. Ford took us to that naval base where we got to see the Spirit of America sailboat and its crew in one of the hangars.

The keel of the boat was wrapped in paper, so I asked ‘why?’. Apparently, the keel design on those bad boys was top secret and kept from prying eyes. That base is huge, and I think it will make for a very interesting race. Looking forward to it. I wonder if they’ll have the Coast Guard present in case of any ‘run-off’ problems? And the Coronado Bridge is going to be very, very busy, I’m sure.

It has been announced that Colton Herta will be racing in Formula Two next year as he works to get his FIA Super Licence. He’s part of the all-new Cadillac Formula One team debuting next season.

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We are down to four cars in Cup, four cars in Xfinity and four trucks. And the almost five-cornered track at Phoenix will be the coliseum where the champions will be decided. Bring it!

Is the NASCAR Driver Advisory Council muddying up the waters in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit pitting 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR? They’ve filed a brief in federal court indicating that the rights of their members might be impacted by the results of the case. Stay tuned.

Reports from COTA show that Red Bull was fined £50,000 because one of its crew members “remained on the grid past the allowed time.” Huh? Apparently, that crew member was attempting to remove some tape McLaren had placed on the pit wall to help mark Lando Norris’s grid spot. Reportedly, the tape couldn’t be removed. And, even better, Norris stated he didn’t need the tape after all. Ah, F1 intrigue at its finest!

More Formula One news: It appears hackers accessed the FIA Driver Categorization website over the summer but apparently did no damage. The hackers notified F1 about the security flaw and said they were fans just interested in highlighting vulnerabilities on the site. Interesting.

With NASCAR racing in Martinsville on the weekend, it brought back a great memory. Forty-six years ago, in 1979, I got a call from Don Duncan, the way-cool PR guy from the Earl Ross Carling team. “Have you got a 12-passenger van?” No, sorry. “That’s too bad, as I have 12 tickets to the Martinsville Cup race.” But I have a 15-passenger van! Deal. We stopped at Don’s house, and he filled the back of the van with Carling “adult beverages.” Road trip on!

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It seems the legendary Sandusky Speedway has been sold at auction. Some great races have taken place there over the years. The future of the track is unknown. One year I saw Bentley Warren parking cars there. I think he was a co-owner at the time. I asked him if he was qualified for the job! Sadly, we keep losing race tracks.

That reminds me of the first time we went to Phoenix about 45 years ago. As we drove out to the track, the road went down into a bit of a gully then back up. I asked a guy at the track what that was about. Mountain runoff! Apparently, when the snow melted it came down and across that road at a pretty good clip. The next time we went there was a big bridge over it. That was also when Manzanita Speedway was still running just north of the speedway. It was butt-ugly on the outside, covered with corrugated metal, but inside it was bad fast and fun.

NASCAR Cup – William Byron (Chev) won the pole for Sunday’s race at the “paper clip,” aka Martinsville Speedway, over Ty Gibbs (Toyota) and Kyle Larson (Chev). Thirty-seven starters: 15 Chevs, 13 Fords and 9 Toyotas. On lap 28 Bubba Wallace spun Daniel Suarez for the first (of many, perhaps?) yellow. Pole-sitter Byron won Stage 1. On lap 216 Carson Hocevar ended up backwards in Turn 1 for the second race caution.

On lap 229 Cole Custer spun after getting tagged by Suarez in 4. On lap 241 Cody Ware lost a right-rear wheel in 1. Yellow. Byron also won Stage 2. On lap 279 Josh Berry looped it in 2 for the fifth race caution. On lap 335 Denny Hamlin retired due to a blown motor that was smoking from both pipes. On lap 379 Bubba Wallace got together with Erik Jones, who spun but got it going again. Yellow! And a pink Corvette pace car? Hopefully it has something to do with breast cancer research. On lap 398 Hocevar got spun by Suarez after slowing early for Turn 1. Yellow. On lap 482 Hocevar spun backwards up to the wall after contact from Michael McDowell exiting Turn 4. Race caution eight. The green came back out with 11 laps to go. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, as Byron took the win after leading 304 of 500 laps over Ryan Blaney (who started 31st!) and Elliott.

This means Byron is going to the Final Four at Phoenix along with Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson. Two Toyotas (Joe Gibbs Racing) and two Chevs (Hendrick Motorsports) – but no Fords.
Next race – Phoenix, Sunday at 3 p.m. on TSN 5.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series – Harrison Burton (Ford) picked up the pole for Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway ahead of Carson Kvapil (Chev) and Aric Almirola (Toyota). Thirty-eight cars: 25 Chevs, 6 Fords and 7 Toyotas. The first yellow came out on lap 32 when Nick Sanchez slipped up and hit Myatt Snider, sending him into the wall. On lap 46 Connor Mosack went into the spin cycle in 4 for the second caution. Justin Allgaier won Stage 1. On lap 92 Jeb Burton spun in 4. Yellow. Carson Kvapil won Stage 2. On lap 192 Josh Williams spun in 4 for the fourth caution. Parker Retzlaff and Jesse Love both looped it in 4 on lap 218 for another caution. Kvapil spun on lap 227, bringing out the laundry again as tempers flared. On lap 245 Daniel Dye’s motor appeared to blow and the yellow came out as he spewed flames. NASCAR overtime. At the flag it was Taylor Gray over Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones.

In the points, the final four will be Connor Zilisch, Kvapil, Allgaier and Love. The car finishing ahead of the other three at Phoenix will be the 2025 Xfinity Champion.
Next race – Phoenix, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on CTV Speed and CW.

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NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – Layne Riggs (Ford) nabbed the pole for Friday’s race at Martinsville Speedway ahead of last week’s winner Gio Ruggiero (Toyota) and Ty Majeski (Ford). Kaden Honeycutt, filling in for injured Canadian driver Stewart Friesen, started fifth. Thirty-five trucks: 16 Chevs, 10 Fords, 9 Toyotas and no Rams.

This was a crucial race for the top eight points drivers – Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum, Kaden Honeycutt, Ty Majeski, Layne Riggs, Daniel Hemric and Grant Enfinger – as only four would advance to Phoenix.

It didn’t take long for the close quarters to take their toll. Andres Perez de Lara, trying to go three-wide in 1, got bumped and turned on lap 7 for a yellow. On lap 22 the caution came back out for fluid on the track. The yellow flew again with 10 to go when Norm Benning got turned in 1. Points leader Corey Heim won Stage 1. On lap 73 Caruth had a tire go down after contact and spun in 1. Yellow. Heim also won Stage 2.

On lap 139 Alan Waller looped it in 1 for another caution. On lap 155 Toni Breidinger and Corey LaJoie got together in 1 (clearly the action center for this race), and Toni collected Patrick Staropoli. Caution. On lap 187, with 13 to go, Bayley Currey had a solo spin in 4 for yet another caution. With five to go, Conner Jones spun exiting Turn 2 and collected three other trucks. At the flag it was Heim over Honeycutt and Riggs. Going to the Final Four at Phoenix will be Heim, Majeski, Ankrum and Honeycutt. Of course, those points don’t mean anything – the driver finishing ahead of the other three at Phoenix will be the 2025 Champion. Toyota won the 2025 Truck Series Manufacturers’ Championship.

In the points it’s Heim 97 ahead of Majeski and Ankrum (tied).
Next race – Phoenix, Friday at 7:30 p.m. on CTV Speed.

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Formula One – Charles Leclerc topped the charts in Free Practice 1, where nine rookies turned laps for the race in Mexico City. Arvid Lindblad (Red Bull) was sixth-quickest. IndyCar ace Pato O’Ward (McLaren) was 13th. A resurgent Max Verstappen was quickest in FP2. Lando Norris (McLaren) topped FP3 and then grabbed pole over the Ferraris of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. His teammate and points leader Oscar Piastri started eighth. Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) started 19th.

An interesting start to the race, to say the least. Verstappen, starting fifth, went four-wide and overcooked Turn 1, cutting across the grass and rejoining in third. Did the venerated stewards do anything about that? Nope. Stroll spun at the back but kept going. On lap 6 Hamilton did almost the same thing, cutting Turn 4, and came back in third. Stewards? Hello? Anybody home? I guess they’ll have to put barriers across those corners so cars can’t cut through. Wait – the esteemed stewards have made a decision: Hamilton penalized 10 seconds for his off-road sortie, but Max? Nothing, nada, zip. Ah, credibility!

At halfway it was Norris over Leclerc and Verstappen. Love the stadium part of the course with the cars coming out from under the stands. Magical! A stirring battle took place in the closing laps as Verstappen tried to get past Leclerc, but a Virtual Safety Car came out on the last lap as the stalled car of Carlos Sainz was clearly off the track. Race management realized their error and dropped the yellow. With half a lap to go, Max couldn’t get around Leclerc as Norris picked up the win. Stroll finished 14th.

In the Drivers’ Championship, Norris now leads Piastri by 1 and Verstappen by 36. Stroll sits 14th.
In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren still leads Mercedes by 357 to 358.
Next race – Brazil, Sunday, November 9.

NHRA – Next race: Las Vegas, Sunday.

Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.