Chris Perkins, Writer and Editor, GM News

If there’s anyone to set a lap record around Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP), it’s Ron Fellows. The Canadian professional race car driver and Corvette Racing legend started attending races at this very track, then called Mosport, as a kid; now, he’s one of the track’s co-owners. As for the car? The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 already has a reputation for shattering track records.

With a 1:18.2 lap of the 2.5-mile Ontario circuit in, Fellows claimed a new production-car lap record of CTMP with the eighth-generation Corvette ZR1. Don’t feel bad for the driver he beat – the previous lap record, a 1:22.12 set in a 2023 Corvette Z06, also belonged to Fellows.

“CTMP is a track where you’ve got to be brave,” Fellows tells GM News. “It’s so rewarding to get a really good lap time there. It’s got some sharp elevation, and around 60 percent of the lap is high-speed cornering.”

A challenge to be sure, but one that Fellows was up for: The 66-year-old retired pro has a driver’s championship title in the American Le Mans Series, and notched wins at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona.

The track also provides an excellent canvas for the Corvette ZR1. Introduced for 2025, the ZR1 features the most powerful V8 engine produced in America from an American automaker¹. Dubbed the LT7, it’s a 5.5-liter twin-turbo powerplant with a flat-plane crankshaft, putting out up to 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. The ZR1 accelerates from 0-60 MPH in 2.3 seconds ^{2, 3} and achieved a top track speed of 233 MPH⁴ with GM President Mark Reuss behind the wheel at the High-Speed Oval Track at Automotive Testing Papenburg last year.

“Between corners, the car just accelerates so hard and doesn’t stop,” Fellows says.

As any good racer knows, it’s not all about power. When equipped with the track-focused ZTK Performance Package, the ZR1 gets track-ready upgrades to the tires⁵, carbon-ceramic brakes, and suspension, and the Corvette ZR1 generates over 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed, increasing grip even further.

“When you’ve got more downforce, you can be that much more aggressive with corner entry,” Fellows says. He was also impressed with the braking performance. “Into Turn 8, for example, I was braking about the same place as I was with the Z06, but going over 20 mph faster.”

“Working with our longtime Corvette ambassador Ron is such a pleasure,” says Aaron Link, Global Vehicle Performance Manager. “He is the consummate professional, and with the C8 ZR1, he has proven yet again why he earned the ‘Magician of Mosport’ moniker long ago. This track is so demanding and so fast; we knew the ZR1 would be excellent here, but both Ron and the car exceeded our highest expectations.”

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy9M81MNws4

Fellows founded the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School, which operates out of the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club in Nevada. It’s a school for Corvette owners and prospective buyers, with programs for the Stingray, E-Ray, and Z06. Fellows is still working out curriculum for the ZR1, but he offered up a taste of what participants can expect.

“It’s just getting comfortable with the pure acceleration, and also getting comfortable with how the car stops,” Fellows says. “With the added downforce, it’s all about getting people to trust the car’s cornering capability.”

The CTMP lap record is one of many for the ZR1. Corvette engineers set five production-car lap records with the ZR1, with chart-topping runs at Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta, and both the Virginia International Raceway Full and Grand courses. Over at the legendary Nürburgring racetrack in Germany, the Corvette ZR1 and all-wheel drive ZR1X hold the fastest lap times of any American automaker.

It’s a legacy Fellows is proud to contribute to.

“I’m incredibly privileged to get the opportunity to do things like this, to work with GM Canada and the engineering team: Aaron Link, Brian Wallace, Tyler Michaud and Matt Jamison.” Fellows says. “It’s an absolute joy to be able to go out and try to achieve those goals.”

¹ Assembled with US and globally sourced parts

² Requires ZR1 Carbon-Fiber Aero package. GM estimated. On a closed course. Based on initial vehicle movement.

³ On a closed course only. Based on initial vehicle movement. Requires available ZTK Performance Package.

⁴ On a closed course only.

⁵ Do not use summer-only tires in winter conditions, as it would adversely affect vehicle safety, performance and durability. Use only GM-approved tire and wheel combinations. Unapproved combinations may change the vehicle’s performance characteristics. For important tire and wheel information, go to my.chevrolet.com/learnAbout/chevrolettires/ or see your dealer.

By Chris Perkins, Writer and Editor, GM News

Ron Fellows with the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.

If there’s anyone to set a lap record around Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP), it’s Ron Fellows. The Canadian professional race car driver and Corvette Racing legend started attending races at this very track, then called Mosport, as a kid; now, he’s one of the track’s co-owners. As for the car? The 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 already has a reputation for shattering track records.

With a 1:18.2 lap of the 2.5-mile Ontario circuit, Fellows claimed a new production-car lap record of CTMP with the eighth-generation Corvette ZR1. Don’t feel bad for the driver he beat – the previous lap record, a 1:22.12 set in a 2023 Corvette Z06, also belonged to Fellows.

“CTMP is a track where you’ve got to be brave,” Fellows tells GM News. “It’s so rewarding to get a really good lap time there. It’s got some sharp elevation, and around 60 percent of the lap is high-speed cornering.”

A challenge to be sure, but one that Fellows was up for: The 66-year-old retired pro has a driver’s championship title in the American Le Mans Series, and notched wins at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona.

The track also provides an excellent canvas for the Corvette ZR1. Introduced for 2025, the ZR1 features the most powerful V8 engine produced in America from an American automaker¹. Dubbed the LT7, it’s a 5.5-liter twin-turbo powerplant with a flat-plane crankshaft, putting out up to 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. The ZR1 accelerates from 0-60 MPH in 2.3 seconds ^{2, 3} and achieved a top track speed of 233 MPH4 with GM President Mark Reuss behind the wheel at the High-Speed Oval Track at Automotive Testing Papenburg last year.

“Between corners, the car just accelerates so hard and doesn’t stop,” Fellows says.

As any good racer knows, it’s not all about power. When equipped with the track-focused ZTK Performance Package, the ZR1 gets track-ready upgrades to the tires⁵, carbon-ceramic brakes, and suspension, and the Corvette ZR1 generates over 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed, increasing grip even further.

“When you’ve got more downforce, you can be that much more aggressive with corner entry,” Fellows says. He was also impressed with the braking performance. “Into Turn 8, for example, I was braking about the same place as I was with the Z06, but going over 20 mph faster.”

“Working with our longtime Corvette ambassador Ron is such a pleasure,” says Aaron Link, Global Vehicle Performance Manager. “He is the consummate professional, and with the C8 ZR1, he has proven yet again why he earned the ‘Magician of Mosport’ moniker long ago. This track is so demanding and so fast; we knew the ZR1 would be excellent here, but both Ron and the car exceeded our highest expectations.”

Fellows founded the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School, which operates out of the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club in Nevada. It’s a school for Corvette owners and prospective buyers, with programs for the Stingray, E-Ray, and Z06. Fellows is still working out curriculum for the ZR1, but he offered up a taste of what participants can expect.

“It’s just getting comfortable with the pure acceleration, and also getting comfortable with how the car stops,” Fellows says. “With the added downforce, it’s all about getting people to trust the car’s cornering capability.”

The CTMP lap record is one of many for the ZR1. Corvette engineers set five production-car lap records with the ZR1, with chart-topping runs at Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta, and both the Virginia International Raceway Full and Grand courses. Over at the legendary Nürburgring racetrack in Germany, the Corvette ZR1 and all-wheel drive ZR1X hold the fastest lap times of any American automaker.

It’s a legacy Fellows is proud to contribute to.

“I’m incredibly privileged to get the opportunity to do things like this, to work with GM Canada and the engineering team: Aaron Link, Brian Wallace, Tyler Michaud and Matt Jamison.” Fellows says. “It’s an absolute joy to be able to go out and try to achieve those goals.”

¹Assembled with US and globally sourced parts
²Requires ZR1 Carbon-Fiber Aero package. GM estimated. On a closed course. Based on initial vehicle movement.
³On a closed course only. Based on initial vehicle movement. Requires available ZTK Performance Package.
⁴On a closed course only.
⁵Do not use summer-only tires in winter conditions, as it would adversely affect vehicle safety, performance and durability. Use only GM-approved tire and wheel combinations. Unapproved combinations may change the vehicle’s performance characteristics. For important tire and wheel information, go to my.chevrolet.com/learnAbout/chevrolettires/ or see your dealer.

NHRA team owner/driver Antron Brown has appointed veteran partnership specialist Kevin Contardo to lead sponsor relations for his AB Motorsports team for the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. As Director of Business Operations, Contardo will oversee ABM’s existing partnership programs while pursuing new relationships with both endemic and non-endemic brands. He will also collaborate closely with ABM’s hospitality, merchandising, and machine shop departments as he builds upon the strong foundation Brown has successfully established through his first four years of NHRA team ownership.
 
Contardo brings more than a decade of sponsorship development experience to AB Motorsports. His previous roles include serving as Director of Strategic Partnerships for John Force Racing and JCM Racing. He also held the position of Director of Global Partnerships at Oak View Group, a global sports and live entertainment venue management company, and served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Nashville Zoo. His in-depth partnership management experience, paired with his extensive motorsports background, uniquely positions him to support ABM’s continued growth.
 
“I’m ready to hit the ground running with Antron and his AB Motorsports team,” said Contardo, who will work from the team’s Brownsburg, Ind., headquarters. “I’m a lifelong drag racing fan and have had the privilege of working in the NHRA space previously. I was thrilled to get the call from Antron and have the opportunity to rejoin the NHRA circuit with his AB Motorsports team.
 
“I’ve long admired Antron, and it’s been especially impressive to see how far his operation has come in just four short years,” Contardo added. “From the addition and expansion of his FAB Machining business to the Accelerate program, the show car, and the 2024 Top Fuel championship, the team has built something truly remarkable. My goal is to support and enhance what ABM has already created and help streamline processes and operations so Antron can focus his attention on driving the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster and engaging with ABM partners.”
 
Contardo’s first order of business as Director of Business Operations will be joining Brown at the Performance Racing Industry Show at the Indiana Convention Center later this week.
 
“We brought Kevin on board at the perfect time,” said Brown, a four-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion. “He’s an Indy local and already well established within the drag racing community. This week’s PRI show will be the perfect opportunity for Kevin to get to know some of our current partners and have some one-on-one time with them, as well as make some new connections for our team. We’ve got big things in store for 2026, and the addition of Kevin to our team is just the beginning.”
 
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season opens with the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 6 – 8.

This story was originally published on December 9, 2025.

CHARLOTTE — NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps took the witness stand today in the organization’s antitrust trial, saying that part of why NASCAR showed concern about Superstar Racing Experience is because its media rights licensee NBC Sports felt SRX could cause confusion in the marketplace. Phelps was called as an adverse witness by the plaintiffs, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, and was initially questioned by Jeffrey Kessler, the Winston & Strawn attorney who is the teams’ lead outside counsel.

Kessler asked Phelps about his involvement in crafting the original charter system and track sanction exclusivity provisions in 2015 and 2016, questions that Phelps largely said he couldn’t answer because at that time he was only overseeing the business side of NASCAR in areas like sponsorship and hadn’t yet ascended to president. Phelps became president in 2018 and commissioner earlier this year. Kessler made Phelps reveal his salary ($2.5M annually in base and $2.5M in potential bonuses) and appeared to be frustrated by Phelps’ inability to recall conversations between 2015 and 2020.

The lawyer also asked Phelps about a message obtained during discovery in which Phelps, while discussing SRX, was quoted as saying NASCAR should “stick a knife in this trash series.” NASCAR team owners Denny Hamlin and Justin Marks had driven in SRX, and Phelps attributed the message to being ”frustrated that our owners were racing in a series that was using sponsors, colors and livery that looked an awful lot like NASCAR.”

After Kessler finished with his questioning, Phelps was cross-examined by NASCAR’s own external counsel in Christopher Yates of Latham & Watkins. Under questioning from Yates about how those messages on SRX came to be, Phelps said part of the reason NASCAR was concerned about SRX was that NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood had called NASCAR and complained that SRX could create confusion in the marketplace with racing fans after Chase Elliott competed and won a race in Nashville in SRX in 2021. In the trial, the two suing teams are trying to point to NASCAR’s concern about SRX as well as LIV Golf as one of the key signs of it preparing to illegally use its monopoly power to try to prevent competition and therefore leave teams paid at a rate below a normal market value. NASCAR denies such claims.

Kyffin Simpson will drive for Tower Motorsports in next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, the team confirmed via social media on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Simpson, who is fresh off contesting a promising second season in the IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing that included a maiden podium on the Streets of Toronto, completes an LMP2 lineup in Tower’s No. 8 Oreca 07 Gibson that includes the full-time pairing of John Farano and Sebastien Bourdais, along with endurance add-on Sebastian Alvarez.

This will mark a reunion for Simpson, who previously raced with Tower for the endurance rounds in 2023 and 2024, taking a class win in the Twelve Hours of Sebring in the latter year with Farano and IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin. 

Additionally, he won the European Le Mans Championship in Algarve Pro Racing’s LMP2 machine in 2023, teaming alongside Alex Lynn and James Allen to capture two wins and five podiums in six races.

Simpson, the 2021 Formula Regional Americas champion, last competed in IMSA’s crown jewel event in 2024 with DragonSpeed, finishing seventh in class and 48th overall.

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– The Motorsport.com Team