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IMSA Insider: Porsche, Penske, Nasr Complete a Rolex 24 Three-Peat

by MikeJanuary 30, 2026

Penske, Porsche, Nasr Add to Rolex 24 Legacies with Third Straight Win — Photo by IMSA

CrowdStrike Racing by APR Won’t Be Denied in Taking First LMP2 Triumph

By Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Add yet another historic victory to Roger Penske’s iconic career of high achievement. Team Penske kicked off its 60th anniversary season Sunday with the overall victory in the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona – Penske’s third straight win in the world-renowned sports car race. It featured an all-time Rolex 24 record attendance at the Daytona International Speedway road course to kick off the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Brazilian Felipe Nasr drove the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 across the finish line 1.569 seconds ahead of Brit Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R after a particularly spirited battle through the final hour between the two. The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 was third, 21 seconds behind the winner, in the team’s first race running the IMSA BMW GTP program.

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Luke Fenhaus To Make NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Debut With First-Year Hettinger Racing Team

by MikeJanuary 30, 2026

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 27, 2026) – Midwestern short-track star Luke Fenhaus will make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in the Feb. 14 United Rentals 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

The 21-year-old racer from Wausau, Wisconsin, will drive the No. 5 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Hettinger Racing, a team that is also making its O’Reilly Series debut at Daytona.

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NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports Announce New Original Documentary ‘We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later’ Premiering February 12 on FS1

by MikeJanuary 30, 2026January 30, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. and LOS ANGELES (January 27, 2026) – NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports today announced We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later, a powerful new original documentary marking the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Daytona 500, the race that forever changed NASCAR and American motorsports. Premiering Thursday, February 12 at 10 p.m. ET following the NASCAR Cup Series America 250 Duels on FS1, the film is told through exclusive first-person accounts, rare home video, archival broadcast footage, and cinematic storytelling, revisiting the death of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt and examining the profound ripple effects that continue to shape the sport and its culture 25 years later.

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Joe Gibbs Racing Celebrating 35th Anniversary in 2026

by MikeJanuary 30, 2026

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (January 27, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing, the winningest team of all-time across NASCAR’s three national series, is set for its 35th season in 2026. The organization has a variety of activations planned to celebrate the team’s history, fans, partners, and the Gibbs family.

Over the team’s history, Joe Gibbs Racing has earned 448 victories in NASCAR national series competition, including 227 NASCAR Cup Series wins and 221 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins. JGR’s pedigree includes championships with Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Tony Stewart in the Cup Series, and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championships with Busch, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, and Daniel Suárez. The team also helped launch the careers of other standout drivers like Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Joey Logano.

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Acceptance Insurance and Niece Motorsports Announce New Partnership with NASCAR Driver Andrés Pérez de Lara

by MikeJanuary 30, 2026

Huntington Beach, CA — [January 27, 2026] — Niece Motorsports and Acceptance Insurance today announced that Andrés Pérez de Lara will return to the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado for the full NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule in 2026, with Acceptance Insurance joining as his anchor partner. Pérez de Lara—one of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers—will carry Acceptance Insurance branding as a primary sponsor for select races throughout the upcoming season.

Veteran crew chief Wally Rogers will continue to lead the No. 44 team as Pérez de Lara enters his second NCTS season.

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John Beatty Jr. Honored For Third Straight Riverhead Raceway Modified Title Friday At Sold-Out Awards Ceremony

by Bob FinanJanuary 27, 2026

Riverhead Raceway race teams, staff and their family members filled the banquet room at Giorgio’s of Baiting Hollow to honor the 2025 Riverhead Raceway NASCAR Weekly Series and INEX champions Friday evening. The affair hosted by track owners Connie Partridge, Tom Gatz and GM John Ellwood honored the twelve drivers who earned 2025 championships at the popular quarter mile facility, along with the top five from each division and the 2025 Rookie of the Year winners were feted.

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Race Of Champions Management Continues To Announce “Save-The-Date” Opportunities As Fans Build Their 2026 Race Calendar

by MikeJanuary 27, 2026

Williamson, NY (January 26, 2026) — Race of Champions management is pleased to announce it will once again lease Spencer Speedway for six (6) events during the 2026 season at the Route 104, half-mile speedplant.

Opening night is scheduled for Friday, May 22, followed by additional events on Friday, June 5; Friday, July 10; Friday, July 31; Friday, August 14; and Friday, September 4, 2026. An open practice is tentatively planned for Friday, May 15.

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USAC National Champion Justin Grant to Drive As Briggs Danner TQ Midget Teammate During Atlantic City’s NAPA Auto Parts Weekend, January 30–31

by MikeJanuary 27, 2026

Justin Grant (left) stands with past Indoor Auto Racing Series Champion, Ryan Flores (right) before the 2024 NAPA Auto Parts Atlantic City Indoor Race Weekend. (Photo: Pete MacDonald)

Atlantic City, NJ (January 24, 2026) — Fresh off his five career USAC National Driving Championship in 2025, Justin Grant will head back east to compete in the Indoor Auto Racing Series at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. for a second time during the Friday–Saturday NAPA Auto Parts Weekend on January 30–31.

Grant will pilot a brand-new Kevin Graver–built TQ Midget joining recent series winner Briggs Danner as a teammate. Grant, who also captured the 2025 USAC Silver Crown Championship despite suffering a broken foot in a mid-season crash, made his Indoor Series debut in 2024 driving for Lou Cicconi.

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Two Champions Turned Rookies Ready to Battle in 1764 Sports Bar Late Models

by Lou ModestinoJanuary 27, 2026

After fighting through one of the closest championship finales in White Mountain history, young McKenna Merchant is stepping up to the big leagues in 2026 as she joins the 1764 Sports Bar & Grill Late Model division! (Johnny Racer photo)

N. Woodstock, NH — With last Friday being the deadline for drivers to renew their 2025 licenses for the upcoming season, so too came a pair of bombshells for the 1764 Sports Bar & Grill Late Models in 2026. For possibly the first time ever, the two defending four-cylinder champions of White Mountain and Thunder Road Speedbowl are both moving up to the Late Model class in a landmark battle for Rookie of the Year at New Hampshire’s Favorite Short Track this summer!

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Teddy Hodgdon To Chase NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year

by Kyle SouzaJanuary 27, 2026

Hodgdon Also Pairing With JMA Motorsports For Full-Time Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series Effort

A minimum of 25 races are on the calendar for Teddy Hodgdon for the 2026 short-track Modified racing season.

Hodgdon plans to compete full-time on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in search of the Rookie of the Year award in the familiar No. 55 entry, for all 16 events.

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