Ford Racing Weekly Racing Highlights August 23, 2026

Summary

NASCAR Cup Series (August 23 – New Hampshire) – FORD VICTORY

• Ryan Blaney won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second year in a row.

• Josh Berry (3rd), Ryan Preece (9th) and Noah Gragson (10th) also finished in the top 10.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (August 22 – New Hampshire) – FORD VICTORY

• Layne Riggs won his sixth race of the season and clinched the top seed for the Chase.

• Riggs won the pole and led a race-high 106 laps in the final regular season race of the year.

  

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (August 22 – Virginia International Raceway) - FORD VICTORY

• The No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4 of Gregory Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan earned its first Michelin Pilot Challenge GS victory.

• The No. 60 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, driven by Mike Skeen and Evan Slater, finished second — the team's third GS podium across its entries in the last two events at VIR.

  

Repco Supercars Championship (August 21- 23 – Queensland, Australia) – FORD VICTORIES

• Ford claimed nine podium positions over the three-race weekend, led by race winners Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

• Feeney clinched the Sprint Cup, punching his ticket into The Finals in Adelaide.

• Mustang drivers also hold seven of the top-10 spots in the championship, entering the Endurance Cup portion of the season.

  

Formula 1 (August 21 - 23 - Zandvoort, Holland)

• Liam Lawson, subbing for the injured Isack Hadjar in the Oracle Red Bull Racing entry, was the highest finishing Red Bull Ford Powertrains driver in seventh in Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. 

• Max Verstappen, who announced on Friday a contract extension with Oracle Red Bull Racing through 2030, crashed out early in the race and was not classified. 

• Formula 1 will next race in Monza with the Italian Grand Prix scheduled for September 4 - 6.

  

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (August 23 – Virginia International Raceway)

• Both Ford Racing Mustang GT3s were represented on Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro podium at Virginia International Raceway, led by the No. 64 Ford Racing Mustang GT3 of Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker in second. 

• Rounding out the podium was the No. 65 Ford Racing Mustang GT3, driven by Frédéric Vervisch and Christopher Mies, which finished third. 

• Ford ranks third of 10 manufacturers vying for the championship title (2,550, -98).

• The No. 65 leads Ford Racing in the team championship tied for fourth (2,365, -67), while the No. 64 ranks seventh (2,230, -202).

F1 Academy (August 21 - 23, Zandvoort, Holland) 

• Alisha Palmowski scored her fourth race win of the season in the Campos Racing entry running under the Red Bull Racing banner. 

• Palmowski leads the championship standings by 48 points with five races spread across two race weekends remaining in the season. 

Formula Drift (August 21 - 22 – Seattle)

• Both Ben Hobson and James Deane finished in the top ten in the sixth round of the season in Seattle, with Deane finishing ninth and Hobson finishing seventh. 

• Deane currently leads the championship with two rounds remaining. 

• Formula Drift will be back in action September 24-26 in Las Vegas. 

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (August 22 – 23 – Virginia International Raceway)

• The No. 58 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, driven by Ray Mason, placed fifth in the single-class, GSX race weekend.

• Mason finished second in the Bronze Cup, participating only in the first race of the series weekend.

Mustang Challenge North America (August 21 - 23 – Virginia International Raceway)

• In race one, Cole Loftsgard successfully managed every start and restart to bring home the Dark Horse victory. Oleg Gorshkov was involved in a race-long battle with Tom Tait for the Dark Horse Legends lead and ultimately earned the win. 

• Will Lucas scored his maiden Mustang Challenge Dark Horse win in race two at the track where he claimed the 2025 Mustang Cup USA Miles Cup and Parnelli Cup championships. In Dark Horse Legends, Oleg Gorshkov worked his way up from fourth to bring home the win. 

• Mustang Challenge will be back on track for the final round of the season at Circuit of The Americas September 4-6. 

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series (August 21 - 23 – Brainerd)

• Austin Prock and Tasca Racing qualified second in Nitro Funny Car with a 3.881 at 327.19 mph and made it to the semi-finals on raceday. 

  

Details

NASCAR Cup Series (August 23 – New Hampshire) – FORD VICTORY

• Ryan Blaney won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second year in a row.

• Blaney won the second stage and led a race-high 115 laps.

• Josh Berry (3rd), Ryan Preece (9th) and Noah Gragson (10th) also finished in the top 10.

• Ford has won four of the last six races with Blaney and Joey Logano each winning twice.

• The final race of the regular season is scheduled for Saturday, August 29 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM, HBO Max).

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (August 22 – New Hampshire) – FORD VICTORY

• Layne Riggs won his sixth race of the season and clinched the top seed for the Chase.

• Riggs won the pole and led a race-high 106 laps in the final regular season race of the year.

• Chandler Smith finished second to give Front Row Motorsports a 1-2 finish.

• Four Ford Racing drivers qualified for the Chase: Riggs, Smith, Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes.

• The Chase for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be seven races and starts on Thursday, Sept. 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway (8 p.m. FS1, NRN, SXM).

Repco Supercars Championship (August 21- 23 – Queensland, Australia) – FORD VICTORIES

• Ford claimed nine podium positions over the three-race weekend, led by race winners Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

• Feeney clinched the Sprint Cup, punching his ticket into The Finals in Adelaide.

• Mustang drivers also hold seven of the top-10 spots in the championship, entering the Endurance Cup portion of the season.

• Feeney remains the championship points leader (2,107), followed by Payne (2,077) and Kostecki (1,878) in the top-three.

• Grove Racing leads the Team Championship (3,810), followed by Triple Eight Race Engineering (3,743) and Tickford Racing (2,993).

• The Repco Supercars Championship enters its Endurance Cup rounds, starting with the AirTouch 500 at The Bend from September 11 - 13.

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (August 22 – Virginia International Raceway) - FORD VICTORY

• The No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4 of Gregory Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan earned its first Michelin Pilot Challenge GS victory.

• Liefooghe recorded the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:54.154.

• The No. 60 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, driven by Mike Skeen and Evan Slater, finished second — the team's third GS podium across its entries in the last two events at VIR.

• Liefooghe seized the lead from Skeen with just over three minutes remaining and into a race-deciding full course yellow.

• Contact from a competitor drew the final yellow of the race and knocked the points-leading No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Mustang GT4, driven by Ford Racing Driver Development Team members Robert Noaker and Finn Wiebelhaus, from first to third in the GS championship with two races remaining.

• The No. 64 TeamTGM Ford Mustang GT4 of Ted Giovanis and Hugh Plumb were awarded the Bronze Cup.

• Michelin Pilot Challenge will compete on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on September 19. Event coverage will be livestreamed on Peacock, IMSA.tv and YouTube.

Formula 1 (August 21 - 23 - Zandvoort, Holland)

• Liam Lawson, subbing for the injured Isack Hadjar in the Oracle Red Bull Racing entry, was the highest finishing Red Bull Ford Powertrains driver in seventh in Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. 

• Max Verstappen, who announced on Friday a contract extension with Oracle Red Bull Racing until 2030, crashed out early in the race and was not classified. 

• Yuki Tsunoda, taking over Lawson’s seat in the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls entry, finished in 11th just ahead of teammate Arvid Lindblad in 12th. 

• In Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race, Verstappen led all Red Bull Ford Powertrain machines in sixth place, followed by Lindblad in 10th. Lawson in 11th with Tsunoda finishing 13th. 

• Formula 1 will next race in Monza with the Italian Grand Prix scheduled for September 4 - 6.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (August 23 – Virginia International Raceway)

• Both Ford Racing Mustang GT3s were represented on Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro podium at Virginia International Raceway, led by the No. 64 Ford Racing Mustang GT3 of Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker. 

• The No. 64 team's second-place performance marks its second podium of the season (Watkins Glen International) and its best class finish of the 2026 season.

• Rounding out the podium was the No. 65 Ford Racing Mustang GT3, driven by Frédéric Vervisch and Christopher Mies, which finished third. 

• The result gives the No. 65 team three GTD Pro class podiums in 2026, including a win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and a third-place finish at Ford Racing's home event in Detroit.

• Ford ranks third of 10 manufacturers vying for the championship title (2,550, -98).

• The No. 65 leads Ford Racing in the team championship tied for fourth (2,365, -67), while the No. 64 ranks seventh (2,230, -202).

• The penultimate round of series action is scheduled for September 18 - 20 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with live race coverage on NBC Sports, Peacock, IMSA.tv and YouTube.

F1 Academy (August 21 - 23, Zandvoort, Holland) 

• Alisha Palmowski scored her fourth race win of the season in the Campos Racing entry running under the Red Bull Racing banner. 

• Palmowski leads the championship standings by 48 points with five races spread across two race weekends remaining in the season. 

• F1 Academy will close its season with the final two weekends in the United States: COTA, October 22 - 25 for two races and three races on the streets of Las Vegas, November 19 - 21. 

Formula Drift (August 21 - 22 – Seattle)

• Both Ben Hobson and James Deane finished in the top ten in the sixth round of the season in Seattle, with Deane finishing ninth and Hobson finishing seventh. 

• Deane earned the top spot in qualifying, which gave him a bye in the Top 32 and allowed him to automatically advance to the Top 16. 

• After qualifying eighth, Hobson had two great runs in his Top 32 battle to move on to the Top 16. 

• Deane made a small error in his Top 16 chase run which prevented him from advancing to the Great Eight. 

• Hobson ran an impressive lead run and a clean chase run to advance to the Great Eight. He fought hard in the Great Eight but did not make it to the Final Four. 

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (August 22 – 23 – Virginia International Raceway)

• The No. 58 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, driven by Ray Mason, placed fifth in the single-class, GSX race weekend.

• Mason finished second in the Bronze Cup, participating only in the first race of the series weekend.

IMSA Mustang Challenge North America (August 21 - 23 – Virginia International Raceway)

• Round 3 Racing earned pole position in both classes in qualifying, with Cole Loftsgard earning his seventh Dark Horse pole of the season and Oleg Gorshkov scoring his first Dark Horse Legends pole. 

• In race one of the weekend, Loftsgard successfully managed every start and restart to claim victory in the Dark Horse class. Oleg Gorshkov and Tom Tait were involved in a race-long battle for the lead, with Gorshkov ultimately bringing home the win. Devin Anderson earned the inaugural JKTG Driving Research award for being the highest-finishing Ford Racing Development Driver. 

• In race two, Will Lucas claimed his maiden Mustang Challenge win in the Dark Horse class after a long battle with teammate Sandy Satullo. Lucas also earned the JKTG Driving Research Award for being the highest finishing Ford Racing Development Driver. In Dark Horse Legends, Gorshkov claimed his fourth win in four races. 

• Mustang Challenge will be back in action for the final two races of the season at Circuit of The Americas September 4-6. Live coverage will be on the official Ford Racing YouTube channel. 

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series (August 21 - 23 – Brainerd)

• Austin Prock and Tasca Racing qualified second in Nitro Funny Car with a 3.881 at 327.19 mph and made it to the semi-finals on raceday. 

• Prock won the Friday night points challenge by having the fastest ET of the night and made it to the final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Saturday.

• Daniel Wilkerson qualified fourth with his 3.902 at 322.81mph.

• Prock enters the final race of the regular season sixth in points.

• NHRA closes its regular season with the legendary US Nationals next, where the Funny Car class will battle for the Funny Car All-Star Callout as well as points and a half Sep 02-07, 2026 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.