Courtesy of NASCAR at COTA AUSTIN, Texas – NASCAR fans can now enjoy financial flexibility while securing their seats for the Feb. 28 – March 2 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix race weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). NASCAR at COTA has partnered with three leading digital financial services companies – PayPal, Klarna and Zip – to allow fans the ability to purchase their seats now and pay later. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports. PayPal, which operates globally in more than 200 markets and has more than 400 million active…
Author: John Sturbin
John Sturbin
John Sturbin is a Fort Worth-based journalist specializing in motorsports. During a near 30-year career with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he won the Bloys Britt Award for top motorsports story of the year (1991) as judged by The Associated Press; received the National Hot Rod Association’s Media Award (1995) and several in-house Star-Telegram honors. He also was inaugural recipient of the Texas Motor Speedway Excellence in Journalism Award (2009). Email John Sturbin at jsturbin@hotmail.com.
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio NHRA management and a handful of championship-caliber drag racing teams will be going places without Toyota following the 2025 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Toyota Motor North America announced its planned departure from the sport Wednesday from its headquarters in Plano, Texas. Among the teams affected will be Torrence Racing, located in Kilgore, Texas, and home to four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence and his father Billy. “Our NHRA Drag Racing involvement has brought much success and pride across our entire organization,” said Paul Doleshal, group manager, motorsports, TMNA. “Our NHRA drivers…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Robert Wickens’ story is a perfect fit for Thanksgiving Weekend 2024. It’s the story of resilience, persistence, love of family and the innovative technology and competitive compassion of the motorsports industry. Wickens has been paralyzed from the waist down since Aug. 19, 2018, the result of extensive injuries suffered in a grinding INDYCAR crash at Pocono Raceway. Fast forward to Tuesday, when Wickens met with media members via ZOOM to discuss his groundbreaking driving effort in DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Wickens will compete in five sprint races in the…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio An offseason of perks for two-time/reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden will accelerate next week with a repeat Borg-Warner Trophy moment. Team Penske ace Newgarden, winner of the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, will unveil his likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy at approximately 5 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, Dec. 4, at CoHatch Polk Stables in Indianapolis. Newgarden won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the second consecutive year last May 26 in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden will be joined for the ceremony by Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J.…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Penske Entertainment tightened its grip on INDYCAR and the NTT IndyCar Series with the recent acquisition of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, LLC, from longtime owner Gerald R. Forsythe. Announced on Nov. 14 as part of Penske Entertainment’s self-described “ambitious INDYCAR growth agenda,” the GPA has overseen the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach _ domestic open-wheel racing’s crown-jewel street event. The race’s landmark 50th edition is scheduled for Sunday, April 13, 2025 with network television coverage provided by new series partner FOX Sports. “We’re incredibly proud to be the new…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio NASCAR icon Bobby Allison, whose Hall of Fame career included two Indianapolis 500 starts with Team Penske, died Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Mooresville, N.C. Mr. Allison was 86. A self-described “Racer’s Racer,” Allison’s 85 victories rank fourth on NASCAR’s all-time list _ with that 85th win ironically accompanied by a recent asterisk that broke him out of a tie with Darrell Waltrip. Allison trails only “King” Richard Petty (200), David Pearson (105) and Jeff Gordon (93) on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. In addition, Allison’s 336 top-five finishes are second only to King…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio ENNIS, Texas – Justin Ashley says his hole-shot victory over Clay Millican in Sunday’s Top Fuel final of the 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals was a matter of “divine intervention.” Who’s to argue with a man of faith…and his 11,000-horsepower hot rod? Still, a pivotal, first-round knockout of three-time world champion Antron Brown proved equally seraphic at Texas Motorplex. Ashley’s win over point-leader Brown triggered a workmanlike, day-long sprint in summertime-like heat that saw the native New Yorker also trailer world champions Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher en route to the final vs. Millican.…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Three-time/reigning INDYCAR champion Alex Palou’s pursuit of the one victory missing from his otherwise brilliant open-wheel resume officially is underway. Palou topped the speed chart at 224.342 mph during an NTT IndyCar Series test Friday around Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s famed 2.5-mile oval, seven months before the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. “It was a good day of testing,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “We tried a lot of stuff. Yesterday was Firestone (tire test), today was more us, Ganassi and Honda. We’re happy. You want…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio ENNIS – Tony Stewart puckered-up and dodged the dreaded first DNQ of his rookie Top Fuel season during final-round qualifying Saturday afternoon for the 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals. Stewart covered the 1,000-foot distance at Texas Motorplex in 3.816-seconds and 327.25 mph to bag the 15th spot on Sunday’s 16-car eliminations ladder. Stewart’s previous three passes this weekend in the black-and-gold 50th anniversary Tony Stewart Racing Mobil1 Dodge//SRT dragster had gone up in tire smoke, leaving the NASCAR Hall of Famer 18th in a field of 19 entries after an aborted lap of…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio ENNIS – Self-proclaimed Funny Car “rookie” Austin Prock continued to steamroll toward the 2024 NHRA world championship during second-round qualifying Friday night at Texas Motorplex. Prock laid down a 1,000-foot run in 3.813-seconds at 333.09 mph to claim the provisional pole for the 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals. Prock’s lap re-set the class track elapsed time record, stands as a career-best and the quickest run in “Ha-Ha Car” since 2017…two years before Austin made his NHRA nitro debut. The special “Friday Night Live” session offered more than $40,000 in bonus money. The low qualifier under…