Erickson Wins Inaugural IndyCar Race at Markham, Logano Beats Briscoe at Richmond, and Bobby Fong Takes Two of Three MotoAmerica Superbike Races at VIR
Ericsson, driving an Andretti Global Honda, chased down Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing Honda, to earn his fifth NTT IndyCar Series victory and fourth on a street circuit. Grosjean finished second, extending his career-long search for a first IndyCar victory.
Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet, finished third, followed by championship leader Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Pole winner Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, dominated early, leading the first 32 of 90 laps and building a nearly 3-second advantage. An untimely caution dropped him to 12th after the other leaders had pitted.
Foster charged back into contention before crashing heavily on Lap 43 while challenging Ericsson for third. Foster clipped the inside wall approaching Turn 3 and struck the opposite barrier nearly head-on. He was uninjured.
Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Honda, later crashed at the same location while running third.
Kirkwood’s 21st-place finish helped Palou extend his championship lead to 133 points over Kirkwood with four races remaining. David Malukas, Team Penske Chevrolet, is third, 137 points behind after finishing 17th.
The new 12-turn, 2.1-mile street circuit produced frequent contact, particularly at the Turn 5 hairpin. Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing Honda, was involved in multiple incidents after starting fifth, while Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, was penalized for avoidable contact with Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet.
Seven drivers retired due to contact or mechanical issues, including Caio Collett, Alexander Rossi, Kirkwood, Foster, Christian Rasmussen, Felix Rosenqvist, and Mick Schumacher.
There were six caution flags resulting in 25 of the 90 laps run under yellow.
Next: Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C., Aug 22-23
NASCAR
Joey Logano continued his late-season surge Saturday night, winning the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway for his second NASCAR Cup Series victory in four races.
The three-time champion led 95 of 400 laps and drove his No. 22 Team Penske Ford to a 0.392-second victory over Chase Briscoe. It was Logano’s second win of 2026 and 39th of his career. After a slow start to the season, Logano has climbed from 20th to ninth in the standings over the past six races.
Logano took the lead for good during the final round of pit stops with 25 laps remaining, then held off Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Briscoe led a race-high 171 laps but said fading brakes hindered his late-race challenge. His runner-up finish clinched a spot in the 16-driver Chase.
Austin Cindric finished third in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, moving from 16th to 15th in the standings. Points leader Denny Hamlin was fourth in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and increased his advantage to 115 points over Ryan Blaney.
Chase Elliott finished fifth in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, earning his first top 10 in nine races and clinching a Chase berth. Kyle Larson was sixth, followed by Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Blaney, who started from the pole, led 88 laps and won the opening stage before finishing 13th.
With two regular-season races remaining, seven drivers have clinched Chase positions: Hamlin, Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Briscoe, Elliott and Bell. Shane van Gisbergen currently holds the 16th and final Chase position after finishing 14th. He leads Ryan Preece by 50 points and Ross Chastain by 63.
Next: Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Aug 22-23
MotoAmerica
Bobby Fong continued his mastery of VIRginia International Raceway with two victories before Loris Baz emerged from a chaotic finale to win Sunday’s third MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike race.
Fong, riding for Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing, won Saturday’s shortened 10-lap Race 1 by 1.078 seconds over Mathew Scholtz, Strack Racing Yamaha. Sean Dylan Kelly, OrangeCat Racing BMW, finished third and set the fastest lap.
The race was red-flagged on the opening lap after Hayden Gillim, Real Steel Honda, crashed into an air fence. Benjamin Smith, Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Ducati, also crashed, but repairs allowed him to restart and finish 10th.
Scholtz led the first four laps after the restart before Fong took command on Lap 5. Richie Escalante, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, finished fourth, followed by Baz, Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Ducati.
Fong overcame a poor start Sunday to win Race 2. After falling to seventh, he worked through the lead group and passed Scholtz with two laps remaining. Fong won by 2.044 seconds, with Kelly third.
Race 3 produced considerably more drama. PJ Jacobsen, Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL Ducati, battled Kelly and Scholtz before Escalante crashed hard into the air fence, forcing another red flag for repairs..
The 11-lap restart immediately produced a multi-rider Turn 1 crash involving Fong, Cameron Petersen, Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha, Scholtz, Kelly and Smith. Fong, Petersen and Smith retired, while Scholtz later stopped with mechanical problems. Kelly continued one lap down and earned a championship point.
Jacobsen inherited the lead, but Baz charged through the field and passed Jayson Uribe, OrangeCat Racing BMW, before overtaking Jacobsen at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap.
Baz held off Jacobsen by 0.155 seconds for the victory. Uribe finished third, earning his first MotoAmerica Superbike podium.
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