Palou and Gibbs Take Portland and Iowa Wins; Martin and Fernandez Top Silverstone MotoGP Races
IndyCar
Alex Palou continued his dominant 2026 season Sunday, winning the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland for his sixth victory in 13 NTT IndyCar Series races and second consecutive triumph.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver followed his recent oval victory at Nashville by leading 60 of 110 laps at Portland International Raceway, earning his 25th career IndyCar win in just 110 starts.
Pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist led the opening stint for Meyer Shank Racing before Palou moved ahead and controlled much of the remainder of the race. Rosenqvist finished second, with Will Power third to complete an all-Honda podium. This was Power’s third 3rd-place result of the season after moving to Andretti Global after 17 years with Team Penske.
Rinus VeeKay finished fourth as the highest-finishing Chevrolet driver, while Kyle Kirkwood took fifth and moved into second in the championship. However, Palou increased his advantage over Kirkwood from 87 to 110 points with five races remaining.
Marcus Ericsson finished sixth, followed by Scott McLaughlin. Christian Lundgaard charged from 25th to ninth, while Kyffin Simpson completed the top 10.
David Malukas finished 12th and slipped from second to third in the standings, 118 points behind Palou.
The race featured just one full-course caution after Graham Rahal crashed into the tire barriers at Turn 11 before reversing and continuing.
With five races remaining, Palou holds a commanding advantage in pursuit of another IndyCar championship, as every driver is at least two full race’s worth of maximum points behind him in the standings. Kirkwood at 110 and Malukas are the only ones with a tiny chance to stop Palou.
Christian Lundgaard, now 135 back in fourth, and Pato O’Ward at -155 should best start thinking about next season.
Next: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, Aug 15-16
NASCAR
Ty Gibbs used a late two-tire strategy call to capture his second NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday in the Iowa Corn 250 at Iowa Speedway.
Gibbs followed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and race leader Christopher Bell onto pit road under green with 60 laps remaining in the Iowa Corn 350. Gibbs took two tires, gaining the track position that ultimately decided the race after he cycled into the lead with 21 laps to go and kept Bell behind him to the finish.
Bell settled for his seventh runner-up finish of the season, and stands sixth in the standings, but remains winless.
Pole-sitter Ryan Blaney finished third in his Penske Ford after winning the opening stage and leading a race-high 129 laps. Josh Berry was fourth and Denny Hamlin drove his JGR Toyota to fifth despite battling brake problems throughout the weekend.
Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, William Byron and Austin Dillon completed the top 10. Connor Zilisch matched his career-best oval finish in 11th. Bubba Wallace finished 12th after receiving a speeding penalty while leading.
Kyle Larson finished 33rd after contact in a four-wide battle off Turn 4. Tyler Reddick was 36th after a crash that also eliminated Erik Jones, while Alex Bowman was sidelined by damage from the Larson incident.
The race featured nine lead changes among six drivers and seven cautions.
In MotoGP’s first event after its summer break, the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Great Britain may have reshaped the championship fight as Aprilia dominated while Ducati struggled for speed and consistency at Silverstone.
Raul Fernandez led an Aprilia podium sweep in the Grand Prix on Sunday, rebounding from a frustrating sprint race on Saturday to deliver a dominant, led-every-lap victory. Points leader Jorge Martin also enjoyed a strong weekend, scoring the win in Saturday’s sprint race and second on Sunday to extend his advantage from 14 to 31 points.
Marco Bezzecchi produced perhaps the weekend’s most impressive performance. Despite racing with pain and limited strength and mobility, the result of a fractured collarbone and severe knee damage from a crash at the Germany GP in July, he earned two third-place finishes — which could prove a turning point in his championship campaign.
The results further demonstrated the unpredictability of 2026. Seven riders have won during the opening 12 grands prix, with Ducati and Aprilia performances increasingly dependent on circuit characteristics. Ducati also lacks a clear title leader, with factory rider Marc Marquez and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio separated by just one point and both more than 40 behind Martin.
Ride-height devices also remained an issue. Martin and Ai Ogura both struggled at the start when their rear devices failed to disengage, highlighting a potential concern until the technology is completely banned in 2027.
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