Ryan Preece

Preece pulled off the improbable, erasing a 31-point deficit in a single race, making the 2026 NASCAR Cup Chase as the door slammed shut behind him. And he did it by winning in spectacular fashion at Daytona, his first Cup win in 249 career starts.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney earned another impressive win at New Hampshire and solidified himself as the No. 2 driver in the championship standings before the Chase reset. He also earned back-to-back poles in August, and has been a threat for the win in each of the last four races.

Josh Berry

Racing for his career, Berry has continued an incredible streak of five consecutive top tens, which no Wood Brothers driver has done in over 30 years. This included a sensational drive at New Hampshire, where he led a career-high 73 laps and finished third.

Denny Hamlin

Hamlin ended the regular season as the championship leader, making him the No. 1 seed in the Chase standings. He didn’t visit Victory Lane this past month, but he was consistent with no finishes worse than 11^th.

Marco Bezzecchi

Despite not having fully recovered from injuries to his collarbone and knee, Bezzecchi has made an impressive comeback from arguably the lowest point of his career. Four consecutive podiums across Silverstone and Aragon weekends have put firmly in the title hunt.

Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez is increasingly emerging as the dark horse in the championship battle. His performances in Silverstone may have been underwhelming, but a double win in Aragon was a stark reminder of what he is capable of.

Pedro Acosta

Pedro Acosta is only getting better with time. Silverstone was already a highlight of his campaign, but he took things up a notch at Aragon, putting Marc Marquez under serious pressure in the grand prix.

Jorge Martin

After a patchy run of form, a switch to an older set-up philosophy has helped him rediscover his ‘feeling’ on the bike. A 32-point tally at Silverstone helped him extend his advantage in the championship, even as he conceded several points later at Aragon.

Pato O'Ward

Arrow McLaren’s O’Ward delivered the standout performance of the season by winning both races of the rain-delayed Milwaukee doubleheader on August 30 - the same day as founder Bruce McLaren’s birthday. The feat marked the first time an IndyCar driver won two races on the same day since Rick Mears at Atlanta in 1981.

Alex Palou

Palou dominated the Grand Prix of Portland on August 9 before securing enough points across the month – culminating in a pair of top-10 finishes in Milwaukee to lock up his fourth consecutive - fifth in six years - series title with one race remaining.

Kyle Kirkwood

The Florida native and Andretti Global driver delivered a beatdown in the nation’s capital on August 23, leading 128 of 147 laps in the inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the streets of Washington, D.C.

Marcus Ericsson

Ericsson ended a 63-race drought with a powerful drive on the Streets of Markham on August 16. The victory - his first with Andretti Global - was the exclamation point to a stout month that featured one additional top five and top 10s in all five races.

Andrea Caldarelli / Sandy Mitchell (Pfaff Motorsports — GTD Pro)

Caldarelli and Mitchell dished out the most dominant run of the month, sweeping the GTD Pro class in August. The pair took a pole and secured back-to-back class victories at both Road America and Virginia International Raceway (VIR) driving the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3.

Ricky Taylor / Filipe Albuguerque (Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac - GTP)

Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque snapped Wayne Taylor Racing’s two-year winless streak at Road America. Taylor kept the #10 Cadillac at the front through chaotic early stints, setting up Albuquerque to execute the winning pass and hold off the field through tense late restarts.

Philip Ellis / Russell Ward (Winward Racing - GTD)

Driving the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3, Ellis and Ward mounted a dominant late-summer surge by securing back-to-back GTD victories, capped by a tactical pass with under 30 minutes remaining to win Road America's six-hour endurance feature. The duo also delivered a dramatic late push to take victory at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), thrusting Winward Racing right back into the lead of the IMSA GTD championship fight.

Laurin Heinrich / Kaylen Frederick / Tijmen van der Helm (JDC-Miller MotorSports - GTP)

The JDC-Miller trio of Heinrich, Frederick, and van der Helm drove their Porsche 963 through late-race chaos to a stunning overall P2 at Road America. Overcoming early damage - and even a door popping open in the last portion of the race - to beat factory GTP titans as a privateer entry proves this lineup fully deserves top billing. In turn, Heinrich continued to inch closer to rival Jack Aitken for the top spot in the IMSA GTP title race.

Lando Norris

The F1 world champion has been on a roll since McLaren introduced another upgrade in Hungary in July. Coming back from the summer break, Norris scored his second win in a row, and even if he is still a long way behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the standings, he has at least earned the right to be considered a potential title contender.

Kimi Antonelli

The Italian, who has just turned 20, continues to impress. Even if he didn't win at Zandvoort, he did enough to maintain a healthy championship lead thanks to his consistency. Antonelli finished second at the Dutch GP, scoring more points than his closest rival Lewis Hamilton and preventing George Russell from closing the gap either.

Liam Lawson

Given another chance to drive for Red Bull, Liam Lawson didn't disappoint. With only one practice session to adapt to the RB22, the New Zealander qualified eighth, right behind Max Verstappen and just over 0.1s slower than the four-time world champion. Lawson then scored points on Sunday by finishing seventh, while Verstappen crashed out.

Fernando Alonso

At 45 years old, the Spaniard continues to prove he belongs among the best drivers in the world. While Aston Martin isn't in a position to fight for wins and podiums, Fernando Alonso still makes the most of any opportunity to score points. An aggressive strategy gave him that chance at Zandvoort, where he finished ninth and became the first 45-year-old to score points in an F1 race since Graham Hill in the 1974 Swedish GP.

NASCAR - Ryan Preece spins, and then wins his way into the Chase

Preece was sliding through the grass at the end of Stage 1 at Daytona, but he never gave up hope in his chances of making the Chase. The RFK Racing driver realized on the final restart that a win was essentially the only way he could advance, and so he did just that, earning his first NASCAR Cup win in his 249^th career start.

MotoGP - Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez’s slipstream battle

The sight of two MotoGP bikes racing side-by-side at over 300km/h on Aragon’s back straight left fans on the edge of their seats. Championship rivals Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez produced one of the most memorable visuals of the year as they battled for victory at MotorLand.

IndyCar’s Historic Takeover of the Nation’s Capital

While it’s worth recognizing the reveal of IndyCar’s 2028 challenger, the IR-28, and Alex Palou clinching a staggering fifth - fourth consecutive - series title, Washington, D.C. stole the show with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. Billed as a one-off as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration, IndyCar delivered an unprecedented street race around the National Mall. It was a spectacle to behold with President Donald Trump waving the green flag, elevated by seven flyovers and parades, along with thrilling racing. And with 3.282 million viewers, it was the largest television audience outside of the Indianapolis 500 since 1995.

IMSA - Estre vs Aitken sends penalty shockwave in the paddock

The high-speed collision between Jack Aitken and Kévin Estre on the final restart at Road America left everyone in awe. The two contenders battled for second and continued to lean on each other down the main straightaway, but it was Estre’s push into Aitken entering Turn 1 move that sent both GTP contenders into the wall, ending the six-hour endurance race under caution. IMSA’s subsequent "unjustifiable risk" penalty and probation for Estre ignited a fierce paddock debate over driving standards that dominated headlines for the rest of the month.