AUGUST 23, 2023

(Photo of Pecco Bagnaia by AE special contributor Whit Bazemore)

Francesco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) capped off a perfect weekend at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich by dominating Sunday’s MotoGP™ race, marking 50 Grand Prix podiums for the World Champion. Brad Binder (No. 33 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) gave the Austrian factory something to cheer about by bringing his RC16 home in P2, as Marco Bezzecchi (No. 72 Mooney VR46 Racing Team) rebounded from his Tissot Sprint disappointment to climb onto the rostrum. After a perfect weekend in Austria, Bagnaia’s Championship lead sits at a healthy 62 points over Jorge Martin (No. 89 Prima Pramac Racing Ducati) heading to the Catalan GP. Watch the Top Five moments from Austria here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) conquered the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course to win the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday evening. With the win, Hendrick Chevrolets have won the last five NASCAR Cup Series races at the track, dating back to 2018. Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) finished runner-up, while Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) finished third. Due to Byron being a repeat winner, Brad Keselowski (No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford) and Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing Ford) have provisionally clinched playoff berths. The Cup Series will conclude the regular season at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Aug. 26 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock, NBC Sports App). Watch the Motorsports on NBC race highlights here. (Thank you to NASCAR.com)

(Porsche Penske Motorsport)

Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and two-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season champion Laurens Vanthoor will both make their Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) debuts in Porsche Penske Motorsport machinery in October’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The team announced that Newgarden, who drives full-time for Team Penske in the IndyCar Series, will join full-season drivers Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 at Michelin Raceway for the 2023 season finale. Vanthoor, who drives a PPM Porsche 963 this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), returns to the WeatherTech Championship where he’ll partner with Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche 963. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service)

Our dearly departed billboard at Road America. As most of you know, Peter coined the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" and gifted it to the track. -WG

The overall vision of Road America grew out of the dreams of Clif Tufte, a highway engineer, who chose 525 acres of Wisconsin farmland outside the Village of Elkhart Lake for the track. The natural topography of the glacial Kettle Moraine area was utilized for the track and for fan viewing areas, sweeping around rolling hills and plunging through ravines. Since opening in 1955, countless facility improvements have been made over the years, but the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course itself is virtually the same today as it was when it was first laid out. Now in 2023, an entirely new track surface stands ready for racers and enthusiasts alike. - Road America

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG