FEBRUARY 21, 2024

(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, is presented the Harley J. Earl Trophy from Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. In a frantic scramble after a restart on Lap 197 of 200, Byron reached the start/finish line and took the white flag moments before NASCAR called the fifth caution of the evening as Ross Chastain slid wildly through the infield grass off the bumper of Austin Cindric’s Ford. Alex Bowman was a close second to his teammate at the moment of caution, giving Hendrick a 1-2 finish and the organization’s first victory in the Daytona 500 since Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s triumph in 2014. It marked the first Hendrick 1-2 in the race since Jimmie Johnson bested Earnhardt to the stripe in 2013. The victory was Hendrick’s ninth in the Daytona 500, tying the company with Petty Enterprises for most in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series most prestigious event. The race was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of heavy rains during the weekend. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service) 

Editor-in-Chief's Note: The Daytona 500 was yet another embarrassing crash-fest. There are no excuses, and there's really no other way to put it. What a frickin' joke. -PMD

(Cadillac)

Cadillac will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June with three Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid racecars supported by experienced championship-winning drivers and teams to challenge for the overall victory. In 2023 — Cadillac Racing’s first year of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar competition — the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R earned a podium finish, with the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R finishing fourth at Circuit de la Sarthe. The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R placed 10th in class. The Cadillac Racing’s roster of drivers has secured five overall and class victories at Circuit de la Sarthe, 12 IndyCar championships and two IMSA prototype titles, among other motorsport accolades.

• The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R received an automatic entry based on its full-season participation in the WEC. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Alex Palou will be the drivers.
• The No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, where it races as the No. 01. Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon will be the drivers.
• The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the GTP class, where it races as the No. 31. Reigning IMSA GTP champion Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken will be joined by a co-driver to be named in the future.

(Red Bull images)

This is the Honda-powered Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 car, which will be raced in the 2024 season. 

(Mercedes-AMG)

Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff (Team Principal and CEO) and George Russell at the unveiling of the 2024 Mercedes-AMG F1 W15.

(Ferrari/motorsport.com)

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with the Ferrari SF-24. Ferrari revealed its new SF-24 Formula 1 challenger during an online-only launch event from its Maranello base on Tuesday. It is supposed to be better and faster, etc. A giant "we'll see" as we like to say.

(motorsport.com)

Honda has adopted a brand-new livery for the 2024 MotoGP season, incorporating its own corporate paint scheme on the bike, along with the famous orange colors of title sponsor Repsol. Repsol first joined forces with Honda in 1995, with its famous orange colors going on to become one of the most recognizable in the history of motorcycle racing. Repsol and Honda are entering the 30th year of their long-standing partnership, but the Spanish oil giant has scaled down its involvement in the wake of the departure of Marc Marquez to Gresini Ducati. This means that for the first time in 30 years, Honda has made a major change to its MotoGP livery, reducing Repsol branding on the RC213V in favor of HRC's red, blue and white colors. The hybrid HRC/Repsol livery was unveiled by Honda at the launch of the 2024-spec RC213V at an event organized by Repsol in Madrid on Tuesday. (Thank you to motorsport.com)

(Images courtesy of racer.com)

Aston Martin unveiled its 2024 F1 machine - the AMR24 - at Silverstone on Monday (the 12th). According to Racer.com, the AMR24 is the first car to be manufactured and assembled in Aston Martin’s new factory at its Silverstone headquarters, just across the road from the entrance to the British Grand Prix venue. The car had its first on track outing at Silverstone on Monday. Aston Martin's technical director, Dan Fallows, called it an evolution of last year’s car. “We’ve made changes all over the car,” Fallows said. “It’s very different in many ways. The majority of the parts have changed on it, but it is really still essentially a strong evolution of last year’s car. We have kind of built on the end of AMR23. The obvious things you’ll see that are different are things like the front nose and front wing. Bodywork will be different, but there’s also obviously quite a lot of stuff under the hood, which hopefully you won’t see [on track]. We will obviously try and keep some of that under wraps."

(Alpine Motorsports)

Alpine Motorsports presented its 2024 Formula 1 and World Endurance Championship programs last week. Alpine VP of Motorsports Bruno Famin presented both projects in front of media, sponsors and special guests. Formula 1 stars Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly and Reserve Driver Jack Doohan outlined their ambitions ahead of their second consecutive campaign as BWT Alpine F1 Team's driver lineup. Technical Director Matt Harman offered insight into the aggressive design philosophy of the A524, BWT Alpine F1 Team's challenger for 2024, which will hit the track in Bahrain later this month. Bruno Famin and Philippe Sinault presented the A424 Hypercar, along with the car crews of cars No.35 and No.36, headlined by newcomer Mick Schumacher in WEC's Hypercar category. The A424 goes trackside in Qatar next week for its prologue and first race of the season.

(Autosport)

This is the RB VCARB 01 F1 car, which was unveiled in Las Vegas last week. The former AlphaTauri cars are said to be closer technically to the premier Red Bull F1 entries. If they say so, but the branding - which hypes Visa and Cash App - is a complete joke.

Editor's Note: This is our dearly departed billboard, which we had at Road America for several years. Peter gifted the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" to the track, which now uses it proudly in all of its communications. -WG

Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG