Grid & Garage: An F1 Driver is Headed to NASCAR on a Military Base, Cadillac’s Wild Monaco Motorhome, and More

It’s been a week in motorsports from Trackhouse announcing Kevin Magnussen will make his NASCAR Cup debut to Michael Dunlop’s record-breaking Isle of Man TT win. Add McLaren’s LEGO helmet collab, Pérez’s F1 comeback confidence, and Cadillac’s wild Monaco motorhome, and the paddock had no shortage of headlines.

2x Champ. Hall of Famer. One of NASCAR’s Greatest. Ned Jarrett Was 93.

Ned won two Cup Series titles and spent decades in the broadcast booth as one of the first drivers to successfully make the move from cockpit to television. NASCAR’s oldest living champion is gone, and the sport will miss him.

Scott Dixon is in the IMS Hall of Fame. While Still Racing.

Dixon became the first active driver ever inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. 

Harvick Got In on His First Ballot. Burton Waited Six Years. Both Deserve It.

Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and short-track legend Larry Phillips have been elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027. Legend has it, Phillips won somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 races in his career.

Mercedes Shut Down a Bridge, Brought Brad Pitt, and Called It a Car Reveal

For the debut of the new AMG GT 4-Door EV, Mercedes closed LA’s iconic 6th Street Bridge, put George Russell and Brad Pitt in the passenger seats for burnouts at sunset, then let Blink-182 close the night with a 30-minute set for 600 people.

Rossi Had Surgery on Monday. He Plans to Race Sunday. Starting Second.

After a violent practice crash left him needing surgery on his ankle and hand, Rossi told reporters he is “99%” ready and cleared himself to race the Indy 500.

K-Mag Is Making His NASCAR Cup Debut. On an Active Military Base.

The former F1 driver joins Trackhouse’s
Project 91 for the inaugural Cup race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on June 21, a 3.4-mile street circuit inside a working naval installation. Shane van Gisbergen did this in Chicago in 2023 and never looked back. Is Kevin Magnussen next?

F1 and Hasbro Just Made Game Night a Lot More Competitive

The Monopoly F1 Edition is real, available for pre-order with a full release on July 15, and someone at your table is absolutely buying Monaco first with no apologies. Whether you know the difference between a DRS zone and a pit lane speed limit or not, you are about to learn. 

Álex Márquez Is Out.

A broken collarbone and a minor vertebra fracture from his Barcelona crash means Márquez misses Mugello and Balaton Park, sitting out until at least the Czech GP on June 21. The timing could not be worse for a rider who was finally finding his form this season.

1,000 Races. McLaren Has Been in F1 Longer Than
Most Fans Have Been Alive.

Since Bruce McLaren’s debut in 1966, the team has accumulated 203 wins, 561 podiums, and 13 drivers’ championships, with Lando Norris adding the most recent title just last season. Only Ferrari has more races in the points across all of F1 history.

McLaren x LEGO Real Driver Helmets.

Norris and Piastri designed their own LEGO helmets, then wore them this weekend in Monaco to commemorate McLaren’s 1000th race. The co-created LEGO products and driver helmets took two years to develop, as building a round helmet from square bricks is no simple task. Each 793-piece set includes its own minifigures and is on sale now.

Leclerc Had Options. He Picked Ferrari Anyway.

Days before his home race in Monaco, he confirmed rival teams were in the mix before re-signing with Scuderia, but declined to name them, saying only, “they can say it if they want.” Charles Leclerc has spent a decade with Ferrari, claimed 27 pole positions in red, and is backing team principal Fred Vasseur to close the gap. He had options, but sometimes staying put is the boldest move.

Ten in a Row. Michael Dunlop Now Has 36 Wins at the Isle of Man TT.

He beat Dean Harrison by 26 seconds in the Supersport race, then came back the same afternoon and won the Sportbike race. No rider in the history of the event has won more. At some point, comparisons just run out.

Audi Built Their Most Powerful Car Ever. It’s Named After A Legend.

The Nuvolari is Audi’s loudest statement with a twin-turbo V8 and 987 horsepower that gets to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds. Named for Tazio Nuvolari, a racer so revered that Enzo Ferrari himself called him the greatest racer who ever lived, the car carries a name with real weight and is limited to 499 units.

Cadillac Showed Up to Monaco With Three-Story Luxury Motorhome

Built in 13 months and transported on 21 trucks, the structure covers 2,300 square feet on the VIP floor alone, has an Italian-furnished rooftop terrace, and features the first floating staircase in Formula 1 paddock history. The new team is making sure no one forgets they are here.

Checo Left Red Bull Doubting Himself. Cadillac Gave Him the Answer.

Sergio Pérez was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2024, but ahead of Monaco said returning with Cadillac has erased his doubts and proved he’s “one of the top drivers” in F1. He’s outqualified Bottas in four of the last five qualifying sessions, including sprints. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s revolving second seat keeps raising the same question, was Checo ever really the problem?

Vertigo Pulled Alex Bowman Out of His Car Mid-Race. He’s Back.

On March 1 at COTA, Bowman was throwing up inside the cockpit before climbing out with 20 laps to go, missing four Cup starts while a spine procedure and physical therapy followed. He says he is as close to 100 percent as he is going to get. With 12 races left before the playoffs, the timing of his return matters a lot.

The Monaco Grid Has Never Looked This Good.

Aston Martin ran a color-shifting iridescent wrap, McLaren debuted a metallic papaya livery honoring their 1000th race, Audi replaced their
red with Tazio Nuvolari’s signature yellow, and Williams went purple on the front wing.

Maserati Brought Back a 70-Year-Old Design

Five GT2 cars are running a 250F tribute design at Monza honoring the car Fangio drove to Formula 1 titles in 1954 and 1957. Stirling Moss won Monaco in it, and Maria Teresa de Filippis drove it to become the first woman to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Las Vegas Is Locked In on the F1 Calendar Through 2037

Since 2023, the race has generated $3.2 billion in economic impact for Nevada, set the season record for overtakes with 181 in its debut, and clocked the fastest speed in the sport at 229.2 mph. Vegas proved what the skeptics doubted, and now it has a 10-year extension to keep proving it.

California Wants To Ban Performance Tires

A proposed California Energy Commission regulation would prohibit any tire exceeding 10.5 N/kN in rolling resistance, a threshold that disqualifies the Bridgestone RE-71RZ, the Yokohama A052, and most dedicated track compounds. It would not take effect until 2028.