Motorsport Monthly: Toyota Takes Le Mans and Dominates NASCAR, Surprise Winners Shakeup F1 Title Fight

Published: Thursday, July 2, 2026

by Thomas Mazurowski

June has come and gone, and the racing season is well underway. From Circuit de la Sarthe to the streets of San Diego, here are the top stories in motorsports from last month. 

No. 7 Toyota Racing team wins 24 Hours of Le Mans

Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries earned Toyota their sixth all-time Le Mans victory. The sister No. 8 Toyota hypercar came home in third. 

The week was largely dominated by the Cadillacs. All three cars were strong in qualifying, with the No. 38 entry securing provisional pole before an untimely penalty.  

In the race, the Toyotas quickly worked their way up front as the No. 8 took the lead by nightfall. The Hertz Team Jota entries took the top two spots back in the dark. The No. 20 BMW consistently ran up front throughout the race as well. 

Mechanical issues and a drastic fall-off in pace plagued the Cadillacs in the final hours. Toyota were running one-two by hour 21, led by the No. 8 with Brenden Hartley at the wheel. The No. 7 cycled to the lead following pitstops, while Robin Frijns got the BMW past the No. 8 in the closing hour for second place. Kobayashi crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of Frijns, and a whopping 32 seconds ahead of the overnight favorite No. 12 Cadillac.

Elsewhere, Inter Europol Competition won the LMP2 class for the second consecutive year. Tom Dillman crossed the line 15th-overall with Jakub Śmiechowski and Nick Yelloly helping along the way. The No. 33 TF Sport Corvette won in LMGT3 thanks to the efforts of Nicky Catsburg, Jonny Edgar, and Ben Keating.

F1 Title Picture: Ferrari steals a win, Russell strikes back at Antonelli 

The Formula 1 title fight was shaken up this month following a surprise win from Ferrari and a few solid performances from Mercedes’ George Russell.  

Kimi Antonelli took the top-step of the podium for the Silver Arrows in Monaco, capping off a five-race win-streak that cemented him as the early favorite for the World Driver’s Championship, despite pre-season speculation favoring his more established teammate. 

Lewis Hamilton won in Barcelona thanks to an aggressive three-stop strategy, inserting himself into the championship picture as a potential third contender. Russell finished second while Antonelli retired with a mechanical issue. 

Austria marked the first time since the opening round of the season that Russell beat his teammate outright. The Britton converted pole position to a win while Antonelli came home third. Redbull’s Max Verstappen split the podium. 

Antonelli leads the drivers’ standings with 171 points heading into Silverstone, followed by Russell sitting at 131, and Hamilton in third with 125. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads by nearly 100 points after just eight rounds, up to 302 from Ferrari’s 204.

Toyota dominates June in NASCAR Cup Series 

Driver and car-owner sit atop the NASCAR standings as the Toyota teams continue to control the season’s narrative. 

Three straight victories helped JGR driver Denny Hamlin leapfrog Tyler Reddick for the points lead following Sonoma. The Florida native sat 122 points back from his championship rival near the end of May. 

Reddick — driving the No. 45 Toyota owned by Hamlin through 23XI Racing — dominated the early running of the season. A Daytona 500 victory kicked off a dominant run of five wins in the first nine races. Three finishes outside the top 20 erased Reddick’s point lead this month. 

Toyota, as a manufacturer, has won 11 out of 18 points-paying races so far this year. Their most recent came in NASCAR’s debut in San Diego, where 23XI’s Corey Heim pulled of a shock win on the runways of Naval Base Coronado. Reddick challenged his rookie teammate for the win before a late tire failure relegated him to a 25th-place finish. 

Hamlin leads the championship by one point with only eight races left before the Chase begins. Shane Van Gisbergen propelled himself back into Chase contention following a win at Sonoma. Austin Cindric sits just above the cutline in 16th while Erik Jones and Brad Keslowski are the first two on the outside looking in. 

May ICYMI: Felix Rosenqvist wins Indy 500 in closest finish ever 

The ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ was decided by just 0.023 seconds between MSR’s Felix Rosenqvist and first-year Penske driver David Malukas. A daring move off the final corner from the No. 60 machine brought the team their second-ever Indy 500 win. Malukas resigned to the second spot, with teammate Scott McLaughlin rounding out the podium. 

Thomas Mazurowski can be reached at thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.edu 

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