Race Rap: Monday, June 16

Nearly but not quite. Matt Campbell didn't win at Le Mans, despite leading a lot of the race distance in his #6 Porsche for Roger Penske before eventually finishing second. But he has not forgotten his hometown roots and his latest Le Mans helmet livery included thanks to all the family and friends who have boosted him on the way to the top of world sports car racing.

Winner, winner. Shane van Gisbergen finally scored the first NASCAR win of his rookie full-time season in Mexico. SvG dominated the event, taking pole position before surviving a wet start and then coming home for a dominant win on the first NASCAR visit to the Mexico City circuit that is also home to Formula One.

A big double for McLeod. Cam McLeod swept both legs of the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational in a landmark performance for the Supercars hopeful in France. Despite running in a huge field of experienced American racers – including Jim Farley, president of Ford Motor Company – he was unbeatable and event fought back from third to take the double-header. Tim Miles added to the success with a podium place in his division of the Mustang Dark Horse battle.

Fast as ever. Will Power extended his record as the fastest qualifier in IndyCar history by taking his 71st pole position at the oval track in Madison, Illinois. It was also the 700th pole position for the Penske Racing organisation and the success was shared with Scott McLaughlin, who started alongside Power on the front row.

Kid does good again. Youngster Lochie Hughes scored the second win of the season with an aggressive run to victory in the INDY NXT race at World Wide Technology Raceway and holds second in the title standings. “I was starting fifth, and I was pretty angry with yesterday (after qualifying). So, I honestly didn’t really care. I just thought I’d send it and try something with the setup and send it and see what happens," he said.

Is TCR dead? There is nothing official from the series organisers, but competitors report the next two legs of the planned TCR Australia series have been canned. If that's truly the case then there is almost zero chance of any TCR racing this year.

Three from three. The very same Ford Ranger Raptor that scored the blue oval's first win in the Finke Desert Race has done it again. It takes the race truck's record to a perfect four-from-four after three class wins at Finke and one in the Baja 1000.

Save the date. Organisers of the 2026 running of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival have again set their date for the week before the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. It will be held from February 28 to March, starting with a Gouger Street Party and then three days of high-speed demonstrations in the Adelaide parklands.

More for Adelaide. Sprintcars will return to the Supercars grand final in Adelaide in November. The second running of the Sprintcar Invitational, which was a giant hit in 2024, will take place over three nights with Speedcar racing as the undercard.