Le Mans IMSA Highlights, Chase Bubble Chaos, and the Coronado Debut — Week 26
Corvette claimed its 10th Le Mans class win with IMSA regulars starring across all categories, while three Chase bubble drivers combined for a 24.8 average finish over seven races. This week: NASCAR's first-ever race on an active military base at Naval Base Coronado (Sunday June 21, Prime Video).
Le Mans delivered the biggest American motorsport story of the weekend — Corvette's 10th class win in France and a string of IMSA regulars on the podium — while back on the oval circuit, Denny Hamlin's three-race streak ended the Pocono chapter and shook up a Chase bubble that's looking increasingly fragile with ten road courses and short tracks still ahead before the Chase. This week: San Diego.
IMSA full-timers deliver at Le Mans
The 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans finished Sunday morning with Toyota claiming the overall win, but the bigger American story was how many IMSA regulars turned up at the sharp end of every class. 1
Toyota No. 7 (Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries, Mike Conway) took the Hypercar win by 10.9 seconds over BMW M Team WRT. Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 101 Cadillac V-Series.R finished ninth in Hypercar — Jordan and Ricky Taylor plus Filipe Albuquerque admitted they lost track position early after a mistake in the night and spent two stints working as a tire-test mule for sister Cadillac JOTA No. 12.
In LMP2, Inter Europol Competition scored a 1-2, with Nick Yelloly, Tom Dillmann, and Jakub Smiechowski in the winning No. 43 ORECA. Dillmann, the 2024 IMSA LMP2 champion, called it "back-to-back Le Mans winners."
No. 43 Inter Europol takes LMP2 honors for the second straight year. 1
The LMP2 Pro/Am win went to CrowdStrike Racing by APR — George Kurtz, Alex Quinn, and Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich in the No. 4 ORECA. Heinrich already had an overall Rolex 24 win plus three IMSA GTP victories this season; he now adds a Le Mans class win to a 2026 resume: Rolex 24 overall winner, three IMSA GTP wins, and a Le Mans class win — all in one season.
The LMGT3 class put Corvette back on the Le Mans podium for the first time with the new Z06 GT3.R. Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg, and Jonny Edgar in the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette won after Edgar drove five consecutive stints to close out the race — his teammate Keating said simply, "Doing five stints in a row to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans is going to be a career-defining moment for this man." It's Corvette's 10th Le Mans class win since 2001. IMSA GTD PRO points leader Catsburg adds it to his 2023 LM GTE Am victory.
No. 33 TF Sport Corvette after its LMGT3 victory — Corvette's 10th Le Mans class win. Photo courtesy of Corvette Racing. 1
The GTD points leader, Dudu Barrichello (Heart of Racing Aston Martin), finished third in LMGT3 alongside Jonny Adam and Gabe Newell.
The IMSA connection regroups at Watkins Glen for the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen on June 28, which also serves as the third IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round.
Chase bubble: the damage done at Pocono
Hamlin's win (his third straight and eighth all-time at the Tricky Triangle) pushed him to second in points — 704 for Reddick, Hamlin now -19 — but the bigger story was the middle of the standings. 2
A Stage 2 wreck off Turn 3 — triggered when Josh Berry pushed Shane van Gisbergen wide and bounced into the wall — collected Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, and Joey Logano. All three ended outside the top 20. In the last five races, the trio has combined for just four top-10 finishes and an average finish of 24.8 since Talladega. 3
| Driver | Points to cutline (post-Pocono) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Bubba Wallace (13th) | +43 above cutline | Shrinking fast |
| Joey Logano (18th) | -21 below cutline | 3rd straight rough race |
| Brad Keselowski (17th) | -7 below cutline | 4 finishes of 30th+ in last 5 |
| Shane van Gisbergen (14th) | +1 above cutline | Road courses ahead favor him |
The good news for some: SVG and Michael McDowell are positioned to score heavily on back-to-back road courses at Coronado and Sonoma, which could push them safely above the cutline before the schedule turns to ovals. Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones made it two straight top-10s and climbed to 15th. Chase Briscoe has risen steadily to 12th.
Ten races remain before the Chase field is locked.
Up next: NASCAR's street debut at Naval Base Coronado
The Anduril 250 Race the Base runs Sunday, June 21 at 4 p.m. ET on Prime Video (also HBO Max, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — the first NASCAR race ever held on an active military installation, on the Coronado Street Course at NAS North Island. 4
The weekend begins Monday (today) with track operations and runs through Sunday's race. Practice and qualifying fall Friday and Saturday.
Kevin Magnussen makes his NASCAR Cup debut in Trackhouse Racing's Project 91 car — continuing the program that brought in formula-car talent for special road-course events. The circuit has numerous slow-speed turns, is expected to produce heavy contact early, and favors drivers with road course backgrounds. Van Gisbergen, who won the inaugural Chicago Street Race in his Cup debut in 2023, will be one of the favorites.
Christopher Bell's wrist — broken in the Michigan crash — is the significant health storyline. Bell started and finished Pocono but admitted he "lost spots on restarts because of his wrist" and was essentially driving with one arm. JGR is reportedly weighing whether 18-year-old Brent Crews could replace Bell in the car if Friday practice confirms the injury is too limiting for a bump-and-grind street circuit. Bell will undergo further evaluation before the weekend. 5
In-Season Challenge bracket is set
Following Pocono, NASCAR locked in the 32-driver bracket for the 2026 In-Season Challenge — a $1 million, single-elimination tournament running five race weekends from Sonoma to Indianapolis. 67
Tyler Reddick is the No. 1 seed. Alex Bowman earned the 32nd and final spot via a tiebreaker (highest single-race finish in 2026 — third at Talladega) over Cole Custer. Ty Gibbs, who won the 2025 edition, is seeded fifth.
| Round | Track | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Sonoma Raceway | Sun June 28 — TNT Sports/HBO Max, 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Round 2 | Chicagoland Speedway | Sun July 5 |
| Elite Eight | EchoPark Speedway | Sun July 12 |
| Final Four | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Sun July 19 |
| Championship | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Sun July 26 |
Round 1's notable matchups: Reddick vs. Bowman; Hamlin vs. Ty Dillon; Blaney vs. Berry; SVG vs. Ryan Preece; Keselowski vs. Austin Cindric.
Quick notes
- Wood Brothers No. 21: Josh Berry confirmed he will not return in 2027, freeing the storied team's seat. No replacement has been announced. 8
- IMSA Pilot Challenge: The LP Building Solutions 120 at Watkins Glen runs June 27 as the warm-up day before the WeatherTech Six Hours.
- Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen: June 28 at Watkins Glen is the next full IMSA WeatherTech round and third Michelin Endurance Cup event of 2026.
References
- 1
- 2NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 16 — Pocono results
racingnews.co
- 3
- 42026 NASCAR Cup Series TV schedule
tennessean.com
- 5NASCAR Insider Names Potential Christopher Bell Replacement
sports.yahoo.com
- 6
- 7NASCAR In-Season Challenge 2026: First Round Matchups Set
sports.yahoo.com
- 8
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