3+ week, 8+ hour ago (214+ words) Tundra Esports overcame a pair of one-map deficits to record a 3-2 victory over Team Falcons on Sunday in the best-of-five grand final at the $1 million BLAST Slam IV tournament in Singapore. Team Falcons got off to a fast start, sandwiching 39- and 27-minute wins on green around a 39-minute victory on green by Tundra Esports. Tundra Esports, however, responded with 46- and 57-minute triumphs on green to capture $300,000 in prize money and $100,000 in team earnings. Team Falcons pocketed $150,000 and $50,000 in team earnings for their second-place finish. They were the top dogs throughout the 12-team Dota 2 event, finishing the Group Stage with identical 9-2 records. BLAST Slam IV prize pool ($1 million total, with $750,000 in prize money and $250,000 in team earnings): 1. $300,000 ($100,000 team earnings), Tundra Esports 2. $150,000 ($50,000 team), Team Falcons 3-4. $60,000 ($20,000 team), MOUZ, HEROIC 5-6. $35,000 ($15,000 team), Team Spirit, Aurora Gaming 7-8. $30,000 ($7,500 team), Team Aureus, Natus Vincere 9-10. $25,000 ($5,000 team), Team Liquid, BetBoom…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (120+ words) Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has entered advanced talks to sell a portion of his 33% stake in the team at a $6 billion valuation, Sportico reported on Tuesday. The portion reportedly is for a mid-single-digit range in the team through an investment in Wolff's holding company. Sportico said it could not identify the buyer. Should an agreement come to fruition, the sale would constitute a record valuation for an F1 team -- surpassing the $4.7 billion for a McLaren LP stake sale last month. Wolff is expected to remain as Mercedes' CEO and team principal. The 53-year-old Austrian previously served as an investor in the Williams F1 racing team prior to joining Mercedes in 2013....

2+ week, 2+ day ago (324+ words) Ferrari is the most valuable of the 10 franchises in Formula 1, according to Sportico's latest team valuations published Thursday.,Ferrari checked in Ferrari leads as Sportico's F1 team values soar past $34B Ferrari checked in at $6.4 billion, and the 10 teams on the F1 grid combine to exceed $34 billion in total valuation as per Sportico's methodology. The average F1 franchise value is now higher than the average value of a Major League Baseball club, Sportico found. F1's $3.42 billion average valuation clears MLB's average of $2.82 billion, behind only the NFL and NBA in average franchise value. "The 10 teams shared total prize money payments of $1.27 billion in 2024, up from $1.22 billion the prior year," Sportico reported. "The distributions consider the previous year finish by teams on the track in the Constructor standings, as well as the current year revenue of Formula 1. Title-winning teams and teams that finished in the…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (331+ words) Andretti Global announced a multi-year extension Monday with NTT IndyCar Series driver Kyle Kirkwood, through "2026 and beyond.",Specific length of th Andretti signs Kyle Kirkwood to multi-year extension Andretti Global announced a multi-year extension Monday with NTT IndyCar Series driver Kyle Kirkwood, through "2026 and beyond." Specific length of the contract was not revealed by Andretti Global. Kirkwood, 27, has won five times and reached six podiums in the No. 27 Honda since joining Andretti in 2023. "Kyle represents exactly what we strive for across TWG Motorsports and Andretti Global," Andretti Global president Jill Gregory said. "His blueprint for success has made him a key part of our INDYCAR lineup defined by talent, tenacity and a relentless drive to win. Kyle's growth and ambition reflect the strength of Andretti Global and our commitment to developing world-class competitors on and off the track." "We've had…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (172+ words) Driver Louis Foster reached a multi-year extension with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after earning IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2025. Foster, a native of England, arrived at RLL after winning the 2024 Indy NXT championship with Andretti Global. "We've built a strong, trusting group here, and that familiarity helps us understand each other's strengths and weaknesses so we can keep improving together," Foster said. "I truly believe that consistency will pay off in the long run. I'm excited to get back to work with the team and help push us forward in a positive direction." The team recently agreed to a long-term extension with Droplight, which sponsors Foster's No. 45 Honda. In addition to an 11th-place finish at the Indianapolis 500, Foster had two starts in the top three of the field and one on the pole. In 17 starts, he led…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (361+ words) Drag racing legend John Force is retiring after 46 years on the track. Now 76, Force has not raced since June 2024, when his engine exploded at the NHRA Virginia Nationals, sending his burning car across the track at nearly 300 mph and into a concrete wall. He sustained a serious head injury and a fractured sternum. The winner of 16 Funny Car championships, Force discussed in a video posted to social media on Thursday about how the crash impacted him and led to his retirement. "I've been under doctors' care and I still am, so if I say anything wrong, please excuse me. It's time for me to retire," Force said, adding he asked himself this question: "Do I want to get back in the car and get hit in the head? And I don't." Force holds the record for National Hot Rod Association…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (496+ words) Racing legend and San Diego native Jimmie Johnson will make one of his rare appearances back on the NASCAR circuit when it visits his hometown for a h Jimmie Johnson announces he'll race at 2026 hometown event in San Diego Racing legend and San Diego native Jimmie Johnson will make one of his rare appearances back on the NASCAR circuit when it visits his hometown for a historic race next season. Johnson confirmed via press release that he intends to race in NASCAR's new road-course event at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego -- the first race at an active military base in NASCAR history -- on the weekend of June 19-21, 2026. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who retired from full-time competition in 2020, will race in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE with a Carvana sponsorship on the 3.4-mile road course. "Growing up just…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (195+ words) Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports notched a major win in their antitrust fight with NASCAR on Tuesday, tightening the case's scope and turning up the pressure for a settlement. Bell leaned on NASCAR's own filings to get there, pointing to the sanctioning body's counterclaim that framed the market as "the market for entry of cars into NASCAR Cup Series races in the United States and any other location where a Cup Series race is held." As the judge put it, "The same transaction -- the sale and purchase of premier stock-car-racing services -- cannot be a different relevant market depending only on which side is complaining," adding, "Most simply put, NASCAR made a strategic decision in asserting its counterclaim and must now live with the consequences." The ruling also denied NASCAR's bid to toss the case outright. A jury will…...

1+ week, 12+ hour ago (265+ words) LAS VEGAS -- A stunning and potentially championship-altering development unraveled in the hours immediately following the Las Vegas Grand Prix early Sunday morning as McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified for skid wear that was less than the required thickness. Norris had finished second and Piastri fourth in the race behind winner and fellow championship contender Max Verstappen. The post-race inspection by F1A technical delegates found the rearmost skid wear on both McLaren MCL39 machines was found to be below the minimum 9mm thickness, leading a referral to race stewards. A re-measurement, in the presence of McLaren representatives, not only confirmed the violation but the measurements were even lower than first measured by the technical delegate. McLaren argued there were mitigating circumstances, according to F1A, with stewards dismissing the argument while "the FIA noted that it strongly held the view that the…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (220+ words) LAS VEGAS -- Lando Norris' attempt to rewrite his personal history at the Las Vegas Grand Prix couldn't have started any better. McLaren's championship front-runner will start the Saturday race from the front of the grid after clinching first place with a timely final lap at the conclusion of the third and final stage of a rainy qualifying session on Friday. Norris eclipsed Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.323, depriving the reigning four-time champion of what would have been his eighth pole of the season. Friday marked the first wet qualifying session since the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix last November, where Norris also claimed pole position and but Verstappen won that weekend's Grand Prix. Norris, 26, can move within proverbial inches of his first World Drivers' Championship with a win -- or even a positive result -- on Saturday. Norris previously struggled at the Las…...