Month: April 2026

Here’s what’s happening this week Inside The Garage: Long Beach, Calif. — There are 10 days left in April. But as far as the INDYCAR world is concerned, the Month of May has pretty much started. With Long Beach in the rearview mirror, drivers and teams will now focus on the next five weeks in Indianapolis. Yes, some teams could have a test at another track, but for the most part, preparations for the Indianapolis 500 have begun. Drivers and teams have a week to get ready for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway open test being held April 28-29. For many, this will be their first laps on the oval since last May. A little more than a week later will be the Indianapolis Grand Prix weekend on the IMS road course and then practice for the Indianapolis 500 begins May 12. The test next week will be pivotal in many ways. Will Power, who changed teams in the offseason, will get his first laps in the Andretti Global No. 26 car after 17 seasons at Team Penske. The Penske team prides itself on its Indy 500 prowess. “That will be an important test,” Power, who won the 2018 Indianapolis 500, told me and other reporters last weekend at Long Beach. “We’ve got a lot of things to try. That will be interesting, too. I think about [my] 17 years in a Penske car. “It’ll definitely be something new, but I’m looking forward to it. I think we’ll be good. We’ve got some good stuff happening and hope to be competitive when it comes time.” Power’s replacement at Team Penske, David Malukas, will also get his first laps in a Penske car at IMS. “Just getting comfortable right before the big month of May [is the goal],” Malukas said. “The Indy 500 and knowing Team Penske’s success there, … [I’ll] just try to get comfortable, take things nice and slow because we have a lot of time for it and see how things play out.” There is a new patch of pavement between Turns 1 and 2 where the speedway took care of a bump by removing the previous asphalt before pouring new asphalt. Some drivers got a chance to test tires there after the patchwork and don’t believe it will be an issue. ECR No. 20 car driver Alexander Rossi, who was among the drivers at that test, had totally forgotten about the patchwork in that area. “They asked me afterwards, ‘How’s the repave?’ I was like, ‘What? … Oh it was fine,” Rossi told me and other reporters this past weekend at Long Beach. Defending race champion Alex Palou is looking forward to getting back on the track at Indy. He’s been to the speedway for many events since that defining moment in a career that has included four INDYCAR titles in the No. 10 car for Chip Ganassi Racing. [INDYCAR TAKEAWAYS: Alex Palou Earns First Long Beach Win] Palou did the tire test last fall. He said he didn’t feel much difference at the test, knowing he had won in May. “It doesn’t really feel different,” the Chip Ganassi Racing driver told me and other reporters last weekend at Long Beach. “I think it’s going to feel different when the fans are there and maybe they call you ‘Champion’ for the first time.” As with any test, the key isn’t just to find out what works well — it’s to find out what doesn’t. “You’re not reinventing the wheel, and you’re kind of just seeing is there any dramatic things that need to be addressed,” Rossi said. “And assuming not, you’re kind of just getting used to being back at the speedway and getting running traffic.” Will Talladega Stage Change Work? NASCAR is changing the stage lengths for the Cup race at Talladega, making the first stage 98 laps and the final two stages 45 laps. Typically, the final stage is the longest. But by making the final two stages less than the length of a fuel run, NASCAR is hopeful drivers won’t be saving fuel. In recent races at Daytona and Talladega, the drivers have saved fuel so they could spend less time on pit road fueling their car in order to get to the end of the stage. NASCAR doesn’t see this as the grand solution to the issue and plans to have a test at Daytona next January to work on ideas to encourage drivers to race at full throttle. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won at Talladega in 2024 and has two victories there, said drivers still might save fuel so at the stage break they only need nine seconds on pit road to change tires and fill the tank. “I don’t know if you’re going to spend a lot of time saving, but you’re still going to save fuel,” said Stenhouse, who drives for Hyak Racing, during his media availability earlier this month at Bristol. In The News — Abel Motorsports confirmed its entry into the Indianapolis 500 with Jacob Abel, who will be driving the No. 51 Chevrolet. Abel was the lone driver to get bumped from the field last year in his rookie INDYCAR season, but he should make the race this year with there being an expected 33 entries for 33 spots. Abel has been without a full-time open-wheel ride this year but has been competing in sports-car racing. — INDYCAR had a failure in its push-to-pass software that did not disengage the system on the drivers’ cars for the one restart at Long Beach. The system, which gives the drivers a boost in speed, is supposed to be disengaged until the driver hits the alternate start-finish line on the first lap of green. INDYCAR said 12 drivers used it before reaching the alternate start-finish line but won’t be penalized because the system is not supposed to be operable at that time. Only Marcus Armstrong made a pass during that time. Both Armstrong and the driver he passed, Santino Ferrucci, used about the same amount of push-to-pass (drivers got 200 seconds for the entire race) before the system was supposed to be operable. — INDYCAR has hired Chip Ganassi Racing engineering executive Mike O’Gara as the INDYCAR Vice President of Competition for race engineering. He will be heavily involved in the development of the new car for 2028 as well as the technical portion of the rulebook. — Lee White, a former team executive whose stops included Roush Racing and Newman Haas Racing before he served as president of Toyota Racing Development for 15 years, died earlier this month at age 78. White played a pivotal role in Toyota’s entry into NASCAR. Social Spotlight They Said It “This kid is on fire. I don’t know if I can cool him down.” — 23XI Racing owner Michael Jordan on Tyler Reddick after Reddick earned his fifth win of the season with Sunday’s victory at Kansas. In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, the son of former Germany striker Jürgen Klinsmann, is recovering from a broken neck sustained playing for second-tier Italian side Cesena on Saturday. He was stretchered off the field in a neck brace following a collision with a Palermo player and taken to a hospital in the Sicilian capital. The club said in a statement that initial tests revealed “a fracture to the first cervical vertebra” and a cut to the back of the head. He is set for further tests with a specialist neurosurgeon, the club added. The 29-year-old Klinsmann posted on Instagram to say his season was over and thanked Cesena and Palermo fans “for the warm wishes” as well as “friends and family who have supported me over the last few days.” Born in Munich, when his father was playing for Bayern, Klinsmann played briefly for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS and has represented the United States at youth level. Klinsmann has been called up twice by USA’s senior team, most recently in 2025, but has not yet made his debut for the Stars and Stripes. He joined Cesena, which is in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, two years ago and has made over 50 appearances. The Serie B club is currently coached by former Arsenal, Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole. The Associated Press contributed to this report.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The Orlando Storm — the only undefeated team after Week 4 — shut out the Birmingham Stallions by double digits this weekend, 16-0. It was a historic feat, marking the first time a team has been held scoreless in the regular season. Orlando’s defense, led by associate head coach and defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham, has been the key to the team’s success through the first part of the season. Specifically, Orlando has been effectively stopping the run, holding opponents to a league-low 61.3 rushing yards a contest and a league-best 13 points per game. Defensive end Keyshawn Banks leads Orlando with 4.0 sacks, while safety Josh Minkins tops the team with 21 tackles and two pass breakups. “We spend a lot of time talking about everybody else’s defense, and Donnie [has] stood the test of time,” Orlando head coach Anthony Becht said. “Donnie [has] got four years of film on the defensive scheme and what we’re doing.” Elsewhere in Week 4, two teams got their first victories of the season. The Louisville Kings (1-3) played their second consecutive overtime game, this time earning a narrow 24-22 victory over the Houston Gamblers (1-3). Head coach Ted Ginn Jr. returned to the sideline for the Columbus Aviators (1-3), providing a spark for his team, which handed the Dallas Renegades (3-1) their first defeat of the season, 28-14. It was the Renegades’ third game played in 11 days. Finally, the defending champion DC Defenders (3-1) kept rolling, earning their third victory in a row by avenging an opening-season loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks (2-2) with a 28-22 win. However, the big news over the weekend was two monster trades for quarterbacks. The Stallions moved on from struggling starter Matt Corral, trading the Ole Miss product and defensive end Amani Bledsoe to Orlando for backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In a separate transaction, the Defenders acquired Jason Bean from the Kings in exchange for Mike DiLiello. Here are my takeaways from Week 4 of the UFL: 1. Down and out in Birmingham, AJ McCarron makes a huge move In the team’s home opener this season, the Stallions suffered an embarrassing, humbling defeat to the visiting Storm — in front of 18,000 fans, nonetheless. Becht got the best of his former player, McCarron, in the first matchup between the two now-head coaches. The lone bright spots for Birmingham were a sideline appearance by former three-time spring football champion head coach Skip Holtz, who stepped away from the Stallions this offseason, and a halftime performance by Gucci Mane. The Stallions wore stickers on the back of their helmets honoring Holtz’s father, legendary Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, who died at the age of 89 earlier this year. McCarron replaced an ineffective Corral in favor of backup and hometown product Michael Hiers. However, he didn’t fare much better, completing just 46.7% of his passes for 60 yards, with no touchdown passes or interceptions. Prior to this season, the Stallions had lost just four regular-season games in two years. However, Birmingham has lost three already in a disappointing 1-3 start. “Everything’s on the table,” McCarron said. “Trades to [quarterbacks] change — everything’s on the table.” McCarron stayed true to his word, making a move for Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2023 NFL Draft who also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles. A dual-threat quarterback, the UCLA product finished his college career as the school’s all-time leader in total offense (12,536), completions (860), total touchdowns (116), touchdown passes (88) and passing yards (10,710). Still, Jack Plummer won the starting job over Thompson-Robinson in a close competition in Orlando ahead of the season. It’s a formula Birmingham has used with great success. J’Mar Smith, Alex McGough and Adrian Martinez were all athletic quarterbacks who led the Stallions to championships. We’ll see if DTR can turn Birmingham’s offense around. Giddy up! 2. Louisville goes with Chandler Rogers as starting QB The Kings moving Bean to DC allows Louisville head coach Chris Redman to elevate backup quarterback Rogers as the team’s starter. Bean has the third-most passing yards in the UFL through four games (819) but has only completed 47% of his passes. Rogers, a 6-foot, 200-pound product out of Cal, is a dual-threat quarterback who has thrown for 160 passing yards in three games this season. The Kings also get a competent backup in DiLiello, who threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. 3. Battlehawks WR Hakeem Butler can still make big plays One thing that has not changed in St. Louis is Butler continuing to create jaw-dropping plays when it matters most. Despite the Battlehawks’ tough road loss to the Defenders this week, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Butler put on a show, finishing with two catches for 109 yards on three targets. Those numbers included a 75-yard catch-and-run for a score on a screen pass, along with out-jumping three defenders on a Hail Mary throw at the end of the half. For the season, the former UFL Offensive Player of the Year has 10 receptions for 311 receiving yards and two touchdowns. 4. Houston’s Marcus Yarns becomes first 100-yard rusher this season Despite a tough, late-game loss that dropped the Gamblers to 1-3 on the year, Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin found a blueprint for moving the football on offense: running the football. The leader for that effort last week was Yarns, who finished with eight carries for 111 rushing yards, including a 68-yard run for a score. The Gamblers totaled a season-high 206 yards on the ground, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Expect to see more of Yarns toting the rock for the Gamblers. 4 ½: What’s Next In Week 5, things are set to kick off on Friday evening with the Defenders facing the Stallions. There’s one game on Saturday night, with the Battlehawks facing the Storm. Things come to a close with a doubleheader on Sunday, with the Aviators taking on the Gamblers in the afternoon, followed by the Renegades hosting the Kings later on. [UFL 2026: Full Regular-Season Schedules, Results for All 8 Teams]​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports