The Kiwis on track this weekend – 31 October – 3 November
While it’s a quiet weekend for those stars racing overseas, it’s a big one for the domestic race scene with the first round of the 2025/2026 season kicking off at Hampton Downs.
Shane Van Gisbergen – NASCAR Cup Series
Phoenix Raceway, Arizona
NZ Times:
Practice: Saturday 10:35 AM
Qualifying: Sunday 10:00 AM
Race: Monday 9:00 AM
Watch on – ThreeNow
SVG heads into the final round of his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series out of the playoffs, in 12th spot. He’s already made history however taking five wins, bettering the record of four wins by a rookie previously held by Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, who both went on to win championships.
SVG is improving on the unforgiving ovals that ultimately decide the NASCAR season however.
“It’s been a fun season but challenging too,” SVG has been reported as saying. “The road courses, obviously, have been amazing, and then the ovals – I started the year finishing in the 30s, but I feel like we’ve grounded out, now we’re a 15th to 10th place car on most weeks.
“I think how much better we’ve gotten is a pretty awesome feeling, but certainly those first ten weeks of the year were eye-opening.
“We’ve made huge progress on the ovals the last couple of months, so we just need to keep building off that and we will be in a good spot to start next season.”
The NASCAR Cup Series decider at Phoenix starts at 9am on Monday, November 3.
Hampton Downs International
The Hampton Downs International hosts a full weekend of action with many Kiwi drivers in action. Races include the GT World Challenge Australia Series and the GT4 Australia Series. New Zealand’s premier categories commence their season with the Toyota GR86 Championship, NZ TA2 Championship, GT New Zealand Championship, NZ Porsche Championship and the Central Muscle Cars Championship all on the grid over the weekend
Watch on Sky Sport NZ 6 & Sky Sport Now
Nov 01-02
Saturday – 12:30pm – 17:45pm (NZDT)
Sunday – 08:45am – 17:45pm
