I just spent $1,500 on a set of load-cell pedals to shave two-tenths off my lap time, yet I still use a $30 office chair that rolls backwards every time I hit the brakes, effectively turning my rig into a rowing machine.

Stewart’s big return: The Craftsman Truck Series just clocked its best viewership since 2016, averaging 1.387m viewers—a massive 37% surge over the series average. While the return of legend Tony Stewart fueled the hype, YouTube star Cleetus McFarland likely drove the needle even further with his 4.64m subscribers. Despite Stewart wrecking out early, fans stayed glued to the screen as the race peaked at 1.6m viewers, proving the power of mixing old-school icons with new-age social media giants.

Sim racing goes global: Next Level Racing and the FIA solidified their partnership in 2025, reaching thousands at the Valencia Motorsport Games and the Asia Pacific Championships in Sri Lanka. The collaboration launched a massive lineup of FIA-licensed hardware, including the flagship F-GT Elite 160, to bridge the gap between virtual and traditional racing. Japanese driver Sota Muto and Malaysia's Naquib Azlan emerged as top champions in a year that proved sim technology is the ultimate training ground for the next generation of racers.

Mercedes grabs Bathurst: After starting a dismal 29th on the grid, the Team GMR Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO pulled off a massive upset at the Bathurst 12 Hour. Drivers Maxime Martin, Maro Engel, and Mikael Grenier dodged the chaos of a crash-heavy final hour and a 56-minute red flag to snatch the lead and secure their first wins down under. The race was pure carnage, featuring a multi-car pileup at MacPhillamy Park and a terrifying 250km/h encounter between a Ford Mustang and a kangaroo that ended the day for Christopher Mies.

The 2026 Daytona 500 was supposed to be a high-octane masterpiece. Instead, for large chunks of the race, it looked more like a cautious morning commute—just with better sponsors and more drafting. For 30 straight laps, the world’s best drivers sat at 60% throttle in a "holding pattern," essentially waiting for their fuel mileage spreadsheets to tell them it was okay to actually race.

In the old days, changing four tires was the main event. Today, thanks to the single-lug nut design, pit crews swap rubber in under 9 seconds. But gravity is a buzzkill: filling a 20-gallon fuel cell still takes roughly 12 seconds. This 3-second gap has turned gasoline into the sport’s most valuable currency.

The fans aren't exactly buying the "it’s a chess match" excuse. The 2026 season opener saw a 23.6% viewership crash, bottoming out at 2.3M viewers. Compare that to the 19M who tuned in back in 2006, and the "strategic optimization" starts to look like a commercial liability. While NASCAR boosted short tracks to 750hp this year to encourage aggressive driving, the superspeedways remain capped at 510hp to keep cars from taking flight, leaving drivers stuck in aerodynamic gridlock.

Ironically, the weekend’s biggest win wasn't in the Cup Series. The Craftsman Truck Series saw a 37% viewership spike, largely thanks to the "Tony Stewart Effect" and the debut of the RAM manufacturer and let’s not forget famous YouTuber Cleetus McFarland too. It turns out fans still have an appetite for racing; they just prefer legendary personalities and new manufacturers over calculated fuel-saving parades. Whether NASCAR can put the "genie back in the bottle" and force drivers to use the whole throttle remains the defining question of 2026.

From the dirt tracks of Minnesota to the high-stakes world of elite sim racing, Jordan Fisher’s career is a masterclass in versatility. A Fergus Falls native, Jordan spent over a decade dominating the GT3 scene—stacking up three Sebring 12-hour wins and a Daytona 24-hour title. In 2025, he made a pivot to oval racing that would make most veterans sweat, climbing to a 3.8k iRating with terrifying speed.

The Track Record:

When he’s not saving tires or hunting for that extra tenth, Jordan is building FishSpeed. This isn't just another setup shop; it’s a community-driven project focused on the Next Gen car. Leveraging his experience with pro coaches, Jordan uses Garage61 telemetry and long-run analysis to help drivers master the nuances of dirty air and qualifying trim.

Off the rig, you’ll find Jordan at the local dirt track, hiking, or out fishing. A proud MRL series sponsor and advocate for racers with hearing aids, Jordan’s story is about more than just lap times—it’s about the grind to get 1% better every single race day.

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