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Hamilton Spectator
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
This Honda's not a rough-and-tumble off-roader, but a comfortable road warrior that can handle trails
Walking up to the all-new second gen. Honda Passport, I'm struck by its boxy, rugged looks. This thing looks reyady to hit the nearest dusty trail, I think to myself, as I climb into the driver's seat. But when I thunk the door shut behind me, I soon realize the 2026 Passport isn't some bare bones trail-runner. No, this SUV is built for wrapping its passengers in luxury, too. I'm sitting in a TrailSport Touring finished in Ash Green Metallic with a two-tone black and brown interior that that comes with brown perforated leather seats that have orange contrast stitching. Well, this sure is nice! There's more: A heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel; a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster; Wireless Apple CarPlay and Wireless Android Auto; and some very nicely detailed TrailSport embroidery in the front headrests. On the outside, the Passport is focused on off-road driving. Think of TrailSport as Honda's answer to TRD (Toyota Racing Development), the in-house tuning-off-road arm of archrival Toyota. But unlike TRD, TrailSport isn't hardcore off-road; it's not for rock-crawling or running the Baja 1000, but is, instead, designed for trails you might encounter on the way to the cottage. With that in mind, Honda has chosen to offer the Passport in TrailSport trim only for Canada. This means items, such as an off-road tuned suspension, 18-inch wheels, and all-terrain tires, are standard on all trims. Same goes for the engine and transmission combo, which consists of a 3.5-litre, V6 paired with a 10-speed automatic. Power from the V6 is rated at 285 horsepower and 262 pounds-feet of torque, or motive force. All-wheel drive is standard, as is a towing capacity of 2,268 kilograms (5,000 pounds). The jacked-up look, which includes the word Passport stamped into its front and rear bodywork, is standard. So are front tow hooks and 8.3 inches of ground clearance. For a vehicle with an off-road focus, I'm struck by how comfortable the Passport is to drive on road. The cabin is quite quiet considering the all-terrains I'm riding around on. The V6 engine isn't built for performance, but it pushes the Passport along with authority. And the 10-speed automatic is a very smooth shifting gearbox. The '26 Passport receives Honda's updated all-wheel drive system. Known as i-VTM4, the system can handle 40 per cent more engine torque at the rear axle. Up to 70 per cent of torque can be sent to either axle and all of that torque can be sent to either the left or right rear wheel. To ensure good traction, torque distribution varies depending on driving conditions. There are seven drive modes, including two for off-road (sand and trail), and these the Passport's driving character. I kept to the normal setting for most of the week-long test, but also sampled eco and sport. The former is good for highway cruising and the latter makes zipping around town a little more exciting. But not much. The Passport is a family-focused SUV, after all. The Passport's on-road handling feels secure rain or shine. Braking and steering are responsive for a big SUV, and manoeuvring through tight spaces, such as a gas station parking lot, is a breeze. I will just add that I didn't drive it off-road. Living with the Passport is easy. Despite its many impressive features, including a 12-speaker Bose audio system and a fancy camera system, called TrailWatch, for off-roading, the Passport feels familiar. There are buttons for climate controls. Wipers and turn signals are on steering wheel stalks. And you don't have to go hunting around for the buttons and switches. Honda has left them where they belong. Including the volume knob. Hallelujah! Plus, all the SUV positives remain: Lots of room, plenty of storage and good towing capacity. There's not much room for nitpicking, but a few things rankle. These aren't flat-out negatives, so much as things to consider. First, the price. At $60K before taxes, the TrailSport Touring doesn't come cheap. Even the price for the base model is steep; it starts at $56,990. And, the Passport, like its three-row Pilot sibling, has no electrification. Not even a conventional gas hybrid, of the sort Honda offers with the CR-V. Finally, putting the Passport's gear shift on a row of buttons instead of a shift lever is a real miss. The buttons work fine, but they're not intuitive. A shift lever is better. Just like a round volume knob. But the Passport's pluses far outweigh its minuses and it's a winner. Type: Mid-size SUV, front-engine, all-wheel drive Engine: 3.5-litre V6; 285 horsepower; 262 pounds-feet of torque (motive force) Transmission: 10-speed automatic Fuel (Regular 87): 12.6 litres/100 km in the city; 9.9l/100 km on the highway; 11.4l/100 km combined Cargo: 1,246 litres, or 44 cubic feet; 2,356l, or 83.2 cu. ft. Price: $60,540; $60,540, as tested, plus $2,000 freight
Express Tribune
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Express Tribune
Corey Heim's Kansas return fuels Cup Series breakthrough hopes
Rising NASCAR star Corey Heim is generating serious buzz ahead of a possible transition to the NASCAR Cup Series, with Kansas Speedway shaping up as a pivotal point in his racing journey. At just 22 years old, Heim has already made a name for himself in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, with 12 career wins since 2022—most recently a standout victory at Darlington in 2025. A native of Marietta, Georgia, Heim has consistently showcased his prowess on tracks like Kansas, Martinsville, and Mid-Ohio. Now, with support from 23XI Racing—co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan—and Toyota Racing Development (TRD), Heim is preparing for select Cup Series starts, including high-profile events like the Chicago Street Race and Nashville. Kansas Speedway holds particular significance for Heim. Not only has he celebrated previous victories there, but it also represents a proving ground as he adapts to the Next Gen Cup car. With intense preparation underway, including data analysis and hands-on training, Heim is methodically building toward a successful Cup debut. Despite a recent setback at Kansas—a pit stop issue that cost him a shot at a third consecutive Truck Series win—Heim remains focused and resilient. He continues to lead in the 2025 Truck Series standings while eyeing the bigger stage of Cup racing. With talent, dedication, and backing from elite mentors, Corey Heim is poised for a major leap forward. As he approaches his Cup Series debut, NASCAR fans and teams alike are watching closely to see if Kansas will spark the next chapter in his ascent.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Christopher Bell's long journey has him on a path to be first to win 4 Cup races in a row since 2007
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Do we hear four in a row for Christopher Bell? In an era where the cars are essentially the same — parity has been a catchphrase in the NASCAR Cup Series since the move to the Next Gen car in 2022 — Christopher Bell's three-race winning streak is remarkable. And it may not be over. The idea of him winning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a fourth consecutive win seems, as they say in Vegas, almost even money, considering how good he has been at that track. He's scored two runner-up results in the last three races, including last year's playoff race when he led the most laps but was beat by Joey Logano, who stretched his fuel. Christopher Bell wins third consecutive in Cup, outdueling Denny Hamlin at Phoenix Raceway Joe Gibbs Racing star edges his teammate with a last-lap pass for the lead. Nate Ryan, Nate Ryan, Should Bell win this coming weekend at Las Vegas, he would be the first Cup driver to win four in a row since Jimmie Johnson did it in the 2007 playoffs. 'That's incredibly special to hear that and know that I have that opportunity ahead of me,' Bell said Sunday after his 12th career Cup win. 'We're going to a darn good place for it. 'This sport has become so incredibly tough with the parity that we have. The teams are so tight. The cars are really tight. The drivers are tight. Like, everybody performs at a high level. … I'm just kind of in disbelief that I have that opportunity, but I'm looking forward to it.' Bell's path to three in a row and maybe more shows the growth of a driver who was taken into Toyota's development program in 2014. Toyota has not invested more in any driver than Bell. ButBell admits there was a time when he wondered if he would make it in asphalt racing after a youth spent racing on dirt. 'Between Tyler (Gibbs, Toyota Racing Development president ), Jack Irving (TRD general manager), David Wilson (retired TRD president), they were the three guys that took a chance on me back in 2014,' Bell said. 'It's unbelievable to look back. In 2014, it seemed like it was so far away to be here today in this moment. 'Looking back at it, it felt like it happened overnight. I just remember going through those years of the dirt cars and getting that first contract that I got from Toyota Racing Development saying I was going to run 15 Late Model races. We're going to try to make you a stock car driver. I'm like, How is this going to happen?' Bell won five of his first 10 Late Model races and began his journey to being a stock car driver — a top stock car driver — but it wasn't easy. He moved to the Truck Series in 2016 with Kyle Busch Motorsports. William Byron was his teammate. Byron won seven races that season and moved to the Xfinity Series. Bell won once and stayed in trucks. 'He kicked my butt,' Bell said of Byron, who at age 18 at the time was three years younger than Bell. Bell felt the pressure to succeed at age 21 with Chase Elliott (then 20) already in Cup and Erik Jones (then 20) announced in August 2016 as moving to Furniture Row Racing's Cup team for the following season. 'I was like, 'Man, I have to get to the Cup Series tomorrow, otherwise I'm not going to make it,'' Bell said. When the season ended, Bell had a talk with Busch. 'I said, 'Kyle, I have to be paired with (Byron's) team, I need to prove to myself or learn to myself if I can do this or not. If I can't do this, I'm going to try and be a sprint car driver,'' Bell said. 'Kyle I think had reservations of pairing me with (crew chief) Rudy Fugle for 2017. Thank God he did. It elevated me to become the Truck Series champion and on to the Xfinity Series. What NASCAR drivers said after Phoenix Cup race won by Christopher Bell Here is what drivers were talking about after Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix Raceway. Nate Ryan, Nate Ryan, Bell moved to Cup in 2020 with Leavine Family Racing. He joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021 and was paired with crew chief Adam Stevens, but things were challenging. COVID in 2020 led to reduced weekend schedules for Cup and the end of practice at most tracks. The lost track time stunted Bell's growth. Bell was still behind in 2021 without that additional track time. As Bell worked to build results, Kyle Larson, who also had come from the dirt ranks and been a rival to Bell, was dominating in Cup. On the way to a 10-win season and the championship, Larson won three races in a row. He was the last Cup driver to do that before Bell's feat. 'I will never forget 2021, my first year with Adam Stevens,' Bell said. 'Kyle Larson won three straight. Me and Adam got off to a rocky patch, rocky start. We're sitting in his office there at JGR. He looked at me and he said, 'We can do this. 'He said, 'I've won three straight sitting in these exact same two chairs,' talking about him and Kyle Busch. 'I know we can do it.' Took a while to get here, but we finally did it.' Bell has gone on to make the Cup championship race two of the last three years and nearly made it last year. He entered this season as one of the championship favorites and has shown no reason to doubt that when the series returns to Phoenix in November he'll be among the four racing for a title. 'Christopher Bell is just a ridiculously talented driver,' said Chris Gabehart, JGR's competition director. 'I can't say enough about how good he is as a driver. When you sprinkle a little confidence on all that, I don't care if all the parts (of a car) are the same, … (Bell's team is) just executing really well right now.' The result is a team that didn't win the final 18 races of last season — although it had some opportunities to do so — has won three of the first four races this season. 'I think you saw a lot of speed out of the 20 team and the other JGR cars on occasion down the stretch,' Stevens said of the organization's win drought the second half of last year. 'We just weren't able to convert those into wins. Extremely frustrating. It weighs you down. 'The (playoffs), we had so many opportunities and did everything we needed to do. It just didn't go our way. What we've seen this year, three out of four times it's gone our way. You have to put yourself in position. Man, you can replay any one of those wins, change one or two things, it's not you that day.' But to win this one, Bell had to beat his teammate, Denny Hamlin, passing him on the final lap in an intense battle. 'Whatever they're doing is just working well,' Hamlin said.
NBC Sports
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Christopher Bell's long journey has him on a path to be first to win 4 Cup races in a row since 2007
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Do we hear four in a row for Christopher Bell? In an era where the cars are essentially the same — parity has been a catchphrase in the NASCAR Cup Series since the move to the Next Gen car in 2022 — Christopher Bell's three-race winning streak is remarkable. And it may not be over. The idea of him winning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a fourth consecutive win seems, as they say in Vegas, almost even money, considering how good he has been at that track. He's scored two runner-up results in the last three races, including last year's playoff race when he led the most laps but was beat by Joey Logano, who stretched his fuel. Nate Ryan, Should Bell win this coming weekend at Las Vegas, he would be the first Cup driver to win four in a row since Jimmie Johnson did it in the 2007 playoffs. 'That's incredibly special to hear that and know that I have that opportunity ahead of me,' Bell said Sunday after his 12th career Cup win. 'We're going to a darn good place for it. 'This sport has become so incredibly tough with the parity that we have. The teams are so tight. The cars are really tight. The drivers are tight. Like, everybody performs at a high level. … I'm just kind of in disbelief that I have that opportunity, but I'm looking forward to it.' Bell's path to three in a row and maybe more shows the growth of a driver who was taken into Toyota's development program in 2014. Toyota has not invested more in any driver than Bell. But Bell admits there was a time when he wondered if he would make it in asphalt racing after a youth spent racing on dirt. 'Between Tyler (Gibbs, Toyota Racing Development president ), Jack Irving (TRD general manager), David Wilson (retired TRD president), they were the three guys that took a chance on me back in 2014,' Bell said. 'It's unbelievable to look back. In 2014, it seemed like it was so far away to be here today in this moment. 'Looking back at it, it felt like it happened overnight. I just remember going through those years of the dirt cars and getting that first contract that I got from Toyota Racing Development saying I was going to run 15 Late Model races. We're going to try to make you a stock car driver. I'm like, How is this going to happen?' Bell won five of his first 10 Late Model races and began his journey to being a stock car driver — a top stock car driver — but it wasn't easy. He moved to the Truck Series in 2016 with Kyle Busch Motorsports. William Byron was his teammate. Byron won seven races that season and moved to the Xfinity Series. Bell won once and stayed in trucks. 'He kicked my butt,' Bell said of Byron, who at age 18 at the time was three years younger than Bell. Bell felt the pressure to succeed at age 21 with Chase Elliott (then 20) already in Cup and Erik Jones (then 20) announced in August 2016 as moving to Furniture Row Racing's Cup team for the following season. 'I was like, 'Man, I have to get to the Cup Series tomorrow, otherwise I'm not going to make it,'' Bell said. When the season ended, Bell had a talk with Busch. 'I said, 'Kyle, I have to be paired with (Byron's) team, I need to prove to myself or learn to myself if I can do this or not. If I can't do this, I'm going to try and be a sprint car driver,'' Bell said. 'Kyle I think had reservations of pairing me with (crew chief) Rudy Fugle for 2017. Thank God he did. It elevated me to become the Truck Series champion and on to the Xfinity Series. Bell moved to Cup in 2020 with Leavine Family Racing. He joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021 and was paired with crew chief Adam Stevens, but things were challenging. COVID in 2020 led to reduced weekend schedules for Cup and the end of practice at most tracks. The lost track time stunted Bell's growth. Bell was still behind in 2021 without that additional track time. As Bell worked to build results, Kyle Larson, who also had come from the dirt ranks and been a rival to Bell, was dominating in Cup. On the way to a 10-win season and the championship, Larson won three races in a row. He was the last Cup driver to do that before Bell's feat. 'I will never forget 2021, my first year with Adam Stevens,' Bell said. 'Kyle Larson won three straight. Me and Adam got off to a rocky patch, rocky start. We're sitting in his office there at JGR. He looked at me and he said, 'We can do this. 'He said, 'I've won three straight sitting in these exact same two chairs,' talking about him and Kyle Busch. 'I know we can do it.' Took a while to get here, but we finally did it.' Bell has gone on to make the Cup championship race two of the last three years and nearly made it last year. He entered this season as one of the championship favorites and has shown no reason to doubt that when the series returns to Phoenix in November he'll be among the four racing for a title. 'Christopher Bell is just a ridiculously talented driver,' said Chris Gabehart, JGR's competition director. 'I can't say enough about how good he is as a driver. When you sprinkle a little confidence on all that, I don't care if all the parts (of a car) are the same, … (Bell's team is) just executing really well right now.' The result is a team that didn't win the final 18 races of last season — although it had some opportunities to do so — has won three of the first four races this season. 'I think you saw a lot of speed out of the 20 team and the other JGR cars on occasion down the stretch,' Stevens said of the organization's win drought the second half of last year. 'We just weren't able to convert those into wins. Extremely frustrating. It weighs you down. 'The (playoffs), we had so many opportunities and did everything we needed to do. It just didn't go our way. What we've seen this year, three out of four times it's gone our way. You have to put yourself in position. Man, you can replay any one of those wins, change one or two things, it's not you that day.' But to win this one, Bell had to beat his teammate, Denny Hamlin, passing him on the final lap in an intense battle. 'Whatever they're doing is just working well,' Hamlin said. Relive the best moments from the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
