F1 Paddock Pass: 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Thurs. & Fri. (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

Formula 1 arrives in Spain this weekend for the start of the European season at its traditional first stop of Barcelona.

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg arrives at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya riding the crest of a wave after claiming his seventh straight grand prix victory in Russia two weeks ago.

The result makes Rosberg’s record 4-0 for the season, leaving him with a healthy championship buffer of 43 points over defending champion and teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton is not a man to turn down a challenge, though, and with 17 races to go, it would be foolish to rule him out of the title race just yet.

Recapping all of the news and interviews from a busy Thursday in the Barcelona paddock, NBCSN pit reporter Will Buxton brings you the latest edition of Paddock Pass.

UPDATE, May 13: This week, it’s a double dip of pre-event Paddock Pass!

Check out a special Friday edition of Paddock Pass in the below two clips.

Follow @LukeSmithF1

After hosting 10 rounds in 2022, the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series 2023 schedule will more than triple to 34 races. The 2022 season featured seven different winners in the first seven races, a female racer in Jade Avedisian as the only repeat winner and Zach Daum as the champion.

“Dirt Midget racing is a growing entity in American motorsports, and the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota is proud to drive further into the growth of the division with both a diverse and lucrative schedule for 2023,” newly appointed Series Director Tyler Bachman said in a press release. “From the kickoff at our first indoor event, to each of the new tracks we’re set to visit next year, it’s a lineup we know both our teams and fans will enjoy.”

The championship purse fund has also more than double with an increase of $42,000 to $80,000 in 2023. The champion will win $25,000. Last year, Daum pocketed $10,000.

In addition, the series will offer tow money to the top 12 in points. Six drivers attempted to qualify for all 10 races in 2022 with 89 drivers attending.

The series will begin on March 10 at Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Ill. and end the same place it did in 2022 at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City on October 15.

During the season, they will visit 21 tracks in 10 states.

Some highlights of the season include the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series pairing up with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars in 2023 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. in April for the Outlaw Showdown and again in August for the Ironman 55 weekend, as well as the creation of a five-day Midget Speedweek.

The Midget Speedweek will immediately follow the Ironman 55 with a swing through Pennsylvania and New York.

Xtreme Outlaw Midget 2023 Schedule

* Co-sanctioned with POWRi

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