An American V-8 will be on the front row of France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday. And the roar is about to get louder.

Motor City brands are front-and-center for the Saturday-Sunday, June 13-14 World Endurance Championship epic. A Cadillac Hypercar qualified on the front row for the second year in a row, while Ford announced its Hypercar driver lineup for 2027 as it prepares a sequel to its historic 1966-69 overall wins. That era was immortalized in the 2019 blockbuster film “Ford v Ferrari.”

Cadillac is determined to write its own chapter in the Le Mans history books.

The Detroit brand will be one of the favorites to dethrone defending champion Ferrari with three competitive V-Series.R Hypercars. A year after it won pole, the England-based, #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R secured second in qualifying behind the #15 BMW M Team car for the world’s premier sportscar race after its sister, #38 Team JOTA Cadillac won pole before being demoted to 10^th over a technical infraction. A third, #101 Cadillac entered by U.S.-based Wayne Taylor Racing will start fifth.

“It was a good day for the team,” said #12 Cadillac ace Will Stevens after his 3:23.1 lap around the 8.5-mile track 130 miles west of Paris. “Thank you to everyone who has been involved in improving the package compared to last year. We know we are in a better position. It’s going to be a very exciting race, and I think it will be a battle.”

Also sharing Hypercar headlines this year is Ford, which will bring a thundering, Mustang-based, 5.4-liter Coyote V-8 to Le Mans’ legendary 200-mph Mulsanne straightaway in 2027. The Hypercar class has grown in popularity thanks to its formula of combining a hybrid-electric drivetrain (which dovetails with current production electrification trends) and the gas engine of the manufacturer’s choice.

For Motor City brands, that means earthshaking V-8s.

Ford Racing announced its driver’s lineup at the track for its first entry into top class since it dominated Le Mans six decades ago with the legendary GT40. It will join a packed Hypercar field next year with entries from Cadillac, McLaren, Toyota, Ferrari, Aston Martin, BMW, Peugeot, Alpine and Genesis (which debuts this year).

Motor City makers have ramped up their assault on Le Mans as they have taken their production models to international markets. The Cadillac Hypercar’s hybrid powertrain complements Cadillac’s electrification strategy as it now sells Optiq, Lyriq and Visitq EVs in Europe — including from its flagship showroom in downtown Paris.

The Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang sell in markets across the globe and their GT3 cars — which will be competing for glory in the Le Mans GT3 class — are sold to international racing teams.

Ford will bring a formidable driver lineup in 2027.

IMSA Weathertech Sportscar champion Matt Campbell, Le Mans class-winner Nick Yelloly and IMSA champion and ex-IndyCar racer Tom Blomqvist complete an all-star, six-driver roster that includes the already-announced lineup of IMSA-champ Mike Rockenfeller, ex-Formula One racer Logan Sargeant and GT3-ace Sebastian Priaulx (the latter pair are competing at this year’s Le Mans in Mustangs).

MILWAUKEE — A family is suing the City of Milwaukee after their son was left inside a car at a tow lot following a fatal crash.

The lawsuit says James Edward Stokes, Jr. was a passenger in the car involved in a crash on June 1, 2023, where the car hit a pole or tree near 9000 West Fond Du Lac Avenue. It suffered significant damage, including a shattered windshield, blown tires and more, the lawsuit says.

When police arrived on scene, the lawsuit claims that witnesses told police to check for a body in the car, but were ignored.

Instead, Milwaukee police took control and custody of the car, the lawsuit says, claiming it was evidence and contraband, since the car had been reported stolen.

The police had it towed to a city tow lot, located at 3811 West Lincoln Avenue, where it was locked up and left there.

The lawsuit claims officers and the tow lot workers failed to search the car to make sure there were no trapped occupants. In the lawsuit, the family called this an “act of shocking and deliberate indifference.”

As a result of lacking a search, the lawsuit says Stokes died a slow death, trapped inside the car for the next four days.

On June 5, 2023, the owner of the car came to get some of their belongings and noticed a foot hanging over the back seat. Upon seeing that, the owner called the police.

A Medical examiner’s report said Stokes, Jr. had advanced signs of decomposition, one of which was bloating, which the lawsuit says is consistent with being trapped in an unventilated car for days. The report also states that he had survived the initial impact of the crash.

The lawsuit is not only against the city but also against Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, manager of the city tow lot Peter Knox, and MPD officers Shate Doughty, Brett Stegerwald, Andrew Fuerte and Alex Bartoshevich.

Mattress maker Sleep Number Corp. announced Friday that it has filed bankruptcy, with an agreement to sell the firm to one-time retail partner Sleep Country Canada Inc. after years of weak demand, mounting financial pressure and unpredictable tariffs.

Minneapolis-based Sleep Number blamed its bankruptcy, in part, on “the unpredictable shifting of trade rules imposed by the current U.S. government on top of an already vulnerable global supply chain,” according to the Friday court filing.

Even after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, “the broader trade landscape remained complex and the company continued to manage ongoing regulatory uncertainties, particularly regarding potential alternative tariff frameworks that may be imposed” on U.S. imports, Chief Financial Officer Amy O’Keefe said in the filing.

Sleep Number filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in order to hold an auction, at which Sleep Country would be the so-called stalking horse bidder. Its all-cash opening offer for “substantially” all of the firm’s assets is $415 million, O’Keefe said.

Because the firm tried to sell itself in the months leading up to the Chapter 11 filing, O’Keefe said Sleep Number is seeking a 26-day sale process. Any competing bids would be due July 8 and the sale would close by July 31 under the company’s proposed timeline.

Sleep Number, which operates 572 stores and is known for its customizable beds, will continue operations while seeking a quicker-than-usual court-supervised sale process, according to the filing.

The company, whose shares have plunged more than 95% the past four months, has been hurt by declining store traffic amid broader industry pressures.

In response to mounting financial woes, O’Keefe said Sleep Number restructured its real estate portfolio and launched a number of cost-cutting initiatives in recent years. The firm had reported its operating costs fell by $136 million last year, but its net loss still widened as net sales dropped 16%.

Sleep Number said in a statement that will continue to review its footprint with the aim of retaining as many retail locations as possible. It added that as much of $65 million of new borrowing has been arranged to pay for the restructuring process. Sleep Number would also refinance $195 million of older debt should the loan package be approved by the judge overseeing the bankruptcy case.

The company listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion, with lenders owned about $672.5 million.