2021 Formula 3 champion and former Red Bull junior Dennis Hauger crosses the Atlantic to tackle American open-wheel racing with Andretti Global as a part of the 2025 driver lineup for Indy NXT.
The 21-year-old Norwegian will wear Andretti's number 28, completing the four-man squad alongside Lochie Hughes, Salvador de Alba and James Roe.
“I can't wait to start working with the team and getting to know everyone,” Hauger said. We're already attending to work pre-season testing and I'm excited to get on the market for the Indy NXT race and get that have. I'm looking forward to the 2025 season – I hope it should be an important one.
Hauger ranks in IndyAutomobile's top development category with a powerful junior resume. Most recently, he spent the last three seasons in Formula 2, taking five wins, 13 podiums and two pole positions during that point. He won the 2021 F3 championship with 4 wins, nine podiums and three pole positions in 20 races. He spent most of his early days karting before making his open-wheel debut within the British F4 Championship in 2018, ending fourth within the title race. In 2019, he finished second within the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and likewise won the Italian F4 title in the identical 12 months.
Hauger served as a Red Bull junior driver for six years and was named Red Bull's reserve driver for the 2022 and 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship seasons. He is scheduled to make his Indy NXT debut on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during today's Chris Griffis Memorial Test.
“Dennis is a driver we have been following for some time and we are excited to have him compete in American open-wheel racing,” said JF Thormann, president of Andretti Global.
“He's no stranger to competing in highly competitive development series, so I can't think of a better next step for him than joining the Indy NXT roster. We believe he will be a perfect addition to our Indy NXT 2025 driver lineup and we are proud to be a part of his Indy NXT debut.”
Ott Tanak says if his teammate Thierry Neuville is “smart” on the Rally Japan, he could have no likelihood of winning a second WRC title, although Hyundai allowed its drivers to fight.
Both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles shall be handed out in Japan next month, following last weekend's dramatic Central European Rally.
Neuville could have sealed his maiden world title if he had overtaken Tanak by two points within the three-nation rally, but as a substitute he walked away with a 29-point lead reduced to 25 after Tanak claimed his twenty first profession victory.
This means the title fight shall be selected the asphalt roads of Japan, with the advantage within the hands of Neuville, while Hyundai leads Toyota by 15 points within the manufacturers' race.
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul confirmed that his drivers are capable of constant to compete in Japan, but he also desires to secure the Korean brand's first manufacturer's crown since 2020.
Although Neuville has a big advantage with 30 points within the table, winning the title is just not an absolute certainty.
“I don't know what difference we can make, but we'll give it our all, but with this scoring system it doesn't make much of a difference,” Tanak told Motorsport.com.
“That's true [a retirement can change things] it definitely relies on how bad Thierry wants it.
“If he is smart in Japan and does a good job, no one will have a chance, but we are also responsible for the manufacturers' championship. We still have a big task ahead of us, so we can't just focus on the driver titles. We are also responsible for the team.”
Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
Neuville was on the right track to beat Tanaka last weekend and potentially win the world title before two mistakes on stage 12 dropped him from the result in fourth.
Reflecting on a weekend through which his lead over Tanak narrowed, the Belgian believes he achieved his most important goal of maintaining a snug lead within the championship.
“If we look at our goals before the competition, we completely achieved them, coming away with a big lead in the championship in the last round, but also finishing the rally and scoring some good points on Sunday,” Neuville told Motorsport .com.
“So in that respect we were successful, but we are able to still be dissatisfied because we weren't capable of keep the lead.
“If I have a look at the conditions we faced on Saturday and even on Sunday… I'm unsure that on the last day, when the points are confirmed, I might have the ability to take the identical risk because the others.
“It's a convenient lead. Worst case scenario we have now to get six points. In every other scenario, we're doing pretty much.
“We have to search out the appropriate balance [in Japan] because there continues to be something to fight for within the manufacturers' championship and yet we have now a 3rd automotive with Andreas [Mikkelsen] who will go for the push. We have to search out a balance between driving safely but driving well.”
Regardless of the consequence of the Drivers' Championship, Hyundai boss Abiteboul is relieved to have achieved considered one of his two most important goals.
“We can say that we are halfway to our goal of winning a driver's title, but we don't know which one yet and that's why we don't want to celebrate,” he added.
“We accomplished our mission, so it's a relief for us, and for the rest, let's see what we can do in Japan.”
Ferrari will proceed its unchanged Hypercar class driver line-up in next 12 months's World Endurance Championship.
Antonello Coletta, head of sports automotive racing at Ferrari, confirmed on Sunday that in 2025 Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina will race the No. 50 Hypercar, the 499P Le Mans Hypercar, and for a 3rd time James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi wearing number 51 for the second season in a row.
The announcement made in the course of the Ferrari World Finals regarding the single-make challenge series at Imola followed the news on Saturday that Fuoco and Molina had renewed their factory contracts for next 12 months.
This time last 12 months, Calado and Pier Guidi's contracts were prolonged.
Coletta has clarified that there isn’t any reason for factory team AF Corse to make changes to the motive force line-up for the third season within the WEC.
“It has been confirmed: numbers 50 and 51 will not change – we will have the same drivers,” he said. “The No. 50 and No. 51 can be the exact same.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo: JEP / Motorsport Images
“We are glad with the teams: we won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with each of them [with #51 in 2023 and #50 in ’24]”
Coletta stressed the importance of “consistency and continuity” for the drivers within the Hypercar team.
“When we started with the 499P and selected our GT pilots, some people weren't happy,” he continued.
“But even the skeptics had to change their minds. All six 499P drivers won Le Mans, which I think validates our choices.”
Unconfirmed drivers for satellite No. 83, operated by AF Corse on behalf of a client and operated this 12 months by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman
Coletta said she hopes to “announce it just before the race in Bahrain”[thisyear'sWECfinalon2November[tegorocznyfinałWECodbędziesię2listopada[thisyear’sWECfinalon2November
He has ruled out Arthur Leclerc, brother of Ferrari F1 driver Charles, racing the automotive next 12 months, despite the fact that he’s scheduled to check certainly one of the 499Ps on the WEC rookie test in Bahrain the day after the season finale.
Coletta explained that the younger Leclerc brother, who’s a development driver for the F1 team, has yet to learn sports automotive racing.
This 12 months, Ferrari has placed him within the endurance segment of the Italian GT Championship, which he participates in alongside his LMP2 appearances within the European Le Mans Series with Panis Racing.
“Our goal is for Arthur to continue to learn endurance so that maybe in the future there will be an opportunity to pursue an opportunity in one of our prototypes,” Coletta said.
Davide Rigon, Alessio Rovera, Daniel Serra and Lilou Wadoux, who’re a part of Ferrari's factory GT3 driver line-up, have also prolonged their contracts for next 12 months.
Porsche appears poised to tackle the extra 24 Hours of Le Mans share it gained by winning the IMSA SportsCar Championship crown at Road Atlanta last weekend.
Thomas Laudenbach, head of Porsche Motorsport, told Autosport/Motorsport.com that it “absolutely makes sense” for Penske Motorsport's Porsche works squad to run a 3rd 963 LMDh within the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship, along with two full-season entries.
At the identical time, he emphasized that the ultimate decision regarding the extra automotive had not been made yet.
Porsche successfully applied to put an extra factory 963 at Le Mans in 2023 and 2024, but is guaranteed additional entry next 12 months after winning the IMSA GTP title within the No. 7 automotive driven by Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron within the 10- the season-ending Petit Le Mans hour race last Saturday.
“No decision has been made yet, but it is more likely that we will start with three, especially now that we have applications,” Laudenbach said.
“You need a budget for this, but all of us know the way quickly a automotive can retire from a race at Le Mans.
“That's why we've done it with three players for the last two years and that's why there's a good chance we'll do it again with three players.”
#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr
Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Porsche appears able to enter the WEC Le Mans round next June with a reduced variety of cars within the Hypercar class, even when it decides that PPM will field three cars for the third 12 months in a row.
The Jota customer team, which is running two Porsches in Hypercar this 12 months, will switch to Cadillac in 2025 when it becomes the factory representative of the General Motors brand rather than Chip Ganassi Racing.
Even if Proton Competition, the opposite customer team entering the 963 within the WEC, expands to 2 cars, it looks like Porsche's year-round WEC representation shall be reduced from five to 4 cars.
Laudenbach confirmed that the announcement of the PPM driver lineups for the 2025 season on the planet and North American championships shall be made before the tip of the WEC season.
“An announcement shall be made before the Bahrain race [on 2 November]- he said.
Given this news, it seems unlikely that a call on a 3rd automotive at Le Mans shall be made in time for its drivers to be included within the announcement.
IMSA has the fitting to award three entries to June's blue ribbon round of WEC Le Mans through race organizer Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
One of the so-called “total entries” goes to the winning automotive within the GTP teams' championship, which won the No. 7 PPM of title-winning drivers Nasr and Cameron.
The other two awards go to the winners of the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin awards.
These awards are awarded to bronze-placed drivers in LMP2 and GT Daytona, respectively, based on a separate classification for the major class championship.
Nick Boulle, who also won the LMP2 title with Tom Dillmann at Inter Europol via PR1/Mathiasen, and Orey Fidani, who raced with Matt Bell for the AWA Chevrolet team, won each awards and due to this fact each had an automatic entry into Le Mans .
Richie Stanaway will proceed full-time within the 2025 Supercars season, but with PremiAir Nulon, where he’ll partner James Golding.
The news follows Grove Racing's decision to part ways with the 32-year-old after only one season and replace him with Super2 champion Kai Allen.
This will likely be only Stanaway's fourth full-time season, with one spent at Tickford Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport, where he formed a partnership with latest teammate Golding, before getting used exclusively as a co-driver for the endurance rounds in 2022 and 2023, something he had done previously in 2016 and 2017.
Stanaway's Supercars future appeared sustainable, with full-time employment opportunities remaining limited following the confirmation of Brodie Kostecki's move to Dick Johnson Racing, ending his successful but turbulent spell at Erebus Motorsport.
However, Tim Slade's departure from full-time competition has opened an unexpected door at PremiAir Racing, meaning Stanaway will ride machines prepared by Triple Eight – the team with which he and Shane van Gisbergen won the 2023 Bathurst 1000.
“I couldn't be more excited to join PremiAir Nulon Racing,” said Stanaway.
“The passion and enthusiasm that characterizes Peter and Carmen Xiberras and the whole team is totally undeniable, and the commitment they’ve shown of their three short years of being a part of the Supercars Championship is impressive.
“The results of this are really starting to show with their first podium at Sandown and I'm looking forward to hopefully being part of many more great results to come next year.”
Richie Stanaway and the Grove Racing Ford Mustang GT
Photo: Edge Photographics
Stanaway's profession is more varied than most careers within the Supercars paddock, having spent a big period of time racing in Europe.
He competed with the Aston Martin works team within the World Endurance Championship, and his single-seater profession ended with two GP2 victories in 2015, followed by three victories from 22 GP3 starts.
Stanaway stormed to the German F3 title in 2011, the identical yr he made his GP3 debut, before missing profession momentum with a back injury suffered at Spa when he joined Formula Renault 3.5 in 2012.
“There is little question that Richie is exceptionally talented – you don't have a CV like his and also you don't win the Bathurst 1000 by accident – and although he was forced to go away Sandown prematurely this yr, it was clear he had what it takes, especially when the weather gods are against you,” said team principal Peter Xiberras.
“We can't wait to have Richie join our team alongside Jimmy Golding and see what we can achieve together.”
PremiAri Nulon's confirmation of Stanaway's appointment signifies that only two seats remain available for the approaching yr, each at Brad Jones Racing, where neither Jaxon Evans nor Macauley Jones are exempt.
However, team owner Brad Jones suggested he expected to field an unchanged lineup.
This is bad news for former champion Mark Winterbottom, who appears to be doomed after being replaced in Team 18 by Anton de Pasquale.
Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde took the lead within the championship due to his victory within the penultimate DTM race in 2024 at Hockenheim, while Mirko Bortolotti could only save fifth place.
Starting from pole position, van der Linde was capable of overtake Winward Mercedes driver Lucas Auer to take his third victory of the season, breaking a 12-point deficit on Bortolotti for a two-point advantage heading into Sunday's title decider.
Ayanchan Guven accomplished the rostrum for Manthey EMA Porsche, while Auer's teammate Maro Engel kept his championship hopes alive by ending fourth ahead of SSR Lamborghini rival Bortolotti.
At the beginning of the race, van der Linde easily took pole position, while Auer consolidated his position in second place after securing his first front-row start within the DTM since 2022.
Bortolotti and Engel qualified out of position in seventh and ninth place respectively, but each were capable of improve their rankings on the primary lap, moving as much as fourth and fifth place behind Guven.
When the pit window opened after 20 minutes, Engel immediately entered the pit lane, and Winward sent him back after servicing the automotive in only six seconds.
Bortolotti followed him on the subsequent lap, but a slow stop of 8.2 seconds, ending with a slow change of the left front tire, left him defenseless against his Mercedes rival.
Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3
Photo: Alexander Trienitz
Although the Italian managed to get back on target on the front despite the delay, Engel had already warmed up his tires to the precise temperature and overtook him in turn eight, taking him fourth place.
At the tip of the identical lap, van der Linde finally pitted and moved away from the race leader, and Auer, who had been on his tail in the course of the first stint, covered him the subsequent time.
Winward's decision to delay Auer's pitstop initially appeared to repay as he returned to the track in front, but a lap later the Abt driver was capable of pass him in Turn 2 to revive the established order.
The Austrian kept the pressure on van der Linde for the remainder of the race, with each drivers making contact on the hairpin on lap 30.
Ultimately, van der Linde was capable of do enough to fend off his Mercedes rival, taking the checkered flag by 0.508s, putting him in prime position to win the 2024 DTM title in Sunday's final.
Guven had a lone race en path to third place within the leading Porsche, while Engel overtook Bortolotti and was 20 points behind van der Linde within the championship standings.
Jules Gounon, replacing Luca Stolz at HRT Mercedes, quickly caught up with Bortolotti within the closing stages of the race, but ultimately needed to accept sixth place on his DTM debut.
The best Schubert BMW driver on Saturday was Rene Rast, who finished seventh, ahead of HRT driver Arjun Maini and teammate Marco Wittmann. Nicki Thiim finished in the highest ten within the SSR Performance rankings.
The only person to retire from the race was Emil Frey Ferrari's Jack Aitken as 19 of the 20 drivers made it to the finish.
Kunos Simulazioni took part in most important presentation on the ADAC Sim Racing Expo 2024 in Dortmund, where more information was revealed in regards to the upcoming early access release Assetto Corsa Evo.
Marco Massarutto, co-founder and executive manager at Kunos, and game director Davide Brivio participated in a small panel where they explained more in regards to the ethos behind ACE, the event process, and what players can expect from the title when it becomes available in January as a part of the early access program.
Assetto Corsa Evo: latest game engine
Original AC it was, after all, based on the unique engine developed by Kunos, but then it was a spin-off ACC the title ran on a ready-made engine: Unreal Engine 4. We already knew that AS would revert to a Kunos-developed engine built specifically for the title, and Massarutto explained a bit more in regards to the reasoning behind this.
“We created a completely new engine because we want to cope with the technology that is behind us Assetto Corsa“, said Massarutto. “We want to put the best, maximum attention on VR, triple screen and all these technologies that are specifically dedicated to racing simulators.”
VR particularly isn’t Unreal's traditional forte, even in the present UE5, as other developers have also noted. Since that is something of accelerating importance to probably the most dedicated sim racing fans, this looks like a sensible selection – although we're unsure how it might translate to consoles and devices like PSVR2.
“That's why we created a completely new KS engine that was specifically designed for racing applications, and which also allows us to add a lot of new things,” he continued.
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Assetto Corsa Evo: dynamic weather, dynamic track
New features include dynamic weather and dynamic track conditions that weren’t a part of the primary title.
Massarutto didn't detail these features within the presentation, but we already saw the primary one in a trailer released last month. However, he also sat in front of a giant screen that had bullet points containing several additional features.
We are intrigued by “gravity-based dynamic track technology” that appears to manage how and where surface water flows, collects and persists. This may have an interesting effect, especially on the drying track.
Other points included dynamic global illumination, physical sky, volumetric fog and dynamic particle effects. We may have to attend some time for more information and examples.
Assetto Corsa Evo: Free play mode and procedural terrain
One of the most important pieces of confirmed news was something lots of us suspected after seeing the September trailer: free exploration.
Massarutto had little time, but he managed to smuggle out the note AS will feature a free roaming mode that may allow players to drive the sport's cars on the road. This can be a brand new feature of the brand new KS engine, with Massarutto adding that it’s “based on new off-road technology that allows us to manage a very large map and hundreds of kilometers of roads.”
As above, the big screen behind him added more information, with a bullet point stating “procedural technology for free movement maps.” This may mean that the roads you drive on are generated on the fly, although we suspect some players can even want more everlasting road locations.
We'll should wait and see, but Massarutto commented that “a lot of people like it AC with mods created on roads like the Los Angeles Canyon and the Tokyo Freeway,” noting that KS will recreate this with its own content “generated and created in KS, based on real data about real-world locations that we believe will be very connected to the life of a gashead “.
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Assetto Corsa Evo: profession and game economy
Noting that the unique gameplay in AC was quite simple – “the formula of select automotive, track, hot lap, race, setup is completely great and good for a number of people, but probably in 2024-2025 it can be [not] enough is enough,” Massarutto explained as one among the goals AS was to create an interesting profession mode for automotive enthusiasts:
“We need to create not only a profession, but something that may actually be an RPG game for petrolheads. We are all automotive enthusiasts: we love cars, we love driving, a few of them like collecting diecast models or real cars, they need to drive on the track, on the road, they need to tune and customize their automotive.
Brivio explained a bit more about what this profession will appear like, although the precise details are after all still a good distance off. “You enter the game, you start from a certain point, you develop with complete freedom, but in the game you gain momentum,” he comments.
“So we are thinking about creating a game economic system that will be as simple as possible, but will help players enter the game on a limited budget, choose their first car, and then with complete freedom play, accumulate experience, and virtual currency… and buy cars whatever you want.”
The game can still be played in sandbox mode ACbut there you’ll only have the option to “rent” cars and you may not have the option to make any changes.
Of course, given the present state of gaming, the term “virtual currency” may raise some concerns. However, Brivio has some excellent news: the currency is earned only in-game and there can be no microtransactions.
The latest version of Assetto Corsa EVO: free play mode, profession mode with game economy, automotive customization and more 15
Assetto Corsa Evo: Car physics
Noting that AC is and has at all times been designed with simulation in mind, Massarutto clearly states that “if we start doing something else, we will kill Assetto Corsaso in order to reach a wider audience, we won't facilitate simulations, “simcade” or anything like that.
The team could have done a number of work on physics — to enhance what was good in Assetto Corsa franchise and dealing on those features that might perhaps be considered weak” – and Massarutto highlights one aspect that has modified because the original title.
“What is also changing a lot is the relationship with car manufacturers, which also thanks Competition– he commented. “Car service[…]is of course based on the car data we receive from manufacturers, but we also have the opportunity to drive multiple cars – real cars – on track and road, which will be included in Evawhich helps us even better match the real-world counterpart to the virtual one.”
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Assetto Corsa Evo: future support
It looks like Kunos Simulazioni has big plans to support AS still some time – in spite of everything, it's been ten years because the original game!
“We did the right design Eva four years ago when we started,” says Massarutto, “and we said OK, what we wish to see Eva: this, this and this and that. We adjusted the goals a bit during development because some things are doable, some are great but could also be doable in the long term.
“Assetto Corsa Evo has been designed from the bottom up with a distinct structure that may allow us to support the sport for a lot of, a few years – that's why we wish to develop the sport, perhaps ceaselessly – and the way in which we work reflects what we wish to realize.
There was a number of detail on this short presentation, which you’ll be able to watch within the video at the highest of the page, but the most important takeaway from it was, Massarutto says, that Kunos wants players to have a good time AS in any way they need.
F1 drivers have expressed differing opinions concerning the series removing the bonus point for fastest lap.
On the Thursday ahead of the USGP, the FIA World Motor Sport Council announced various changes to the F1 regulations that can see the fastest lap bonus point disappear from 2025.
The rule of awarding the fastest lap within the race to the highest 10 driver was introduced in 2019 so as to add an additional element to the spectacle and provides drivers in lower points positions a further incentive to aim for the fastest lap at the top of the race.
However, rule changes rarely had the specified effect, and the purpose was often decided by the circumstances of the race fairly than speed alone. That's why most drivers asked about this variation weren't particularly sad to see it made.
“I have always been of the opinion that it is not necessary, mainly because of the way it is achieved,” said Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. “At the moment, this point is awarded to the one who has a free pit stop one lap before the top of the race. So it doesn't show who’s the fastest within the race, and he deserves one point for being the fastest.
“Most of the time, the point goes to the guy who, by accident, luck or race situation, gets a free pit stop at some point in the race.”
Mercedes' George Russell completely agreed with Sainz: “I at all times thought the purpose for fastest lap was a bit pointless because the driving force at all times had a difficult race and would pit, put latest tires on and get an additional point.
“I never really saw the benefit of it, so in a way I'm glad it's gone,” Russell added, with Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc expressing an analogous opinion.
Sergio Perez on his strategy to fastest lap on the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo: Erik Junius
“We're talking about 24 points in a season”
Not all drivers are in the identical situation, nevertheless, as Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez really liked the added element of race day, especially the added pressure on drivers and teams to chase the fastest lap at the top of the race.
“I don't entirely agree with that,” he said. “It helped quite a bit. There were races, especially when the championship was quite tight between teams and drivers, and that would have really made the difference. We're talking about 24 points in a season.
“I don't know why it modified, I just felt prefer it was pretty good. When you select to do that, there’s numerous pressure on the mechanics to make sure you stop properly and on you to finish the right lap. I don't think it was the very best move.”
Asked if extra points still had a future in F1, for instance by rewarding pole positions, Sainz was more enthused.
“Yes, I agree. Pole position is something that, no less than in Formula 1, has great value,” he said. “And in fact as drivers in qualifying we prefer to be the fastest since it shows that perhaps you probably did the cleanest lap, perhaps you took more risks… you place every part on the road to get pole position.
“In a field where only one car can take all the pole positions, it makes less sense. But in an ideal scenario in a tight field, it might make more sense than having the fastest lap in the race.”
Gone are the feel-good stories and the underdogs – eliminated in the primary two rounds. Even Alex Bowman, who had gone from being the fourth driver in HMS to being one in every of the strongest drivers within the playoffs, was now eliminated after an unlucky disqualification. Half of the eight remaining title contenders are former Cup champions. In fact, all of the champions from the last 4 seasons are still within the running, and all 4 Championship 4 drivers from last 12 months also remain. There are not any weak links, which should make for an exciting and dramatic Round 8 that may see 4 of them have their hopes dashed and the remaining 4 move on to Phoenix.
At the highest of the rankings is Kyle Larson, the clear favorite of the championship. He has more wins, more top-five finishes and more lead laps than anyone else this season. There's not likely way more you possibly can say about him beyond the undeniable fact that he's “that guy” until one in every of the others proves otherwise, but there's rather a lot that might be said about that.
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro
Photo: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images
Like his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. NASCAR's hottest driver and 2020 series champion has only one win this 12 months, but leads the pack with the most effective average rating (11.7). He could be very consistent, all the time present within the front half of the sphere and can likely make some noise within the upcoming races. After a dismal 2023 during which a broken leg derailed his entire 12 months, he gingerly made his way through the chaos and unpredictability of this 12 months's championships without really feeling the pressure of being eliminated. He even took part in the ultimate race of round 12 on the bubble, but was never really an element of the tense story as he quickly racked up a mountain of stage points.
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro
Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
The only two-time Cup champion within the round of 16 is something of a surprise considering he wasn't on the board last weekend. Bowman's disqualification nearly three hours later allowed him to re-enter the playoffs. Joey Logano, who won the title in 2018 and 2022, is one in every of only two drivers to win multiple titles on this volatile playoff format. Team Penske can also be on the lookout for a 3rd straight Cup title within the Next Gen era, but despite Logano's restart, its performance is down in comparison with recent seasons. Still, he's shown he can speed up when the moment calls for it, and that's nothing latest for Logano. Arguably probably the most aggressive driver still fighting for the title, he won in any respect 4 tracks to finish the 2024 season.
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang
Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Then there's his Penske teammate and current champion Ryan Blaney. Despite scoring only one point within the round of 16 at Watkins Glen and a tricky loss at Talladega Stadium that left him with a season-worst thirty ninth place, he stays in contention. Like Logano, he knows tips on how to speed up when the pressure is on. In every other playoff race, he scored between 33 and 53 points per race. No driver has ever won back-to-back championships on this format, however the feisty No. 12 driver can do it.
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Discount Ford Mustang Tire
Photo: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
So half of the remaining title contenders have already won championships, including the last 4 from 2020-2023. They're here for a reason, however the challengers who haven't won the Bill France Cup yet are only as competitive.
There's Denny Hamlin, for instance, despite a reasonably rough playoff run. He also has rather a lot on his mind in the mean time on account of a controversial lawsuit against NASCAR regarding the team he co-owns, but as a driver he’s probably the most successful driver within the history of racing that has not yet won a championship. Three Daytona 500 wins, 54 Cup victories and five straight seasons ending fifth or higher in the ultimate standings. Since the format was introduced in 2014, he has never missed the play-offs and might be the hungriest driver here. We've seen him bash his good friend Larson for wins, we've seen him get into physical altercations with Logano (greater than once), and we've seen him benefit from the rain of boos from fans each time he wins. This is precisely the style of driver you would like on this round, which is more of a battlefield than a stock automotive race. He will do every part in his power to interrupt through the glass ceiling and develop into a champion.
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx One Rate Toyota Camry
Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
What in regards to the third Hendrick driver moving up? William Byron began the 12 months by winning three of the primary eight races, including the Daytona 500. However, we haven't seen him in Victory Lane since April. However, the No. 24 driver appears to be finding his footing just in time for the ultimate stage. He finished on the rostrum thrice in a row within the round of 16, scoring so many points that he didn't even must win to qualify early for this round. It can be silly to count him out.
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro
Photo: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
Tyler Reddick might be probably the most interesting driver on this list. 23XI Racing never made it past the eighth round, and neither did Reddick. Of course, this lawsuit can also be hanging over them. Reddick rode like a champion on the Roval, using latest tires to tear through the sphere within the closing laps, overcoming a double-digit points deficit and narrowly avoiding elimination. Some could also be quick to dismiss him, but we should always do not forget that this driver won the regular season championship. He relied heavily on those extra points in a tricky playoffs, but this can be a driver who has just shown the world he can get every part after which some out of the automotive when his back is against the wall. After that charge at the top of the match in Roval, he already proved that he’s champion material.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Monster Energy Toyota Camry Justin Haley, Spire Motorsports, Mattress Warehouse Chevrolet Camaro Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang
Photo: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images
That's it. Wait, aren't we missing someone? That's right…Christopher Bell! As he’ll say, everyone all the time overlooks the driving force of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. And there's really no good reason for it. It's quiet and doesn't make much noise on the track, nevertheless it's all the time a contender. Bell is the one driver to complete 4th within the Championship in each years of the New Generation era. He has also finished seventh or higher in seven of the last eight races, with the one result worse being 14th. He is a consistent, pervasive and really legitimate threat to the title. Heading into the playoffs, this author picked him to win all of it for all the explanations we just discussed. He is the “silent killer” of NASCAR. People all the time wonder where Bell got here from when the massive prize is in sight, but he has all the time been there, but nobody – including his rivals – seems to understand it until it's too late.
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, DEWALT Toyota Camry
All the ingredients are in place to take the IndyAutomotive series to latest heights with the Arlington Grand Prix in March 2026. Many drivers within the paddock are currently wondering how this event can compete with Formula One's Miami Grand Prix.
The buzz from last week's announcement continues as the brand new event is a collaboration between Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys, and REV Entertainment, the official events partner of the Texas Rangers, which is about to bring the premier North American open-wheel championship back to Texas after a two-year absence.
AJ Foyt Racing's Santino Ferrucci said the thrill surrounding the Arlington announcement was incomparable.
– Even in Milwaukee [returning to The Milwaukee Mile] it was a vital announcement, but there isn’t any connection to it,” Ferrucci told Motorsport.com.
“I think Texas really wanted an open-wheel race. Texas Motor Speedway wasn't a good fit for us and it hasn't been a great race track, I think, over the last decade in terms of attracting fans. Coming back with a bang, racing around one of the best American sports venues in the country, the way they do it is truly sick. There's nothing like that on our calendar and the only thing that comes to mind for candles would be Indy. It will be beautiful.”
The 26-year-old's attention was caught by the track, which was designed by longtime IndyAutomotive street track architect Tony Cotman. The layout features a 9.5 mile long straight where speeds are prone to reach near or exceed 200 mph before being challenged with tempting braking before the hard right-hand braking point in Turn 10. Other notables include a double-sided pit lane service station, much like the one currently utilized in the Detroit street race.
Cars leave Detroit's Dual Pit Lane for Sunday's warm-up
Photo: Art Fleischmann
For his part, Ferrucci compared it to Belle Isle, where IndyAutomotive previously ran from 1992-2001, 2007-08, 2012-19 and 2021-22 before moving to Downtown Detroit.
“Honestly, just to see such a wide street track where you can pass opportunities and race,” Ferrucci said.
“It looks lots like Belle Isle and it was our greatest road course race. I feel the double pit lanes in Detroit are a number of the coolest facilities we’ve got in the town. Some people sit there and think, “Oh, that's kind of catchy,” and I feel that's amazing. Seeing the science behind it from a time perspective, after which having pit lane views and suites overlooking the pit lane while all this motion is occurring is just phenomenal.
“I think it's one of the best things we can offer, so I'm really excited about having a proper street track, although I don't think we'll have it… for 27 cars it'll be phenomenal.”
The Connecticut native also has faith within the upcoming Arlington Grand Prix, a 14-turn, 2.73-mile road course that may wrap across the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium and Rangers' Globe Life Field (very like the F1 Miami GP track wraps across the home of the Miami Dolphins), helps narrow the gap to a level that IndyAutomotive as a series is attempting to strive for. Additionally, he believes it could push other events to make improvements.
“Looking at what they're going to do with the Rangers and the Cowboys, I think everything that Mr. Penske has done for the show by introducing new events like this is kind of a wake-up call, potentially for other events,” Ferrucci said.
“You know, 'Hey, this is certainly going to turn out to be a staple.' This might be our first Formula 1-style street track and I feel it's value fighting for. We are slowly attracting higher facilities, more fans, working in higher sports markets, working with greater teams, attracting more eyeballs and more young fans to IndyAutomotive. I feel that is a fantastic start and can really turn the page on a brand new chapter within the series.
