It is Christmas Eve, and you likely wondered if we were going to pass out some Christmas presents this year, but here we are! The last month or so has been rather difficult. It was an active month with Formula One finishing up its season. Then the 23XI/Front Row Motorsports vs. NASCAR was underway and took about a week-and-a-half our attention before the case was settled and the teams were the big winners. Sadly, the last week has been marred with the fatal plane crash that claimed the lives of Greg Biffle and his family.
This December never really settled down. Now Christmas is here. These next few days should be a little more peaceful. It should be a chance to detach for a moment and not be consumed with anything all that important. This should be time for ourselves.
Before the festivities get going with family visiting, meals shared and gifts exchanged, let’s cover what we are handing out to those in the motorsports world.
To Denny Hamlin: Immunity for untimely cautions
To Michael Jordan: Cigars
To Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan and Bob Jenkins: Thank You cards from every other NASCAR team owner
To Lando Norris: Jet-ski
To Oscar Piastri: Restored confidence
To Zak Brown: Humility
To Max Verstappen: Patience in Barcelona
To Lewis Hamilton: A Time Machine back to December 24, 2023.
To Charles Leclerc: Acceptance when it it time to move on
To Oliver Bearman: Catching another team’s attention
To George Russell: A trip to Bali
To Andrea Kimi Antonelli: No sophomore slump
To Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez: Smooth development
To Cadillac F1: Respectable results
To Colton Herta: His time being worth the switch to Formula Two
To Isack Hadjar: A full season at Red Bull
To Arvid Lindblad: There actually being a change of philosophy at Red Bull with Helmut Marko gone
To Liam Lawson: Continuing to outscore the second Red Bull entry
To Carlos Sainz, Jr.: His best race of the season being in Madrid
To Alexander Albon: Quickly ending his point-less streak
To Nico Hülkenberg: Another podium finish
To Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon: Making up
To Yuki Tsunoda: A dabbling in IndyCar
To Franco Colapinto: Being ready to jump
To Fernando Alonso: A few entries into the record book
To Gabriel Bortoleto: Continuing his development
To Leonardo Fornaroli, Jak Crawford, Luke Browning and a host of other junior drivers: Formula One sprint weekends becoming a separate championship for reserve/development/non-full-time drivers to compete
To Alex Dunne: Less contact
To Marc Márquez: A good challenge in track
To Álex Márquez: A few memorable battles where he beats his brother Marc
To Jorge Martín: Not being rusty
To Marco Bezzecchi: A better start to the season
To Francesco Bagnaia: Staying up right
To Johann Zarco: A few more rainy days
To Fabio Quartararo: Not needing to be majestic just to get average results
To Pedro Acosta: Not getting stuck at KTM if things take a turn
To MotoGP: The Brazilian Grand Prix returning without a hitch
To Daniel Holgado and David Alonso: Becoming title contenders in Moto2
To Supercars: A mulligan for 2025
To Broc Feeney: A clean weekend at Adelaide
To Chaz Mostert: NASCAR Cup weekends at Austin and Watkins Glen
To Kyle Larson: Comfortability in failure
To Chase Elliott: Legos
To William Byron: Reasonable expectations
To Alex Bowman: The first Hendrick Motorsports victory of 2026
To Brad Keselowski: A speedy recovery
To Chris Buescher: More laps led
To Shane van Gisbergen: A top 20 average finish on ovals
To Connor Zilisch: No broken bones
To Corey Heim: A NASCAR Cup Series ride
To Joey Logano: Sunscreen
To Ryan Blaney: Razors
To Austin Cindric: That lost road course ability
To Josh Berry: More than two good races
To Kyle Busch: A clear path for 2027 and beyond
To Austin Dillon: Sustained success at Richmond
To Richmond Raceway: Regulations that allow for competitive racing
To Watkins Glen: A lovely spring weekend for May 9-10
To Bubba Wallace: More road course practice
To Tyler Reddick: Mental clarity
To Christopher Bell: Being on the right side of the cutline after Martinsville
To Chase Briscoe: A pinball machine
To Daniel Suárez: Keeping up with his new teammates
To Ty Gibbs: The ability to be a good teammate
To Erik Jones: Short-track speed
To John Hunter Nemechek: Three consecutive top ten finishes at some point in 2026
To Kaulig Racing and RAM: Not screwing up year one in the Truck Series
To Parker Kligerman: A Daytona victory that counts in the record books
To A.J. Allmendinger: More sports opportunities and an Indianapolis 500 entry with Meyer Shank Racing
To Sheldon Creed: Finally winning a NASCAR national series race
To Matt Crafton: A peaceful retirement
To Nick Sanchez: Landing on his feet in a competitive seat
To Justin Allgaier: Slippers
To Jesse Love: A fitting championship result
To Austin Hill: Deep breathing exercises
To Corey Day: Not being replaced midseason due to results
To Aric Almirola: Full-time in NASCAR’s second division
To NASCAR Brasil Series champion Rubens Barrichello: A NASCAR Cup entry at Austin
To Chicagoland Speedway: Proper-running plumbing
To Iowa Speedway: A better connection with the local area
To Formula E: Their races on a proper channel in the United States and races on weekends and at times when nothing else is going on.
To Jake Dennis: A sports car role
To Aston Martin: Results that justify the attention drawn to its LMDh program
To Porsche: Better luck on the next set of FIA World Endurance Championship regulations
To Hertz Team Jota: No contact between its cars
To the 24 Hours of Le Mans: A real battle with multiple manufacturers until the checkered flag
To Lone Star Le Mans: Moving to any other weekend but Labor Day weekend. Open the season in Austin.
To IndyCar: A 2028 car that stands out and attracts more attention from manufacturers and viewers
To Álex Palou: As much success in the courtroom as he has on the racetrack
To Scott Dixon: A victory where the leader didn’t drive off course on his own
To Scott McLaughlin: Taking the green flag for every Indianapolis 500 for the rest of his career
To Will Power: Showing it to Team Penske
To Kyle Kirkwood: A complete season
To Marcus Ericsson: A return to 2022 form
To Josef Newgarden: No finishes outside the top twenty
To David Malukas: Maturity
To Patricio O’Ward: A home race that IndyCar properly supports
To Christian Lundgaard: Better oval results
To Ryan Hunter-Reay: A development role in the McLaren Hypercar program
To Callum Ilott: Two full seasons in IndyCar and IMSA
To Robert Shwartzman: Road course pace that matches his oval for,
To Prema: A charter and some financial support
To Dennis Hauger: Giving Andretti Global a good headache
To Marcus Armstrong: A few days when he is the best Kiwi in IndyCar
To Felix Rosenqvist: Races where he starts in the top five and finishes better than where he finishes
To Conor Daly: A good role as an ambassador
To Alexander Rossi: A tire advantage in the final stint at Milwaukee
To Christian Rasmussen: Remaining on Ed Carpenter’s good side
To Mick Schumacher: Fun days at the racetrack
To Graham Rahal: Better tire strategy when leading the Grand Prix of Indianapolis
To Louis Foster: A top ten finish
To Myles Rowe: A real shot at IndyCar
To Caio Collet: Not becoming the next Matheus Leist at A.J. Foyt Racing
To Santino Ferrucci: Proper pit entry at every race
To Rinus VeeKay: Not sweating out a Last Row Qualifying session for the Indianapolis 500
To Kyffin Simpson: Results that do the Sunoco livery justice
To Sting Ray Robb: A snowblower
To Jack Harvey: Lincoln City promotion to the Championships. Currently second in League One
To Romain Grosjean: More weekends at the racetrack as Prema’s reserve driver
To Hélio Castroneves: 112 laps in the Indianapolis 500
To Takuma Sato: Kitchen remodeling
To Victor Martins: Half the success Dennis Hauger had in Indy Lights
To IndyCar’s new street races in Arlington and Markham: No hiccups
To IndyCar’s new officiating panel: Team Penske being in its best behavior
To Tim Cindric: Quiet days at home
To Jack Benyon: A full-time podcast co-host
To Dario Franchitti: A 24 Hours of Le Mans entry
To all the Meyer Shank Racing Acura GTP Drivers: Honda supporting the program to take it to Le Mans
To Kakunoshin Ohta: Honda making up its damn mind over what it wants to do with him in the United States
To Ben Barnicoat: A swimming-based training program
To Kelvin van der Linde: A BMW GTP/Hypercar opportunity
To Kamui Kobayashi: A Super Formula victory
To Genesis Magma Racing: Respectable first-year results
To António Félix da Costa: Making Porsche jealousy
To Richard Verschoor: Peace in sports car racing
To James Calado: Proper recognition from his home country that he is a world champion with Ferrari
To Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi: Proper recognition from their home country that they are world champions with Ferrari
To Louis Delétraz and Jordan Taylor: Top five finishes
To Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy: Strong finishes
To Frederik Vesti: More than just the endurance races in IMSA
To Jack Aitken: A scooter
To Earl Bamber: Noise-cancelling headphones
To Tower Motorsport: Clearing post-race inspection at the 24 Hours of Daytona
To Dane Cameron: A return to GTP competition.
To Ricky Taylor: New patio furniture
To Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor: Race results matching qualifying results
To Kevin Magnussen: Replicating some of his father’s success
To Nick Cassidy: Peugeot having it figured out
To IMSA LMP2 category: A weekend with a split pro race and amateur race. That would be fun to see.
To Sébastien Bourdais: Heating pads
To Tom Blomqvist and a host of other sports car drivers: No clashes between IMSA and the European Le Mans Series. I don’t understand how or why a series with six-race weekends would clash with another multi-class series with so many shared drivers.
To Jack Hawksworth: A few breaks
To James Hinchcliffe: No race cars let down on his feet
To Logan Sargeant: Joy at the racetrack
To Memo Gidley: A 24 Hours of Daytona return
To Road America: A stellar IMSA endurance race weekend
To Dover Motor Speedway: A points-paying NASCAR Cup race
To Zandvoort: A fitting end to this stint on the Formula One calendar
To Sébastien Ogier: A season where it is clear whether or not he will be full-time or part-time
To Kalle Rovanperä: A personal training program to develop the right muscles
To the NHRA: The ability to postpone the final round of the season to another weekend if it is going to rain for the entirety of the scheduled date
To Jim France: A rocking chair and some thick blankets
To Jett and Hunter Lawrence: A tandem bike
To Eli Tomac: One more trip to the fountain of youth
To Cooper Webb: A motocross season that matches his Supercross success
To the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters: Reinforcements after a number of its top drivers announced they would not be returning for 2026
To Antonio García: A championship finish other than first or third
To Jack Doohan: A full-time ride somewhere. DTM?
To Mac Clark: Support up to Indy Lights
To Liam McNeilly: No visa issues and a full season in Indy Pro 2000
To Max Garcia: Enough patience to realize he doesn’t need to be in IndyCar by the time he turns 18 years old
To Elfyn Evans: Coming back in another time where he isn’t stuck finished second in the World Rally Championship… and a return of Wales Rally GB
To Valentino Rossi: A 24 Hours of Daytona entry
To Kaden Honeycutt: Full-time job security
To Rockingham Speedway: Lights and a NASCAR Cup date in late-spring
To North Wilkesboro Speedway: Its NASCAR Cup race moving to Saturday night. There is no reason for IndyCar and NASCAR to be clashing post-World Cup final
To Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Realizing we have heard enough about the pavement in turn two. Were good.
To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: Facility updates. Come on, now! This has been too long.
To Lime Rock Park: A proper sports car round. Either IMSA GT only or Michelin Pilot Challenge
To Superstars Racing Experience: A NASCAR-funded resurrection that has it compete at a half-dozen short tracks
To World Superbike: A competitive championship
To Nicolò Bulega: A challenge for the entire season
To the Grand Prix of Indianapolis: Using oval turn one
To Laguna Seca: A crowd worthy of hosting the IndyCar finale
To the Milwaukee Mile: IndyCar realizing it is the best event currently on the schedule for its finale
To Chip Ganassi Racing’s Indy Lights program: Many spare parts
To NASCAR: A championship format that rewards winning, is a season-long aggregate and accepting that the championship might not go down to the final lap of the season
To the NASCAR In-Season Tournament: Some stakes worth a damn
To the Canadian Grand Prix: Moving to the Sunday before the Indianapolis 500 or the Sunday after the Indianapolis 500 in 2027 and from there onward.
And that is it! The bag is empty.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a fun few days. We have a few more sets of predictions left before we close out 2025, and soon we will be entirely locked in on the new seasons, which will be here in a flash.
