Christmas is here again! And it is a weekend Christmas at that. I hope everyone gets to observe it Monday as well. Christmas is a time of giving and this is our yearly traditional of giving to those around the motorsports community.
Everyone is looking for something new or something they once had. Life isn’t always fair and not everyone gets what they deserve. This our chance to make it right and fairly reward those who have been working extra hard at being good this year, as well as help those who just need a little help going in the right direction.
What is waiting this year? Let’s take a look.
To Patricio O'Ward, Felix Rosenqivst and Alexander Rossi: A McLaren 720S GT3 for GT3 competition in the 24 Hours of Daytona, Bathurst 12 Hour, 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans and Indianapolis 8 Hours
To James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens: A GTD Pro Entry in IMSA
To Mark Wilkins: People knowing his name
To Josef Newgarden: Indestructible rear suspension
To Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin: A Porsche 963
To Will Power: An Indianapolis 500 pole position
To Ryan Blaney: A Cup victory in a race that pays points
To Austin Cindric: Better road course results
To Joey Logano: A new swing set for the children
To Romain Grosjean: A test in a Mercedes F1 car... remember when he was promised that? Whatever happened to that test?
To Colton Herta: 13 Super License points to shut everyone up
To Kyle Kirkwood: More checkered flags seen
To Devlin DeFrancesco: A top ten finish
To Martin Truex, Jr: Quick contract negotiations
To Denny Hamlin: The lead in the season finale with five laps to go
To Christopher Bell: Snowboots
To Bubba Wallace: A regular season race victory
To Tyler Reddick: Making Richard Childress jealous
To Ty Gibbs: A level head
To Scott Dixon: A shot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall victory
To Marcus Ericsson: Huski Chocolate arriving in the United States and becoming a big hit with Ericsson becoming a poster boy for the brand
To Álex Palou: Favorable contractual language
To Takuma Sato: An farewell he deserves
To Rinus VeeKay: Becoming beloved in his native country
To Simona de Silvestro: Support for a full season IndyCar program
To IndyCar: Support races for the Canadian Grand Prix, United States Grand Prix and Mexican Grand Prix. Nothing wrong with racing in front of people
Also to IndyCar: Engine regulations that have some wiggle room to attract multiple new manufactures and will be introduced during the 2027 season
Also to IndyCar: A new chassis also set to debut during the 2027 season
Also to IndyCar: Somebody in the front office who can hit the brakes before doing something like letting the licensing agreement lapse on iRacing. My goodness… you know what? A full blown intervention. IndyCar needs a full blown intervention.
To NASCAR: Competent race control
To all the NASCAR teams: More testing time with the new car and NASCAR's willingness to correct any persistent issues
To the FIA World Endurance Championship: Every entrant at the season opener running the entire season
To LMP2 teams: The class remaining an option in WEC
To Formula E: Every scheduled event taking place as scheduled
To Formula One: Sensical point distribution if a race ends before 90% of the scheduled distance
Also to Formula One: The Grand Prix of America happening on the Port Imperial street circuit in Weehawken, New Jersey. Forget Miami and Las Vegas. This would be the most picturesque and thrilling track on the schedule.
To Miami Grand Prix attendees: Better ticket prices
To MotoGP: The confidence to know it doesn't need sprint races and these are just a waste of time
Also to MotoGP: A race at Barber Motorsports Park... it will be on here every year until it happens
To the MotoGP teams: Easy delivery of equipment from round to round, especially to Argentina
To World Superbike: A race at Barber Motorsports Park... if MotoGP isn't coming World Superbike should. It could use an American round
To Francesco Bagnaia: A personal driver to take him everywhere he needs to go
To Marc Márquez: A clean bill of health
To Joan Mir: Pushing Márquez within the Repsol Honda camp
To Álex Rins: Less falls
To Fabio Quartararo: A better day in Assen
To Franco Morbdielli: A time machine back to 2020. Morbidelli is probably the only man who wishes it was 2020
To Aleix Espargaró: A better end to the season
To Raúl Fernández and Miguel Oliveira: Every paycheck clearing
To Johann Zarco: That elusive MotoGP victory
To Álex Márquez: The Ducati Desmosedici GP22 still being a contending bike
To Jack Miller: Making KTM a championship contender
To Joe Roberts: Maximizing his potential
To Álvaro Bautista: A wild card entry with Ducati in a few MotoGP races
To Toprak Razgatlioglu: A victory in Spain
To Jonathan Rea: Converting more pole positions into victories
To Dominique Aegerter: Keeping his emotions in check
To Garrett Gerloff: The best BMW it has ever produced for World Superbike
To the Mandalika International Street Circuit: Clear weather on race day
To MotorLand Aragón: A MotoGP race. It is absurd it lost one
To Sergio Pérez: A teammate who listens
To Max Verstappen: A heart
To Daniel Ricciardo: Openness to race something special in 2023
To Liam Lawson: Not having his career ruined by the Red Bull meat-grinder
To Nyck de Vries: The same thing as Liam Lawson
To Scuderia Ferrari: Proper strategists
To Charles Leclerc: A good day at his home race
To Carlos Sainz, Jr.: No opening lap retirements in 2023
To Lewis Hamilton: A comeback season for the ages
To George Russell: Consistency continuing
To Kevin Magnussen: More racing with his father
To the Las Vegas Grand Prix: An 8:00 p.m. Eastern start
To Stefano Domenicalli: Understand an 11:00 p.m. local start for the Las Vegas Grand Prix benefits nobody
To all of sports car racing: Formula One not scheduling its grand prix on the same weekend as one of your major races
To Dane Cameron: Success continuing on the global level
To Colin Braun: Becoming the most celebrated driver in IMSA
To Chip Ganassi: Less contact between his cars when they are battling
To A.J. Foyt Racing: All the money ROKiT owes the team
To Juncos Hollinger Racing: A great second driver that can match Callum Ilott
To Magnus Racing: Competing for more podium finishes in GTD
To Jack Hawksworth: Toyota deciding to commit a Toyota GR010 Hybrid to IMSA and having Hawksworth be its lead driver
To Tomoki Nojiri: People outside Japan learning his name... that can happen with a Formula One test
To Kyle Busch: Lots of patience
To Kurt Busch: Feeling well enough to race at some point in 2023
To A.J. Allmendinger: More fun than when he was last full-time in the Cup Series
To Juan Pablo Montoya; Three IndyCar starts, because that is how far he is from 100 IndyCar starts and he sure break the century mark in that category and an LMP2 entry that doesn't get taken out while at the front of the 12 Hours of Sebring
To Tony Kanaan: Another two Indianapolis 500 entries after 2023
To Hélio Castroneves: A Daytona 500 entry
To Simon Pagenaud: A backyard barbecue set
To Ryan Hunter-Reay: A full-time job racing somewhere
To Marco Andretti: At least a dozen starts in NASCAR's second division
To J.R. Hildebrand: Funds to pay for all the IndyCar oval races
To Stefan Wilson: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's speed from the last two years carrying over to 2023
To the marshals at the Singapore Grand Prix: Leaf blowers to clear standing water quicker
To Wayne Taylor Racing: Indestructible rear suspension
To Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor: An Acura program in WEC
To Jordan Taylor: A new hobby
To Ryan Briscoe: A full-time ride somewhere, how about in GTD Pro in an Acura?
To Jack Harvey: A few races as the top Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing finisher
To Graham Rahal: A great year at the dealership
To Christian Lundgaard: A favorable rainy day
To Ed Carpenter: A week vacation to somewhere he has never been before
To Stoffel Vandoorne: Something to supplement his Formula E responsibilities
To René Rast: An LMDh program that doesn't crumble from underneath him
To António Félix da Costa: A shot in the Porsche 963. How hasn't da Costa gotten greater opportunities outside of Formula E?
To Juan Manuel Correa: Success in Formula Two
To Jak Crawford: A Formula Two entry… because all the good Formula Three seats are disappearing and if it doesn’t work out in Europe I hope American teams have his contact information
To Lando Norris: Enough energy to run the 24 Hours of Daytona while still competing in Formula One. You are 23 years old and it is during the offseason. Let's not act like it is that big of a commitment.
To Oscar Piastri: Solid job security
To Yuki Tsunoda: Bosses that respect him
To Lance Stroll: Self-awareness
To Fernando Alonso:That 2017 ambition to go for the Triple Crown of Motorsports and start running other noteworthy motorsports events again. Remember how fun that Alonso was?
To Sebastian Vettel: Gardening tools
To Valtteri Bottas: Snowshoes
To Guanyu Zhou: One Drive to Survive episode that shows his personality
To Alexander Albon: People recognizing how good his 2022 season actually was
To Nicholas Latifi: An ounce of respect
To Mick Schumacher: Peace wherever he races next and hopeful that will be in a Mercedes in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
To Nico Hülkenberg: A few solid points finishes
To Alpine F1: Better management
To Pierre Gasly: Avoiding those last few penalty points on his license
To Esteban Ocon: Less contact with his teammate
To Logan Sargeant: A few points-paying finishes in general
To Felipe Drugovich: An actual stiff at a Formula One ride
To Pipo Derani: Action Express Racing getting an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and taking it
To Pietro Fittipaldi: A full-time race seat anywhere. This career is dying on the vine
To Indy NXT: Keeping Indy Lights as its name
To Indy Lights: Better funding distribution to the drivers
To Jamie Chadwick: Reasonable press coverage and respectable results
To W Series: A smart business model that doesn't have it competing in every corner of the global
To Alex Quinn: A full-time Indy Lights ride
To HMD Motorsports: Keeping all of its drivers happy
To Christian Rasmussen: Less contact and always having enough in the tank
To Rasmus Lindh: A season that has his phone ringing off he hook
To Hunter McElrea: His second half of 2022 carrying over to 2023
To Jagger Jones: People realizing he is more than his grandfather
To Matthew Brabham: Another year in Indy Lights. Last year went well
To Oliver Jarvis: A ride with an LMDh or Hypercar manufacturer
To Guy Cosmo: A GTD team with an owner who knows what is going on
To Paul Miller Racing: The #48 back… it is now available
To Peugeot: A respectable return to Le Mans
To the AF Corse Ferrari 499P program: No dysfunction
To Glickenhaus: A full WEC season
To Argentina: A major international four-wheel race, whether it be WEC, Formula One, heck even IndyCar fits I guess
To Intercontinental GT Challenge: A return to the Asia-Pacific region
To the World Rally Championship: Something to inject the series with some excitement. A new manufacture. A deeper crop of full-time drivers... something
To Kalle Rovanperä: Accomplishing something that will allow him to be as appreciated as previous WRC champions.
To Brad Keselowski: Fewer penalties
To Sage Karam: Multiple top ten finishes in NASCAR competition... and Noah Gragson not spinning him out
To Noah Gragson: Nothing because he already has everything the world has to offer seeing as how he continually gets away with stepping over the line
To Brendon Jones: One shot to get even with Ty Gibbs
To John Hunter Nemechek: But before Jones gets his shot, Nemechek gets his shot to get even first
To Parker Kligerman: A way to balance driving 33 races and still being a valuable pit lane reporter
To Cole Custer: This being only a brief return to NASCAR's second division
To Callum Ilott: Race results that are closer to his qualifying results
To Conor Daly: A financial advisor and a change in his portfolio
To David Malukas: A few more laps at Gateway
To Linus Lundqvist: Funding for a full-time IndyCar ride
To Benjamin Pedersen: Good days
To Santino Ferrucci: The best season for an A.J. Foyt Racing driver in the last decade
To Marcus Armstrong: A good nickname
To Nick Cassidy: Becoming the fourth New Zealander on the IndyCar grid
To Brendon Hartley: Becoming the fifth New Zealander on the IndyCar grid
To Oliver Askew: Another full-time IndyCar opportunity
To Kevin Harvick: Believing in his son's dream a little bit more
To Aric Almirola: A better sense of when it is time to retire
To Ross Chastain: A worthy follow up act
To Jimmie Johnson: Better luck as a team owner
To Jeff Gordon: The best back his has felt in 30 years... he might need it
To the NASCAR Le Mans effort: Not causing any major incidents
To Supercars: A successful New Zealand round
To Shane van Gisbergen: An entry in the Chicago Cup race
To Chaz Mostert: A viable Supercars championship push
To Harrison Burton: A look at a college education
To Valentino Rossi: Some racing in the United States
To Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts: The success with Audi following them to BMW
To Mazda MX-5Cup: Races live on American network television. These races last 45 minutes and there is never a dull moment. It would become the most watched series in the country if it ever got a proper profile
To Motorsports fans: Acceptance that they don't need to watch any award banquets. It is just people eating and drinking. It is a party and you aren't invited. That is ok. You aren't missing anything
To Kyle Larson: A Chili Bowl purse worth his interest
To Alex Bowman: A balanced season
To William Byron: A balanced season... the Hendrick Motorsports drivers need it
To Chase Elliott: The ability to loosen up
To Layne Riggs: A full-time NASCAR Truck Series entry
To North Wilkesboro Speedway: An extra access road for traffic
To Chicago: Beautiful weather the weekend of July 1-2
To Jaguar: A return to sports car racing. LMDh, GT3, something. It has the history and it has Mitch Evans and Sam Bird to build a program around
To Sébastien Buemi: A 24 Hours of Daytona entry
To the Monaco Grand Prix: Becoming the first grand prix where teams have to use all five tire compounds during a race. It would be better than the current situation. There would be fewer dull moments during that race
To the Dutch Grand Prix: The same thing as Monaco
To the Italian Grand Prix: Becoming the first grand prix where DRS must be open the entire lap. The brake zones would be gigantic. The drivers would really have to pedal the cars
To the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: A place in the schedule take makes more sense than between Australia and Miami and only being a week before Miami at that
To Belle Isle: A Formule E doubleheader weekend
To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: Upgraded facilities. It is time
To Road America: An extra hour and 20 minutes for its IMSA race. It shouldn't be hard to get considering the 100-minute qualifying race for the 24 Hours of Datyona is gone
To Texas Motor Speedway: Another reconfiguration and repave
To the new Detroit street course: A race that is at least 75% as exciting as Belle Isle
To the Nashville street course: A good alternative site once the new football stadium starts being built right on top of where the current circuit is located
Most importantly, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a Happy New Year! This was a good year after a few down ones. There is still a lot of work that must be done to make this world a better place, but we should all find happiness in our lives and share said happiness with others. There are plenty of positives around us and we should focus on those more than the negatives.
Stay safe, stay healthy and enjoy this time with your loved ones.
