2026 NASCAR Predictions

We are into the final fortnight of the year, and while there is not much motorsports going on, this is a time to be excited for what is to come. There are plenty of changes ahead of us, and drivers looking for redemption while others hope to expand on their legacies. We don't know what will happen but anything is possible. We can let our minds carry us away. 

We begin with NASCAR, which has had a lively offseason even though no race has taken place for over six weeks now. Changes are coming to NASCAR at least on the business side and with the race teams, but there could be more changes in terms of championship format. Nothing is settled, but it has been leaning that way for quite some time. 

Enough about the boardroom dealings, we are here to make predictions for the next season regardless of how the championship trophy is decided. Twelve predictions await you.

1. Kyle Larson's average finish in each third of the season will be 15.5 or better

Kyle Larson is not running the Indianapolis 500 this season, but last year, that marked a significant shift in his performance in the NASCAR Cup Series.

In his 12 Cup starts prior to him starting the Indianapolis 500, Larson had an average finish of 9.333. His average finish in the final 24 races was 14.875. That isn't a terrible average, but it was saved with four top five finishes in the final six races. Take the first 19 races after his Indianapolis 500 start, and Larson's average was 16.789. 

His average in the second-third of the 2025 Cup season was 19.25! His average in the final third was 10.5.

That is a wild swing to be basically averaging a ninth-place finish for 12 races then average worse than 19th for 12 races before ending with an average of just worse than tenth for 12 races. 

Larson is a swing-and-miss driver. For all his success, he does have a fair number of bad results. In 2024, he did finish outside the top ten in 17 races with five finishes worse than 30th. In 2023, he had six finishes outside the top fifteen in the first 11 race, and he had nine finishes outside the top 25. In 2022, he opened the season with four finishes of 29th or worse in the first six races and he had seven finishes outside the top 30.

He wins a fair amount, but he strikes outs a ton as well. However, I think we will see a more balanced Larson in 2026. In each third of the season, his average finish will be 15.5 or better. I don't think his results will wildly jump around. There might be a two or three position dip, but it is still respectable results. 

2. A Team Penske driver will not have a race victory following a finish outside the top twenty

Lately, it feels like Penske goes from zero-to-hero in the NASCAR Cup Series. The results are not that good and then suddenly it is on a run of top ten finishes. Last season, each Penske driver won a race after finishing outside the top fifteen the race before. 

Austin Cindric won at Talladega after being 17th at Bristol. Joey Logano won at Texas after being disqualified at Talladega and being classified in 39th. Ryan Blaney won at Nashville after being 38th at Charlotte. Blaney also won at Loudon after being fourth at Bristol, and he won the Phoenix finale after being second at Martinsville.

I don't think we are going to see as big of swings from the Penske groups. It should be noted that Logano was fourth at Phoenix and Cindric was 27th at the Phoenix finale. Keep that in mind for Daytona.

3. Chase Briscoe will have the third-most top five finishes at Joe Gibbs Racing

Briscoe's first season with Joe Gibbs Racing exceeded expectations as he was a championship contender in the final race, and he ended up finishing third in the championship. Briscoe won three times at Pocono, the Southern 500 and Talladega. He also led the team with 15 top five finishes. It was actually tight in this category at Gibbs. Denny Hamlin had 14 top five finishes and Christopher Bell had 13. Ty Gibbs had five, and I must admit I nearly forgot Ty Gibbs was a Cup driver.

In year two at Gibbs, I think Briscoe takes a slight step back, and we see Hamlin and Bell perform a little better, or at least a little better than Briscoe. 

4. Chase Elliott will have at least five finishes outside the top twenty in the first 24 races

There was great praise for Elliott's consistency in 2025. He did not have a finish outside the top twenty in the first 23 races. Guess what happens in 2026? He is going to have at least five finishes worse than 20th in the first two-thirds of the season.

Elliott ended up having four finishes outside the top twenty in the final 12 races. That a brief market correction, but 2026 will be more aligned with the rest of the competition. Larson had six finishes outside the top thirty in the first 24 races last year, and he had a 28th-place finish as well. Hamlin had three finishes outside the top twenty in the first five race, and nine in the first 24. Briscoe had seven finishes outside the top twenty in the first 24 races, and Byron had eight.

Those were your four championship contenders at Phoenix, and those results were dreadful in comparison to Elliott, but let's keep going. Bell had five finishes outside the top twenty in the first two-dozen races last year. Ryan Blaney had seven, and three of those were consecutive between races four and six of the season. Logano had four finishes outside the top twenty before he had his first top ten finish, and he had eight in the first 24 races. 

That is every driver ranked ahead of Elliott in the championship in 2025 plus Tyler Reddick had five finishes worse than 20th, Ross Chastian had seven, Bubba Wallace had 11, Shane van Gisbergen had 14, Alex Bowman had eighth, Austin Cindric had nine, Austin Dillon had 11 and Josh Berry had 14. 

Every other playoff driver in 2025 had at least five finishes worse than 20th in the first two-thirds of the season. Elliott isn't special. He will come back down to earth.

5. Denny Hamlin will have five fastest laps or fewer

Last season was the first time NASCAR awarded a point for the fastest lap in the race. Hamlin had the most fastest laps in the season with nine, which meant nothing once he was in the finale and the standings were reset. The next closest driver had five. 

We haven't really tracked fastest lap information because it never mattered in the first 76 seasons of NASCAR. I don't know what the trends are, but I will wager that Hamlin's fastest lap total drops by nearly half. I don't know what the average is, but if Hamlin had nine and was nearly double the rest of the field, I have a feeling he is more likely going to return to the pack than remain that far ahead.

6. Tyler Reddick will be one of the first six drivers to win a Cup race this season

After going winless in 2025, Reddick gets a victory earlier than most in the Cup Series. He had a few close calls in 2025. Reddick was in the top three in two of the first three races. He hit an extended slump that basically went through the entire spring. I think we see a bounce back.

Consider that anyone can win either of the first two races at Daytona and Atlanta, Reddick is a past winner at Austin, and he has great results at Darlington, those are four of the first six races. He could pick up a win at any of those circuits. He should be competitive at Bristol and Kansas. Watkins Glen is going to be in May. That is majority of the first 12 races where Reddick should have a good shout at victory. 

With how last season went, I think Reddick will be focused to get off the snide early.

7. Trackhouse will win fewer road course races by ten seconds or greater

In 2025, Trackhouse won five road course races, and three of those had a margin of victory greater than ten seconds. All of those were with Shane van Gisbergen, but van Gisbergen will have new competition, and it will be coming from within the organization.

Connor Zilisch has moved up to the Cup Series, and he has already shown good pace in his handful of Cup appearances. In NASCAR's second division, Zilisch held his own against van Gisbergen and defeated him a few times. I don't think it is going to swing to where Zilisch will be the better driver, but nothing lasts forever, especially in NASCAR. Van Gisbergen will still be the favorite at every road course, but he cannot win them all, nor can he win them all in complete beat downs. 

However, I don't think Zilisch is going to waltz in and start winning races by ten-plus seconds. Trackhouse is going to win a few road course races, but I think they will be closer than what we saw in 2025.

8. Connor Zilisch will win more races than Jesse Love

Piggy-backing off the prediction above, I think across all NASCAR series, Zilisch will win more races than Jesse Love. The 2025 Grand National Series champion, Love will remain at that level to defend his title, and he and the rest of the series will have their work cut out for them as a driver who won ten times will no longer be full-time.

I don't think that will change much. Love won twice in 2025, the Daytona season opener and the Phoenix finale. Prior to his victory at Phoenix, he did not have a top five finish in the first six playoff race. He will likely do a little better, but Zilisch will still have the chance to come down and run some races at that level. Plus, I think Zilisch will win at least one road course race in Cup. If we learned anything from last year, he could win two, and we cannot ignore that he was comfortable on ovals. He won at Nashville, Dover, Indianapolis, technical he won at Daytona, and he won at Gateway. That is a wide range of ovals. 

We shouldn't be expecting Zilisch to hold his own against Larson and Hamlin at Darlington, but he could have the speed to win at any of the ovals and it shouldn't be a surprise if he pulls it off. I think it is more likely Zilisch wins three Cup races than Love winning three races at the second division. 

9. A driver running in multiple entries will win a race in NASCAR's second division

This isn't that a driver is going to win a race in two different entries, but a driver who will start races in two different cars will win a race. 

We know JR Motorsports is doing this with two of its drivers. Carson Kvapil was fourth in the championship in 2025, but he will be split over multiple cars in 2026. Originally, the plan was for Kvapil to be part-time in the #1 Chevrolet, but after how his 2025 season ended, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said he would have a car for Kvapil for the entire season. It is unclear if Kvapil will run mostly in the #1 and then switch to a different car, but nothing was said that Kvapil would be in the car for entire season. 

We do know Rajah Caruth will run 23 races for JR Motorsports in the #88 Chevrolet, but Caruth will also run ten races with Jordan Anderson Racing. 

Kvapil did not win a race in 2025, and Caruth had good results in the Truck Series. One of them could win one race, but it could be someone different. 

The restrictions on NASCAR Cup drivers running in the lower series has been relaxed, and they can now compete in ten races a season in the lower two categories, double from the previously limit of five. We could see Kyle Larson run multiple cars or Chase Elliott or Christopher Bell. They could easily win a race in one entry and then in their next appearance be running in a different car. 

The prediction covers many possibilities.

10. The Burton family will lead more combined laps in the first 20 races than they led in the entire 2025 season

Both Burton family members are going to be back in NASCAR's second division in 2026. Jeb Burton is remaining at Jordan Anderson Racing in the #27 Chevrolet while Harrison Burton is moving to Sam Hunt Racing to drive the #24 Toyota. 

Neither of them are outstanding cars. Harrison Burton drove incredibly well to make the playoffs with AM Racing in 2025. A similar effort will likely be required at Sam Hunt Racing. Jeb Burton is banking on winning at Daytona, Talladega or Atlanta. 

Why do I think this prediction is going to happen? Because they only led a combined 59 laps in 2025, I need a prediction that is something deeper than "Driver X will win at insert racetrack" and this is something else to watch.

Harrison had 48 laps led, and they were spread out. One lap led at the Daytona opener, five laps at Austin, 12 laps at Darlington in the spring, three laps at Pocono, four laps at Bristol, a lap at Talladega and 16 laps at Martinsville.

Jeb led four laps at the Daytona opener and seven laps at Talladega in the spring.

What this prediction is hoping for is one of these two drivers either ends up leading a good chunk of laps at Daytona, Talladega or Atlanta when the field is rather calm, either have a good chunks of laps led during a pit cycle at any oval race because they went off strategy, or Harrison Burton and Sam Hunt Racing can put together a competitive day and maybe be a surprise at Darlington, Bristol, Chicagoland or somewhere else. 

It is only 60 laps, how hard can that be? 

 

11. Kaden Honeycutt will finish in the top three of victories in the Truck Series

Honeycutt takes over the #11 TRICON Toyota with Corey Heim moving... elsewhere. It is a shame we don't know what Heim will be doing in 2026. It does not appear to be anything full-time. Brutal.

But I digress, Honeycutt is moving to a great truck, and he is coming off a strong season where he was doing more with less at Niece Motorsports before being canned while in a playoff position, and then at Halmer Friesen Racing, he was competitive and was good enough to finish in the top four of the championship.

Honeycutt is going to win races. Being in the top three in victories is not that hard in the Truck Series. The driver with the third-most victories has had three victories or fewer in the last six seasons. The Truck Series is still not that competitive. Christian Eckes is returning, and Justin Haley will be leading the Ram program with Kaulig Racing, but it isn't scary deep. 

It feels like 2026 will be between Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski and Honeycutt while Chandler Smith has an outside shot as does Eckes. Honeycutt should be able to win three races.

12. Parker Kligerman will get credited with a top five finish

Technically, Kligerman won two races in 2025, but neither are entered in the record book. Kligerman won the Truck race at Daytona, but he was disqualified after failing post-race inspection. Then in the summer, Kligerman replaced Connor Zilisch, who was nursing a broken collarbone, mid-race at Daytona, and Kligerman went on to cross the finish line in first.

But neither counted. In eight Truck starts, Kligerman's best finish was 14th on three occasions. 

We don't know if Kligerman will be doing anything in 2026. There has been no word on Henderson Motorsports continuing after the passing of owner Charlie Henderson last year. I hope Kligerman has something lined up for a few races, and gets at least a top five finish.

One set of predictions are complete. Another set will come tomorrow as we are into our festive period and looking ahead to the rapidly approaching New Year.

2025 For the Love of Indy Awards

We have reached the end of another year, and the motorsports year is effectively over. We are so deep into 2025, seasons that will conclude in 2026 have already begun, but before we get into next year, let's honor the top moments from this year. 

There were a number of incredible performances from the world of motorsports. Some racers confirmed their greatest and put their names even higher in the record books. Breakout performances came as we had expected. There were fierce challenges and a few tussles that went to the very last lap, even the last few corners. We also saw contentious moments that we wish had played out better. This was also a year where the action in the courtroom received just as much attention as the action on the racetrack.

Plenty of memorable moments occurred in 2025, and this is our chance to highlight what stood out over the last year.

Racer of the Year

Description: Given to the best racer over the course of 2025.
And the Nominees are:

Lando Norris

Max Verstappen

Álex Palou

Kelvin van der Linde

Sébastien Ogier

Toprak Razgatlioglu

And the winner is... Álex Palou

In one of the most dominant seasons IndyCar has ever seen, Álex Palou left his mark as one of the greatest to ever compete in the series. If there was any question over how good Palou's talent is, it was answered in 2025.

Expectations were high for the three-time champion who had won the last two titles, but Palou floored us all with his next act. He had already achieved greatness, but this was a special level. He opened the season with consecutive victories, including a memorable drive from over ten seconds back at Thermal Club to win the race. After finishing second at Long Beach, Palou followed it up with three consecutive victories, the last of which was at the Indianapolis 500.

The only thing missing in Palou's already esteemed career, Palou topped IndyCar's most historic race. Already coming close to Indianapolis victory in 2021, Palou had a methodical race and waited for the moment to take control. With a well-timed pass into turn one, Palou took the lead from Marcus Ericsson and dared Ericsson and the rest of the field to beat him in the final sprint to the checkered flag. No one could. That was the theme of the season.

Palou didn't just win the championship, he comprehensively smashed the grid, and he set marks we have not seen since IndyCar reunification. Eight victories were the most since 2007. He clinched the title with two races remaining, the first time the title has been secured with multiple races to go since 2002. He scored over 76% of the maximum total points that could be scored in a season, the most for a champion when there has only been one IndyCar series since 1979. 

Not to forget mentioning this was Palou's third consecutive championship and his fourth title in his six IndyCar season. And he is still only 28 years old. We are witnessing something breathtaking. There is no end in sight for Palou's greatness, and just when you thought you had Palou figured out, he came away and blew the doors off history.

On the other nominees:

Norris became World Drivers' Champion in what was meant to be his season for McLaren, but after a mechanical issue at the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris had work to do to overcome teammate Oscar Piastri, but in the final stretch of the season, Norris picked away at Piastri's lead. For over two months, Norris showed his ability to extract everything for the McLaren MCL39, and he could not be defeated. Piastri could not hold off nor keep up, and Norris capped off a seven-victory season, which include triumphs in Monaco and his home race at Silverstone, with a world title. 

It wasn't for a lack of effort that Verstappen came up shy in earning his fifth consecutive world championship. It was frankly incredible that he came as close as he did. After his home race at Zandvoort, Verstappen was 104 points behind Piastri and 70 points behind Norris. After winning only twice in the first 14 races and only having five podium finishes in the same timeframe, Verstappen ended with ten consecutive podium finishes, six of which were victories, but it only brought him within two points of Norris. There were a few races where Verstappen left points on the table, his time penalty at Barcelona stands out, but when his back was to the wall, Verstappen rose to a level no one else could match. They were only fortunate they were able to hold off the charge.

It was a triple-champion season for van der Linde. It started with a GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup title with Team WRT co-driver Charles Weerts. Then van der Linde and Weerts combined for the overall GT World Challenge Europe championship, which included a victory in the endurance race at Circuit Paul Ricard. The most impressive title was the Intercontinental GT Challenge title, where van der Linde won four of five rounds, the Bathurst 12 Hour, 24 Hours Nürburgring, Suzuka 1000 km and the Indianapolis 8 Hour. 

Most retirees spent their lives not doing what dictated their lives through their prime years and caused the most headaches and frustrations. Ogier did not get that memo. The Frenchman has been dabbling in rally the last few years, and that was the plan for this year. The problem was Ogier is still really good at what he does. Even after skipping rounds, his was still at the top of the championship. Soon he took the championship lead. The run at another title was too great to pass up. Ogier went for it, and even though he lost ground in the Central European Rally, Ogier did enough in Japan and Saudi Arabia to claim a record-tying ninth World Rally Championship.

How does one top an 18-win, 27-podium championship season? If you are Razgatlioglu, you win 21 races and stand on 31 podiums. You scored 89 points more than the year before and claim your third World Superbike championship. He started slow once again at Phillip Island, but once into the meat of the season, the Turkish rider could not be caught, winning 13 consecutive races at one point.

Past Winners
2012: Kyle Larson

2013: Marc Márquez
2014: Marc Márquez
2015: Nick Tandy
2016: Shane van Gisbergen
2017: Brendon Hartley
2018: Scott Dixon

2019: Marc Márquez

2020: Lewis Hamilton

2021: Kyle Larson

2022: Max Verstappen

2023: Max Verstappen

2024: Toprak Razgatlioglu

Race of the Year
Description: Best Race of 2025.
And the Nominees are:

Australian Grand Prix

MotoGP's French Grand Prix

Moto2's British Grand Prix

Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Finale from Hockenheim

And the winner is... MotoGP's French Grand Pix

The changing conditions caused minor chaos ahead of the MotoGP round from Le Mans. After one waved off start due to riders changing bikes, the race had an even more chaotic start as most started on slick tires before the rain began to fall again. This sent riders sliding and teams scrambling to adjust, but not all. 

Johann Zarco and the Castrol LCR Honda team started on the wet tires from 11th on the grid. Zarco fell back to 17th on the first lap, but as the weather rolled in, he started picking up spots and by lap eight, he was the leader. Due to the pit stop and combination of long lap penalties, Zarco was significantly ahead of the field, and the intensifying rain made it difficult for anyone to overcome the deficit to the Frenchman. Zarco, for his part, rode a focused race, not pushing the limit, but running confidently to put more time between himself and the competition.

Throughout the field, riders clashed in an attempt to get the most out of this race. Fabio Quartararo went down early from pole position. Francesco Bagnaia went down and lost a lap he could never get back. Álex Márquez had a pair of falls ruin his race. But we also saw Fermín Aldeguer and Pedro Acosta slug it out for the final podium position. Takaaki Nakagami also started on wet tires and used it to finish sixth from 22nd. Lorenzo Savadori scored his career best finish as a replacement rider for the injured Jorge Martín, starting 21st and finishing ninth.

But the man of the hour was Zarco, an unexpected result created through adverse conditions. The Frenchman won on home soil by 19.907 seconds over Marc Márquez, ending Ducati's winning streak at 22 races, giving Honda its first victory in over a year, and it was the first French Grand Prix victory for a French rider since 1954.

On the other nominees:

The first race of the Formula One season told the story for the entire 2025 season. Oscar Piastri appeared to have what it took to bring the fight to Lando Norris at McLaren, but when the rains came, Piastri spun off the road and his shot at victory was gone. Meanwhile, after spending a portion of the offseason wondering how far Red Bull would fall, Max Verstappen showed he would be a threat and pushed Norris to the finish. Norris did not crack, and won by just over eight-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his debut and went from 16th to fourth. Alexander Albon had a competitive day at Williams, and Ferrari had a minor letdown.

Moto2's race from Silverstone was a tightly contested affair from lights out to the checkered flag. It was mostly a race between Arón Canet, David Alonso and Diogo Moreira. At the start of the final lap, it appeared we were watching Canet and Alonso chasing victory, but their battle opened the door for Senna Agius to sweep through the final few corners to take his first career victory while Moreira snuck ahead for second. Alonso was third while Canet went from first to fourth in the final two corners.

IndyCar's trip to Milwaukee saw an abundance of passing as the teams dealt with tire wear, and it became a factor in how the final results would play out. Álex Palou had a handle on the race though, and he looked set for another victory. But one spritz of rain slowed the race, and allowed a number of drivers to make a pit stop for tires about 40 laps to the finish. Palou stayed out to maintain the lead. Behind him saw a scramble as drivers looked to charge down the Catalan driver. Christian Rasmussen broke away from the pack, and picked his way to the front. He reached Palou, who made a strong effort to keep Rasmussen in second, but the fresh tires were the difference, and a pass on the outside put the Dane into first. Rasmussen drove on the ragged edge to the checkered flag, as he took his first career IndyCar victory.

The final race of the DTM season was a dream scenario. Seven drivers could have walked away from Hockenhem as champion. Marco Wittmann had one of the best cars in the race, but he was shuffled back during pit stops while Ayhancan Güven leaped into first during the pit cycle. As the race shook out, Güven was leading the championship despite entering the race fifth in points. However, the Turkish driver was only four points clear of Lucas Auer, and if Güven dropped to second, he would lose five points and fall to second in the championship. On the final lap, Wittmann took the lead out of turn 10, but diving into turn 12 in the stadium section, Güven used every bit of racetrack and even some grass to re-take the lead with four corners left in the season. Güven's move won him the race and the title.

Past Winners
2012: Indianapolis 500
2013: British motorcycle Grand Prix
2014: Bathurst 1000
2015: Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
2016: Spanish Grand Prix
2017: All the races at the World Superbike/World Supersport weekend at Phillip Island
2018: Petit Le Mans

2019: Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

2020: Turkish Grand Prix

2021: Monaco ePrix

2022: British Grand Prix

2023: 12 Hours of Sebring

2024: Indianapolis 500

Achievement of the Year
Description: Best success by a driver, team, manufacture, etc.
And the Nominees are:

Nick Tandy's Completes the "Big-Six"

Sébastien Ogier's Ninth World Rally Championship

Shane van Gisbergen's Record for Victories in a NASCAR Cup Series Rookie Season

Corey Heim's Record for Most Victories in a Single NASCAR Truck Series Season

Álex Palou's Championship Season

And the winner is... Sébastien Ogier's Ninth World Rally Championship

I don't think anyone saw this coming. 

With Ogier planning on running a part-time season in the World Rally Championship, Ogier's success pushed him to compete for the world championship. Through the first eight rounds, the Frenchman had the had missed as many rounds as he had rally victories (three) and yet he was still 21 points off the championship lead. Finishes of third, first and first in the next three rounds lifted him to first in points. Ogier's hand was forced to make a championship run.

But it wasn't easy. Ogier had to overcome issues in the Central European Rally. He was 13 points off Elfyn Evans with two rounds remaining. Ogier scored the maximum points with victory in Rally Japan, and a third in the inaugural Rally Saudi Arabia gave him a record-tying WRC title. 

After three seasons running part-time, Ogier won a title while still part-time. The mark Sébastien Loeb first reached 13 years ago of nine world championships has now been matched, and I am not sure anyone saw that coming let alone the way it did. No one saw the record-tying title looking like this, going to a driver who was slowly stepping away from competition only to be so successful he had to keep returning to claim the ultimate prize.

On the other nominees:

We don't see new marks reached in motorsports, but Tandy achieved something no other driver had done in motorsports history. With his victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona, it gave him overall victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours Nürburgring, the 24 Hours of Spa, and now Daytona. He came the first driver to win all four of those 24-hour races overall. But it gets better! Six weeks later, Tandy won the 12 Hours of Sebring overall. Throw in an overall victory at Petit Le Mans a decade ago, and he is the first driver to win the "Big Six" endurance races overall. A Bathurst 12 Hour victory would put him in even more rarified air.

Did anyone think the record for most victories in a NASCAR Cup Series rookie season would fall even with van Gisbergen competing in a series with a half-dozen road course races? Van Gisbergen was the favorite in every road course race, but this is NASCAR. The favorite does not win that often. Cautions do not fall in a driver's favor. A restart is botched. Someone runs into someone else. Drivers become collateral damage. Not in van Gisbergen's case. He won five races, and most of those were shellackings. Entering this year, the rookie record for victories was three. Tony Stewart did it in 1999. Jimmie Johnson matched it in 2002. In 2025, van Gisbergen obliterated it. It is hard to see it being matched anytime soon. 

Setting a series-record for victories in a season is impressive no matter the series. Heim was the championship favorite for the Truck Series in 2025, and he still exceeded the expectations of many. No driver had ever hit double-figures for victories in this category. Heim won 11 times. He won at Daytona (after Parker Kligerman was disqualified). He won at Charlotte. He won all three road course races. In the playoffs, he won five of seven races, including the finale to claim the title after having to restart ninth on new tires at the start of overtime. Heim's average finish was fifth. He had 19 top five finishes and 21 top ten finishes. He led 1,625 laps. The next closest driver led 1,128 fewer.

Palou's season was incredible. Along with his third consecutive championship and fourth in his IndyCar career, this was only the ninth time since 1946 a driver has won at least eight races in a season. It was the sixth time a driver had at least 13 podium finishes and the ninth time a driver had at least 14 top five results. His 711 points were the most in a season since the Indy Racing League started awarding 50 points for a victory in 1998. He scored over 76% of the maximum amount of points. Without a question, Palou was the best driver in IndyCar in 2025.

Past Winners
2012: DeltaWing
2013: Sebastian Vettel for winning nine consecutive races on his way to a fourth consecutive title
2014: Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season.
2015: Justin Wilson Memorial Family Auction
2016: Jimmie Johnson for his seventh NASCAR Cup championship
2017: Jonathan Rea: For becoming the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike championships.
2018: Robert Wickens for winning IndyCar Rookie of the Year despite missing the final three races.

2019: Joe Gibbs Racing setting single-season record for most Cup victories by a in NASCAR's modern-era.

2020: Donald Davidson for 55 years of service to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500

2021: Team WRT's championship success across multiple series and disciplines

2022: Max Verstappen achieving the most grand prix victories in a single season

2023: Max Verstappen breaking the record for highest winning percentage in a Formula One Season

2024: Jorge Martín and Pramac Racing's first MotoGP championship for an independent team

Moment of the Year
Description: The Most Memorable Moment in the World of Racing during the 2025 season.
And the Nominees are:

Team Penske's Attenuator Penalty at Indianapolis

McLaren Flipping Positions at Monza

Nico Hülkenberg's Podium Finish at Silverstone

William Byron's Flat Tire at Phoenix

23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports vs. NASCAR Settlement

And the winner is... A TIE! Nico Hülkenberg's Podium Finish at Silverstone and 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports vs. NASCAR Settlement

The news at the end of last week was too hard to ignore. One moment will stand out for the beauty of sport and perseverance. The other is the first domino to fall in seismic change to one of the largest sanctioning bodies in the world. 

Hülkenberg had become the journeyman driver everyone loved. His Formula One career was over five years ago, but a few one-off drives as a super-sub kept him in the conversation. Everyone was comfortable with Hülkenberg being the record-holder for most grand prix starts without a podium finish, a dubious honor to hold, but one that has some meaning in terms of integrity and respect from those within Formula One. 

The British Grand Prix did not appear to be the place for a historic first. Hülkenberg started 19th, but in a  race of changing conditions, Hülkenberg and the Sauber team played the strategy right, and Hülkenberg was able to pick up positions. He was able to run with the big dogs, and in the closing laps, it appeared he would have his toughest test as Lewis Hamilton took on new tires in an effort to get on the podium. However, Hamilton's fresher rubber was not enough to leap ahead of Hülkenberg, and the German's tires held on. All eyes were on third as he took the checkered flag.

One record was gone. Another was created. In his 239th start, Nico Hülkenberg was able to claim his first career podium finish, a universally beloved result. 

------------

For over a year, we have been anticipating a legal showdown in the NASCAR world. When 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports did not sign the charter renewals in September 2024, it signaled a challenge of NASCAR's order of operations that had largely gone uncontested for over 75 years. Over the entire 2025 season, the tension was building as a day in court was destined to occur. 

We got nine days. Nine days where secrets were revealed and the fabric of the largest sanctioning body in the United States was torn. Everyone went into this trial knowing nothing would be the same when it was over, and after a few days and testimonies that were unflattering to NASCAR, a settlement was reached that saw charters become permanent as well as additional revenue being shared with the teams that previously remained entirely in NASCAR's control. 

The dust is still settling in the aftermath of this case, and it will be a few years before we really see how the landscape of NASCAR has changed, but it is going to be different and it will all stem from Thursday December 11, 2025 after 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports did the unthinkable and questioned the France family's grip on premier stock car racing. 

On the other nominees:

For the second consecutive year, Team Penske caused the greatest waves in IndyCar, and it wasn't for success on the racetrack. During inspection for the second day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying, it was found that the Team Penske cars all had illegal modifications to the attenuators. In the immediate aftermath, Will Power and Josef Newgarden were moved to the rear of the grid, strategists were suspended, and tempers flared once again in the aftermath of a Penske cheating scandal. It turned out to be a significant moment for the team, as team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski and general manager Kyle Moyer were all dismissed from the team. Add to it that Penske had its worst season since 1999, and 2025 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons in Team Penske's long-esteemed history.

For a brief moment, Oscar Piastri was in control of the World Drivers' Championship. A victory in the Netherlands combined with Lando Norris' retirement saw Piastri up 34 points with eight races remaining. In the next race at Monza, Norris was ahead in second while Piastri ran in third. After the final pit cycle, Piastri moved into second after Norris had a slow stop changing the front left tire. Once the cars were back on track, Piastri was asked to readdress the positions and allow Norris through. Piastri reluctantly did, and it gave Norris three more points. In the moment it was suspect as to why the championship leader was returning points to his teammate, but at the end of the season, when Norris ended two points clear of Max Verstappen, that one decision stands out even more.

We were three laps away from a clean end to the NASCAR Cup Series season, and Denny Hamlin was three laps away from scoring his seventh victory of 2025, and claiming his first Cup Series championship. Suddenly, William Byron was in the wall, and the championship finish became even cloudier. It would come down to a final round of pit stops. Hamlin took four tires. Kyle Larson took two. Two tires were enough as Larson ended up third while Hamlin was sixth. It was another unsatisfying end to a NASCAR season, and one that could not be ignored.

Past Winners
2012: Alex Zanardi
2013: 24 Hours of Le Mans
2014: Post-race at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
2015: Matt Kenseth vs. Joey Logano
2016: Toyota Slows at Le Mans
2017: Fernando Alonso announcing his Indianapolis 500 ride
2018: Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson battle at Chicagoland

2019: Kyle Kaiser and Juncos Racing knocking out Fernando Alonso and McLaren and Penske Purchasing Hulman & Co.

2020: March 12-13

2021: The entire Formula One season

2022: Ross Chastain's final corner at Martinsville

2023: Shane van Gisbergen winning the NASCAR Cup race at the Chicago street course

2024: The Indianapolis 500 Post-Storm

Pass of the Year
Description: Best pass of 2025.
And the Nominees are:

Marc Márquez on Álex Márquez and Francesco Bagnaia in the Austin Sprint Race

Álex Palou on Marcus Ericsson in turn one of the Indianapolis 500

Deniz Öncü on Diogo Moreira at the line at Aragón

Ayhancan Güven on Marco Wittmann in turn 12 at Hockenheim

Corey Heim from ninth to second on the first overtime at Phoenix

And the winner is... Ayhancan Güven on Marco Wittmann in turn 12 at Hockenheim

Güven had to make the move to win the championship. After pulling off a great pit strategy to put him in first, Güven had just lost the lead to a rather strong Wittmann, and the stadium section at Hockenheim is not the friendliest to passing. 

Turn 12 is the last true braking zone before the flowing final four corners, and Güven took his shot up the inside. He dropped his left side tires into the grass, but he was side-by-side with Wittmann, and some contact was made. Wittmann was pushed wide, and Güven went through. There was no time for a counter move, and Güven's pass not only won a race but completed an astonishing championship drive.

On the other nominees:

Marc Márquez had made a slight mistake early into the sprint race from Austin, and it cost him the lead. Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia and his brother Álex split Marc exiting turn 18, but Marc was able to power down into turn 19 and dove up the inside. Effortlessly, he was back into the lead before the final corner of the circuit. It was a statement move of what was to come in 2025.

When the laps are running out at the Indianapolis 500, any pass feels risky. Ericsson led the race, but had an eager Palou behind him. Not to forget mentioning the leaders had two back-markers ahead and both leaders were in dirty air. This was to the benefit of Ericsson, as there was additional risk for Palou. The move was always going to come, but with 14 laps remaining, it may have come sooner than we thought. Palou made a late dive up the inside of turn one, and Ericsson could not react. Palou was into the lead. There was plenty of laps remaining, but at that moment, it felt like the race was over. Palou was practically unbeatable and he dared Ericsson and the rest of the field to take the Indianapolis 500 from him. No one could.

On the final lap of the Moto2 race from Aragón, the top two riders were going for their first career victories in the category. Deniz Öncü and Diogo Moreira were feeling each other out as it appeared the race would come down to the final lap. Moreira took the lead into turn five, but Öncü remained on the Brazilian's heels. Öncü made the move to the outside off the final corner and it was enough to beat Moreira to the line by 0.003 seconds.

The NASCAR Truck Series finale from Phoenix saw a late caution, and a slow stop for four tires knocked Corey Heim from the lead to ninth, and the fourth-best of the four championship contenders. At the restart for the first overtime attempt, Heim went to the very inside of the racetrack, and with four fresh tires he entered in eighth and came out the other side in second. Another caution had come out before the field could take the white flag, but this move set up Heim up to restart second for the second attempt, and right next to championship rival Ty Majeski. With the tire advantage, Heim was in control, and he pulled away to take the race victory and championship.

Past Winners
2012: Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore
2013: Robert Wickens at Nürburgring and Peter Dempsey in the Freedom 100
2014: Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga
2015: Laurens Vanthoor from 4th to 2nd on the outside in the Bathurst 12 Hour
2016: Scott McLaughlin on Mark Winterbottom at Surfers Paradise
2017: Renger van der Zande: From second to first on Dane Cameron at Laguna Seca
2018: Alexander Rossi for all his passes in the Indianapolis 500

2019: Álex Rins on Marc Márquez in the final corner at Silverstone in the British motorcycle Grand Prix

2020: Pipo Derani on Ricky Taylor into turn one at Road Atlanta

2021: Shane van Gisbergen from fourth to second at Sandown

2022: Ross Chastain's final corner at Martinsville

2023: António Félix da Costa on Jean-Éric Vergne in turn eight of the final lap of the Cape Town ePrix

2024: Josef Newgarden on Patricio O'Ward for the lead on the final lap of the Indianapolis 500

The Eric Idle Award
Description: "When You're Chewing on Life's Gristle, Don't Grumble, Give a Whistle, And This'll Help Things Turn Out For The Best, and...  Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."
And the Nominees are:

Denny Hamlin

Connor Zilisch

Jack Doohan

The #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Entry

Team Penske's IndyCar Program

And the winner is... Connor Zilisch

Zilisch smacked around the competition in NASCAR's second division in 2025. Ten victories, 20 top five finishes, 22 top ten finishes, eight pole positions and over 1,000 laps led. 

And yet it did not end in a championship. Despite finishing third in the Phoenix finale, Zilisch lost the championship as Jesse Love won the race. It was Love's second victory of the season, his first since the Daytona season opener. 

Zilisch was left emotional after his astonishing season that saw him overcome multiple injuries and multiple missed races would only be good enough for second in the history books. 

The silver-lining is Zilisch had earned universal sympathy for his result. Going into the Phoenix finale, many dreaded how the season would end for all three NASCAR national series as in two of them there were two deserving champions who stood above the rest of the competition. Even in a loss, Zilisch won the admiration of many because over an entire season, everyone saw how his ability was greater than his competition.

On the other nominees:

Same story, different series. We all know what happened to Hamlin in the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series season. He had never been that close to a championship. Three laps is all that was behind him and a championship. In a format that ultimately only rewards what happens in the final race, Hamlin had done everything right. He led 208 laps. He was clear of the field and then one caution reset the field. One round of pit stops shuffled the deck. After two more laps, Hamlin was three positions short of his first career championship. 

Doohan got six races in Formula One with Alpine, but even before the first race of the season, Doohan had lost the confidence of the team. He was always bound to lose his ride. Alpine had more interest in Franco Colapinto. It was only a matter of time before the Argentine would get the race seat. Doohan had no favors in an Alpine that was the worst car on the grid. With no points, the Australian was canned. If there is any consolation, Colapinto never scored a point in 2025, and he never looked any more competitive than Doohan did.

The year started with such promise with victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring for the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry, and it won at Long Beach to make it three wins on the spin to start 2025. However, the #7 Porsche could not get the championship over the line. The #7 Porsche of Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy finished tenth or worse in the final four races. Even worse, the #6 Porsche won the championship despite winning only one race the entire season. 

This was one of the worst seasons Team Penske has ever had in IndyCar. The team did win a pair of races, but it failed to win any of the first 14 races. On five occasions did the team fail to have a single top ten finisher. None of the three drivers finished better than eighth in the championship, and the season was marred with another cheating scandal, this one leading to the dismal of three notable personnel. 

Past Winners
2012: Ben Spies
2013: Sam Hornish, Jr.
2014: Alexander Rossi
2015: McLaren
2016: Toyota

2017: Nick Heidfeld
2018: Brett Moffitt

2019: Dennis Lind

2020: Marc Márquez

2021: Liam Lawson

2022: Linus Lundqvist

2023: Eli Tomac

2024: Kyle Larson

Comeback of the Year
Description: The Best Comeback in the 2025 season.
And the Nominees are:

Álex Palou overcoming a ten-second gap at Thermal Club.

José António Rueda: Last to first at the British Grand Prix

David Alonso: 11th to 1st at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Isack Hadjar: From failing to start the Australian Grand Prix to Formula One Podium

Max Verstappen: From 104 points back to two points short of a fifth world championship

And the winner is... José Antònio Rueda: Last to first at the British Grand Prix.

Moto3 championship leader Rueda was forced to start last at Silverstone after being penalized for slow riding on the racing line during qualifying. Rolling off 26th, Rueda would have 15 laps to get back to the front after he was supposed to start on pole position.

Rueda was up eight spots in the first lap. He was up four more spots after lap two. He gained positions on each of the first seven laps, which saw him rise to fifth. It became a little more of a struggle as he reached the top of the grid, but he was up to third on lap 11, and second on lap 12. On lap 13, he took the lead with two laps remaining, but the final lap brought a stiff challenge from Máximo Quiles, who took the lead, but Rueda outmaneuver Quiles in the final corners as an outside-inside move saw Rueda slip through in the final corner to win by 0.046 seconds.

On the other nominees:

IndyCar's trip to Thermal Club looked to be wrapped up with 20 laps remaining. Patricio O'Ward was over ten seconds ahead of the field heading into the final round of pit stop. However, Palou had a new set of alternate tires for the final run to the finish. O'Ward had primary tires, and this was the difference. Palou clawed back time in a blink, and soon he was in the lead, checking out on the competition. What went from a ten-second deficit turned into a ten-second victory for Palou in fewer than 20 laps.

David Alonso did not get off to a great start in Hungary. Dropping from eighth to 11th on the first lap of the Moto2 race, Alonso had some work to do in the inaugural visit to the Balaton Park. Alonso started slow on a circuit where it was difficult to pass. He was back up to eighth by lap four. He spent the next six laps in seventh before he cracked the top five on lap 14 of 25. The final stretch is where Alonso came to life. He went from fourth to second in four laps, and he had Manuel González in his sights for the lead on the final lap. Alonso got it, but nearly threw it away running wide in the final set of corners, but the Colombian had enough to cross the line first, scoring his maiden Moto2 victory.

For a split second, we all thought there wasn't a way Isack Hadjar would survive a full season after he spun on the formation lap. We saw a driver despondent to his mistake, as Hadjar seemed to also believe he had thrown his Formula One chance away. The saving grace was Hadjar meeting Anthony Hamilton, Lewis Hamilton's father, in the paddock area where Hamilton consoled the heartbroken and devastated driver. That moment of comfort possibly has saved Hadjar's career. This mistake on his first act on stage did not derail the promise we had seen. Instead, Hadjar went on to score his first points two races later. He ended up finishing third at the Dutch Grand Prix and ended the season 12th in the championship, the top Racing Bulls driver.

It didn't quite fully pan out, but the fact Verstappen went from over four races behind the championship lead to being alive for the title at the Abu Dhabi season finale is nothing but staggering work. At no point over the first two-thirds of the season did it appear Verstappen had what it took to challenge the McLaren drivers, but he ended the season with ten consecutive podium finishes, six of which were victories. He came two points short. He could find two points wherever he wishes from this season. The obvious spot is Barcelona, where causing a collision with George Russell cost him a ten-second penalty, dropping him from fifth to tenth, a nine-point penalty in terms of positions lost. Verstappen nearly pulled it off. It was remarkable he made it that close.

Past Winners
2013: Michael Shank Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
2014: Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
2015: Kyle Busch
2016: Max Verstappen from 15th to 3rd in the final 18 laps in the wet in the Brazilian Grand Prix
2017: Kelvin van der Linde: From third to first after a botched pit stop in the final 20 minutes in the 24 Hours Nürburgring
2018: Billy Monger: Returning to racing after losing his legs and finishing sixth in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with four podium finishes and a pole position at Donington Park.

2019: MotoE: For getting to the grid after fire destroyed every motorcycle prior to the first round of the season

2020: The #7 Acura Team Penske: Coming from last in the championship to winning the IMSA DPi championship

2021: Kyle Busch's victory at Pocono

2022: Robert Wickens

2023: McLaren's 2023 Formula One Season

2024: Chase Sexton: From last to first in Hangtown

Most Improved
Description: Racer, Team or Manufacture Who Improved The Most from 2024 to 2025.
And the Nominees are:

Álex Márquez: From eighth on 173 points with one podium finish to second on 467 points with three victories in MotoGP.

Ayumu Iwasa: From fifth on 63.5 points to first on 124 points in Super Formula

Christian Rasmussen: From 11.6 points per start and his best finish being ninth as a rookie to 18.41 points per start and a victory in his sophomore season.

Dale Coyne Racing: From no finish better than 13th to a podium finish and seven top ten finishes.

Ford Multimatic Motorsports: From no cars in the top five of the IMSA GTD Pro championship to a third-place championship finish and three victories.

And the winner is... Álex Márquez

On a year-old Ducati and with his brother Marc with the factory team, Álex Márquez rose to his greatest heights in MotoGP. Álex somehow beat Francesco Bagnaia. We thought 2025 would see Marc Márquez and Bagnaia duke it out over 22 races in a fierce competition between the factory Ducati riders. Instead, Marc Márquez's closest competition was his brother on the older model. 

Álex was in Marc's wing mirrors the entire season, and few got as close as Álex did. Álex led the champion after Austin. At Jerez, he scored his first career MotoGP victory after Marc had a fall early, and Álex was still in the championship lead. That would not stick as Marc showed his might over the summer, but no one else kept up as well as Álex did. 

Along with the Jerez victory, Álex Márquez also won at Barcelona and Sepang. He had seven runner-up finishes this season and he had another two finishes in third. He won three sprint races and had 15 sprint race podium finishes. Marc missing the final four races allowed Álex to finish 78 points behind his brother. At the time of Marc's injury in Indonesia, he was 183 points clear of his brother, but Álex was 114 points clear of Marco Bezzecchi in third, and he was the second-best Ducati rider as Bagnaia wound up fifth.

On the other nominees:

In year two in Super Formula, Iwasa was more competitive and was competing well with the veterans Sho Tsuboi and Kakunoshin Ohta. Iwawa scored his first career victory at Sportsland SUGO, and he was a regular podium finisher, but a few bad days pulled down his championship hopes. Entering the final round from Suzuka, he was 14.5 points off the championship lead. A retirement in the first race was a set-back, but a fourth in a makeup race from the second Fuji doubleheader revived his title chances. In the final race of the season, Iwasa won from pole position to take the title by 5.5 points over Tsuboi.

After a good but not great rookie season, Rasmussen showed better strength in his second IndyCar season. He was difficult to race at times but Rasmussen was getting better finishes with Ed Carpenter Racing. He scored his first career podium finish at Gateway after overcoming a fueling issue that threw off his strategy the entire race. He looked good at all the ovals. At Milwaukee, taking tires with about 40 laps to go when a spritz of rain slowed the race allowed Rasmussen to make a late charge. Passing the likes of Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi and Patricio O'Ward, Rasmussen found himself battling Álex Palou for the victory, and Rasmussen powered through to take an unforgettable first career victory.

In 2024, Dale Coyne Racing was an afterthought in IndyCar. At no point could the team string together a good run of results. With a constant rotation of drivers, the team never had a top ten finish. Its cars were the bottom two in the Leaders' Circle program. In 2025, Coyne was in the fight thanks to Rinus VeeKay. It was ninth in the opening race. VeeKay was fourth and pushing for a podium at Barber Motorsports Park. The Dutchman had a run of top ten finishes during the summer, and it hit a high at Toronto, when VeeKay led a good portion of the race before finishing second when he fell behind Patricio O'Ward during the final pit cycle. VeeKay was only 13th in the championship, but he was ahead of Alexander Rossi, Santino Ferrucci, Marcus Ericsson, Nolan Siegel and all three Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers, a good leap forward for a Dale Coyne Racing driver.

The Ford Mustang GT3's first season in IMSA was good. It wasn't great. There were some teething issues but there was some promise. That promise developed into success in the opening race of 2025. The #65 Ford of Christopher Mies, Denis Olsen and Frédéric Vervisch won the 24 Hours of Daytona. The #64 Ford of Sebastian Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller would go on to win at Detroit and at Indianapolis. With three victories, Ford was tied with BMW for most GTD Pro victories.

Past Winners
2012: Esteban Guerrieri
2013: Marco Andretti
2014: Chaz Mostert
2015: Graham Rahal
2016: Simon Pagenaud
2017: DJR Team Penske
2018: Gary Paffett

2019: Cooper Webb

2020: Joan Mir

2021: Francesco Bagnaia

2022: Scott McLaughlin

2023: Jorge Martín

2024: McLaren

And that will do it. At the end of every year, the moment presents itself to ask if we saw this coming. Did this past year play out as we thought? Even when things occur as we predicted, I don't believe any of us can accurately predict all the little details well enough to say there were no surprises. There is always something that we could not script mostly because it is more detailed than we can even imagine. 

This year felt the same way. There are no surprises with an Álex Palou championship, a Lando Norris breakthrough, Marc Márquez returning to glory, and another unsatisfying end to the NASCAR season, but with how each played out, from the sheer dominance of Palou, the three-way fight for Norris, Márquez being miles clear of the competition, and the utter shock of the final laps from Phoenix, it leaves me stunned thinking about how 2025 played out. 

Let's hope 2026 plays out the same way. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We will be looking forward to the upcoming New Year very shortly.  

2025 Formula One Predictions: Revisited

The circus is over. Formula One wrapped up its world tour this past weekend in Abu Dhabi, and with Formula One somehow being the last major series running at the end of the year, it is the final set of predictions we must revisit before we start making 2026 predictions in a little over a week or so. 

For a season that saw a first-time champion and a three-way title fight to the very last lap, how did things play out compared to expectations from nearly a year ago?

1. None of the top five championship finishers in 2024 finish in the same position in 2025

Correct!

In 2024, the top five were Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, Jr.

In 2025, the top five were Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, George Russell and Leclerc.

These drivers went +1, -1, +1, +2, and -2 from one year to the next. Sainz, Jr. dropped four spots in his first year with Williams after his final year with Ferrari, which was expected. 

We went into this season expecting change, and we got it, but Verstappen made a great effort to maintain the top spot. He was three points away from taking the title and then obliterating this prediction.

2. Max Verstappen has fewer total podium finishes but he will have a stretch with three consecutive podium finishes

Incorrect!

Verstappen had more podium finishes than last year!

Through the first 14 races, the Dutchman had five podium finishes. He had not finished on the podium in consecutive races, and he went into the summer break with no podium result in three races. He was on pace for 8.5 podium finishes this season, which could have been eight or maybe Verstappen would have caught a break and finished with nine. Either way, it was fewer than the 14 podium finishes he scored in 2024.

Then Verstappen ended with ten consecutive podium finishes to close out the season, surprising his 2024 total. That is outstanding. 

3. Lando Norris will have consecutive finishes outside the points

Incorrect!

In 24 races, Norris scored points in 21 of them. In the three races where he did not score, he had contact with Oscar Piastri in the closing laps of the Canadian Grand Prix, he suffered a mechanical failure eight laps from the finish in the Dutch Grand Prix, and then he was disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for excessive skid block wear.

Those were the tenth, 15th and 22nd races of the season. None of those races occurred consecutively. Heck, only once did Norris finish off the podium in consecutive races, and that was the disqualification from Las Vegas and fourth at Qatar.

4. Lewis Hamilton wins at least four pole positions

Incorrect!

Hamilton's best starting position all season was third in Mexico City. He started outside the top 15 on four occasions this season. What we thought was going to be a special partnership definitely turned out to be something memorable, but for all the wrong reasons, as Ferrari regressed and Hamilton had his worst season of his Formula One career.

Forget the pole positions, Hamilton didn't even get on a podium. He had at least five podium finishes in his each of his first 18 seasons. He was sixth in the championship, which all things considered is not a horrible season, but he was only six points away from finishing seventh, which would have been a new career-low for the Brit. 

And it doesn't feel like there is any belief things will be better in 2026. 

5. Andrea Kimi Antonelli scores the fewest points for a Mercedes driver since 2013

Correct!

It is correct, but it is because Antonelli scored the fewest points for a Mercedes driver since 2012, as the Italian had 150 points, the fewest since 2012 when Nico Rosberg scored 93 points and Michael Schumacher had 49 points.

Despite the lack of production relative to the last decade-plus at Mercedes, Antonelli had an impressive season. He was on the podium twice, and was second in Brazil. He was also second in the sprint race from Interlagos. he scored fastest lap in his third career start at Suzuka along with two more fastest laps later in the season at Spa-Francorchamps and Austin. He did have a rough spring-into-summer where he was third in Canada but that was sandwiched between six results outside the points, including three retirements, but Antonelli made good strides over the course of the season. 

6. Williams will have a top six finish on the road in a race that does not end prematurely

Correct!

This was clinched in the first race of the season, as Alexander Albon, in the changing conditions on the streets of Albert Park, ended up finishing fifth from sixth on the grid in Australia. 

Boom! One race and done. However, Williams had seven top six finishes this year, and six of those came on the road with races that went the distance. 

Albon had another pair of fifth-place finishes in Miami and Imola. He would then be fifth at Zandvoort.

Two races later, Carlos Sainz, Jr. scored a podium finish with a third in Baku. Sainz, Jr. was elevated to fifth at Las Vegas after both McLarens were disqualified, but in the next race, the Spaniard was third in Qatar with no post-race penalties for others helping his cause.

7. Haas scores its second most points in team history

Correct!

Haas scored 79 points, which surpassed 2024's 58 points for the second-most in the team's history. It was only 14 points off the team's high-water mark of 93 points from the 2018 season. 

Oliver Bearman was tremendous this season, and he led the way for Haas in his rookie season with 41 points, including a five-race stretch from Singapore to Las Vegas where he finished in the points. This included Bearman taking fourth in Mexico City.

Esteban Ocon started well. Ocon was fifth in Shanghai, the second race of the season, and that would be his best finish of the season. He scored points in nine races, but the only time he scored in consecutive races was a ninth in Canada and a tenth in Austria.

8. Fernando Alonso says something that makes Lawrence Stroll respond and it is a headline

Incorrect!

Things played out very calmly at Aston Martin though Alonso dropped a place in the championship and scored 14 fewer points than the year before. The Spaniard never spouted off any displeasure that required a response from the big boss. 

Which leads me to believe there is some faith in the Aston Martin camp that it was willing to take a step back this year for something greater next year. With Adrian Newey at the helm ahead of a new regulation set about to be introduced, perhaps Alonso has some belief he is about to get one of the best cars on the grid, and all he had to do in 2025 was keep his comments to himself.

9. The team formerly known as Toro Rosso will feature three drivers

Correct! 

This was almost a given before the season started. There was no way Red Bull was going to avoid playing musical chairs. I think they played it much sooner than we expected. Liam Lawson had two races with Red Bull Racing before he was moved to the team formality known as Toro Rosso with Yuki Tsunoda leaving the Italian team to join the Austrian outfit. 

How did things go after that? Lawson scored 38 points in his 22 races with the Red Bull's B-Team while Tsunoda contributed 30 points to the team that ended up third in the World Constructors' Championship.

10. Jack Doohan will have at least six finishes between eighth and tenth

Incorrect!

Doohan got six races total before he was tossed aside. He retired from Australia, then went 13th, 15th, 14th, 17th over the next four races before retiring at Miami and then being sidelined at Alpine for Franco Colapinto. 

In hindsight, it is hard to believe Doohan would have had six points-scoring finishes. Pierre Gasly had five finishes in the points all season for Alpine. Gasly was sixth at Silverstone, so that is a positive. Colapinto scored zero points. He was 11th at Zandvoort. That was the closest the Argentine got to scoring in 2025. 

11. Both Sauber drivers will score at least ten points

Correct!

Nico Hülkenberg scored 51 points with 15 of those points coming from his memorable third-place finish in the British Grand Prix, Hülkenberg's first career Formula One podium in his 239th start. 

Gabriel Bortoleto scored 19 points in his rookie season with his first points coming in Austria, an eighth earning him four points. The Brazilian would pick up two more points in Belgium, and then he put himself over the top for this prediction when he was sixth in Hungary, earning him eight points! He would add four more points in Monza and another point in Mexico City. 

This left Sauber with 70 points, a considerable leap from the four points it had in 2024, and 70 points was Sauber's best season since 2012, when it had 126 points. 

Despite scoring 70 points, Sauber was still ninth in the constructors' championship, the fourth time in the last five seasons it has finished in one of the bottom two positions.

12. Michael Schumacher will move up to fourth all-time in winning percentage after the 2025 season

Incorrect!

This prediction was basically saying Max Verstappen would win six races or fewer in 2025. If Verstappen won six races of fewer, his career winning percentage would drop below Michael Schumacher's and Schumacher would move up to fourth all-time. 

However, despite having only won two of the first 15 races and being on pace for three victories the entire season, Verstappen won six of the final nine races. That gave him eight victories on the season, the most in Formula One, and it left Verstappen with a career winning percentage of 30.47%, still fourth all-time and better than Schumacher's 29.74%.

Six-for-12, 50% again. A pair of these were heading in the other direction before Max Verstappen went on a tear and nearly pulled out an unthinkable fifth consecutive championship. 

This was a fun season between McLaren's inter-team politics and Verstappen's charge. We didn't even mention Christian Horner's dismissal and Red Bull flourishing afterward, and by Red Bull I mean Verstappen because Tsunoda was still nowhere competitive as has been the case for multiple second drivers in that team. 

George Russell did win two races with Mercedes. Ferrari had its issues and that was deflating, but Hülkenberg's podium finish will standout. Williams got on the podium twice and was rather competitive. Even Isack Hadjar, who started the season spinning out on the formation lap in Australia, scored a third in the Dutch Grand Prix. We had three drivers this season score their first career podium finish when you include Antonelli. 

I don't know how things will play out next year the new regulations, but you have Audi joining. You have Cadillac forming a new team. Honda is moving to Aston Martin. Red Bull has brought Ford back into the series. It is at least looking good on paper.

Musings From the Weekend: Emptying the Bucket

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

Max Verstappen won the race, but Lando Norris won the World Drivers' Championship in Abu Dhabi. Oscar Piastri is numb. Lewis Hamilton did not get one podium finish this season after never having fewer than five in any of his previous seasons. Formula Two didn't have the cleanest finish to the season, but Jak Crawford did finish second in the championship behind Leonardo Fornaroli. Sting Ray Robb was confirmed to be returning to Juncos Hollinger Racing for 2026. Will Power is going to run the 24 Hours of Daytona. The courtroom has been busy. We are firmly into December, and there is a lot to say before the year ends.

Emptying the Bucket

We are at the end of the year, and this is the last musings before the New Year. With the end of the year, we are at point where there is little time and lots to say, but not everything is fully fleshed out, or it doesn't require a full report. Some items don't quite fit. 

However, with this being the end of 2025, I thought I would empty the bucket on thoughts, ideas, musings that didn't quite fit at some point in 2025. What we have here is a collection of thoughts that crossed my mind over 2025 and will see the light of day before the year comes to a close. 

Why was Ryan Truex the reserve driver?

This goes back to the Mexico City NASCAR race. Truex took over the #11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing as Denny Hamlin missed the race due to the birth of his child. Truex got the call because he is the reserve driver for JGR, and he works in the simulator for the team. My question is why?

Truex is more than capable for the role, but the problem is Truex was not racing anywhere. His only race up to that point in 2025 was the Daytona season opener in NASCAR's second division. Why would any team have a reserve driver be someone who was not regularly competing? That driver should be race fit and ready to go. A simulator role is not enough preparation for a driver. If Truex is going to be a reserve, shouldn't Gibbs make sure he is competing and best prepared to be called in to run a Cup race?

This goes for any Cup team and any team in any series. I don't understand why a reserve driver would be doing nothing. In Formula One, that driver should be racing somewhere, whether it is Formula Two, sports cars, Super Formula, whatever that keeps a driver fresh. Standing at the back of the garage or only driving the simulator isn't enough. It would be best to make sure the reserve is at least competing somewhere.

IndyCar Didn't Lose Connor Zilisch

This comes up every now and then in IndyCar circles. 

Young American driver succeeding in NASCAR, IndyCar fan base starts crying about how IndyCar lost that driver. It was the case for Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, even Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman to an extent a generation go. Now it is Connor Zilisch's turn.

One problem... Zilisch was never IndyCar's nor was he on that path. 

Zilisch was racing Mazda MX-5 Cup when he started car racing. Name one IndyCar driver that started in Mazda MX-5 Cup. I will wait. Then Zilisch got an opportunity to run late models which turned into the NASCAR career that is starting to blossom. He is also a kid from the Charlotte, North Carolina-area. You know, NASCAR Country. 

Not every young American driver dreams of being in IndyCar but especially those who are never on the path. IndyCar isn't the premier series in this country. A lot of that comes down to money. You can make a healthy living being average in the NASCAR Cup Series, better than being a regular winner in IndyCar. That is a deciding factor for people. 

Zilisch is 19 years old and he is about to start raking in money. He has also had the support from day one. Trackhouse got behind him. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and JR Motorsports got behind him. IndyCar teams do not give that kind of support. You do not see a driver get two or three years in the ladder system and then another three or four years in the top series, all paid for, ever in IndyCar. You can prove your worth and still be forced to pay or teams will give up on you quickly. Look at how fast Sage Karam and Oliver Askew were cast aside, and both won in the ladder system.

The point is, Zilisch wasn't an IndyCar loss. If you are upset that the best talent we have seen in decades never was on the IndyCar path, that is one thing, but he was never heading that direction from his first time in a race car. 

Throwback Weekends are a Distraction

Every year we get to a point in the IndyCar season and someone suggests there should be a throwback weekend where all the teams run a livery that pays homage to a car from the past. NASCAR ran a similar weekend at Darlington for the last decade. 

It solves nothing. 

It is a pure play on nostalgia, a distraction from the current state of affairs. It is something to talk about for a week, maybe two if done right, but it is self-serving. More people are not going to be tuning in because Josef Newgarden is driving a car that looks like Al Unser's 1987 Indianapolis 500 winner or Scott Dixon is driving a car that looks like Alex Zanardi's Target cars or the McLarens look like the McLarens from the 1970s. 

A throwback weekend is self-serving.

Plus, everyone will get bored of it quickly. NASCAR's throwback weekend is there in name only. It moved to the spring Darlington race and maybe a quarter of the teams participate. No participates in the theme aspect, changing their attire to fit a time period. It is hard to buy in every year to a costume party. Once you get through three decades everyone gets bored, and we come to realize there isn't that much that we ogled over. There were two or three great things that are stuck in our minds, but that is about it.

If it happens, do it once to get it out of your system, but acknowledge it can only be a one-time thing.

MotoGP Sprint Points

If sprint races are half-distance races, I think only half the sprint races should count toward a riders' championship points total. If there are 22 races, only 11 sprint race results can count toward the championship. 

It makes the grand prix results matter more. You can only be bailed out with sprint results so often. 

I was thinking this after 2024 when you had Francesco Bagnaia win 11 of 20 races but was second in the championship by ten points and you had Jorge Martín finish on the podium in 16 of 20 sprint races while winning only three grand prix the entire season. Martín did have 16 podium finishes in grand prix, but he scored 43 points more than Bagnaia in sprint races.

Sprint races are fine, but if you want the grand prix results to matter, there should be a limit on how many sprint races count toward the championship. It caps how many points can come from sprint races. Win 11 sprint races, congratulations, you have 132 points from sprint races, but that is the most you can earn. The incentive would still be there to get the best result you can to take points away from fellow competitors in sprint races. You wouldn't see riders not trying during the sprint races. 

MotoGP has hit this patch with sprint races where they aren't standing out during a race weekend, and it is starting to feel excessive, especially if one rider is going to be dominating on Saturday and Sunday. It just puts the best further away from the rest of the field. Only counting half the sprint races toward the championship would at least limit the beat down.

NASCAR Overtime

This one stems a bit from the NASCAR finale, though I have been thinking this way even prior to that. If NASCAR is going to have it, there should be parameters that negates overtime. Not every football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, whatever sport goes to overtime. or has the chance of going to overtime. Every NASCAR race has the potential of going to overtime no matter what happens during the race.

However, some drivers dominate a race, and that is clearly the best driver on the day. There should be criteria a driver can reach to negate any overtime. I am not sure what the marks should be, but if a driver leads the most laps or leads majority of the laps, that might need to be enough to negate an overtime should a caution come out in the closing laps with that driver leading. 

Overtime, arguably, was meant to prevent good races from being ruined due to a caution, but that doesn't mean every race. If a driver has a two-second lead with five laps to go, that wasn't going to be a good finish. That race is under control. It is over. If a caution comes out, no one is losing an exciting finish. If a gap to second is that big, maybe that should be enough to clinch a victory. 

Also, not every driver should be competing at overtime. The Nashville Cup race in 2024, which Joey Logano won while Zane Smith finished in the top five after spending most of the race outside the top twenty should never happen. The 25th-place runner at the scheduled should not finish in the top five due to overtime. There should be some incentive and protection for having a good race, and the end of the scheduled distance is a marker where you were either good or you weren't.

Overtime should be limited to the top ten drivers competing. One, it protects the drivers who had good races and keeps them from finishing worse than tenth. Two, it would allow overtime to be a reasonable finish and prevent these races where it takes 45 minutes to run two consecutive green flag laps, which do nothing to help viewership. You aren't going to have accident after accident with ten cars on track, nor would you have pile ups that require a red flag to clean up. Three, there should be a protection from pit stops. 

I don't think one final pit stop should determine the race. Once a race hits the scheduled distance, drivers should have to finish with the tires they have. No team should get the benefit of saving a set of tires in the pit lane. If you want to win the race, beat the driver who was leading the race straight-up. Pass them with what you got. And in that case, if you make it the scheduled distance on the fuel you have, you shouldn't lose due to fuel mileage. The top ten should come down pit lane, top off on fuel, and then rejoin in the positions they were in. 

This gets rid of strategy finishes in overtime and it makes every finish a true race to the finish with the leader not being put at a disadvantage. It actually gives the leader an incentive to be first, and we should want drivers wanting to be the leader. The leader should never be at a disadvantage. 

William Byron Would Have Raced Differently

At the NASCAR finale in Phoenix, William Byron had a tire failure while running in the top five with three laps remaining. At the end of the race, Kyle Larson was champion, and based off of the full season points aggregate, Larson would have also be champion based on that metric. The two systems produced the same champion, so that means everything was alright... right?

Except no, because entering Phoenix Byron would have had an 11-point lead over Larson based on the full season aggregate. If Byron had an 11-point lead, he would not have been racing the way he did at Phoenix, which led to the blown tire. 

As it played out, Byron wasn't leading the championship at the time of the tire failure, but trying to chase down Denny Hamlin, who was leading and in turn leading the championship. If Byron had an 11-point lead over Larson, he would not have been pushing to beat Hamlin, especially since Hamlin would have been 103 points behind Byron in seventh and would have been mathematically eliminated prior to the finale. 

Byron would have also scored stage points and he would have had 18 points after winning the first stage while finishing third in the other. Larson would have scored only 12 points. That means Byron's lead would effectively have been up to 17 points. 

Byron could let Larson ahead at that point. He would have had a 16-position cushion to play with. Byron could have taken it easy and instead of running in the top five, could have been fine running eighth or ninth. If he was driving that way, he likely doesn't lose a tire, he doesn't have an accident, and he likely would have done enough to win the championship. 

This is why we cannot just take the results as they play out in this system and say if there was a full-season aggregate the champion would have been this or that driver. Based on the points, Larson would have been champion, but if Byron had entered the finale with an 11-point lead over Larson instead of being equal with Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell also contending for the championship, he would likely not have been in that exact same position that led to a flat tire. 

The Interlagos Obsession

This came to mind this weekend during the Formula One finale. 

Many were bemoaning another dud of a race from Yas Marina, and rightfully so. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been on the calendar for nearly 20 years now, and Yas Marina has never produced a truly good race. That is with multiple regulations and rulesets. At some point, it is the racetrack that is the issue.

At the same time, there was that crowd saying essentially they would chew their arm off to have Interlagos return as the finale and calling it Interlagos' rightful place for the finale...

But is that true?

Interlagos didn't host a Formula One finale until 2004. It then was the finale from 2006 through 2008 and then returned to the finale spot from 2011 through 2013. That is only seven seasons with Interlagos hosting the finale. 

Is the desire for Interlagos to be the finale because of tradition or because it hosted the 2007 finale, where it was a three-driver fight and Kimi Räikkönen won the title entering third; it hosted the 2008 finale and the famous "Is that Glock?" moment with Felipe Massa being champion for about 30 seconds before Lewis Hamilton swept through; and it hosted the 2012 finale where Sebastian Vettel spun early and then had to fight back in changing conditions to defeat Fernando Alonso for the title? 

I think we have a collective that remembers three races and thinks that is how every Interlagos finale played out. The 2004 finale was a dead-rubber. The 2006 finale saw Fernando Alonso leading Michael Schumacher by ten points and the only way Schumacher could win the title was with a victory and Alonso failing to score a point. The 2011 race is the one where Sebastian Vettel had a gearbox issue and limbed to second while Mark Webber won. The 2013 race capped off Vettel's nine-race winning streak. 

The truth is Interlagos is more likely to produce a competitive and thrilling race than Abu Dhabi, but let's stop acting like we lost a tradition. Formula One had completed over 50 seasons before Interlagos ever had a finale. Adelaide hasn't been on the schedule in three decades and it has still hosted more finales than Interlagos. Mexico City has hosted more finales than Interlagos, and it last hosted the final race since 1970. 

I am tired of Abu Dhabi as well. I wish there was another venue that was hosting the final race. But stop acting like the finale not being at Interlagos is some travesty and rejection of tradition. It was never a tradition. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Verstappen and Norris, but did you know...

Arvid Lindblad (sprint) and Joshua Dürksen (feature) split the Formula Two races from Abu Dhabi.

Jake Dennis won the São Paulo ePrix.

Coming Up This Weekend

The Asian Le Mans Series opens with a pair of four-hour races from Sepang.

2025 Sports Car Predictions: Revisited

Sports car season is over. Sports car season is about to begin. Most series are over and are settled into the offseason. One series is about to start.

We revisit our sports car predictions for 2025 as the 2025-26 Asian Le Mans Series is about to begin. Over December 13-14, ALMS has a pair of four-hour races from Sepang, and the Sepang 12 Hours is this weekend, but none of those events will change any of the results for the predictions we made for the year 2025. All of these are set. 

FIA World Endurance Championships

1. The pole-sitter will be classified in at least seven of eight races

Correct!

After the pole-sitter retired from three of eight races in 2024, this season saw the pole-sitter finish every race in the 2025. In fact, five times did the pole-sitter finish on the podium this season after the pole-sitter finished only five of eight races total in 2024. Last season, the pole-sitter had only two podium finishes with only one victory. In 2025, the WEC pole-sitter won three races.

2. At least two manufacturers that did not win in LMGT3 in 2024 do win in 2025

Correct!

We were halfway there through the first race of the season as the #33 TF Sport Corvette of Jonny Edgar, Daniel Juncadella and Ben Keating won in Qatar after Corvette went winless in 2024. It would take a minute, but Lexus took victory in São Paulo with the #87 Akkodis ASP Team and José María López, Clemens Scmid and Razvan Umbrarescu, making that two new winners among manufacturers. 

But we aren't done yet! At the next round at Austin, United Autosports took victory in the #95 McLaren with Sean Geleal, Darren Leung and Marino Sato. That's three new manufacturers!

To add to it, TF Sport won again at Fuji, but this time with the #81 Corvette, and the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus won again at Bahrain. In the final four races of 2025, each LMGT3 race had a winner that was a manufacturer that did not win in 2024. 

Porsche won twice (Imola and Le Mans). Ferrari won once (Spa-Francorchamps). BMW and Aston Martin went winless in 2025 after each won a race in 2024.

3. Each Cadillac entry will get a podium finish

Correct!

And it happened in the same race as Hertz Team Jota Cadillac went 1-2 at the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The #12 Cadillac of Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens took the victory ahead of the #38 Cadillac of Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button.

Outside of those finishes, Cadillac didn't finish on the podium in any other race this season. Cadillac was looking good at the season opener at Qatar... and then the two cars collided under safety car and took each other out of contention for a podium. The #12 Cadillac was fourth at Le Mans. The #38 Cadillac had four finishes outside the top ten in 2025. 

4. There will be at least two overall winners with a driver winning in his home country

Incorrect!

It only happened once. Ferrari won at Imola, and Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi were home winners in the #51 Ferrari. Outside of that, we did not see another home winner. 

There were no Qatari, Brazilian, American or Bahraini drivers that competed in Hypercars this season. 

At Spa-Francorchamps, the best finishing Belgian was Laurens Vanthoor in ninth. Frenchman Kévin Estre was second at Le Mans. Kamui Kobayashi was the top Japanese driver at Fuji, finishing seventh. 

Other than at Le Mans, this wasn't really close to happening a second time.

IMSA

5. The overall pole-sitter will win consecutive races at some point

Incorrect!

After going winless in 2024 and having a 12-race winless streak dating back to 2023, the pole-sitter did finally win an IMSA race in 2025. It took five races as the #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande won at Detroit. However, it was not followed with another pole-sitter victory. 

The pole-sitter would not win again until Indianapolis when the #31 Whelen Racing Cadillac of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti finished first. This was also the penultimate race of the season, which meant the winner at Petit Le Mans had to start on pole position for this prediction to be correct.

The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura won pole position, but the entry finished fifth in the race. 

6. At least three LMP2 races feature a class winner with a Formula One-experienced driver

Incorrect!

Daytona started with a Formula One-experienced driver winning. Initially, Sébastien Bourdais won with Tower Motorsports, but Tower was disqualified for excessive wear to the skid block underneath the car. However, another Formula One-experienced driver was elevated to the race victory. That was Paul di Resta with United Autosports.

It wasn't di Resta's only victory, as he won at Watkins Glen with United. However, those were the only victories this season for Formula One-experienced drivers won in LMP2.

Sébastien Bourdais came close to victory at Sebring as Tower Motorsports was second. Pietro Fittipaldi ran a full season with Pratt Miller Motorsports, but Fittipaldi's best finish in class was sixth. 

The only other past F1 driver to run in LMP2 in 2025 was Felipe Massa, who only ran at the 24 Hours of Daytona with Riley Motorsports. Massa was second.

7. The top three in the GTD Pro Endurance Cup championship will all be full-time entries

Correct!

The #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW won the Endurance Cup championship in GTD Pro with the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW finishing second in the Endurance Cup, and the #77 AO Racing Porsche was third. 

All three of those teams were full-time teams. The #48 BMW was fourth in the overall championship with the #77 Porsche in fifth while the #1 BMW finished seventh. All three cars won races in 2025. The #48 BMW won at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta. AO Racing won Sebring and Laguna Seca. The #1 BMW won at Road America.

8. Renger van der Zande's winning streak ends at eight consecutive seasons

Incorrect!

Van der Zande and co-driver Nick Yelloly won at Detroit, from pole position as you may have heard, and van der Zande has now won an IMSA race in the premier class in nine consecutive seasons. 

Van der Zande has actually won a race in all 12 seasons since the Grand-Am/American Le Mans Series merger. In those first three seasons, van der Zande ran in the Prototype Challenge class, and he won a race in each of those years, including winning overall at Lime Rock Park in a Prototype Challenge/GT race in 2016. Van der Zande was the PC champion in 2016 with Alex Popow and Starworks Motorsport. 

The #93 Acura was fifth in the GTP championship with additional podium finishes at Sebring and Road America. Each of those were third-place finishes. The #93 Acura did win three consecutive pole positions over Detroit, Watkins Glen and Road America.

European Le Mans Series

9. At least two different Americans win a race

Correct... kind of

I don't like a class inside of a class. In ELMS, there is the LMP2 class, but there is also the LMP2 Pro-Am class. LMP2 entries with a bonze-rated driver are placed in the LMP2 Pro-Am class. It is essentially the same class, only one of the drivers is seen as more amateur than others in those entries. 

Based on the ELMS structure, three American drivers won in 2025. P.J. Hyett and Dane Cameron were co-drivers in the #99 AO by TF Oreca, and they won at Imola with Louis Delétraz. Boom! Prediction correct right there, but to add insurance, Rodrigo Sales won in LMP2 Pro-Am with TDS Racing.

In LMP2 Pro-Am, three American drivers won a race. In LMP2, LMP3 and LMGT3, there were no American winners.

10. LMGT3 will have different British drivers win in consecutive races

Incorrect!

There were no British winners in LMGT3 in 2025. Since 2021, only three times has a British driver to win in the GT class in ELMS. Duncan Cameron won at Monza in 2021 with Spirit of Race. Sam De Haan won at Imola in 2022 with Oman Racing with TF Sport. In 2024, Cameron won at Circuit Paul Ricard with Spirit of Race.

Other

11. The closest finish in an Intercontinental GT Challenge race will be greater than four seconds 

Incorrect!

This prediction was looking good. 

At the Bathurst 12 Hour, the #32 Team WRT BMW won over the #46 Team WRT BMW by 10.244 seconds. 

The Nürburgring 24 Hour is a bit of a mess because the #911 Manthey EMA Porsche was first on the road, but received a one-minute and 40-second penalty for causing a collision during the race. This elevated the #99 Rowe Racing BMW to first-place overall, and the listed margin of victory was 1:17.810. Even if we got based on the margin of victory on the road, the #911 Porsche was more than four seconds ahead of the #99 BMW.

Grasser Racing Team won the 24 Hours of Spa by 8.703 seconds over the Rutronik Racing Porsche. Team WRT won the Suzuka 1000 km by 13.647 seconds over Absolute Racing. 

What happened in the final IGTC race, the Indianapolis 8 Hour?

Team WRT won by 0.805 seconds over Mercedes-AMG Team GMR.

Yep. So close. At least Indianapolis was a good finish.

12. Ben Barnicoat will win a proper class on at least three different continents in at least two different championships

Incorrect!

This one hurts because Ben Barnicoat was hurt for most of 2025. After a mountain biking accident in the middle of March, Barnicoat was sidelined until June. 

Prior to that biking accident, Barnicoat had raced only once in IMSA and once in WEC. He had also raced in four Asian Le Mans Series races, and he won the first race from the Dubai Autodrome in the #96 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG on February 8. 

That was Barnicoat's only victory of the season. In IMSA, he ran seven races but his best finish with Vasser Sullivan Racing was fifth at Indianapolis. In WEC, he ran four races, but his best finish was the first race of the season, fourth at Qatar. 

I don't know how much the cycling accident affected this prediction, but it certainly did not help. 

Five-for-12. 

It wasn't even a strong 5-for-12. One of those is correct on a technicality (Thanks LMP2 Pro-Am). There were a few close ones. It always feels like there are few close ones. I hate to think I have to take driver's training programs into consideration when making predictions, but it might be good to keep in mind moving forward. More drivers should be swimmers.