TMW: Rain in Brazil, Madness in Martinsville
With most of the racing world winding down for the year, two of the world's biggest series delivered dramatic race weekends for wildly different reasons.
The Morning Warmup
Nov. 4, 2024
Race Recaps
NASCAR
Cup Series: There was drama aplenty at Martinsville Speedway, but it didn’t come from the front. Ryan Blaney chased down Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson to win and secure a Championship 4 spot. Behind him, William Byron took the final championship-eligible spot after Christopher Bell was penalized for a safety violation while both drivers were potentially aided by race manipulation. There was a lot going on. (Reid Spencer / NASCAR.com)
Xfinity Series: Aric Almirola swept the season at Martinsville Speedway, securing an owners’ title opportunity for Joe Gibbs Racing while Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer made the drivers’ Championship 4 on points. (Reid Spencer / NASCAR.com)
Truck Series: Christian Eckes was dominant on Friday night at Martinsville, but needed some controversial late contact to hold onto the win as he locked into the Championship 4. (Reid Spencer / NASCAR.com)
Takeaways from the Paperclip:
Here’s a breakdown of Sunday’s late-race controversies from FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, including potential race manipulation and the wall-ride that took Bell out of the playoffs. (Bob Pockrass / FOX Sports)
NASCAR explained the Bell penalty afterward, but still has to review the potential race manipulation from the teams of Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
Here’s what drivers had to say after the race. (Nate Ryan / NBC Sports)
Almirola’s Xfinity Series win could set up a pair of different title fights next weekend in Phoenix. (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
Custer and Chandler Smith shared an argument (and a hit from Smith) on pit road after a run-in that kept Smith from contending for a win and Championship 4 berth. (Cameron Richardson / NASCAR.com)
Eckes made the Championship 4 in the Truck Series. But did he make a major misstep in angering Taylor Gray? (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)
Here’s a breakdown of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race… (Joy Tomlinson / Frontstretch)
…And another covering Friday’s Truck Series race. (Anthony Damcott / Frontstretch)
F1
In the opening sprint race, it was all McLaren. Lando Norris took victory after a late swap with teammate Oscar Piastri to maximize the points haul. (F1.com)
Highlights (F1 doesn’t allow their content to be embedded here).
But in the race that mattered most, Max Verstappen rose from 17th to score a crucial win in the wet and firm up his grasp on the 2024 drivers’ title. (F1.com)
Highlights (F1 doesn’t allow their content to be embedded here).
Notes from Sao Paulo:
The surprise of Sunday was a double podium for Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. (F1.com)
If you thought Verstappen’s win was unbelievable, don’t feel bad. So did he. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Norris felt like Verstappen could have lapped him from the front of the grid with his pace in the wet. (Samarth Kanal / The Race)
A frustrated George Russell wanted to ignore Mercedes’ pit call in a disappointing Brazil run. (Mark Mann-Bryans / Motorsport)
Oliver Bearman filled in for an ill Kevin Magnussen for the full weekend at Haas. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Sunday morning’s rain-postponed qualifying was eventful, with five red flags and Alex Albon ruled out for the race. (Matt Beer / The Race)
Sports Cars
FIA World Endurance Championship: It was an eventful finale for the WEC field, with Toyota clinching the manufacturers’ crown in Hypercar while Porsche’s Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor claimed the Drivers’ title. (Daily Sportscar)
Dirt
Hunt the Front: Champion Brandon Overton scored a final victory in the finale at I-75 Raceway. (Dirt on Dirt)
Short Tracks
All-American 400: Nineteen-year-old Jake Garcia pulled off an upset, taking advantage of overtime to seize his first major win at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. (Jay Pennell / Racing America)
Moto
MotoGP:
Jorge Martin scored a win in Saturday’s Sepang Sprint while title rival Francesco Bagnaia crashed to draw near the MotoGP title. (Richard Asher / Motorsport)
But Bagnaia scored a measure of revenge in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, giving him a small sense of hope to cling to heading into the final round of the year. (Richard Asher / Motorsport)
One note: A trio of riders avoided serious injuries in a hard opening-lap crash on Sunday. (Richard Asher / Motorsport)
Drag Racing
NHRA: Series officials hoped to cap off the weekend in Las Vegas on Sunday, but a lengthy cleanup and poor weather led to postponement after this crash. (NHRA / X)
News and Notes
NASCAR
The court denied 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports the expedited discovery request the groups made in advance of Monday’s hearing over whether they can keep their charters through the duration of their suits against the sanctioning body. (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
Matt Mills addressed Connor Jones, his crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway and his brief hospitalization for smoke inhalation as he returned to the track. (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
It’s been a solid year of progress for sophomore Ty Gibbs, but the playoff qualifier is still hungry for more. (Eric Johnson / RACER)
Could a sequel of the classic “Days of Thunder” be on the way? (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
IndyCar
Enzo Fittipaldi will make his IndyCar testing debut on Nov. 19 at The Thermal Club, making laps for Arrow McLaren. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
MiguelMa Garcia is joining Juncos Hollinger Racing in Indy NXT next season. (RACER)
F1
Motorsport reported Sunday that Gabriel Bortoleto is set to land the open Sauber seat in 2025.
There’s been talk of teams cooling tires from the inside with water, but Pirelli claims it’s seen nothing “strange” so far. (Jonathan Noble / Motorsport)
The ‘swear jar’ penalties now going on in F1 have quickly evolved into a needless distraction, argues The Athletic’s Luke Smith.
Supercars
Triple Eight has a title fight on its hands in Adelaide. It’s telling its drivers to race hard and have fun in the decider. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
Grove Racing has expressed interest in a possible Toyota Supercars deal for 2026. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
Sports Cars
It was a remarkable year for the sports car racing. (Stephen Kilbey / RACER)
Ferrari’s Arthur Leclerc led the way in Sunday’s WEC rookie test at Bahrain International Circuit. (Davey Euwema / Sportscar365)
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi made his Hypercar debut in the test, where he felt a better fit to his driving style than prior cars. (Davey Euwema / Sportscar365)
Despite that, Rossi is reportedly weighing GT options for 2025. (Stephen Kilbey / RACER)
Porsche plans to debut a suspension update for its 964 next year at Daytona.
Iron Dames finalized its driver roster Sunday in Bahrain, with Celia Martin joining the full-time roster. (Daily Sportscar)
Short Tracks
With Connor Hall off to JR Motorsports, Nelson Motorsports has its next driver: Carson Loftin. (Matt Weaver / Short Track Scene)
ASA is working to bring back the Approved Body Configuration Committee to oversee Super Late Model body regulations. (Matt Weaver / Short Track Scene)
Moto
MotoGP will host its finale in Barcelona after severe flooding forced the cancellation of the planned race in Valencia. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)
Despite his slim title hopes, Francesco Bagnaia feels anything can happen in Barcelona. (Richard Asher / Motorsport)
On Track This Week
All Times ET
Monday, Nov. 4
Dirt
Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision
Drag Racing
NHRA Nevada Nationals (The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway): 11:00 a.m., NHRA.tv
Tuesday, Nov. 5
Dirt
Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision
Fast Fact
Assuming things stay as they are, this year’s Championship 4 will feature a quartet of drivers with three wins. That confirms the continuation of this trend - every champion in the playoff era (dating back to 2004) has had at least three victories. Matt Kenseth won the last title in the full-season format with one win in 2003. Carl Edwards tied for the title with one win in 2011, but lost on a tiebreaker, while Ryan Newman fell one spot short of the trophy in a winless 2014 campaign.
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