Alpine will switch to Mercedes engines starting with the 2026 season, the Formula 1 team confirmed Tuesday.

• The new deal, which runs through 2030, comes after the Renault-owned team announced in September that it would end its own engine program in 2025.

  Mercedes also will supply gearboxes to Alpine for at least the 2026 season.

  Alpine is coming off its best race of the season at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 3, where its drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished second and third, respectively, to winner and F1 points leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing.

  --Field Level Media

NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, the founder of racing's "Alabama Gang," died on Saturday. He was 86.

• Allison has his name littered throughout the record books, ranking fourth all time in NASCAR premier series wins (85), second in top-five finishes (336) and 14th in starts (718).

  Those were among the accomplishments that landed Allison in NASCAR's second Hall of Fame Class back in 2011. He was also a three-time Daytona 500 winner, four-time Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway winner and three-time Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway winner.

  During his 1988 victory at Daytona, Allison had to hold off his son, Davey, to take the checkered flag.

  "Bobby Allison personified the term ‘racer.' Though he is best known as one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history, his impact on the sport extends far beyond the record books," NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. "As a driver, he won races and championships across several NASCAR divisions. But as the leader of the famous ‘Alabama Gang,' Bobby connected with fans in a profound manner.

  "In the most significant ways, he gave his all to our sport. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I offer my deepest condolences to Bobby's family, friends and fans on the loss of a NASCAR giant."

  Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers back in 2023, Allison put together a career that started in 1961 and ended midway through the 1988 campaign.

  In addition to everything he was able to accomplish in the Cup Series, Allison won twice in what is now known as the Xfinity Series and took home an International Race of Champions title in 1980. He was named NASCAR's most popular driver on six occasions.

  Allison and his younger brother Donnie teamed up with modified racer Red Farmer to take over the short-track racing scene down in the Hueytown, Ala., area during the late 1950s, leading to the inception of the original "Alabama Gang."

  --Field Level Media

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Retiring veteran Martin Truex Jr. claimed the pole for his last race as a full-time competitor, besting the field in qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.

• The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will start on the front row alongside Team Penske's Joey Logano, the top qualifying 2024 championship contender. Logano's No. 22 Ford was .010 seconds slower than Truex's Camry in the qualifying session Saturday around the desert one-miler.

  "It's very cool, honestly, you always want to be a guy known for going fast at any track, any situation," said Truex, who claimed the pole with a lap of 134.741 mph and is racing for his first victory of the season. "It feels good, very cool. The big prize is tomorrow though and hopefully we can get that one."

  Logano, who is racing for his third series title, was equally as happy with his effort and the championship implications.

  "We've got them where we want ‘em right now, just got to keep them there," Logano said, smiling.

  Three of the four championship-eligible drivers advanced to the final round of qualifying for the season finale. Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron will start his No. 24 Chevrolet from eighth position and 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick will start his No. 45 Toyota 10th.

  Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney was the only driver among the four title contenders not to advance out of the opening round, his No. 12 Team Penske Ford got loose between Turns 1 and 2 on his hot lap and he will start 17th in the 40-car field.

  Because Logano's car had to go through inspection two extra times before passing, he lost the benefit of getting to select his pit stop, and his car chief was ejected for the race. Logano did not appear to be overly concerned, however.

  "We feel confident," Logano said. "I feel like our car is strong.

  "We feel strong about our team and these type of pressure situations, we feel very solid as far as our team and these moments. We're just executing our plan."

  His Penske teammate Blaney also remained confident despite the qualifying setback.

  "Our lap obviously didn't go well, I just got kind of free going into (Turn) 1 and ruined it all and couldn't really make it back up," Blaney said. "I'm surprised honestly it ran as well as it did for as loose as I got. I think our car is pretty good and still nice to have a decent pit stall.

  "We'll just kind of take it how we can get it tomorrow, just work through the first handful of laps and kinda start marching forward. Pretty similar to last year. Hopefully, it ends the same. If we can charge through the field, I think our race car is good enough we can make that happen."

  Byron was pleased to get that first pit stall pick with his qualifying effort, but had hoped to turn in a faster lap. He was quickest in the opening round.

  "Sucks, didn't just quite get the lap I wanted in the second lap but feel really good about our race car and get first pit pick and that's huge. Really excited about those things and just want to put together a good start to the race. It's such a long race, it's really about getting to the finish and having what you need there."

  Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain and Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson will start third and fourth, respectively. Hendrick's Chase Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs make up the third row.

  Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell and Byron will line up alongside one another on the fourth row with Wood Brothers Racing's Harrison Burton and Reddick completing row five.

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

A federal judge denied Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing team and one other team a preliminary injunction in their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR on Friday.

• 23XI and Front Row Motorsports asked to continue to be recognized as chartered teams while they pursue legal action against NASCAR.

  The two racing teams refused to sign a take-it-or-leave-it charter agreement presented to them in September, which the other 13 organizations racing in the Cup Series signed. Their lawsuit, filed in October, called NASCAR "monopolistic bullies" for its business practices and claimed the league put a "gun to our head" to get them to sign the next charter.

  Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI with Jordan, has said that team owners sought "roughly double" their current share of NASCAR's revenue, which is set to skyrocket starting in 2025 thanks to a new $7.7 billion media rights deal.

  The revenue distribution for the new charter has not been made public.

  This week, in a court in Charlotte, N.C., an attorney representing the two teams argued that they should get to compete as chartered teams while they pursue their litigation despite not signing NASCAR's agreement.

  "Plaintiffs have not alleged that their business cannot survive without a preliminary injunction. Instead, they allege that their businesses may not survive without a preliminary injunction," U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney said Friday, according to media reports.

  23XI and Front Row Motorsports still can compete in 2025 as "open" teams, but without chartered protection, they aren't guaranteed entry to certain races nor will they receive the benefits of revenue sharing.

  23XI features driver Tyler Reddick, who enters this weekend in the Championship 4 -- one of four drivers who can win the season-long Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.

  --Field Level Media

Ty Majeski, a NASCAR Truck Series driver, said he plans to appeal a $12,500 fine assessed for not taking part in NASCAR's content-gathering day Tuesday in advance of the series championship.

• His reason for skipping the event? He said he returned to his home state of Wisconsin to vote on Election Day.

  "I've always, in my whole life, always been an Election Day vote guy. I've never done an absentee ballot," he told reporters Thursday in Arizona. "I wanted to make sure my vote was counted."

  NASCAR fined him for violating the rule that requires championship-eligible drivers from each of NASCAR's national circuits to attend the content-gathering day, a media obligation.

  Majeski said the ThorSport Racing team owners knew he planned to vote in person. He added he didn't even cement his spot in the Championship 4 until just a few days prior to Election Day.

  "Kind of unprecedented," Majeski, 30, said. "This has never happened before. Everyone knew it was Election Day for a long time. ... Unfortunate circumstances for everybody."

  Wisconsin was one of seven swing states in this year's presidential election, won Tuesday by Donald Trump.

  "We have to have a country and a free country to be able to race in, and that's just part of being a U.S. citizen," Majeski said about the importance of voting to him.

  Per The Athletic, the media day obligation has been on the calendar since July 17. A NASCAR spokesperson told the outlet that had Majeski brought up the conflict, the organization would have seen to it his duties were done early in the day so that he could travel to Wisconsin to arrive before the polls closed.

  Majeski is joined by Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes and Corey Heim in competing in the series championship on Friday at Phoenix Raceway.

  --Field Level Media

When the checkered flag flies at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will crown its 2024 champion. Here's how the Championship 4 drivers -- Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and William Byron -- stack up against each other:

• Ryan Blaney:

  The defending champion will try to take home the title for the second year in a row. Blaney's 2024 season has been a carbon copy of his 2023 campaign: A solid regular season followed by a dominant playoff run. Last year, Blaney finished second at Homestead-Miami, won at Martinsville and went on to win the championship at Phoenix. This year, he finished second at Homestead-Miami, won at Martinsville and has a shot at his second trophy.

  Keys to Victory

  If there's any team in the Championship 4 that is most likely to bring a perfect car to Phoenix, it's the No. 12 team. Blaney's wins so far in 2024 have come in races when he had a clear-cut top-five car from the beginning, which could be necessary at a track like Phoenix where passing is more difficult than usual. If not for a matter of inches at Atlanta and a lap of fuel in St. Louis, Blaney could be sitting on a five-win season.

  History in the desert

  Here's a stat that should leave the other championship contenders shaking in their boots: Blaney hasn't finished worse than fourth at Phoenix since March of 2021, including runner-up finishes in the last two Phoenix fall races. In the last six Phoenix races, Blaney has an average finish of 3.2. The only thing missing from his resume over those races? A win, which would automatically grant Blaney the championship on Sunday.

  Tyler Reddick:

  It has been a breakout year for Reddick, who propelled himself to the Championship 4 with a daring move in turns three and four at Homestead-Miami. That win is the shining diamond in a playoff run that's been mostly dark for Reddick, but he's done enough to make this quartet. Now comes a track type that 23XI Racing still seems to be behind at -- a short, flat oval that was the death knell for Reddick's 2023 campaign.

  Keys to victory

  One of 23XI's weak points as an organization has been its pit crews. In 2023, Reddick appeared to be in contention for the win at Michigan -- until a loose wheel forced him to come back down pit road. That kind of mistake can't happen on Sunday, where fast pit stops could be the difference in winning the championship or finishing last among the title contenders.

  History in the desert

  Unlike Blaney, Reddick has been rather inconsistent at Phoenix. He has three top-10 finishes in five Next-Gen starts at the track, but finished 23rd and 22nd, respectively, in the other two races. The good news? Reddick finished 10th at Phoenix in March in a race where Toyota whipped the field. Reddick led 68 laps in that race, and as the sole Toyota in the Championship 4, he should feel good about his chances.

  Joey Logano:

  If you had told fans that Logano would be in the Championship 4 back in June, they would pass the comment off without a second thought. However, the two-time champion finds himself 312 laps away from winning a third title after victories at Nashville (June 30) and Las Vegas (Oct. 20) fueled another Cinderella playoff run. Logano hasn't had much speed this year, but he did have two extra weeks to prepare for the championship race, just as he did in 2022 when he dominated the finale.

  Keys to victory

  Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe have been no stranger to gutsy strategy calls this year. Without them, the No. 22 team might not even be in the playoffs, much less the Championship 4. The decision by Wolfe to leave Logano out on fumes at both Nashville and Las Vegas are the sole reason why he won those races, and if Logano finds himself in a hole on Sunday, it wouldn't be surprising to see another crazy strategy be employed by Team Penske.

  History in the desert

  Logano has 16 top-10 finishes and three wins in 31 starts at Phoenix, but hasn't run very well at the one-mile track as of late. Finishes of 11th, 18th and 34th in his last three Phoenix starts don't inspire much confidence, but a dazzling performance in 2022 should. With the extra time to prepare that he also had this year, Logano led 187 laps in the 2022 finale en route to the race win and the title. Don't be shocked if Logano and Wolfe pull another rabbit out of the hat on Sunday.

  William Byron:

  Byron and Hendrick Motorsports would like to forget the controversy that got them into the Championship 4 in the first place. Unfortunately, the race manipulation scandal that rocked the NASCAR world Sunday takes away from what has undoubtedly been a great season for Byron as he establishes himself as one of NASCAR's elite. He hasn't won since April 7 at Martinsville, but he's in the Championship 4 for the second year in a row with the best team in NASCAR backing him.

  Keys to victory

  At Daytona and Martinsville, Byron was able to ward off the field on late-race restarts in order to win. Like Blaney, the No. 24 team could easily bring an unstoppable car to Phoenix. However, if the championship is decided on a late-race restart, Byron could be the favorite. His wins at Texas, Las Vegas and Phoenix in 2023 were also decided on late-race restarts. If you need to pick a Championship 4 driver to shoot the middle or make a big late-race block, Byron is your man.

  History in the desert

  Phoenix was surprisingly a struggle for Byron in March, as he failed to lead any laps and finished 18th. In 2023, however, Byron won the spring race after leading 64 laps, and led 95 laps en route to a fourth-place finish in the championship race. With a year of Championship 4 experience under his belt, Byron will be a strong contender on Sunday, provided he's not given a lemon like he was in the spring.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

Lewis Hamilton will drive for Ferrari next year, but rumors that the seven-time Formula 1 champion is exiting Mercedes before the end of the current season reportedly were refuted by Mercedes.

• Rumors of Hamilton making an immediate split with his current team arose after his poor showing last week in Brazil, where he placed 11th in the sprint on Saturday and 10th in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday.

  Following the latter event, Hamilton said on the radio to his team, "That was a disaster of a weekend, guys. The worst the car has ever been. Thank you for contributing to try and great job to all the guys at the pit-stop.

  "If this is the last time I get to perform, it was a shame it wasn't great but (I am) grateful for you."

  Hamilton subsequently told Sky Sports F1 that instead of driving in the last three events of the year, he "could happily go and take a holiday."

  However, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that Mercedes confirmed that Hamilton would remain behind the wheel at Las Vegas on Nov. 24; Lusail, Qatar on Dec. 1; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 8.

  Hamilton, 39, sits seventh in this year's F1 driver standings, while Mercedes is fourth in the constructor standings. He has two wins this year, at the British Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix, the 104th and 105th victories of his career.

  His series championships came in 2008, 2014, 2015 and then four in a row from 2017-20.

  --Field Level Media

One of the two open seats left in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship grid is now filled. Sauber announced Wednesday that FIA Formula 2 points leader Gabriel Bortoleto will pair with Nico Hulkenberg for the team next season.

• The team confirmed Bortoleto's signing hours after announcing current drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas will not be returning next season.

  Bortoleto signed with the McLaren junior program last season when he won the FIA Formula 3 championship. The Brazilian could be the first driver to win the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in consecutive season since current McLaren driver did it Oscar Piastri in 2020-21.

  As part of his deal with Sauber, McLaren is releasing the 20-year-old from its program.

  Bortoleto is the fourth driver set for a Formula 1 debut in 2025. He joins Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Haas), and Jack Doohan (Alpine).

  The final open seat on the 2025 Formula 1 grid is with the Visa Cash App RB team opposite Yuki Tsunoda.

  Bottas, a 10-time grand prix race winner, joined the sport in 2013 with Williams. The 35-year-old from Finland had spent four seasons there before a stint from 2017 to 2021 with Mercedes. He signed with Sauber starting in 2022 and had his best result with the team in that year's Bahrain Grand Prix (fifth).

  Zhou, 24, of China, has spent the last three years with Sauber as well and has the team's best result of this season so far with 11th in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

  With three races left this season, Sauber is the only team without a world championship point. Sauber trails Williams by 17 points in the constructors' championship ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 23.

  --Field Level Media

If you want to eliminate a problem in any facet of life, starting at the source is the correct course of action.

• If you're trying to put out a fire, aiming for the base of the fire rather than the flames is usually a good idea.

  So it was confusing when NASCAR handed down penalties for the race manipulation incident that occurred in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville on Sunday, the sanctioning body aimed the fire extinguisher at the flames.

  NASCAR suspended crew chiefs, spotters and team executives from Trackhouse Racing's No. 1 team, Richard Childress Racing's No. 3 team and 23XI Racing's No. 23 team on Tuesday after all three teams influenced the results of the race and therefore the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings. The drivers of those cars -- Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace -- were docked 50 points and fined $100,000.

  Let's not mince words: The drivers, crew chiefs and spotters for those respective teams did have a major hand in manipulating the results of both the race and the playoff picture, but they are not the root cause of the problem.

  Earlier in the race, Ryan Blaney made contact with the lapped car of Shane van Gisbergen while racing William Byron for a crucial position on the racetrack. Blaney's contact with van Gisbergen knocked the New Zealand native's Chevrolet into the fellow Chevy of Byron, damaging the toe link of Byron's No. 24.

  As the field lined up for a late-race restart, van Gisbergen was told by his spotter to "not forget what the No. 12 did to you earlier," referencing the contact Blaney made with van Gisbergen earlier in the afternoon.

  That message is commonplace in NASCAR, especially at short tracks, but it was the sentence that followed that exposed the murky waters the race took place in.

  The next words from van Gisbergen's spotter? "That message is from Chevrolet."

  Van Gisbergen did not make contact with Blaney or affect Blaney's race in the closing laps.

  That radio evidence, combined with archived communications from the No. 1 team of Chastain and the No. 3 team of Dillon, is enough to indict Chevrolet, as are the suspicious circumstances and radio communications surrounding Wallace's No. 23 team and Toyota.

  But NASCAR's penalty report on Tuesday seems to directly blame team personnel for the transgressions that took place, rather than the source.

  Manufacturers have, of course, been ingrained with NASCAR since the beginning. The appeal of stock-car racing for automakers is the "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday," strategy that is the cornerstone of NASCAR's business and sponsorship models. Factory teams in NASCAR popped up early in the organization's existence, and today, the top teams like Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports are considered key partners of their respective manufacturers.

  This was a case of NASCAR -- a sport more reliant on brand identity and consumerism than any other -- being afraid to bite the hand that feeds them, despite a pile of incriminating evidence that points to the opposite approach being a more effective punishment.

  If NASCAR wanted to take a stand and shake those in Detroit to their core, what penalties could they hand out?

  For a start, stripping points in the manufacturer standings. Those standings aren't followed closely by the fanbase, but the manufacturers themselves can point to said standings as tangible evidence that their vehicles rise above the competition.

  But to truly hurt teams, taking away assets on the competitive side of the sport would be the strongest stance. Taking away allotted time in the wind tunnel or at test sessions directly hurts manufacturers in their quest to gain competitive advantages.

  With no rules or penalties currently in writing to punish the manufacturers and executives that ultimately make these decisions, NASCAR officials must have conversations over the offseason regarding the future.

  It's true that NASCAR can't exist without a healthy relationship with its manufacturers, but if said relationship means the manufacturers can walk all over the sanctioning body, it's far from healthy.

  NASCAR needs its manufacturers like its cars need gas, but at some point, it needs to draw a line in the Daytona sand: Race manipulation has no place in the world's premier stock-car racing organization, regardless of who instigates it.

  NASCAR chose to try and put out the fire by spraying the flames. If it wants to stamp out any future instances of race manipulation before they have a chance to formulate, attacking the root cause would be a great place to start.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain were each fined $100,000 and docked 50 driver points by NASCAR on Tuesday for violating member conduct policies in Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway.

• NASCAR conducted an investigation from the final laps and came to the conclusion that those three drivers violated sections 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct of the Rule Book. Those sections include actions detrimental to stock car racing along with race manipulation.

  The owners of each team -- 23XI Racing (Wallace), Richard Childress Racing (Dillon) and Trackhouse Racing (Chastain) -- were fined $100,000 and had 50 owner points taken away.

  The crew chiefs and their respective spotters, along with team executives, will miss the 2024 season finale at Phoenix Raceway as a result of these violations.

  All three racing teams said they would file appeals.

  "We took and looked at the most recent penalty that we had written for an infraction, very similar, which was the 41 car a couple of years ago at the Roval," NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said. "We felt like we wanted to ramp this one up and we did, we did that in a way that we included team leadership. And this one, something that we feel like that, you know, we want to get our point across that it's a responsibility of all of us, the team owners, the team leadership as well as ourselves here at NASCAR to uphold the integrity of our sport."

  --Field Level Media

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Martin Truex Jr. may be out of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but the veteran driver still has compelling goals, as he proved with a pole-winning run on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

• After a final-round lap at 96.190 mph (19.686 seconds), Truex will start from the top spot in Sunday's Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

  Behind him and next to him, six Playoff drivers, led by second-place starter Chase Elliott, will begin their battle for the final two positions in the Nov. 10 Championship 4 Race at Phoenix Raceway.

  And at the opposite end of the spectrum, Playoff driver Denny Hamlin, Truex's teammate, will start from the rear after a bizarre wreck in practice damaged his No. 11 Toyota, preventing him from making a qualifying run.

  "I feel great about our car on stickers (new tires)," said Truex, who was 0.049 seconds faster than third-place starter William Byron, who posted a lap at 95.951 mph (19.735 seconds) in the final round. "You never want to get too optimistic, but I fired off really good in practice, especially that second run with the track rubbered-in.

  "I was like ‘If we can just hit the balance here for qualifying, it should be really fast.' "

  Earlier this season, Truex announced he will retire from full-time racing at season's end.

  "We've got two more chances to win," said Truex, who earned his third pole at Martinsville, his first of the season and the 24th of his career. "We want it bad, we're working hard, we're not giving up and, hopefully, we can get it for everyone."

  Though he was fifth fastest in the final round, Elliott starts second because he was the fastest of the five qualifiers in Group A. That left Byron third, Chase Briscoe fourth and Ty Gibbs fifth.

  Harrison Burton, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon will start from positions six through 10, respectively. The three Hendrick Motorsports drivers -- Elliott, Byron and Larson -- are the only Playoff drivers in the top 10 on the grid.

  Other Playoff drivers qualified as follows: Joey Logano 12th, Ryan Blaney 14th, Christopher Bell 16th and Tyler Reddick 31st. Logano and Reddick already have qualified for the Championship 4 with respective victories at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami.

  As qualifying progressed, Hamlin's crew was trying to repair his primary car, which backed into the Turn 3 wall when the throttle stuck during practice, thanks to a chunk of rubber that found its way into the throttle body.

  "We had just come back out, we had just made an adjustment to the car, and it was doing everything it needed to do," Hamlin said. "It was maneuvering through the pack pretty well. I went into Turn 3, and the car just didn't slow down, and the throttle hung on us. The throttle had no chance to come backwards.

  "That certainly caught me off guard, but it happens. We just got unlucky."

  Truex was sympathetic to his teammate's misfortune but wasn't worried about a similar circumstance on his car.

  "About as much as I'm concerned about getting hit by lightning," Truex quipped. "One-in-a-million. I don't know how -- his number just came up."

  --By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

A penalty for a virtual safety car infringement knocked Max Verstappen down from third to fourth place in the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Saturday.

• Verstappen, 27, saw his advantage in the championship standings over fellow title contender Lando Norris reduced to 44 points with four grands prix left on the schedule.

  As a result of Verstappen's five-second penalty, Charles Leclerc finished third in the final standings of the sprint race in Brazil. Norris won after swapping places with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who had been leading with two laps remaining and finished second.

  With Nico Hulkenberg stopped on the track as the race winded down, the VSC was sent out to clear the Haas car after McLaren had swapped its drivers to put Norris out in front. Verstappen was close to Piastri and had radioed his Red Bull team about Piastri possibly falling far enough behind Norris that he couldn't provide a buffer against Verstappen challenging for the lead.

  When the race resumed with the final lap, it was ruled that Verstappen was in violation of the minimum delta time allowed and received the five-second penalty.

  "Article 56.5 states in part, ‘All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green,'" the stewards' decision read. "The driver was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC.

  "The driver explained that as he was awaiting VSC to end and he got the notification that he was below the minimum time, he attempted to correct the error but failed to do so by the point that the panels turned green. This is a breach and the standard penalty is applied for the advantage gained at that time."

  Including Saturday's penalty point, Verstappen is five shy of an automatic one-race suspension, having accumulated seven in a 12-month period.

  For taking an extra power unit component, Verstappen was given a grid penalty and will start five places back for Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

  --Field Level Media

Red Bull boss Christian Horner hinted that Sergio Perez's future with the team may be in doubt, but the Mexican driver remains confident that he'll be racing next year.

• After Perez's last-place finish at Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix, Horner told reporters, "As a team, we need to have both cars scoring points and that's the nature of F1. I think we've done everything that we can to support Checo, and we'll continue to do so in Brazil next weekend, but there comes a point in time that you can only do so much."

  When asked about Horner's remarks, Perez appeared to brush them off. "It's just rumors, at the end of the day," he said, per Formula1.com. "You will see me in Vegas, you will see me next year. I'm not the one that worries about it."

  Perez, 34, was asked about further comments from team advisor Helmut Marko that cast doubt on the veteran driver's future with the Red Bull team.

  "Well, I know I am (going to be here). That's all I can say," Perez said, per F1i.com.

  Perez was looking forward to this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix and getting past his disastrous home showing in Mexico City.

  "What happened, it's in the past. We move on, and we take those first 10 laps as a hope," he said. "We understood what happened in qualifying, we saw issues, we tried to fix it for Sunday, and I think we went in the right direction so that's definitely promising."

  --Field Level Media

The battle between Formula 1 drivers Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez has continued from the track into a war of words following last Sunday's Mexico Grand Prix.

• Adding to the drama, Perez drives for Red Bull Racing, and Lawson has just two races under his belt since his promotion as a full-time member to the sister team, RB.

  Lawson, 22, of New Zealand, apologized for showing Perez -- in his home event in Mexico -- his middle finger while passing him during the race, but not for an earlier collision on Lap 19 at Turn 4 that damaged Perez's car.

  Perez, 34, thought Lawson was too aggressive, and so did Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, who called it an unnecessary collision with Lawson more to blame for not giving Perez enough space through the turn.

  "I had the maneuver into Turn 4 and then he was outside the track and just came straight like if there was no car," Perez said. "I think he could have avoided the incident, but he just went back. Luckily, I saw him and I opened the room, otherwise it would have been a massive crash. There was no need. We damaged both of our races. It was a little bit too much."

  Lawson disagreed, explaining that's just his style of driving.

  "My attitude towards racing and how I approach races in Formula 1 won't change, that's how I'll always be," he said. "But at the same time, there's things in there, if I make mistakes, I'll always learn from them, and clearly in Mexico I made a mistake, and I'll learn from it."

  Lawson apologized for the hand gesture, which he described as "one of those in-the-moment things."

  "(Perez) spent half the lap blocking me, trying to ruin my race, so I was upset," Lawson said. "But it's not an excuse. I shouldn't have done it, and I apologize for that."

  Lawson, a reserve driver with RB since 2022, replaced veteran driver Daniel Ricciardo in September and made his Grand Prix debut at the U.S. Grand Prix on Oct. 20 in Austin, Texas. Lawson said he's open to taking advice and not looking to make enemies.

  "... That's not the goal, obviously," Lawson said, "but at the same time, I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win."

  Lawson finished 16th, one spot ahead of Perez on Sunday.

  "I don't have any relationship with him," Perez said after the race. "I think the way he has come to Formula 1, I don't think he has the right attitude for it. He needs to be a bit more humble."

  Perez said a new driver to F1 is "obviously very hungry" but also must be respectful on and off the track, which he believes Lawson has been lacking.

  "I think he's a great driver and I hope for him that he can step back and learn from it," Perez said. "In his first two grands prix, he has had many incidents. I think there will be a point where it can cost him too much, like it did this weekend.

  "I just think that he has to have the right attitude to say: ‘Look, probably I'm overdoing it a little bit, I will step back and start again.' Because if you don't learn from your mistakes, Formula 1 is a brutal world and he might not continue."

  --Field Level Media

Lando Norris believes his rival Max Verstappen, the three-time defending Formula 1 champion, knows he was in the wrong when the pair tussled in the Mexico Grand Prix.

• Verstappen received a pair of 10-second penalties for aggressive driving against Norris, his closest chaser in the drivers' standings, at Sunday's race in Mexico City.

  Norris had to avoid two near-collisions with Verstappen on the 10th lap, first when Verstappen forced him off the track at Turn 4 and again at Turn 7 when both wound up running off the road as Verstappen passed Norris.

  "We've not spoken and I don't think we need to," Norris said Thursday. "I've got nothing to say.

  "I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does -- not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person, and also what he's achieved. But it's not for me to speak to him. I'm not his teacher, I'm not his mentor or anything like that.

  "Max knows what he has to do. He knows that he did wrong, deep down he does. And it's for him to change, not for me."

  Norris, 24, finished second to Carlos Sainz in Mexico City and cut Verstappen's standings lead by 10 points to 47. Only four races remain, in Sao Paulo, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

  McLaren's Norris and Red Bull Racing's Verstappen have gotten entangled more than once this year. They crashed during the Austrian Grand Prix, and at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas directly before the Mexico race, it was Norris who incurred a time penalty for passing Verstappen while off the track.

  "Max is probably one of the most capable drivers on the grid, if not the most," Norris said. "He knows what he can and can't do and where the limits are. So, he knows the changes he has to make."

  --Field Level Media

Formula 1 leader Max Verstappen will take a grid penalty at Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix after bringing in another new engine, Red Bull Racing's Helmut Marko confirmed Wednesday with Speedweek.

• The three-time defending F1 world champion will introduce a sixth internal combustion engine this season. Only four are permitted before penalties are incurred.

  Marko said Verstappen was forced to use two engines during last weekend's sixth-place finish in Mexico City, where his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris shrank to 47 points with four races remaining.

  "The pace was also not right because the engine problem meant that a different engine had to be installed, which had reached the end of its life and was actually no longer planned for racing," Marko said.

  "That was one of the reasons why we were one of the slowest cars on the straights. When a Formula 1 engine has reached a certain number of kilometers, the loss of performance is clearly noticeable.

  "We are currently investigating whether we could use the engine with the leak again. But here too, the number of kilometers means that it is no longer planned to be used. All of this means that we cannot avoid changing the engine in Brazil, with the corresponding penalty."

  Because Verstappen received a 10-place grid penalty at the Belgian GP in July for exceeding the four-engine limit, the Dutchman will reportedly only receive a five-place penalty this weekend for a second infringement.

  --Field Level Media

Formula 1 assessed $1 million in total fines to power unit manufacturers Honda and Alpine (Renault) for errors in procedure with FIA engine cost cap rules.

• Neither manufacturer was deemed to have exceeded cost cap restrictions but both had documentation issues that earned penalties.

  Honda was given a $600,000 fine because its cost cap calculations incorrectly represented excluded costs or adjusted costs. Alpine was fined $400,000 because it was late to file documentation that did not include necessary information.

  Both infractions were considered minor and each team was handed an Accepted Breach Agreement. Both cases are considered closed.

  In addition to the $1 million in fines, both teams also must pay administrative costs incurred during the investigation.

  The 2023 season was the first where engine manufacturers were required to work under a cost cap. Because Honda and Alpine were considered to have made procedural errors, F1 has determined that all 10 teams operated within cost cap limitations.

  --Field Level Media

For the second year in a row at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Larson found himself chasing down Ryan Blaney for the victory.

• And, for the second year in a row, Larson stepped ever so slightly over the line that differentiates aggression from foolishness, spinning out of second place with 13 laps to go.

  It was a miracle that Larson was racing for the win at all in South Florida, as a flat tire on lap 47 relegated him to the back of the pack. After many pit stops and adjustments, however, Larson broke back into the top-five in the closing stages, eventually climbing back into second place.

  However, Larson's over-aggressive attempt to squeeze between Blaney and the lapped car of Austin Dillon may cost the 2021 champion much more than the race win.

  Larson's incredible display of throttle modulation meant he only lost one spot during the spin, but the damage done to the diffuser of his car forced his pit crew to spend precious seconds making repairs, dropping him multiple positions on pit road.

  When the checkered flag flew, Larson found himself in 13th with a 24-point day -- certainly not the worst outcome possible considering his circumstances early in the race, but a disappointing result nonetheless.

  Larson's late spin now puts the Hendrick Motorsports driver in unfamiliar territory as he chases his second championship. In Larson's two Championship Four appearances, he clinched his spot in the championship race by winning the first race of the Round of 8.

  That was far from the case in Las Vegas on Oct. 20, when Larson dealt with myriad issues on pit road and was forced to scratch and claw his way to an 11th-place finish.

  Larson's results in the first two races of the round mean he's on the outside looking in for the Championship Four as the circuit heads to Martinsville for the penultimate race of the season. Larson currently sits fifth on the playoff grid, seven points behind teammate William Byron for the final transfer spot.

  Larson's current placement mostly stems from the series of unfortunate events that have plagued the No. 5 team over the last two weeks, but plenty of other opportunities throughout the season can also be partially blamed for the dangerous situation he's in.

  His decision to run the rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 on May 26 rather than start NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 ended up being the difference in Tyler Reddick -- who won Sunday's race in Miami -- winning the regular-season championship following the Southern 500 at Darlington.

  Larson missed out on five extra playoff points that were instead awarded to Reddick. If Larson had those points now, he'd only be two behind Byron for the final spot.

  Another flat tire at Kansas in the opening race of the Round of 12 meant Larson never had a chance to contend for the win at one of his best tracks. Another over-aggressive move at Michigan in August resulted in Larson spinning and finishing 34th.

  At Iowa, Larson -- who was trying to make his way back through the field -- was forced into a three-wide situation, which resulted in a crash and subsequent 34th-place finish.

  In Chicago, he lost traction on the wet city streets, plowing his way into a tire barrier and a 39th-place finish. A crash in the opening race of the playoffs at Atlanta also negated any opportunity to gain crucial playoff points, which could be the difference between him advancing to the Championship Four or watching his teammate advance instead.

  All these incidents have brought Larson to the present, where he needs a stellar performance in order to make the Championship Four for the third time in four seasons.

  Larson won at Martinsville in April 2023, but it was his main competitor in Byron who won in the Cup Series' first visit to the track on April 7.

  Sunday's race will be a battle within the battle for Larson -- the chance to make the Championship Four is right there for the taking. But the battle to not push the envelope and make another risky move will be just as important in completing the mission.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The regular season championship leaders will start alongside one another on the front row for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 Playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick besting Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson by a slight .113-second Saturday morning to claim the pole position.

• This is the 28-year-old Californian Reddick's third pole of the season in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota -- ninth of his career -- and comes at a crucial time in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs' Round of 8 with Sunday the second of three races that will decide which four drivers advance to the Nov. 10 Phoenix race championship eligible to hoist the big trophy.

  Reddick, a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at the 1.5-miler, turned a lap of 167.452 mph in the Toyota Camry to set the pace and importantly, earn the first pit stall selection. His work gave Toyota a three-series pole sweep for the weekend with Toyotas starting first starting positions in both Saturday's NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series races -- the 13th time the make has done that.

  "The pole has eluded me in the Cup series here, we've been very close and just needed a very good round two I think for our group, we ran a really good lap for sure," said Reddick, the Regular Season Champion, who arrives in South Florida ranked sixth in the championship standings, 30 points behind Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron in that all-important fourth place transfer position.

  "It's always nice to run a really good lap, but when you run your lap and five cars go after you, you know they have the opportunity to adjust, so I was curious to see what the 5 (Larson)and 20 {Christopher Bell) were going to do there and obviously, the 5 got pretty close.

  "All in all, it was a great day for us and looking forward to the race tomorrow."

  Toyotas and Chevrolets dominated the opening round of qualifying putting five cars each into the final one-lap run for the pole. Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell -- the current Playoff points leader -- will start third in the No. 20 Toyota, alongside teammate and three-time Homestead winner Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota.

  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the Talladega, Ala. Playoff race three weeks ago, will start the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet fifth with JGR's Martin Truex Jr. starting sixth in the No. 19 Toyota.

  Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, who goes into the race ranked last among the eight Playoff drivers -- 53 points below the cutoff line -- will start the No. 9 Chevrolet seventh alongside JGR's Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota. Kaulig Raing's Daniel Hemric and Spire Motorsports' Justin Haley will start their Chevrolets from the fifth row -- marking the best qualifying effort of the year for Haley and first time he's advanced to the final round.

  No Fords advanced to the final round for the first time since the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) race on March 24. Stewart-Haas Racing's Josh Berry was the fastest Mustang Saturday and will start 12th.

  Only three Playoff drivers did not advance to the 10-car final qualifying round. Among them, reigning series champion, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, who will start his No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang 20th on the grid. He's currently ranked seventh of the eight drivers, 47 points below the cutoff line.

  Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron -- the 2021 Homestead winner -- will roll off 25th in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He is in that all-important fourth position in the standings, 27 points up on Hamlin in fifth.

  Team Penske's Joey Logano -- who earned the first of four Championship 4 berths with a Las Vegas win last week -- qualified 26th but will start from the rear after his No. 22 Penske team made a steering system change post-qualifying.

  Of note, the pole-winner has won the Homestead race only one time since 2002 -- Hamlin in 2020.

  NOTEBOOK:

  -- Last week's Las Vegas runner-up, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell conceded his near miss -- by a slight .662-second to Team Penske's Joey Logano, who gambled and won on fuel strategy -- definitely stung. But by Monday, he said he was over it.

  Bell led the most laps -- 155 of 267 -- but wasn't ultimately able to catch Logano in the final frantic push to the checkered flag. And regardless of the race outcome, the finish puts the 29-year-old Oklahoman in the Playoff standings lead -- 42 points above the cutline with the top four drivers advancing to compete for the title on Nov. 10 in Phoenix. A victory would have been an automatic ticket for Bell, but he is optimistic about his chances this weekend as the defending Homestead race winner.

  "You're never really safe, the three of us William (Byron), Kyle (Larson) and myself have kind of, the way that the cards fell, we're kind of essentially point racing each other, and the guys below that are far enough below, they're basically out of the points and essentially racing for wins," Bell said. "Certainly, we'll know more once we get through Homestead on Sunday night, but, right now, we're planning on there being three winners and the three of us -- William, Kyle and myself -- are racing for that last points spot."

  "There's a good chance William, Kyle or myself could win this weekend and it could change. But plus 42 (points) sounds great until you realize every time someone wins, that cutline shrinks more, more and more, or that gap to the cutline. You're never safe and it's going to be a battle."

  -- Denny Hamlin's three Homestead wins is most in this weekend's field and a fourth trophy on Sunday would essentially salvage a challenging Playoff run for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. The driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota sits in fifth place -- 27 points below the four-driver cutoff line that will decide who competes for the championship Nov. 10 at Phoenix.

  Hamlin has four top-10 finishes in the seven Playoff races with a best showing of fourth at Bristol, Tenn. last month. Most telling, perhaps, he has led only two of the races for a combined five laps.

  "It doesn't matter how far back you are in points, you've just got to find a way to win," Hamlin said, adding, "Anything can happen and certainly you're never out of it until they throw the checkered. But (crew chief) Chris (Gabehart) does a really good job of pumping the team up, keeping them motivated and getting the best out of them. We all go through these swells where we're not performing our best and certainly the timing is not ideal right now.

  "But every week is new week with them and me so certainly I feel optimistic going into this one. We've done the work in the week to get better and we're all going to hopefully perform our best.

  "I think in this sport, momentum is very over-rated," he added. "It's week-to-week. We have to perform like we're capable of and we just haven't shown that in quite some time."

  -- Joey Logano's victory in last week's Round of 8 Playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earned him the first automatic bid into the Nov. 10 Championship Four at Phoenix Raceway. The two-time series champion said his No. 22 Team Penske team has absolutely seized the advantage of the extra two weeks to prepare for the championship race -- both competitively and psychologically.

  "There's no doubt after you've done something once, you're gonna be better the second time, right" Logano says of his sixth appearance in the Championship foursome. "We talked about what the week is like leading into it, and all the other things you have to do, all the distractions, all the stress that's there. It's a hard week, there's no doubt.

  "I laugh all the time because so many drivers, in all three series, a lot of their answer is, ‘we just treat it as another race, it's just another race'. BS, it's not another race. Not even close, it's the championship, it's the biggest race you'll ever be a part of. It's bigger than that. Everyone tries to minimize it so they can sleep better at night. It's not about that.

  "And I think for some drivers and teams, they love that pressure and I think there's some that just hate it and it affects them in a negative way. It probably depends on who you are, but I know going through things more than once definitely helps you know how to prepare for what's coming your way."

  -- Frankie Muniz, the celebrated actor from the "Malcolm in the Middle" television show, formally announced Friday at Homestead that he will competing fulltime in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2025 driving the No 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing.

  And he'll be making his first start for the team this weekend in Saturday's Baptist Health 200 at Homestead and then again in two weeks in the Phoenix season finale.

  He competed fulltime in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series earning a top-five (fifth place) and 11 top-10 finishes in 20 races. After what turned into a partial season this year -- largely due to an illness that sidelined him this summer -- he recorded ninth and 12th-place finishes in his two starts. Getting this chance by an established team is an important for Muniz, who is eager to take the next step in his professional progression.

  Muniz said part of this opportunity means the Scottsdale-Ariz.-based driver will spend significant time at back East, closer to the team in Charlotte, N.C.

  "I want to put myself into every situation I can to be better as a race car driver so that's spending more time with the team, going over stuff with the engineers and watching past races with my spotter and being in the simulator Ford gives me access to, that's great and let's do it. Going back and forth is not easy. And I just want to fully immerse myself in being a NASCAR driver and best way to do that is being by the team in Charlotte."

  "Just ready to put my head down and go fast," he said, reiterating that he wants people to know, "I'm not doing this as just a hobby.

  -- Highly-touted young driver William Sawalich also brought big news to South Florida -- Joe Gibbs Racing announcing that the 18-year-old will steer the No. 18 Toyota fulltime in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025.

  And the two-time ARCA Menard's East Series champion is going full-in with his NASCAR experience this weekend competing in both races in Saturday's Truck and Xfinity Series double-header.

  Although he's competed in 13 previous truck races in the last two seasons, this will be his Xfinity Series debut.

  "Honestly, I feel like it would be tougher to do the Xfinity race as a standalone race just because (I get) the warm-up in the truck race, get a green flag stop in, get used to pit road -- which I'm still kind of new to that. Just getting a feel for everything because it's a lot different."

  ETC. ... Wood Brothers Racing lead engineer Grant Hutchens will serve as temporary crew chief for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Ford team beginning this weekend. He replaces veteran crew chief Jeremy Bullins who led the team to its historic 100th victory in August at Daytona International Speedway. ... JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier announced Friday that he had signed a two-year contract extension with the team.

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

Formula 1 drivers are seeking clarity about why Max Verstappen was not penalized for a controversial move during Sunday's United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

• With four laps to go, McLaren's Lando Norris veered off the track to pass Red Bull's Verstappen and incurred a five-second penalty. Verstappen, who also left the track, was not penalized for pushing Norris to the outside.

  Verstappen was in the right as the defending car and did not have to give Norris room to pass, according to current racing standards guidelines.

  However, even though the race stewards appeared to interpret the rules correctly, several F1 drivers voiced their concerns to Motorsport.com on Friday about "the practice of drivers being able to launch up the inside with no regard of whether or not they are able to make the corner, as long as they are ahead of their rival at the apex."

  Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton called it a "grey area."

  "They probably need to make some adjustments for sure," the Mercedes driver said of the FIA. "Also we do have inconsistencies through rulings depending on which stewards are there. And as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas.

  "I experienced it many times with Max. You shouldn't be able to just launch the car up the inside and then go off and still hold the position."

  George Russell, Hamilton's teammate, said he believes Verstappen was "exploring a loophole" and should have been penalized.

  Chasing a fourth straight world title, Verstappen finished third at Austin to hold his lead in the driver's standings with five races remaining. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished 1-2 in Texas and Norris was fourth.

  Sainz said he wants FIA to define the limits of aggressive behavior by a defending vehicle.

  "... It changes the way we go racing," Sainz said. "It means the guy defending on the inside can brake as late as they want and they can fake the fact that you are trying to hit the apex when you are maybe not.

  "It needs to be clarified because in that case they were both to blame: Max for running wide and Lando for gaining a position off the track. That is why that specific scenario is a very complicated one on how to rule on it."

  --Field Level Media

Ryan Blaney is used to being the underdog.

• It was, after all, only a year ago that nobody thought of the 30-year-old, third-generation racer as a serious contender for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

  As history will forever proclaim, Blaney and Team Penske caught fire in the playoffs, making a run that saw him win two of the final six races and capture the Cup Series title with a second-place finish at Phoenix.

  Blaney's victories at Talladega and Martinsville can be described as the defining moments of Blaney's championship run, as they lifted him to the Round of 8 and the Championship Four, respectively, and also made it known to the garage that he wasn't to be taken lightly.

  A year removed from the greatest postseason run of his career, Blaney is attempting to defend his championship, though a rough-and-tumble race at Las Vegas -- the first race of the Round of 8 -- has Blaney behind the eight ball as the circuit heads to Miami.

  A lap 89 crash at Las Vegas incurred suspension damage on Blaney's Ford Mustang Dark Horse, forcing the defending champ to ride around for the rest of the afternoon with a wounded vehicle.

  After aiding teammate Joey Logano in his efforts to win at Las Vegas, Blaney is hoping some good fortune of his own befalls the No. 12 team.

  Blaney currently sits seventh in the playoff standings, 47 points out of the fourth and final transfer spot. While two perfect races could see Blaney make the Championship Four by virtue of points, the simple path to Phoenix is the one that cuts through victory lane.

  The good news for Blaney? History is on his side, as 2023 also saw Las Vegas' playoff race become a whirlwind of emotions for the High Point, N.C., resident. His sixth-place finish was originally wiped out by a disqualification -- until the disqualification was rescinded later in the week.

  Blaney's last visit to the Homestead-Miami Speedway saw him finish runner-up to Christopher Bell, following a wild race in which Kyle Larson hit the sand barrels on pit road and Denny Hamlin's title hopes ended after a steering issue sent him into the wall.

  And then came the half-mile paperclip of Martinsville, where Blaney put on a clinic en route to a win that punched his ticket to the Championship Four.

  It just so happens that Blaney is in need of another crucial victory at either Homestead or Martinsville to keep his title hopes alive.

  Prior results aren't guarantees of future success in sports, but Blaney has an opportunity to give fans deja vu with another clutch stretch of races.

  Blaney's back may be against the wall, but that might mean he has his competitors exactly where he wants them: with Blaney present as nothing more than an afterthought in the chase for the championship.

  After all, it was from that exact position that Blaney came from last year when he forever etched his name in NASCAR history.

  --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is getting back behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet with the iconic Budweiser paint scheme.

• The NASCAR Hall of Famer plans to compete in a limited series of late model stock car races in 2024 and 2025, starting next month.

  JR Motorsports announced Tuesday that Earnhardt's Nov. 23 entry in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway will mark the "Bud King of Beers" paint scheme's first time on the track in 17 years.

  "It is an incredible opportunity for me to be able to reunite with Budweiser, and the No. 8," Earnhardt, 50, said of the ride he made famous from 1999-2007. "Budweiser and I had some great memories with that iconic scheme and number. We've always supported each other over the years. It's going to be really special for me to be able to represent that brand on the racetrack again."

  Earnhardt won 26 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the Daytona 500 in 2004 and 2014. He was voted NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for 15 straight years from 2003 to 2017, his final season of full-time competition.

  "There are names that when mentioned, draw on the significance of their place in American history. Among them, Budweiser, and Earnhardt," said Matt Davis, vice president of partnerships at Anheuser-Busch. "This return to the racetrack alongside Dale with the Bud King of Beers paint scheme is another chapter in Anheuser-Busch's long and storied sports history."

  --Field Level Media

William Sawalich will be a full-time driver during the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, with Joe Gibbs Racing announcing Monday that the 18-year-old is set to be behind the wheel of the team's No. 18 Toyota.

• Sawalich, an Eden Prairie, Minn., native, has made 13 career starts in the Craftsman Truck Series, doing so with Tricon Garage. His resume includes three top-10 finishes, and he also captured a pole at Talladega Superspeedway this season.

  "I am honored to be driving the No. 18 full-time in the Xfinity Series next year," Sawalich said in a release issued by JGR. "It has been really cool to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, and I feel like I have developed so much as a driver over the past two years. I still have a lot to learn, especially with moving to a new series, so I am looking forward to taking this next step in racing."

  Taylor Gray, in the No. 54 Toyota, will be paired up with Sawalich for Joe Gibbs Racing.

  "We are thrilled to announce William's promotion to the next stage of his racing career with us," JGR executive vice president of Xfinity Series and development Steve de Souza said. "His outstanding record of victories and development over the past two years shows he's ready for the Xfinity Series.

  "We're confident he'll remain a strong contender for wins as he takes on this new challenge in 2025."

  --Field Level Media

LAS VEGAS -- Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell earned the pole position for Sunday's South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) -- his third pole of the year and third at the 1.5-mile Vegas high banks.

• Saturday's lap of 185.344 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota bested fellow NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver Tyler Reddick's No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota by a slight .013-second. It marks the 13th career pole position for the 29-year old Bell, however a win Sunday would be his first victory from the top starting spot on the grid.

  The second-place starter has won the last three Las Vegas races. Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch is the last driver to win at Vegas from pole position -- in 2009.

  "I feel really good, I feel really comfortable," said Bell, who is currently ranked second to Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson in the championship as the three-race Round of 8 takes the green flag Sunday.

  "I've been in this position many a time and haven't won the race . ...We've come close several times and this is a great race track for me so I'm really optimistic. I think we've got the car to do it."

  Six of the eight Playoff cars advanced to the final round of qualifying including Bell's JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, who will roll off fourth. Larson -- who has won the last two races in Las Vegas -- will start fifth, Hendrick's William Byron and Team Penske's Joey Logano, who will start ninth and 10threspectively.

  Hendrick's Alex Bowman,, who was eliminated from Playoff contention just last week, will start third. Spire Motorsports rookie Carson Hocevar will roll off sixth. Trackhouse Racing' Ross Chastain (seventh) and JGR's Ty Gibbs (eighth) were the other drivers to advance to the final qualifying round.

  Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott was one of only two Playoff drivers who did not make the final round of time trials and he will start his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18th.

  The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, had an incident during practice -- hitting the wall after cutting a rear tire -- and was forced to miss qualifying. He will put a back-up No. 12 Penske Ford on the grid, starting last in the 37-car field.

  Of note, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will start 29th in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota -- the eighth start of the season for the team's owner-driver. New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen will start 34th in the Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet.

  --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

RB boss Laurent Mekies admits the way the team handled Daniel Ricciardo's exit was "not ideal," according to Motorsports.com Saturday.

• F1 fans were upset that they weren't able to give Ricciardo a proper send-off because the team didn't announce his exit until after the Singapore Grand Prix, where the Australian finished 18th in what turned out to be his final F1 race.

  "Yes, it was frustrating, and yes, it was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way," Mekies said of the late September weekend. "That is first of all for him, on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him."

  However, Mekies revealed that both the RB team and Ricciardo discussed the options for announcing his departure and all agreed to keep the news from the public until after the Singapore Grand Prix.

  "Daniel was aware," Mekies said. "We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose together to go into that weekend without announcing. And from that point onwards, we had to deal with it.

  "It's a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently. But it's something that we were, both the team and the drivers, on board to go through that now."

  Mekies still believes Ricciardo was able to feel the appreciation of the fans and the RB team.

  "I think in one way or another, we all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel, from the fans to Daniel," Mekies said.

  "I don't know if it would have been better or worse (to announce it), certainly different, more traditional, but I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend was something outstanding and something that shows that he's bigger than an F1 driver, he's bigger than F1."

  Ricciardo, 35, has 257 races under his belt, with eight wins and 32 podiums in his career. He is being replaced on the RB team by 22-year-old Liam Lawson of New Zealand.

  Days after the race, Ricciardo hinted at the likely end of his career in an Instagram post.

  "I've loved this sport my whole life. It's wild and wonderful and been a journey. To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you," he wrote. "To the fans who love the sports sometimes more than me haha thank you. It'll always have its highs and lows but it's been fun and truth be told, I wouldn't change it. Until the next adventure."

  Ricciardo had been racing for Red Bull's sister team RB since July 2023, hoping to be moved to Red Bull to pair with Max Verstappen. He struggled on the track this season and accumulated just 12 points, putting him in a distant 14th place in the standings.

  Verstappen sits atop the standings with 331 points, while earlier this year, fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez (eighth place, 144 points) had his deal extended through 2026.

  --Field Level Media