NASCAR Cup’s road course expert, Shane Van Gisbergen, won his fifth race of the season Sunday at the Charlotte Roval. SVG led 57 of the 109 laps, 30 more than his closest pursuer, Kyle Larson, who finished second. Christopher Bell was third but led no laps.
It was also an elimination race setting the field for the Round of 8 with Denny Hamlin eight points above the cut line, Ryan Blaney +6, Larson and William Byron +4. Drivers heading into the next round below the cut line are Bell -4, Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe -14, and Joey Logano -24.
Logano barely squeaked in as Ross Chastain lost spot after spot in the closing laps, finally crashing into Denny Hamlin on the final turn and crossing the finish line in reverse. Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Chastain, and Alex Bowman were eliminated from playoff contention.
Van Gisbergen joins Denny Hamlin as five-time winners on the season, and if his road course performance continues to improve, SVG could be a serious contender for the 2026 championship. And this year Hamlin has a realistic chance of finally winning the elusive Cup title after 20 years of trying.
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This weekend the series moves on to Las Vegas for the second Sin City race of the season. Josh Berry won the spring race but was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.
Logano leads all active drivers with four Vegas wins and Larson and Brad Keselowski have three apiece. Besides Berry, other one-time winners still active are Byron, Bowman, Hamlin, and Kyle Busch.
Saturday’s broadcasts include Xfinity series practice and qualifying at 11 a.m. with the Focused Health 302 at 4:30 p.m., both on the CW. NASCAR Cup practice and qualifying airs on TRU TV at 1:30 p.m. The USA network will broadcast the South Point 400 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
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Formula 1 was in Singapore last weekend, racing under the lights on a difficult street course in feverish temperatures and humidity.
McLaren’s Lando Norris started on the pole and led from the first lap with Red Bull’s resurgent Max Verstappen in hot pursuit. But it was George Russell’s day as he took his Mercedes to the front and finished 5.4 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who finished second and remains winless at the track.
Norris finished third ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and McLaren clinched the constructors’ title with an unassailable 650 team points. Mercedes sits second at 325, 27 points ahead of Ferrari with Red Bull a further eight in arrears. It is McLaren’s 10th constructors’ title, second only to Ferrari’s 16 wins.
In the driver’s championship fight, Piastri still leads with 336 points and Norris at 314 with a realistic chance to catch him. Verstappen is at 273 with Russell at 237 after his Singapore win.
With six races to go and three sprint weekends, one of the McLaren drivers is a near-certainty for the drivers’ championship which will be the first title for either of them and the first win for a McLaren driver since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. It will also see Verstappen’s championship streak end at four.
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F1 is dark this weekend, returning to action next weekend for the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
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In other news, Mick Schumacher, former F1 driver for the Haas team and Mercedes reserve driver, will be testing an Indy car this coming Monday. The son of the legendary Michael Schumacher will test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.