Shane van Gisbergen feels no pressure as he looks to "prove people wrong" in NASCAR Playoffs

It's that time of year again. The F1 circus is off sunning itself on its mid-summer break, drivers and teams alike are taking a much-needed and well-deserved breather from the frenetic nature of one grand prix after another - and everybody seems to be talking about who will be driving where in 2010. Here at Crash.net there is no exception, so we have put together a list of likely options and moves between this season and next, who is in favour and who is likely heading out of the door. The drivers have been listed in order of present championship position.

Global music superstars Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas, Simple Minds, ZZ Top and N.E.R.D have all been lined up by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to rock the weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix next month - though ticket sales for the island city-state's second race are still struggling to get off the starting grid.

BMW has dropped hints that it may be willing to follow fellow German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz in supplying 'customer' versions of its engines to other F1 teams - with suggestions the Bavarian marque has Red Bull Racing as its prime target.

Flying in the face of the opinions expressed by both Ferrari and BMW over the past week, Ross Brawn has thrown his support behind the FIA's new optional ?40 million budget cap in Formula 1, warning that without it the top flight risks 'turning [engineers] into Swiss watchmakers' - but equally underlining that it will only be workable if it is embraced by all.

If there was ever a year in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff era that the initial seeding was prognostically irrelevant, this would be the one.Consider that Shane Van Gisbergen, who is most certainly not winning this championship, is a No. 6 seed due to his four road course wins, while three-time champion Joey Logano is a No. 12 seed.An argument could be made too that No. 16 seed Alex Bowman ...Keep reading

William Byron won the regular season championship, and enters the NASCAR Cup Playoffs tied with teammate Kyle Larson for the most bonus points at 32. That gives him a fairly comfortable buffer to the drop zone, but is the No. 24 team truly ready to contend for a championship?Byron started the year by winning the Daytona 500, but the summer months have been a bit all over the place. Despite a ...Keep reading

Trevor Bayne will make just his tenth career NASCAR Truck Series start this weekend, driving the No. 1 Toyota for TRICON Garage.With support from AdventHealth, the truck will carry the Victory Junction colors, which is a camp that strives to "enrich the lives of children with serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering." The camp was ...Keep reading

It's easy to forget that Joey Logano has been full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2009. The 35-year-old is the youngest Cup winner in the history of the sport (19 years, 1 month, and 4 days), and has since gone onto the win three NASCAR Cup Series championships (2018, 2022, 2024).Logano was one of those talents that everyone noticed long before he made it to the top level of the sport ...Keep reading

On one hand, Josh Berry enters his debut appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series one point below the elimination cutline, but on the other, it’s actually everyone else with everything to lose over the next three weeks.Berry took Wood Brothers Racing to Victory Lane in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was also his first win at the highest level after spending the entirety of the previous ...Keep reading

Can Bubba Wallace win over the next 10 weeks during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs?Well, yes, but there is also a historic caveat.“Absolutely,” Wallace said during Playoff Media Day in Uptown Charlotte on Wednesday. “Hell, I’m good at winning in the Playoffs when I’m not in the Playoffs.”It’s funny because Wallace has three career wins and the first two came in the ...Keep reading

Denny Hamlin has been racing at NASCAR's highest level for a long time. He made his first playoff appearance in 2006, and since then, he has been a part of the champion battle every single year except for 2013 (he missed several races due to a back injury that year).“It’s just another chance to roll the dice," said Hamlin ahead of his 19th attempt to win NASCAR's biggest prize, taking part ...Keep reading

There is no shortage of good vibes surrounding Christopher Bell as the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team embarks on their latest pursuit of the NASCAR Cup Series championship but there is an obvious ‘question mark’ too.They won three times over the course of the regular season and enter the chase for the championship as the No. 5 seed. However, those wins came in the second, third and fourth ...Keep reading

The highly respected NASCAR crew member passed away earlier this week, and there has been an outpouring of tributes from those within the industry as the remember Zach Yager.Yager was a veteran on pit road, working as a jackman, tire carrier, and even fueler throughout his career. He worked with various teams throughout his 10+ years in the sport, including Richard Childress Racing, RFK ...Keep reading

The highly respected NASCAR crew member passed away earlier this month, and there has been an outpouring of tributes from those within the industry as the remember Zach Yager.Yager was a veteran on pit road, working as a jackman, tire carrier, and even fueler throughout his career. He worked with various teams throughout his 10+ years in the sport, including Richard Childress Racing, RFK ...Keep reading

McLaren and Mastercard open a new chapter of their partnership

McLaren partner Mastercard is stepping up to become the papaya squad's official naming partner from the 2026 F1 season onwards.From next year, McLaren will be branded as McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, signifying a step up in the payment provider's commitment to the world champions.McLaren and Mastercard had only signed a multi-year deal as recent as July 2024, with the brand keen to ...Keep reading

After stringing along Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller and half the Moto2 grid for months, Yamaha is set to announce that Miller will retain his ride alongside Toprak Razgatlioglu in Pramac’s MotoGP line-up.As with any decision of this nature, opinions will be divided, and only time will tell whether it was the right call.For some, retaining the Australian makes sense at this stage of ...Keep reading

After stringing along Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller and half the Moto2 grid for months, Yamaha is set to announce that Miller will retain his ride alongside Toprak Razgatlioglu in Pramac’s MotoGP line-up.As with any decision of this nature, opinions will be divided, and only time will tell whether it was the right call.For some, retaining the Australian makes sense at this stage of ...Keep reading