1. Shane van Gisbergen is Already 5th All Time in Road Course Wins
Though he was out of contention for the NASCAR Cup Series contention even before the Charlotte ROVAL race, Shane van Gisbergen was always going to be a threat to claim another checkered flag. The Kiwi wasn’t quite as dominant as he often is on road courses, but sure enough, he ended up with his fifth victory of 2025.
All of those wins have been on road courses, where van Gisbergen has essentially turned races into him vs. the field with five straight victories. The Cup Series record is six in a row, held by a guy you may have heard of, Jeff Gordon.
There will be some intrigue to see if van Gisbergen can tie Gordon early next year, as the first road course race of 2026 is at Circuit of the Americas, the one venue on the Cup Series schedule where he has yet to win. But what’s even crazier is that van Gisbergen is already tied for fifth all time in road course victories.
Yes, his efforts have been greatly aided by the fact that he is competing in the peak road course era, as Gordon could only rack up victories at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. The fact remains that van Gisbergen could be the career leader if he sweeps all five of the road circuits next season.
That seems unlikely since logic suggests the garage will catch up with him, and there’s always the possibility of a mechanical issue or getting caught up in someone else’s wreck. If he can even nab the first few, however, it should make for a fun subplot as we get into the meat of the 2026 campaign, and one that NASCAR should definitely try to publicize.
2. You Can’t Fault Ross Chastain for Trying
Considering that Ross Chastain pulled off the coolest desperation move in modern NASCAR history a couple years ago at Martinsville, one that propelled him into the 2022 Championship 4, it was perhaps only right that he tried something almost as daring at the ROVAL.
It’s just that this time it didn’t work out quite so well.
Chastain admitted after the race that he had performed poorly throughout the day, and that he more or less just sent it into Denny Hamlin in the hopes of making up for that. As he noted, it wasn’t going to affect Hamlin’s chances of advancing to the Round of 8, and he’s the master of YOLO, so why not?
It’s hard to blame Chastain, who had the self awareness to realize he had to try something that only the tiniest chance of working. It’s kind of like in the stick and ball sports now where the broadcasters show the chances of each team winning based on the score and time left in the game. Chastain’s chances were likely less than 1%.
But there was another factor that played a big part in setting up Chastain’s ‘Fail Melon,’ and it was one that Hamlin wasn’t even aware of, apparently …
3. Denny Hamlin Has Inadvertently Been Joey Logano’s Biggest Ally This Postseason
Hamlin and Joey Logano don’t seem like they like each other all that much. They aren’t teammates, nor do they drive for the same manufacturer. Most of all, as Hamlin tries to capture the Cup Series championship that has proven frustratingly elusive, he certainly would prefer not to have to face Logano, a multi-time winner in the current format, in the Championship 4.
You know what would have helped him not have to worry about Logano? If Hamlin wouldn’t have passed Chastain late at the ROVAL, most likely allowing him to edge Logano for the final spot in the Round of 8. So why did he do it? Hamlin said he didn’t know the points situation going into the final lap.
That would be ironic enough on its own. Except Hamlin also took out Bubba Wallace late at Kansas, costing his 23XI Racing driver a victory. If Wallace had won that race, he would have advanced to the Round of 8 at the expense of … yes, Logano.
Among people who dislike the NASCAR playoffs, Logano is the poster boy for their frustrations. There is a sense that he and the No. 22 team do just well enough to make the postseason and then somehow game the system to win it all.
That’s almost certainly unfair to that bunch, who merely play by the rules in front of them. Be that as it may, Hamlin and the other drivers still alive for the championship would surely feel better if they didn’t have to deal with Logano, so it’s going to stick in Hamlin’s craw if he has to watch Logano crowned again knowing he could have prevented it — not once but twice.
4. The Most Intriguing NASCAR Legal Battle in Years May Never Make It to Trial
When big money lawsuits are filed, there’s always a good chance they end in a settlement instead of inside a courtroom. Maybe it’s because one or both sides don’t want some of the information involved to come to light. Maybe the parties think it isn’t worth the time and energy to really fight it out, or that the risk of losing is too great, or that the financial implications are worse if they see it all the way through.
It’s easy to see several of those factors affecting the legal battle over the charter system that has 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports on one side and NASCAR on the other. NASCAR has a lot to lose, in terms of public perception if nothing else, as more details of the discussions over charters are revealed. The race teams have fought the good fight but don’t really have a viable backup plan should a decision eventually go against them.
None of that has prevented the two sides from a staredown that has so far resisted attempts to bring it to an end, but it isn’t quite December yet. So it’s not surprising to see, as reported by Matt Weaver of Motorsport, that NASCAR would still like to see if the matter can be settled out of court.
It’s worth noting that it was NASCAR asking for a judge to step in and try to find a solution where an independent mediator has so far come up short. 23XI and FRM might not be as amenable, but again, the stakes are high and it’s not uncommon to see settlements when that is the case.
For pure entertainment value, a trial would be fascinating. There are a lot of stakeholders in the lawsuit beyond just the parties directly named in it, and the guess here is that they’d all rather see a settlement end the stalemate before Dec. 1 arrives.
5. When Will Someone Not Named Earnhardt or Elliott Win Most Popular Driver?
WWE fans know that Cody Rhodes’ entrance theme starts out by saying “wrestling has more than one royal family.” NASCAR does too, but in terms of the NMPA Most Popular Driver award, it’s still only two: the Earnhardts and the Elliotts.
Starting in 1991, Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt won the award every year until 2002. Dale Earnhardt Jr. grabbed the torch from there, taking the honor 15 straight times until 2017. Chase Elliott has won it every year since, and there’s no reason to think he won’t capture his eighth consecutive award once the voting results are revealed in November.
Fans decide the Most Popular Driver, which is as it should be. But there is a legitimate question about when someone might break up this 35-year reign. Chase Elliott is still only 29, so he could easily race for another decade or more. Barring something unforeseen, that all but rules out another winner through 2035.
By then, the next generation of NASCAR stars won’t even be young guns any more. Connor Zilisch, for example, will be 30 by the end of the 2036 season. It’s not hard to imagine he will catch on with Cup Series fans, but it’s possible, even likely, that the driver who will succeed Chase Elliott isn’t even in ARCA yet.
It’s wild to think about, and unlike many topics discussed in this space, the answer may not materialize for years.
