After the Formula One race in Mexico on Nov. 1, 20-year-old Italian driver Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Formula One world champion, driving a Mercedes. He surpassed Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title at 23 in 2010 and went on to claim three more championships.
With four races remaining, Max Verstappen has 261 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton with 259, George Russell with 250 and Lando Norris with 221. Verstappen won in Mexico, his third victory in four races.
Kyle Larson enters NASCAR’s season finale Nov. 7 at Homestead, Florida, with a 67-point lead over Christopher Bell, 70 over Denny Hamlin and 84 over Chase Briscoe. Larson needs just nine points to secure his third Cup Series championship, achievable through stage points or a finish of 28th or better.
William Byron won at Martinsville, leading 362 of 500 laps. Chase Elliott finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry and Shane van Gisbergen.
Brake-checking incidents also drew attention. Carson Hocevar brake-checked Austin Cindric, while Berry did the same to Ryan Blaney. Hocevar was subsequently suspended by his Spire Motorsports team.
In the NASCAR Truck Series, Chandler Smith defeated teammate Layne Riggs at Martinsville. Riggs enters Homestead 20 points behind championship rival Kaden Honeycutt and likely needs a victory to claim the title.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Justin Allgaier took the championship lead after Jesse Love suffered brake trouble and finished 30th. Carson Kvapil won the race. Allgaier leads Love by 22 points, Corey Day by 23 and Sheldon Creed by 42.
The NHRA season concludes this weekend at Pomona, where four professional championships remain undecided.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Richard Gadson leads Gaige Herrera by 55 points. Wind postponed the Las Vegas motorcycle race, resulting in two races at Pomona.
In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon leads teammate Doug Kalitta by 107 points. Antron Brown sits third, followed by Leah Pruett and her husband, Tony Stewart.
Matt Hagan holds a 39-point Funny Car advantage over Las Vegas winner Jordan Vandergriff. J.R. Todd, Austin Prock, Jack Beckman and Ron Capps remain in pursuit.
Dallas Glenn leads the Pro Stock championship battle against Matt Hartford, Greg Stanfield, Greg Anderson and Troy Coughlin Jr.
Pomona offers 50% more points for qualifying and eliminations, making the season finale particularly important.
A few local races remain this year for enthusiastic motorheads. Stay tuned.