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NASCAR has yet to review the radio communications from the closing laps of Sunday’s race (they intend to do so in the week ahead). And while Ryan Blaney drove off with the race win, strange things were happening throughout the field as Chevy and Toyota grappled for the final spot in the Championship 4. If we break down the communications ourselves though, it’s clear that manufacturer loyalty played a crucial role in what transpired at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Setting the ‘final’ stage

When the final restart came with 87 laps to go, Christopher Bell was trapped a lap down and unable to make any forward progress from 19th. He was three points behind William Byron for the final transfer spot. Up front, Kyle Larson was leading the race and in the Championship 4 — until his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott took the lead for himself with 25 laps to go. But it was all for naught as reigning NASCAR Cup champ Ryan Blaney passed them both in the laps that followed.

None of that changed the situation for Bell and Byron who were in a constant struggle for that final transfer spot. When Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin managed to pass Byron and the margin was suddenly a single point. The math was simple: One position is one point. With 12 laps left, the bleeding suddenly stopped for the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet (Byron) as fellow Chevy driver Austin Dillon pulled up to his rear bumper. 

Now for a closer look at what the late-race radio communications between manufacturer allies reveals about this controversial finish that decided the Championship 4.

Dillon rides behind the #24

Before the race even began, the No. 3 Chevy radio of Dillon openly mentioned being cognizant of the Hendrick playoff drivers. That’s not unusual in these playoff races, but as Dillon was catching Byron in the closing laps, they made it clear that there was only one priority — protect Byron.

“The 24 is only two points to the good right now and there’s two spots between them,” crew chief Justin Alexander explained to spotter Brandon Benesch. He then told Dillon about the points situation, and Alexander quickly added: “If we pass him, he’ll be out.”

Dillon wanted to know who Byron was racing and they flatly told him: “He just can’t give up spots.” 

Does Chastain know the deal?

As Chastain in the No. 1 Chevrolet rapidly closed, pulling alongside Dillon, the radio became more interesting. “Does he know the deal?” asked the No. 3 crew chief. Atop the spotter’s stand, Benesch replied: “I’m trying to tell him. Justin can you tell the crew chief?”

With 12 laps to go, the same question lit up the radio again — but with more urgency — as Chastain pulled alongside Dillon. “Does the 1 crew chief know the deal?” asked Benesch. “Yeah he should,” replied Alexander, but he didn’t sound fully sure.

Things were much quieter on Chastain’s radio. Spotter Brandon McReynolds informed him of the points situation. However, there was a moment when the always-aggressive Chastain still got to the outside of Byron with seven laps to go. His spotter quickly keyed the mic: “Nice and smart with the 24 here down there.” Chastain did not reply, but never pulled alongside Byron again.

Dillon and Chastain ran side-by-side for most of the final 10 laps, moving like a rolling roadblock that made it impossible for anyone else to get near the No. 24 car. Right behind them, the field was stacking up with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar all packed tightly together.

Wallace: “God forbid we don’t help a f****** JGR car”

While Byron could not afford to lose a single spot, Bell was desperate to gain just one. He knew he would win any tiebreakers, courtesy of his runner-up finish at Las Vegas two weeks prior.

“God forbid if we don’t help a f****** JGR car,” radioed Bubba Wallace while riding around in 18th place. Crew chief Bootie Barker instructed spotter Freddie Kraft to tell Wallace where the No. 20 of Bell was on track. “Relay it to him,” said Barker. “10-4, I will. 24 is half a straightaway behind us,” answered Kraft.

They continued to give Wallace updates on Bell’s whereabouts and with 10 laps to go, he was told about the points situation. With five laps left, something happened to the No. 23 Toyota. Entering Turn 3, Wallace went up out of the groove. “I think I’ve got a tire going down,” said Wallace. Barker told the spotter to inform Wallace that his teammate, Tyler Reddick, “had a fire” in an issue that put him out of the race earlier. This might have been a way to try to connect the issue to whatever was happening to the No. 23.

Slowing down just enough

On Lap 495 of 500, Wallace’s times abruptly fell off and he ran a full second slower than the previous lap. He gained about half-a-second of that back the next lap before abruptly falling off again. Bell was gaining about a second per lap now. The car kept driving up into the marbles, slowing down as his lap times fluctuated wildly. 

Coming to the white flag, he got in the way of the Byron group and there was a tense three-wide moment with Chastain and Dillon. Chastain even ran into the back of Byron. Wallace slowed down enough that Bell caught him just as the field entered the final corner on the final lap.

Bell entered Turn 3 deep and flew by Wallace, but hit the wall as he slid up the track. At that point, he proceeded to put the throttle down, riding the wall to the finish line. He didn’t gain any additional spots by doing that. It also looked like a slower, similar version of Chastain’s now-banned wall-ride move from two years ago.

Wallace’s final lap was over three seconds off the pace and 2.3 seconds slower than his previous lap. Bell got the point he needed — he was in the Championship 4 — for 27 minutes.

On the cool-down lap, the team asked if Wallace needed a fire extinguisher, again connecting it to the issue that put Reddick out of the race earlier.

“I’m okay, I think,” replied Wallace.

“Tire looked up,” observed Kraft. “Looked just like s*** the last couple laps there. Just be careful getting in here. May be on fire like the No. 45.” It was not on fire.

In the background, Bell and Byron emerged from their cars but no one was celebrated. NASCAR immediately moved to review the finish, without taking into account the assists from Byron’s fellow Chevys or the Toyota of Wallace. Instead, they focused on the wall ride. Although Bell did not gain any spots from it, NASCAR deemed it to be a safety violation, and in a shocking twist, removed Bell from the Championship 4 while Byron was reinstated. Officials also informed Joe Gibbs Racing that they have no right to appeal.

When NASCAR does get to reviewing the comms this week, the conclusion still won’t change the final four drivers, but the 1, 3, and 23 teams could see penalties, similarly to what happened two years ago when Cole Custer slowed on the final lap to help Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe advance into the Round of 8. NASCAR fined Custer $100,000, suspended his crew chief, and docked the team 50 points.

“Nada ultrapassa essa emoção,” is the slogan greeting fans at Interlagos’ entrances. Nothing surpasses this emotion.

Walk through the tunnels underneath the Autodromo Carlos Pace and it’s obvious why. The bowl-shaped venue in the middle of Sao Paulo’s bustling metropolis is one of motor racing’s most revered cathedrals, its ancient grandstands steeped in history.

Ayrton Senna memorials in the grandstands

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

The event posters lining the entrance tunnels date all the way back to the inaugural race in 1972, timeless reminders of the many title deciders Interlagos has hosted and the home wins that propelled the popularity of legendary world champions like Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.

Naturally the late Senna is still revered like a deity, with his trademark blue Nacional caps sported by throngs of Brazil’s passionate fans. A giant mural of the three-time World Champion adorns the main paddock building, while Sebastian Vettel travelled to the event to host a tribute and Lewis Hamilton performed an emotional demo in his hero’s 1990 McLaren, which he said was the “greatest honour” of his life.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1st position, celebrates with a Brazilian flag on the podium

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Something is missing

Following a long-standing streak of Brazilians on the grid, the country’s last full-time F1 driver Felipe Massa is yet to find a successor after his retirement at the end of 2017. The 2018 season was the first in 48 years without a Brazilian, with just two cameos by Fittipaldi’s grandson, Pietro (Fittipaldi), since then.

Brazilians haven’t been able to transfer all their energy and ’emoção’ onto a home hero for seven years, instead adopting Senna apostle Hamilton as one of their own, the seven-time world champion being awarded honorary Brazilian citizenship in 2022.

That void was even more striking this weekend while thousands of Argentinians flocked to their neighboring country to cheer on Williams sensation Franco Colapinto. The 2024 edition had been largely sold out for a while, but Colapinto fans still managed to find tickets on the resale market to watch the 21-year-old at the closest they have to a home race at the moment.

The Argentinian’s arrival has led to a surge of interest in South America, but F1 fans from the only country in the continent actually hosting a race can only watch on with envy for now, with hopes that F2 title protagonist Gabriel Bortoleto can break that streak next year if he is signed by Sauber, as is now widely expected.

An emotional Felipe Massa proudly slaps the Prancing Horse insignia on his chest as he celebrates victory and a well fought season in front of his home fans.

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

Brazil, what took you so long?

But why has it taken so long for Massa to have a successor? The former Ferrari driver suggests a rough patch at grassroots level is a large part of the explanation. “Unfortunately, it’s taking really so long to have another Brazilian in Formula 1 and it’s very difficult to say why,” Massa, a two-time winner of his home grand prix, told Motorsport.com.

“We didn’t have any category in the past like Formula 4 and maybe the base of Brazil was not so strong as compared to the past. When I was racing in Europe in Formula Renault, in every category we had a Brazilian winning races, fighting for the championship. And now it’s difficult to have the same results as we had in the past. But in the last three years things have been changing. We have some good Brazilians around and I hope to see Bortoleto in F1 soon.

“The most important thing is that kids need to go to Europe at the right time when they are ready, with some experience in cars here in Brazil. That’s why Brazil needed to have a good [single-seater] category and now we have Formula 4 [which supported the F1 weekend]. It’s becoming more competitive year by year and that’s very important.”

Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 2nd position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 3rd position, receive their Sprint trophies from Emerson Fittipaldi

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who was in attendance at his home race as a McLaren ambassador, concurred with Massa that everything starts at the bottom. “The base of motorsports, karting, is very important,” he told Motorsport.com. “And the Brazilian federation is currently encouraging karting in Brazil. I’m sure new talents will emerge, but there was a lack of encouragement at the grassroots level in Brazil.

“When you’re already in Formula 1, it’s easy for sponsors to appear. But it’s very difficult for the drivers to get there. So, we need more support at the grassroots level and the new president of the confederation, Giovanni Guerra, is doing that. He’s doing a great job.

“But we need even more support. The biggest example of this is Telmex [in Mexico], which is why we have Sergio Perez. Colapinto joined now, but in the last five years we only had one driver from Latin America.”

Lewis Hamilton delights the Brazilian fans with a drive in Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren MP4/5B.

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“Finding sponsors has never been easy…”

Brazil is the world’s seventh largest economy by GDP but is also suffering from huge inequality and a relatively volatile currency. The former is already making the costs of entry-level karting a serious stumbling block for a large part of the talent pool. The latter isn’t helping Brazilian sponsors fund drivers once they start competing overseas and enter the feeder system into F1 or IndyCar.

“Finding sponsors has never been easy for Brazilian drivers,” said Massa. “In my time, it was so difficult to find sponsors, but also it was a bit cheaper than it is now, which might make the situation even more difficult.”

IndyCar has seen a similar Brazilian void compared to F1, with the successful generation of Helio Castroneves, the late Gil de Ferran and Tony Kanaan, combining for a total of six Indianapolis 500 wins, never truly replaced.

“The currency, the dollar to real exchange is really bad for getting sponsors to invest,” Kanaan explained to Motorsport.com. “It’s six to one, so if you have to invest a million US dollars, it’s six million of our money. That is definitely not helping.

“The Brazilian motorsports scene is healthy for sure and since Massa it’s very recognised, but obviously we’re lacking an F1 driver right now. We still had some in IndyCar, but aside from the currency you also have to be in the right place at the right time to be able to be competitive and win races.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Invicta Virtuosi Racing

“We do have a couple good guys, like [Aston Martin reserve] Felipe Drugovich that has been waiting forever, and also Bortoleto now, but the timing has been bad.”

Kanaan said it would be unrealistic to expect Brazil’s glory days in F1 to return, but he’s still optimistic over the country’s long-term future in international single-seater racing.

“I think we’re never going to have a Senna again, the same way I think [Germany] is never going to have a Michael Schumacher, and the same way they’re not going to find another Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen,” he said.

“But eventually, I think we’ll come back. Motorsports is still extremely popular in Brazil. Not just F1 but also IndyCar.”

Kanaan, Massa and Fittipaldi have all been impressed by McLaren junior Bortoleto, who is well placed to finally return the Brazilian flag to the starting grid, being on the verge of a Sauber deal for 2025.

“I hope he gets into F1,” Fittipaldi said. “We’re rooting for him. He’s very talented and very capable, an excellent driver.”

Massa added: “Gabriel did an amazing job winning Formula 3 in the first year, maybe winning Formula 2 in the first year. This is definitely something that we haven’t seen lately with a Brazilian driver. It will be really positive to have a strong Brazilian in Formula 1 for a long time, raising our Brazilian flag. I’m supporting him a lot.”

If Bortoleto does make it onto the grid next year, the wait will finally be over and Brazilian fans will no longer have to envy their Argentinian rivals.

Finding a way to have both South American countries represented on the grid would be a boost to Formula 1 at large. But most importantly, it will complete the missing piece of the puzzle to bring the “emoção” of one of its marquee events to an even higher level.

Additional reporting by Joey Barnes

Lewis Hamilton revealed he cannot wait for Christmas in what is a telling summary of his final Formula 1 season with Mercedes.

At the start of the year, Hamilton informed boss Toto Wolff of his decision to terminate his deal with the Silver Arrows to join Ferrari for 2025.

However, the Briton made it clear he wanted to end his tenure at Mercedes, which he joined in 2013 from McLaren, with a bang.

He achieved that by winning the British Grand Prix in July before taking victory in Spa-Francorchamps later that month.

However, his fourth-place finish in Mexico was juxtaposed by a retirement in Austin and 10th in Sao Paulo, where his Mercedes struggled on the resurfaced, bumpy asphalt.

And now the 39-year-old cannot wait for this season to be over before he starts the new campaign with Ferrari next year.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

Photo by: Erik Junius

When asked by Motorsport.com about his disappointment, Hamilton said: “I just put my focus on something else. I’m not fighting for the championship. Doesn’t matter, really, where we finish in the championship.

“I don’t care if I finish ahead of [team-mate] George [Russell] or behind George. It doesn’t make any difference to me. I just want to keep the car out the wall and try to score points if I can for the team, if I can finish, whatever.

“If they give me a car that doesn’t bounce off the track in the next few races, then hopefully we can get a better result. But yeah, looking forward to Christmas.”

Hamilton was asked to identify whether the bouncing problems, which caused him considerable back pain all week in Brazil, were because of Mercedes’ low ride height or because of the bumpy track surface.

He responded: “Both, but I think mostly because the car, just something that’s not right. Qualifying was bad. Sprint race was bad. The car’s just been bad all weekend. 

“Obviously, it’s devastating to have these bad races in the second half of the season – but all I can say is, we’re trying.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“We’re coming into the weekends, but it’s definitely not acceptable. It’s definitely not good enough and we have to take accountability. I have to take accountability, but I am doing the best with what I’ve got. 

“The car has been the worst this weekend and I don’t know what it is. We’re going to have to find out what it is.”

When quizzed why his car swings from good to bad a weekend at a time, Hamilton joked: “You tell me. That’s the million-dollar question. If you can find it. I’ll give you a million dollars!”

Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

Until last year, the winner of the championship race was one of the four drivers eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series title.

Last year, Ross Chastain won the season finale while not one of the Championship 4 as Ryan Blaney finished second on his way to the championship on the 1-mile Phoenix oval.

Blaney is back to defend his title this year after a walk-off moment Sunday at Martinsville Speedway vaulted him into the Championship 4. The four drivers who race at Phoenix (among the rest of the non-championship eligible drivers) with the best of those four being crowned the champion.

All four of the drivers this year — Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron — have three wins apiece. None have led more than 600 laps this year.

The three drivers who combined to lead 3,632 laps (nearly 40 percent) — Kyle Larson (six wins), Christopher Bell (three wins) and Denny Hamlin (three wins) — were all eliminated at Martinsville, leaving this championship even more wide open.

“I never look at favorites when it gets to the Champ 4 because everyone is there for a reason, and all teams are really fast,” Blaney said. “They can be fast no matter what, any given weekend, any given track.”

Here’s a breakdown of the four drivers with analysis of why each can win the title — and why each won’t. They are listed in order of car number: 

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12 Ford

2024 season: 3 wins (Iowa, Pocono, Martinsville-2), 11 top-5s, 1 pole, 555 laps led

Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-5th; Nov2023-2nd; Mar2023-2nd; Nov2022-2nd; Mar2022-4th

Championship 4 experience: 2nd appearance. 2023-Finished 1st

Why Blaney Will Win: He did it before and he can do it again. Last year, Blaney used a Martinsville victory to propel him into the championship and he has completed one-half of that equation this year. Even bigger is that his Martinsville victory came a week after Reddick passed him on the final lap at Homestead. And look at those finishes at Phoenix. He has led more laps in the Next Gen car than any other driver at Phoenix, and he already has two wins this year at tracks 1-mile or shorter.

Why Blaney Won’t Win: No driver has gone back-to-back in the playoff elimination area (which started in 2014); the last driver to defend his title was Jimmie Johnson, who won five consecutive championships from 2006-2010. And which Blaney will be racing at the finish? The driver who saw that win slip away at Homestead or the driver who triumphed at Martinsville?

Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22 Ford

2024 season: 3 wins (Nashville, Atlanta-2, Veags-2), 6 top-5s, 3 poles, 307 laps led

Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-34th; Nov2023-18th; Mar2023-11th; Nov2022-1st; Mar2022-8th

Championship 4 history: 6th appearance. 2014-Finished 4th, 2016-2nd, 2018-1st, 2020-3rd, 2022-1st

Why Logano Will Win: Logano has been on cruise control the past two weeks as he won at Las Vegas and didn’t have to worry about his Homestead and Martinsville finishes. He’s had no pressure. He’ll be fresh. And then there’s that even-year thing — this is his sixth championship appearance, with them all coming in even years. But, seriously, the dude seems to perform best when it matters most. And he hates to lose.

Why Logano Won’t Win: If Logano didn’t already have two Cup titles, he would be totally counted out already. He finished 15th in the regular-season points. He won a five-overtime race at Nashville just to get into the playoffs. He won a drafting race at Atlanta and then used a fuel-mileage strategy to win at Las Vegas. Of any of the drivers in the Champ 4, he’d be the hardest sell as having a “championship” year. You know what? He doesn’t care.

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet

2024 season: 3 wins (Daytona-1, Austin, Martinsville-1), 12 top-5s, 1 pole, 338 laps led

Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-18th; Nov2023-4th; Mar2023-1st; Nov2022-6th; Mar2022-18th

Championship 4 history: 2nd appearance. 2023-Finished 3rd

Why Byron Will Win: Byron has run the most laps in the Next Gen car at Phoenix in the top-5 than any other driver. And it’s not even close as he has run in the top-5 for 1,058 laps — the next best among these four is Blaney (749). Byron won there in March 2023 and he seems comfortable there. He is the only Hendrick driver to make it to the championship round, so he’ll have a full effort from that organization.

Why Byron Won’t Win: While he has run in the top 5 for 1,058 laps in the Next Gen car at Phoenix, only 171 of those laps were actually in the lead. He hasn’t won since April as he carries a 27-race winless streak into the championship race. He knows he’ll be very good. The problem is he doesn’t know if he’ll be great.

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota

2024 season: 3 wins (Talladega-1, Michigan, Homestead), 12 top-5s, 3 poles, 597 laps led

Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-10th; Nov2023-22nd; Mar2023-3rd; Nov2022-23rd; Mar2022-3rd

Championship 4 history: 1st appearance

Why Reddick Will Win: Reddick has led more laps this year than any other driver in the Champ 4. He was the regular-season champion and has shown the ability to gut out good runs when he needs them the most. Plus, he will probably have co-owner Michael Jordan there rooting him on. No pressure. 

Why Reddick Won’t Win: This will be Reddick’s first trip to the Champ 4 as well as the first trip for his crew chief, Billy Scott. Reddick did win two Xfinity titles in this format, but Cup is a different level. Phoenix is not one of his better tracks and all of his wins this year have come at tracks 1.5 miles in length or greater.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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Enea Bastianini pronounced himself “angry” after being unable to compete with factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin for victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Italian inherited third place after Marc Marquez fell off his 2023-spec Gresini Ducati but finished over 10 seconds down on winner Bagnaia.

Although Marquez’s fall allowed Bastianini to close to within a single point of the Spaniard heading to the MotoGP season finale in Barcelona, the British and Emilia Romagna GP winner was disappointed that he couldn’t show such form at Sepang.

Asked if he was satisfied with the podiums he had picked up in both the Saturday sprint and the main race on Sunday, Bastianini said: “No, I’m not very satisfied. Because I’ve been fighting with the bike a lot all weekend.

“We started [well] but then we lost something. I was confident we could resolve the problem this morning but nothing changed. 

“I was lucky in the [grand prix] today because Marc crashed. But otherwise nothing is positive.

“I was slow in the middle of the corners and had no speed on the entry. Today it was impossible for me to give 100% and I’m angry.”

Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

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Barcelona will represent a chance for Bastianini to atone for a difficult Catalan GP in May, when he qualified 11th and was classified 18th in the race after earning a 32-second penalty for ignoring ride-through sanctions.

The season-closing race has been moved from its traditional Valencia venue due to flooding in that region, which Bastianini says will be an advantage for Marquez, who hails from Cervera, outside Barcelona.  

“For Marc, it’s an advantage to go to Barcelona, it’s his town,” said Bastianini. “We have to give 100% and I have to be much stronger compared to the Barcelona race at the start of the season because I was fast but got two or three long-lap penalties!”

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

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Marquez, however, does not see Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as advantageous in terms of riding, listing his home track alongside Sepang as one of the two tracks with which he struggles the most.

Bastianini added that he considered simply moving the Valencia race elsewhere in Spain ethically problematic given the level of the catastrophe in the original host city. 

“For me, it wasn’t correct to race in Spain,” he said. “But that’s how it is, that’s [MotoGP promoter] Dorna’s choice.”