NOVEMBER 4, 2020

(Associated Press/NBC Sports)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 AMG-Petronas) overcame a sluggish start to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday for a record-extending 93rd Formula One victory and delivered a record seventh consecutive constructor’s title for Mercedes AMG Petronas. Hamilton beat teammate Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 AMG-Petronas) by 5.7 seconds and rushed over to celebrate with the team’s engineers and mechanics after the team became the first to win seven titles in a row, a streak that began with Hamilton’s second F1 championship in 2014. Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 Renault DP World F1 Team) finished third. With Sunday's Grand Prix in the books, either Hamilton or Bottas will win the driver’s title this season, with Hamilton heavily favored to claim his seventh championship. “It’s overwhelming right now,” Hamilton said. “I look at my team and think of everyone back home at (the team’s base in) Brackley. They’re the unsung heroes. People watching at home might think we are used to this but to be part of breaking a record (seven titles) like this is incredible.” (Thank you to AP/NBC Sports for the knowledge.)

(Michelin Racing USA)
Helio Castrones and Ricky Taylor (No. 7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi/Michelin) won the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship IMSA race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday afternoon. Acura Team Penske teammate Dane Cameron (No. 6 Acura ARX-05 DPi/Michelin) allowed Taylor to pass him as the leaders approached the final lap Sunday, and Taylor went on to the win. The move allowed the team’s No. 7 Acura ARX-05 and its two drivers - Taylor and Helio Castroneves - to take a narrow lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Daytona Prototype international (DPi) driver and team championship battles heading into the season finale. 

The decision was made after a restart with just under 19 minutes left in the 2-hour, 40-minute race. As Taylor chased Cameron for the lead, the team decided to allow Taylor to take over. “Penske isn’t going to take away a win from somebody unless there’s a really big goal,” Taylor said. “I don’t know how the discussion went, but I feel bad for Dane and Juan (Pablo Montoya, Cameron’s co-driver). They did race a perfect race, and then we ended up leading one lap for the win.” Taylor and Castroneves now lead Renger van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe (No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi V.R/Michelin) by just two points in the standings. Van der Zande and Briscoe came into Sunday’s race atop the standings, but finished sixth. Cameron held on for second place, 0.487 seconds behind Taylor in the car Montoya started from the pole. The No. 6 duo led a race-high 104 laps in what was a 119-lap race. The No. 7 car only led the last two. Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani (No. 31 Action Express Racing Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi V./Michelin) finished third. They’ll go into Sebring third in the team standings, nine points behind the No. 7 entry. The 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season concludes Nov. 11-14 with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts at Sebring International Raceway. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA Wire Service.)

(Michelin Racing USA)
The No. 912 Porsche Racing Team Porsche 911 RSR-19/Michelin driven by Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor took the GTLM victory at the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship on WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca's 2.238-mile permanent road course on Sunday. It was the second straight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory for the Porsche factory team and it ended a victory drought of 483 days for 2019 GTLM champions Vanthoor and Bamber. But by finishing second, Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin) wrapped up the driver and team championships with one race remaining. Nick Tandy and Fred Makowiecki finished third in the No. 911 Porsche Racing Team Porsche 911 RSR-19/Michelin after the No. 4 Corvette Racing Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin) driven by Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, who initially finished third on Sunday, were moved to last in GTLM (sixth place) after a rear diffuser height infraction was discovered in post-race technical inspection. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service.)

(Richard Prince/Corvette Racing)
Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor clinched the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Drivers title Sunday in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with one race remaining in the season. Garcia and Taylor (No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin) finished second in the Monterey Sports Car Championship. The duo has teamed to win five races this season in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R entry – which also landed the GTLM Team Championship for Corvette Racing. It is the 14th time the program has claimed that honor since 2001 and comes near the end of the first year for the new, mid-engine Corvette racing machine. Garcia is now a four-time IMSA Drivers’ champion – all coming with Corvette Racing – while Taylor added his first in GT competition to a pair from the prototype ranks. Following the return of racing in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair won at Daytona to give the Corvette C8.R its first victory as well as the 100th in IMSA competition for Corvette Racing. Chevrolet can complete a sweep of the full-season GTLM championships and wrap up the Manufacturers title by having one of the two Corvettes start the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, Nov. 14. (Thank you to Ryan Smith/Corvette Racing.)
(Richard Prince/Corvette Racing)
(Michelin Racing USA)
Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurray (No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Adajanian Acura NXS GT3/Michelin) dominated the GTD class at Laguna Seca and reclaimed their season-long lead in the championship. Pacing the class for nearly the entire race, Farnbacher brought the No. 86 Acura home more than 10 seconds ahead of the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3/Michelin driven by Bill Auberlen. “We made some changes to the car (after qualifying) that made some really, really big improvements, and handling the tire degradation was the other thing,” McMurry said. “We were able to keep much more consistent lap times over the whole stint, so I think that was big for us winning today.” (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service.)

(IMSA)
Patrick Kelly and Simon Trummer (No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07/Michelin) were in the only car in the LMP2 class at Laguna Seca on Sunday, so they clinched the season championship by taking the green flag, and went on to win.
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Twenty-four-year-old Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) cruised to an impressive 6.577-second victory over Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford) on Sunday in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The win earned Elliott a position in next week’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 season finale in Arizona. A failed last-lap pass for position eliminated the regular-season champion and nine-race winner Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart/Haas Racing Ford) from advancing to that final round. Harvick had to pass 2019 series champ Kyle Busch for one position — one point — to be able to advance to next week’s title race and instead the cars crashed after making contact. Harvick ended up 17th, eight points shy of a playoff berth. Elliott joins Team Penske’s Joey Logano (who finished third on Sunday), who advanced to the title race with a victory two weeks ago at Kansas. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, a seven-race winner, raced his way into the Championship 4 with an 11th-place finish at Martinsville, and Logano’s Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth Sunday, was the final driver to earn a championship opportunity. (Thank you to Holly Cain/NASCAR Wire Service.)