{
"script": "Auto racing fans, buckle up for a wild ride as we recap Saturday, September 20, 2025, across NASCAR and Formula 1. Let's jump right into the action, starting with the chaos and triumph at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then head to the drama-filled streets of Baku, Azerbaijan in Formula 1.\n\nIt was an epic day in Loudon for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s Mohegan Sun 100. Tyler Rypkema clinched his first tour win with an insane finish: Rypkema muscled into the lead in turn three on the final lap, colliding with frontrunner Justin Bonsignore. In a jaw-dropping moment, Rypkema’s left front tire flew off heading to the line, but he somehow hustled his battered car across the finish for victory—on three wheels. Craig Lutz finished third, Andy Seuss made a home-state charge to take fourth, and Matt Hirschman rounded out the top five after a stellar run from 25th on the grid. Earlier in the day, Bonsignore and Lutz had set the front row through their storming qualifying laps. The championship hunt tightened considerably, with Rypkema rocketing up the standings thanks to this remarkable win. As for the driver of the day, Rypkema’s gritty refusal to lift, despite missing a tire, made him the talk of the paddock. In his own words from battered victory lane: 'It sucks that the car is tore up but I wasn’t lifting until I crossed that start/finish line.'\n\nWhile Cup cars were still prepping—with William Byron topping practice charts—a lot of eyes turned to F1. In Baku, qualifying was a demolition derby: a record six red flags and six separate crashes lengthened the drama. Max Verstappen bagged a scintillating pole for Red Bull with a 1:41.117, just edging out Carlos Sainz’s Williams by half a second. Rookie sensation Liam Lawson put Racing Bulls third, while Kimi Antonelli and George Russell locked out the second row for Mercedes. The shock wasn’t done; the championship leader Oscar Piastri smacked the wall in Q3 and starts ninth, while his McLaren teammate Lando Norris only managed seventh after glancing the barriers. Multiple crashes—Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc among them—kept marshals and fans on their toes. The final grid was shuffled further as Haas’s Esteban Ocon was booted for a technical infringement. The Baku surface and tire strategy promise more fireworks on race day, with teams split between soft and medium compounds for qualifying.



Turning to hard data, Baku’s qualifying showcased not just outright speed, but resilience: Max Verstappen ultimately survived a session with slippery track evolution, variable grip, and the looming threat of rain. Sainz and Williams showed that their recent upgrades are translating into one-lap pace, but the true test will be on Sunday where long-run tire degradation dominates strategy. Rookie Lawson consistently matched more experienced rivals, and Russell’s aggressive setups gave him extra bite through the technical sector two.



For those hunting for off-track tidbits: Mercedes continue to debut new rear wing elements aimed at reducing drag, while Racing Bulls introduced a unique cooling solution in their sidepods. In NASCAR’s garage, teams juggled tire wear concerns after a grueling modified race on older pavement, foreshadowing tricky strategies for Sunday’s Cup cars.



Looking ahead, F1 fans should set alarms—the 51-lap Grand Prix kicks off at noon local; street circuit unpredictability and high tire deg will be the headline. NASCAR Cup goes green soon in New Hampshire, with weather looking dry but cool—ideal for lap records and tight restarts. Keep an eye on Byron, Allmendinger, and Blaney, all fast in practice, as well as underdog Ryan Preece on his home turf.



Numbers-wise, Verstappen posted a sector two time nearly two tenths quicker than Sainz, exploiting Red Bull’s superior traction out of Baku’s tight corners. In NASCAR,...