Who wants to get off their couch on the weekends when we have the NASCAR Cup Series and the Formula 1 Grand Prix schedules clashing every week? Well, certainly not us! And, this year’s Grand Prix has been even more exciting with clashes, bumps, and rivalries in both sports. As for F1, Max Verstappen is no stranger to controversy, aggression, and dominance. The reigning Formula 1 champion has continued his stranglehold on the 2025 season, racking up wins in Emilia Romagna and the Japanese Grand Prix this year. But he is trailing behind the McLaren boys, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, which is indeed a concern for the reigning champion.

Adding to his woes, Verstappen has faced fierce challenges from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’s George Russell, which are very well visible on the race circuit and even on the podium. While his speed remains unmatched, there is also a deeper layer to Verstappen’s racing persona, including the elbows-out style that feels increasingly at odds with F1’s sanitized environment. And he certainly lived up to his billing in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, when he was under pressure of losing his podium finish.

In the dramatic late race restart, Verstappen was at a disadvantage of being on the hard tires, and that is what happened. Charles Leclerc made contact with the Red Bull driver, which saw him fall back to P4, and then George Russell attempted to take advantage of the situation. He managed to hold onto his place by taking the exit road. To avoid any penalties, Verstappen’s team engineer advised him to allow the Mercedes driver to pass by. Initially, it looked as if he conceded his spot, but after a back-and-forth with his team on the radio, he rammed into the Mercedes driver, which resulted in a 10-second penalty, dropping him to a 10th-place finish.

Well, this is something NASCAR fans are accustomed to on weekends, with drivers using their bumpers to wreck their rivals. Now that Verstappen pulled off similar antics at the F1 stage, fans couldn’t help but draw his links to NASCAR racing: “Max Verstappen is an F1 champion, but deep down, Max Verstappen is a NASCAR driver.”

Remember last year when Austin Dillon punted both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to claim the win at Richmond Raceway? Had Verstappen been in that position, who knows, he would’ve resorted to similar antics. But as far as payback goes, he certainly has learned the dark arts from NASCAR. And fans believed that this incident should make him realize that he is made for stock car racing, and should plan a crossover soon.

NASCAR Nation calls for Max Verstappen’s crossover

“I need him to realize his true calling immediately,” said one fan, as many are ready to see him bump cars with his aggressiveness in American ovals, instead of circuits. In fact, Verstappen’s name has been increasingly floating among American motorsports fans not as a guest star but as a legitimate stock car driver in the making. Imagine him competing in the Trackhouse Racing Project 91 entry at Circuits of America and spinning Kyle Busch on the very first corner. This would be peak racing entertainment for the fans.

Social media lit up following the Spanish GP with calls for Max to make a move stateside, with fans imagining him trading open-wheel precision for full-fender chaos at major Superspeedways. One fan commented, “We need to get him in a cup car at Martinsville or Bristol,” while another agreed to the vision, saying, “Verstappen in a Cup car at the Chicago race would be incredible.” This is not a far-fetched idea. Remember, NASCAR has this Open Exemption Provisional; all Verstappen needs to do is call up any top-tier team, and they will field a car for him.

While many may agree that he has an aggressive side to his racing personality due to his early life and training from his father Jos Verstappen, NASCAR fans cannot help but equate Max Verstappen with Joey Logano, who recently had an incident with Christopher Bell at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, after which the later received tremendous hate from audiences, making him a villain in NASCAR. “Max verstappen is like the Joey Logano of F1, drives aggressively but then bi—– and complains when someone else does it back,” wrote another fan.

“If he doesn’t end up driving a cup race it will be one of the biggest missed opportunities in motorsports history,” a fan opined. Now there’s another element to this outpouring of demands for the F1 maestro to make the NASCAR crossover. Kyle Larson is widely seen as the best driver across all formats and disciplines. And last year, his comments about being a better driver than Verstappen stirred up the pot. So, his NASCAR feature would essentially put this debate to rest.

Some wanted the Red Bull star to open his NASCAR account with some beating and banging in the lower series. Imagine Verstappen going bumper to bumper against Layne Riggs in the Truck Series, or trouble Austin Hill in the Xfinity Series. There are multiple parallels, and the F1 champ fits right into it. “He should race in the Truck Series or Xfinity Series. Those guys would teach him a lesson. He’d can cuss all he wants because there is no FIA rules.”

Max Verstappen racing in NASCAR depends on his racing schedule and commitments to the Red Bull Racing team. But the mere imagination of him competing in NASCAR is intriguing for the fans.