Max Verstappen is no stranger to the motorsports fandom. Anywhere he goes, fans easily recognize the most popular driver in Formula 1 right now. So it was no wonder that during one of his scheduled promotional events, fans couldn’t stop themselves from urging Verstappen to make his way over to the NASCAR grid.

In a recent video released by NASCAR on social media, Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing teammate Isack Hadjar were seen visiting NASCAR Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch. It was a regular meet-and-greet between three drivers who all belong to the Red Bull family. Earlier, Zilisch had been clocking laps in the simulator ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

During the conversation, Verstappen casually dropped the fact that he’d been watching the Talladega race the previous weekend, which turned into a huge moment for NASCAR fans, given that Verstappen clearly had his finger on the pulse and was rooting for Zilisch’s team.

This comes after the four-time world champion had once again raised doubts about his F1 future, openly saying he’s working through some “life decisions.”And given the season he’s having, it’s hard to blame him. The new 2026 hybrid regulations have left the RB22 buried in sixth in the constructors’ championship and Verstappen, of all people, scrapping in the midfield.

Amidst that backdrop, Verstappen is set to race in the Nürburgring 24 Hours on May 16 – his appetite for endurance competition has only grown louder in recent months. So, whether he sees out his Red Bull contract through 2028 is starting to feel like a rather genuine question.

“There are more things in life than just driving around in circles,” he said at Thursday’s media session, which is either a casual remark or a loaded sentence, depending on who you ask.

Either way, wherever Verstappen’s name shows up, fans follow. So when NASCAR posted that video, it didn’t take long for the comment section to turn into a full-blown campaign.

Fans rally together to bring Max Verstappen to NASCAR

The general sentiment among the fans was divided into two overlapping ones, with the first being, “Max watches NASCAR?”

But it’s not a new hobby. Verstappen is actually a regular fan of NASCAR, and back in 2023, he made that crystal clear when he stayed up all night to watch Shane van Gisbergen claim victory at the Chicago Street Course. Verstappen was fully invested, reportedly “screaming in front of my monitor for him to win that.”

Later on, he spoke to the media about the same, saying, “I mean, that’s really, really impressive to jump in the car, and you don’t know… they are very hard cars to drive. And he just goes in there and he absolutely dominates the race… No! It’s not my style, I think. I mean, I like watching it. I think it’s really, really cool. And I was really happy for Shane, but I’m happy to maybe go there and just have a beer myself and enjoy the show.”

So, once fans got that out of the way, they moved on to the second order of business: getting Verstappen into NASCAR.

As a desperate fan rightfully pointed out, “For the love of god, someone put Max in a Cup car or O’Reilly; hell…even a Truck at this point would do wonders for the sport and motorsports in general…money talks!”

Well, back in mid-2025, Verstappen sparked a wave of crossover fantasies at a Red Bull event in Salzburg, when he spotted Zilisch standing next to a NASCAR-style stock car.

Zilisch asked him plainly, “Wanna get in?” And Verstappen didn’t even flinch. “I would like to do it,” he said, and social media did the rest.

Then there is the commercial angle. His NLS9 debut in September 2025, where he qualified third, seized the lead, and won on his very first outing, pulled the kind of coverage the Nürburgring Endurance Series rarely sees from outlets outside the hardcore motorsport bubble.

So, if Verstappen ever decided to take a lap around a NASCAR oval in a V8, he’s set to bring a larger-than-life exposure to the sport.

On a similar note, another fan suggested that Max Verstappen would take no time in becoming one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR. “⁠⁠Max would be a superstar in NASCAR… someone get him in!! ”

Unfortunately for those fans, Verstappen has been consistent about one thing: oval racing makes him uneasy. The danger factor at tracks like Daytona or Talladega is a genuine sticking point for him, and he’s said so more than once. After all, this is a driver who has listed his preferred future ventures as WEC, Supercars, and GT World Challenge, while somewhat crossing IndyCar and NASCAR off the list.

There is, however, one slim window that fans keep pointing to – road courses. Given how similar NASCAR’s road course events are to the kind of street circuits Verstappen has dominated in F1, the argument practically makes itself.

Some of the fans also pointed out the competitive spirit between Zilisch and Verstappen, even though they were seemingly engaged in a casual conversation.

“How badly do these guys want to compete on track?”

The Zilisch connection gives the whole thing an extra dimension that fans are clearly picking up on. Zilisch himself has drawn direct comparisons to Verstappen, considering that both made it to the highest level of their respective series as teenagers.

Still, Zilisch has been careful to pump the brakes on that narrative. “Obviously, Max Verstappen is a once-in-a-generation talent,” Zilisch said. “It’s hard to say I’m going to be like him and have as successful a jump to the highest level as he did.” Even so, the Red Bull thread connecting them makes the conversation a fair one.

That said, if Verstappen ever does make a NASCAR appearance, the matchup everyone’s already circling is Kyle Larson. That debate of American oval master versus the greatest F1 driver of his generation has been simmering in motorsport circles for some time now, and the only way to settle it is on track.

Until then, the fans and the audience can only pray for the best and hope that Verstappen changes his mind about racing in NASCAR someday.