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NASCARCelebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSAŽ) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Ryan Preece overcomes weather and 18th-place starting spot to win Cook Out Clash

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

 

 

February 4, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow nor gloom of night could keep Ryan Preece from his appointed rounds at Bowman Gray Stadium.

 

On wet-weather tires, on a track peppered with a wintry mix during the 100-lap break, Preece navigated the glazed asphalt at the historic quarter-mile track to win the second Cook Out Clash staged in Winston-Salem, N.C.

 

Historically heavy snow already had forced postponement of the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race twice, but for the 35-year-old driver from Berlin, Connecticut, the victory on Wednesday night was well worth the wait.

 

“I don’t even know what to say,” said Preece, tears in his eyes as he climbed from his car to the cheers of hardy fans who had braved the rain and bone-chilling temperatures. “To be honest with you, it’s been a freaking long road.

 

“It’s the Clash, but, man, it’s been years and years of grinding ... Two years ago, I didn’t think I was going to have a job. I thought I was going back to Connecticut.”

 

Preece, however, secured a ride in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after Stewart-Haas Racing closed its doors at the end of the 2024 season.

 

On Wednesday night, he led the final 45 laps after taking the top spot on Lap 156, muscling his way past Shane van Gisbergen after a restart four laps earlier.

 

In a rock 'em, sock 'em free-for-all that featured a Clash-record 17 cautions, Preece pulled away after the final restart on Lap 182 of 200 to beat runner-up William Byron to the finish line by 1.752 seconds.

 

Preece is the third driver to win the Clash before winning a NASCAR Cup Series points race, joining NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin in that distinction.

 

The modified star, who started 18th and worked his way forward before and after the halfway break, extended one streak and broke another. He is the ninth straight different driver to win the Clash, but he’s the first to win from outside the first two rows since the Clash went to a quarter-mile format at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022.

 

Ryan Blaney ran third, followed by Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin. Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.

 

Pole winner and reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson led a race-high 67 laps to Preece’s 46, but Larson’s race fell apart after rain and sleet covered the track, leading to a 16th-place result after the change from slick tires to wet-weather rubber.

 

For the second straight year, Josh Berry raced into the main event from the Last Chance Qualifier. After passing AJ Allmendinger for the top spot on Lap 18 of 75, Berry led the rest of the way in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford and finished 7.419 seconds clear of runner-up Austin Cindric.

 

The field for the Clash wasn’t set, however, until AJ Allmendinger shoved Cindric past Corey LaJoie in the final corner, allowing Cindric to secure the second of two spots available through the LCQ.

 

From Lap 62 on, Cindric and Lajoie had battled for the runner-up position, with Cindric securing the inside position for the final four circuits.

 

“You, wanted to be on the inside, obviously, but you don’t want to pass the guy, ‘cause then he has the opportunity to get back to you,” said LaJoie, who was subbing for injured Brad Keselowski in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford.

 

“It was exciting. It was fun to be in the fight. I hadn’t been in a fight like that in a long time.”

 

Allmendinger, who finished fourth behind LaJoie, was in the mix until the finish.

 

“I had the plan set up perfect,” said Allmendinger, who intended to move both Cindric and LaJoie up the track on the final lap. “I just didn’t execute. I went down in there to kind of shove ‘em both out of the way, and we didn’t have enough grip to throttle back up and beat ‘em to the line.”

 

Berry started 21st in the Clash and finished 12th. Cindric started 22nd and ran 21st after a litany of issues.

 

Bowman started last (23rd) in the Clash field on a provisional as the highest finisher in the 2025 standings not already in the field though qualifying or the LCQ.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray

Bowman Gray Stadium

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

 

                1. (18)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 200.

                2. (2)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 200.

                3. (16)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.

                4. (20)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 200.

                5. (6)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200.

                6. (4)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 200.

                7. (15)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.

                8. (8)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 200.

                9. (9)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.

                10. (23)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.

                11. (14)  Joey Logano, Ford, 200.

                12. (21)  Josh Berry, Ford, 200.

                13. (5)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 200.

                14. (3)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 200.

                15. (12)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 200.

                16. (1)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200.

                17. (11)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200.

                18. (19)  Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, 200.

                19. (13)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 200.

                20. (17)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 200.

                21. (22)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 200.

                22. (10)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 200.

                23. (7)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 199.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  21.39 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 20 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.752 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  17 for 0 laps.

Lead Changes:  11 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Larson 1-53;C. Briscoe 54-56;K. Larson 57-70;W. Byron 71-84;C. Briscoe 85-95;T. Gibbs 96-100;C. Briscoe 101-121;C. Hocevar 122-139;S. Van Gisbergen 140-142;R. Preece 143;S. Van Gisbergen 144-155;R. Preece 156-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Kyle Larson 2 times for 67 laps; Ryan Preece 2 times for 46 laps; Chase Briscoe 3 times for 35 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 18 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen 2 times for 15 laps; William Byron 1 time for 14 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 5 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 60,24,12,7,11,19,3,17,1,48

 

Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium postponed until Monday

January 31, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

A steady snowfall on Saturday forced postponement of the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium from Sunday to Monday to allow time to clear the track and provide safe access for fans.

 

The season-opening NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race already had been shortened to one day by historically cold weather and the threat of snow. Practice and qualifying for the 200-lap Clash now will start at 11:00 a.m. ET Monday on FS2.

 

The Last Chance Qualifier at the quarter-mile short track will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by Cook Out Clash at 6:00 p.m. ET, with FOX picking up the coverage of both events. MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will broadcast all the action, starting with Monday’s practice.

 

“Mother Nature hasn’t been kind to us at all this week,” said Justin Swilling, NASCAR’s senior director of marketing services. “But one thing it has done for us this time around, it has made the snow very light, fluffy and powdery.

 

“So the beautiful thing we tested out (Saturday) morning is that, once the wind dissipates, and once the snow stops falling, we can quickly get it moved.”

 

Parking lots will open Monday at 9 a.m. with off-site shuttle services beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET Gates will open at 10:00 a.m.ET Ticket holders can get more information at www.nascarclash.com/weather or by calling 855-525-7223.

 

 

 

Ryan Preece is a worthy winner of wintry Cook Out Clash

 

February 5, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

The addition of 80 horsepower to the NASCAR Cup Series cars suited Ryan Preece just fine.

 

The 35-year-old Preece was foremost among all drivers when it came to dealing with a series of rapidly changing track conditions in Wednesday night’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

 

Disadvantaged during practice and qualifying as one of the first drivers to take to the track, Preece started 18th in the 23-car field in his No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford.

 

On slick tires, with new left sides provided by Goodyear, he had made steady progress to ninth by the time the race reached the halfway break at 100 laps.

 

That’s when the race changed radically. As the cars returned to the garage area for adjustments, a mixture of rain and sleet began to fall, with pellets of ice bouncing off the hoods of the parked vehicles.

 

NASCAR declared wet race conditions, mandating the use of treaded wet-weather tires for the start of the second half of the Clash. Preece began to make his move after caution slowed the race for the seventh time on Lap 121.

 

On Lap 138, when NASCAR called the eighth of a Clash-record 17 cautions for a Turn 4 incident involving Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney, Preece was running fourth.

 

During a spate of five cautions in six laps (with only green-flag laps counting toward the race total), Preece climbed to second behind New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, the most experienced wet-weather racer in the field.

 

With the track starting to dry, Preece bulled his way past Van Gisbergen on Lap 156 and held the lead to the finish 45 laps later, despite having to negotiate four more restarts.

 

“My hat is off to Goodyear,” Preece said during his winner’s press conference. “It wasn't our traditional soft tire. It was a rain tire. I still feel between them, as well as the increase in horsepower today on a quarter-mile with the gear that we're running, you could feel it. There were multiple times I couldn't go wide-open throttle. That's saying something.”

 

Preece has never won a points-paying Cup race. In that respect, he’s in elite company. In 47 previous editions of the Clash, only NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and veteran Denny Hamlin won the exhibition race before visiting Victory Lane in a Cup points race.

 

Gordon went on to win 93 races and four championships. Hamlin currently has 60 victories—and counting.

 

Preece’s win was particularly meaningful to RFK Racing as a whole, given that it followed the devastating loss of former RFK driver Greg Biffle, his family and three others in a plane crash on Dec. 18.

 

Beyond his racing exploits, Biffle had gained recognition for his tireless rescue efforts during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024. RFK hopes to use Biffle’s memory as inspiration.

 

“We had a meeting with the drivers and crew chiefs and myself,” said team president Chip Bowers. “We talked about being bold, aggressive, and committed, the acronym meaning we're going to get back to the front. We do it with heavy hearts. We do it with Greg and his family in our hearts, in our minds. It's been a tough few months for us, right? We've had a little bit of tragedy to deal with.

 

“It's a real testament to the family atmosphere that we have in our organization and the collective commitment to be ourselves and be committed to one another, and Ryan exemplifies that.”

 

Despite two postponements because of severe snowfall, and despite the wintry mix that visited the quarter-mile track during Wednesday’s race, NASCAR’s determination to complete the event this week ultimately was rewarded.

 

Do the weather conditions of 2026 mean the Clash should move to warmer climes, as some are suggesting?

 

Not necessarily. It’s important to remember that the snowstorm that hit Winston-Salem was an anomaly.

 

And it’s important to note that weather can be a disruptive force anywhere, as it was in Los Angeles, of all places, where a massive rainstorm forced the 2024 Clash in the Coliseum to run a day early.

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 10 days to go

 

February 5, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Among its lengthy list of legendary contributions to the sport, with William Byron’s win last year Hendrick Motorsports now boasts an unmatched 10 Daytona 500 victories. Geoff Bodine earned the team its first win in The Great American Race in 1986 and Byron bookended it last February matching his win in 2024. Jeff Gordon’s three trophies tops the Hendrick list while fellow NASCAR Hall of Famers Jimmie Johnson (two) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two) also contributed to the team’s record haul. In 12 days, Byron will attempt to become the only driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive Daytona 500s. Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, Denny Hamlin and Byron are the only drivers in the sport’s history to win two in a row.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

 

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 11 days to go

 

February 4, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

In 40 starts at Daytona International Speedway, Denny Hamlin has posted 11 top-five finishes. Three of those top fives were victories in the DAYTONA 500, putting the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in elite company. Only seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty (seven DAYTONA 500 victories) and fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough (four wins) have more. Hamlin scored all three of his wins in the Great American Race in the five-year period from 2016 through 2020 to join Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon in the three-victory club.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

--30--

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 12 days to go

 

February 3, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The car number 12 has been on DAYTONA 500 winning cars only twice – once with Bobby Allison in 1988 and again with Ryan Newman’s victory in 2008. That win for Newman proved to be among the most celebrated in the race’s history, however, as it came in the 50th running of The Great American Race. It marked the first DAYTONA 500 crown for legendary team owner, NASCAR Hall of Famer Roger Penske whose drivers, Newman and Kurt Busch finished first and second that day. And Penske would go on to collect two more Daytona 500 trophies – winning it with Joey Logano in 2015 and Austin Cindric in 2022.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

--30--

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 13 days to go

 

February 2, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

On Feb. 19, 2024, in his 13th start in a points-paying race at Daytona International Speedway, William Byron won his first DAYTONA 500, leading only the final four laps of the Great American Race. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet already had a victory to his credit at the World Center of Racing, having won the 2020 summer event at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. On Feb. 16, 2025, Byron successfully defended his win in NASCAR’s biggest race, setting up a try for an unprecedented third straight DAYTONA 500 victory on Sunday, Feb. 15.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

--30--

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 14 days to go

 

February 1, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As an owner-driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing entry from 2009-2016, Tony Stewart hoisted a pair of NASCAR Cup Series race trophies at Daytona International Speedway – including a 2009 victory in the summer 400-miler from pole position. But the NASCAR Hall of Famer – who has 16 Daytona trophies – from a combination of victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and IROC - never won the DAYTONA 500. His closest finish in 17 DAYTONA 500 starts was a lone runner-up effort coming in 2004, when he finished .273-second behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ironically, Stewart carried the No. 14 in honor of his racing hero, A.J. Foyt who drove the No. 14 to DAYTONA 500 glory in 1972 – the only time that number has visited Victory Lane in the Great American Race.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

 
 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 15 days to go

 

January 31, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Michael Waltrip drove the No. 15 Chevrolet to victory in the fateful 2001 DAYTONA 500, ending a streak of 462 races without a win from the start of his NASCAR Cup Series career. But there was no celebration. Waltrip’s car owner, seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., lost his life in a collision with the outside wall on the final lap. Two years later, however, Waltrip would repeat the victorious feat in the No. 15 DEI Chevy, adding his name to the list of multiple winners of the Great American Race.

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium

Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger describes the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium as a “cool event”—and that may be putting it mildly.

 

In the opening exhibition race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, drivers will battle the elements as well as each other, given that they will run Sunday’s 200-lap race at the historic quarter-mile short track in historically cold temperatures.

 

Weather already has taken its toll on the Clash. The imminent threat of snow has forced the cancellation of Saturday’s on-track activities and compressed the race into a one-day show, with the main event scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

The action on Sunday starts with practice and qualifying from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET, scheduled for broadcast on FS2. FOX picks up the coverage for the Last Chance Qualifying Race at 6 p.m.

 

"The Clash at Bowman Gray is just a cool event, and I had never been there in my life until last year,” said Allmendinger, who was collected in a six-car accident on Lap 65 of last season’s Last Chance Qualifier and failed to advance to the main event. “What they say is true—the Bowman Gray crowd is unique and very passionate, and it was fun to be able to see what it was all about.

 

“The energy was high, and you couple that with crazy racing, meaning you’re just going to beat and gouge on each other around that place. It’s full contact, so you just have to be mentally prepared for that going into it. I think it’s a fun kickoff event.”

 

In contrast to Allmendinger, defending race winner Chase Elliott had a relatively stress-free trip to the checkered flag. The 2020 series champion won the first of four 25-lap heat races wire-to-wire, started the main event on the pole and led twice for 171 of the 200 green-flag laps.

 

“It was a really smooth weekend for us, and I think that was probably the biggest takeaway,” Elliott said. “Qualifying well sets you up well for your heat race. Got us into a great position to have good track position all night.

 

“I don’t necessarily think that’s the end-all, be-all. I think Ryan (Blaney) debunked that with his performance in the main. But certainly, it would be nice to get off to a good start again this year, and I think we can do that.”

 

In the 2025 inaugural Cup race at Bowman Gray, Blaney came from last place in the 23-car field to finish second, 1.333 seconds behind Elliott.

 

The Clash comes three months after Kyle Larson won his second Cup Series championship under the elimination Playoff format. With the series returning to a 10-race Chase this season, Larson nevertheless is eager to get started.

 

“Off seasons are fun and give you the ability to refresh, but as the new season approaches, I get really antsy and ready to go,” said Larson, who raced sprint cars, micro sprints and midget race cars during the winter break.

 

“I look forward to being around everybody again, getting into meetings and preparing for the race weekends and all of that. We’ll see what the weather is like, but either way we’ll be ready. I’m just excited to get back to racing.”

 

In Sunday’s feature, only green-flag laps count toward the 200-lap total. There will be a break after 100 laps. NASCAR is monitoring weather conditions, with snow expected Saturday.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell doesn’t expect drivers to suffer once their cars reach racing temperatures, but the performance of the vehicles themselves could be affected by the cold.

 

“It’s pretty wild, honestly, the forecast. From the drivers’ standpoint, it’s not really going to matter much for us inside the car,” Bell said during a Zoom meeting with reporters on Friday morning.

 

Cold tires, however, could be an issue, along with brakes and engine performance.

 

“I guess the biggest things will just be yellow flags,” Bell added. "The tires might get slick, or the track might get slick, but as we run, the temperatures inside the car are going to be really comfortable for us.”

 

--30--

 

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 16 days to go

 

January 30, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The number 16 is certainly a special designation for 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch. It took the talented 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion 16 tries in the DAYTONA 500 to finally hoist a trophy in the Great American Race. And he did so dramatically – taking the lead from Kyle Larson on the final lap after surviving the “Big One” – a 17-car accident mid-race. It was the new Hall of Famer Busch’s first win after three previous runner-up showings and he was credited with only that one most important lap out front.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 17 days to go

 

January 29, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Driving the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Darrell Waltrip won the 1989 DAYTONA 500 in his 17th attempt at the Great American Race. The NASCAR Hall of Famer started second, led 25 laps and beat teammate Ken Schrader to the finish line by 7.64 seconds. That was Waltrip’s only victory in NASCAR’s biggest race, but the No. 17 returned to Victory Lane in the DAYTONA 500 in 2009, driven by Matt Kenseth for Roush Racing (now RFK Racing). Kenseth added another win for the No. 17 in the 2012 season opener.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

--30--
 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 18 days to go

 

January 28, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The number 18 was magical for two of NASCAR’s most beloved stars. Both eventual NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison (1978) and Buddy Baker (1980) won their first Daytona 500 on their 18th start in the Great American Race. Ironically, it was a heartbreaking blown engine for Baker with five laps remaining in that 1978 race that essentially left the trophy to Allison, who had been running second. Allison would go on to win two more Daytona 500s in his decorated career. And Baker would emerge from that 1978 disappointment to claim his only Daytona 500 trophy in 1980 – taking less fuel than his competition on a strategic final pit stop for his famous “Gray Ghost” Oldsmobile.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

--30--

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 19 days to go

 

January 27, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - No driver in a No.19 car has ever won the DAYTONA 500, but Chase Briscoe took a step in the right direction last year with his pole-winning run for the Great American Race. In his first season in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No.19 Toyota, Briscoe clocked in at 182.745 mph to earn the top starting spot for the 67th running of the event. Not only did Briscoe put a Toyota on the pole for the first time in DAYTONA 500 history (leading to a fourth-place finish), but he also went on to score a NASCAR-Cup-Series-best seven pole positions during the 2025 season.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Countdown to the DAYTONA 500: 20 days to go

 

January 26, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - While the No. 20 has long been a common number on the NASCAR Cup Series starting grid, surprisingly it has only been carried on the side of a DAYTONA 500-winning car one time in the race’s 67-year history - when Marvin Panch drove it to Daytona glory in 1961, the third edition of the Great American Race. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell currently steers the No. 20 and will be making his seventh start in the race. His best finish is fourth in 2024.

 

Tune-in to the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

NASCAR returns to 10-race Chase format to decide national series champions

 

January 12, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

NASCAR is heading full-steam into the future with a return to the past.

 

In response to growing sentiment among fans and stakeholders in the sport, the sanctioning body has opted to revive the Chase format to crown champions in its top three national series.

 

In the Cup Series, NASCAR’s top division, 16 drivers will qualify for a 10-race Chase based on the number of points they score during the 26-race regular season, according to the format announcement on Monday at NASCAR’s Production Facility in Concord, N.C.

 

Gone is the “win-and-you’re in” provision that governed qualification in the elimination Playoff format in use from 2014 through 2025. Under the Chase format, the top 16 drivers in points will compete for the series title irrespective of the number of regular-season victories they accumulate.

 

To provide balance and to elevate the importance of wins in the Chase format, NASCAR will award 55 points for a victory versus 40 under the elimination system. Points for all other positions, including stage points, remain the same, though Playoff points, an important element of the elimination format, are now a thing of the past.

 

No longer is there Regular Season Champion, but finishing first in the standings will continue to have substantial value. The points leader after 26 races will start the 10-event Chase with 2100 points, 25 more than the second-place driver and 35 more than the third-place qualifier.

 

From third on down, the value of each position to start the Chase declines in five-point increments, with the 16th-place driver receiving 2000 points. Under the Chase format, there are no eliminations and no single championship race to decide the title. The driver who scores the most aggregate points in the final 10 races will be crowned champion.

 

In the newly christened NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, 12 drivers will compete in a nine-race Chase; in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, 10 drivers will vie for the championship over seven races. Those numbers are commensurate with the respective proportions of the schedules of those two national divisions.

 

Landing on the Chase format followed lengthy discussions involving owners, drivers, manufacturers, tracks, broadcast partners and fans.

 

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, a vocal advocate for a full 36-race championship format, was delighted with the compromise that revived the Chase.

 

“I think that this is the most perfect compromise that you could ever ask for,” Martin said at the announcement. “It's going to require our 2026 champion to be lightning fast and incredibly consistent, and that's what we can all get behind.

 

“So, I'm really excited. I think it's fantastic. I would just appeal to the race fans, all the race fans, but especially the classic fans who say to me, ‘I don't watch anymore.’ I say we need you. Come on back. We're headed in the right direction. Come back and join with us, and we'll keep making progress.”

 

Like Martin, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell feels the return to the Chase provides a delicate balance between those who favor a full-season points race and those who prefer a postseason playoff.

 

“We believe we've struck that balance,” O’Donnell said. “We've got the best of both worlds where every race matters. We've talked to a lot of folks in the industry. We've run a lot of different models and believe this is the best place to land really to get back to who we are.

 

“That's the core of NASCAR… and we're really excited about the 2026 season.”

 

Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, grew up watching drivers compete in the Chase, the system used from 2004 through 2013, and was enthralled by what he saw.

 

“A lot of those years of (seven-time champion) Jimmie (Johnson) dominating and the (2011) championship of Tony (Stewart) and Carl (Edwards) all during the Chase were incredible runs. I think we oftentimes forget how good we had it through all those years of Chase format.

 

“I think it’s a really nice compromise. I think getting a full season was going to be a pretty big challenge, and I'm not sure there's really a better place to land than a true 10-race Chase, really similar to what we had through those years of the epic battles that we saw.”

 

Kyle Larson, who won his second Cup title in November at Phoenix Raceway, favors the longer format, even when it was just theoretical—and even though next year’s final race is moving to Homestead-Miami Speedway, one of his favorite tracks.

 

“Even though Homestead’s arguably my best track and most dominant track, I still would feel like I have a better opportunity to win a championship going off—whatever it may be—a 10-race, three-race, four-race sort of point-earning thing,” Larson said two weeks before the Chase format was announced.

 

“With more races, it’s a little bit more in your hands… I think what we had kind of ran its course.”

 

--30--

 

NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson grows as global force in racing

 

January 5, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

KWINANA BEACH, Western Australia — Kyle Larson has no idea how winning a second NASCAR Cup Series championship will affect his standing among his peers in the NASCAR Cup Series garage.

 

“I haven’t been back in the NASCAR garage,” Larson said before hot laps and qualifying on Dec. 29, the second preliminary night of High Limit International racing at the Perth Motorplex, where he was defending his 2024 win in Australia’s richest sprint car race.

 

“Once you win the championship, everybody kind of disappears and does their own thing, so you really don’t notice it until you get back into the garage… It’s a big deal, but you really don’t see the respect from it that much until you get back to Daytona or I guess the Clash at Bowman Gray (Feb. 1).”

 

Larson won his second Cup title in November at Phoenix Raceway, becoming only the third full-time active driver in the series to hold more than one championship in NASCAR’s top division. Joey Logano leads with three titles, and Kyle Busch has two.

 

But make no mistake. Though his level of recognition may be delayed in the Cup garage, Larson already is an international superstar whose global impact has been growing exponentially.

 

Tony Clarke, an 80-year-old from Adelaide in South Australia, watched the broadcast of last year’s High Limit Racing event in Perth last year. Subsequently, he followed some of Larson’s exploits in Cup racing and in the Indianapolis 500.

 

Larson’s winning performance in the High Limits feature motivated Clarke to drive 1,600 miles across the continent through barren land where gas stations are 350 miles apart and cellular phone service is sketchy at best.

 

The trip took 28 hours and “two sleeps” in the car, as Clarke put it.

 

“I want to see Kyle Larson,” he asserted.

 

Told of Clarke’s journey, Larson shook his head in wonderment.

 

“Having the success I’ve been able to fortunately have in NASCAR the past five seasons or whatever has helped all of this,” Larson said. “I think it’s all helped translate to growing racing—NASCAR, sprint cars, even the dirt late model stuff when I was in that.

 

“I think racing’s just in a healthy spot right now. So, yes, it’s pretty neat to have fans travel from very far distances, within this country and even outside the country, to come watch myself race but get a chance to see others they may not have heard about yet.”

 

Wherever Larson goes, his reputation precedes him. Often called a “generational talent,” his success in a wide array of racing machines has defined his career.

 

The 2025 season was emblematic. Larson started the year by winning a Golden Driller trophy in the Tulsa Shootout for micro sprints and followed that with his third title in the Chili Bowl Nationals for midget race cars.

 

Driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Larson won three Cup Series races and claimed the title in November by holding off Denny Hamlin after a late restart and finishing third behind Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski.

 

Larson capped the 2025 campaign with his second straight victory in the High Limit International main event in Perth, pocketing $110,000 in Australian dollars for the sprint car win.

 

That’s not to say that 2025 wasn’t without its disappointments. Larson’s second attempt at the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double ended badly and likely took its toll on the usually resilient driver.

 

“You think about the double, the month of May, the 600,” Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said after the championship race at Phoenix. “It’s the first time I saw his confidence brought down a notch. I think it was a humbling experience.”

 

Throughout the season, Larson insisted that there was no hangover from the double attempt. In retrospect, he acknowledged there might have been.

 

“I would say ‘No,’ but then it’s hard to argue with the timing of all that,” said Larson, who didn’t win a Cup Series race after taking the checkered flag at Kansas Speedway on May 11. “I had a great season going to that point, then had a couple of bad weeks at Indy and went into the 600, and then all my racing kind of took a dip—Cup racing, sprint car racing, all that.

 

“You could argue that, OK, our cars took a dip in performance as well, but still… I guess maybe it did, but it was just bad timing—I don’t know. It did seem to all kind of come crashing down for a couple of months, but you’ve got to stick with the process and stay confident in yourself, your team and the people around you.

 

“I think that’s what makes the championship at the end of the year extremely meaningful.”

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Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSAŽ) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

  

 

 

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NASCAR Cup Series schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

Date Race Track Time
Feb. 1 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Bowman Gray Stadium 8 p.m.
Feb. 12 Duel 1 at Daytona Daytona International Speedway 7 p.m.
Feb. 12 Duel 2 at Daytona Daytona International Speedway 8:45 p.m.
Feb. 15 Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 Autotrader 400 EchoPark Speedway 3 p.m.
March 1 DuraMax Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas 3:30 p.m.
March 8 Straight Talk Wireless 500 Phoenix Raceway 3:30 p.m.
March 15 Pennzoil 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 4 p.m.
March 22 Goodyear 400 Darlington Raceway 3 p.m.
March 29 Cook Out 400 Martinsville Speedway 3:30 p.m.
April 12 Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway 3 p.m.
April 19 AdventHealth 400 Kansas Speedway 2 p.m.
April 26 Jack Link's 500 Talladega Superspeedway 3 p.m.
May 3 Wurth 400 Texas Motor Speedway 3:30 p.m.
May 10 Go Bowling at the Glen Watkins Glen International 3 p.m.
May 17 All-Star Race Dover Motor Speedway 3 p.m.
May 24 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway 6 p.m.
May 31 Cracker Barrel 400 Nashville Superspeedway  7 p.m.
June 7 FireKeepers Casino 400 Michigan International Speedway 3 p.m.
June 14 Cup Series race at Pocono Pocono Raceway 3 p.m.
June 21 Anduril 250 Naval Base Coronado 4 p.m.
June 28 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sonoma Raceway 3:30 p.m.
July 5 Cup Series race at Chicagoland Chicagoland Speedway 6 p.m.
July 12 Quaker State 400 EchoPark Speedway 7 p.m.
July 19 Window World 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway 7 p.m.
July 26 Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2 p.m.
Aug. 9 Iowa Corn 350 Iowa Speedway 3:30 p.m.
Aug. 15 Cook Out 400 Richmond Raceway 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 Cup Series race at New Hampshire New Hampshire Motor Speedway 3 p.m.
Aug. 29 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Daytona International Speedway 7:30 p.m.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff race schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

Date Race Track Time
Sept. 6 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway 5 p.m.
Sept. 13 Enjoy Illinois 300 World Wide Technology Raceway 3 p.m.
Sept. 19 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 Hollywood Casino 400 Kansas Speedway 3 p.m.
Oct. 4 South Point 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 Bank of America ROVAL 400 Charlotte Road Course 3 p.m.
Oct. 18 Freeway Insurance 500 Phoenix Raceway 3 p.m.
Oct. 25 Yellawood 500 Talladega Superspeedway 2 p.m.
Nov. 1 Xfinity 500 Martinsville Speedway 2 p.m.
Nov. 8 Cup Series Championship Race Homestead-Miami Speedway 3 p.m.

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