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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) 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 five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.

Shane van Gisbergen holds off Chase Briscoe for Sonoma victory

getty images

 

 

June 28, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SONOMA, Calif. — Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway followed form—but not without the stiffest fight of Shane van Gisbergen’s brief NASCAR Cup Series career.

 

On the other hand, the opening race of the Cup Series’ In-Season Challenge defied the handicappers—at least as far as top-seeded Tyler Reddick was concerned.

 

For the second straight year, van Gisbergen had to hold off charging Chase Briscoe over the final laps to win at the 1.99-mile, 11-turn road course.

 

Briscoe closed within one foot of SVG’s bumper in the hairpin (Turn 11) on the final circuit but couldn’t get close enough to the New Zealander’s No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to make a move for the win.

 

“Yeah, what a day,” said van Gisbergen, who finished 0.357 seconds ahead of Briscoe. “We were really bad yesterday (sixth in qualifying), and these guys (the No. 97 crew) did an amazing job turning this car into a winner. The 19 (Briscoe) was coming. He was really, really good, and I ran out at the end.”

 

Van Gisbergen led three times for 74 for the 110 laps in securing his eighth Cup Series victory in his 68th start, tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart for second-most road course wins, one behind Jeff Gordon’s nine.

 

The victory was SVG’s second of the season and second straight at Sonoma, and it helped to assuage the frustration of last Sunday’s race at Naval Base Coronado, where he was eliminated in a multicar wreck 32 laps into the contest.

 

“I was back to normal by the weekend, but, yeah, I was certainly pissed at the start of the week,” van Gisbergen said. “This really makes up for it, sharing it with these guys. They went through it at the start of the week. Pretty special to win.”

 

But the win was anything but easy, given that the handling of the winning car deteriorated noticeably over the final 27 laps.

 

“We had these (lapped cars) come out (of the pits) in front, and they were wobbling all over the track and putting dust, and I just kept struggling. Chase was just really, really good. Yeah, a couple more laps (and) we would have had some problems.”

 

Briscoe might have been able to overtake SVG had he not slipped in Turn 1 with four laps left. The mistake cost him a second and made his task all the more difficult.

 

“Yeah, just frustrated with myself,” Briscoe said. “I felt like I definitely had the better car. I didn't do as good of a job as he did driving. I just made a mistake with, like, three or four to go getting into (Turn) 1.

 

“I was having to push so hard, and that was where I would make up my ground. It was just such a razor's edge, and I about crashed. Gave up a (full) second, and then I was able to obviously run him back down at the end. If I don't make that mistake, I'm probably ahead of him, I feel like, at the end.”

 

Running the first two stages to the end, versus the short-pitting strategy of both SVG and Briscoe, pole winner Ty Gibbs finished third after winning Stage 1 and Stage 2. The defending winner of the $1-million winner-take-all In-Season Challenge eliminated 27th-place finisher Austin Dillon from this year’s tournament.

 

Reddick wasn’t as fortunate. The 23XI Racing driver lost six laps on pit road with a power steering issue and finished last (36th), as his first-round opponent, 32nd-seeded Alex Bowman, advanced with a 10th-place finish.

 

Kyle Larson ran a consistent, solid race and finished fourth, followed by Christopher Bell, who came home fifth despite managing a broken wrist.

 

Ryan Blaney, Connor Zilisch, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell and Bowman completed the top-10, with Zilisch scoring his first top-10 finish in the Cup Series. Despite his eighth-place run, Preece was eliminated from the In-Season Challenge by SVG.

 

Despite finishing 26th after spinning off the bumper of Carson Hocevar’s Chevrolet on Lap 64, Denny Hamlin took the series lead by one point over Reddick. Second-seeded Hamlin also avoided elimination from the In-Season Challenge when his first-round opponent, Ty Dillon, developed power steering issues late in the race and came home 35th.

 

Dillon eliminated Hamlin in last year’s first round and advanced to the final round against Gibbs.

 

In other In-Season Challenge matchups of note, 12th-seeded Briscoe eliminated 21st-seeded AJ Allmendinger; 25th seed Todd Gilliland upset No. 8 seed Daniel Suarez; 20th-seeded McDowell defeated No. 13 Bubba Wallace; and Austin Cindric topped Brad Keselowski in a battle of 16th and 17th seeds.

 

The race featured three cautions for eight laps, only one for an on-track incident. There were eight lead changes among six drivers with only SVG and Gibbs (31 laps led) out front for more than two circuits.

 

The NASCAR Cup Series will race next Sunday, July 5 at Chicagoland Speedway, which has stood idle since 2019. The start time is 5 p.m. ET on TNT, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Toyota / Save Mart 350

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, California

Sunday, June 28, 2026

 

                1. (6)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 110.

                2. (7)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 110.

                3. (1)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 110.

                4. (3)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 110.

                5. (14)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 110.

                6. (16)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 110.

                7. (17)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 110.

                8. (19)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 110.

                9. (4)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 110.

                10. (22)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 110.

                11. (2)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 110.

                12. (13)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 110.

                13. (23)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 110.

                14. (5)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 110.

                15. (35)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 110.

                16. (8)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 110.

                17. (18)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 110.

                18. (24)  Zane Smith, Ford, 110.

                19. (15)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 110.

                20. (27)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 110.

                21. (33)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 110.

                22. (26)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 110.

                23. (32)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 110.

                24. (10)  Joey Logano, Ford, 110.

                25. (20)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 110.

                26. (9)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 110.

                27. (30)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 110.

                28. (28)  Josh Berry, Ford, 110.

                29. (29)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 110.

                30. (25)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 110.

                31. (21)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 110.

                32. (34)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 110.

                33. (36)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 109.

                34. (12)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 109.

                35. (31)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 109.

                36. (11)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 106.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  83.188 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 37 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .357 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  3 for 8 laps.

Lead Changes:  8 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   T. Gibbs 1-27;S. Van Gisbergen 28-52;T. Gibbs 53-56;S. Van Gisbergen 57-82;R. Blaney 83;K. Larson 84-85;W. Byron 86;R. Chastain 87;S. Van Gisbergen 88-110.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Shane Van Gisbergen 3 times for 74 laps; Ty Gibbs 2 times for 31 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 2 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 1 lap; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap; William Byron 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 54,20,71,77,60,48,97,43,5,35

Stage #2 Top Ten: 54,20,16,2,1,38,97,88,19,12

 

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Ty Gibbs streaks to NASCAR Cup pole position at Sonoma Raceway

getty images

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SONOMA, Calif. — After turning his first lap in Saturday’s highly competitive NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway, Ty Gibbs felt he had more potential in his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

 

His instincts were spot-on. Late in the session, Gibbs made one more run and put his car on the pole for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the 1.99-mile, 11-turn road course (3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Navigating the circuit in 74.829 seconds (95.738 mph), Gibbs edged Carson Hocevar (95.706 mph) by 0.025 seconds (95.706 mph) for the top starting spot in Sunday’s race, the opening round of the Cup Series’ five-event In-Season Challenge.

 

The Busch Light Pole Award was Gibbs' first of the season, his first on a road course and the third of his career.

 

“The re-runs are just super-weird here,” Gibbs said. “Sometimes you can go a lot faster. Sometimes you don’t. I felt like I just had some more speed out there. The car is really fast this weekend, and we’re really excited to race tomorrow.”

 

To Gibbs, the defending winner of the $1-million In-Season Challenge, qualifying and racing 110 laps on Sunday are markedly different disciplines.

 

“Tomorrow is a whole different program,” he said. “You’re going to be a lot easier on the car instead of hammering it, like in qualifying. So, it's just completely different.

 

“You could be on the pole today and suck tomorrow. You just have to be really focused on the race, and that's the most important part. We'll stick to that.”

 

For the second straight week, Hocevar will start in the second position. Last Sunday at Naval Base Coronado, he lined up on the front row next to pole winner Shane van Gisbergen before finishing 19th.

 

“I didn’t feel like my lap was very good, and I was getting ready to run another, and I got through (Turn) 10, and they said, ‘P1,’” Hocevar said. “And I was like, ‘Well, (shoot), I don’t have to do another. I’m already P1.’

 

“So, I was super happy about that, the lap time, but I didn’t think it was amazing.”

 

Two-time Sonoma winner and reigning series champion Kyle Larson qualified third at 95.686 mph. Michael McDowell (95.677 mph), Hocevar’s teammate at Spire Motorsports, was fourth, followed by Ross Chastain (74.913 mph).

 

McDowell has finished in the top five in three of the last four Sonoma races, including a second-place run in 2024.

 

Van Gisbergen, the defending race and pole winner, qualified sixth after complaining about the handling of his No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet in practice, where he posted the fifth fastest lap.

 

Chase Briscoe and AJ Allmendinger, head-to-head opponents in the first round of the In-Season Challenge, qualified seventh and eighth, respectively. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano filled the final two positions in the top 10.

 

Series leader Tyler Reddick claimed the 11th starting spot. His 23XI Racing teammate, Bubba Wallace, crashed within the first three minutes of the Group 2 qualifying session and will start Sunday’s race in a backup car.

 

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Corey Heim scores dramatic first NASCAR Cup win on Naval Base Coronado Street Course

getty images

June 21, 2026

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Corey Heim arrived at the finish line—and at a career milestone—way ahead of schedule.

 

Winning a pitched battle against 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick in the closing laps of Sunday’s Anduril 250 at San Diego Street Course at Naval Base Coronado, Heim won his first NASCAR Cup Series race in his 13th start and his first in the top division on a road or street circuit.

 

It took Heim three corners to make the winning pass after Reddick slipped in Turn 2 on Lap 73 to give the 23-year-old reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion an opening. The teammates ran side-by-side through Turns 3 and 4, with Reddick trying a crossover move into Turn 5 on the 3.4-mile, 16-turn course, the first-ever purpose-built NASCAR circuit on a military installation.

 

Reddick scraped the outside wall, made contact with Heim’s No. 67 Toyota—pushing him toward the wall—but ceded the position and later suffered a flat left-front tire before finishing 25th. Reddick saw his series lead drop to eight points over 14th-place finisher Denny Hamlin, the 23XI co-owner with NBA legend Michael Jordan.

 

Heim reached the finish line 10.365 seconds ahead of Bubba Wallace, giving 23XI the first 1-2 finish in organization history. Wallace rallied from a two-lap penalty for a loose wheel that dislodged from his car and rolled between Turns 9 and 10.

 

Kyle Larson ran third, followed by Zane Smith and AJ Allmendinger.

 

To Heim, recently announced as a full-time driver for 23XI starting next year, the victory in one of NASCAR’s most important races of the season bordered on the surreal.

 

“I'm speechless,” Heim said after completing an extended celebratory burnout. “I mean, we started the race, I think we started 13th. We fell straight back to 20th. Then put on our scuffs from qualifying, struggled just as bad.

 

“I don't know if we made any adjustments. (Crew chief) Bootie (Barker) kept telling me these were our worst two sets of tires, we were going to be fine. He was right. I couldn't believe it. We strapped another set of tires on, and we were just fine. Hit the wall a couple of times and maybe knocked some good into the car. I have no idea.

 

“After stage two, I just took a deep breath. I had high expectations coming into this race. Even playing field for me (as a debut race). You don't see that every day for a young driver like myself. Just kind of took a deep breath, reset and went after it.”

 

Heim led only the final three laps, and though he is running a limited schedule with 23XI this season, Reddick afforded his young teammate significant respect. The series leader declined to take advantage when contact between their two cars got Heim’s Camry briefly out of shape during the battle for the lead.

 

“I thought I was going to be able to hold him off there,” said Reddick, a five-time winner this year. “Yeah, we kind of just struggled with rear tire life all weekend long. Yeah, I got beat by our own stuff, so...

 

“We'll try to figure this out. It definitely stings. First and foremost, congratulations to Corey. I tried to battle back and overdid it. I ran him straight in the wall. That wasn't right. I wasn't going to pass him for the win that way, especially a teammate.

 

“It's a real shame. I don't know if I cut the tire during, before or after (the contact with Heim’s car). I'm not really sure. Really needed a good points day. Had another really bad one, so... We'll try and scrape together and have a decent finish in Sonoma (next Sunday).”

 

Moments after a restart on Lap 33, a violent wreck in Turn 1 wiped out a handful of notable contenders. Racing side-by-side with Connor Zilisch at the front of the field, Austin Hill locked up his brakes and forced Zilisch into the outside wall.

 

Zilisch hit the concrete barriers with jarring force and bounced into the path of Trackhouse racing teammate and pole winner Shane van Gisbergen, who seconds earlier had backed out of a three-wide situation with Zilisch and Hill.

 

“It’s just unfortunate to end the day like that for both Red Bull Chevrolets with Shane and I,” said Zilisch, who led eight laps before exiting in 37th place. “We had a really fast car today. We got out front and it felt really good, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

 

“I had a lot of fun leading my first career Cup Series laps. Just super proud of this entire No. 88 team, but hate to see the day end this short. When you have a chance to go win a race and you’re in a prime spot to do so, but get put in a position like that, it’s extremely tough.”

 

Van Gisbergen was equally disappointed.

 

“A real shame,” said van Gisbergen, knocked out of the race in 38th place. “The Red Bull Chevy was unreal fast once the track kind of rubbered up. Yeah, a real shame.”

 

The Toyota of Ty Gibbs nosed into van Gisbergen’s Chevrolet and also sustained heavy damage, but Gibbs recovered to finish 15th.

 

The race featured seven cautions for 11 of the 75 laps. There were 20 lead changes among 13 drivers, with ninth-place finisher Ryan Blaney leading the most circuits (12), followed by Larson with 11. Reddick led nine laps before Heim tracked him down in the closing stage.

 

Blaney won the first stage under caution, with Ryan Preece taking Stage 2. Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, Blaney and Michael McDowell finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Anduril 250

San Diego Street Course

San Diego, California

Sunday, June 21, 2026

 

                  1. (13)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 75.

                  2. (12)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 75.

                  3. (14)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 75.

                  4. (4)  Zane Smith, Ford, 75.

                  5. (15)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 75.

                  6. (16)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 75.

                  7. (23)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 75.

                  8. (24)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 75.

                  9. (3)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 75.

                  10. (9)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 75.

                  11. (7)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 75.

                  12. (30)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 75.

                  13. (6)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 75.

                  14. (26)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 75.

                  15. (11)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 75.

                  16. (28)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 75.

                  17. (22)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 75.

                  18. (19)  Joey Logano, Ford, 75.

                  19. (2)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 75.

                  20. (38)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 75.

                  21. (5)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 75.

                  22. (31)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 75.

                  23. (39)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 75.

                  24. (18)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 75.

                  25. (17)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 75.

                  26. (20)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 75.

                  27. (21)  Kevin Magnussen, Chevrolet, 75.

                  28. (36)  Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 75.

                  29. (35)  Josh Berry, Ford, 75.

                  30. (34)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 74.

                  31. (25)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 72.

                  32. (27)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 68.

                  33. (33)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Radiator, 59.

                  34. (29)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 59.

                  35. (32)  Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 37.

                  36. (10)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 31.

                  37. (8)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, Accident, 31.

                  38. (1)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, Accident, 31.

                  39. (37)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, Engine, 28.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  70.561 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 36 Mins, 50 Secs. Margin of Victory:  10.365 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 11 laps.

Lead Changes:  20 among 13 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   S. Van Gisbergen 1-3;R. Blaney 4-9;B. Wallace 10-11;S. Van Gisbergen 12-15;R. Blaney 16-20;R. Preece 21-22;C. Zilisch # 23-30;A. Hill(i) 31;R. Herbst 32-33;Z. Smith 34-36;K. Larson 37;R. Herbst 38;R. Preece 39-41;C. Buescher 42-47;R. Blaney 48;K. Larson 49-58;C. Hocevar 59-60;C. Buescher 61;C. Hocevar 62-63;T. Reddick 64-72;*. Heim(i) 73-75.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Ryan Blaney 3 times for 12 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 11 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 9 laps; Connor Zilisch # 1 time for 8 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen 2 times for 7 laps; Chris Buescher 2 times for 7 laps; Ryan Preece 2 times for 5 laps; Carson Hocevar 2 times for 4 laps; * Corey Heim(i) 1 time for 3 laps; Riley Herbst 2 times for 3 laps; Zane Smith 1 time for 3 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 2 laps; Austin Hill(i) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 12,60,5,54,16,34,77,22,88,24

Stage #2 Top Ten: 60,35,17,16,12,77,7,1,34,22

 

Van Gisbergen captures pole for historic Naval Base Coronado street race

getty images

June 20, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SAN DIEGO - Although Shane van Gisbergen has strongly maintained the NASCAR Cup Series first-ever visit to the Naval Base Coronado Street Course presents a challenge for him and the field, the series’ reigning road course best-in-show once again proved himself up for the challenge.

 

The Trackhouse Racing driver van Gisbergen, 37, won pole position for Sunday’s Inaugural Anduril 250 (4 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a lap of 90.809 mph around the 3.4-mile, 16-turn circuit on the scenic Naval Base in Coronado on Saturday. It’s the sixth career NASCAR Cup Series pole position for the driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet on the sixth different road course.

 

The New Zealander has won the last four races from that lead starting position.

 

“Amazing to get the first pole here (at San Diego),’’ Van Gisbergen said. “Really cool. It's tough, I've said it a couple of times. It's your first lap of the day and there's three, four, five corners you're probably going through for the first time of the day as your qualifying lap starts. And yeah, I made a meal of it, but I guess the rest of the lap was pretty decent and made the time back.

 

“My long runs weren't that great yesterday,’’ he added, “The Nos. 5 [Kyle Larson], 33 [Austin Hill] and 54 [Ty Gibbs] were faster than me yesterday, I believe. But my car is better today than yesterday, so who knows. We're definitely in a good place to start and tomorrow will be a bit of a gamble and a lottery, I think, with the tires. It's going to be hard for the crew chiefs and strategists to get it right tomorrow, for sure.”

 

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar will start his No. 77 Chevrolet alongside Van Gisbergen on the front row – the best road course qualifying effort in the 23-year-old’s young NASCAR Cup Series career – and it gives Chevy its third front row grid sweep of the season.

 

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and fellow Ford driver, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith will start from the second row with Smith’s teammate Todd Gilliland and Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez starting together from row three. Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Preece, and Van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse teammate Connor Zilisch will start seventh and eighth.

 

The last seven road course races have been won from the front row and 22 of the 28 Next Gen-era road course events have been won from the top-eight positions on the grid.

 

It’s a promising start for the 2024 series champion Blaney, who has not claimed a top-five road course finish in the Next Gen car era.

 

“I’ve said it before, I’m an average road racer, I don’t think I excel at this stuff very often but I work hard to get better and I thought we had an okay day yesterday [in practice],’’ Blaney said.

 

“Had a good lap. Didn’t know I had it until that final chicane, but good overall effort and felt really good after the 12 boys worked on it overnight. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a heckuva race. Tire degradation is going to be massive so going to be who can manage rears [tires] better. Just a cool event, cool to be out here.

 

“You plan as much as you can but sometimes you’re going to have to audible in the race and understand where you’re at and what you want to do and then see what the tire wear is like tomorrow,’’ a smiling Blaney said. “That’s the fun part about these new things. This whole weekend has been super cool to be here on the base. I appreciate them having us. The fans have been amazing the whole weekend and it should be a great day tomorrow for sure.

 

“As far as racing goes, I don’t know. Manage rear tires and don’t hit any concrete. I hope I can do those two things and we might have a shot.”

 

NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Tyler Reddick, spun and brushed the wall on his second qualifying lap, but the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota was 17th fastest on his opening run around the course. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin - who comes to the weekend on a three-race winning streak and trails Reddick by only 19 points in the championship standings – will roll off 25th in the No. 11 JGR Toyota.

 

His teammate, Christopher Bell, who is nursing a broken wrist from an accident at Michigan two weeks ago, qualified 37th.  He said this weekend, it will be a game-time decision whether he starts the race and then hands the car over to Brent Crews to finish the race. Crews has been fast at San Diego, claiming the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on a lap faster than Van Gisbergen’s pole-winning speed.

 

Hendrick Motorsports owns the best road course record – leading the series in poles, wins, top-five and top-10 finishes in the last 15 road course races, however the best qualifying driver Saturday was reigning series champion Kyle Larson, who will roll off 14th on the 39-car grid.

 

Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 driver, former Formula One racer Kevin Magnussen qualified 21st in his NASCAR debut driving the No. 91 Chevy. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is competing in his hometown, will start 37th in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota.

 

--30--

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Hamlin wins record eighth Pocono race, extends victory streak to three

getty images

June 14, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

 

Quite simply, Pocono Raceway’s best was best once again.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin hoisted his record eighth NASCAR Cup Series trophy at the iconic 2.5-mile Pocono track in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA – his No. 11 JGR Toyota holding off the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota of Tyler Reddick by 1.678-seconds in a dramatic fuel-saving dance to the checkered flag.

 

The victory marks the first-time in his 21-year fulltime career Hamlin’s won three consecutive races – at Nashville, Michigan and now Pocono. It’s sure been a productive summer for the 45-year-old Virginian who now has 64 series wins – placing him ninth on the sport’s all-time list, breaking a tie with his former teammate, the late two-time series champion Kyle Busch.

 

“Just so special here," said a smiling Hamlin of his effort at the iconic Tricky Triangle.

 

“Just so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team," he continued. “This is a team effort. They’ve given me fast cars. The pit crew is flawless right now, we’ve just got it all going.

 

“I’d say it’s certainly the best we’ve been," Hamlin said of his team’s current confidence level. “We come to the race track every week knowing that we’ve got a great shot to win. The team is doing an amazing job knowing exactly what I need in the car every week and that’s why we’re winning.”

 

Now with only 10 races left to set the 16-driver Chase field, Hamlin’s win streak has decisively cut Reddick’s once three-digit lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. Reddick is now only 19 points ahead of Hamlin - who along with NBA legend Michael Jordan co-owns Reddick’s team. It’s the smallest margin atop the standings on the year for the five-race winner Reddick.

 

“It’s a bummer," conceded Reddick, who rallied from fifth to second place in the closing laps, after concerns of a tire going down on a late race restart.

 

“We definitely lost time in a couple spots there. Some of it is everyone’s racing hard for track position and some of it is just bad luck, I guess, just where you catch cars.

 

“We knew qualifying was going to be tricky coming into this and just weren’t able to get stage points - scoring the points we did, just didn’t get the job done.”

 

Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell who gambled with a fuel-saving strategy in the closing laps, was passed by Hamlin with five laps remaining and then ran out of gas just as the field took the white flag. He finished 26th despite his valiant effort on the day, nursing a broken left wrist he suffered in an accident last week at Michigan.

 

“We were mired back in the 20s so I think it was an amazing call," Bell said of the gamble, calling the calculated risk “worth it."

 

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron finished third in the No. 24 Chevrolet, followed by Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek – claiming his first top-five finish of the season. His race best 42 laps out front in the No. 42 Toyota Sunday were more laps than he led in either the entire 2024 or 2025 seasons.

 

Hendrick’s Kyle Larson finished fifth and led laps early. Legacy’s Erik Jones was sixth – his second consecutive top-10 – followed by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, JGR’s Ty Gibbs and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

 

Henrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott finished 11th – just missing out on a fifth consecutive Pocono top-10. Hamlin won stage one and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland claimed the stage two win – his first career stage victory.

 

With the regular season winding down, points positions to determine which 16 drivers will race for the championship are close. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen is 14th, 10 points to the clear of 17th place Brad Keselowski. Jones and Austin Cindric are ranked 15th and 16th - both only four points to the good. Team Penske’s Joey Logano is behind Keselowski, 21 points out of 16th place.

 

The NASCAR Cup Series will headline a triple-header weekend in Southern California with next Sunday’s inaugural Anduril 250 (4 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Qualcomm Circuit on Naval Base Coronado.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Sunday, June 14, 2026

 

                1. (1)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.

                2. (16)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 160.

                3. (9)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 160.

                4. (8)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 160.

                5. (2)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160.

                6. (7)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 160.

                7. (6)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 160.

                8. (24)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 160.

                9. (4)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 160.

                10. (10)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160.

                11. (23)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160.

                12. (5)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 160.

                13. (3)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 160.

                14. (17)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 160.

                15. (21)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 160.

                16. (25)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 160.

                17. (13)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 160.

                18. (14)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 160.

                19. (29)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 160.

                20. (26)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 160.

                21. (38)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 160.

                22. (19)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160.

                23. (28)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 160.

                24. (15)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 160.

                25. (32)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.

                26. (22)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160.

                27. (12)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160.

                28. (35)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 159.

                29. (34)  Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 159.

                30. (33)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 159.

                31. (31)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 158.

                32. (27)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 158.

                33. (20)  Josh Berry, Ford, 157.

                34. (11)  Joey Logano, Ford, 156.

                35. (30)  Noah Gragson, Ford, Handling, 107.

                36. (36)  Casey Mears, Chevrolet, Accident, 105.

                37. (18)  Zane Smith, Ford, Handling, 66.

                38. (37)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 46.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  135.9 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.678 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  5 for 23 laps.

Lead Changes:  17 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Larson 1-24;D. Hamlin 25-33;J. Nemechek 34-36;T. Reddick 37-47;J. Nemechek 48-77;E. Jones 78;C. Elliott 79-87;D. Hamlin 88-90;A. Cindric 91;T. Gilliland 92-97;C. Briscoe 98-101;J. Nemechek 102-110;D. Hamlin 111-121;T. Reddick 122-134;R. Blaney 135-137;C. Bell 138-155;D. Hamlin 156-160.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  John Hunter Nemechek 3 times for 42 laps; Denny Hamlin 4 times for 28 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 24 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 24 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 18 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 9 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 6 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 3 laps; Austin Cindric 1 time for 1 lap; Erik Jones 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,5,54,19,17,7,24,43,22,33

Stage #2 Top Ten: 34,19,42,43,47,1,77,7,11,9

 

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It’s been a recurring theme in the NASCAR Cup Series in recent weeks. Denny Hamlin is out front.

 

The veteran driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota claimed his fourth Busch Light Pole position of the season Saturday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA (1 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Of note, with poor weather expected later Sunday afternoon, the green flag start time (1 p.m.) has been moved up two hours earlier than its originally scheduled time.

 

This marks the 64th pole position of Hamlin’s career and comes as the popular veteran is attempting to win three consecutive races for the first time in his celebrated career after victories the last two weeks in Nashville and Michigan.

 

He was the last driver to take to the track in Saturday’s qualifying session and just nudged Hendrick Motorsports’ driver Kyle Larson from the top position in the final minutes – Hamlin’s lap of 173.250 mph around the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped Pocono track was .057-second quicker than Larson’s best.

 

“Certainly had the grip, this whole team just did a great job with adjustments, making it a little better from practice, I didn’t execute a very good lap there in Turn 2, but overall I thought I hit [turns] three and one pretty decent - just good enough," Hamlin said.

 

He acknowledged he and the team are certainly on a hot streak at the moment with wins in the non-points paying All-Star Race four weeks ago plus the two victories in the last two weeks. The effort has helped Hamlin cut 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick’s 100-plus point advantage over him atop the standings to only 51 points heading into Pocono, a place Hamlin has won a record seven times.

 

“It’s certainly going well and confidence is up with these guys [on the team] that every time I enter a corner at about 200, I know they’ve built me a car that’s going to stick," Hamlin said, acknowledging his three-in-a-row opportunity.

 

"This is the best shot for sure, we’ve got a little work to do on the car overnight to get it to be a race winner, but I feel like we’re in that box where we need to be and we’ll fine tune it from here.”

 

Starting behind Hamlin and Larson are Daniel Suarez in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and Hamlin’s JGR teammates Ty Gibbs (No. 54 Toyota) and defending race winner Chase Briscoe (No. 19 Toyota).

 

Chris Buescher, who won his first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono in 2016, qualified sixth – his No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford the first Ford on the grid. Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek will start their Toyotas seventh and eighth. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (No. 24 Chevrolet) and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Ford) – who also earned his first career series win at Pocono in 2017 – round out the top-10 on the grid.

 

Of note, 23XI Racing’s Reddick will roll of 15th and his teammate, Bubba Wallace, will start from the rear of the field after a qualifying session accident. RFK owner-driver Brad Keselowski had engine trouble in the session and will start alongside Wallace on the last row.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying - Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Saturday, June 13, 2026

 

                1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 173.250 mph.

                2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 173.067 mph.

                3. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 172.881 mph.

                4. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 172.771 mph.

                5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 172.639 mph.

                6. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 172.493 mph.

                7. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 172.450 mph.

                8. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 172.160 mph.

                9. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 171.982 mph.

                10. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 171.867 mph.

                11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 171.536 mph.

                12. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 171.481 mph.

                13. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 171.468 mph.

                14. (33) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 171.308 mph.

                15. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 171.210 mph.

                16. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 171.207 mph.

                17. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 171.178 mph.

                18. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 171.132 mph.

                19. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 171.090 mph.

                20. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 171.015 mph.

                21. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 170.921 mph.

                22. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 170.700 mph.

                23. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 170.687 mph.

                24. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 170.681 mph.

                25. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 170.396 mph.

                26. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 170.332 mph.

                27. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 170.264 mph.

                28. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 169.975 mph.

                29. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 169.645 mph.

                30. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 169.565 mph.

                31. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 169.202 mph.

                32. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 169.128 mph.

                33. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 168.262 mph.

                34. (78) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 167.779 mph.

                35. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 167.532 mph.

                36. (62) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 166.015 mph.

                37. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 126.518 mph.

                38. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.

 

--30--

 

Hamlin Charges From Rear to Win FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan

getty images

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

On an action-packed afternoon where perseverance proved as important as raw speed, veteran Denny Hamlin pulled off an amazing run from the rear of the starting grid to claim the checkered flag taking his second consecutive and fourth overall trophy in the NASCAR Cup Series’ FireKeepers Casino 400 at a sold-out Michigan International Speedway.

 

The massive effort marked Hamlin’s 63rd career win – tying him with the late Kyle Busch for ninth-place on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list. And as importantly, the showing – combined with points leader Tyler Reddick’s first DNF of the season – cut Hamlin’s deficit to Reddick nearly in half. He now trails him by only 51 points with 11 races left to settle the NASCAR Cup Series regular season title.

 

Hamlin, 45, celebrated the milestone victory – his third of the year and second consecutive last-to-first efforts in as many weeks - by waving a black and white No. 18 “Kyle Busch” flag outside his driver’s window driving around the track for a victory lap – capped by a long burnout. The ode to the two-time series champ Busch, Hamlin’s former teammate who passed away suddenly two weeks ago from pneumonia and sepsis, received huge applause and a standing ovation from the massive grandstand crowd.

 

Although Hamlin won pole position for Sunday’s race, he started from the rear of the 37-car field after the team made adjustments after qualifying. The opening stage was mostly frustrating for Hamlin, who only managed to run between 20-30th place early. But the perennial championship contender and his JGR team made adjustments all day and he was running top-five by lap 140 of the 200-lapper. And moving forward quickly.

 

“Great car, unbelievable," Hamlin said thanking his crew after taking the checkered flag.  After a day where patience and confidence mattered most, his No. 11 Toyota led 40 laps – including the final 39 of the 200-lap race - and pulled away to an amazing 11.110-second win over fellow Toyota driver, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones.

 

“Just amazing," Hamlin said of his car and crew. “That last run there, just hammered down. Had a few good restarts and once I got the lead, laid out all I had.

 

“The offseason was rough for me, rough for NASCAR family. We lost a lot of people This week we lost Gentleman Ned (Jarrett) and still thinking of Kyle (Busch), (his wife) Samantha (and children) Brexton and Lennix.

 

“Just grateful to be able strap in every week and I don’t take it for granted this opportunity that I’m in. Just love that we’re making the best of it."

 

A record 11 caution flags – plus a 20-minute red flag - flew for incidents and accidents throughout the afternoon - involved half the field to varying degrees. And while the stoppages slowed the race, it also allowed drivers to save enough fuel late enabling them to make the checkered flag without losing positions on extra pit stops.

 

Although Hamlin was far in front of the field, the positions just behind him were decided in the closing laps. The runner-up showing was the Michigan-native Jones’ best of the season. Bubba Wallace finished third in the 23XI Racing Toyota co-owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson was fourth in the No. 5 Chevrolet with Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar rounding out the top-five in the No. 77 Chevrolet.

 

“Lot of opportunities there to get stage points, but if we can go up there and challenge for a win, we’re going to do that," said Jones, whose primary team owner is seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. 

 

“I think we’ve got a good package and our group is rolling really well as a team. We’re executing well. Just got to do every little thing right and it [win] will come. You run up front and it’s going to happen for you."

 

A nine-car chain-reaction wreck early in the race eliminated championship leader, and the 2024 Michigan winner Reddick from contention. Another dramatic incident with frontrunners Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell with 51 laps to go necessitated a 20-minute red flag to repair the track wall.

 

That red flag was necessitated after a hard collision between the two trophy contenders as they ran side-by-side vying for second place. Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet got loose and moved up track and into Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

 

“Totally my fault. I feel so bad for Christopher [Bell],” said Elliott, who won Stage 2 and led a race best 67 laps on the day.

 

“Was trying to make use of fresh tires and at least get to second and hopefully stay side by side with him.," he continued. “Got in there and got free. Thought I was going to spin and was kinda committed to spinning out and as soon as I started to commit to spinning it just hooked up, hooked right and unfortunately sent Christopher into the wall super hard and me shortly there behind.

 

“Just racing really hard. I felt like it was turning point of the race and I needed to make something happen and stepped over the line and paid for it. I just told him  (Bell) I was sorry. Obviously, it was not on purpose, but I knew it was a really big hit for both of us. I think he took the brunt of it, honestly, with two really big hits. I have a lot of respect for Bell and feel like we always race each other with respect on track. I don’t want that to happen to anyone. It was a big one and certainly not intentional."

 

It was an especially tough outing for the season’s championship leader Reddick, who won the opening stage – his first of the season – but was among those collected in a nine-car accident on a Lap 83 restart. A chain reaction collision on the fourth row of the triggered by Hocevar eliminated a large contingent of potentially race-winning entries.

 

Hocevar’s Chevrolet hit the rear of John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota just after the field took the green flag on the restart, collecting Reddick and others running among the lead pack. Hocevar continued – leading 22 laps on the day en route to his top-five finish.

 

“Man, I didn’t mean to do that," Hocevar said after the race. “I obviously feel bad I wrecked them, but my intention wasn’t to tear them up or wreck them by any means. Next time I know what to do a little differently there."

 

Spire’s Daniel Suarez – who won at Charlotte two weeks ago – finished sixth followed by three-time series champion, Team Penske’s Joey Logano whose seventh-place effort marked his fifth top-10 of the season. Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney was eighth in the No. 12 Ford, followed by Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Chris Buescher and JGR’s Chase Briscoe.

 

Not only was the top of the championship standings drastically affected Sunday, but only 26 points now separate 14th place Shane Van Gisbergen from 17th place Logano with the top-16 drivers advancing to The Chase which begin Sept. 6 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

 

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to another of its traditional venues next week, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, for Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 at the famous 2.5-miler (3 p.m. ET on Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Briscoe is the defending race winner.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan International Speedway

Brooklyn, Michigan

Sunday, June 7, 2026

 

                1. (1)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200.

                2. (10)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 200.

                3. (13)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 200.

                4. (7)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200.

                5. (2)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 200.

                6. (11)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 200.

                7. (18)  Joey Logano, Ford, 200.

                8. (19)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.

                9. (14)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 200.

                10. (5)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 200.

                11. (31)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 200.

                12. (15)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 200.

                13. (12)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 200.

                14. (17)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 200.

                15. (37)  Josh Berry, Ford, 200.

                16. (32)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.

                17. (25)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 200.

                18. (9)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 200.

                19. (29)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.

                20. (28)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 200.

                21. (36)  JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 199.

                22. (35)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 199.

                23. (33)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 198.

                24. (24)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 196.

                25. (4)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, Accident, 187.

                26. (20)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Accident, 158.

                27. (22)  Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 156.

                28. (27)  Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 155.

                29. (23)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 154.

                30. (30)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, Accident, 154.

                31. (8)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 147.

                32. (6)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 147.

                33. (16)  Zane Smith, Ford, Accident, 141.

                34. (26)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 89.

                35. (3)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, Accident, 83.

                36. (21)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 82.

                37. (34)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, Accident, 8.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  123.935 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 13 Mins, 39 Secs. Margin of Victory:  11.110 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  11 for 54 laps.

Lead Changes:  23 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Hocevar 1-14;T. Reddick 15-47;T. Gibbs 48;R. Chastain 49;T. Gibbs 50-51;B. Wallace 52-57;C. Hocevar 58-64;T. Gibbs 65-67;*. Yeley(i) 68;C. Elliott 69-70;K. Larson 71;C. Elliott 72-89;K. Larson 90-92;C. Elliott 93-94;B. Wallace 95-97;C. Elliott 98-122;D. Suarez 123;C. Elliott 124-143;D. Hamlin 144;*. Yeley(i) 145;W. Byron 146-152;D. Suarez 153-161;D. Hamlin 162-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chase Elliott 5 times for 67 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 40 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 33 laps; Carson Hocevar 2 times for 21 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 10 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 9 laps; William Byron 1 time for 7 laps; Ty Gibbs 3 times for 6 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 4 laps; * JJ Yeley(i) 2 times for 2 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,54,77,9,23,38,5,17,35,7

Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,43,7,5,24,20,77,11,22,38

 

--30--

 

Denny Hamlin wins the pole for Michigan NASCAR Cup race

getty images

 

June 6, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

The last driver to make a qualifying run around Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon, Denny Hamlin claimed the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET on Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) - dashing Michigan native Carson Hocevar’s hopes for some home state glory in the final minutes of the session.

 

Hamlin’s lap of 195.117 mph in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota bettered Hocevar’s run in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet by a slight .018-second around the two-mile Michigan high-banks and gives the veteran – and defending Michigan race winner - Hamlin 50 career NASCAR Cup Series pole positions.

 

After climbing out of his Toyota, the 45-year-old Hamlin walked over to the 23-year-old Hocevar on pit road, where they spoke briefly and hugged. Hamlin smiled and joked that he only felt “this bad” holding up a nearly-touching thumb and forefinger for taking the qualifying win.

 

Only an hour earlier during practice Hamlin’s car had a tire issue and he was unable to participate in the full session as his team made repairs, making the pole win all the more remarkable and dramatic.

 

“They did a great job accounting for the damage on the bottom side (of his car), they re-balanced it but it was a handful – all I wanted, certainly," said Hamlin, who won from pole position last week at Nashville. “That was surprising.

 

“That was the limit for sure," Hamlin said.

 

Hocevar was clearly disappointed in the qualifying outcome. Earlier in the afternoon, he led the most laps in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race only to finish third. A first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Talladega in April, Hocevar insisted, however, he was still optimistic about his chances come Sunday afternoon.

 

“It’s a testament to these guys, they do a really good job," Hocevar said. “Yeah, I would have loved to have that there, but third in the truck race {Saturday afternoon} and second in Cup qualifying, hopefully that’s a trend there.

 

“I feel like it’s a really good race car, one of the best I’ve had here. So, I hope it translates tomorrow. I feel really good about our race car so starting out front is super important.

 

“I know it’s just qualifying, but damn, I didn’t know I wanted it this much here. Just means a lot for so many reasons."

 

Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick (who topped Saturday practice) was third fastest in the No. 45 Toyota that Hamlin co-owns with NBA superstar Michael Jordan. Hamlin’s JGR teammates Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe were next quickest giving Toyota four of the top-five starting positions.

 

Chase Elliott was the top qualifying Chevrolet in sixth place. Chris Buescher, the 2023 Michigan winner was the top qualifying Ford in 14th place. Ford has a Michigan track record 44 wins - 18 more than Chevrolet and 37 more than Toyota, however Toyota has won the last two races (Reddick in 2024 and Hamlin in 2025).

 

The last polesitter to win at Michigan from pole was Team Penske’s Joey Logano in 2019. In fact, Logano’s three Michigan wins (2019, 2016, 2013) all came from pole position. He’ll start 18th Sunday.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying - FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan International Speedway

Brooklyn, Michigan

Saturday, June 6, 2026

 

                1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 195.117 mph.

                2. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 195.022 mph.

                3. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 194.969 mph.

                4. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 194.842 mph.

                5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 194.826 mph.

                6. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 194.816 mph.

                7. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 194.768 mph.

                8. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 194.579 mph.

                9. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 194.395 mph.

                10. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 194.122 mph.

                11. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 193.960 mph.

                12. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 193.929 mph.

                13. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 193.898 mph.

                14. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 193.621 mph.

                15. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 193.522 mph.

                16. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 193.481 mph.

                17. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 193.340 mph.

                18. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 193.252 mph.

                19. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 193.247 mph.

                20. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 193.149 mph.

                21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 193.149 mph.

                22. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 192.818 mph.

                23. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 192.812 mph.

                24. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 192.472 mph.

                25. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 192.220 mph.

                26. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 192.123 mph.

                27. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 191.739 mph.

                28. (33) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 191.729 mph.

                29. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 191.688 mph.

                30. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 191.683 mph.

                31. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 191.149 mph.

                32. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 191.032 mph.

                33. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 190.905 mph.

                34. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 190.880 mph.

                35. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 190.830 mph.

                36. (44) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 186.674 mph.

                37. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 0.000 mph.

 

--30--

 

Denny Hamlin Overcomes Adversity to Win in Nashville

Getty images

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

LEBANON, Tenn. – Call it victorious whiplash.

 

Race polesitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the drop of the green flag – was penalized and re-set to last in the 38-car field for jumping that start – then rallied his way forward again in the ensuing 300 laps to be in front for the checkered flag of Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

 

After a back-and-forth among teammates on a final restart with four laps remaining – featuring a three-wide last-lap challenge for the win among three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas – Hamlin delivered the manufacturer its first victory at the 1.33-mile Nashville concrete oval, his No. 11 Toyota finishing a slight .115-second ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

 

“The 20 [Bell] and 19 [Briscoe] were battling so hard on that first corner it just let me get to the inside of the 20 at the first corner after the restart and from there, side-by-side with the 20,’’ Hamlin, 45, said describing the dramatic final laps that resulted in his 62nd career win.

 

“He [Bell] drove in so deep on that last lap into [turn] one that it just allowed me to barely clear off of [turn] two.

 

“What an unbelievable day starting first, going to last and then back to first.’’

 

For Bell, the close finish marked his second runner-up showing in as many weeks – simultaneously frustrating and encouraging. As with Hamlin, he recovered from an early race challenge – a pit stop miscue dropping his No 20 JGR Toyota from running among the top five to 30th place for a restart just before the finish of Stage 1.

 

“It was great racing, I hope the fans enjoyed that,’’ Bell said. “Just disappointed in myself, disappointed for my team. We brought a great race car and I didn’t get the job done.’’

 

The finish was certainly indicative of the close racing, important strategy calls and just flat-out team speed ultimately necessary to finally settle a race that featured a race record 31 lead changes among a record 15 drivers.

 

The race was delayed almost two hours because of weather, but when the action resumed, there was plenty of drama and intrigue.

 

The sold-out Nashville crowd issued a silent salute on lap eight to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 41, a beloved four-time Nashville winner (twice each in the CRAFTSMAN Trucks and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), who passed away last week of sepsis.

 

In the laps thereafter, the intense action quickly settled in. Hamlin’s 57 laps out front were a race high, but nine different drivers led double digit laps. And 11 caution flags affected strategy throughout the night.

 

Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished fourth in the No. 47 Chevrolet, followed by a career-best fifth-place effort by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. The popular New Zealand road course ace turned in one of his best flag-to-flag oval performances running among the top 10 all night. His 12 laps led in the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet were most for him on an oval track.

 

Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott were scored sixth and seventh but were collected in an accident just after taking the checkered flag in a hard push by the field to the finish.

 

Last year’s race winner, Ryan Blaney was eighth followed by Zane Smith, whose No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was leading until 12 laps to go. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was 10th. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson – the reigning series champion – led 56 laps (only one lap less than Hamlin) but finished 23rd.

 

The race featured two first-time stage winners on the season – Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger (Stage 1) and last week’s Charlotte race winner, Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez (Stage 2).

 

With his sixth-place finish Reddick remains atop the standings, 97 points ahead of Hamlin and 174 points up on Blaney in third place.

 

The series moves a few hours north to Michigan Speedway for next Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.

 

---30---

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Cracker Barrel 400

Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville, Tennessee

Sunday, May 31, 2026

 

          1. (1)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 300.

          2. (4)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 300.

          3. (31)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 300.

          4. (15)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 300.

          5. (10)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 300.

          6. (2)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 300.

          7. (29)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 300.

          8. (7)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 300.

          9. (11)  Zane Smith, Ford, 300.

          10. (17)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 300.

          11. (13)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 300.

          12. (30)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 300.

          13. (6)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 300.

          14. (9)  Joey Logano, Ford, 300.

          15. (14)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 300.

          16. (26)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 299.

          17. (23)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 299.

          18. (32)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 299.

          19. (3)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 299.

          20. (21)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 299.

          21. (20)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 299.

          22. (34)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 299.

          23. (5)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 299.

          24. (27)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 298.

          25. (24)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 298.

          26. (36)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 296.

          27. (25)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 293.

          28. (37)  Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 289.

          29. (22)  Chris Buescher, Ford, Accident, 286.

          30. (8)  William Byron, Chevrolet, Accident, 231.

          31. (33)  Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 214.

          32. (18)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 203.

          33. (19)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 203.

          34. (12)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 192.

          35. (16)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.

          36. (28)  Ryan Preece, Ford, Radiator, 90.

          37. (35)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 81.

          38. (38)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, Accident, 71.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  106.424 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 44 Mins, 57 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .115 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  11 for 77 laps.

Lead Changes:  31 among 15 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   D. Hamlin 0;T. Reddick 1-37;C. Bell 38;S. Van Gisbergen 39-40;J. Logano 41;S. Van Gisbergen 42-48;K. Larson 49;S. Van Gisbergen 50-52;K. Larson 53-75;C. Bell 76;A. Allmendinger 77-78;R. Herbst 79;R. Blaney 80;A. Allmendinger 81;R. Blaney 82-89;A. Allmendinger 90-93;K. Larson 94-125;C. Briscoe 126-139;R. Blaney 140-146;C. Elliott 147;R. Blaney 148-177;C. Elliott 178;D. Suarez 179-188;D. Hamlin 189-244;C. Bell 245-259;C. Elliott 260;T. Reddick 261-265;T. Gibbs 266;E. Jones 267-269;Z. Smith 270-287;C. Bell 288-299;D. Hamlin 300.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Denny Hamlin 2 times for 57 laps; Kyle Larson 3 times for 56 laps; Ryan Blaney 4 times for 46 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 42 laps; Christopher Bell 4 times for 29 laps; Zane Smith 1 time for 18 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 14 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen 3 times for 12 laps; Daniel Suarez 1 time for 10 laps; AJ Allmendinger 3 times for 7 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 3 laps; Chase Elliott 3 times for 3 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 1 lap; Joey Logano 1 time for 1 lap; Riley Herbst 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 16,5,12,9,45,23,24,19,35,67

Stage #2 Top Ten: 7,48,47,2,11,71,24,20,19,6

 

 

 

 

Hamlin to start from pole position after Cup Series qualifying canceled at Nashville Superspeedway

 
May 30, 2026
 
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service 
 
LEBANON, Tenn. – Intermittent light rain showers forced the cancellation of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway, resulting in Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin starting from pole position in Sunday night’s Cracker Barrel 400 (7 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Championship points leader Tyler Reddick will start his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota alongside Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota on the front row as Toyota hopes to earn its first ever series win at the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
Last week’s Charlotte race winner Daniel Suarez will start third in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with JGR’s Christopher Bell (No. 20 Toyota) and reigning two-time series champion, Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Larson (No. 5 Chevrolet) rounding out the top five on the 38-car grid.
Defending race winner, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney will start his No. 12 Ford seventh.
Bell, who was fastest in the practice session, said he didn’t expect the cancelled time trials to make a big difference in either the run of the 400-miler or ultimately the outcome of the race. Especially with the field getting some time on track with practice.
“Well, it’s good for me today, because I have a good metric, so I’m okay with that,’ Bell said smiling of the formulation NASCAR used to set the field in lieu of qualifying. 
His competitors were not overly concerned with the cancellation of qualifying, either – instead just glad to turn some laps and dial in their cars.
“They put a lot of resin down in both corners, more than they’ve done in the past and we’re really curious how the cars are going to drive,’’ said Roush Fenway Keselowski owner-driver Brad Keselowski. “So it’s semi-important [to qualify] although we’ve been racing here for the last three or four years, so we all have a pretty good feel for it.’’
--30--
 

Skill, strategy put Shane van Gisbergen back in Victory Lane at Sonoma

 

getty images

June 29, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SONOMA, Calif.—We all know that, given a car he likes, Shane van Gisbergen is all but unbeatable on a road or street course.

 

After Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, we now know SVG can win in a car he hates.

 

Throughout the Sonoma weekend, the three-time Australian Supercars champion was grousing about the performance of his No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. It wasn’t fast in practice or qualifying.

 

The driver who invariably starts on the pole on road courses was sixth fastest in time trials, relegated to a third-row start and faced with the challenge of overcoming faster cars in front of him.

 

Even a victory in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto parts Series didn’t do much to improve his mood.

 

Crew chief Stephen Doran and the No. 97 team made setup changes to the NASCAR Cup Series car before Sunday’s race. The car was better—but not great.

 

“I thought we were a lost cause,” van Gisbergen said. “Yeah, the guys did a great job making setup changes, and as soon as the race started, I still felt average, but I saw other people had similar issues or worse.

 

“Then that gave me confidence.”

 

A contributing factor to SVG’s dissatisfaction was the way the race ended a week earlier at Naval Base Coronado, where van Gisbergen did have a great car.

 

Collected when Austin Hill locked his brakes in Turn 1 and knocked Connor Zilisch into the wall on Lap 32, van Gisbergen exited the race with his Camaro too badly damaged to continue.

 

Van Gisbergen said he had put the accident behind him by the time he got to wine country. Doran had other ideas.

 

“For him I feel like it took more than a few days,” Doran said after Sunday’s race. “To me, he felt grumpy all weekend. So, yeah, I could tell it stung, hurt him as much as it did all of us, but he was grumpy all weekend. Grumpy with the car all day today even.

 

“I have to say it wasn't a good car we gave him today. Luckily, we had him driving it to get here. Yeah, thank God we have him, or we wouldn't be here right now. We did a lot of work overnight trying to get it better. I am still really not sure what it was that he didn't like about it, but he, honestly, hated the car all weekend.

 

“I would say it was slightly better today, but still not great. Not as good as it was last year (when van Gisbergen won at Sonoma for the first time).”

 

Even van Gisbergen’s consummate skill, however, wasn’t enough to seal the victory on Sunday. It took a mistake on track by Chase Briscoe and a choice from the pit box that affected the winning chances of polesitter Ty Gibbs.

 

With four laps left, Briscoe ran offline in Turn 1 and lost a full second to SVG. That one bobble allowed the New Zealander to win by the skin of his teeth as Briscoe pressured him relentlessly on the final lap.

 

But the car Doran really feared was another Toyota from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable—the No. 54 Camry of Gibbs. Accordingly, Doran chose to bring SVG to pit road for fuel and tires before the end of the first two stages to regain track position at the stage break.

 

Conversely, Gibbs pitted after winning each of the first two stages and lost track position on the exchange. Gibbs’ car was fast enough to charge through the field, just not fast enough to catch SVG and Briscoe at the front.

 

“The strategy was pretty simple today,” Doran said. “We didn't have the speed in the car to drive our way through the field. So, we just chose to flip the stages to maintain track position. I felt like a few of those cars, especially the Gibbs cars, were better than us today.

 

“I guess, luckily for us, they chose to take the stage points. We chose to flip the stages. Gave us a buffer to those guys, and we were able to maintain it the rest of the day.”

 

Bottom line? On road courses, SVG and his team can find a way to win, even with a car not to the driver’s liking.

 

But there are no more road or street courses left on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this season, and SVG leaves Sonoma 14th in the standings with a slim 36-point cushion above the current cut line for the postseason Chase.

 

There are eight oval tracks left in the season before the Chase field is set.

 

“I mean, we just need to improve (on ovals),” van Gisbergen said. “I'm still the weak link as a driver, but I've got good teammates in the other cars, and they're struggling as well. So, we all as a team need to improve.

 

“It's just going to come through hard work and trying to emulate what the other Chevys are doing. They've really stepped up the last couple of months. We need to do the same.”

 

 

Is another Naval Base Coronado race in NASCAR’s future?

 

June 22, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Fare thee well, Naval Base Coronado.

 

Or is it simply “See you next year?”

 

Before NASCAR arrived at the military base for a tripleheader weekend that ended with Corey Heim’s dramatic maiden win in the NASCAR Cup Series, conventional wisdom said this foray to the West Coast would be a one-off event tied to the 250-year celebrations of the birth of the United States and establishment of the U.S. Navy.

 

What those spouting the conventional wisdom didn’t anticipate was the overwhelming success of an event that began as a discussion two years ago and grew into one of the most memorable postcard moments of the entire season.

 

After navigating the 3.4-mile, 16-turn course to a third-place finish, Kyle Larson had nothing but praise for the collaborative effort that created an extraordinary weekend.

 

“Overall, it was just a lot of fun this weekend,” Larson said. “It was an unreal atmosphere, probably one of the coolest atmospheres I’ve been a part of in a long time.

 

“Kudos to NASCAR, the Naval Base Coronado and all the men and women who serve. I was hoping we could get this Chevy to Victory Lane, but we’ll take a third-place finish.”

 

Zane Smith, who was fourth in the highest-finishing Ford, was equally effusive in his assessment.

 

“Honestly, just an amazing weekend,” Smith said. “This will go down as arguably the coolest weekend of the year. Obviously, the Daytona 500 and Indy, the Coke 600, places like that stack up towards the top, but this is right there with it.

 

“It was just an amazing weekend honoring our Navy and our military. It’s a wild road course, and it was cool to have a good run at the end of the day.”

 

That’s not to say there weren’t growing pains involved with an inaugural event. Concession lines were long at the start of the weekend. NASCAR responded by beefing up staff and food supplies.

 

Ticket sales were capped at 50,000 per day, dictated by the number of fans Naval Base Coronado could accommodate comfortably and securely. Early arrivals on race mornings were rewarded with the most favorable traffic conditions.

 

Nevertheless, the magnitude of the event dwarfed any problematic details and provided the impetus for a possible reprise next year.

 

“We would love to return,” said Ben Kennedy, Chief Operating Officer for NASCAR. “We're also cognizant of the fact this is active military base. We want to be mindful of that, as well…

 

“What we are going to do after this weekend is have a deep dive after-action review with our entire team. We're going to sit down with the United States Navy and talk about what did we learned, what worked well.

 

“I'd like to sit down with them, have a debrief, then have a conversation about is there an opportunity for us to return here. Nothing to report today. A lot more conversations we'll have after this weekend.”

 

If the Navy is amenable, there are myriad reasons for returning. Two-thirds of the fans who came to Naval Base Coronado had never been to a NASCAR race before. The race weekend drew from all 50 states and 17 different countries.  Percentages of both female and Latino fans were significantly higher than at a typical NASCAR weekend.

 

At present, there are few other opportunities for NASCAR to stage a points-paying race in the important Southern California market.

 

And perhaps most obvious was the collaboration between NASCAR and the Navy, which accrued to the benefit of both.

 

The bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which provided an imposing backdrop to Turn 3, took on a new role as the broadcast booth for the last NASCAR on Prime telecast of the season.

 

Officers in Navy whites worked alongside reporters, photographers, public relations pros and NASCAR staffers in the media center. The weekend functioned as seamlessly as possible without sacrificing necessary security.

 

“You think about a lot of the strategic reasons that we invest in events like this,” Kennedy said. “We want to put these amazing races on. Obviously, this weekend was all about our military and honoring them and thanking them for all that they do. We also welcomed a lot of new fans this weekend, which is icing on the cake.”

 

“It was a fantastic event,” echoed driver Ryan Blaney, who finished ninth on Sunday. “I had a blast all weekend. The Navy was great to us. The base was great to us, and personally I would love to come back.”

 

Blaney is not alone in that sentiment.

 

--30--

NASCAR celebrates successful debut at Naval Base Coronado street course

 

June 21, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

SAN DIEGO – Blue skies, comfortable temps in the low 70s and a light breeze – absolutely stunning weather all week matched only by the spectacular backdrop of the iconic Coronado Bridge high atop the surrounding San Diego Bay.

 

Mountains in the background and Navy ships in the foreground. Tens of thousands of Southern Californians - and fans from 17 countries in all - filled Naval Base Coronado all weekend, at last had a NASCAR race in this region of the country.

 

In only his 12th NASCAR Cup Series start, 23-year old Corey Heim passed California’s own Tyler Reddick with three laps remaining to claim his first ever series trophy, delivering a dramatic ending to the inaugural NASCAR race weekend – a thrilling event that was popular with diehard fans and also those happy to have welcomed stock cars to this unique setting for the first time ever.

 

“I love NASCAR and it’s finally here,’’ Ventura County’s Carie Brinton, 72, said with a wide grin, “It’s much louder than I was expecting and my heart is just pounding with it all. I love this.’’

 

It’s exactly the vibe NASCAR’s bold Southern California initiative has enjoyed all week.

 

Kids wearing Connor Zilisch hats, their parents sporting Chase Elliott t-shirts and a whole lotta love for San Diego’s native son, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson who grew up in El Cajon – about a 20-minute drive from the track – all provided an unmistakable atmosphere enjoyed by fans and the industry alike.

 

Early in the week, a social media video caught drivers Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott laughing while they shared an electric scooter ride from their island hotel to the track - the friends winding through the Coronado neighborhoods - past houses and coffee shops with handmade signs posted out front welcoming NASCAR and its fans.

 

It was indicative of the warm welcome shared all week – fans lined up in the pre-dawn hours waiting for the gates to open onto the Navy base’s runways and busy racing midway. They patiently waited in long winding lines again inside the track for souvenirs and refreshments and autograph signings in the hours before Sunday’s inaugural Anduril 250 NASCAR Cup Series headliner. There was access and gratitude.

 

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his family were trackside for pre-race ceremonies, which included a flyover by F-18 fighter jets, the Navy Band performing the National Anthem and the start-your-engines command delivered by uniformed sailors saluting from high atop the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier docked right along the 16-turn, 3.4-mile track.

 

“I’ve watched races for years and always wondered what the vibe was like,’’ said 59-year old Pacific Beach resident Jennifer Sprofera, who was among the 67 percent of the weekend’s attendees who had never been to a NASCAR race before.

 

NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer Ben Kennedy – the great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. – was effusive in his praise and hopes for the event. It was Kennedy that spearheaded the race weekend – making a two-year long process come to fruition. And succeed.

 

Yet another remarkable achievement in expanding the schedule to new race locales that in recent years have included successful events on the downtown Chicago streets, at the Los Angeles Coliseum and in Mexico City in just the past few years.

 

“If you have any ideas, send them our way, we'll take any ideas,’’ a smiling Kennedy said of the inevitable “what’s next” question.

 

“I think that's the beauty of it. We found a way to create a culture where innovation, we put a lot of energy around it internally at NASCAR and across the industry. That gives us a lot of these different ideas.

 

“I'm the one that speaks on behalf of NASCAR. But I can't take credit for this idea. I can't take credit for a lot of the work that went into this. But it's the people at NASCAR that come up with a lot of these ideas. This was the next evolution of that.

 

“We've heard a lot of great ideas from folks internally, across the industry,’’ he continued. “Fans on social media every day have different ideas. Every time we have those ideas, we take them to the pipeline, vet them, see if there are any that come to fruition.”

 

Not only were the fans appreciative, the drivers and teams have been enthusiastic from even before the drop of the first green flag – from promotional visits in the area for months to the general positivity they have been met with.

 

“What an event,’’ fifth-place finisher and California-native A.J. Allmendinger said, impressed with the reception and loving the willingness of NASCAR to try something new.

 

“I’ve been fortunate in my life to go to some cool cities and run some good events, this might just be the best one. To be here on the 250th birthday [of our country] and just the background of it – the fans that are passionate about NASCAR were here and hopefully we made some new ones too.’’

 

As a team owner (23XI Racing ) and driver (Joe Gibbs Racing) Denny Hamlin was pleased with the whole weekend.

 

“It seemed like to me the people I interacted with, like lots of them, it was their first race,’’ Hamlin said. “Racing the racetrack, it felt like a normal NASCAR track to me. It was a little surprising the first time we hit the racetrack, but after that, once the race got going, it felt like any old road course that we've had.

 

“I thought great design, lots of passing zones, challenging in so many different ways with the surface. But when we come into this event, you want it to feel like the racing is a big part of why you're here, but it's not the only reason why you're here.

 

“I thought they did a great job with their midway, how much activation they had. That's the boxes we need to check. There's many races that makes selling on a car really difficult. This was not one of 'em.”

 

And that’s exactly the kind of support and review that fuels Kennedy and the sport to continue its ability and willingness to try new projects. He said NASCAR executives will hold a “deep dive” after-action review of the weekend and the lead-up to the race weekend as both NASCAR and the Navy decide about future events here.

 

But in the meantime, Kennedy smiled and emphasized, “We’ve said from the start this is more than a race, this is a mission I think we all looked around the room today and we said ‘the mission has been accomplished.’"

 

--30--

 

 

 

Kyle Larson Revealed as Cover Driver for NASCAR 26

During Live USS Midway Event in San Diego

 

SAN DIEGO, Cal. (June 19, 2026) — NASCAR and iRacing Studios unveiled NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson as the cover driver for NASCAR 26 during a live event Thursday evening aboard the historic USS Midway in downtown San Diego.

 

The event served as both the official cover reveal for NASCAR 26 and a media kickoff ahead of NASCAR San Diego Race Weekend at Naval Base Coronado.

 

Following remarks from NASCAR Vice President of Interactive & Emerging Platforms Nick Rend and iRacing Studios Vice President and Senior Producer Matt Lewis, attendees received new details about NASCAR 26, including confirmation that the Qualcomm Circuit at Naval Base Coronado will be featured in the game.

 

The evening's signature moment came when Larson made a surprise entrance aboard the USS Midway flight deck in the NASCAR 26 cover car, performing a series of burnouts before joining Lewis on stage for the official reveal of the game's cover art.

 

During the program, Larson discussed being selected as the face of NASCAR 26, the role gaming plays in growing the sport, and the upcoming NASCAR San Diego Race Weekend.

The event concluded with NASCAR presenting a donation in support of Freedom Park and the USS Midway Museum, recognizing the organizations' contributions to preserving the stories of military service and leadership in the San Diego community.

 

Developed by iRacing Studios, NASCAR 26 is scheduled to launch in September 2026.

 

Additional assets, including event photos and NASCAR 26 cover art, can be found here.

 

 

Hamlin's historic streak shrinks Reddick's lead as NASCAR heads to San Diego

getty images

 

 

June 15, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Cue the dramatic music. With only 10 races remaining now to set the Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship run, the top of the standings have never been closer and there’s a lot of shuffling happening at the cutoff line too in deciding which 16 drivers will have a shot at the 2026 title.

 

Sunday’s race in front of a sold-out, ever-enthusiastic Pocono (Pa.) Raceway crowd was significant in many ways – from Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin completing a career first three-in-a-row win streak, to the historical nod of him doing so from pole position in each case (something only three other drivers have ever accomplished) – to the huge impact Hamlin’s summer vibe on atop the championship standings to the reinvigorated vibe Legacy Motor Club is showing on track.

 

The championship intrigue and gloves-off competitive spirit are peaking heading into a huge high-profile debut weekend for the sport in San Diego – a tripleheader at Naval Base Coronado capped with Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Anduril 250 (4 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

As he has since day one of the season, the five-race winner, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick continues to hold his place atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, but what was a one-time 100-points plus advantage on the field has been sliced and diced to a mere 19-point advantage over the series’ hottest driver Hamlin. Who just happens to be a co-owner – along with NBA legend Michael Jordan – of Reddick’s team.

 

Reddick was 110 points up on Hamlin heading into May. Since then, Hamlin won the non-points paying All-Star Race, and three in a row (at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono).

 

“I'm just at this point in my career trying to stack as many wins as possible – points, whatever," Hamlin said after the race. “Wherever we finish in the championship, whatever.

 

“To me it's like wins, wins, wins. What is your win percentage? That's what I really, really am trying to continue on a run. I mean, you always have aspirations to win 36 out of 36 races in a given season. You know it's not going to happen. But we've had so many races where we've been dominant this year.

 

“We won four, but man, we could easily have a lot right now. So, I don't know. I don't think I've had a year where it's been this wild and crazy being able to execute. That's been the biggest difference. The last month compared to earlier in the season, the speed is no different, it's just that the execution is better.”

 

Another big storyline out of Pocono was the continued success of another Toyota team, Legacy Motor Club, which had both its drivers finish inside the top-10 for the second time this season – second time in the team’s history in a non-superspeedway race.

 

The pair essentially one-upped that Texas effort with Nemechek placing fourth and Jones sixth on Sunday – bettering their previous top-10 double at Texas in May (Jones was fifth and Nemechek eighth). Not just that, but Nemechek’s 42 laps led in the No. 42 Toyota were significant considering that’s more than he led the entire 2024 (36 laps) and 2025 (37 laps) full seasons.

 

Beyond the boost of momentum, the effort has vaulted Jones up three positions to in the championship standings. He’s now 15th among the Chase-bound top-16.

 

“Good to keep the momentum rolling," Jones said. “We’ve got two challenging weeks ahead in San Diego and Sonoma that we really have to hammer through and get a result out of both of them. Proud of the effort and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

 

And truthfully, what better time for Legacy to claim headlines and feel the competitive shift as the sport heads to team owner Jimmie Johnson’s hometown. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion grew up in El Cajon, less than a half hour drive from the Naval Base Coronado street course hosting NASCAR this weekend, and will drive the No. 84  Legacy Motor Club Toyota on Sunday.

 

“Proud of what our team showed yesterday," a proud Johnson posted on social media. “We've been seeing the progress internally for a while now, and it's exciting to see it coming together on track. [Nemechek] led a lot of laps, [Jones] was in the mix all day and the pit crew was incredible. Excited to see what we can do in San Diego."

 

 

Poise Under Pressure: Hamlin’s Remarkable Run Rolls On

 

June 8, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Denny Hamlin captured his third points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victory of the year Sunday at Michigan International Speedway – the last two of his amazing wins were stunning rallies through the field coming in consecutive weeks starting from the rear of the grid - spectacular demonstrations of the head-down, poise and confidence of a veteran.

 

At 45 years old in his 21st fulltime season, Hamlin still continues to raise an already stellar game and he’s done so recently in the midst of hugely emotional personal loss – his father during the off-season and then his friend, former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch only weeks ago. 

 

Even in these difficult life-impacting moments Hamlin is proving to be a source of strength to himself and others – raising his game on and off the race track; responding with leadership and compassion. And wins.

 

His victory Sunday in the No. 11 JGR Toyota – by more than 11-seconds on the field - was the 63rd of his career, tying him for ninth place on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list with the two-time champion Kyle Busch. And Hamlin showed up prepared for the moment, marking the achievement with an emotional and so-appropriate victory celebration waving a specially-made Kyle Busch flag outside his window and capping the day with a bow – Busch’s trademark winning salute.

 

It will be an iconic moment in the sport ever after.

 

“The NASCAR community has kind of just been through it over the last -- certainly the last few weeks, but then just generally in the last six, eight months," Hamlin said. “It's been tough. I just wanted to pay my respects to someone that I really did look up to and taught me so much as a teammate. There's nothing we can say or do that's going to make his family feel better, but at least during that little time, you can pay him the respects that he deserves.”

 

Something else Busch could definitely appreciate, is the strength of Hamlin’s game right now.

 

Hamlin won the non-points All-Star race four weeks ago and has added those stunning comeback victories at Nashville and Michigan to a win at Las Vegas in March. Four times in the last five races, Hamlin has finished third-place or better.

 

That kind of early summer effort, combined with Tyler Reddick’s first DNF of the season Sunday at Michigan, has cut Reddick’s one-time 100-points plus lead atop the standings to only 51 points with 11 races remaining in the regular season. The five-race winner Reddick, who drives for 23XI Racing team Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan, and Hamlin have been 1-2 atop the championship standings since April.

 

“I knew the only way we ever could catch him is he was going to have to have bad luck, I said it weeks ago," Hamlin conceded of the narrowing points chase. “He had bad luck today. We were in the same wreck. We were turned around backwards. Luckily, no one hit us in turn one. Our car wasn't very good, and we just, we overcame it.

 

“I think he's going to stretch it out at San Diego and Sonoma (Calif.)," Hamlin said of Reddick’s road course prowess and the upcoming road course races. “I still think he's in a really good place, but if we keep doing this, it will be -- it will keep them interesting and honest for sure.”

 

Hamlin heads into Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (3 p.m. ET on Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) deservedly both the sentimental and logical race favorite. His seven wins there are most in history.

 

The iconic 2.5-mile triangular shaped Pocono track is where Hamlin earned his first NASCAR Cup Series win in 2006, ultimately sweeping the season’s two races there - and doing so in impressive fashion by claiming both trophies from pole position.

 

Amazingly, he’s been able to maintain that magic all these years later. In just the last three Pocono races, he was a victory (2023) followed by back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2024-25 – a Pocono resume that also features an incredible 17 top-five and 24 top-10 showings in 36 starts.

 

Confidence is not a problem for Hamlin at Pocono. Or anywhere else right now.

 

“Just experience," Hamlin answered when asked why he was still able to be so successful two decades into his career.

 

“I was talking to [23 year old JGR teammate] Ty Gibbs before the race, and he was like how many starts do you have? . …He's like, ‘man, I'm at the point now where I feel like I know what I need. I know what I'm looking for.’ And I said, ‘yeah, imagine having four times as many starts as you have.

 

“That's the advantage I have every single week. He feels comfortable where he's at, but just add another 15 years of experience, and you know the transitions of the track and what happens when it gets cloudy, what happens when it gets sunny, what happens when the wind is this direction, that direction, all those things you just learn over time.

 

“It's why we have the upper hand right now."

 

And indeed, he does.

 

--30--

 

Reddick Leads, Bubble Tightens as NASCAR Heads Into Summer Stretch

 

June 1, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fresh off his second points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victory of the year after a remarkable bounce from pole position to last in the field back to Victory Lane at Nashville Superspeedway Sunday night, Denny Hamlin smiled and conceded. … he’s still probably not close enough to make a run at championship points leader Tyler Reddick for the regular season title.

 

In some ways it’s a glass half full scenario for the veteran, who has earned top-five finishes in half the 14 races this year – nine top-10 showings and claimed the All-Star victory. For all his fine effort and dedication – i.e., his amazing run Sunday – Hamlin still trails Reddick by 97 points at the midpoint of the regular season. And that’s progress considering the five-race winner, Reddick, has held a three-digit advantage on the field for much of the season.

 

The upside for Hamlin? He is also co-owner of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota that Reddick has earned so much success in this season. Asked if he realistically thought he could catch Reddick in what’s looking like a two-man chase for the top spot at the end of the regular season, Hamlin did not hesitate.

 

“Not really," said the 45-year-old Hamlin, who with 62 wins is the winningest fulltime driver in the series. “We'd have to win three or four more races. He's going to have to have some DNFs and stuff. So not really. My goal is to try to stay P2, and that will be close enough with 10 [races] to go.”

 

Examining the points standings at this crucial season midpoint – the time most drivers defer to as being a true championship barometer – the points are quite close beyond the Reddick-Hamlin duel.

 

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney – the 2024 series champion – is third, but a substantial 174 points off Reddick’s blazing path. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, sits only 23 points behind Blaney, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs is 34 points off Blaney in fifth place – the highest the 23-year-old Gibbs has ever been ranked this far into the season.

 

Only the top 16 drivers qualify for The Chase in the championship format introduced for 2026. Drivers tend to defer to the regular season “halfway point” – last week’s Charlotte 600-miler - as the true mark of where a team falls competitively so positions in the standings are being watched more closely.

 

Beyond those top five drivers, the current title-chasing group heading into next Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan Speedway (3 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) includes: two-time and reigning series champ, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Sunday night’s race runner-up, JGR’s Christopher Bell, former regular season champ, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, Spire Motorsports race winners Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez, last year’s regular season champ, Hendrick’s William Byron and a new member of the title-chase club, Trackhouse Racing’s second-year Cup Series driver Shane Van Gisbergen.

 

Roush Fenway Keselowski owner-driver Brad Keselowski, JGR’s Chase Briscoe, Reddick’s 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace and Penske’s Austin Cindric currently make up the top-16 in the standings. Cindric holds a precarious two-point edge over RFK’s Ryan Preece for that final Chase position heading into the grueling summer schedule.

 

Of note among this list is the New Zealander and former Australian Super Car Series champ Van Gisbergen, a world-renowned road course racer who has been showing his oval improvement and progress with every passing week. His fifth-place showing at Nashville was his best on an oval as was his 12 laps led total. And he wasn’t just good at the end, he was strong all night long consistently holding position among the top-10.

 

“Starting up front obviously helps, but it was cool to lead some laps and battle at the front," a smiling Van Gisbergen said Sunday post-race. “Our Chevy was running really well all night. I really enjoyed myself tonight.

 

“I learned a lot. I learned to be comfortable moving around in (turns) one and two, which I’ve never been able to do before. We just got the balance better on the two-tire strategy. When we were on a four-tire strategy, we were lacking that. The two-tire stop at the end, we were able to get the balance back again. It was a lot of fun. It definitely feels like we’re making headway.”

 

The mix of former champions and new faces set the tone in an increasingly tight title mix that doesn’t yet include three-time champ Joey Logano, who now sits nine points behind his Team Penske teammate Cindric, or perennial title favorite Ross Chastain, who is ranked 26th in the standings.

 

It certainly ups the championship ante heading into this summer stretch of races – starting with the Michigan two-miler on Sunday (Hamlin is the defending race winner) and highlighted by traditional venues at Pocono, Atlanta, the Sonoma, Calif. road course, the July 4 weekend return of Chicagoland Speedway and of course the much-anticipated inaugural San Diego street course event on Naval Base Coronado.

 

“Certainly, proud of our whole team for just keeping our heads down and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for continuing to just chip away at it, man," Elliott said. “It's a long year.”

 

 

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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) 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 five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.

  

 

 

   nascar cup series

NASCAR Cup Series schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

DateRaceTrackTime
Feb. 1Cook Out Clash at Bowman GrayBowman Gray Stadium8 p.m.
Feb. 12Duel 1 at DaytonaDaytona International Speedway7 p.m.
Feb. 12Duel 2 at DaytonaDaytona International Speedway8:45 p.m.
Feb. 15Daytona 500Daytona International Speedway2:30 p.m.
Feb. 22Autotrader 400EchoPark Speedway3 p.m.
March 1DuraMax Grand PrixCircuit of the Americas3:30 p.m.
March 8Straight Talk Wireless 500Phoenix Raceway3:30 p.m.
March 15Pennzoil 400Las Vegas Motor Speedway4 p.m.
March 22Goodyear 400Darlington Raceway3 p.m.
March 29Cook Out 400Martinsville Speedway3:30 p.m.
April 12Food City 500Bristol Motor Speedway3 p.m.
April 19AdventHealth 400Kansas Speedway2 p.m.
April 26Jack Link's 500Talladega Superspeedway3 p.m.
May 3Wurth 400Texas Motor Speedway3:30 p.m.
May 10Go Bowling at the GlenWatkins Glen International3 p.m.
May 17All-Star RaceDover Motor Speedway3 p.m.
May 24Coca-Cola 600Charlotte Motor Speedway6 p.m.
May 31Cracker Barrel 400Nashville Superspeedway 7 p.m.
June 7FireKeepers Casino 400Michigan International Speedway3 p.m.
June 14Cup Series race at PoconoPocono Raceway3 p.m.
June 21Anduril 250Naval Base Coronado4 p.m.
June 28Toyota/Save Mart 350Sonoma Raceway3:30 p.m.
July 5Cup Series race at ChicagolandChicagoland Speedway6 p.m.
July 12Quaker State 400EchoPark Speedway7 p.m.
July 19Window World 400North Wilkesboro Speedway7 p.m.
July 26Brickyard 400Indianapolis Motor Speedway2 p.m.
Aug. 9Iowa Corn 350Iowa Speedway3:30 p.m.
Aug. 15Cook Out 400Richmond Raceway7 p.m.
Aug. 23Cup Series race at New HampshireNew Hampshire Motor Speedway3 p.m.
Aug. 29Coke Zero Sugar 400Daytona International Speedway7:30 p.m.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff race schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

DateRaceTrackTime
Sept. 6Southern 500Darlington Raceway5 p.m.
Sept. 13Enjoy Illinois 300World Wide Technology Raceway3 p.m.
Sept. 19Bass Pro Shops Night RaceBristol Motor Speedway7:30 p.m.
Sept. 27Hollywood Casino 400Kansas Speedway3 p.m.
Oct. 4South Point 400Las Vegas Motor Speedway5:30 p.m.
Oct. 11Bank of America ROVAL 400Charlotte Road Course3 p.m.
Oct. 18Freeway Insurance 500Phoenix Raceway3 p.m.
Oct. 25Yellawood 500Talladega Superspeedway2 p.m.
Nov. 1Xfinity 500Martinsville Speedway2 p.m.
Nov. 8Cup Series Championship RaceHomestead-Miami Speedway3 p.m.

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