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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.

Larson leaves Talladega with a trophy, a cushion and unfinished business

 

October 26, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Beyond all the NASCAR Cup Series championship implications that came with Kyle Larson’s dramatic victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, the 33-year-old Californian was genuinely just so elated to finally claim the first drafting track victory of his career, snapping a nagging 0-for-58 streak in a double-championship career.

 

In fact, Larson, his crew chief Cliff Daniels and even Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon remained adamant even in all the celebratory post-race hoopla, that despite the dramatic 'Dega win, the 2026 title is not theirs – yet – with two races remaining at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

And that careful approach comes despite Larson’s 73-point point advantage on the field – the largest it's been in the eight-race old Chase to date.

 

“I also don't want to let that [points margin] be clouding in my thoughts as we prepare this week and run in the race at Martinsville, 'cause really have a good day and give ourselves a good shot at Homestead," Larson said.

 

“Never in a million years would I have imagined leaving here plus 73, though (smiling). I was shocked when I saw that on the screen. Even more pumped. That makes the win feel even way cooler.”

 

Added Hendrick executive Jeff Gordon, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion himself, “They know their competitors are fierce and there's no given. There's no points lead big enough at this point.

 

However. … Sunday’s Talladega outcome could hardly have been more in Larson’s favor. Not only did he earn lots of stage points in addition to the victory, many of his closest championship challengers at the drop of the green flag were wary and thwarted by the time the checkered flew in overtime.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell went into Talladega only five points behind Larson – the closest margin atop the standings all Chase - after a brutal Phoenix race for the reigning champ, who finished 34th after crashing out.

 

Talladega was the reverse, with Bell the first Chase driver to suffer a major setback when his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing spun approaching pit road on his first pit stop. The damage – and three subsequent pit road penalties during the repair stop – ended up putting Bell down eight laps before the end of the opening stage of racing. He finished 35th - 12 laps off the pace and dropped to third in the standings, 74 points behind Larson.

 

Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin also had a rough day. He went into Talladega ranked fourth – but only 31 points off Larson – and was among those collected in a 12-car pileup during Stage 2. Hamlin was able to continue, his No. 11 JGR Toyota finishing eighth and now he’s second to Larson in the title standings and needing to recover those 73 points in the next two races.

 

The veteran Hamlin sat on pole position and finished runner-up at Martinsville earlier this season. He has six wins and 28 top-10 finishes there - his last trophy coming in Spring, 2025. And Hamlin has three wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the most recent in 2020.

 

Bell’s only Martinsville win came in the Chase race in 2022. He won the following year at Homestead.

 

Larson scored his only Martinsville victory in Spring, 2023. And he is a two-time winner at Homestead, his most recent win at the South Florida 1.5-miler coming in the series’ last visit to the track in March 2025.

 

“There's still two races," Larson repeated. “Like, it's so easy to look at it and be like, oh, the 5's got it. We could go to Martinsville and there's a 33-car stack-up on the first lap, it’s so unpredictable. I could cave in the radiator and be done.

 

“I'm just saying there's still a lot of racing left. So much in the Chase. All you guys in here are like, ‘this person is out, this person has it locked up.’ They win or something happens and then, ‘boom,’ the picture completely changes.

 

“I'm not getting ahead of myself at all. I'm not going to let you guys get me ahead of myself either.”

 

Larson’s teammate William Byron – who finished runner-up Sunday at Talladega – is the defending winner of the Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville Speedway.

 

--30--

 

After Tyler Reddick’s win at Phoenix, we have a brand new Chase

 

October 19, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

AVONDALE, Ariz. — With Sunday’s victory in the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Tyler Reddick got an upgrade from “written off” to “suddenly relevant,” where the NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1 is concerned.

 

Reddick arrived at the one-mile track in the Phoenix’s West Valley 114 points behind Chase leader Kyle Larson with four races left in the postseason. When it came to the series title, the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota wasn’t even part of the conversation.

 

That changed radically and dramatically on Sunday when Reddick won for the first time since April 19 at Kansas Speedway, and Larson suffered through an absolute disaster of a race.

 

The net result was a 58-point swing in Reddick’s favor, putting him 56 points behind Larson—certainly within reach of the lead based on the huge swings at Phoenix.

 

With new life in the Chase, Reddick nevertheless doesn’t plan to change his approach to the next three races. Getting though next Sunday’s unpredictable YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway is the top priority.

 

“I think for us, (it’s) week-to-week, primarily still just focusing on trying to win races,”

 

Reddick said in his post-victory press conference. “If we can have a calm 'Dega, get stage points, finish with a car in one piece, I think we'll have another good points day. Then it will fall to Martinsville.

 

“Historically it's not been a great place for us. I mean, I like the progression that we've made in the last year. I mean, yes, we hadn't won on a short track yet, but we were able to check that box today…

 

“Look ahead to Martinsville, I'm excited about it. I feel like I don't say that too often about Martinsville. I'm always excited to learn and get better. Very excited to see what we'll have there.”

 

Reddick still faces a formidable obstacle. After his victory at Phoenix, he’s seventh in the Chase standings, with six drivers to leap-frog for a potential title.

 

The five drivers between Reddick and Larson all qualified in the top five at Phoenix, and like sharks sensing blood in the water, they indulged themselves in a feeding frenzy when it became apparent that Larson was a lost cause.

 

Christopher Bell finished fourth and took a 46-point bite out of Larson’s lead. Now second in the standings, Bell is just five points out of first place, as the air of inevitability Larson enjoyed through six races blew away like a dust devil in the desert.

 

Typically dissatisfied with anything but a win, Bell was upbeat after the race.

 

“I think we’re right in the mix, and that’s awesome,” Bell declared.

 

Chase Briscoe, a two-time winner in the postseason, is 24 points behind Larson after an eighth-place finish at Phoenix. Denny Hamlin—despite a tire failure late in the race—trails by 31.

 

Team Penske Ford teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano are 40 and 44 points in arrears, respectively.

 

The real mystery of Phoenix was why Larson arrived with a car that didn’t work and couldn’t be fixed. The balance was off in practice. He qualified 22nd, and no attempt at race strategy could stop him from falling back through the field.

 

Trapped a lap down, Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet finally gave up the ghost, blew a tire, and rocketed into the Turn 1 wall, ending the Chase leader’s race in 34th place.

 

“Certainly, we got punched in the mouth today, but it’s OK,” said Cliff Daniels, Larson’s crew chief. “We’ve got to be tough and keep moving.

 

“When our car was just that deficient on having a connected balance—having a good entry (into the corner), having a good middle, having a good exit—there obviously wasn’t a whole lot we were going to do with it.

 

“We tried. Every pit stop we were throwing a lot of changes at it, even one that we went under the hood and just did a lot of work. I was hopeful that, by the time we stacked all this together, we’d have some sign of life, and we just never really got there. Obviously, we missed the fundamental baseline that we had in the car.”

 

The only positive is that Larson still has the series lead.

 

For Reddick, who won the first three races of the season and five of the first nine, the positive is that he now has a shot.

 

If he can improve his position through Talladega and Martinsville, Reddick likely will be a factor in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he won back-to-back NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championships in 2018 and 2019.

 

If Reddick can finish the season the way he started it, he could well be an unexpected champion.

 

Now, at least, he’s back in the conversation.

 

--30--

 

Hot Hands Meet Desert Heat

Briscoe, Day Ride Into Phoenix With Insane Momentum

 

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a semi-regular series of fun, storyline-driven releases. You can’t ignore what Chase Briscoe and Corey Day are doing. So we didn’t.

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 16, 2026) – Forget the engineers, the hours spent on the sim and sitting in on competition meetings. Chase Briscoe may have found the secret to winning in the form of his 5-year-old son, Brooks, whose racing advice is refreshingly simple: “Press the pedal all the way down.”

 

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won back-to-back races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, and he’s showing no signs of lifting. Briscoe is the only driver with multiple wins on 1.5-mile tracks this season, with three victories. Five other drivers have one each, so either Briscoe has figured something out or Brooks needs to start offering consultations. Reminder … the Bill France Cup will be raised by the eventually champion following a race at a 1.5 mile track.

 

Christopher Bell has also kept JGR in the mix, making the team’s recent success even more impressive.

 

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver without a win in the last 10 races.

 

The No. 19 team has been just as impressive on pit road. All three of the fastest recorded four-tire pit stops, per Racing Insights, belong to Briscoe’s crew, and six of the 10 quickest stops during the Chase have come from them. The crew has also gone 15 consecutive races without a pit crew mistake.

 

Briscoe has made up 58 points on Larson over the last two weeks, giving the defending champion one more challenger to account for.

 

As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix for the Freeway Insurance 500 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Briscoe’s looking to make it three straight wins at the track where he earned his first Cup Series victory in 2022.

 

With four races remaining in the Chase, he’ll have a chance to keep chipping away at Larson’s lead and prove that, sometimes, the simplest advice is the best.

 

Day’s Not Checking the Comment Section

Corey Day’s relationship with X hasn’t always been the warmest. Earlier this season, the young Hendrick Motorsports driver had his fair share of critics online.

 

“Corey Day is just a Temu Kyle Larson.”

 

“Holy cow, Corey Day might be one of the most overrated prospects in NASCAR.”

 

“Corey Day wins 20 percent of his races and wrecks the other 80 percent.”

 

At Charlotte, though, fans were chanting his name at the start/finish line. Funny how winning can change the soundtrack.

 

Day isn’t losing sleep over anyone’s opinions either. “I think it’s funny, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” he said in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center. And after back-to-back wins, he’s got a pretty good reason to let the results do the talking.

 

The numbers are starting to make their own argument, too. Day is the first Hendrick Motorsports driver to win consecutive O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races since Kyle Busch in 2004. He’s also gained 85 points on Sheldon Creed over the last two races, turning a 92-point deficit into just seven as he heads to Phoenix Raceway for Saturday’s Timberland PRO 200 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

About NASCAR     

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 15 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 Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). 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. 
 
 For more information visit  www.NASCAR.com and  www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and Facebook.

 

 

Chase irony: Sixth-place run boosts Kyle Larson’s NASCAR Cup Series lead

 

October 12, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

With a tire leaking air and the finish line a few feet away, Chase Briscoe did Kyle Larson a big favor on Sunday afternoon.

 

Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota collided with the No. 20 Toyota of teammate Christopher Bell near the entrance to the tri-oval, but Briscoe held on to win the Bank of America 400 by 0.029 seconds—the second-closet finish in Charlotte Motor Speedway history.

 

Clearly, Briscoe helped himself enormously with his second straight victory. He advanced two positions to fourth in the standings and trimmed his deficit to Larson, the Chase leader, to 65 points.

 

Briscoe’s win, however, also was a boon to Larson, in that it prevented Bell from moving into second place in the standings, some 30 points behind the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion.

 

Instead, Larson actually increased his lead from 40 to 49 points over second-place Denny Hamlin, who finished fifth on Sunday—one position ahead of Larson—and still lost ground to the leader because of a deficit in stage points.

 

The bottom line is that Larson actually expanded his advantage in the Chase over the course of three consecutive races on 1.5-mile intermediate speedways that were supposed to be the province of Toyota drivers.

 

In fact, Briscoe won two of the three—at Las Vegas and Charlotte—and finished second to Larson at Kansas, but the two Toyota drivers who could have eaten significantly into Larson’s lead, Hamlin and Bell, couldn’t find Victory Lane.

 

Indeed, in the Chase so far, serendipity has been riding shotgun in Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

 

On Sunday, he started from the pole after a qualifying rainout according to NASCAR’s metric formula that blends the finishing position from the previous race with current standing in owner points.

 

Larson took full advantage, winning the first stage. He fell to sixth after the second stage restart but climbed back to fourth at the finish to earn a total of 17 stage points for the event.

 

“The first stage played out exactly how we needed it to,” Larson said. “The cautions were kind of coming out right when I was about to get passed.

 

“The second stage was promising. I had that really bad start, but we fought our way back into the top-five and got good points there. Coming home with a sixth-place finish, all-in-all, I feel like we maximized our day.”

 

As the Chase has progressed, comparisons between Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team of seven-time series Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have become more prevalent.

 

Back in 2010, in a comment he later regretted, Kevin Harvick opined that Johnson and his team had a “golden horseshoe” residing where the sun doesn’t shine.

 

The way the Chase has played out so far might lead one to think that the horseshoe has been passed down to Larson and his No. 5 crew.

 

Next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway—a track that is neither his best nor his favorite—Larson will put his 49-point lead at risk. It’s a track where Chase Briscoe claimed the first of his eight career victories while driving a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

 

But it’s also the track where good fortune—in the form of timely late cautions—propelled Larson to both his series championships. Nevertheless, Larson doesn’t feel comfortable with his current margin in the Chase.

 

“No, I won’t feel comfortable until it’s over,” he said. “Obviously, Briscoe winning and having a good day—you can take big chunks out of it if you win.

 

“We’re going to go to some tracks where others are really good coming up, so we just have to keep putting together days like we did (at Charlotte). We weren’t the fastest, but we got good points.”

 

If Briscoe keeps winning, or if Hamlin and Bell catch fire, “good points” may not be enough to guarantee a championship.

 

But Larson will have his own excellent performance to rely on—and perhaps the golden horseshoe, if need be.

 

--30--

 

It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over

Larson Looks Unstoppable … Is He?

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 8, 2026) – When the New York Yankees were good and not getting swept by a team with a third of its payroll, there was a catcher named Yogi Berra who said crazy stuff that somehow made sense.

 

“Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.”

 

“Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

 

“I really didn’t say everything I said.”

 

And apropos of this NASCAR Cup Series Chase … ‘It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”

 

Just a few weeks ago in this space, we were writing about Kyle Larson getting his swagger back, ending a 51-race winless drought at World Wide Technology Raceway and climbing to second in the Chase standings, nine points behind Denny Hamlin.

 

We also suggested that the rest of the field should be afraid of what might happen next.

 

What happened next has been historic.

 

Through the first five races of the Chase, the defending two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has finished no worse than fifth, won at Kansas Speedway and built a 40-point advantage over Hamlin.

 

As you no doubt heard in this week’s episode of the Hauler Talk Podcast episode, Larson’s 2.2 Chase average finish ranks P1 over the first five races in Chase history (2004-2013, 2026). The rest of the top five are Jimmie Johnson (2009, 3.2), Jeff Gordon (2007, 4.0), Johnson again (2013, 4.0) and Kurt Busch (2004, 4.2). Only Gordon failed to go on to win the championship, and it took Johnson winning four consecutive races in the second half of the 2007 Chase to stop him.

 

So, yes, there are plenty of reasons to believe Larson can finish this thing. There’s just one minor detail standing in the way of officially calling it finished: five races remain in the Chase, and the way the rest of the schedule is laid out is anything but a free pass.

 

Here’s a list of why it ain’t over ‘til it’s over:

 

Wild Card Tracks Could Trip Up Larson

Meanwhile, the schedule has a couple of its own wrinkles. Talladega Superspeedway is always capable of making things particularly interesting, while the fall Chase race at Charlotte Motor Speedway returns to the oval for the first time since 2017.

 

Charlotte and Talladega also happen to be two of the five tracks where Larson has recorded the most career finishes of 30th or worse. That’s not exactly a prediction of doom for the No. 5 team, but it is a perfectly sensible reason to hold off on assuming everyone already knows how this ends.

 

The rest of the field will surely put up a fight this Sunday, October 11, during the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Hamlin Didn’t Forget How to Be Awesome

Denny Hamlin may be 40 points behind, but the remaining schedule includes several tracks where he’s already proven he can win. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has six career victories at Martinsville Speedway, three at Homestead-Miami Speedway, two at Phoenix Raceway, two at Talladega Superspeedway and one at Charlotte Motor Speedway, giving him 14 wins across all five tracks still standing between Larson and the championship.

 

Back Half of Chase Sets Up Nicely For Blaney

Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford present another problem. Blaney won at Phoenix earlier this year and has also been particularly strong at Martinsville, giving Team Penske plenty of reason to believe the final stretch can still swing its way.

 

Even Though Larson Called BS, Bell’s Pretty Darn Good

Power steering or not, Christopher Bell is still close enough to make things interesting, too. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver opened the Chase with a win at Darlington Raceway and has already shown this season that he can put together the kind of weekends that change the championship picture quickly.

 

Logano Has Chip On Shoulder

Joey Logano has quietly climbed into fourth after winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in the latest installment of his “4 THE HATERS” campaign. Per sources, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was not particularly interested in letting everyone else have all the fun.

 

Several missed opportunities for Chase drivers at Las Vegas

 

October 5, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

LAS VEGAS – Play the ball where it lies.

 

That’s what Denny Hamlin conceded of his competitive philosophy at the midpoint of the 10-race Chase to crown the 2026 champion.

 

And frankly, that’s advice most of the title challengers could benefit from at this point. Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a prime opportunity for Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney to make a move on Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson atop the Chase standings. But the two-time and reigning series champ instead, extended his points lead.

 

Hamlin won pole position in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was looking to equal a historic mark of three consecutive wins at the Vegas 1.5-miler. But after leading laps early, a mid-race spin followed by a mechanical gremlin kept Hamlin from scoring a single stage point and after having to overcome those issues, he finished 16th and lost 14 more points to Larson in the rankings.

 

He’s now 40 points back heading to the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1.5-miler for Sunday night’s Bank of America 400 (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

It was indicative of the race vibe for many of the 16 Chase drivers. Ten of them suffered some sort of issue to overcome. And for the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team - which for only the second time in history swept the top four positions on the starting grid – it was a big feast or famine situation.

 

For all but one of them, it felt a little more “famine”-like as Chase Briscoe performed a master-class in the No. 19 JGR Toyota – winning both stages, leading 175 of the 267 laps and taking the checkered flag by 1.376-second after his two closest competitors in the closing laps – Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who made contact on a last-ditch, last-lap maneuver to try and snatch the victory from Briscoe.

 

They still finished second and third to Briscoe with fellow title-eligible cars making up 12 of the top 14 finishing positions. The strong effort from Briscoe moved him up two spots in the Chase rankings to sixth place now, but he’s still 84 points off Larson’s title-forward pace.

 

“It's still a long way to go." Briscoe said. “I have a couple of coals in the fire or irons in the fire, but a lot of other guys have way more. I'm definitely still in the mix.

 

“We're definitely still in it," he reiterated. “Larson started 55 [points] back and had a 26-point lead after four [races] and we have five races to go and I'm 84 back, so it's definitely doable."

 

Right now, Larson’s efforts are a little reminiscent of NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart’s incredible run in the 10-race Chase for the 2011 title when he was winless in the regular season then answered with five wins in the Chase en route to hoisting his third title.

 

Similarly, Larson has won two of the first four races of the Chase and like Stewart in 2011, he snapped a season-long winless streak to do so. Stewart went on to win three of the last four races with six top-10 finishes to close out his third title season. Should Larson parlay his current lead and performance into another title, he’d also have three championships.

 

Larson has scored top-five finishes through the opening five Chase races but as with so many championship-eligible drivers, he also had to overcome challenges Sunday to keep that streak alive. He went a lap down early following a lengthy early race green flag pit stop – ultimately only scoring a single point in the two stages. But his remarkable drive back through the field may be just what he and his team remember should he earn his third championship.

 

“We just chipped away at it all race long," he said, adding, “I just tried to stay patient, but my tires were getting kind of burnt off by the time I got there. I did what I could to try and win.”

 

After Las Vegas, Larson holds that 40-edge over Hamlin with JGR’s Christopher Bell (-55), Penske’s Joey Logano (-71) and Ryan Blaney (-80) and Briscoe (-84) hold the top six positions and are the only driver within 100 points of Larson.

 

As the series heads home for this weekend’s full slate of racing at Charlotte, the points situation is compelling and the motivation is palpable. Six of the last seven Charlotte race winners are current Chase drivers.

 

 

Did Kyle Larson just blow up the Chase at Kansas?

 

September 28, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson won’t say it. No athlete in his position would.

 

But with his never-say-quit victory in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took a giant step toward a third NASCAR Cup Series championship.

 

Is the title now Larson’s to lose? The demurral came quickly.

 

“No, no,” Larson said during his post-race press conference, laughing off the suggestion. “There are still six races, and I only have a 26, I think, point lead on Denny (Hamlin). That could be swallowed up in a hurry. I scored 76 points today.

 

“So, Denny could go have a max points day next week, and I could blow an engine, like Noah (Gragson) did in the first stage, and I'm down 70-some points right there.

 

“No, I don't look at it like that. I'm just really trying to do the best job I can, again. And, yeah, just show up to the racetrack and kind of block out all that stuff.”

 

It’s only natural for Larson to downplay his prospects, but here’s the reality. In the first four races of the Chase presented by Mobil 1, the defending series champ has gained 84 points on Hamlin, who entered the postseason as the top seed.

 

Larson is the only Chase driver who has performed at an elite level in all four Chase races. He was fifth at Darlington Raceway, first at World Wide Technology Raceway, second at Bristol Motor Speedway and first again at Kansas.

 

Yes, he leads Hamlin by only 26 points, an advantage that could disappear in a single race. But Larson also leads third-place Christopher Bell by 50 points and fourth-place Joey Logano by 67—and both Bell and Logano also are Chase race winners.

 

The remaining 12 Chase drivers range from 91 points behind (Ryan Blaney in fifth) to 187 points out of the running (Daniel Suarez in 16th).

 

“Yeah, I think in that side of things, yeah, you start paying less attention maybe to the other guys that you feel like are probably close to out of contention,” Larson acknowledged. “But yeah, you're still trying to run the best laps that you can and execute great restarts, good pit stops, all the things.

 

“Then, yeah, wherever the points kind of shake out at the end of the day, they shake out.”

 

The surge to the top of the standings isn’t all about Larson. His No. 5 team has done everything necessary to make him a winner.

 

On Sunday, for example, crew chief Cliff Daniels made a last-second call to bring Larson to pit road after the team, monitoring Chase Briscoe’s radio, heard that Briscoe was pitting from second place behind Larson.

 

That move kept the No. 5 car in the lead after pit stops cycled out, where pitting a lap later probably would have cost Larson the top spot.

 

“In this case we knew all week that if we're the leader coming to the final green flag pit stop in Stage 3 that we were going to have to cover that, depending on what the gap out back was,” Daniels said. “Of course, the gap out back was super close.

 

“Credit to the guys in our war room and our engineer here. They do what we all do to play the game, and you scan the other guy. We heard them call it out over the radio late trying to probably keep us from hearing it and making it to pit road in time.

 

“I called it out to (spotter) Tyler (Monn). Of course, he called it out over the radio, and Kyle made it clean. That was important to try to defend the lead at that point.”

 

Larson’s pit crew was flawless as well. On every stop under caution, the No. 5 Chevrolet was first off pit road.

 

“Our pit crew was phenomenal all day,” Daniels said. “I believe their fastest stop may have been an 8.5 (seconds), and their slowest stop was an 8.7. Super tight in that window of consistency and speed.

 

“Those guys, even when we haven't been great performance-wise on track at times this year and during the summer, they've been really strong on pit road all year… For those guys to have a great day today, we would not have stayed in the race the way that we did without them.”

 

Bottom line? Larson’s team is beginning to look something like the juggernaut that carried former Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson to five straight championships—and a record-tying seven overall.

 

Consider also that Larson has two wins and three second-place finishes in nine Gen 7 era starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which hosts the next race on the Chase calendar.

 

Still, Larson prefers to poor-mouth his success. After all, he started on the front row at Kansas according to metrics after qualifying was rained out.

 

“I'm not convinced that I was better than them (the Toyotas) because we didn't get to qualify, so I got to line up on the front row,” Larson said. “Logano was up there. His team has kind of struggled here over the NextGen era, I would say. He was kind of clogging the field up there that first run.

 

“So, yeah, I don't want to read into it… If a Toyota was out in the lead, they could have potentially looked better than us. It's just there was no qualifying. The weekend could have looked quite a bit different if, say, I qualify seventh. I don't know if it would have looked as good as it did today.”

 

There’s another unknown in the equation. It would be highly unusual for Larson not to face serious adversity at some point during a 10-race Chase. That’s the nature of the beast.

 

However, all indications from the first four postseason races suggest that Larson and his team will be able to handle any pitfalls that may come their way.

 

 

nascar reviews & NOTEBOOKS

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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 Weekend Preview: Martinsville Speedway

Larson holds the cards as title rivals seek Martinsville magic

  

Larson holds the cards as title rivals seek Martinsville magic

 

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Kyle Larson is hoping his amazing last lap rally to win at NASCAR’s biggest track last week will be enough to help him to a trophy hoist this week at one of the sport’s smallest tracks. And it could be enough to place him in contention for the biggest trophy hoist of the season.

 

The Hendrick Motorsports driver is on the verge of becoming the first back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series champion since another Hendrick driver, NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson won a record five consecutive titles from 2006-2010.

 

By virtue of his victory last week at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway - the first drafting track win of his career – Larson takes a 73-point advantage over the field into Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

It’s the largest lead any driver has had in the eight Chase races to date and certainly puts the pressure on his closest challengers. Not only is he a former Martinsville winner (2023) but he’s finished top-10 in the last eight races there.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin – tops among Larson’s challengers – happens to be the series’ most successful active driver at Martinsville with six wins. His teammates, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, who trail Larson by 74 and 79 points, respectively are also in dire need of some short track magic.

 

Team Penske teammates Joey Logano (-100) and Ryan Blaney (-106) are hopeful to renew some of their own Martinsville magic. Logano, who is making his 650th career NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend, has been particularly good on short tracks this year and is actually in position to become the first driver since 2007 to earn four short track wins in a single season. He shows up at the .526-mile Martinsville “paper clip” with victories on the schedule’s last two short tracks.

 

And Blaney has shown himself particularly capable at Martinsville with a pair of victories in the last six races there and finishes or first or second in five of the last 13 races there.

 

Hamlin has been particularly impressive on the short tracks and now racing for his championship life, he could use some of that mojo. His 15 short track wins are essentially double that of any other driver – Logano has eight.

 

The two are also ranked first and second in average finish this season on short tracks – Logano 4.5 to Hamlin’s 5.0.  They also top the current championship-eligible field in points earned on short tracks – Logano has 71-point edge on Hamlin here. Logano’s 511 laps led on short tracks is second only to his teammate Blaney’s 612.

 

Larson is only averaging an 11.3 finish on this style of track, but has led 311 laps – third on the list among championship eligible drivers.

 

It’s worth noting Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron are the most recent Martinsville race winners, with Byron claiming the Fall race win last year from pole position and leading an absolutely dominating 304 of the 500 laps.

 

“There's still two races," Larson warned following his victory last week. “It's so easy to look at it and be like, ‘Oh, the 5's got it.’"

 

He is taking nothing for granted and insists he’s racing this week no differently than he would without a third career title on the line.

 

“There's still a lot of racing left," he said. “All you guys [in the media] are like, ‘This person is out, this person has it locked up.’ They win or something happens, boom, the picture completely changes."

 

Practice gets underway at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 2:05 p.m. ET – both sessions broadcast on truTV and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Clock Ticking: Seven title hopefuls face pivotal Martinsville test

 

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series arrives at Martinsville Speedway with the most competitive battle atop the standings – seven drivers still eligible to hoist the championship trophy next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

Reigning series champion, Richard Childress Racing driver Jesse Love leads the standings by 19 points over another former champ, JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier. Hendrick Motorsports rookie Corey Day is 29 points off the pace with Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed (-50), JRM’s Carson Kvapil (-59), Creed’s teammate Sam Mayer (-96), and last week’s Talladega winner, JRM’s Sammy Smith (-108) still Chase eligible.

 

Five drivers in the series have previous wins at Martinsville, including Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones, Austin Hill and Taylor Gray, who claimed his first career win in this race last year. Allgaier is the only full-time driver with multiple wins earning his second iconic Martinsville clock trophies – just this Spring.

 

Points leader Love conceded last week that the Martinsville half-miler may be his biggest challenge to close out the season and become the series’ first back-to-back champ since Tyler Reddick in 2018-2019. The driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet has a best finish of 12th in the last six short track races and is averaging an 18.6 finish at Martinsville – worst among the seven drivers still championship eligible.

 

Creed actually boasts the best average finish (4.0) on short tracks this season. Allgaier has been second best (8.3) followed by the defending race winner Gray (9.0).

 

“I can’t wait to get to Martinsville this weekend," Allgaier said. “We are still in this fight, and Martinsville is a great place to continue to gain ground on the points lead. We had an unbelievable car here in the spring and I know that [crew chief] Andrew [Overstreet] and all the guys on this No. 7 team will give me a car just as strong when we hit the track on Friday. We just need to execute like we did earlier this year here and keep the fenders clean."

 

Nine different drivers have won the last nine short track races on the schedule. Specific to Martinsville, the last six races have been won by six different drivers.

 

The last three short track races have featured winning passes in the closing 10 laps of the race, and seven of the last 10 Martinsville races have gone to overtime.

 

Practice starts at 3 p.m. ET on Friday followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET. Harrison Burton is the defending pole winner.

 

Honeycutt holds the cushion; Riggs aims to shake it at Martinsville

 

TRICON Garage driver Kaden Honeycutt takes a strong 43-point advantage over Front Row Motorsports Layne Riggs into Friday night’s Black’s Tire 200 presented by Down East Heating & Air Conditioning at Martinsville Speedway (6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) but neither driver is calling this title run done with two races remaining to settle the trophy honors.

 

Honeycutt rallied to a fifth-place effort at Talladega, Ala. last week in the kind of thrilling overtime finish that fans and competitors have come to expect at the big track. Riggs was eighth in his No. 34 Ford. And now the series transitions from the sport’s largest track to its one of its smallest at .536-mile.

 

“Looking forward to Martinsville, and got a good cushion, but you never say it is over till it is over," Honeycutt said after the Talladega checkered flag. “I’m sure we will be racing hard for the win next week.”

 

Riggs has four finishes of 15th or better at Martinsville and remains optimistic despite the point-deficit he faces.

 

“We set as a goal that if I was 45 (points) or worse back, we’re not gonna have a shot," said Riggs, whose father Scott won at Martinsville in 2001.

 

“Obviously, I think the 11 [Honeycutt] can’t be as good as us. We’re gonna have to go dominate the next two races. I know this team can do it. We’ve done it all year long. I’m excited. This is gonna be fun.”

 

Defending series champion, Corey Heim is the defending race winner claiming the trophy for TRICON Garage last October – finishing just ahead of Honeycutt, whose runner-up showing is his best work – and only second top-10 - in six starts at the track.

 

Riggs started from pole position, led 27 laps, and also turned in his career best effort at the track with a third place in the 2025 Fall race.

 

Last week’s Talladega race winner, Sammy Smith, who announced his new contract to team with Honeycutt next year at TRICON, will be in the field again keeping the title contenders honest.

 

The winningest Chase-eligible driver at Martinsville that’s in Friday night’s field is actually Eckes, who swept the 2024 races at the track. The only other Chase drivers with past wins at Martinsville are Eckes’ McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate Daniel Hemric (Spring, 2025) and CR7 Motorsports' Grant Enfinger (Fall, 2022). All three of these drivers have been mathematically eliminated from title contention but remain in tight points battles of their own.

 

There is a lot to race for in these final two races of the year. Eckes dropped two positions after Talladega to fifth place in the standings - but is only three points out of third place. Hemric dropped four spots to seventh at Talladega but is 17 points behind sixth place Gio Ruggiero. Enfinger shows up at Martinsville ranked last among the 10 Chase drivers, but is a mere seven-points behind Hemric in seventh.

 

Practice is at 12:30 p.m. ET on Friday followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying at 1:35 p.m. ET – both televised on FS2. Riggs is the defending pole winner.

 

 

Saturday Talladega Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Even with preparation, unpredictability rules at Talladega
  • Hocevar first-time back at site of first-time win
  • Toyota wins NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer's title
  • NMPA Most Popular Driver voting now open

 

Oct. 24, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

EVEN WITH PREPARATION, UNPREDICTABILITY RULES AT TALLADEGA

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. – The 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high-banks easily provide the most unpredictable setting in the closing races of this 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship Chase. A lot is on the title line in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) but drivers say they expect this race to be no different than any other here - ultra-competitive and highly-dramatic.

 

The approach here can be defensive – just trying to hold steady and escape with a reasonable finish, or it can be aggressive – jumping into the close-quarter fray to wrangle one of the most sought trophies on the schedule.

 

And depending on where a driver is in the championship standings seems likely to play a role. The word “wildcard” has become synonymous with this venue and these 188 laps of full-on action and anxiety.

 

Two-time and reigning series champion, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson holds a five-point advantage atop the standings over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. JGR’s Chase Briscoe is third, only 24 points back with regular season champ, JGR’s Denny Hamlin 31 points off Larson and Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano 40 and 44 points, respectively off Larson.

 

Among the five – Briscoe is the defending winner of the Fall race. Hamlin has a pair of Talladega wins and both Blaney and Logano have won three times here.

 

“Do you prepare as much as you can with your team and with your group and can you go execute that day and if you do, that’s very, very rewarding if you can go and do the right things and everything works out for you,’’ Blaney said of his approach. “But, if things don’t go your way and something happens that is outside of your control, that’s just kind of it is what it is.

 

“Sometimes, there’s not a lot you can do about it and you just have to deal with that. I think everyone thinks of these speedways a little bit differently, but I’ve always enjoyed coming just because I like the style, and I feel like it’s just a different form of racing and you just hope you make the right decisions. Sometimes you don’t, but you just hope you make the right ones between yourself and your group.”

 

Briscoe also acknowledged the track’s unique character and propensity to produce new winners. There have been no repeat winners in the last 12 Talladega races.

 

“I feel like it's definitely an opportunity for the good and the bad, right? ‘’ Briscoe said.

 

“More often than not, the Chase guys are for the most part all in the top 10 [at other venues] where here, you can just have such big swings, so that's an opportunity,’’ he added. “If you do have a good points day, then you can just gain a ton of points on guys, but also, you can lose a lot of points too. So, I think it's an opportunity for both sides. They're just obviously a little bit more out of our control here. So I don't know, just try to come in with an open mind. Hope you go away with a solid day.”

 

HOCEVAR FIRST-TIME BACK AT SITE OF FIRST-TIME WIN

Spire Motorsports’ driver Carson Hocevar earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win this April after out-negotiating the field on three late race re-starts at one of the sport’s most famous – and famously tough – tracks, Talladega Superspeedway.

 

The victory – and the one-of-a-kind ensuing celebration with Hocevar sitting on the window ledge of his No. 77 Chevrolet for a Victory Lap – helped propel the 23-year old Michigan native to great popularity among the NASCAR faithful. And the fondness has remained.

 

“My life hasn’t been the same, but it’s just more fun because a lot of it is very visual memories,’’ Hocevar said. “I remember what everything looks like and what we experienced and all. A lot of my friends ... I’m glad I won here of all places. My agent was like, ‘Man, with Carson winning everybody wants to come here, all his friends want VIP passes. I was like, “Dude, it’s Talladega. They were gonna come anyways. … It’s by far the most fun track you could win your first one at.”

 

“I don’t think anything’s really changed other than I signed a few more autographs,’’ he added with a grin, “But I’ve always enjoyed it. Obviously, the crowds are a lot bigger, and I get recognized in a lot weirder spots and a lot more spots. There’s a lot more female fans for sure, which has been cool. All of it’s been awesome for me.

 

TOYOTA WINS NASCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S TITLE

With 23XI Racing Tyler Reddick’s victory last week at Phoenix Raceway, Toyota officially wrapped up its fourth NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer’s title – and first since 2019.

 

Toyota has been a dominant force this season claiming 18 wins – including the Daytona 500 - through the opening 33 races; its second-highest win total all-time. In 2019 the make claimed 19 trophies.

 

The overall win tally for Toyota among NASCAR’s three premier series sits at 698 with the opportunity to reach the 700-win milestone this weekend at Talladega. It is also in contention to claim the driver’s title in both the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series. Toyota driver Christopher Bell sits second in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, only five-points behind Kyle Larson. In the truck series, Kaden Honeycutt extended his lead to 43.

 

“Obviously incredibly excited about what’s going on this year,’’ TRD President Tyler Gibbs said earlier this week, noting that the work for this started end of 2024 into 2025. “we’re really beginning to see the fruits of that this year.’’

 

“There’s an expectation for us compete for race wins and championships and that’s kind of where we’ve been living,’’ Gibbs continued. “I think you’ve seen over the last number of years we’ve had plenty of guys in the final four. The last one-day event didn’t work for us the way we’d like but we’ve been right there competing until the very end.

 

“We’re good, have great support and can’t tell you the number of texts and emails I received after winning the championship from the leadership at Toyota, so we’re in a good spot and have just great support from TGR (Toyota Gazoo Racing North America).’’

 

NMPA MOST POPULAR DRIVER VOTING NOW OPEN

The always-anticipated NMPA Most Popular Driver Award voting began Friday morning and already much of the NASCAR Cup Series garage has thrown their support behind the late two-time series champion Kyle Busch, who passed away in May after a brief illness.

 

Eight-time defending winner of the award, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott asked to be removed from the voting ballot this year and so many other of the sport’s big names – from reigning series champ Kyle Larson to Christopher Bell to Carson Hocevar and Chase Briscoe - all took to social media asking their fans to please vote for Busch.

 

Elliott spoke to the media Saturday reminding that his father, another longtime Most Popular Driver Award winner, removed his name from contention in 2001 – the year Dale Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500 and that he just felt compelled to take the stance.

 

“I do think it's an opportunity for me to encourage the great supporters that I have and the people that have supported my family over the years to show that love and show that energy to Kyle and his family,’’ Elliott said. “Ultimately, I believe that he is a deserving winner of it, and he has my vote. I encourage those out there that want to get involved and want to take part in that to show him that same love. I think he deserves it. I think it would be a really cool honor for he and his family.”

 

Hocevar, considered one of the front-runners for the award, said he expected to have many more chances to win the award and absolutely thought it was proper to encourage his fans to back Busch.

 

“It’s crazy, a driver that was probably super hated or not appreciated enough - he’s super appreciated now after his passing, and I think it just feels right,’’ Hocevar said of his decision to encourage fans’ Busch vote.

 

“I texted somebody and I was like, ‘Hey, just go ahead and take my name off.’ They used to be PR and really close to Kyle, and they’re like, ‘He wouldn’t want to win it by default.’ And so I was like, okay, I’ll just keep my name on then if that’s what you feel like. I’ll just urge my fans to go vote for him. I’d be very disappointed if they voted for me. We can try and win another year.”

 

To vote, visit NASCAR.com’s Most Popular Driver landing page. Fans can vote for one driver per ballot submission with voting being limited to five submissions per day, per email at NASCAR.com/mostpopulardriver or on the NASCAR Mobile App. The five votes per day aren’t limited to a single driver.

 

Voting is open through Monday, Nov. 9 at noon ET.

 

 

 

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega turbulence awaits as Cup title race tightens

 

  

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Talladega turbulence awaits as Cup title race tightens

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. – With only three races remaining to settle the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship, Sunday’s iconic Fall 500-miler at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway stands to, once again, play a major role in shaping the final push to the Bill France Performance Cup trophy.

 

The YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the ultimate wildcard in this late season Chase run. Many drivers consider it as much a test of survival as show of skill in the close-quarter racing on Talladega’s famed 2.66-mile high banks. It has so often proven consequential as the 16 championship drivers close out the season.

 

Twelve different drivers have won the last 12 Talladega races with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney the last driver to earn back-to-back Talladega trophies in 2019-20.

 

The style of racing on tracks such as Talladega, the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway and the 1.5-mile EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) high banks has continually kept the oddsmakers honest.

 

This Spring, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar claimed his first, and only, career NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega. And then there’s two-time and reigning series champion and current championship leader, Kyle Larson, still racing for his first ever win on a drafting track.

 

The top seven drivers in the Chase are separated by a mere 56 points. Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson continues to hold the lead but a bad luck day at Phoenix last week severely cut into his advantage atop the points. He now leads, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell by only five points. JGR’s Chase Briscoe is third, 24 points back and the No. 1 seed entering the Chase, JGR’s Denny Hamlin – who also had a rough outing in the Phoenix desert – is now 31 points off Larson. Team Penske teammates Blaney and Joey Logano are 41 and 44 points behind Larson. With his Phoenix victory, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is eighth in the standings, 56 points back.

 

Larson leads all drivers in laps led (556) and average finish (7.3) through the seven Chase races to date.

 

"Talladega, like any superspeedway race, is challenging because there are so many things that can happen outside of your control," said Larson, who after going winless during the regular season has two victories and two runner-up finishes in The Chase. “Focusing on what you can control is always an important part of racing at those tracks. As a Chevrolet group, I think we work really well together. We’ve continued to improve how we work together, and I think we’re in a good place."

 

Bell, driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota, who is in his highest points position of the year, has earned the most stage points (96) during the Chase, followed by Team Penske's Ryan Blaney with the second-most (82).

 

"I know I haven’t had the greatest finishes at Talladega throughout my career, but we’re also one of the top contenders when it comes down to the end of the race," said Bell. "Outside of the final stage, we do a great job as a team of scoring stage points. I don’t view Talladega as negatively for us or for Kyle Larson as others might. I truly believe we can have a good day."

 

Hamlin, a four-time winner in the No. 11 JGR Toyota this season, certainly presents a formidable case going forward with double the number of wins as any other driver in the next three Chase venues – 11 victories in total (two at Talladega, six at Martinsville, Va. and three at Homestead-Miami).

 

And the formidable Talladega certainly proved to be so in the spring visit with Larson finishing 40th, Hamlin 15th and Bell coming in 17th.

 

Interestingly, the driver who leads the most laps at the drafting tracks has won only three of the last 21 races – the most recent, Blaney in July at Atlanta. Blaney (two) and last week’s Phoenix winner, Reddick (three) are the only repeat winners on drafting tracks in the last 16 drafting-style races.

 

Ryan Preece (Daytona) and Hocevar (Talladega) both scored their first career wins on the big tracks. There have never been three first-time winners on drafting tracks.

 

In 2026, Reddick has an incredible 5.4 average finish on drafting-style tracks. Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suarez (10.6) and Hendrick’s Chase Elliott (11.0) have been next best.

 

And worth noting, Roush Fenway Keselowski driver Brad Keselowski’s seven wins on drafting style tracks are most in the field. Logano and Blaney each have six.

 

Busch Light Pole Qualifying is at 1 p.m. Saturday (TruTV, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hamlin is the last driver to win from pole position (2020). Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell is the defending polesitter for this fall race.

 

Love takes charge, but Talladega could shuffle the championship chase

 

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship battle continues to be dramatic with the top four drivers separated by less than a single race points-potential heading into Saturday’s Progress Group 250 (2 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Reigning series champ, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love claimed his second win of the Chase - and the season - last week at Phoenix and has taken over the points lead for the first time this season in the most crucial part of the calendar.

 

He’s now up 36 points on another former series champ, JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier, who dominated the regular season but has had to regain footing in the six Chase races to date.

 

Much to the pleasure of fans, the top of the standings has been a competitive free-for-all throughout the Chase. Hendrick Motorsports’ rookie Corey Day is only 39 points off Love’s pace with an impressive four wins in his first title run. And Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed not only earned his first career victory this year (at Atlanta), but has answered it with two more in the Chase to keep the front-runners honest. He’s 59 points off Love’s pace.

 

Love, the driver of the No. 2 RCR Chevrolet, has scored the most points in the Chase to date – 307 to Day’s 283. And the 18-year-old Californian, Day, earned his career first O'Reilly Auto Parts Series victory here at Talladega this spring in true ‘Dega style - leading only the final lap in his No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet holding off Brett Crews and Creed.

 

“Superspeedways are always pretty unpredictable, and Talladega will be the same way," said Day, who steers the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “Winning there in the spring was a pretty cool surprise, and hopefully I can take what I learned from that race and apply it this weekend.

 

“We’re still in contention for The Chase, so we need to put together a clean race, stay out front and give ourselves a shot at the end.”

 

Four Chase drivers have previous wins at Talladega, including Day, Love (2024-1), JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith (2024-2) and RCR’s Austin Hill, an absolute master on the big tracks who claimed both 2025 race trophies. Hill’s back-to-back wins marks the only time a driver has claimed consecutive trophies since Martin Truex Jr. accomplished the feat in a three-peat in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Although not Chase-eligible, Jeb Burton is the only other former winner in the field boasting two Talladega spring triumphs in 2021 and 2023.

 

Only Hill has previous wins at all three of the remaining Chase tracks. Allgaier is the only other driver with multiple trophies at those tracks, winning at Martinsville (twice) and Homestead-Miami.

 

Of note: Love has won the last four Talladega pole positions and could become the first driver in series’ history to win five consecutive pole positions at a single track.

 

Qualifying is at 11 a.m. Saturday. Love is the defending polesitter, however the last time a pole-winner also won the race was driver Justin Haley in 2020.

 

Talladega wild card could deal a twist in CRAFTSMAN Truck title chase

 

Unlike the other two national series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship dance has narrowed to a duet coming into Talladega Superspeedway, the most unpredictable venue remaining in the 2026 season.

 

TRICON Garage’s Kaden Honeycutt and Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs take a considerable advantage over the field when the green flag falls for Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Heading into the always-thrilling Talladega race, the season’s four-time winner and driver of the No. 11 Toyota, Honeycutt holds his largest advantage of the Chase, a 39-point edge over seven-race winner Riggs – both drivers well in front of third place, McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes at 112 points back. None of these drivers have won on the sport’s biggest track, however.

 

In last year’s Chase race at Talladega, Riggs, driver of the No. 34 FRM Ford, finished fifth, Honeycutt was 10th, and it was actually Honeycutt’s TRICON teammate Gio Ruggiero scoring his first career win – from pole position - leading a race best 37 of the 90 laps including the final seven in a thrilling overtime triumph.

 

CR7 Motorsports driver Grant Enfinger is the only Chase-eligible driver with trophies at all the remaining tracks (Talladega, Martinsville, Va. and Homestead-Miami). Neither Honeycutt nor Riggs have won at any of those venues.

 

Any driver more than 153 points behind the leader following the Talladega race will be mathematically eliminated from championship contention. And going into the weekend, four drivers are already that many points back, including Ruggiero (-151), Enfinger (-184), three-time series champ Ben Rhodes (-188) and Tyler Ankrum (-201) – all needing to rally for a good day Friday to stay in the hunt.

 

Of note, Honeycutt boasts the best average finish (3.3) in the opening four Chase races with McAnally-Hilgemann’s Daniel Hemric second best with a 7.3 average finish and his teammate Eckes third best with a 9.0 average. Riggs, who opened the chase with finishes of 32nd (Bristol, Tenn.) and 19th (Kansas), is only seventh best in the Chase with a 13.8 average finish so far.

 

There have been nine different winners in the last nine Talladega races, including five hoisting their first career trophies. Talladega boasts the series record for most last lap winning passes (11) – including six of the last eight races.

 

Kennametal Pole Qualifying is slated for 12:30 p.m. ET on Friday (FS2).

 

Saturday Phoenix Raceway Notebook

 

October 17, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell enjoy rivalry that’s not quite friendly

 

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Christopher Bell defined his relationship with Kyle Larson in no uncertain terms.

 

“We’re not friends,” Bell said of his racing rival.

 

That’s not surprising, given that Bell and Larson have been competing for the same trophies during parallel careers for well over a decade.

 

Initially, they battled each other on dirt in such events as the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, where Bell and Larson have triumphed three times each. In 2020, Larson ended Bell’s quest for a record-tying fourth straight Chili Bowl title with the first of his three victories.

 

Now, Bell is chasing Larson in a quest for NASCAR’s biggest prize, the Bill France Cup that goes to the NASCAR Cup Series champion, and while there may be mutual respect and admiration between the drivers, there is no friendship.

 

“I think Kyle and I have raced each other hard basically our entire career, and I think it’s fair to say that we’re different people, and we hang out with different people and I think were not friends,” said Bell, who trails Larson by 51 points with three races left in the Chase presented by Mobil 1.

 

“But we are acquaintances and will race each other hard.”

 

In a departure from solo driver interviews on the media center dais, the top three drivers in the Chase standings appeared together on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.

 

The trio included Denny Hamlin, who is 49 points behind Larson entering Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500 at the one-mile track (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Larson agreed with Bell’s assessment but was quick to point out that their long-term rivalry has made him a better driver.

 

“I think I’ve said it in other press conferences; nobody’s pushed me more than Christopher to become a better racer, so I appreciate that,” Larson said. “I think in all forms of sports, there’s always athletes that push athletes, and he’s been the guy to push me to be better because he’s beaten me so much throughout my career.

 

“I appreciate the competitive rivalry, for sure. Like he said, we’re different people and hang out with different crowds. We’re just different. You’re always going to have that.”

 

Hamlin acknowledged that it would be hard to maintain close friendships at the elite level of stock car racing.

 

“Close friends is difficult,” Hamlin said. “It’s easy when one is good and one is not. It’s tougher when they’re both good, because you’re going to race each other a lot, and there’s always going to be contact at times, and feelings get hurt.

 

“I think it’s difficult to have really close friendships, but I think that there is an ability to separate on-track from off-track and still get along with someone really well off the race track.”

 

Chase Briscoe, who preceded the top three Chase drivers in the media center, offered a possible question as a way to create banter between Bell, Larson and Hamlin.

 

“Ask who would be the strongest without power steering, who could handle it best?” suggested Briscoe, referring to post-race sparring between Bell and Larson after Bell lost power steering in the Chase race at Las Vegas.

 

Larson was quick to express doubt as to whether Bell had zero power assist in his car.

 

“Zero percent power assist on an intermediate (speedway)? No way,” Larson proclaimed on the “Stacking Pennies” podcast.

 

In a subsequent media availability, Bell retorted, “I hope it happens to him, so he can talk about it.”

 

When Briscoe’s question was relayed to the three drivers on Saturday, Bell responded first.

 

“Not me,” he said.

 

“Definitely not me,” added Larson.

 

“You have your answer,” said Hamlin.

 

That moment provided a good laugh, but underlying the levity is the very serious race for the Cup title. Larson has produced an unprecedented Chase record so far, finishing no worse than sixth and winning twice in the first six postseason races.

 

The size of Larson’s lead has only increased the urgency of those behind him.

 

“I think that you have to start by winning the day and then go from there,” Hamlin said. “But ultimately, with the races winding down, we’ve got to start chopping into this.”

 

Bell agreed.

 

“So, certainly myself and Denny are both 50 back right now,” Bell said. “We need to close that gap. But looking at the rest of the races, we are all going to be running up front and scoring stage points and competing for wins, so the difference maker is who gets those wins.

 

“And then Talladega (Oct. 25). Whatever happens at Talladega, the likelihood of a crash at Talladega is a lot higher at that track than other tracks. It can hinder your points that you take away. Between Talladega and race wins, that’s going to be the deciding factor.”

 

--30--

 

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Phoenix Raceway

One obvious solution for NASCAR Cup Chase pursuers: find Victory Lane

Those chasing Kyle Larson for the NASCAR Cup Series championship might be tempted to look with dismay at the respective career statistics of the top competitors at Phoenix Raceway, site of Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500 (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Among the top six in the Chase standings—Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano—the driver with both the best average start and best average finish at Phoenix is Larson.

 

In 24 starts at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert, Larson has posted an average starting position of 6.8 and an average finish of 10.0. He has finished either third (four times) or fourth (twice) in his last seven races there.

 

Comparatively speaking, though, the defending series champion is on the short side when it comes to victories at the track. Each of the remaining top five, with the exception of Briscoe, has more Phoenix wins than Larson.

 

Logano, the runaway leader at Phoenix with four victories, is sixth in the standings, 92 points behind Larson. Bell, Blaney and Hamlin have won twice each at the track. Larson got his only Phoenix victory en route to his first championship in 2021, the year before the Gen 7 race car debuted in the series.

 

Briscoe’s lone win at the track came in the first Gen 7 race there in the spring of 2022.

 

In a quote often misattributed to Vince Lombardi, UCLA football coach Red Sanders once said, “Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.” In a NASCAR Chase context, winning is the only thing that assures the victor of gaining a significant chunk of points.

 

With two straight victories, Briscoe has come from the cheap seats to fourth in the standings, 65 points behind the leader. On Sunday, he’ll try for a third consecutive win in a season where two fellow Toyota drivers, Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin already have manufactured streaks of three in a row. 

 

The only problem for the pursuers is that time is starting to tick away. Realistically, to catch Larson, one of the other contenders will have to win multiple races in the final four and hope the Chase leader encounters the sorts of problems he has scrupulously avoided in the first six races of the postseason.

 

Briscoe, however, is not ready to concede the title.

 

“I feel great about all the tracks we're going to,” he said. “Phoenix is where I've been able to at least win my first Cup race, so I feel confident going there. Even just in the 19 car, stats-wise, I would say we have been one of the worst cars—if you just look on paper at the finish.

 

“But we have passed so many cars and went from the back to the front I don't know how many times. I think we've blown five tires in two races there. So, the end result doesn't always show great, but we've been really fast there.

 

“Talladega we were able to win last year. Martinsville to me is the big question mark for our group. We've been okay. We've just been a seventh-to-10th-place car, and we're going to have to be better if we're going to go and contend.

 

“Homestead is a place I feel really good about. Just going to have to go perform the next four weeks.”

 

Corey Day’s win at Charlotte tightened NASCAR O’Reilly Chase

 

In sharp contrast to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1, where leader Kyle Larson has widened his advantage to 49 points, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series version couldn’t be much closer.

 

Despite a third-place finish last Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sheldon Creed saw his series lead shrink to two points over defending O’Reilly champion and race runner-up Jesse Love.

 

Creed will try to protect that slim margin when the series comes to Phoenix Raceway for Saturday’s Timberland PRO 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Because he scored only one stage point at Charlotte, Creed lost at least 15 points to each of the three drivers immediately behind him in the Chase standings—Love, race winner Corey Day and Justin Allgaier.

 

With his second straight Chase victory, Day was the biggest gainer, lopping 34 points off his deficit to Creed. Day arrives at Phoenix third in the standings, seven points in arrears, but by his own admission, posting a third consecutive victory will be a challenge.

 

“Phoenix hasn’t been my strongest track in the past, and I’ve struggled there in my last two starts, so I’ve been working on reviewing footage to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” said Day, who finished 14th in his debut at the track last year and ninth earlier this season.

 

“I know my team will bring a fast No. 17 Chevrolet, so the goal is to keep it clean, execute throughout the race and come away with a strong points day.”

 

Allgaier, who righted an unsteady ship with a strong fourth-place run at Charlotte, has loftier ambitions at Phoenix. The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet won at the one-mile flat track in the spring—one of his six victories in the O’Reilly Series regular season.

 

Overall, Allgaier has three victories and 22 top-10 finishes in 33 starts at the track.

 

“This entire No. 7 group is ready to get to Phoenix this weekend,” said Allgaier, who trails Creed by 15 points. “This has been a really strong track for us, and I know that we will have what it takes to continue to gain ground in the points. 

 

“(Crew chief) Andrew (Overstreet) has had this place circled on our calendar since the Chase started. We just need to go out and execute like we did here in the spring. If we do that, I feel like we can have a great day on Saturday.”

 

Chandler Smith enters favorable stretch in NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Chase

 

Those who have condensed the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race to a two-driver contest probably haven’t considered Chandler Smith’s stellar record at Phoenix Raceway, the venue for Friday’s Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by Poet (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

It’s true that Smith’s teammate, Layne Riggs, is the only driver within close striking distance of Chase leader Kaden Honeycutt. After completing a season sweep at Charlotte last Friday, Riggs is 17 points behind his TRICON Garage rival.

 

Smith is third in the standings, 77 points in arrears, but with Phoenix on the horizon, he has reason to be optimistic.

 

“That’s good,” said Smith in last Friday’s post-race after confirming he was third in the standings. “Sweet. It sounds good to me. Let’s go to Phoenix.”

 

It shouldn’t be surprising that the driver of the No. 38 Ford is eager to get to the Sonoran Desert. His average finish at Phoenix is 3.6, a record that includes a victory in 2021 and three third-place finishes in five starts.

 

Honeycutt is second-best at the one-mile flat track, with an average result of 6.8.

 

Overall, Smith’s aggregate average finish of 7.4 over the last four Chase tracks—Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami—also leads the Chase field. Both Riggs and Honeycutt are winless at the four remaining tracks.

 

“We just need to go out there and execute at the highest caliber that we can, and the points will sort themselves out, however that may be,” Smith said. “If we just go out there and execute and take what we can on a given weekend, the points will sort themselves out.”

 

Saturday Charlotte Notebook

 

October 10, 2026

 

Notebook Items:

  • Kyle Larson honored to be part of Kyle Busch Memorial
  • Front-row starting spot is a mixed blessing to Chase Briscoe
  • Denny Hamlin has recent history on his side at midpoint of Chase

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Kyle Larson honored to be part of Kyle Busch Memorial

 

CONCORD, N.C.—Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson shared more than a first name.

 

There was mutual respect and admiration between the drivers, both two-time NASCAR Cup Series champions.

 

They also shared the responsibility to nurture the next generation of racers within their own families. Hence, it wasn’t surprising that Larson said he felt honored to be part of the celebration of Busch’s life on Friday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

Busch died suddenly and unexpectedly in May, less than a week after winning his last NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Dover Motor Speedway.

 

“It was just an honor to be invited to be a part of it,” said Larson, who appeared on stage during Busch’s memorial. “I thought it went well—super good—listening to everybody’s stories. I thought everybody did a great job honoring Kyle and really just talking about who he was as a person, as a family man, a racer, a competitor.”

 

After a moving speech by Busch’s widow Samantha, son Brexton, 11, delighted the crowd with a burnout, followed by a deep bow, which had been Busch’s signature victory celebration.

 

“To cap it off with Brexton doing burnouts was something I don’t think any of us will ever forget,” Larson said. “That was awesome ... He just looked like such a mini-Kyle in the car. The onboard was just special—like ‘Here is the next Kyle Busch.’”

 

Front-row starting spot is a mixed blessing to Chase Briscoe

Winning last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway put Chase Briscoe on the front row for Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

There’s only one problem with that scenario: Kyle Larson, the driver Briscoe is chasing for the championship, is starting from the pole beside him.

 

“It’s definitely a great start, just because we haven’t gotten to start up front in any of these Chase races because of the metrics, for the most part,” said Briscoe, who is sixth in the Chase standings, 84 points behind first-place Larson. “We’ve been 20th on back. From that standpoint, it’s really good.

 

“The hard part is, the guy we’re trying to catch for the championship will be beside me, and I need to gain all the points I can on him. If we qualify, maybe he doesn’t qualify up there, but maybe I don’t either. So I’m just taking my second place and going on.

 

“It’s good—outside of Kyle, everybody else is behind us that I’m racing. But the goal is to be champion, not second or third in points.”

 

Denny Hamlin has recent history on his side at midpoint of Chase

If Denny Hamlin needs encouragement after a lackluster start to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1, he needs to look no further than his own performance in the regular season.

 

After falling 129 points behind fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, Hamlin won three straight races in June, overtook Reddick and earned top seeding in the Chase.

 

Over the first five Chase races, Hamlin has lost the 25-point edge he had to start the postseason—and then some. Currently second in the standings, Hamlin trails Chase leader Kyle Larson by 40 points entering Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Hamlin’s bid for a first series title, however, is far from a lost cause.

 

“We know it can be done,” Hamlin said. “It’s a 10-race season. We got a little head start to that, but it’s a 10-race season. What happened in the first (26 races) doesn’t matter when we come down to these playoffs.

 

“Anything is possible, and if we go win, we’ll take care of the rest.”

 

A late-Chase surge wouldn’t be unprecedented. In 2007, Jimmie Johnson won four of the last five Chase races to snatch the title from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. Four years later, Tony Stewart won three of the last four events to catch Carl Edwards and win the series championship in a tiebreaker.

 

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

October 8, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

NASCAR Cup Chase drivers come to Charlotte chasing wins

 

Despite Kyle Larson’s domination of the first half of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1, both Joey Logano and Christopher Bell see a path to the championship.

 

Both drivers are convinced that winning races—probably multiple races—is the key to title, and there’s no better time to start than in Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

For the first time since 2017, Cup Series drivers will race on the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval in the fall, a position on the schedule occupied by the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) for the past eight seasons.

 

“We know exactly what a win is worth,” said Logano, who is fourth in the Chase standings, 71 points behind Larson. “We know if you score stage points in the top two or three in each stage and win a race, you cut into that deficit quite a bit. You can gain 30 points on the whole field.

 

“Even if the guy finishes second, you still are going to gain 25 or so points at least. If you can string a couple of those together, yeah, you’re right there. I think in our case, we have to win one of them at least to be able to say we’re going to go up there and beat them.

 

“We’re going have to win one, if not two, and if we don’t win two, then we’re going to have to… not that you hope for bad things to happen to people, but you’ve got to hope for some misfortune a little bit from the competitors.”

 

Logano’s only victory on the Charlotte oval came in the fall race of 2015. On Sunday, the three-time series champion will make his 500th start in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford and his 647th overall.

 

In each of his three victories this season—at North Wilkesboro, Richmond and Bristol—Logano has scored 73 points, three short of the maximum possible.

 

Bell claimed his only Charlotte oval win in the rain-shortened 2024 Coca-Cola 600. He arrives at Sunday’s race third in the Chase standings, 55 points behind Larson.

 

“I don’t think you’re going to make up that 50-point deficit without that win bonus that is applied now,” Bell said of the 20-point difference between first and second place. “It feels a little bit like the (previous) Playoff format. I believe that it’s going to take wins for me to become the champion.

 

“The 11 (second-place Denny Hamlin, trailing Larson by 40 points), I think I’m within striking distance where I can pass him without winning, but the 5 car (Larson) being out so far, I think it’s going to take wins, and, yeah, just need to put our best foot forward to go out there and win.”

 

Bell lost ground to Larson last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he lost power steering. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver wouldn’t mind seeing Larson, his long-time dirt-track rival, go through the same experience.

 

“I hope it happens to him, so he can talk about it,” Bell said.

 

Larson, however, shows no sign of faltering. His 2.2 average finish through five Chase races is the best since NASCAR introduced its first postseason playoff format in 2004.

 

Interestingly, no Chase driver in the field for Sunday’s race has posted more than one victory on the Charlotte oval. Hamlin has the most starts there (35) and picked up his only win at the track in the 2022 Coke 600.

 

Defending NASCAR O’Reilly Series champ looks for continued upswing

 

Where the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase is concerned, Justin Allgaier has been the poster boy for Murphy’s Law.

 

After suffering calamities in the first four postseason races, the driver of the No, 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet is looking for a reversal of fortune in Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

“Charlotte has been a really strong track for us over the last few years, but all of those races were in the heat of May, so it will be interesting to see how this weekend plays out,” said Allgaier, who has fallen from first to fourth in the standings since the Chase began at Darlington Raceway.

 

“I know that everyone on this team is ready to get there. Our Chase hasn’t started quite like we hoped, but this group is ready to go out there and do what we’ve done all year. There is still a lot racing left to be done, and I feel like Charlotte is a great place to get that momentum back on our side.”

 

Allgaier, who trails Chase leader Sheldon Creed by 30 points with five races left, is the only former Charlotte oval winner in the field for Saturday’s race. The last 14 races on the 1.5-mile track have produced 14 different winners.

 

Both second-place Carson Kvapil (19 points behind Creed) and third-place Jesse Love (21 points behind) gained ground at Allgaier’s expense in last Saturday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

 

Love, the defending series champion, finished third behind race winner Corey Day and runner-up Kvapil at Las Vegas, sparking optimism for Saturday’s race at Charlotte.

 

"We were really good here in the spring,” said Love, who finished second to full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain in a rain-shortened race in May. “It fits our package.

 

“We learned some things last week in Las Vegas that we will implement in Charlotte and go from there. I think we're struggling with some things that, if we fix for Charlotte, we'll be in good shape."

 

The top six drivers in the Chase standings remain within striking distance of the Creed’s lead. Sixth-place Sam Mayer, who has gained four positions in the standings since the Chase began, is 52 points behind Creed.

 

Layne Riggs looks for return to form in NASCAR Truck race at Charlotte

 

Scoring 75 of a possible 76 points in a dominating victory Sept. 26 at Kansas Speedway, Kaden Honeycutt seized control of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Chase, as top-seeded Layne Riggs suffered devastating issues for the second consecutive race.

 

Honeycutt will try to expand his lead in Friday’s Ecosave 200 (5 p.m. ET on FOX, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), as Riggs—now 37 points behind Honeycutt in second place—attempts to right his ship.

 

Riggs was running second behind Honeycutt at Kansas when he smacked the wall in the closing laps and dropped to 19th at the finish.

 

"I just went for it there at the end," Riggs said. "I feel like we were kind of behind the eight ball all day long. Had rough stops on pit road, had issues. I was going for a win, had a shot at a win, and tried a little too hard. So definitely really disappointing. Really big blow to our points.

 

“Should have been just fine with chalking up a second-place finish instead of trying to go for the win. But at the same time, the team (Front Row Motorsports) pays me to go win races. And that's what we did. I just have to be smarter in the long run if I'm going to get this thing. Keep my head about me a little bit better, instead of looking at just three or four laps. Got to look at the whole Chase.”

 

The good news for Riggs is that he and Honeycutt have created separation from the rest of the Chase field in just two races. Third-place Chandler Smith, Riggs’ teammate, trails Honeycutt by 71 points, with fourth-place Gio Ruggiero 72 points back.

 

--30--

 

Saturday Las Vegas Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Christopher Bell aims to turn Las Vegas promise into a Chase payoff
  • Kyle Busch honored in his hometown of Las Vegas
  • Roush Fenway transition, Brad Keselowski exit
  • O'Reilly Series title contender Creed to new team in 2027

 

October 3, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Christopher Bell aims to turn Las Vegas promise into a Chase payoff

 

LAS VEGAS – Four races into the NASCAR Cup Series 10-race Chase to decide the 2026 championship, the gap between positions in points standings have spread out significantly heading into Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Reigning series champion, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson snapped a season-long winless drought with victories in two of the four Chase races – at Gateway, Ill. and last weekend at Kansas Speedway – and now holds a 26-point edge over Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin.

 

Both have three wins at Las Vegas, with Hamlin the two-time defending winner in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The gap between Hamlin and third place in the title standings – his JGR teammate Christopher Bell is 50 points. Fourth place, Team Penske’s Joey Logano is 67 points back, his teammate Ryan Blaney, 91 points off the pace and JGR’s Ty Gibbs, 94 behind.

 

Bell is a two-time runner-up at Las Vegas and considers it one of his better tracks on the circuit and hopes he can make some gains with four drivers now separated by less than a single race.

 

“Winning just means a lot, winning is a good way to recover points, to separate yourself," Bell said. “I think depending on who you are, it’s important for me to close the gap on Kyle and for Kyle important to get away from the field.

 

“We’ve got to stop going negative here and get some positive points on the five-car," he added. “I’m really happy with where we’re at. We’re still in the hunt and not many of us can still say that. I’m happy with where we’re at, just need some positive traction on the vibe."

 

“It’s about it all coming together at the right time. Here at Vegas I’ve had a lot of different runs throughout the race where I’m able to lead the race and be in position to win, it just hasn’t together in stage 3, the closing run of the race. It’s one of my favorite tracks, and probably the place I’ve led the most laps but haven’t won. We’ve been close and in contention every time, hopefully this week’s the week."

 

Kyle Busch honored in his hometown of Las Vegas

 

The weekend’s NASCAR stop in Las Vegas in the first since two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch passed away in May at the age of 41 from severe pneumonia and sepsis.

 

A hugely popular and beloved racer – especially here in his hometown – there have been several notable honors from re-naming of a street outside Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Bullring to “Rowdy Road” – a nod to Busch’s nickname. It intersects with “Busch Brothers Drive” a little farther away.

 

Just outside the Bullring grandstands, a tribute marker to Busch was unveiled this week as part of the Kyle Busch Classic. His older brother Kurt will drive the pace car Sunday.

 

Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – the same number Busch drove for the team from 2003 to 2007 -  is carrying a tribute point scheme reminiscent of the Kellogg’s colors Busch once drove for the team.

 

Busch’s signature will be prominently displayed above the passenger-side window and “Tiny Kyle,” a playful nickname Busch gave Larson will be on the opposite side.

 

Busch was formally inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame this week at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. His wife, Samantha and son 11-year-old Brexton were there to accept the honor on his behalf. In an emotional speech Samantha reminded that Busch never allowed his immense talent “to be an excuse for not working hard."

 

“Because he wanted the next generation to go further. .. and there are so many drivers racing today because Kyle believed in them," she continued.

 

As she spoke about his great talent on the track, she smiled and recalled how people would think, “only Kyle Busch could do that," – to which Brexton leaned into the microphone and declared with a smile, “only Kyle Busch would do that” as the room erupted in laughter and applause.

 

“Kyle’s legacy is in the people he made better," Samantha added. “It’s in the drivers he mentored, the mark he left on the sport, the opportunities he created, the fans that still call themselves ‘Rowdy Nation.’ It’s in every young driver that says, ‘I want to be like Kyle Busch one day.’"

 

Looking into the audience Samantha reiterated how she wished Kyle could be the one there accepting this honor, but promised for their children Brexton and four-year-old Lennix, “I hope they will always know this, their dad did not just win races, he changed the sport."

 

Roush Fenway transition, Brad Keselowski exit

 

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing and owner-driver Brad Keselowski announced this week that they would be parting ways at the end of the season. On Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway both entities spoke about the situation.

 

The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski was guarded but optimistic and RFK President Chip Bowers said the team was equally optimistic about moving forward repeatedly reiterating the team has nothing but good will for Keselowski, even as the team pursues a third charter.

 

Keselowski, who owns, drives, and serves as competition director at RFK, formally addressed the media Saturday at Las Vegas after releasing a statement for social media earlier this week saying, in part, he wished the team well and was proud of the progress he shared in since buying into the company in 2021 and moving into those roles for the 2022 season.

 

“This is not acrimonious," RFK’s Bowers stressed of Keselowski’s situation. “If Brad would like to go race somewhere else, if Brad would like to be an owner somewhere else, or if Brad would like to lead competition somewhere else, he is more than happy to do so. There are some things we’ll need to work out privately in terms of his equity, but we’ll do that privately and it make take some time.

 

“Brad is an above-board pro, so we have no concerns he’s going to take information from us. We want Brad to be highly successful. So, whatever it is he wants to do, we want him to be able to pursue it. It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t figure out a way to make it work here. But it’s nobody’s fault. These things happen."

 

Shortly after qualifying his No. 6 RFK Racing Ford 16th on the grid for Sunday’s race, Keselowski spoke with the media for the first time since announcing the news. He reminded that he was finishing the fifth and final year of his contract with the team.

 

He said he was open to a lot of alternatives from competing fulltime in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series where a title would make him the first to win championships in all three NASCAR premier series. He also said he’s open to pursuing ownership with a different team. But he was definitely not ready to stop driving.

 

“You know, go through these kind of road bumps and it's part of the process, and I understand that," Keselowski said of the situation. “But you know, I've grown through this process. I'm super comfortable with my abilities to own and operate a team. Feel like I can do it at the highest levels. Bullish on the future to do it. So that wouldn't have been possible without this experience.”

 

He said he was hopeful that he would be in some race car come the 2027 season-opening Daytona International Speedway Speedweeks.

 

“When I’m in a vehicle in Daytona I’ll be confident of that, but right now I think there’s enough interest where I’m not sweating it," Keselowski said. "There are things to work through, but there’s enough interest to where I’m confident that I’ll be somewhere next year.”

 

What comes next remains very much unknown not only to Keselowski but also his RFK teammates, Chase-qualified drivers Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher. They both expressed support for Keselowski and desire for the team to move forward in a positive way. They credit much of RFK’s recent success to Keselowski’s presence there.

 

“I’m not a part of those conversations," Preece said of any awareness in Keselowski’s decision and the impending impact on the team’s ownership group, which also includes NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Roush and the Fenway Sports Group.

 

“I think I was surprised for sure, but this is racing and this can happen," Preece said, adding. “Just because something changes doesn’t mean you can’t still try to win races and build a lot of fast cars."

 

Buescher also insisted any details of the situation weren’t his own to be addressed.

 

“I certainly have a great friendship with Brad as a team owner, a boss and a mentor, so a loss from my point, but I want the best for him going forward, whatever that looks like," Buescher said. “I feel confident RFK will keep after it and working to improve ourselves and be involved in more Chases and more race wins.

 

“Brad has brought so much into RFK and we owe a lot of the resurgence to him and his input and the things he’s been able to implement and push us towards. He’s helped lay a great foundation to keep moving that ball forward."

 

As an owner-driver himself, Denny Hamlin was asked Saturday about where he saw the Keselowski situation from a distance. Hamlin drives for Joe Gibbs Racing and is a co-owner in the 23XI Racing team.

 

"I just couldn't imagine taking on both [roles] and I've got a pretty high tolerance for workloads," Hamlin said of Keselowski serving as driver and competition director.

 

“So, it'll be something that certainly is going to be a pretty big change over there. Obviously, there was a jump in performance, when he went over there, and whether that be through – could that be manufacturer stuff? Could that be technical stuff? Very wide range of reasons why teams run better after certain times or not, but, you know, the proof will be in what happens years down the road, right? And so, it certainly is going to be a big reset for the whole Roush Fenway group.”

 

O'Reilly Series title contender Creed to new team in 2027

 

The current NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship leader, Californian Sheldon Creed, announced Saturday before the Focused Health 302 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) race green flag, that he will be moving from his current Haas Factory Team ride to Sam Hunt Racing in 2027 in a multi-year deal.

 

Creed goes into the weekend with three wins on the season, including two in the three Chase races to date – giving him an 11-point advantage on JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier atop the championship standings.

 

The move – with six races still remaining on the schedule – is especially notable, considering his position in the title run.

 

“Obviously announcing this this morning, and then we're right back to work, and just trying to run as good as we can every week," said the former NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Creed. “And I think Sam's (Hunt, owner, Sam Hunt Racing) a big supporter of our 00 [Haas] team, and trying to finish strong.”

 

“I've had the privilege to race, obviously, for RCR (Richard Childress Racing), JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), now Haas, run good with all of them, but finally found Victory Lane this year, and numerous times now, being the points leader, is massive for us," Creed continued.

 

“I think, for the 00 group, for my team, but yeah, looking down the road, obviously, haven't gotten a Cup opportunity, and obviously, that's still my end goal. But if I don't ever get that call, I felt like Sam's (Hunt Racing) is somewhere I can race for the next 15 years and make a good living and be able to raise my family and just try to build a good life.”

 

--30--

 

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

High Stakes, Familiar Favorites as Cup Series Chase Hits Las Vegas

 

High Stakes, Familiar Favorites as Cup Series Chase Hits Las Vegas

 

LAS VEGAS - Coming into the halfway point of the 10-race Chase to crown the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series champion, historically speaking, the storylines for Sunday’s South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway look very familiar to the course this Chase has already established.

 

The No. 1 seed entering the Chase, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner and has actually won the last two Las Vegas races - including from pole position last October. A win Sunday would mean Hamlin joins seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson as the only driver to win three consecutively at the track. 

 

That last Chase race at the Vegas 1.5-miler looks a lot like the current championship battle with Hamlin besting the day’s most dominant driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson to the checkered flag and Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell finishing third. The trio are currently ranked atop the 2026 championship standings.

 

Larson, a three-time Vegas winner, takes a 26-point lead over fellow three-time Las Vegas winner Hamlin into Sunday’s green flag – the largest lead atop the standings so far in the Chase. Bell is 50 points back. Team Penske teammates Joey Logano – a four-time Vegas winner – and Ryan Blaney are 67 and 91 points, respectively, behind Larson. Among the championship top-five, Bell and Blaney have never hoisted a trophy at Las Vegas.

 

Although the top end of the standings was relatively tight following the opening three Chase races, Larson’s two wins now in four Chase races has separated the contenders considerably. Nine positions among the 16 Chase drivers changed following Larson’s dominant win last week at Kansas Speedway.

 

The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was in the midst of a season-long winless streak before claiming wins at two of the four Chase tracks (St. Louis and Kansas) and Larson is now averaging an incredible 2.25 finish to open the Chase.

 

The worst finish for the two-time and reigning series champion in the last seven Las Vegas races is 11th and his 881 laps led are most in the series. Larson has six top-two finishes in 11 races driving the No. 5 Chevrolet. And it’s not just Vegas where he has been successful. His 20 stage wins in the Next Gen car at 1.5-mile tracks are almost double that of any other driver (12) and his 2,192 laps led ARE double that of any competitor. Hamlin is second with 1,020 laps led on 1.5-milers.

 

This weekend, Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet will carry a paint scheme honoring the late, two-time series champion and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, who also drove that car number for Hendrick early in his career.

 

“Vegas has been a good track for us in the past, and after the run we had at Kansas [Speedway], we’ve been building our intermediate program to be better and better," Larson said. “Hopefully, we can go there, execute another good weekend, qualify well and score a lot of points.”

 

Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, is enjoying similar success on this brand of track and certainly keeping the competition honest. He’s finished among the top-five in the last eight races on 1.5-mile tracks with an average finish during that run, a series-best 2.4.

 

Bell, driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota and winner of the Chase-opener at Darlington, S.C. is a two-time runner-up at Las Vegas. He’s finished top-five in nine of the last 11 races at 1.5-mile tracks and has been top-five in the last five Las Vegas races.

 

Interestingly, Logano and Blaney have struggled a bit in the desert of late. Although Logano leads the series in wins at Vegas, the three-time series champ has had only a single top-10 showing with an average finish of 20.3 in the last six races at 1.5-milers. His Team Penske Ford teammate Blaney has an average finish of 30th in the last four Las Vegas races. He has only four top-10 finishes in the last nine 1.5-mile races, however, those four top-10s have come in the last four races.

 

There are plenty of other former Las Vegas winners with varying motivations this week, including Chase driver, Hendrick’s William Byron (2023), who has earned top-10 finishes at all six 1.5-mile tracks this season. 

 

Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry claimed his first career NASCAR Cup Series win here in 2025 and would love another in his final year with the legendary team before moving to Legacy Motor Club. Hendrick’s Alex Bowman is a former winner (2022) and would love to score another trophy after announcing next year he is stepping away from fulltime competition.

 

Former series champion Brad Keselowski - a three-time Las Vegas winner and owner-driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford, announced this week stunning news that he will not be back at RFK next season. A press conference with the team is scheduled for Saturday.

 

Six different drivers have hoisted the trophy in the six races at 1.5-mile tracks this year. Byron’s average finish of 6.3 in that span is second to Hamlin with 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (10.0), Hendrick’s Chase Elliott (11.2), 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Blaney next best (11.5).

 

Good news for the weekend, the weather looks to be as promising as the sport has experienced in the last few weeks, with forecasts calling for low 90-degree marks and plenty of sun.

 

Qualifying has traditionally been a strong sign of performance at Las Vegas with five of the last seven races won from a front row starting position. And interestingly, the race winner has swept both Stage 1 and Stage 2 five times – most of any track.

 

Practice is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET – both sessions broadcast on TruTV, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Creed Looks to Stay Hot as Allgaier Targets Las Vegas Comeback

 

After the last off-weekend of the season, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to championship competition this week at Las Vegas with Saturday’s Focused Health 302 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed, who has two wins in three Chase races to date, is turning in a career year, hoisting his first ever series trophy at Atlanta then answering with clutch back-to-back wins at St. Louis and Bristol last month. He now holds the championship lead by 11 points over six-race winner JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier.

 

JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil is 37 points off Creed’s pace and reigning series champion, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love is 41 points back.

 

Interestingly, none of the 2026 No. 1 seeds entering the Chase – Hamlin in NASCAR Cup Series, Allgaier in the ORAP Series nor Layne Riggs in the Craftsman Truck Series – are leading the championship standings now.

 

Creed’s third-place finish there in March was best among the 12 Chase drivers.

 

Nine different drivers have won the last nine Vegas races. Aric Almirola, who does not compete fulltime, is the defending race winner and current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Larson won this Spring. Three of the last six Las Vegas races have been won by a non-championship contenders. And no driver has ever won the Las Vegas Chase race and gone on to win the title that same year.

 

Allgaier (Spring, 2025) and RCR’s Austin Hill (Spring, 2023) are the only fulltime drivers with a Las Vegas trophy. Allgaier started from pole position in this race last year and finished third. He is 116 laps away from surpassing Kyle Busch’s series’ high mark for most laps led at Las Vegas.

 

“Las Vegas has been a really strong track for us in the past," said Allgaier, who is riding a record 10 consecutive top-10 finishes at the track and has a series best 21 top-10s all-time there.

 

“Something about this place has always suited my driving style and I can’t think of a better place to go to then here to try to reclaim that point lead. We were solid here in the spring and I know that [crew chief] Andrew [Overstreet] and everyone on this team have worked tirelessly through the off weekend to ensure we are going to be even stronger when we hit the track on Saturday.

 

“If we can just go out and execute like we know we can, I feel like we will have a great chance to have a great night on Saturday.”

 

Of note: The last four Las Vegas races have been won by drivers aged 30 or over. … Only four of 38 races have gone into overtime and none since 2019. …The driver who leads the most laps has won 63 percent of the races. … Only twice has there been a last lap pass for the win – the last coming by NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, who got around Keselowski for the 2011 victory.

 

Practice gets underway at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying at 3:05 p.m. ET.

 

--30--

 

 

   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.

2027 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Date

Event / Racetrack

Saturday, February 13

Wheatley Vodka Clash (Daytona International Speedway)

Sunday, February 21

DAYTONA 500

Sunday, February 28

EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)

Sunday, March 7

Circuit of the Americas (Austin)

Sunday, March 14

Phoenix Raceway

Sunday, March 21

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Sunday, March 28

OFF WEEK

Sunday, April 4

Darlington Raceway

Sunday, April 11

Bristol Motor Speedway

Sunday, April 18

Martinsville Speedway

Sunday, April 25

Talladega Superspeedway

Sunday, May 2

Texas Motor Speedway

Sunday, May 9

Kansas Speedway

Sunday, May 16

Dover Motor Speedway

Sunday, May 23

NASCAR All-Star Race (North Wilkesboro Speedway)

Sunday, May 30

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Sunday, June 6

Nashville Superspeedway

Sunday, June 13

Pocono Raceway

Sunday, June 20

Michigan International Speedway

Sunday, June 27

Chicagoland Speedway

Sunday, July 4

Iowa Speedway

Sunday, July 11

Sonoma Raceway

Sunday, July 18

EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)

Sunday, July 25

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Sunday, August 1

San Diego (Naval Base Coronado)

Sunday, August 8

OFF WEEK

Saturday, August 14

Bristol Motor Speedway

Sunday, August 22

World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis)

Saturday, August 28

Daytona International Speedway

Sunday, September 5

Darlington Raceway

Saturday, September 11

Richmond Raceway

Sunday, September 19

Watkins Glen International

Sunday, September 26

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Sunday, October 3

Kansas Speedway

Sunday, October 10

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Sunday, October 17

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Sunday, October 24

Phoenix Raceway

Sunday, October 31

Talladega Superspeedway

Sunday, November 7

Martinsville Speedway

Sunday, November 14

NASCAR Championship (Homestead-Miami Speedway)

 

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