NASCAR SERIES

welcome race fans to krazyaboutracing.com the leader in motorsports coverage on the world wide web we are now in our 24th year

WE MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE WHISTLES & BELLS OF OTHER SITES , hOWEVER have THE most complete MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE on the web !

(HOME) (CONTACT US) ( THE PIT ) (LOCAL RACING) (PREVIOUS NEWS) (PREVIOUS RACING) (SITE NEWS) (MEET THE STAFF) (HALL OF FAME) (MULTIMEDIA) (SPECIAL EVENTS) (ANNUAL AWARDS)

(DRIVER & TEAM RELEASES) (LOCAL TRACK NEWS) (MISC RELEASES)

for more coverage on the series click on the series lOgo

nascar cup series

NASCAR cup series

www.nascar.com

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

nascar reviews & NOTEBOOKS

www.nascar.com

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

Saturday Bristol Notebook

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Alex Bowman picks a tough track for his return from illness

BRISTOL, Tenn.—With his head spinning and stomach churning inside his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Alex Bowman had a flash of serious doubt about his racing future.

Illness forced Bowman to abandon his NASCAR Cup Series ride after 70 of 95 laps March 1 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where Myatt Snider finished the race in relief.

“Yeah, obviously COTA wasn’t a lot of fun for me,” said Bowman, who was medically cleared this week to race in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Everything was fine until it wasn’t, obviously, in the car; dizziness, throwing up on myself, spinning, kind of all of the things. It wasn’t fun, and I was not pumped that I had to get out. Obviously, I’ve raced through a lot of injuries, but this was one where I was going to end up running into something or somebody, and the smart thing to do in that case was to get out.”

At that moment, the thought occurred to Bowman that he might not ever get back in.

“I mean, honestly, yeah, when I got out at COTA, I was like, ‘This is probably it.’ That was what was going through my head. So, yeah, that sucked, and I’m thankful that I got another shot at it.”

After the COTA race, Bowman was diagnosed with vertigo, and he missed the next four Cup Series events during his recovery. His return comes at a track billed as the “World’s Fastest Half Mile,” where G-forces over the course of 500 laps can exact a cumulative physical toll.

So why did Bowman choose this particular race for his comeback?

“Because they said I could,” he said with a laugh. “I’m a race car driver, so you tell me I’m clear and I’m going to go do it. Yeah, it’s probably the worst place possible to come back to, I think, not just from it’s physical, but it’s a track that is extremely difficult. The margins from the front to the back of the field are tiny.

“You look at qualifying here, and every hundredth is multiple spots, for the most part. I haven’t qualified a car in a month. I’m trying to get back up to speed. My expectations coming here, it’s one of my best tracks; two of the last three poles here, expect to contend for wins. I think expectations probably change a little bit this week. If we could get out of here with a top 10, top 15, I think, on my side of things, I’d be happy.”

Christopher Bell’s NASCAR Cup effort is missing something—but not much

Fresh from victory in Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell turned serious—and honest—when asked about the current state of his NASCAR Cup Series program at Joe Gibbs Racing.

“We are missing something,” acknowledged the driver of the No. 20 Cup Series Toyota.

It’s not that Bell is having a brutal season. He’s seventh in the Cup standings, with three top fives and four top10’s in seven races. Bell’s 225 laps led are second most in the series behind teammate Denny Hamlin’s 440.

Nevertheless, Bell conveyed disappointment at his failure to win a race so far this season.

“We have the same group, same people, same process and same equipment that we did when we won three races in a row last year,” Bell said. “We have all the resources. We’re just kind of swimming up creek a little bit.”

Bell pointed to the March event at Phoenix Raceway as a pivotal point in the early season. Bell led a race-high 176 laps, but Ryan Blaney took advantage of a late caution to win the race.

“I think, had that yellow flag not come out at Phoenix, and I won the race, we’d be sitting here talking about how great of a season I’ve had,” he said. “But the yellow flag did come out at Phoenix, and I didn’t win the race, and now we’re talking about a mediocre season.

“It just isn’t clicking right now on the Cup side. It feels like it’s really close to clicking, but we’re still striving to be where we need to be and want to be.”

Will early win be launching pad for Chase Elliott?

By his own description, Chase Elliott’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has been one of ups and downs.

The high point came March 29 at Martinsville Speedway, where Elliott held off Denny Hamlin for the victory. Never before in his Cup career had Elliott won as early as the seventh race of a season.

It’s not Elliott’s nature, however, to get overly excited by success or overly disappointed by the lack thereof. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sees the early victory as an opportunity to build a meaningful season.

“Fortunately, the last one was an ‘up,’” Elliott said of the Martinsville win. “But I think it’s also important to recognize that, man, there’s an awful lot of racing left. Yeah, I think for us, it’s not like, ‘OK, we’ve got the win and pressure’s off.’ That’s not how I’ve looked at it.

“I’ve looked at it with, honestly, just some excitement from the standpoint of, man, we have a longer runway to build on a win, you know? I think for us, we’ve gotten to the last 10 or 15 weeks of the year before and really had to perform just at an extreme level and kind of catch up, in some regards. Like, even last year, we got ourselves to the playoffs and we didn’t have the wins, the playoff points and all the things banked up.”

“I know the system’s different (return to 10-race Chase format this year), and I get all that, but the concept is very much the same. We still need to perform well throughout the first 26 weeks, and I think when you are able to bank a win early, you kind of have a little bit of a longer runway to continue to put good runs together, stack more points and get going on the right foot.”

–30–

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Bristol Motor Speedway

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Kyle Larson looks to break NASCAR Cup Series drought at Bristol

Will the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion enter and sign in, please?

To be fair, Kyle Larson hasn’t exactly been a no-show this season. The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet has one top five, four top 10s and 137 laps led through seven races. He’s tied with Brad Keselowski for eighth in the series standings, 147 points behind runaway leader Tyler Reddick.

However, this is the first year since he joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 that Larson is winless through the first seven races. He has more wins (one) and more laps led (154) in two starts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

Fortunately for Larson, the next stop on the Cup Series tour happens to come at one of his best and favorite race tracks, Bristol Motor Speedway, which will host Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Larson is the defending winner of the race. He has taken the checkered flag in two of the last three events at Bristol and three of the last seven. His 1,762 laps led at the 0.533-mile track (including 462 of 500 in the 2024 Night Race) are ninth all-time in just 19 starts.

“Bristol’s tough, at least in the Next Gen era, because you really don’t know what you’re going to get in track and race conditions until you get into the race,” said Larson, who hopes to break a winless streak of 31 races, third longest of his career.

“I feel like every practice we’ve had there, maybe with the exception of one or two, is really high tire wear, and you’re like scratching your head, ‘Oh, my gosh, what’s the track going to do? Do we change our car a bunch overnight to accommodate that wear?

“And then you get into the race, and conditions are normal. And then you come back the next time, and you’re like, ‘The race is going to be normal. It’s going to be no tire wear. It’s going to get back to normal,’ and then the race is high tire wear, and you’re changing your race strategy.”

To deal with the unpredictability, Goodyear is introducing new right- and left-side tires designed to counteract the potential temperature swings at the track. With 10 new sets and one set of qualifying scuffs available for the race, however, teams still may have to be judicious with tire use.

Another variable is the new short-track competition package that features more than a 10-percent increase in horsepower from 670 to 750, shorter three-inch spoiler and a simplified diffuser with fewer strakes, resulting in lower downforce.

Larson’s dirt-track background and adaptability to different race cars and setups should give him an advantage, but the same can be said of Denny Hamlin, who learned the nuances of tire management in late model racing on asphalt.

Hamlin went back-to-back at Thunder Valley in the 2023 Night Race and 2024 spring race.

Nor would it be wise to ignore Hamlin’s teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. Christopher Bell won at Bristol most recently (last year’s Night Race) and is the only driver to finish in the top-10 in all six races with the Next Gen car at the high-banked concrete track.

Ty Gibbs arrives at Bristol with a streak of five straight finishes of sixth or better this season. Gibbs has led more than 100 laps in three of his last five appearances at Thunder Valley (with a high of 201 last fall) and has finished in the top-10 in four of the last five.

Note: Alex Bowman, who was sidelined for four events while recovering from vertigo, has been medically cleared to race and will return to action in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at Bristol.

“It’s been tough being out of the car, but we all wanted to make sure I was 100-percent ready before returning,” Bowman said in a release announcing his return. “I feel really good, and I’m excited about being at the track with my team and getting back to racing.”

Can William Sawalich and Toyota build on Rockingham success at Bristol?

In terms of manufacturer success, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has been the converse of the NASCAR Cup Series.

In NASCAR’s top division, Chevrolet was shut out for the first six races before Chase Elliott got a breakthrough win at Martinsville Speedway on March 29.

In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Chevrolet drivers claimed the first seven trophies before William Sawalich got his first career win last Saturday at Rockingham in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

As NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, Sawalich and his Toyota brethren will try to back up the Rockingham victory in Saturday’s Suburban Propane 300, the first of four Dash 4 Cash races in the series (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

That might be a challenge, given that Aric Almirola’s win last fall is the only Toyota triumph in the last eight races at the 0.533-mile short track.

Sawalich’s competition for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus is much more limited than the full-field scramble for the race win. Only the top four finishers at Rockingham—Sawalich, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier and Rajah Caruth—are eligible for the six-figure prize, with the top finisher among them taking home the money.

That means the Dash 4 Cash drivers won‘t have to beat Kyle Larson, who will make his third O’Reilly Series start of the season at Bristol. Larson has won in his last two series starts at Thunder Valley, including last year’s edition of this race.

Sawalich, Jones and Caruth will have to beat Allgaier, who has turned Dash 4 Cash races into a personal piggy bank. In 23 Dash 4 Cash appearances, Allgaier has claimed the prize seven times (most all-time) for a total of $700,000 (most all-time).

Allgaier has two race victories, two poles and 17 top 10s in 26 Bristol starts.

Both Sawalich and Caruth are eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus for the first time. Jones has been shut out in seven tries for the $100,000.

Caruth charged into the critical fourth-place finish at Rockingham with a two-position pass of Carson Kvapil and Sheldon Creed with nine laps left. Caruth will be behind the wheel of the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet this weekend, not the arguably more potent No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet he drove at Rockingham.

It’s also incumbent on Caruth to put recent incidents with defending series champion Jesse Love behind him. The two drivers tangled at both Martinsville and Rockingham—to Love’s severe detriment at the latter track.

Love and Caruth engaged in an extended post-race conversation in the Rockingham garage.

“I’ve had a couple of moments like that this year where, you know, there’s points on the table that I probably gave away where if I didn’t have those, if I didn’t make those decisions or have those emotional reactions, then that positively impacts my finishing position,” Caruth said.

“I’d say I’m a pretty tough critic, but that’s the reason why I’d say I’m like, probably a C-plus or B-minus to start the year. But as tough as those mistakes were, I’m glad I made them, because now I know for next time.”

Is it “Heim Time” for half-a-million at Bristol?

When it comes to racing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, there’s not much Corey Heim hasn’t accomplished.

The 23-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, accumulated a single-season series-record 12 victories last year in winning his first championship.

This year, Heim is driving part-time for TRICON Garage, and he has the chance to do something unprecedented in Friday night’s Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In the first of three Triple Truck Challenge races March 20 at Darlington, Heim pulled off a dramatic win in the No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota. Two weeks later he triumphed in the No. 1 TRICON Tundra at Rockingham to claim a $100,000 bonus in the second race of “The Trip.”

Should he become the first driver to win all three races of a Triple Truck Challenge, Heim would collect a $350,000 bonus for a total of $500,000 for his efforts.

“I don’t really think about it in the truck, but being able to reflect on it, it would be cool to be the first person to sweep all three if we are able to do it,” Heim said after the Rockingham win.

“There is a lot of motivation for these guys in the No. 1 camp with Celsius as our primary (sponsor at Bristol), so super excited about that.”

Heim won at Bristol in 2023 and has finished second, third and third in his last three starts there.

Foremost among Heim’s competition for the Triple Truck Challenge bonus are Front Row Motorsports teammates Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith, both two-time winners at Thunder Valley (with Riggs winning two of the last three races there).

The field also features a handful of NASCAR Cup Series regulars, including five-time Truck Series winner Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez. The Cup drivers are not eligible for the Triple Truck Challenge bonus money.

nascar cup series

NASCAR Cup Series schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

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

NASCAR Cup Series playoff race schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

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

no part of site site can be copied or duplicated without written permission from Motorsportsgarage productions

all logos and images are copyrighted to the racing series and used for editorial purposes only

follow up on

This site is dedicated to my father " hoot " who introduced me to the Great sport of auto racing when I was a very young child

Thru the years I have befriended several people Thru Racing that have passed on and I honor them here

Larrt Criss. Charlie Patterson. Carrol Horton, Todd shaffer, gary lee and Judy Morris