NASCAR’s ‘Full Speed: The Daytona 500’ on Prime Video: Featured drivers, how to watch and more

Posted on March 5, 2026March 5, 2026 by Staff Report

‘Full Speed: The Daytona 500’ | Now streaming on Prime Video

A feature-length documentary capturing the chaos, pressure and legacy of the “Great American Race”

After two seasons focused on the NASCAR Cup Series championship fight, “Full Speed” turns its 2026 attention to a single event – the Daytona 500.

“Full Speed: The Daytona 500” premieres Thursday exclusively on Prime Video, following the 2026 running of the sport’s crown jewel, from the buildup of Speedweeks through the chaotic final lap that decided it.

The Daytona 500 is the perfect microcosm of NASCAR to explore – the “Great American Race” rarely unfolds the way anyone expects, but always results in a career-defining day for a driver. Races that seem calm often unravel in an instant. Alliances form and disappear. Track position can vanish in seconds, before a winner emerges through the smoke, ready to soak in the champagne.

That was, of course, the case again this year.

When the race reached its closing moments, Tyler Reddick found himself in position for eternal glory, leading only the final lap to secure his first Daytona 500 victory and delivering the first Harley J. Earl Trophy for 23XI Racing and team co-owner and NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Watch the official trailer above and check back for additional clips and coverage tied to the film’s release.

MORE: 2026 Cup Series schedule | How to watch NASCAR on Prime

Inside the 2026 Daytona 500

For drivers, the Daytona 500 carries a different weight. It opens the season, but it can also define one.

The film follows the grind of Speedweeks for four drivers in particular – from qualifying to drafting arrangements and long debriefs — and then shifts to race day, when patience gives way to urgency. Superspeedway racing leaves little room for error, where a missed push or a late block can change everything, and always does.

The documentary walks through the closing stretch of the race, the wrecks that reshaped the field and the decisions that determined who left with the Harley J. Earl Trophy. And a place in the history books.

RELATED: 2026 Daytona 500 recap

Featured drivers

The film centers on four drivers entering the Daytona 500 from very different points in their careers:

Kyle Busch
A veteran still chasing the moments that matter most, Busch arrived at Daytona yearning for arguably the only remaining prize missing from his resume. A two-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR’s most prolific victor across its three national series, he’s won almost everywhere – but the 500 stands apart. Entering the season looking to steady momentum after a handful of off years, he approached the race knowing how quickly control can vanish in the draft and how rare these opportunities become over time. And how few of them he has left.

Connor Zilisch
For Zilisch, the 500 was less about legacy and more about proving he belongs in the room – mostly to himself. Early in his NASCAR path but with a ceiling higher than arguably any prospect in history, he’s still building experience, and the film captures what the 19-year-old talent is processing as he takes on his first start in NASCAR’s biggest race. Daytona doesn’t ease anyone in, phenom or not.

Brad Keselowski
As both co-owner and driver, Keselowski carries pressure from two directions. The film includes moments from his recovery work leading into the season after an injury during a ski trip – rehab sessions, training, the physical side of racing that often goes unseen – layered against the reality that Daytona remains one of the few races he still wants badly. Balancing leadership inside the organization with putting himself in position late adds another layer to it all, and it’s a fascinating look at aspects we don’t often get to see, from a unique driver/owner perspective.

Noah Gragson
Gragson’s portion of the film leans more directly into the personal side. He speaks about his incarcerated father and the complicated weight that history carries with him, particularly during big moments. Then it shifts back to the routine of race week with meetings, debriefs and preparation, and the mental pivot required before climbing into the car. At Daytona, once the belts are tight, there’s no room for anything else. | MORE: Gragson opens up on family, on-track issues

Where to watch

“Full Speed: The Daytona 500” premieres Thursday, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Prime members in the U.S. can stream the film across compatible devices via the Prime Video app.

Posted on March 5, 2026March 6, 2026 by Pat DeCola

For much of his racing career, Noah Gragson has worn a certain reputation.

He’s loud. Outgoing. Wears his emotion on the sleeve of his fire suit. The kind of driver who celebrates with fans, playfully ribs his competitors and never seems afraid to show personality in a sport that can sometimes reward restraint.

But as Gragson acknowledges in “Full Speed: The Daytona 500,” now streaming on Prime Video, that public image has often come with some, perhaps inaccurate, assumptions.

MORE: Watch ‘Full Speed’ now!

“Everyone thinks I’m a dip (expletive),” Gragson said early in the film.

The feature-length documentary, debuting Thursday on Prime Video, offers a different look at the Las Vegas native; one that pulls back from the race car and digs into the life experiences, both good and bad, that helped shape him. Gragson traces his earliest racing roots back to a moment with his father at an indoor go-kart track when he was a kid.

“I was a (expletive) head kid,” he said with a laugh. “So my dad took me into this indoor go-kart track. He was like, ‘You want to give it a shot?’ ”

The answer, of course, was yes. He’s never looked back.

From there came Bandolero cars, a boatload of early wins and a competitive spark that quickly took over. In the film, Gragson remembers finishing third in his first race and realizing just how addictive the pursuit of victory could be.

Courtesy of Prime Video

“That was kind of my first taste,” said the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports driver. “And I thought ‘this is the coolest (expletive) I’ve ever done in my entire life.’ ”

The climb through NASCAR’s ranks came quickly from there.

Winning followed him through the lower levels of the sport — he had premier rides in both the Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts series, pouring on a whopping eight NOAPS wins during his final full-time season there in 2022 — and expectations rose just as fast.

But the Cup Series has been a whole different beast of a challenge.

“How has your Cup career been so far?” a producer asks him in the film.

“Horrible,” Gragson answers bluntly.

After years of racing near the front and collecting trophies, the adjustment to NASCAR’s top level has been difficult. Wins haven’t come easily. Some days, simply completing the race feels like the goal.

“You’re used to winning your whole life,” said Gragson. “You go from being at the top, winning every weekend, to just trying to finish the race. And it really (expletive) sucks.”

As difficult as his past few years on track have been, they’ve been arguably more challenging off of it.

The documentary also explores the deeper chapters of Gragson’s journey, including the personal reality he has been navigating away from the race track. In 2019, his father, Scott Gragson, was involved in a fatal DUI crash and later sentenced to prison.

“My situation is different,” said Gragson, holding back tears. “Back in 2019, my dad was involved with a fatal DUI. It’s changed my life. It’s changed my family’s life. It’s changed other families’ lives.”

His father is now serving a prison sentence, and their contact is limited.

“I maybe get to talk to him once a week. You can visit on Sundays. I race every Sunday, so it makes it really tough.”

There’s no attempt to frame the situation neatly.

“You know, he’s my dad,” Gragson continued. “I love him. But I’ve still got my life that I’ve got to live. I just try to take the positive from it because it (expletive) sucks. That’s the hand that you’re dealt. You’re grateful for what you got, people you got around you. There’s more to life than bad finishes in racing.

” … There’s not many people who can put themselves in my shoes, but one thing I know, is that everybody’s going through something.”

Moments like those give “Full Speed: The Daytona 500” a deeper emotional layer than fans might expect from a racing documentary.

While Gragson navigates through his challenges, he remains a prospect with a high ceiling, and at just 27, could still have plenty of career prosperity ahead of him. Though he’s been held out of the top 10 in three races, he’s scored 65 points thus far and sits just outside the provisional Chase field.

In one scene, Gragson stands inside his trophy room, looking over the hardware from earlier stages of his career.

“I’ll come in here and look around and think hopefully you can add to the collection,” he says. “But tomorrow’s not really guaranteed.”

Despite everything — the setbacks, the scrutiny and the personal weight he carries — Gragson’s approach and laid-back nature to life haven’t changed all that much.

“Just try to have as much (expletive) fun as you can.”

Gragson’s story is only one thread in “Full Speed: The Daytona 500,” which also follows Kyle Busch, Connor Zilisch and Brad Keselowski as they prepare for NASCAR’s biggest race, all battling unique circumstances.

Fans can see more of Gragson — and the other drivers navigating the pressure and chaos of the Daytona 500 – with “Full Speed: The Daytona 500,” now streaming on Prime Video.

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Press Release

SALISBURY, N.C. — Niece Motorsports is proud to welcome renowned short-track talent Connor Hall to its NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) driver lineup.

The 29-year-old Hampton, Virginia native will drive the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado RST for a select schedule beginning at Rockingham Speedway on April 3. He has made one prior start in the series, finishing 10th in his debut at Richmond Raceway in 2024.

Hall joined Niece Motorsports over the offseason to oversee the team’s newly formed Late Model Stock Car (LMSC) program, which will be primarily used as a means for driver development. He will also assume the role of crew chief in a handful of LMSC races throughout the year, leading the program in its infancy.

Comprehensive Logistics (CLI) will serve as Hall’s primary sponsor in his first start at Rockingham. For over 30 years, the company has been a leader in integrated inbound-to-manufacturing (I2M) logistics.

As a multi-time winner in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Series, Hall has developed a reputation as one of the fiercest competitors in the short-track scene. He has gained recognition from car owners, media and fans for his hardworking spirit.

“I’m super thankful to be a part of Niece Motorsports and can’t wait to get on track with them in the Truck Series race at Rockingham,” said Hall. “It’s been a fun challenge getting their Late Model Stock program up and running, and I am looking forward to working with the team in a different capacity than what I’m used to. We had a fast truck at the test back in January, and I’m looking forward to running it in the race. Huge thanks to Comprehensive Logistics, J.F. Electric, DQS Solutions & Staffing, Precision Vehicle Logistics, Cody Efaw, and everyone at Niece Motorsports for this opportunity.”

Hall comes to the organization from fellow Chevrolet-affiliated team JR Motorsports, where he finished runner-up in last year’s CARS Tour championship points standings – just behind his new teammate, Landen Lewis.

Connor Hall celebrates winning the 2025 Virginia Triple Crown. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

In 2025, Hall won the prestigious Virginia Triple Crown title, a LMSC tour spanning three marquee races with outstanding car counts. He has claimed two of the three races throughout his career – the Hampton Heat 200 at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway and the Thunder Road 200 at South Boston Speedway.

Before that, Hall gained notoriety by winning back-to-back national championships in the NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts from 2023-2024. During the two-year span, he won 39 weekly races in the southeast region – the most of anyone in the country.

Cody Efaw, Niece Motorsports CEO, has kept a keen eye on Hall’s Saturday night prowess over the last few years.

“Connor Hall is one of those drivers who can really shine for our program,” said Efaw. “He has a ton of talent on the short tracks, and I think that will translate well into the Truck Series. We knew he would be a good fit for our organization and I’m confident that he is the perfect leader for our Late Model team. Rockingham is a great track for Connor to run his first race with us. We took him to the test in January and he picked right up on it, so he should know what to expect on race day.”

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to Rockingham Speedway on Friday, April 3 for the running of the Black’s Tire 200. Live coverage of the 200-lap event will air on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Neil Paine

With each passing win to begin the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Tyler Reddick’s run is starting to sound more and more like a tall tale.

Much like John Henry out-hammering the steam engine or Paul Bunyan carving out the Great Lakes, Reddick has authored his own mythological feats so far this year: Back-to-back victories on drafting tracks –Daytona and Atlanta – to open up the schedule, then 20 closing laps at Circuit of The Americas spent successfully fending off arguably the greatest road-course racer in Cup history, Shane van Gisbergen, to become the first driver ever to sweep the first three races of a season.

If Reddick’s legend grows any more, he might have to trade his fire suit for a flannel shirt and paint a big blue ox on the side of his No. 45 Toyota.

But even folk heroes have their limits, and Reddick will be testing his this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Not only is he fighting against history – only eight drivers in NASCAR’s modern era (since 1972) have ever won four straight races, period, much less to begin a season – but Reddick will also be fighting against a track that has been a bit of a nemesis for him at times over the years.

It was on this very Arizona asphalt, for instance, that Reddick’s lone trip to the Championship 4 came in 2024. He arrived in Phoenix having won his way into the final round two weeks earlier at Homestead-Miami Speedway, thanks to a daring last-lap pass of both Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Despite a brake issue at Martinsville in the penultimate race of the season, Reddick went into the finale with the best statistical record on ovals of any Champ 4 driver that year, tying Joey Logano for the most wins (two) on that track type and easily leading Blaney, Logano and William Byron in every other key category – including average finish, Adjusted Points+ index and Driver Rating:

If this were a standard oval like Kansas or Las Vegas, Reddick would have been in excellent shape to win his first career Cup Series title.

Unfortunately for Reddick, though, Phoenix isn’t your ordinary track. At exactly 1 mile long, it is neither a classic short track nor is it a typical oval – especially with its flat banking, asymmetrical layout and pronounced dogleg down the frontstretch. In truth, it doesn’t really resemble much else on the Cup schedule, save for maybe Gateway and Loudon (two other longer, flatter tracks).

Because of all this, it has been difficult for Reddick to apply his usual oval-racing skills to Phoenix. In that 2024 championship race, he ended up leading zero laps, and he had the fastest lap in the field just 2.2% of the time, his third-smallest share at any oval that season. While he spent every lap running in the top 15, Reddick was ultimately not much of a threat to win the title, finishing a distant fourth among Champ 4 drivers in the season finale.

That disappointment has been a recurring theme in the desert. Among all ovals Reddick has raced at in the Cup Series, Phoenix ranks ninth-worst by average Driver Rating, fourth-worst by average Adjusted Points+ index and tied for third-worst – ahead of only Michigan and Fontana – by average finish:

Even at Michigan – a much longer, faster and more horsepower-driven track compared to Phoenix – Reddick has a win, scored in August 2024, though that was his only top 10 ever at the venue. In 12 starts at Phoenix, Reddick has a pair of third-place finishes – none more recent than three years ago, early in his 23XI Racing tenure – and a pair of top 10s (10th in the spring, sixth in the fall) in 2024. The rest of his starts here have seen him place 19th or worse, including 20th in the spring a year ago and 26th in the 2025 season finale.

Given that track record, it’s not going to be easy for Reddick to extend his historic season-opening win streak to four in a row this weekend. But if he does, he would become the first driver to win four straight at any point on the schedule since Jimmie Johnson in his 2007 championship season, in addition to joining Christopher Bell last year (plus David Pearson and Mark Martin) as the fourth modern-era driver to win consecutive races at three different track types – in this case, a superspeedway, a road course and an oval. Heck, he would also be able to say he gave Michael Jordan the first “four-peat” of his sporting career.

And why not? In a season that has already defied belief several times over, the next epic trial waits in the Arizona desert. And if Reddick can finally conquer Phoenix, his story only grows taller.

Posted on March 4, 2026March 5, 2026 by Nathan Solomon

RFK Racing co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski is in the early stages of what could wind up being his toughest NASCAR Cup Series season yet. But it hasn’t been for a lack of on-track performance.

Keselowski continues to deal with the lingering effects of a broken femur, suffered in a freak accident during a December ski trip with his family. He’s spent hours rehabbing the injury daily, but despite a cane in hand and a noticeable limp, the 41-year-old has turned every lap over the first three points-paying races of the 2026 campaign. His status for last week’s road-course race at Circuit of The Americas was admittedly in jeopardy, but the 2012 titleholder elected to tough it out rather than turn his No. 6 Ford over to stand-by driver Joey Hand. The Michigander finished 20th, salvaging 17 points out of the series’ annual trip to Austin, Texas.

In his fifth year owning the Jack Roush-formed company, Keselowski led by example. Ryan Preece certainly noticed.

“I’ve lived it,” said the driver of RFK’s No. 60 Ford, competing in his second season with the organization.

Preece has battled plenty of adversity throughout his Cup career, both on and off the track. He raced in an unchartered No. 37 Chevrolet for JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet for the entire 2021 season, needing to qualify on speed for each of the 36 races on the schedule. A year later, Preece went without a full-time ride in any of NASCAR’s three national series, acknowledging after his win in this February’s Cook Out Clash that, at times, he was close to moving back to Connecticut and giving up on his dream.

The now 35-year-old landed with Stewart-Haas Racing for two seasons before the organization shut its doors. In 2023, his first season driving the team’s No. 41 Ford, Preece went for a terrifying ride during the summer race at Daytona, barrel rolling over a dozen times down the backstretch before finally landing on all fours. He exited under his own power and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Preece went home the next day. A week later, with bloodied eyes nearly swollen shut, he returned to his car at Darlington Raceway.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

“I can appreciate it because the things that I’m going to put myself through to race, so is Brad,” Precce said during a Wednesday media teleconference. “I’ve learned pretty quickly that he and I are very similar in the aspects of what we’re going to put ourselves through to compete and show others that we will do whatever it takes to race, to competitively attempt to win and put our teams in position.

“I know there was a lot of conversation last week at COTA around, man, is Brad going to race? But as a race car driver, what I see him doing every day, and then as a race car driver, like, you weren’t taking him out of that race car because you wouldn’t take me out of that race car. So I think, you know, as a racer and the family that he came from and the family that I come from, we’re taught at a very young age – that’s what makes us different. We’re willing to do whatever it takes to compete.”

To a different degree, Preece battled his own adversity last Sunday. He was among a group of drivers, including AJ Allmendinger, who suffered cool suit failures over 95 laps in the scorching Texas heat. Preece finished 18th, marking his best finish at the 17-turn road course in his last four trips.

“I was plenty beat up or feeling it a bit, but I was plenty fine to drive that race car to its ability,” Preece explained, reflecting on the weekend. “Those are the races that define you and your race team. Yeah, 18th was the end result, but between yesterday and today, I’ve been thinking about, been going back and watching some on-car (cameras) from other cars around us, and probably some things that I could’ve done better to get us to a 16th or 15th, maybe. But that’s the name of the game. You’re going to have days where you wish you would’ve done things a little different or reacted to situations a little different, but the deal is you got to move forward to the next week.

“The clock resets at midnight, and you move on. That’s what our focus is: moving onto Phoenix.”

Through three races, all three RFK teams sit inside the top 16 of points, headlined by Chris Buescher in 11th. Keselowski is 12th after nearly pulling off a Daytona 500 victory, with Preece in 16th. Spire Motorsports is the only other organization with all of its cars inside the provisional cutoff for The Chase.

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series head to the desert for the first time this season, contesting races at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway. Below are the qualifying orders for both series:

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TV

Cup Series
Single-car qualifying will take place at 1:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, with practice earlier in the day at noon ET (Prime Video).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC	GROUP
1	48	Alex Bowman	36.0	1
2	43	Erik Jones	34.3	1
3	19	Chase Briscoe	34.0	1
4	2	Austin Cindric	31.7	1
5	51	Cody Ware	30.9	1
6	1	Ross Chastain	30.5	1
7	33	* Austin Hill(i)	30.3	1
8	41	Cole Custer	29.0	1
9	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	27.4	1
10	38	Zane Smith	27.3	1
11	21	Josh Berry	26.6	1
12	77	Carson Hocevar	24.7	1
13	34	Todd Gilliland	23.7	1
14	35	Riley Herbst	23.6	1
15	3	Austin Dillon	23.5	1
16	4	Noah Gragson	20.8	1
17	17	Chris Buescher	20.1	1
18	7	Daniel Suarez	19.6	1
19	88	Connor Zilisch #	19.4	1
20	42	John Hunter Nemechek	18.2	2
21	6	Brad Keselowski	17.6	2
22	60	Ryan Preece	17.4	2
23	10	Ty Dillon	16.9	2
24	8	Kyle Busch	15.0	2
25	11	Denny Hamlin	13.9	2
26	24	William Byron	13.0	2
27	22	Joey Logano	12.3	2
28	20	Christopher Bell	9.3	2
29	5	Kyle Larson	8.7	2
30	16	AJ Allmendinger	8.7	2
31	23	Bubba Wallace	8.3	2
32	54	Ty Gibbs	7.9	2
33	12	Ryan Blaney	6.8	2
34	71	Michael McDowell	6.2	2
35	9	Chase Elliott	5.8	2
36	97	Shane van Gisbergen	2.9	2
37	45	Tyler Reddick	1.0	2

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Single-car qualifying will take place at 8:05 p.m. ET on Friday, with practice earlier in the day at 7 p.m. ET (The CW App).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC	GROUP
1	92	Josh Williams	41.0	1
2	52	Daniel Dye	40.7	1
3	35	Blake Lothian	39.5	1
4	74	Dawson Cram	38.6	1
5	5	Chandler Smith(i)	38.3	1
6	30	Austin J. Hill	36.4	1
7	55	Joey Gase	35.9	1
8	07	Josh Bilicki	33.3	1
9	51	Jeremy Clements	33.2	1
10	87	Austin Green	32.1	1
11	24	Harrison Burton	32.0	1
12	02	Ryan Ellis	30.4	1
13	42	Nathan Byrd	27.4	1
14	26	Dean Thompson	26.9	1
15	96	Anthony Alfredo	26.3	1
16	28	Kyle Sieg	26.1	1
17	25	Nick Sanchez	23.8	1
18	99	Parker Retzlaff	23.7	1
19	88	William Byron(i)	23.5	1
20	45	Lavar Scott #	22.9	1
21	91	Mason Maggio	21.7	2
22	48	Patrick Staropoli#	19.1	2
23	27	Jeb Burton	18.6	2
24	1	Carson Kvapil	17.7	2
25	31	Blaine Perkins	17.6	2
26	39	Ryan Sieg	16.6	2
27	0	Garrett Smithley	16.0	2
28	20	Brandon Jones	14.1	2
29	41	Sam Mayer	13.1	2
30	54	Taylor Gray	12.6	2
31	19	Brent Crews	11.4	2
32	44	Brennan Poole	10.9	2
33	18	William Sawalich	9.4	2
34	00	Sheldon Creed	8.9	2
35	32	Rajah Caruth	7.8	2
36	7	Justin Allgaier	6.5	2
37	17	Corey Day	5.9	2
38	8	Sammy Smith	4.2	2
39	2	Jesse Love	3.4	2
40	21	Austin Hill	1.7	2

* Required to qualify on time
# denotes series rookie
(i) denotes ineligible for driver points

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Dustin Albino

Rajah Caruth thought he was ready to make the leap to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on a full-time basis last year. Though it’s one-year delayed, no time has ever been better.

Caruth will compete in 23 races for JR Motorsports and complete the remainder of the full 33-race season with Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 32 Chevrolet entry. After the opening three contests with JRM, he slots in sixth in the regular-season standings, with a pair of top-10 finishes in the first two races.

“From my aspect, I’m going to get the most out of the car, whichever one I’m driving,” Caruth told NASCAR.com on running for multiple organizations while chasing a driver’s championship. “[With JRM], we expect to win and run up front. There is no reason why I can’t go and be competitive in the 32 car as well.

“I’m going to be working, putting my all in. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever car I’m in, I’m going to get the most out of it.”

Caruth’s first taste of making the in-season swap will come Saturday at Phoenix Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He will pilot the No. 32 for the next three races – Phoenix, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway – before returning to JRM at Martinsville Speedway to conclude March. When Caruth isn’t piloting the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet, all four of Hendrick Motorsports’ Cup Series drivers will make appearances in the machine, with William Byron being the first this upcoming weekend. Kyle Larson will wheel the car for the first time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Alex Bowman having his turn the following week at Darlington Raceway. Chase Elliott’s first 2026 O’Reilly start won’t come until NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway in early July.

Logistically, Caruth will always travel to the track with JR Motorsports. While preparing, the 23-year-old will bounce between the two organizations to attend pre- and post-race debriefs.

Caruth will also have five full-time teammates, spread across the two organizations. He has leaned on series veteran Justin Allgaier the most thus far, but knows it ultimately boils down to what he does on and off the track.

“In years past, I would probably be looking at a lot of my veteran teammates for a lot of advice,” Caruth said, “but I would say I’m a little less on that train and more on attacking the opportunity and trusting the foundation that I built with the team and doing those things versus asking too many questions.

“I’m still always a sponge, but I’m not going to ask somebody how to do some things. I’ve got my own experience to a certain extent. I can still listen and learn, but I’m not a puppy dog looking for the road map. I’ve got some good foundations now.”

Over the past few years, Caruth believes he has been elevated the most by the Wise Optimization program, spearheaded by former NASCAR competitors Josh Wise and Scott Speed. He went to work after losing confidence amid an inconsistent 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, which saw similar statistics to the previous season, despite a glaring three-spot drop in average finishing position.

Caruth is poised for a rebound in 2026, having regained confidence over the winter.

“Just trusting in myself and the work that I’ve put in,” Caruth said. “Showing up and spending time with the team, working hard in the simulator, that’s how I gain it back. Not comparing myself to other people because I guarantee you if anybody else was in the same situation as myself or had the same cards they were dealt last year or years before in their career, they wouldn’t have gotten to where I’m at — respectfully.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Since being paired with Mardy Lindley, crew chief of the No. 88 car, he has seen rapid growth in Caruth. The duo has spent ample time in the Chevrolet simulator, basing it on Connor Zilisch’s 2025 data, specifically at road courses.

“He is committed to what he does,” Lindley said of his early impressions of Caruth. “He tries hard and is dedicated to getting better. Once we get into all these normal race tracks, I’ll be curious to see how it plays out.”

When the duo first started working together, one of the first things Lindley told Caruth was to forget what the No. 88 team, which is made up of the same core members as last year, did in 2025. The No. 88 team won 11 races last season, with 10 of them coming from the phenom Zilisch. Approaching the new campaign with that mindset allowed Caruth to compete freely.

MORE: O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

“I felt like he could be under tremendous pressure, and I don’t want him to feel like that,” Lindley said. “This is his car; Mr. H (Rick Hendrick, owner) has put him in it for the races. We’re going to do the best we can with him. I just wanted him to feel comfortable and not feel overwhelmed, especially with Cup drivers driving it.”

Caruth will run the final 13 races of the 2026 season with JR Motorsports, including the full nine-race Chase. Admittedly, Caruth hasn’t set expectations for 2026, but believes he should be in the mix during the postseason.

“There’s no reason why I can’t go and compete for the championship,” Caruth said. “I’m confident in myself and the team. There is no reason why that can’t be us.”

Posted on March 4, 2026March 5, 2026 by George Winkler

Is there a point to diving deep into the NASCAR Cup Series standings this early in the season?

After all, by the time we return to Daytona International Speedway for the regular-season finale, the list probably will look completely different.

RELATED: Cup standings | Phoenix entry list

That doesn’t make the current situation any less jaw-dropping, though. According to Racing Insights, eight of the 16 playoff drivers from 2025 are currently below The Chase cutoff line. That list includes some championship favorites.

2025 Playoff Drivers Outside of a Chase Position in 2026

Driver	Rank	Points behind
Ross Chastain	20	4
Denny Hamlin	23	8
Christopher Bell	24	9
Chase Briscoe	27	22
Josh Berry	28	23
Austin Cindric	31	29
Austin Dillon	34	33
Alex Bowman	36	45

Stats courtesy Racing Insights

Something has to give, and it could happen in the next set of races on more typical tracks (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Darlington, Martinsville). After that stretch, we’ll pull up to the Easter break with a better understanding of where things stand.

However, what’s amazing right now is that if The Chase started today, Joe Gibbs Racing would be shut out of any championship hopes. That’s right, the best JGR driver in the standings happens to be Ty Gibbs in 17th place, three points behind RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece for the final Chase transfer spot.

Where are Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, you say? They’re 126, 127 and 140 points behind leader Tyler Reddick.

The good news is Bell, Gibbs and Hamlin are coming off top-10 finishes at Circuit of The Americas. Plus, the team has a strong track record at Phoenix; JGR has led 56% of the laps there over the last four races (701 of 1,255), and Bell has won each of the last two spring races.

Briscoe, who has only one top-10 finish in the last five Phoenix races, has a win there; his first in Cup back in 2022 for Stewart-Haas Racing. Meanwhile, Hamlin has two wins at Phoenix, albeit in 2012 and 2019, as he tries to exorcise the demons from last fall’s championship heartbreak at the track.

MORE: Phoenix schedule | Buy tickets

On the other side of the equation, everything is coming up desert roses for 23XI Racing. That’s what happens when your average finish is 1.0 through the first three races, like it is for Reddick.

With race wins worth more this season (55 points), the gap of 70 points between Reddick in first and teammate Bubba Wallace in second is the same as the gap between second (Wallace) and 27th (Briscoe) in the standings.

Wallace has been strong in his own right, though, with his 9.7 average finish trailing only Reddick and Chase Elliott (7.3) thus far. Wallace is also tied with Ryan Blaney for the most stage points this season at 34.

But there are others who are enjoying high times as well. The biggest improvement in average finish compared to last year is by Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger: 13.3 versus 28.3.

Daniel Suârez’s 14.3 average finish for Spire Motorsports through three races is much better than last year’s 27.3 with Trackhouse Racing. Suárez and Allmendinger sit seventh and eighth in the standings.

Best Average Finish in 2026 (through three races)

Driver	Average finish
Tyler Reddick	1.0
Chase Elliott	7.3
Bubba Wallace	9.7
Joey Logano	12.0
Shane van Gisbergen	12.7
AJ Allmendinger	13.3
Brad Keselowski	14.0
Daniel Suárez	14.3

Stats courtesy Racing Insights

As they say, though, enjoy the fun while it lasts. This week could be a case of returning to normalcy. Several big names come into Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) wielding big numbers.

Ryan Blaney won last November here and has finished in the top two in five of the last seven races at Phoenix.

The Hendrick Motorsports duo of William Byron and Kyle Larson also could get back into business this week. Byron has an average running position of 4.9 at Phoenix in the Next Gen car, and Larson has three straight top-five finishes at Phoenix, which is the longest active streak.

This might be the perfect time for the sport’s heavy hitters to swing their big bats down in the land of Spring Training, where the tools of ignorance apply to a catcher’s equipment but certainly not to this statistical exercise, which has formed a baseline for future comparisons.

Posted on March 3, 2026March 4, 2026 by Nate Ryan

It took about 15 minutes for NASCAR to grant Hendrick Motorsports’ request to replace Alex Bowman with Myatt Snider in the No. 48 Chevrolet at Circuit of The Americas.

The driver approval process normally takes much longer, but given the extenuating circumstances of Bowman falling ill during Sunday’s race, time wasn’t an option.

“Obviously, we would have loved to take hours, but we didn’t have that luxury,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “And so the conversation wasn’t a lengthy one by any means.”

MORE: Snider subs for Bowman at COTA | COTA results

The unusual swap started with a text to NASCAR executives from Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition Chad Knaus, who had asked for an expedited approval of Snider to relieve Bowman.

Snider, who was working at COTA as a spotter for Fox Sports pit reporter Jamie Little, has 112 starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (including a 2021 win at Homestead-Miami Speedway). But he wasn’t approved for Cup and has no experience in the series.

Snider was licensed to race O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026, which made him eligible for Cup consideration.

An impromptu in-race approval meeting in COTA race control took place between Chad Little (who heads up the driver resume committee), chief racing development officer John Probst, Cup Series director Brad Moran and senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer.

The executives used the Riedel intercom system, which has mics and headsets that provide efficient communication despite the trackside noise.

“Those (radios) were a lifesaver,” Forde said. “We could pretty much have a meeting on the spot with all the key decision-makers. The four people that needed to weigh in were all in the same room, all wearing these Riedel headsets and could break down and look up what needed to be discussed as far as Myatt Snider’s resume, which is pretty robust.”

Snider also has 11 starts (and a win) in the ARCA Menards Series and made 13 starts in 2019 on the NASCAR Euro Series, which primarily races on road courses. His most recent NASCAR start was last October at Martinsville Speedway in the O’Reilly Series.

Snider now is approved to run road courses and short tracks in Cup.

“Looking at his resume, we decided in race control that he would be OK to race a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Forde said. “When you’re going through each of the series, the first approval typically is for road courses, next is short tracks, then intermediates and then superspeedways.”

Noting that some Cup rookies made their debuts without testing, Forde said Snider’s lack of time behind the wheel of a Next Gen “didn’t really come up,” but he added the type of track made the approval easier.

“If this was anywhere but COTA or Martinsville or maybe even Phoenix, he probably would not be qualified to run,” Forde said. “If this was Darlington or Homestead, certainly Daytona or Talladega, we would probably would have had to tell Hendrick Motorsports that they needed to find someone else.”

Dustin Albino | For NASCAR Digital Media

David Green, a NASCAR technical inspector who helps oversee safety, also joined the podcast to discuss his role in ratifying the No. 48 driver swap.

Before cars are on track each race weekend, Green ensures that a few dozen safety devices — seat belts, headrests, seats, steering wheels, roll bar padding, window net, roof hatches — are certified and in compliance with NASCAR regulations.

For an in-race driver swap, Green checks that the relief driver has the proper firesuit, helmet and head-and-neck restraint.

He was called on twice at COTA. After ensuring Legacy Motor Club reserve driver Harrison Burton had the proper safety gear to potentially replace an ailing Erik Jones (who was able to finish the event in the No. 43 Toyota), Green scurried to the No. 48 stall in time to meet Snider and check his firesuit, helmet and HANS device.

“So all those boxes were checked before Myatt ever got to the car,” Green said.

Once Snider was in the cockpit, the next step was ensuring a proper field of vision.

“Before he ever put his helmet on, I’m kind of looking at his eyesight line compared to the headrest and then his shoulder belt angle, stuff like that.

“Now, the big question would be what happens if none of this lines up, and we’re in a bad spot? Then we start digging a little bit deeper (on) do we really need to change the insert to get Myatt lower in the seat. But we didn’t have to go that path because he almost looked perfect sitting in that car. HMS and all the teams do a great job on the Cup side of making sure the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed. I really had no concerns with Myatt getting in the car other than the simple height of Myatt vs. Alex. He fit right in there like a glove and it was really a smooth transition.”

Green, who won the 1994 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship before joining NASCAR, estimated he usually encounters approving relief drivers a few times annually — but rarely during the same race.

“We have a plan in place, but hope we don’t have to use that plan, and the teams obviously do the same thing,” Green said. “The 48 situation was probably the most spur-of-the-moment deal that we ever got thrown at us.”

Other topics covered by Forde and senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis during the 44^th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:

— The multiple cool suit failures that arose during the COTA race;

— How inserts are used to improve driver safety and comfort;

— What’s new this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, where NASCAR will share an oval with the IndyCar Series for the first time.

Click on the embed below to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.

Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.

Posted on March 3, 2026March 4, 2026 by Staff Report

Two members of Trackhouse Racing’s pit crew for the No. 1 Chevrolet have been suspended through the next two NASCAR Cup Series races, NASCAR officials announced Tuesday.

Rear-tire changer Kenneth Pozega and jackman Josh Appleby will be sidelined after the No. 1 car, driven by Ross Chastain, had its right-rear tire detach from the vehicle on the race track on Lap 75 under green-flag conditions. The penalties come under Sections 8.8.10.4 A&D in the NASCAR Rule Book, which states in part that a “lost tire beyond pit road will result in [a] two race suspension for two pit crew members [and] a two-lap penalty.”

MORE: COTA results | Cup Series standings

Chastain and his team were also issued a two-lap penalty during the event for the infraction. Chastain ultimately finished the event in 35th place, two laps down.

Pozega and Appleby will be sidelined for the races at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as well as the March 15 event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The duo will be eligible to return on March 22 at Darlington Raceway.