The 2026 season is officially underway, and with it comes a new title sponsor for NASCAR’s secondary series. What hasn’t changed, however, is the action, as the year kicks off Saturday at the “World Center of Racing” with the United Rentals 300 (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Defending series champion Jesse Love returns to Daytona International Speedway to begin his title defense at the site of his season-opening win one year ago. A handful of rookies enter the fold this year; Rajah Caruth takes over the reins of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for his first of 23 races with the team. Corey Day will have his first full-time season at the national level, wheeling the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports entry. Lavar Scott makes the jump from the ARCA Menards Series to drive the No. 45 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet.
Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar will also be in the field, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports. Gio Ruggerio will drive the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota before Brent Crews is slated to take over the machine after his 18th birthday.
Forty-two cars are entered for this week’s on-track action.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season is officially here, with an eager Cup field challenging the high banks in Florida in the Daytona 500 on Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Drivers will have a packed slate in the lead-up to the 68th “Great American Race.” In addition to practice and qualifying, there will be two 60-lap Duel races, with the lineup for both contests determined by the qualifying session. Two additional practices will make up the Cup Series docket before cars officially hit the track Sunday for the crown-jewel bout.
Forty-five entries will take part in on-track action. Justin Allgaier will again pilot the No. 40 JR Motorsports entry after doing so last season. 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim will additionally make an appearance, piloting the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota for the first of 12 Cup bouts this season. Corey LaJoie, after wheeling the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford in place of Brad Keselowski in the 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, will attempt to make the Daytona 500 as driver of the No. 99 RFK Racing Ford.
William Byron is one of five drivers to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, thanks to his victories in 2024-25. He will pilot the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the hopes of finding Victory Lane a third straight time, a feat never done in Cup Series history.
Brad Keselowski has been cleared to return from competition following recovery from a broken leg, RFK Racing announced Monday.
“Getting cleared was a huge moment for me. You put in the work, you trust the process, but until you hear that final ‘yes,’ nothing is guaranteed,” said Keselowski in a team release. “Knowing what Daytona means, and how hard it would have been to miss it, made this moment even bigger. I’m grateful to the medical team and to NASCAR for being thorough, and I’m excited to get back in the car.”
Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion, suffered a broken right femur while on a skiing vacation on Dec. 18. The driver and co-owner of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford underwent successful surgery and has been approved by doctors to return to competition for the 68th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“This process was about discipline and patience. There were no shortcuts,” Keselowski said. “I had a poster in my workout area that said, ‘Daytona. Earned, not given,’ and that became my mindset every day. The focus was on getting stronger, improving mobility, and making sure I was truly ready to race.”
Keselowski was sidelined for the exhibition Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, where Corey LaJoie piloted the No. 6 Ford in Keselowski’s absence. An X-ray on Feb. 2 confirmed Keselowski had recovered well enough to return to Daytona, where he will seek his first Daytona 500 victory in his 17th start.
Keselowski has led the most laps in two of the last four editions of the “Great American Race.” Returning to the seat in time for this race was always an intended goal for the 36-time winner.
“Brad approached his recovery the same way he approaches racing; with focus, commitment, and attention to detail,” said Chip Bowers, RFK Racing president. “His drive and determination to be healthy and ready to compete in the Daytona 500, just eight weeks after his injury, is inspiring to everyone at RFK Racing.”
RFK has won the Daytona 500 just twice in its storied history, both with Matt Kenseth in 2009 and 2012, when the organization was known as Roush Fenway Racing. Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece, Keselowski’s teammates, are both seeking their first Daytona 500 victories.
A brake issue in the Super Late Model feature forced Benjamin to park his No. 9 Jett Motorsports Toyota at the halfway point. Benjamin’s Pro Late Model outing didn’t fare much better, as he was part of an early crash in each of the first two events.
Normally, Benjamin would be irritated about how his World Series began after previously winning a championship in the Super Late Model class at the event in 2012. Instead, this year’s week-long endeavor at New Smyrna for Benjamin brings him serenity and comfort due for one reason.
It is the first time Benjamin has climbed inside a race car of any kind since 2019.
“I forgot how much of a rush it is,” Benjamin said after his first two races on Friday evening. “It’s really fun to be back out there. The competition is really good, but we ran tight for a while. We were two wide for what felt like 10 laps. It was like getting thrown back into the fire, but there was a lot of good racing last night.”
Benjamin cherished being able to share the track with drivers he once battled during his first stint in racing, along with the young prospects trying to make a name for themselves; a scenario Benjamin is very familiar with.
The championship run Benjamin enjoyed at the World Series at just 14 years of age was the catalyst that propelled him into NASCAR’s top divisions. On that first night, Benjamin was forced to start in the 33rd position with only 30 laps to work his way to the front.
Benjamin ended the evening in sixth. That performance validated Benjamin’s confidence, but he also discovered who his main competition would be, another prospect by the name of Kyle Larson, the night one Super Late Model winner.
Perfection was needed from Benjamin over the ensuing races if he wanted to best not only Larson, but other standout drivers such as local legend David Rogers and Chase Elliott, who entered three Super Late Model races that year. Benjamin responded by winning the next three events.
The ensuing years after Benjamin’s World Series championship would see him further solidify his status as a NASCAR prospect. Benjamin secured an opportunity to drive for Venturini Motorsports in 2013, earning two victories at Madison International Speedway and Salem Speedway in ARCA Menards Series competition.
Finding a sustainable, full-time ride proved to be a challenge for Benjamin despite his early success, but he was persistent in achieving that goal. Benjamin’s father Steven shared that ambition by fielding a family-owned car for his son across the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East during the mid-2010s.
What always stood out to Steven about Kyle was the dedication he showed. Steven knows it can be easy for a young driver to be overly aggressive in a Late Model, but said Kyle was always precise, methodical and committed to improving after every event, regardless of how it unfolded.
“[Kyle] cares,” Steven said. “He is not here to put a firesuit on, never was. He’s a lot different than he was back when he started Late Model racing at 12, but even at that point, [racing] was important to him. He took it seriously, worked on his craft and wanted to learn.”
For a moment, it appeared the younger Benjamin’s passion was going to translate into a marquee opportunity. Benjamin signed a development deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to run five NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series events in 2017, all of which saw him qualify on the front row.
Kyle Benjamin’s time in NASCAR’s national divisions saw him earn two poles and four top fives between the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series. (Photo: Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
Despite some inconsistent results, Benjamin nearly broke through for his first victory during the O’Reilly Series’ second visit to Iowa Speedway that season. Benjamin battled teammate Ryan Preece for the victory in overtime, ultimately losing by .054 seconds.
One year later, the same scenario unfolded for Benjamin, this time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. After leading 74 laps, Benjamin attempted to chase down John Hunter Nemechek during a seven-lap sprint to finish, but missed out on that elusive checkered flag by just more than a tenth of a second.
Those two near misses were disappointing for Benjamin at the time, but they also reinforced what he already knew about himself. He had the talent to one day get to the NASCAR Cup Series and was grateful teams like Gibbs and Tricon Garage gave him an opportunity to showcase it on a national level.
“Even though we didn’t break through fully, to go experience that was pretty cool,” Benjamin said. “We were really close and had a lot of good runs. We were right there with Ryan Preece and also with the Truck Series at Martinsville, but I’m glad I got to experience that.”
Benjamin felt everything was building towards a full-time NASCAR national ride, but the momentum suddenly evaporated at the end of the 2010s. A 13th place finish with Niece Motorsports at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway would be Benjamin’s last race NASCAR event.
There was only so much time for Benjamin to reflect on the circumstances that effectively halted his career. Racing had been a cornerstone of his life since childhood, but suddenly he was left to figure out what would come afterwards, a reality he never imagined facing.
Benjamin initially settled on being a ski instructor in Colorado, battling both the elements and even a COVID-19 diagnosis to show people from all around the road how to tackle the tough terrain. He is also currently studying online to earn an IT degree.
While Steven Benjamin was happy to see Kyle adjust to his post-racing life, he admitted it was a challenging time for the entire family. So much time and money had been spent on ensuring Kyle had everything he needed to make it in racing, only to see that effort turn fruitless due to events within and outside of their control.
“[He handled it] as good as can be expected,” Steven said. “It was hard on him, probably harder than I even know. All he did was travel and go to races for all those years. It’s not a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. When you lose that, it’s a tough thing. I just hurt for him, and we didn’t think he’d ever sit behind the wheel again.”
Thankfully a call from Pat Jett, the owner of Jett Motorsports, brought Kyle Benjamin back to racing after a prolonged absence.
Among the drivers that have competed for Jett Motorsports in the past include Stephen Nasse and Kaden Honeycutt, the latter of which won the Snowball Derby for the team in 2024. With the reputation Jett Motorsports has built for itself in the discipline, Benjamin expressed optimism that he’d be able to shake the rust off quickly.
Through his partnership with Jett Motorsports, Kyle Benjamin looks to find success in the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway once again. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Benjamin planned to take part in the Governor’s Cup with Jett Motorsports at New Smyrna in December but was forced to withdraw after an engine failure in practice. Despite the setback, the time Benjamin spent with Jett Motorsports only fueled his excitement to return to New Smyrna for the World Series this month.
“It really comes down to the love for racing, especially here at New Smyrna,” Benjamin said. “I have a lot of good memories [at New Smyrna] and I wanted to come back down and experience [the World Series]. The whole [Jett Motorsports] group is a really good group, so this is going to be a fun week, but this week has always been fun for me. That’s why I came back.”
Steven Benjamin thought it would take Kyle a couple of practice sessions to get comfortable again in a Super Late Model, but he believes his son is now in a good place mentally and with the setup. He is confident strong results in the World Series will manifest for Kyle this year with the leadership of Jett Motorsports at his disposal.
The journey Kyle has endured is not the one Steven imagined for his son when he started racing. It has been filled with numerous highs and plenty of lows, yet Kyle is now back behind the wheel, a place Steven knows his son belongs.
“We’ve got one life to live and this is [Kyle’s] passion,” Steven said. “Everybody wants for their kids, more than they want for themselves. I certainly do. If this is what makes him happy, and it always has, then I’m happy for him.
“To be honest, I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time.”
Fittingly, the World Series has the potential to once again change Kyle Benjamin’s life just like it did back when he won a championship in 2012. If everything goes according to plan for Benjamin this week, he believes there will be more chances for him to race with Jett Motorsports and remind people how talented he is as a driver.
Benjamin does not intend to waste the moment that is in front of him. He knows how to triumph in the World Series, doing so in 2026 will require him to apply all the knowledge that once made him such a highly regarded prospect.
“It would mean a lot to me to come back to [New Smyrna] and win like that,” Benjamin said. “I’ve been racing my whole life and it was my entire world. To come back and get a win after sitting out for so long would feel like coming back home.”
A lot has changed for Benjamin in his six years away from racing, but the passion never left him. If anything, that desire is more prevalent than ever now that Benjamin is back in his element and eager to continue what he started at the World Series so many years ago.
Fantasy sports can be enthralling. Just ask the 2025 NASCAR Fantasy Live winner Taylor Alexander (pictured in Earnhardt shirt).
Alexander was raised in Bakersfield, California, a city filled with deep racing lineage between the Mears family and 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. Still, he didn’t follow the sport from an early age.
Ahead of the 2016 NASCAR season, however, Alexander, an avid fantasy football competitor, and his friends wanted to try a new fantasy sport. They were turned on to NASCAR through Fantasy Live.
“We all got together to watch the Daytona 500,” Alexander recalled, approaching a decade with his NASCAR fandom. “After watching that, most of us were hooked. I ended up doing pretty well overall in fantasy NASCAR that year, so it made me adjust and I’ve never looked back since then.”
Alexander was a big Carl Edwards fan, specifically due to the 28-time Cup victor’s ability of doing his signature backflip following a triumph. When Edwards retired after the 2016 season, Alexander hopped on the Ryan Blaney bandwagon after his rookie season.
To begin 2017, Alexander and his inner circle continued to play NASCAR Fantasy Live. They haven’t looked back.
“When we started doing [fantasy], I knew of NASCAR and seen a couple of races on TV but was never a watch-it-every-Sunday type of follower,” he added. “After watching a few races, I enjoyed it. I’m an engineer by education, so a lot of the fundamentals behind what makes the car go fastest and datapoints the teams are looking at from an aero perspective, engineering perspective, that interested me.”
Each passing year, Alexander has familiarized himself with the field’s historical performance at specific race tracks. Through the help of Racing Reference and DriverAverages.com, he goes into every week thinking of four drivers that are near locks for his lineup with a pair of spots, including his garage pick, that are up for grabs. He will be glued to the television for practice and qualifying each week, gauging how drivers feel about their race cars.
“The main thing I use is paying attention to the driver interviews, what the broadcasters are saying about how different cars look; the NASCAR App, where I can look at the five-, 10- and 15-lap averages. I will try to summarize some of that information based on the characteristics that I think are going to be most important for the race and set my lineup based on that.”
Thinking of the big picture is critical. If a driver is a “stud,” they should not have any uses remaining at the conclusion of the regular season. That can help players strategize long term, specifically knowing which drivers tend to be good at what tracks.
“Something that I will do no matter what is make sure I use all 10 of my starts for every stud,” Alexander said. “If I got to the end of the regular season and I have two starts left with Kyle Larson, I did something wrong. That is leaving potential points on the board, for sure.”
Alexander sets weekly reminders to check his lineup before the conclusion of Stage 2 for any necessary changes.
“I very rarely will miss putting someone in my garage,” he said. “Whether or not I put the right person in, that’s another question.”
Around halfway through the 2025 regular season, Alexander realized he was in contention to win the $25,000 grand prize for having the most points for the duration of the season. He recalls being in the top 10 in the rankings from Week 10 onward and even reached first place for just one race around Week 20 before bouncing around the top five. He took the lead with two races remaining and never looked back.
“I felt like I had a chance to win the entire time for the majority of the season,” he said. “Whether or not it was realistic that it was going to happen — a lot of things had to break my way for that to happen. But when it came to driver management, saving starts and making the right decisions, once I was in the top 10, I felt like I was going to be within striking range.
“When it came to the last week of the season, and I had a 30-point lead over second place, I felt confident that with the driver starts I had left that I would be able to hold on unless something crazy happened.”
After the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Alexander had to wait nearly three hours for inspection results to clear before he was deemed the winner. The following day, he got the official word from NASCAR that he was indeed the 2025 Fantasy Live champion.
With the 2026 season getting underway this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, Alexander is ready to set his opening-week lineup. With points being at the forefront of The Chase format, he believes having the winner of each race as part of your lineup is more important than ever.
“Picking the winner is going to be more important than ever,” he added. “Either way, it doesn’t change my approach. Even with the old format, having the winner of the race in your lineup is never a bad thing. Where I think it’s going to be interesting is how it changes teams’ strategies at the road courses and drafting tracks.”
As for how he is spending his earnings: “I’m going to be moving in a couple of months, so just a little extra money for a down payment on a house,” he added. “Nothing too exciting on how I’m going to spend it or anything. It comes in handy and a very nice prize to have.”
Rick Hendrick is the most successful team owner in NASCAR history. And it’s not close.
Approaching the search for more success in 2026, Hendrick’s Cup Series drivers have won 320 races. Petty Enterprises, formerly No. 1 but long ago left in the dust by Hendrick, won 268. Hendrick has 15 Cup championships — the last scored in 2025 by Kyle Larson — and 10 Daytona 500 victories, including the past two editions of the “Great American Race” with William Byron.
Lesser known about Hendrick’s four-decade journey through the NASCAR world is that he pulled on a helmet and a driver’s suit and drove in four NASCAR national series events — two Cup and one each in the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck series. All four races were on road courses — Cup events at Riverside International Raceway in California in 1987 and 1988, an O’Reilly race at Road Atlanta in 1987 and a Truck race at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas, in 1995.
Hendrick’s talents are tuned toward running a motorsports organization and selling passenger cars through the Hendrick Automotive Group — tasks at which he is among the country’s best. Driving race cars? He didn’t send anticipatory shivers through the grandstands, but neither was he an also-ran.
Hendrick’s best performance came in the June 12, 1988 Cup race at Riverside, coincidentally the final Cup event at that historic facility. Hendrick qualified 13th and finished 15th. Most notably, he finished in front of all three of the Hendrick Motorsports regulars. Ken Schrader was 20th, Darrell Waltrip 28th and Geoff Bodine 34th. That day, the boss was the boss.
Ricky Rudd, who two years later would join Hendrick Motorsports, finished third in that Riverside race.
“Rick had a lot of skills,” Rudd said. “I’m convinced that he could have been a top road racer. I don’t think he even tested before going out there for that race. No idea how he prepared for it, but he could wheel a car on a road course.
“One thing about racing on a road course is that you have to be fast enough to not get run over. Road courses can be difficult to survive for an inexperienced driver. They sometimes don’t know how it flows. He did an amazing job. You didn’t necessarily expect that. I always wondered why he didn’t pursue road racing, at least as a hobby. But he understood where his priorities were.”
Hendrick tinkered on cars before he raced one, in fact before he was licensed to drive one. As a 14-year-old growing up in Palmer Springs, Virginia, he rebuilt a 1931 Chevrolet behind his grandfather’s country store. Soon, he and childhood friend Larrie Matthews (later a longtime Hendrick Motorsports employee) were on the road to Person County Drag Strip, south across the North Carolina line. Hendrick climbed in the ’31 Chevy and won the first — and shortest — race of his life.
“He was 14 — still didn’t have a license,” Matthews remembered. “Even back then, he loved cars. Heck, all of us did.”
Hendrick continued to dabble in drag racing before moving on to owning and racing drag boats. Jimmy Wright, one of Hendrick’s boat racers, died in a crash, leading Hendrick to move away from the sport. He needed a place to store his boats and eventually rented space near Charlotte Motor Speedway from NASCAR mechanic/crew chief Harry Hyde. That relationship led Hendrick into NASCAR racing and on a motorized trek that reached heights no other stock-car team owner has seen.
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick started his Cup team in 1984. Three years later, while Tim Richmond, one of his drivers, was battling health issues that eventually led to his death, Hendrick decided to try his hand behind the wheel. At that point, his Cup drivers had won a total of 14 races. The first Hendrick Cup championship — to be won by Jeff Gordon — was still almost a decade away.
Hendrick started sixth in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race Aug. 2, 1987 at Road Atlanta and finished 24th after parking because of clutch issues.
That experience led Hendrick to consider Cup Series road racing, and he started the first of two Cup events Nov. 8, 1987 at Riverside. He completed 75 (of 119) laps, finishing 33rd with a sour transmission.
June of the following season found him in the driver’s seat again at Riverside. He entered a Southwest Tour event June 11, 1988 before the Cup event the next day.
“I had that [Southwest Tour] race won with seven laps to go,” Hendrick said. “I had a good lead, and then they threw a caution. Then Ron Hornaday turned me in the corner. I dropped to about 20th and came back to eighth.”
Hornaday, grinning, has a modified version of that day. “I never spun him out,” said Hornaday, a four-time Truck series champion and, like Hendrick, a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “Well, I might have. But he was good. He knew what he was doing.”
The next day, Hendrick outran all of his team drivers to finish 15th in the Cup race at Riverside.
Years later in 2002, Hornaday found himself without a ride and called Hendrick. “He told me to come and see him, so I went over there to that big office,” Hornaday said. “He said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘I want to get back into truck racing.’ He picked up the phone and called over and told his guys, ‘Hey, get Ricky’s (Hendrick’s son, Ricky, had raced in the Truck Series the previous season) truck ready. Bring it over and Ron’s going to drive it at Daytona.'”
Hornaday started second at Daytona in the Hendrick truck and finished 12th. If Hendrick remembered the spin at Riverside, he didn’t mark it against Hornaday.
Hendrick’s final ride as a driver came July 29, 1995 in a Truck race at Heartland Park. He started 16th and finished 23rd.
“I love road racing,” Hendrick said. “Those races were a very special time in my career. I had some experience running some SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) road races, and I think road racing is very challenging. Getting on the ovals is a steep learning curve, and I didn’t have any experience there. But I enjoyed the camaraderie with the team guys, and I think all the guys liked seeing me do it.
“I knew I wasn’t that good. I knew I could hire people a lot better than me, but I enjoyed it.”
Hendrick Motorsports
In August 1991, Hendrick ran in an ARCA race at Heartland Park. Qualifying for that event found Hendrick challenging for the pole despite Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Schrader, then a member of Hendrick’s Cup stable, being in the qualifying session. Schrader won the pole (and the race), but Hendrick qualified a strong third. He finished 23rd in the race after parking with brake problems.
“He was quick enough that he had a shot at the pole,” Schrader said. “He didn’t get the lap he needed, and we did. He would have been a smart, good road racer. He knew what to do, but he had too much other stuff going on. It didn’t make sense.”
In his two Cup races, Hendrick won a total of $3,700.
Owning race cars and selling passenger cars would prove to be better approaches to wealth management for the man who later became a NASCAR icon.
NASCAR and Wheel of Fortune have announced a new collaboration, the first NASCAR-themed Tournament Week with the opportunity to earn the trip of a lifetime.
Beginning Monday, Feb. 9, Wheel of Fortune contestants will spin the Wheel and solve puzzles to win cash and prizes from NASCAR, but they will also compete for the chance to return on Friday to play alongside three NASCAR Cup Series favorites — Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. The Wheel of Fortune set will feature classic NASCAR imagery and a custom Wheel of Fortune-wrapped stock car.
“Wheel Watchers” at home can enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Florida for 2026 NASCAR Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway by submitting the nightly Bonus Round Puzzle solution at WheelofFortune.com. This trip includes a VIP experience, Champions Club tickets and VIP garage and pit access passes.
In addition, NASCAR Fan Rewards members can earn up to 150 Rewards Points and an exclusive Wheel of Fortune badge after signing up and entering the nightly Bonus Round Puzzle solutions on the NASCAR Fan Rewards site.
Viewers can check their local listings to see where to tune in, or stream next-day on Peacock or Hulu to keep up with NASCAR Tournament Week on Wheel of Fortune.
With millions of viewers tuned in for the NFL’s Super Bowl, NASCAR made a statement of its own after the final whistle on Sunday night.
The sanctioning body unveiled its new national advertising spot introducing the 2026 season and a bold “Hell Yeah” rebrand, featuring a fast-paced, high-energy video designed to capture the grit, emotion and unparalleled edge that define modern stock car racing.
Premiering immediately after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots on NBC, the ad delivered a rapid-fire blend of roaring engines, flying sparks, tire smoke, hard racing and big attitude. Anchored by appearances from NFL legend Marshawn Lynch and several of NASCAR’s top stars, such as reigning champion Kyle Larson, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar — wielding his infamous flamethrower, of course — the spot moved with a relentless charge, placing an emphasis on speed, power and personality.
Rather than focusing on polish or perfection, the commercial leans into the raw side of the sport. Dented fenders, aggressive battles on track that lead to pushing and shoving off it in front of packed grandstands filling the screen, the spot reinforces NASCAR’s identity as a place where intensity and authenticity still matter — and are encouraged.
The ad also highlighted the communal nature of race day for fans of all sorts. From tailgates and coolers to grandstands and infield celebrations, the message was clear: NASCAR is built around shared experiences and unfiltered passion — for everyone. There are no velvet ropes, no dress codes and no barriers between the diehards and the action.
As the engines fired and the screen faded to black, the message was unmistakable: NASCAR is fully leaning into its longstanding identity — and inviting America to come along for the ride.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Since being introduced to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule in 2022, New Smyrna Speedway is a track that has always eluded four-time series champion Justin Bonsignore.
Aside from a 31st place showing during the series’ inaugural visit, consistency has never been an issue for Bonsignore when making the long trips to New Smyrna. Bonsignore’s last three New Smyrna attempts ended with him placing inside the top three, which only served to motivate his desire to win there.
In Saturday’s New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200, Bonsignore finally checked New Smyrna off the list of tracks he had not won at yet with a dominant performance to open 2026. The triumph was Bonsignore’s 48th overall on the Whelen Modified Tour, all of them occurring while piloting the No. 51 owned by Kenneth Massa.
While Bonsignore has three Modified victories in New Smyrna’s World Series of Asphalt, he had been eagerly waiting to visit the facility’s Victory Lane with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. It took a diligent effort from Bonsignore’s team throughout the day, but the hard work paid off with a cathartic win.
“We’ve been close [at New Smyrna] but could just never get over the hump,” Bonsignore said. “The car wasn’t good off the truck but we worked on it all day. By the time qualifying came around, I was really confident in it, but I didn’t think we’d be as good [as we were]. This is a great way to start the season.”
Now in his 17th full-time Whelen Modified Tour campaign with Massa, Bonsignore admitted he finds himself in awe and disbelief over how the long-time owner changed his life.
What started as an uneventful but solid rookie season in 2010 blossomed into one of the most efficient Whelen Modified Tour partnerships over the past two decades. Bonsignore and Massa’s professional relationship has since evolved into a close friendship, with Massa and his wife being significant figures in the lives of Bonsignore’s two children.
The first race of the 2026 Whelen Modified Tour season proved Bonsignore and Massa are still a gold standard for efficiency on the platform, though a checkered flag did not come easy. Bonsignore faced heavy pressure over several late restarts from Tyler Rypkema, who was driving another iconic series ride in the Ole Blue No. 3.
Despite sustaining damage from early contact with Ron Silk, Rypkema cycled up to the front of the field to challenge Bonsignore from the front row. The final overtime restart of the evening was Rypkema’s best opportunity at overtaking Bonsignore but could not generate the momentum needed to pull ahead on the outside line.
Only a few months removed from his maiden Whelen Modified Tour victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Rypkema was eager to start his second full season in Ole Blue on a positive note. Rypkema knew it was going to be a challenge trying to usurp Bonsignore, but departed New Smyrna optimistic about his 2026 outlook.
“Late race here, it’s really tough to get the throttle down when it’s hot and greasy out there,” Rypkema said. “[Bonsignore] knew he had me covered on the two previous [restarts], but I finally learned enough by the third one to at least hang with him. If I was a little better, I might have been able to hold him down, but it was still a great start to the season.”
The final restart of the evening was all about patience for Bonsignore. With Rypkema being at a disadvantage on the more abrasive top line, Bonsignore intended to roll the bottom of the first two turns and not be overly aggressive to pull ahead, which he successfully accomplished by the time Luke Baldwin’s spin ended the race on the last lap.
Composure in high-pressure situations is one part of the winning formula that has followed Bonsignore in Massa’s car for 17 years. The chemistry Bonsignore shares with Massa influences the entire program from crew chief Ryan Stone to sponsor Phoenix Communications, which has been with the team since 2016.
As long as the strengths continue to be emphasized, Bonsignore believes he and Massa can accomplish so much more in the Whelen Modified Tour, including a fifth championship at the end of the year.
“Everything about our team is unheard of in Modified racing,” Bonsignore said. “Nobody stays together like Ken and I, [along with] our sponsor [Phoenix Communications]. It’s really special and this is a great group to be a part of. We want to have fun this year. Winning cures all and this is a good way to have fun.”
Jon McKennedy, Ryan Preece, Ryan Newman, Trevor Catalano and Eric Goodale rounded out the top 10.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will not hit the track again until March 27 when the series makes its second and final visit down south of 2026 to Martinsville Speedway. FloRacing will provide live coverage of all the on-track action.
Greetings, 2026, and hello, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. After a thrilling 2025 season resulted in Jesse Love claiming the championship hardware, next on deck is a fresh campaign bound to deliver with just as much — if not more — suspense and excitement.
With much to look forward to — from fresh tracks to a revamped postseason format — how does the O’Reilly field stack up heading into the 2026 season? Let’s give it a look, with NASCAR.com’s John Crane ranking the top 10 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers leading into the season opener on Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
1. Jesse Love, No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Analysis: The 2025 champion has to be ranked No. 1, right? Love not only prevailed over his Championship 4 competitors — Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil — but did so in clutch fashion. An inside maneuver to overtake race leader Zilisch on Lap 176 stands out, with the move eventually resulting in the win at Phoenix Raceway to claim the title. With his best friend in Zilisch moving to the full-time Cup Series fold, Love enters 2026 as the driver to beat, even with a change to the postseason format. And better yet: Love has the chance to go back-to-back in the circuit for the first time since Tyler Reddick in 2018-19.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
2. Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Analysis: Though Zilisch is departing for Cup, JR Motorsports still has a stalwart on its hands in the veteran Allgaier, who, despite failing to clinch title No. 2, still had a statistically sound 2025. Allgaier tallied multiple wins for a sixth consecutive season and additionally led a series-best 1,056 laps. Allgaier’s career has been consistent through and through, and while the Illinois native enters his age-40 season — with a new crew chief in Andrew Overstreet, too — his stellar results should continue. Will it be enough to capture that second championship crown?
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3. Austin Hill, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Analysis:What if? This could very well be the phrase that defined Hill’s 2025 campaign. Three wins through the opening 11 races netted the No. 21 team valuable playoff points, only for them to get erased after a suspension for on-track actions at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A waiver was granted, and Hill still advanced to the postseason. While Hill finished sixth in the final table — respectable enough — it’s a step back from a fourth-place finish in 2024. A rebound is likely in order for Hill and the No. 21 stable.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
4. Sam Mayer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
Analysis: Mayer’s 2025 was perplexing. He only found Victory Lane once (at Iowa Speedway), but his 13 top fives matched a career best (2023). And what if I told you that, among all 2025 full-time O’Reilly drivers, Mayer ranked third in average finish at 11.5, behind Zilisch’s 8.0 and Love’s 11.1? These signs seemingly would’ve pointed toward a deep playoff run, but it didn’t transpire, with Mayer finishing 10th in the driver standings, a career low compared to his other full-time campaigns. Mayer was additionally suspended for the season finale after the No. 41 driver spun Jeb Burton at Martinsville. Perhaps Haas Factory Team’s manufacturer switch from Ford to Chevrolet beginning in 2026 could be the necessary step for Mayer to find a better footing.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
5. Brandon Jones, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Analysis: A return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025 after a two-year stint with JR Motorsports proved to be fruitful for the 28-year-old pilot. Not only did the Atlanta native tally multiple O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victories for the first time since 2020, but a fifth-place finish in the final driver standings was a career best. So, what’s key for Jones as he enters his 11th full-time season in the circuit? Keep consistency (just one DNF in 2025), build on postseason momentum and take aim at an even better points finish in 2026.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
6. Carson Kvapil, JR Motorsports
Analysis: A unique case compared to others on this list, JR Motorsports’ Kvapil is confirmed for full-time O’Reilly racing in 2026, though the complete makeup of his schedule has yet to be announced. Whatever the case, this is excellent news for the 22-year-old, who took the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series world by storm in 2025 with a surprise Championship 4 appearance. He will have the opportunity to continue expanding his short-track expertise and hone his craft at other venues.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
7. Sammy Smith, No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Analysis: A gradual build has been Smith’s theme through three full-time O’Reilly campaigns, capturing one win each year. He’s increased his top-five and top-10 finishes year over year, culminating in 2025 with career-bests in both categories — eight and 18 — respectively. An average finish of 14.0 was also a career high, but an eighth-place result in the standings was not, just missing his sixth-place mark in 2023. His 2026 season will be about combining race-leading dominance from 2023 (when he led 334 laps) with improving results from 2025.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
8. Taylor Gray, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Analysis: Gray’s first full-time O’Reilly stint had a few learning curves, as to be expected. Even still, the New Mexico native took the 2025 grind in stride and was rewarded with a postseason berth and his first NASCAR victory (Martinsville fall). There is a ton of potential in the 20-year-old pilot, and with more experience comes the possibility of even greater upside. Keep an eye on this driver ahead of what could be a breakout 2026 season.
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
9. Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
Analysis: The question is simple: When? After 16 top-five finishes in 2024 — including six runner-ups — Creed entered 2025 with optimism that the Victory Lane hump would finally be crossed. Instead, the 28-year-old went the other direction, with just eight top fives and a 16.1 average finish, both well below his 2024 marks. With 136 O’Reilly starts to his name, you have to wonder when that elusive first victory will transpire. Haas Factory Team’s shift from Ford to Chevrolet next season does bring a little familiarity to Creed, who began his career in the series with the manufacturer.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
10. Harrison Burton, No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota
Analysis: Burton’s first full-time O’Reilly season since 2021 was an inspiring one, taking the No. 25 AM Racing Ford to the playoffs for the first time in the organization’s history. For 2026, Burton will have a new look, transitioning to Sam Hunt Racing to pilot the No. 24 Toyota. Similarly to Creed, this could spark Burton. After all, the North Carolina native’s best O’Reilly season came in a Toyota, tallying four wins in 2020 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
