Austin Cindric set for 2027 return to Team Penske amid recent run of success

Posted on October 10, 2026October 11, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

CONCORD, N.C. — Austin Cindric confirmed Saturday morning that he will return to Team Penske as driver of the No. 2 Ford for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Cindric has driven the iconic car number for the historic team since 2022, winning the Daytona 500 that February. His new contract ensures a continued stay in Penske’s winningest car number for the near future.

MORE: Cup Series Chase standings | Updated Charlotte schedule

Cindric sits ninth in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 standings after a strong recent run of results, earning two top fives and three top 10s in his last four races, including a notable and season-best second-place finish on Sept. 27 at Kansas Speedway.

Cindric responded simply but emphatically, “That’s correct,” when asked if he would be staying put for the 2027 season — secured by an additional “yes” when asked to confirm he’s remaining in the No. 2 Ford.

“It’s obviously come up in question, and I’m not entirely certain why it’s come into question, but there you go,” Cindric said during Saturday’s media availabilities at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 28-year-old North Carolina native is producing a career-best 15.7 average finish through 31 of 36 contests this season, bolstered by an impressive stretch that began this summer. Over the last eight races, Cindric has finished 13th or better, supercharging his run into The Chase and performing once the postseason began.

MORE: Austin Cindric driver page

“I feel like consistency is kind of due to necessity with where we were regular-season points-wise for really the last two or three months,” Cindric said, “so definitely critical for us to be able to execute at that high of a level, and obviously, it’s that time of year to bring our best stuff and be able to come to race tracks for a second time and apply good notebooks throughout the regular season and into The Chase. So obviously it’s shown, and we’ve got to keep it rolling for the next five weeks.”

Cindric’s champion teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano have taken notice of the general uptick around the No. 2 team’s performance. Blaney and Cindric have both finished inside the top five in each of their last two starts.

“Austin, I think, has been an incredible asset to our group,” said Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion. “It’s been fun to work with him since ’22, really, when he (went) full time. Brings a lot of knowledge for how young he is. He brings a lot of good ideas. I enjoy his insight in our meetings and things like that. He makes me think about things a different way — which I mean, Joey does that too. We all kind of play off each other, but it’s nice that group has been able to have some clean races and have the speed — not only have clean races, but have the speed to run up front. I mean, gosh, I think one thing goes different in Kansas, he wins that race.

“He puts a lot of work in. I think (crew chief) Brian Wilson is very good at what he does. So yeah, it’s nice for that group to get going, and Austin (is) probably one of the hardest working guys in the garage, I think, of just time and effort he puts into things, and being very methodical, and it’s nice that it’s finally paying off for that group.”

Logano, a three-time Cup title winner, has also seen the No. 2 team’s pace pick up, a trend that can help all of Team Penske in the long run.

“He’s been really strong here recently, and they’ve been executing solid races,” Logano said. “And really, they’ve brought a lot of speed to the race track. That’s the biggest thing that I’ve noticed different. Austin’s always been a great competitor, great teammate, real student of the sport. Works really hard at it. So it’s not a huge surprise to me. But obviously, we’re looking and saying, ‘Hey, why are you guys so fast? What’s going on over here? What are you guys doing?’ And that’s part of having a good teammate.”

Cindric stormed to the 2020 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship and was one corner short of a second straight title in 2021. Cindric has 13 O’Reilly wins, plus a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2017.

The Team Penske roster is now set for the 2027 campaign after a multiyear contract extension for Blaney was announced in May, and Logano is signed through at least next season. Defending O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love will take over the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in 2027, an affiliate car to Team Penske, replacing Josh Berry after the season ends.

Posted on October 10, 2026October 10, 2026 by Staff Report

With NASCAR Cup Series practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway canceled Saturday because of inclement weather, the starting lineup for Sunday’s Bank of America 400 was determined per the NASCAR Rule Book.

Kyle Larson will start first, with Chase Briscoe joining him on the front row. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Cole Custer’s No. 41 Haas Factory Team failed pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the loss of pit-stall selection and the ejection of a crew member.

Sunday’s Bank of America 400 is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Charlotte weather updates | Full weekend schedule

Pos.	No.	Driver
1	5	Kyle Larson (C)
2	19	Chase Briscoe (C)
3	45	Tyler Reddick (C)
4	12	Ryan Blaney (C)
5	2	Austin Cindric (C)
6	24	William Byron (C)
7	22	Joey Logano (C)
8	23	Bubba Wallace (C)
9	9	Chase Elliott (C)
10	97	Shane van Gisbergen
11	77	Carson Hocevar (C)
12	11	Denny Hamlin (C)
13	17	Chris Buescher (C)
14	7	Daniel Suárez (C)
15	54	Ty Gibbs (C)
16	48	Alex Bowman
17	20	Christopher Bell (C)
18	16	AJ Allmendinger
19	71	Michael McDowell
20	3	Austin Dillon
21	35	Riley Herbst
22	6	Brad Keselowski
23	4	Noah Gragson
24	43	Erik Jones
25	60	Ryan Preece (C)
26	33	Austin Hill
27	21	Josh Berry
28	1	Ross Chastain
29	42	John Hunter Nemechek
30	41	Cole Custer
31	34	Todd Gilliland
32	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
33	10	Ty Dillon
34	38	Zane Smith
35	51	Cody Ware
36	88	Connor Zilisch
37	67	Corey Heim
38	66	Gray Gaulding
39	44	BJ McLeod

Posted on October 10, 2026October 10, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch’s legacy shone brightly at Charlotte Motor Speedway once again Friday night in an emotional celebration to remember the life of a legend.

Moments after the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race concluded around the 1.5-mile oval, 10 of Busch’s most iconic NASCAR rides rolled onto the speedway’s front straightaway in front of a packed grandstand, with family, fans, former bosses and drivers gathered to reflect on Busch’s enormous impact on the NASCAR world — through his on-track success, yes, but more importantly and more poignantly, the one-of-a-kind passion he delivered to his loving family.

On a night filled with “Rowdy” reflections from Busch’s contemporaries, the ultimate cap came courtesy of his 11-year-old son, Brexton, who fired up his father’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, waved to the crowd and performed a burnout beyond imagination. The smoke show near Charlotte’s pit entry ended the only way it could — Brexton climbed from the blue-and-white Chevy and stood on the roof in triumph through the smoke, with his 4-year-old sister Lennix delivering him the checkered flag, cueing Brexton to replicate Kyle’s signature post-win bow. Brexton leaped off the roof of the car after the bow and embraced his mom, Samantha, and Lennix in a beautiful finale to the evening.

After nearly five months of grieving for Kyle Busch’s fans, family and peers, Friday offered a chance to relish Kyle’s greatest victory of all: family.

“This is not the end of Kyle’s story,” Samantha Busch, Kyle’s widow, said. “The story continues every time we give a young racer a chance, share something he taught us or tell the next generation what made Rowdy unforgettable. Years from now, I hope people remember Kyle as one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers. He worked his entire life for that. But I also hope (Brexton and Lennix) meet someone whose life is better because Kyle was here. That’s a legacy that no checkered flag can contain.”

Some of NASCAR’s brightest stars stood on stage with FOX Sports’ Mike Joy to share their funniest, most touching stories from their experiences with Kyle Busch. That list included Kyle’s older brother, NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch; Busch’s former team owner Joe Gibbs; former Kyle Busch Motorsports racers Daniel Suárez, Noah Gragson and Christopher Bell; defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson; and RCR teammate Austin Dillon.

Memories ranged from life growing up in Las Vegas as a phenom racer to telling Coach Gibbs — a two-sport Hall of Famer — “your cars suck,” to the many nights later in his life spent at Millbridge Speedway mentoring Brexton on the tiny dirt oval.

But the nucleus of the conversation remained the same through each memory, dedicating his life to being the best husband, father and racer all at once.

“As I sit here today, one of the biggest things I learned about Kyle is not just the Rowdy that he leaves behind, but it’s the love,” Dillon said. “It’s his love for his family. Every time you see Kyle, you see Samantha. Samantha was a big part of being the marketing, the family behind it. You never didn’t see Samantha beside Kyle, the support system that he had from her. And let me tell you guys, this sport is tough. It is tough. You’ve got to be gritty to go out 36 weekends out of the year, travel. It’s great. It’s a great life, but I’m telling you, it’s a grind. And she’s right there with him all that time, and that’s tough. And that’s what’s shaping Brexton and Lennix — the love that they all four shared together. …

“Trophies collect dust. Records are meant to be broken. But what you leave behind is your family and your love. And he’s got an amazing family to leave a legacy forever for him.”

Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media

If Larson wasn’t Busch’s biggest rival by the end of Rowdy’s career, he was certainly Busch’s benchmark. Larson kept winning long into Busch’s winless drought, giving Larson moments in Victory Lane with his oldest son Owen while Brexton openly asked his father when he would win again in the Cup Series. But rather than let that fuel any animosity, Busch grew an even deeper admiration for Larson — whom he deemed “Tiny Kyle” — and even sought out Larson for help in bettering Brexton as an up-and-coming dirt racer.

“It was kind of unique because I think for a lot of us, you see Kyle in the NASCAR setting, and this was when he was still (with) Joe Gibbs and was very intense and super competitive,” Larson said. “But I got to see him kind of away from that, like out of his element at a dirt track trying to coach Brexton. He was really young and trying to figure out the dirt racing himself as a parent and coach and all that. So yeah, I got to see like a different kind of light-hearted Kyle, I felt like — but also a great coach and intense with Brexton.

“And for me too, having kids a similar age as Brexton and me looking up to Kyle so much and how he was able to coach and lead, I tried to take as many notes as I could, watching from a distance. But yeah, just getting to spend time with him at race tracks that were more my element was kind of cool.”

MORE: Daniel Suárez on how Kyle changed his career

Winning was everything for Kyle Busch. Until it wasn’t. Then his family became everything. That rang true at home in Busch’s latest chapter, even amid a career-long winless streak.

“Kyle was happy — really happy,” Samantha Busch said. “I know that might surprise some people. The last few years weren’t easy on the race track. The wins weren’t coming like they used to, and for a man who’d spent his whole life chasing wins, that was hard. But at home, I was watching something different. Kyle was beginning to appreciate everything racing had already given him. He was grateful to have this career and for the chance to continue racing. And the sport he’d given his entire life to was even sweeter because now he got to share it with our kids.”

Those kids basked in his father’s glory and memory once again Friday night while beginning to write a new chapter following the celebration of Kyle Busch’s life. For the first time publicly, Brexton Busch climbed behind the wheel of a Cup Series race car and burnt the Goodyear tires off the car exactly like his father would have. There’s a chance it’s the first of many burnouts we’ll see from him in a Cup car. If he pursues a Cup career, it certainly won’t be the last.

But Friday gave everyone — his family, his friends, his fans — a public goodbye and thank you to one of the most important personalities NASCAR has ever had.

For someone who always played up to the crowd, the fans made their love for Kyle Busch known by Friday night’s end.

Posted on October 10, 2026October 10, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

Editor’s note: This story originally ran Oct. 1, 2026. At Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, Cup Series qualifying was canceled for the fourth time in the six Chase races, with Kyle Larson earning the pole via the metric.

Four races through The Chase presented by Mobil 1, Mother Nature has permitted just one time-trial qualifying session to set the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup.

In the other three events, teams have had to rely on something entirely different to set the starting grid: the metric.

That term has been used a lot lately because it’s been needed so prevalently, thanks to inclement weather that washed out practice and qualifying at Darlington Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. And while the metric is just an equation to factor recent performance into determining the starting lineup, that metric has played an obvious role in how teams begin a race that featured no previous on-track time.

Simply put, the performance metric weighs two factors: 70% of previous race finish and 30% current position in owners points. Regardless of weather, this metric is used every week to determine the qualifying order for an upcoming race. The lower the metric, the better — and the later that driver will go out in qualifying.

MORE: Las Vegas schedule | Chase standings

There are two caveats to the metric, though. The first is seen in qualifying order itself. As stated in the NASCAR Rule Book in Section 7.3.REV A: “In each Chase Event, all vehicles and drivers that are eligible for the Championship, will be assigned the final Qualifying Order positions.” In layman’s terms, this means the 16 drivers competing in The Chase will be the final 16 drivers out for qualifying. The second caveat is that if qualifying is indeed rained out, that added benefit for The Chase racers is also washed away. Instead, those championship-eligible teams are slotted wherever the metric says they should.

As the math would indicate, that places significant added value on how a driver finishes the week prior. That particularly came into play when the lineup was determined for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, a race that followed the chaotic finish of the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. As a result, 37.5% of The Chase field started 20th or worse at Darlington: William Byron (20th), Ryan Blaney (24th), Kyle Larson (25th), Ty Gibbs (28th), Carson Hocevar (34th) and Chris Buescher (35th). The uphill climb toward earning critical stage points becomes a much tougher task when starting that far behind. And yet, even at a track as rough and narrow as Darlington, three of those six drivers clawed their way into the top 10 to earn Stage 1 points: Blaney (fifth), Byron (ninth) and Gibbs (10th).

A similar situation occurred at Bristol, one week after a messy race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway left many contenders with poor finishes. So when the green flag waved at Bristol, another six drivers started 20th or worse: Tyler Reddick (20th), Buescher (23rd), Chase Briscoe (26th), Chase Elliott (27th), Daniel Suárez (28th) and Blaney (29th). This time, only one of those Chasers charged toward points in Stage 1: Blaney, who finished the stage sixth.

Blaney was bitten by the metric again at Kansas thanks in part to a late-race crash at Bristol with Carson Hocevar. (Perhaps you heard about it.) The No. 12 Team Penske Ford started 25th at Kansas, and again Blaney nabbed a single stage point in 10th place when the green-checkered flag waved.

And as you might imagine, there have been some mixed emotions surrounding the metric.

“I got done saying last week, ‘Oh, the metric is what it is.’ And now I’m starting to slowly hate it like you all for what’s been happening to us,” Blaney said ahead of last week’s race at Kansas. “I thought we did a great job (at Bristol) dealing with starting in the back. I think we got to 20th after starting 29th before the (competition) yellow, and then did a good call to stay out. I thought our car was good enough to establish track position and then play around with it during that second yellow in the first stage to get some stage points, and then flip and stay out, and we were able to win the second one, so I thought we handled that really, really well.

“You never know how each week is gonna go. No matter where you qualify, you have to adjust to it and then kind of audible as the race goes on and cautions fall, but it is tough. I mean, pit-stall selection is also brutal when you don’t get to pick it or you pick towards the end, especially at these places or tracks where (calls to take) two tires are really big. Getting wedged in between a couple guys that you’re gonna be racing around all day is always tough, but I feel like we’ve done a good job at what we’ve been given.”

His teammate Joey Logano has seen both sides of the metric — starting 13th at Darlington but then starting second at Bristol and on pole at Kansas.

“I mean, it’s played a fair amount because it’s been a few races where it’s been obviously an effect,” Logano said of the metric in a Wednesday teleconference. “Obviously last week (at Kansas), we were on the right side of it; Darlington, we weren’t. So it just kind of comes out in the wash most of the time, but it still rewards performance. It rewards running well. It rewards the points and those type of things. I personally don’t have a huge issue with it. I mean, tell me a better way and maybe I’ll change my opinion, but it seems to be OK. Maybe we can tweak it some, sure, but it’s definitely played an effect some, for sure.”

Ultimately, the metric has become a topic of conversation in the NASCAR world because of an uncharacteristic stretch of unfortunate weather scenarios in three of the first four weeks of the postseason. But with such high stakes in determining the next Cup Series champion through this 10-race stretch, a system that heavily values recent on-track performance appears the most fair way to solve a circumstantial qualifying problem.

Thankfully, the days of determining qualifying order by a literal random draw are in the past, as are the times that rained-out qualifying sessions meant lining the starting grid by season-long owners points. Performance and results matter. And when Mother Nature interrupts with a washed-out time-trial session, at least the metric relies on what drivers have done lately than any random method.

Posted on October 10, 2026October 11, 2026 by Staff Report

With practice and qualifying for Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway canceled because of inclement weather, the starting lineup for the Blue Cross NC 300 was determined by NASCAR’s metric.

Carson Kvapil will start first, with Corey Day joining him on the front row. Jesse Love, Brent Crews and Sam Mayer round out the top five.

Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 300 was moved to Sunday at 8 p.m. ET (The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Charlotte weekend schedule

Pos.	No.	Driver
1	1	Carson Kvapil (C)
2	17	Corey Day (C)
3	2	Jesse Love (C)
4	19	Brent Crews (C)
5	41	Sam Mayer (C)
6	54	Taylor Gray (C)
7	21	Austin Hill (C)
8	00	Sheldon Creed (C)
9	18	William Sawalich
10	88	Rajah Caruth (C)
11	51	Jeremy Clements
12	96	Anthony Alfredo
13	8	Sammy Smith (C)
14	39	Ryan Sieg
15	24	Harrison Burton
16	99	Parker Retzlaff (C)
17	26	Dean Thompson
18	44	Brennan Poole
19	87	Austin Green
20	32	Carson Brown
21	27	Jeb Burton
22	28	Kyle Sieg
23	7	Justin Allgaier (C)
24	0	Garrett Smithley
25	48	Patrick Staropoli
26	42	Matt DiBenedetto
27	45	Lavar Scott
28	20	Brandon Jones (C)
29	92	Mason Maggio
30	31	Blaine Perkins
31	55	Joey Gase
32	07	Josh Bilicki
33	02	Ryan Ellis
34	91	Myatt Snider
35	53	Derek Lemke
36	9	Jake Finch
37	47	Dawson Cram
38	38	JJ Yeley

Posted on October 9, 2026October 10, 2026 by Cameron Richardson

CONCORD, N.C. — The pressure of a 40-point swing weighed heavily under the lights in Friday evening’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, presented by Mobil 1.

Points leader Kaden Honeycutt sought to hold a sizable advantage over No. 1 seed Layne Riggs as the two swapped the lead throughout the 134-lapper at the 1.5-mile oval, but with six laps to go, Honeycutt’s No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota slid into the wall in Turns 3 and 4, allowing Riggs to storm to the lead and take the victory — his first in The Chase.

Riggs cut the points lead to 17, which would’ve been over 50 points had Honeycutt won instead.

Charlotte marked a swing-and-a-miss for Honeycutt, who finished third. He took all the blame for losing the race late.

“Too much mirror driving on my end,” Honeycutt said. “Seeing the replay, I thought he was closer than that to me. I thought he was actually taking the air off my spoiler, but he definitely wasn’t. I just was in between both lanes. I didn’t do the best job of that.”

Honeycutt and Riggs split the first two stages. Riggs took the opening frame before the sun went fully down, but as the gray skies gave way to darkness, Honeycutt’s No. 11 took over. Honeycutt led a race-high 85 laps and took the Stage 2 win with eyes set on a second consecutive checkered flag to balloon his championship lead.

However, a pair of cautions in the final 20 laps hampered Honeycutt’s advantage over Riggs. A multitruck wreck with 15 laps to go brought the field to a halt for 13 minutes.

Honeycutt fired off well on the final restart with 11 to go, but Riggs stayed in the tire tracks of the No. 11, inching closer and closer to Honeycutt. That ultimately caused Honeycutt to make the race-losing mistake that took him out of contention and let Christian Eckes by to take second.

“The first lap I was fine,” Honeycutt said of the final restart. “The second lap I was creeping a little tight and I don’t know if that heat cycle helped him and it made me a little bit worse. But I don’t know. I think I just panicked too much when he was within a truck or two and he was catching the draft. I probably should have faked top and then went to the bottom and run my own line, or I should have just committed to the top. I was too much in between, too much in my head on what I was supposed to be doing. So yeah, just definitely a shame. It’s all me on that for sure.”

Still, Honeycutt maintained his points lead, and has placed better than Riggs in two of the first three races to open The Chase.

But the Texas native was adamant that even a third-place finish was not strong enough for his standards – especially if he wants to lift the championship trophy.

“As far as my perspective, I think if you do anything less than try to win, you know, settle for third, fourth, and fifth throughout the day, that’s not what we try to come here to do,” Honeycutt said. “I feel like if we go out and win races and build that 15-point gap and have good stages, he saw what it did at Kansas. I think me and him agreed on it to a certain point. When I got in the fence and I realized I was getting free, I wanted to make sure I hit the right-rear tail and not the right front, and had a right front go down. That would have been significantly worse.

“We’ve raced really hard in late-model stuff, and it’s no different in this. He knows and I know, if we both get out front, we’re probably checking out, and it happened.”

MORE: Truck Series standings

But despite departing Charlotte still the points leader, Honeycutt believes he doesn’t have any sort of advantage. He’s been on both sides — being chased and being the chaser — for the series advantage. Anything that happens, he says, is of his own doing — and nobody else’s.

“I picture myself 10th in points and fight for every point I can get in stages, then, just go after the win,” Honeycutt said. “I think if you do anything else other than that, you don’t maximize your day fully. I will absolutely never be hunted. I will hunt everybody — 35 race trucks on this race track every single week. I felt like at the end, he (Riggs) wasn’t hunting me down. I just made a mistake and screwed up, and just wasn’t in my own mental headspace where I needed to be at. Definitely full blame on me for that. Nothing else.”

Posted on October 9, 2026October 16, 2026 by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — In the opening laps of Friday’s Ecosave 200, as he was slicing his way forward from the 13th starting position, Layne Riggs declared on his team radio, “They’re in trouble” — they meaning the competition.

Riggs’ seventh victory of the season wasn’t quite as easy as that assessment might have implied. In fact, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford had to pass Chase leader Kaden Honeycutt on Lap 128 of 134 to secure his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 12th win of his career.

The victory had enormous implications for the series championship. In taking the checkered flag, Riggs narrowed his Chase deficit to 17 points behind Honeycutt, who finished third after losing the runner-up spot to Christian Eckes one lap after Riggs made the winning pass.

“That was a hell of a battle there at the end with me and the 11 (Honeycutt),” said Riggs, who got past Honeycutt when the No. 11 Toyota broke loose in the top lane and tagged the outside wall with the right rear. “That was a lot of fun.

“I think I had to pass the 11 three or four times (after losing spots in the pits). We’ve got to still work on pit road. That was our weakness still, but I kept driving to the front.”

For Riggs, the victory was redemption for the second Chase race Sept. 26 at Kansas, where Riggs hit the outside wall while running second late in the race and finished 19th.

“At Kansas, I was up there, and internally I pressured myself that I needed to go win. Today, I didn’t have any pressure. I just went out and wheeled it.”

Honeycutt repeatedly beat Riggs off pit road but couldn’t hold off the No. 34 Ford on the race track.

“I don’t know how the heck I saved that,” Honeycutt said of his near-spin near the wall while trying to defend the lead with seven laps left. “Just seeing the replay, I wish I hadn’t been air-blocking him as much as I did. It just took away what I was trying to do.

“I just focused on him too much. I should have run my own race.”

Riggs and Honeycutt split the first two stages, with Riggs winning his 12th of the season in Stage 1 and finishing second to Honeycutt in Stage 2.

Eckes finished second for the second straight race but remains fourth in the standings, 88 points behind Honeycutt with four Chase races left. Chandler Smith came home fifth behind non-Chase driver Bayley Currey and trails Honeycutt by 77 points.

“Our Chevrolet was really solid all day,” Eckes said. “We just kind of slow down the straightaway and struggled with a couple balance items. It’s still good to finish second in back-to-back weeks.

“Obviously, we want to win, and I feel like we’re right on the cusp of doing that.”

The race featured five cautions for 28 laps and one 12-minute, 58-second red-flag period for an eight-truck accident on Lap 118. That wreck took out two of the five Kyle Busch tribute cars entered in the race, which preceded a celebration of the life of the late NASCAR Cup Series champion. Both the No. 7 of pole winner Connor Mosack (honoring the 100th Truck Series victory of Kyle Busch Motorsports) and the No. 77 of Rajah Caruth (commemorating KBM’s first win) exited the race at that point.

Daniel Hemric, Landen Lewis, Andrés Pérez, Tyler Ankrum and Justin Haley completed the top 10.

MORE: Truck Series standings | Truck Series schedule

The Truck Series Chase continues next Friday at Phoenix Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Craftsman Truck Series garage with no issues, confirming Riggs as the Charlotte winner.

Posted on October 9, 2026October 10, 2026 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will pit this weekend in a Chase tripleheader at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ecosave 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday (5 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on October 9, 2026 by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Due to continued inclement weather forecasted for the Thompson area later in the weekend, NASCAR and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park officials have rescheduled the World Series 150 presented by FloSports.com to Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET.

A full, updated event schedule will be shared at a later time.

The 161st NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Thompson was originally scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

For the first time since 2020, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will crown its champion at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, as the Connecticut oval hosts the season finale for a record 29th time. Saturday’s World Series 150 marks the third and final Tour visit to Thompson this season, following victories by Stephen Kopcik on April 12 and Matt Hirschman on Aug. 5.

Patrick Emerling enters the season finale with a 30-point lead over Austin Beers and needs only to take the green flag to secure his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. Emerling has dominated the 2026 campaign, leading the series in wins (five), average finish (5.8), top-five finishes (10), top-10 finishes (13) and laps led (659).

Saturday’s World Series 150 also serves as the finale of the FloRacing Connecticut Challenge, a four-race miniseries encompassing the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s four Connecticut events. The miniseries champion will earn a $7,500 bonus, with Hirschman holding a nine-point advantage over Kopcik entering the season finale.

Posted on October 9, 2026October 9, 2026 by Staff Report

NASCAR competition officials announced revisions to Saturday’s schedule at Charlotte Motor Speedway because of the threat of inclement weather related to Hurricane Isaias.

Practice and qualifying for both the NASCAR Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will be moved two hours earlier Saturday. The O’Reilly Series is set for practice at 8:30 a.m. ET and qualifying to follow at 9:35 a.m. ET, both broadcast on ESPN Unlimited. Cup Series practice is now scheduled for 11 a.m. ET with Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 12:05 p.m. ET, with coverage on truTV, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The announcement came Friday morning as Isaias moved closer to landfall near Florida’s Gulf Coast. The storm is expected to bring heavy rain to the southeastern U.S.

Race start times currently remain unchanged for a tripleheader weekend for NASCAR’s national series.

The Craftsman Truck Series’ Ecosave 200 is set for a Friday start at 5 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network). The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series resumes its Chase postseason with the Blue Cross NC 300 on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Cup Series hosts the Bank of America 400, the sixth of 10 races in The Chase presented by Mobil 1, with a Sunday main event (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).