Watkins Glen shifts NASCAR race weekend to September date in 2027

Posted on May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 by Zack Albert

DUNDEE, N.Y. — One of the first pieces of the 2027 NASCAR schedule took shape Thursday, with Watkins Glen International announcing that its race weekend will move to September next year.

Watkins Glen track president Dawn Burlew first announced the news at an event welcoming campers to the road course’s grounds for this weekend’s NASCAR tripleheader.

Though an exact date wasn’t specified, officials indicated that the NASCAR Cup Series race will take place in one of the earliest slots in the 10-race Chase next year. It’s a shift back to a more traditional date on the NASCAR schedule for the 2.45-mile circuit, which plays host to a rare springtime event this weekend.

Since debuting on the NASCAR circuit in 1957, the road-course race in New York has primarily occurred in August, late in the regular season. Before this year’s May date arrived, the lone exception was a mid-September show in the 2024 postseason, when Chris Buescher passed Shane van Gisbergen to win a thriller on the final lap.

The move will also add road-course racing back to the postseason mix. Charlotte Motor Speedway created a one-year hiatus this year by moving its fall race from the Roval configuration back to the 1.5-mile oval. For Burlew, sewing up a spot in the Chase rotation next season marks a welcome return.

“People actually really liked that recognition for The Glen as well as all our fans that come here,” Burlew said Thursday from a lakeside vista at Glenora Wine Cellars, where she participated in a fan event and tour with van Gisbergen, the defending Watkins Glen winner. “So being in [The Chase] going forward, I think they’re going to be thrilled that we’re at the first part of that and really kind of set the stage for the rest of the playoff season. So again, if we can be part of that and kick it off, there’s no better place than to do it at The Glen.”

Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the earliest date Watkins Glen has appeared on the Cup schedule. It leads into a highlighted stretch of the schedule this month that includes the new-look All-Star Race at Dover, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and a trip to Nashville Superspeedway.

Burlew – who became track president before the 2024 season – acknowledged challenges with this year’s springtime date, with brisk weather in this weekend’s forecast for the state’s Finger Lakes region. The area has had a variable mix ranging from seasonable warmth to late-season chill in recent weeks, but she says the spring bloom is well underway at one of racing’s most picturesque venues.

MORE: Memorable Watkins Glen moments | Buy Watkins Glen tickets!

The annual NASCAR weekend is among the facility’s biggest, and Burlew says its placement at the early end of the track’s schedule hasn’t given the Watkins Glen staff much time to ease into its event calendar. Burlew says everyone involved has pivoted.

“I think what we’ve done is our merchandise, we’ve looked at it when we saw the date, and we said, OK, we need to shift our merchandise from all T-shirts and tank tops to long sleeves and things like that,” Burlew said. “But then again, we did some really cool stuff for Mother’s Day with our merchandise, so we just took a whole different twist to it when we started getting ready and planning for this weekend. We’re more celebrating just a different date, because it gave us a whole different way to plan. Instead of just doing traditional flowers, we did more mulch and tulips that my team planted last fall, which normally we wouldn’t do, but we said, OK, that’s something different. So we just embraced it that way.”

Contributing: Cameron Richardson

Posted on May 7, 2026May 8, 2026 by Reid Spencer

Shane van Gisbergen will race on a road course for the first time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Connor Zilisch is trying for his first win in the series.

Ross Chastain is making his 121st Truck Series start, hoping to add to his career total of five victories.

All three drivers, Trackhouse Racing teammates in the NASCAR Cup Series, are starting a full weekend of triple duty in Friday’s Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at Watkins Glen International (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Van Gisbergen and Chastain are competing for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series race. Zilisch is driving for Spire Motorsports as a teammate to last Friday’s Truck Series winner at Texas, Carson Hocevar.

Reigning series champion Corey Heim, who won last year’s race during a streak of five straight road course victories, is not entered this week. In fact, no former Watkins Glen winners are in the field.

Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, a Truck Series regular, won NASCAR’s debut at St. Petersburg on Feb. 28 in the first road-course race of the 2026 season. Friday’s event also will include road-course expert AJ Allmendinger, who will drive Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 Free Agent Ram.

“Watkins Glen will always be special to me,” Allmendinger said. “It’s where I earned my first NASCAR Cup Series win, and it’s a place I’ve always enjoyed racing. Kaulig Racing has made solid progress on the truck side, and I’m looking forward to getting in the No. 25 Ram 1500 through the Free Agent Program and contributing to that.

“We had a good Darlington run to get a feel for the trucks, even though it’s a completely different challenge from a road course. Hopefully, we can unload with speed, contend up front, and put ourselves in position to fight for a win.”

Posted on May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — One of the most coveted achievements in Late Model Stock Car racing is set to take center stage once again as the Virginia Triple Crown presented by FloRacing returns in 2026 with heightened intensity, elevated competition and continued investment in grassroots racing’s premier showcase.

Following last year’s landmark announcement, FloSports and NASCAR are once again teaming up to deliver an enhanced Virginia Triple Crown presented by FloRacing, reinforcing their commitment to the drivers, teams and fans who define short-track racing. Building on the momentum of 2025, this year’s championship will continue to feature one of the richest purses in the event’s history, $50,000 total with a $20,000 prize awarded to the overall champion.

FloRacing remains the presenting partner of the Virginia Triple Crown, continuing its role as the nation’s leading destination for live and on-demand grassroots motorsports coverage. With its ongoing investment in regional racing, FloRacing ensures that the Virginia Triple Crown reaches a broader national audience while maintaining its deep roots in the sport’s most passionate communities.

“We’re proud to continue our partnership with NASCAR and further grow the Virginia Triple Crown,” said Michael Rigsby, GM of FloRacing. “This event represents everything that makes Late Model racing special: elite competition, passionate fans and historic tracks. We’re looking forward to building on that foundation and bring even more visibility to this incredible championship.”

“The Virginia Triple Crown is late model stock racing at its best: tough, gritty and intense,” said Joey Dennewitz, Vice President, Industry Development, NASCAR. “With FloRacing’s continued support, we’re building even more momentum around one of short-track racing’s most exciting championships while delivering the kind of must-watch racing our fans love.”

The payout structure will once again reward the top 10 drivers in the final standings:

1st – $20,000
2nd – $10,000
3rd – $7,500
4th – $5,000
5th – $2,500
6th–10th – $1,000 each

All payouts will be distributed following the final leg of the crown – the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

The Virginia Triple Crown presented by FloRacing will once again be determined by a driver’s average finish across three of Virginia’s most prestigious Late Model events:

June 27 – Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway
July 25 – Hampton Heat at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway
Sept. 26 – ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway

Connor Hall, a two-time NASCAR Local Racing Series national champion, won the 2025 Virginia Triple Crown. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

To be eligible for the championship and prize money, drivers must compete in all three events.

“With the continued support of FloRacing and NASCAR, the Virginia Triple Crown has never been stronger,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “This championship connects three historic tracks and showcases the very best of Late Model racing. Fans can expect incredible competition from start to finish.”

South Boston Speedway General Manager Brandon Brown emphasized the importance of a strong start to the series: “Kicking off the Virginia Triple Crown at South Boston Speedway is something we take a lot of pride in. Every lap matters, and a strong performance in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 is absolutely crucial to a driver winning the Triple Crown.”

Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway owner and operator Bill Mullis echoed the sentiment: “The Virginia Triple Crown continues to grow in prestige, and FloRacing and NASCAR’s involvement has played a key role in that evolution. It’s exciting to see the tradition continue to thrive and bring even more value to Late Model racing.”

Past champions of the Virginia Triple Crown include some of the biggest names in Late Model Stock Car history, such as Peyton Sellers, Lee Pulliam, Trevor Ward and Bobby McCarty.

Established in 2012, the Virginia Triple Crown remains one of the most respected and challenging accomplishments in short-track racing, testing drivers’ consistency, resilience and performance across three unique and demanding venues.

Fans can catch every lap of the Virginia Triple Crown presented by FloRacing live or on demand with a FloRacing subscription via https://www.floracing.com/signup or the FloRacing app. FloRacing will simulcast the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on the NASCAR Channel.

FloRacing fans are encouraged to watch more than 1,000 races annually on the updated FloSports Connected TV app, which features enhanced discoverability and streaming capabilities, providing the ultimate viewing experience on Samsung, LG, and VIZIO smart TV’s, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV devices.

Posted on May 7, 2026 by Neil Paine

Remember when we were wondering if Chase Elliott — in the midst of multiple 40-plus-race winless streaks during the 2024 and 2025 seasons — had a high enough ceiling to consistently win races?

Clearly, that’s not a concern anymore. After snapping a 44-race drought last June at his home-state track (EchoPark Speedway), it took Elliott just 12 races to win his next one (in September at Kansas) … then only 11 more until Martinsville this March … and now, just three before his most recent in Texas.

If you’re sensing a pattern, it’s that Elliott’s winning drives are becoming more frequent — a callback to earlier seasons like 2020 and 2022 when he won every 7.2 races, on average. But the impressive thing about Elliott’s development as a driver is that he hasn’t abandoned his high-floor approach from his drought era, either. Instead, he’s found an optimal way to blend going for wins with managing solid finishes every week.

Elliott’s average finish of 8.9 in 2026 ranks second among Cup drivers, trailing only Tyler Reddick’s 5.7 — which makes sense, given Reddick’s winning percentage matches his car number (45 percent). But in their non-wins, Elliott is much closer (10.7 versus Reddick’s 9.7), and over the past season-and-a-half or so nobody has been better at consistently avoiding bad finishes. Here’s a look at every Cup Series driver with at least 10 races since the start of 2025, sorted by their median finish but with their 10th-percentile finish — basically a “really bad day” benchmark they surpass 90% of the time — highlighted:

Elliott’s worst days (with a 10th-percentile finish of 22.4) are better than a number of lower-tier drivers’ median showings — and even better than merely below-average outings from some other contenders. The only other drivers even remotely in the same neighborhood in avoiding disastrous days are Reddick (24.8) and Chris Buescher (26.6), and even they aren’t that close.

In a season when everyone seems to be putting emphasis on protecting their finishes from major harm, due to the influence of the new Chase championship format, Elliott still ranks as the best there is at doing that. But does that give him an advantage toward winning his second career Cup Series title?

Under the current format, avoiding bad Sunday runs is certainly valuable. For one thing, it helps you ensure a spot in The Chase itself — and Elliott already has a 174-point cushion over the No. 17-ranked driver, Joey Logano after 11 races.

Before the season, we reconstructed Chase points for previous years under the old system, calculating that it would take somewhere between 580 and 600 points to secure the No. 16 seed at regular season’s end. Elliott is just 181 points shy of 590 with 15 races left in the regular season; to get there, he’d need to average merely 12.1 points per race, which works out to a 25th-place finish (before considering stage points). We just got done showing that Elliott never finishes that low, so this explains why he effectively has 100% odds to get into the Chase, joining Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney in that regard.

Avoiding disaster is also essential during The Chase itself. According to my simulation-based Chase odds, a contending driver’s chance to win the title gets cut roughly in half with each successive finish outside the top 20 in a Chase race:

The only issue with a “high-floor” type of strategy is that, eventually, you do also have to directly outscore the points leaders, which is why Elliott’s championship hopes also hinge on those all-important Chase seeds.

We know championship points are reset before the final 10 races on the calendar, based on a driver’s placement in the final regular-season standings. But the gaps between different slots in the seedings are not equal; No. 1 starts The Chase with a 25-point lead over No. 2, who has a 10-point lead over No. 3, whose lead over No. 4 is five points. (That’s the standard gap between each successive slot; No. 15 also starts out five points ahead of No. 16.)

That means the value of being No. 2 versus No. 3 is in automatically being about 30% closer to the leader, while No. 3 is about 15% closer than No. 4. It’s much easier to execute a high-floor game plan, minimizing mistakes and capitalizing on those made by others, the closer you are to the top.

That means the fight around who’s in those slots should begin to take focus as we look ahead to the last 15 races before The Chase field is solidified. Reddick is nearly unassailable for No. 1 with his 109-point lead over second-ranked Denny, sitting at about 80% odds to win the regular-season title as things currently stand. But the battle to grab another of those valuable seeds is still very much up in the air, with Hamlin, Elliott and Blaney primarily doing battle over who’ll finish 2-3-4 heading into the Chase:

That fight will continue to rage this weekend at Watkins Glen (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Blaney should have an edge on Elliott based on projected road-course prowess — it not being 2020 or 2021 anymore — but Elliott, in turn, is due for a better showing than Hamlin, which feeds into the pressure already starting to build around each remaining race. Calculating the leverage index on a driver’s seeding status based on how he finishes at The Glen, Hamlin and Elliott have the most potential swing in their odds of a top-two seed this weekend, while Elliott and Blaney have the most swing around their odds for a top-three seed:

Elliott’s combined ability to avoid catastrophes while still gunning for checkered flags will undoubtedly help him in that effort. In a format where one bad day can begin to undo everything, even at this early phase of the proceedings, that kind of downside protection is already starting to look like a big competitive advantage.

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Nathan Solomon

There aren’t many Cup Series drivers who can say they’ve beaten Shane van Gisbergen on a road course.

Chris Buescher is one of them.

The Prosper, Texas, native — who just scored his best career finish at Texas Motor Speedway of fifth last weekend — defeated SVG at Watkins Glen International two seasons ago in a finish for the ages. Van Gisbergen fired to the lead in overtime, but on the final lap, the Kiwi bobbled coming through the bus stop, allowing Buescher to use his bumper and surge for a win in the Finger Lakes.

Since turning to the Next Gen chassis in 2022, Buescher has quietly been one of the best on the road. The Glen is his only triumph, but over the last 24 races turning left and right, the No. 17 RFK Racing driver has 17 top-10 finishes.

That road course prowess dates back to his O’Reilly Series days and early years in Cup, when Buescher benefited from additional time in Ford’s simulator. While veteran drivers didn’t prioritize that type of preparation, Buescher became a sponge.

“When the Ford simulator was pretty new and a lot of our veteran drivers weren’t really keen on spending much time over there yet, there was a lot of open windows,” Buescher said in a Wednesday teleconference. “There were many eight-hour sessions spent over there, just across the street, getting to know a lot of race tracks that I hadn’t been to before O’Reilly or Cup racing at the time. And then trying to figure out how to be better at the types of race tracks that we don’t get to see that often and that’s road courses for us.

“We’ve spent our fair share of time over in the simulator through the years. We just came from there this morning. We were over there for four or five hours to start the day with all three of our teams. We still use it pretty religiously to hone in on how to be better at these things and I’m excited to be heading into Watkins Glen.”

And that simulator time will likely pay off come Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Watkins Glen has three added variables for this year’s annual visit to New York’s Southern Tier region: cooler weather, track limits and 10 additional laps.

A shift from the summer to Mother’s Day weekend brings temperatures forecasted in the 60s, which Buescher expects will make for a faster track. As explained in this week’s episode of Hauler Talk, NASCAR officials are adding tire packs in Turns 1 and 5, narrowing the available real estate in run-off areas. And finally, the race distance increases from 90 to 100 laps for the first time, marking the longest scheduled race at the 2.45-mile facility.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

“I certainly understand what we’re after. All of the rumble strips did not cut it,” Buescher explained of the track limits. “It just did not do enough to keep us off the runout areas and what the run-offs were doing was creating these really tight moments when everybody merged back on the race track and was creating these massive accidents.

“With the sporadic tire packs, it’s worked at a lot of places when they’ve been used more for the apex, not so much as an invisible wall in between a handful of them. I’m not saying it won’t work. It’s kept us exactly where they want us to be in the simulator. The idea behind it is at least working right now, but we’ll have to see how it works in practice once we get everybody on track. I like what we’re doing.”

But regardless of the variables, Buescher’s confidence isn’t wavering.

“We have a very good grasp of that race track and are able to make several different setup options or race car builds work at that kind of race track,” he said. “We’ve kind of touched on both sides of long run and short run, and maybe that’s what I was trying to allude to, was trying to find that balance in the middle of how do we fire off good, but also maintain the long run pace.

“It’s been a good road course to us for a good, long time now, so I am really excited to head back up to that one. I’m ready to get up there. It’s gonna be a good weekend.”

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series head north to New York’s Finger Lakes region for their annual stops at Watkins Glen International. Below are the qualifying orders and groups for all three series.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TV

Cup Series
Group qualifying will occur at 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, with practice earlier in the day at 1 p.m. ET (Prime Video).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC	GROUP
1	78	* Katherine Legge	40.7	1
2	41	Cole Custer	35.3	1
3	66	* Josh Bilicki(i)	34.8	1
4	51	Cody Ware	31.5	1
5	22	Joey Logano	31.0	1
6	20	Christopher Bell	30.5	1
7	34	Todd Gilliland	29.9	1
8	21	Josh Berry	29.6	1
9	4	Noah Gragson	29.2	1
10	54	Ty Gibbs	27.3	1
11	10	Ty Dillon	26.7	1
12	5	Kyle Larson	26.2	1
13	71	Michael McDowell	25.8	1
14	42	John Hunter Nemechek	23.7	1
15	1	Ross Chastain	23.6	1
16	16	AJ Allmendinger	23.5	1
17	8	Kyle Busch	21.8	1
18	38	Zane Smith	21.7	1
19	88	Connor Zilisch #	21.4	1
20	19	Chase Briscoe	20.9	2
21	3	Austin Dillon	20.7	2
22	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	20.5	2
23	97	Shane van Gisbergen	17.6	2
24	35	Riley Herbst	16.1	2
25	43	Erik Jones	15.0	2
26	2	Austin Cindric	15.0	2
27	60	Ryan Preece	13.4	2
28	6	Brad Keselowski	11.8	2
29	48	Alex Bowman	10.8	2
30	23	Bubba Wallace	9.6	2
31	24	William Byron	8.6	2
32	7	Daniel Suárez	8.4	2
33	12	Ryan Blaney	8.2	2
34	77	Carson Hocevar	6.7	2
35	17	Chris Buescher	5.0	2
36	45	Tyler Reddick	3.1	2
37	11	Denny Hamlin	2.0	2
38	9	Chase Elliott	1.6	2

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Group qualifying will occur at 11:35 a.m. ET on Friday, with practice earlier in the day at 10:30 a.m. ET (The CW App).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC	GROUP
1	50	Preston Pardus	41.9	1
2	35	TBA	39.2	1
3	42	TBA	35.7	1
4	87	Austin Green	34.1	1
5	91	Carson Kvapil	31.1	1
6	28	Kyle Sieg	30.0	1
7	55	Joey Gase	29.8	1
8	53	Derek White	29.6	1
9	0	Alex Labbe	29.5	1
10	32	Ross Chastain(i)	28.9	1
11	02	Ryan Ellis	27.6	1
12	17	Corey Day	27.4	1
13	07	Josh Bilicki	27.3	1
14	54	Taylor Gray	26.7	1
15	31	Blaine Perkins	24.1	1
16	27	Jeb Burton	23.9	1
17	24	Harrison Burton	22.9	1
18	92	Alex Guenette(i)	22.5	1
19	45	Lavar Scott #	21.4	1
20	48	Patrick Staropoli	19.1	2
21	44	Brennan Poole	18.8	2
22	1	Connor Zilisch	16.8	2
23	26	Dean Thompson	16.6	2
24	96	Anthony Alfredo	15.3	2
25	18	William Sawalich	14.4	2
26	39	Ryan Sieg	14.3	2
27	9	Shane van Gisbergen(i)	13.7	2
28	51	Jeremy Clements	13.3	2
29	8	Sammy Smith	11.8	2
30	21	Austin Hill	7.9	2
31	2	Jesse Love	7.5	2
32	20	Brandon Jones	7.4	2
33	99	Parker Retzlaff	6.8	2
34	41	Sam Mayer	6.3	2
35	19	Brent Crews #	5.2	2
36	00	Sheldon Creed	5.1	2
37	7	Justin Allgaier	1.7	2
38	88	Rajah Caruth	1.3	2

Craftsman Truck Series
Group qualifying will occur at 12:05 p.m. ET on Friday, with practice earlier in the day at 11 a.m. ET (FS2).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC	GROUP
1	20	Toni Breidinger	58.7	1
2	69	Dystany Spurlock	41.0	1
3	71	Connor Zilisch(i)	40.1	1
4	56	Timmy Hill	39.2	1
5	4	Shane van Gisbergen(i)	38.9	1
6	13	Cole Butcher #	32.3	1
7	42	Tyler Reif	31.2	1
8	81	Kris Wright	30.4	1
9	9	Grant Enfinger	29.0	1
10	44	Andrés Pérez	28.2	1
11	2	Jackson Lee	27.8	1
12	62	Wesley Slimp	27.7	1
13	15	Tanner Gray	25.9	1
14	22	Natalie Decker	25.3	1
15	33	Stephen Mallozzi	25.1	1
16	98	Jake Garcia	25.1	1
17	16	Justin Haley	24.0	1
18	10	Corey LaJoie	23.5	1
19	76	Spencer Boyd	23.3	1
20	14	Mini Tyrell #	23.1	2
21	26	Dawson Sutton	18.7	2
22	52	Stewart Friesen	17.8	2
23	5	Adam Andretti	15.5	2
24	12	Brenden Queen #	14.8	2
25	18	Tyler Ankrum	14.7	2
26	25	AJ Allmendinger(i)	14.6	2
27	17	Gio Ruggiero	11.9	2
28	19	Daniel Hemric	10.3	2
29	88	Ty Majeski	9.6	2
30	45	Ross Chastain(i)	9.3	2
31	91	Christian Eckes	8.6	2
32	38	Chandler Smith	8.2	2
33	99	Ben Rhodes	6.2	2
34	34	Layne Riggs	5.7	2
35	1	Brent Crews(i)	4.6	2
36	77	Carson Hocevar(i)	3.1	2
37	11	Kaden Honeycutt	2.7	2
38	7	Connor Mosack	1.7	2

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

Posted on May 6, 2026May 9, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

Ryan Blaney signed a long-term contract extension Wednesday to remain with Team Penske as driver of its No. 12 Ford, continuing what has been a calm start to NASCAR’s Silly Season in 2026.

Blaney joins Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Carson Hocevar as drivers to sign long-term re-ups this year with their current teams — Team Penske, Hendrick Motorsports, 23XI Racing and Spire Motorsports, respectively.

But just because free agency has started without any sexy team transfers doesn’t mean there aren’t any up for consideration.

MORE: Cup standings | Cup Series schedule

The biggest questions looming in NASCAR’s free agency revolve around Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet.

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 car, and Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8, are both seeking respective new contracts for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season. Bowman is a multi-time winner at the powerhouse Hendrick team with consecutive top fives in his last two starts — a plus for the “What have you done for me lately?” column. Busch is a two-time Cup champion with an unfathomable 233 national series wins to his credit — including 63 Cup wins, ninth-most all-time — but is amid the most uncertain moment of his career.

Both drivers appear to have reached a crossroads with their respective organizations. Bowman has just two wins on his ledger since the start of 2022 and hasn’t reached Victory Lane since winning in July 2024 at the Chicago Street Course. He also has missed three or more races in three of the past five seasons due to injury: a concussion in 2022 (missed five races), a broken vertebra in 2023 (missed three races) and a bout with vertigo at the start of this season (missed four races).

At RCR, Busch won three times in the first 15 races of 2023 in his debut campaign with the team but has gone winless since, leaving the 41-year-old in a drought that has extended to a career-worst 104 races. Busch, who agreed to a one-year extension with RCR last spring, has finished inside the top 10 just once this year (10th, Talladega Superspeedway) and was in contention for a second last week at Texas Motor Speedway before late-race frustration with John Hunter Nemechek sank him to 20th.

So where do they go from here?

Bowman has done himself plenty of favors within the walls of Hendrick Motorsports by continuing to be a helpful teammate behind the scenes, as well as working diligently to return to action whenever he’s been sidelined.

Four-time Cup Series champion and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said Sunday he’d like to see Bowman continue his recent upward trend.

“Just continue to improve and contribute the way he has been, which goes deeper than just results,” Gordon said. “It’s all about the feedback that he has throughout the race, throughout the race weekend, Monday debriefs. He’s doing all those things.

“Alex is a great guy. He’s been a great asset to Hendrick. He’s had some misfortunes that were out of his control, but we think the world of Alex. He’s like family to us. We just want what’s best for him and what’s best for the team right now, and that’s where our focus is.”

If Bowman were to return for 2027, the organization would have at least one more year to assess the future of the No. 48 Chevrolet. The question then becomes whether that future includes another long-term commitment to Bowman or an opportunity to start anew, perhaps by promoting Corey Day, currently a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver for Hendrick Motorsports who earned his first career NOAPS win April 28 at Talladega.

The situation for Busch is less clear. Andy Street was named crew chief of the No. 8 team on April 30 to mark his second stint with Busch in seven months. Entering Texas, Busch and teammate Austin Dillon both emphasized Busch’s commitment to RCR.

“I feel like we’re in this together anyways,” Busch said. “I love Richard (Childress, team owner). I feel like we’ve worked really well together. Austin has been a phenomenal teammate that I’ve been able to work with. I feel like he’s one of the best that I’ve had. It’s been a joyful time working with him. It’s just the results aren’t there. We’ve got to line that up and try to be better in order to get those.”

But the reality is that either side may choose to move on for fresh starts in 2027. Jesse Love is the defending O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion and continues to drive for RCR in that series. With seven Cup starts to his name, the 21-year-old has stated he hopes to race full-time in the Cup Series sooner than later.

“Obviously, my goal is to race on Sundays, and when I do get there, not have to have a lot of growing pains,” Love said in February at EchoPark Speedway. “So the more I can do, the more different types of tracks that I can run, the better that’s going to shorten that learning curve for me.”

If either Busch or RCR opts to go separate ways, Love would seemingly be the easiest promotion possible. Where Busch goes, though, remains up for debate.

A number of rides remain in question for the 2027 season, but one that could make sense for Busch is with Spire Motorsports. Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson previously worked as a spotter for Busch in the Cup Series, and Busch has made numerous Craftsman Truck Series starts for the organization since selling Kyle Busch Motorsports to Spire at the conclusion of 2023.

But is there any room at the inn? While Hocevar signed a long-term extension earlier this year, Daniel Suárez joined for the 2026 season on a one-year deal with options built in for more. Suárez has had an admirable start and sits 14th in the standings with one top five and three top 10s while tracking toward a career-best 15.2 average finish.

That raises questions around the No. 71 car, currently driven by Michael McDowell. McDowell, 41, joined Spire in 2025 on a multiyear deal and earned a career-best three top fives last season. He has one to his credit in early 2026 (fifth, COTA), but since placing ninth the next week at Phoenix, McDowell has finished 18th or worse in each of the last seven races. McDowell sits 23rd in points, 53 points beneath the provisional cutline to make The Chase, with an average finish of 21.5 that would mark his worst since 2019.

Much of the landscape in Silly Season will depend on the fates of Bowman and Busch. The Hendrick No. 48 team and the RCR No. 8 offer high-profile opportunities to succeed at NASCAR’s top level. Those in charge of placing drivers behind the wheel must soon decide how they intend to shape the future of their respective companies — and in turn perhaps altering the landscape of the Cup Series as well.

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

Ryan Blaney signed a long-term contract extension to remain with Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, the team announced Wednesday.

The 2023 Cup champion, Blaney has driven Roger Penske’s No. 12 Ford full-time since 2018 but has driven for the team in stints dating back to 2012, when he made part-time starts for Penske’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program.

The team also announced a multiyear renewal of its longstanding partnership with Menards.

MORE: Ryan Blaney through the years | Cup standings

“Roger’s commitment to me and my career has been something a race-car driver could only dream of — not only getting the opportunity in the first place, but sticking with me through the highs and lows for more than a decade,” Blaney said in a team release. “To still be a part of Team Penske — the wins, the championships, the people — and continuing to grow my career with the unwavering support of Roger and the entire organization has been the opportunity of a lifetime. We’re going to keep pushing to deliver more wins and championships, and to do that with the support of John Menard and the Menard family is truly an honor.”

Now 32, Blaney has scored Cup victories in nine of the last 10 seasons, amassing 18 victories in 389 career starts. He has established himself as one of NASCAR’s top talents, and a long-term extension with Team Penske offers an opportunity to maintain that status together for years to come.

“Ryan Blaney has developed into one of the elite drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, and the success he’s achieved speaks for itself,” Roger Penske said in a team release. “I’m confident Ryan and the No. 12 team will continue to build momentum into the future, especially positioned alongside a committed partner like Menards who’s been instrumental to our team for more than a decade.”

Blaney is one of the series’ most consistent drivers, collecting 17 or more top 10s in each of the last seven full seasons. After Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Insights rated Blaney as the No. 3 driver in both passing and speed, and he was ranked 12th in restarts and ninth in defense.

He has grown into a reliable leader for Team Penske, which is part of why the team locked him into another long-term deal.

Blaney currently sits fourth in the Cup standings with one win, three top fives and seven top 10s in 11 races in 2026. He and the Cup Series return to action on Sunday at Watkins Glen International (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on May 6, 2026 by John Crane

Did you blink? Following action at Texas Motor Speedway, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is halfway through its regular season. Among the nine different winners through the opening 12 races, there have been plenty of high-pressure moments that will only crank up several notches more over the following 12 contests and ahead of The Chase.

So, who has stood out the most through the opening dozen contests? Let’s investigate, with NASCAR.com’s John Crane ranking the top 10 O’Reilly drivers at the official halfway mark of the regular season.

Analysis: Do you want to know the kind of year Allgaier is having? His P23 finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April is only the second time the 2024 O’Reilly champion has finished outside the top eight; the other time came at EchoPark Speedway in February (33rd). Allgaier’s 2.9 average finish over the other 10 races is the stuff of a potential title winner, and it’s no wonder he remains comfortably No. 1 in the driver standings and this ranking installment.

Analysis: It’s been nothing but up, up, up for Creed and the No. 00 Haas Factory Team camp. After winning at EchoPark for his first career O’Reilly victory, the 28-year-old California native has continued to excel. Creed has finished seventh or better in nine of 10 races since, with his one finish outside the top 10 being a P11 at Circuit of The Americas. Tally it all together, and Creed’s 6.4 average finish leads all full-time drivers. Expect Creed to firmly remain in the championship hunt.

Analysis: A 37th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway might’ve been a hiccup, but Day’s entrance into the full-time O’Reilly fold has been a roar otherwise, with the 20-year-old triumphing at Talladega Superspeedway a weekend prior for the 20-year-old’s first O’Reilly dub. A 7.9 average start, 10.8 average finish and 191 laps led are solid benchmarks to build upon over the latter half of the regular season. And build upon, he certainly will need to do so should he wish to maintain this position over others on this list.

Analysis: Champions do two things. One: They maintain consistency. Love has finished 12th or better in 11 of 12 contests, and his 9.0 average finish is third-best among full-timers. Two: They quickly flush poor finishes and deliver smoother results. Since finishing 27th at Rockingham Speedway in April, the 21-year-old Love has compiled three finishes of ninth or better. The steadiness has been there, and if points continue to compound (with perhaps a win sprinkled in here and there), the 2025 O’Reilly champion will have a legitimate shot at rocketing to the top of this ranking … and going back-to-back in the championship-winning department.

Analysis: Jones has started to establish a sturdy footing of late, with the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing pilot stacking three consecutive eighth-place finishes in the three most recent races. For those keeping score, five of Jones’ six top-10 results this season have come in five of the last seven races, and during that seven-race stretch, Jones has averaged 39 points per weekend. Momentum is brewing, which should bode well over the latter half of the regular season.

Analysis: It was an excellent start to 2026 for Hill, tallying top-10 finishes (and a race win) in the opening five contests. The following seven races haven’t been as illustrious, with only two top 10s. Two duds at Darlington Raceway and Kansas Speedway — resulting in netting five points combined — leave a bitter taste, too. There is still plenty of talent, of course, and two finishes of 13th or better in the two most recent races means the arrow could be pointing upward again for Hill and the No. 21 team no time.

Analysis: Though he hasn’t led many laps (17, tied for 14th among full-timers) and doesn’t possess as many stage points relative to others (51, tied for 10th), there Smith is, standing sixth in the driver standings, respectable positioning at this juncture. Such poise and staying out of trouble — Smith’s lone DNF came at EchoPark in February — has the 21-year-old in a relatively comfortable position. Is there another level yet to be seen, though?

Analysis: The qualifying speed has been there from the jump for the 22-year-old Kvapil. The finishing touches can’t say the same; he has three DNFs to his ledger, with the most recent coming in a rollover wreck at Kansas. This season has been one of adversity for the young driver, especially with pressure to manage, and Kvapil has done an admirable job to this point. That said, there is some sense of urgency in finding Victory Lane this season. Will that checkered flag be found?

Analysis: A thrilling Kansas victory — to go along with 64 points amassed from the win — emphasizes the upside the 21-year-old can show on the track. Six separate instances this season of leading multiple laps further demonstrate this potential, and while four finishes outside the top 25 need improvement, there’s no denying there is more than enough to work with here.

Analysis: Retzlaff is a foil of sorts to Gray and William Sawalich, who just missed out in this ranking. On one hand, Retzlaff currently ranks ahead of both in the driver standings, and his 13.2 average finish additionally outpaces the pair (Gray with 17.4, Sawalich with 17.5). The flip side: Retzlaff’s 15.5 average start is below both (Gray with 10.1, Sawalich with 10.8), and the No. 99 driver has yet to lead a lap this season. Slightly more consistency of late than Sawalich means the 22-year-old Wisconsin native holds serve at 10th.

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Dustin Albino

Austin Green comes from a deep family lineage of NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competitors. David, his father, and Jeff, his uncle, both reigned supreme in the series, hoisting the championship trophy in 1994 and 2000, respectively.

When Green linked up with the Doug Peterson-owned Peterson Racing in the Trans-Am Championship TA2 class towards the end of the 2022 season, the natural progression for the former short-track competitor was to eventually go full-time in NASCAR racing.

“I think [Peterson] knew that NASCAR was my goal and he wanted to help out as much as possible,” Green told NASCAR.com at Texas Motor Speedway. “I think they’ve slowly fallen in love with it as much as I have.”

Before creating an alliance with Jordan Anderson Racing in 2024 for Green to run a six-race slate at road courses — which included a trio of top-10 finishes — Peterson’s focus was sports-car racing. It slowly shifted to NASCAR as Green became more competitive.

“He told me he never had aspirations of going to NASCAR, but I’ve heard him mention ever since he’s come to NASCAR that he enjoys it and has fun,” Jody Measamer, crew chief of the No. 87 Chevrolet, said. “I’m excited because this is all I’ve ever done.”

When the organization — only three full-time employees in total — decided to run the full 2026 season, it increased its resources, signing an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Despite the small core group of team members, Peterson has a fleet of 22 chassis, and the team is prepared for what’s next on the docket.

The RCR partnership has been evident with speed, even if the results haven’t shown in the finishing column. Green led his first O’Reilly laps at Talladega Superspeedway and finished 10th, his first top 10 of 2026 and best career O’Reilly finish on an oval.

“It’s been tough, but I don’t look at the finishes as much as how we ran,” Green said. “We’ve always run pretty well in the top 15 and then get caught up in a wreck, flat tire, something happens. That has been disappointing and has put us in a hole in the points.”

With the jump to running the full circuit, Green’s greatest obstacle is the intermediate races. He had not raced at half of the tracks from the first 12 races of the season before strapping in for practice.

The best tool for Green is simulation. He also religiously watches race film, trying to pick up tricks that he can apply come race day. He has also found himself picking the brains of RCR teammates Austin Hill and Jesse Love.

“He’s learning every week,” Measamer said. “Being in the seat every week makes a huge difference. We didn’t have any bad luck the last two years. I know a lot of people don’t believe in luck, but it’s been a challenge the first part of the year. Stuff happening that shouldn’t. I think we’re getting through it.”

James Gilbert | Getty Images

Throw Green’s 27.1 average finish in 2026 out the window when it comes to Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He is a force to be reckoned with at road courses, and he finished seventh at Watkins Glen International in 2025.

“My personal goals are a little different from some of the other people on the team,” Measamer said. “I think if we could qualify in the top 20 and finish in the top 20 consistently, I think it is a good goal. I do think we’re capable of running in the top 15 most weeks.

“Going into the road courses, I do have high expectations. I feel like we have a shot at a top five next week.”

In 14 prior road course starts, Green has eight top-10 finishes, including a runner-up effort to Connor Zilisch last fall at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. He also has a pair of 11th-place finishes at Watkins Glen (2024) and Sonoma Raceway.

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

The bulk of the full-time O’Reilly drivers have competed at road courses longer than Green. Green had zero road-course experience before jumping on the TA2 tour. He believes learning the technique of racing clean and not laying the bumper to drivers has paid dividends at the NASCAR level. In TA2, penalties are enforced should there be contact.

Much of Green’s road course success, he says, comes from out-braking the competition on corner entry. He also knows that, since there has been an additional focus on road courses over the last handful of seasons, his competitors have fine-tuned their craft.

“It’s a confidence boost knowing you can go and run well,” Green said. “What is tough now is there used to be such a wide spread. Now, everyone is getting closer. At COTA, I felt like everyone was pretty tough. There are a lot more road courses than there used to be back in the day, so you have to be good and versatile.”

Even if Green doesn’t have a fantastic starting position at Watkins Glen, don’t count him out. The No. 87 team is synonymous with flipping stages to get track position and hanging on to it.

Such a strategy could be the formula for gathering even more momentum as the race — and season — continues.

“I hope we have enough speed to where we can make those decisions as they come,” Measamer said.