See the full lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’s the second of 10 races in The Chase presented by Mobil 1. Team Penske’s Joey Logano is on the pole.
POSITION
NUMBER
DRIVER
TIME (SECONDS)
1
22
Joey Logano (C)
32.817
2
5
Kyle Larson (C)
33.093
3
12
Ryan Blaney (C)
33.113
4
20
Christopher Bell (C)
33.145
5
19
Chase Briscoe (C)
33.199
6
77
Carson Hocevar (C)
33.236
7
23
Bubba Wallace (C)
33.246
8
9
Chase Elliott (C)
33.259
9
54
Ty Gibbs (C)
33.261
10
11
Denny Hamlin (C)
33.312
11
48
Alex Bowman
33.407
12
38
Zane Smith
33.420
13
2
Austin Cindric (C)
33.441
14
60
Ryan Preece (C)
33.487
15
7
Daniel Suárez (C)
33.492
16
21
Josh Berry
33.503
17
16
AJ Allmendinger
33.547
18
45
Tyler Reddick (C)
33.557
19
88
Connor Zilisch #
33.572
20
1
Ross Chastain
33.583
21
17
Chris Buescher (C)
33.607
22
3
Austin Dillon
33.624
23
6
Brad Keselowski
33.689
24
24
William Byron (C)
33.700
25
43
Erik Jones
33.713
26
41
Cole Custer
33.725
27
33
Austin Hill (i)
33.768
28
42
John Hunter Nemechek
33.810
29
71
Michael McDowell
33.878
30
51
Cody Ware
33.926
31
4
Noah Gragson
33.934
32
10
Ty Dillon
33.943
33
35
Riley Herbst
34.062
34
34
Todd Gilliland
34.065
35
97
Shane van Gisbergen
34.186
36
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
34.215
(C) denotes Chase driver
(i) denotes ineligible for driver points
# denotes series rookie
MADISON, Ill. — With a spectacular lap late in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session, Joey Logano won the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway by a wide margin.
The only competitor in the 36-driver field to crack the 33-second barrier, Logano covered the 1.25-mile distance in 32.817 seconds (137.124 mph) to claim the top starting spot for the second race in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 (3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The Busch Light Pole Award was the second of the season for Logano, who won the inaugural Cup Series race at WWTR in 2022. In winning his first pole at the track and the 35th of his career, Logano beat second-place qualifier Kyle Larson (135.980 mph) by 0.276 seconds.
“Honestly, I feel like I’ve had good cars here for qualifying — I just have always screwed up Turn 1,” said Logano, who is eighth in the Chase standings, 72 points out of the lead. “It’s nice to have a good clean lap.
“It’s in your head, right? Before you go out because you’ve had four qualifying sessions before where you’ve always screwed up Turn 1. I’ve overdriven it. I’ve underdriven it because of that.
“I hit it right this time, so that part was good. I was able to get through it pretty well and have a pretty solid (Turns) 3 and 4, and the car did what it needed to do. The car has got some raw speed in it, which is very encouraging for (Sunday).”
Logano is the only driver in the field who has finished in the top five in each of the four previous races at Gateway.
Chase drivers claimed the top 10 positions during time trials, with Logano’s Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, qualifying third at 135.898 mph and last Sunday’s Darlington winner, Christopher Bell, earning the fourth spot on the grid at 135.767 mph.
Chase Briscoe was fifth fastest, followed by Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and series leader Denny Hamlin, who improved significantly from 30th on the speed chart during practice earlier in the day.
The remaining six Chase drivers qualified as follows: Austin Cindric 13th, Ryan Preece 14th, Daniel Suárez 15th, Tyler Reddick 18th, Chris Buescher 21st and William Byron 24th. Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford failed inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of car chief Joshua Sisco and the loss of pit-stall selection for Sunday’s race. Byron enters Sunday’s race last in the 16-driver Chase standings, 114 points back of Hamlin.
Practice recap
Ryan Blaney set the fastest single lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice on Saturday afternoon, leading a Team Penske-affiliated trio atop the leaderboard with a best lap at 135.665 mph.
Joey Logano was second (135.514 mph), ahead of Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry (135.501 mph), Connor Zilisch (135.371 mph) and Tyler Reddick (135.298 mph).
Blaney was also quickest in 10-lap averages, ahead of Logano, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric. Bell, last week’s winner at Darlington Raceway, posted the fastest 15-lap, 20-lap and 30-lap averages in Saturday’s 50-minute session.
Defending Gateway winner and current points leader Denny Hamlin posted just the 30th-best lap, with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe 29th. Hamlin showed more promise, however, in the 20-lap average with the fifth-best mark.
MADISON, Ill. — No dust has been settled. No air has been cleared between drivers Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski after contact in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase opener (presented by Mobil 1) at Darlington Raceway.
While nothing can be said verbatim about intentional contact, Hocevar and Keselowski are prepared for the next chapter in a developing saga of tension amid the return of the 10-race sprint to the 2026 championship.
Facing the media first Saturday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway, the No. 6 RFK Racing driver and team co-owner addressed the biggest elephant in the room after last week’s run-in with Hocevar.
“Eachraceweekendpresentsitsownchallenges andcomingtoGateway,obviouslymycarisnotintheplayoffsor Chase,butwestillhavealottoraceforandcommitmentsandthingsthatwehavetodo,andalotofpeoplethatworkreallyhardonthecar,” Keselowski said. “Ihavetobalancethatwiththedifferentthingsthathappenedlastweekend andthat’salwaysthechallenge. My challenge this weekend is to balance that of going out, maximizing the performance I can this weekend while also not letting a fire spread for all intents and purposes of being taken advantage of. How to walk that line is is difficult. It’s kind of one of those things you just you live and you figure it out in the moment, and it’ll play out how ever it plays out.”
Racing in the midpack late in Stage 1 at Darlington, Hocevar attempted to get around Keselowski for a handful of laps in Turns 3 and 4. It culminated in Hocevar using up the width of the corner and hitting the No. 6 Ford in the left rear, causing Keselowski to get loose. The No. 77 then hit Keselowski again to send him for a full spin.
After the race, an irate Keselowski fired a warning shot at Hocevar saying: “His day is coming and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”
With no verbal jabs back at Keselowski, Hocevar is embracing the entertainment side of having drama on-track with his fellow competitors.
Hocevar alluded to his local short-track days in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when promoters would hype up their events with specific driver beefs and also talked about the reach and virality the sport gets when fiery moments are posted.
“I happen toscrollonTikTokorwhatever,and I’mprettymuchmywhole ‘foryou’ page. It’sjustmeonmyownpage,” Hocevar said. “There’s one that got a million something views, right? That has to be somewhat good for the sport. I happen to look at the comments just to see like who’s reacting to it, like if they’re NASCAR fans or normal NASCAR fans, and if you kind of scroll the comments for like two seconds, you can tell that it’s not normal NASCAR fans that were getting in on their algorithm. I have to imagine that’s good.”
Leading into Gateway, Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson stated on Dirty Mo Media’s “Gluckcast” that he isn’t interested in a “car-crashing contest” with RFK, but if it manifests, it could spread to the RFK Chase cars (Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece).
Keselowski’s response? “Bring it. I’ll fight back with anybody in the garage.”
If tensions do boil over between RFK and Spire, it does open a Pandora’s Box that could affect Chase drivers, cause collateral damage and ruin title hopes.
However, defending champion Kyle Larson may be bringing some popcorn along for his ride Sunday if he sees Keselowski and Hocevar in front of him.
“If Brad’s around him, I would keep my eyes peeled a little bit more,” Larson said. “But more just like when you’re behind it, you’re like hoping something cool happens and you don’t get caught up in it. It’d be funny.”
In past cases, Cup veterans used to meet with younger drivers who were habitually causing issues to nip future occurrences in the bud. But in a new era where virality and Internet fame are sought after, Keselowski says those opportunities aren’t there anymore and there’s no point to having a conversation with Hocevar.
For 300 miles Sunday afternoon, all eyes will be focused on how Chapter 2 is written between the two drivers.
“We’reinadifferentdayandage, whichisgreaterthanoursport,” Keselowski said. “Ittranscendsoursocietyasawhole where thatlevelofsocialinteractionisnotvaluedthesamewayitwasvalued10. 20,30yearsago,andatsomepoint,everybodyjusthastotouchthehotstoveandlearn.”
MADISON, Ill.— Hendrick Motorsports doesn’t have a driver development program per se.
As team president Jeff Andrews put it, Hendrick is committed to the “Corey Day Development Program,” as evidenced by the long-term contract awarded to the driver earlier this week.
“I think, for us, guys like this don’t come along very often, so when a talent like Corey Day presents itself …,” Andrews said. “We knew the (learning) curve was going to be steep, but we’ve been really proud of his progress and the things he’s accomplished on track and who he’s become off-track and part of our team and our culture.
“It’s a lot of things that led to the decision of going forward with the long-term development of Corey Day.”
The 20-year-old driver certainly has exceeded expectations in his first full season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He picked up his first victory at Talladega in April and followed that with a second win at Dover in May.
“I think back to when I signed my first deal two years ago, and I was just hopeful that there would be another one, much less another long-term one,” Day said Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. “Really cool.
“I’m really excited for what’s to come for me in my career. I also talked about the fact that I never really thought I would be much more than just a sprint car guy, which I was fine with that, but it’s really cool to see where my career is at now.”
The driver from Clovis, California, grew up racing on dirt, but he has handled the transition to pavement adroitly. There hasn’t been one “light bulb” moment, rather a steady progression.
“I didn’t expect that one day I would show up at the track and get the pole and win the race,” Day said. “I knew that it was going to be tough and that I was going to learn things at different paces.”
Day’s new contract includes a plan to run a handful of NASCAR Cup Series races next season in addition to competing for the O’Reilly Series championship. Because of limitations under the current charter agreement, Hendrick is unable to run a fifth car, even on a limited basis.
Consequently, Day will drive a Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in his Cup Series events, Andrews said.
Beyond 2027, Day’s future with the organization lacks specifics, but the new contract speaks to Hendrick’s belief in the young driver, especially after the signing of Connor Zilisch to succeed Alex Bowman in a Cup car, starting in 2028.
MADISON, Ill. — John Hunter Nemechek didn’t see it coming. Legacy Motor Club’s decision to go in a different direction for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season caught the veteran driver by surprise, forcing him to suddenly look elsewhere at the eleventh hour.
On Aug. 31, less than 48 hours after finishing 15th in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, Legacy Motor Club brass called a meeting with Nemechek. It was there that he found out he wouldn’t be returning to the No. 42 Toyota in 2027 despite having a contract in place.
“I said OK and walked out the door,” Nemechek told NASCAR.com on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway when asked how he handled the news.
Nemechek was stunned. He fully expected a fourth season with the No. 42 team, hoping to build on the foundation that he and Erik Jones have laid since the organization transitioned to Toyota in 2024.
“It was definitely very surprising to me and shocking news,” Nemechek said. “Like Jimmie [Johnson, majority owner of Legacy M.C.] had said on ‘The [Dale Jr] Download,’ my contract had gotten renewed for another year.
“It was definitely surprising. I was still under contract for another year.”
Emotions ran high for Nemechek. He returned home to see his daughters, Aspen and Penelope, and enjoyed the rest of the evening. But he immediately went into reflection mode, wondering how the outcome could have been changed.
“Not knowing that there’s a change coming or you are being sat down and being told you are out of the car for 2027, in that moment, you take it all in,” he stated. “It was one of those moments where you look back and reflect, and you’re like, ‘What went wrong? What did I do wrong? What is this, what is that?’ You move on from it, continue on and keep pushing as hard as I can every single day.”
Nemechek couldn’t pinpoint why he was being released. The No. 42 team has a couple of top-10 finishes through the opening three-quarters of the season, with a best effort of fourth place at Pocono Raceway in mid-June. His average starting position and finishing position are both 22.1. Meanwhile, his replacement, Josh Berry, is on a career heater, earning six straight top-10 finishes, the first time a Wood Brothers Racing driver has accomplished that since David Pearson in 1976.
“I wish I truly did know the full extent of it,” Nemechek said of the reasoning behind the decision. “I was told they wanted to make a change, and they felt like the timing was necessary for them to do that with Josh being available, and that’s where it went from there.”
Over the last week and a half, Nemechek has had numerous conversations with various teams. With limited options in Cup, a return to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — where he has won a combined 24 times — could be in his immediate future, with aspirations of returning to Cup in 2028.
“I don’t think this one will be another reset,” Nemechek said. “I do feel like if I do have to take a step back, going and winning races is the number one priority. I have a fire lit underneath my ass right now, and we’re going to prove all parties involved that helped make this decision that they are going to regret it.”
Johnson admitted earlier this week on “The Dale Jr. Download” that informing Nemechek of Legacy’s decision was uncomfortable.
“We had an auto-renewal with John Hunter, and that happened, I guess, in the summer,” Johnson said on the podcast, which was published on Wednesday. “But through that moment to when we finally made the decision — a lot of internal pressure, a lot of pressure in general to potentially make a change. Through all the work that we’ve done with analytics, Josh’s numbers stand out in so many categories.”
Nemechek sits 28th in the driver standings and has remained within three spots of that position since the sixth race of the season at Darlington Raceway. Execution has been an issue for the No. 42 team, contributing to its mixed results throughout the season.
Still, Nemechek is determined to finish his Legacy tenure on a strong note. With many team members uncertain about their futures, there is added motivation within the organization to perform at a high level over the final two months of the 2026 season.
“I want to go win. I want to go perform the best that I can the last nine weeks,” Nemechek said. “It doesn’t matter what is happening behind the scenes or whatever it may be; I’m here to race, I’m here to do my job. I’m going to show up the best that I can prepare, and to prove the decision-makers wrong.”
Two NASCAR Cup Series teams failed pre-race technical inspection multiple times Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
The No. 17 RFK Racing team, which enters 11th in The Chase standings with driver Chris Buescher, failed twice on Saturday afternoon, along with the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team of driver Cody Ware.
As a result, both teams will lose pit-stall selection for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second of 10 races in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Additionally, No. 17 car chief Joshua Sisco and No. 51 car chief Dave Jones were both ejected for the remainder of the race weekend.
In three starts at Gateway, Buescher has finished 12th, 14th and ninth, earning his first top 10 at the Illinois race track last year. Buescher is 88 points behind series leader Denny Hamlin ahead of Sunday’s race.
Ware is 35th in the standings and finished 29th in last year’s race at Gateway.
See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers will pit this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
NASCAR Cup Series
Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
Team Penske was in another ZIP code on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, with Joey Logano winning the Busch Light Pole Award by nearly three-tenths of a second, the largest margin in nearly a decade (Chicagoland Speedway, 2017). Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry were both sporty in practice, as the three cars led the way in single-lap speed. Hendrick Motorsports has clearly improved its flatter-track program, with Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott cracking the top eight in qualifying. While Berry and Austin Cindric will take the green flag in the teens, both showed potential over the long haul in practice.
Starting five: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry. Garage pick: Austin Cindric.
With The Chase presented by Mobil 1 opener in the books, the championship picture is beginning to take shape. The top seven drivers have separated themselves from eighth place, where Joey Logano and Chase Elliott are tied, 72 points back of the lead. But the No. 22 team remains a serious threat this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and could make a significant dent in that points deficit if Logano continues to deliver at tracks where he has historically excelled, as he did in recent visits to North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway.
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
Driver: Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford Selections remaining: 5 Comment: Because of Logano’s tenacity, don’t count the No. 22 team out yet. He is the standard at Gateway, scoring top-five finishes in all four races at the 1.25-mile oval. No other driver has even finished inside the top 10 in all four tries.
Driver:Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota Selections remaining: 4 Comment: Knowing that Toyotas have ruled intermediates this season, you may want to save Hamlin for upcoming races at Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But his St. Louis numbers aren’t too shabby either, with a victory and two runner-up finishes in the last three starts. A big part of that is track position at a track where he’s never qualified worse than sixth. Entering the weekend, Hamlin won’t be in my lineup.
Driver: Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, No. 12 Ford Selections remaining: 5 Comment: Gateway has similar characteristics to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Blaney was dominant last month. Blaney is the only driver to lead laps in all four races at Gateway, and was a lap away from victory when the No. 12 car ran out of fuel coming to the white flag in 2024. He coasted around to finish 24th, but the other three attempts have all resulted in finishes of sixth or better.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota Selections remaining: 4 Comment: Reddick has returned to his consistent ways the last two weeks, scoring consecutive top fives for the first time since May. However, the No. 45 team tends to struggle at flatter tracks, though Reddick placed eighth at New Hampshire. In four Gateway starts, he has one finish better than 16th (fourth, 2024).
Driver: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet Selections remaining: 5 Comment: Hendrick has improved its flat-track program, but the No. 9 team limped into The Chase and that volatility continued with a 14th-place finish at Darlington Raceway. Since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in early May, Elliott has two top-10 finishes in the last 16 races. On the bright side, Elliott finished third here last year, his only finish better than 13th in three starts (suspended for Gateway in 2023).
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver:Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford Selections remaining: 5 Comment: Cindric was the beneficiary of Blaney running on fumes in 2024, scoring his second Cup victory. Penske has the best flat-track program in the game, and the No. 2 team cracked the top five recently at Richmond. Cindric’s 11.0 average finish at Gateway is his best among active Cup tracks.
Driver:Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports, No. 71 Chevrolet Selections remaining: 5 Comment: McDowell’s statistics at Gateway aren’t exactly eye-popping, but his 74 laps led are his most at any non-drafting track. He finished ninth here in 2023 and captured the pole in 2024. More importantly, his 16.5 average finish is his best among all ovals on the schedule.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Christopher Bell vs. Denny Hamlin
Pick: Hamlin Comment: If each race played out differently, Bell could have won the last two races at Gateway. He experienced engine gremlins in 2024 and couldn’t reach the front last year with one of the best cars. Hamlin has shown the ability to capitalize at Gateway and needs a bounce-back weekend from Darlington.
Ryan Blaney vs. Kyle Larson
Pick: Blaney Comment: Larson is a formidable opponent for Blaney this weekend, never finishing worse than 12th in four Gateway starts. However, he also only has a single finish better than 10th. That’s not going to be enough to outduel Blaney, who is among the race favorites entering the weekend.
Joey Logano vs. Austin Cindric
Pick: Logano Comment: Don’t overlook Cindric this weekend, but this is a grueling matchup for the No. 2 team. Logano is the bar at Gateway, never finishing worse than fifth. With the recent excellence of the No. 22 bunch, it’s tough seeing that change this weekend.
Carson Hocevar vs. Brad Keselowski
Pick: Keselowski Comment: Keselowski is probably on the short list of drivers that Hocevar shouldn’t have upset during his postseason run. The 2012 Cup champion has nothing to lose, coming up short of making The Chase. Neither driver has particularly excelled at the Midwest track, but Keselowski showed upside by finishing third in 2024.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric. Garage: Josh Berry.
36 FOR 36
Pick: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford Comment: With only a quarter of the 2026 campaign remaining, options are beginning to run thin. But if you have a Penske car in the bank, this would be an ideal time to use it. Cindric is a former winner here, though he followed that up with a lousy 19th-place effort last year. I’ll take my chances.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 10, 2026) – Rick Ware Racing (RWR) will expand its already versatile motorsports presence by competing in the NASCAR Canada Series with a two-car effort beginning with the 2027 season.
The first driver named to the team is the “Iron Man” of Canada’s premier racing league, DJ Kennington, who will pilot the No. 51 Chevrolet. RWR’s second car will be the No. 15 Chevrolet, and that driver will be announced at a later date.
Kennington is the only driver to compete in every NASCAR Canada Series race, and he will make his 241st career start Saturday night in the 2026 season finale at Delaware Speedway in Ontario. The St. Thomas, Ontario, native is a two-time NASCAR Canada Series champion (2010 and 2012) and has a total of 25 wins, 126 top-fives and 202 top-10s, along with 17 poles and 3,969 laps led. Kennington has also finished among the top-three in points 13 times, including a record four runner-up results.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a long career in the NASCAR Canada Series, but I’ve always been more interested in what’s next, and this opportunity with Rick Ware Racing is something I’m really looking forward to,” Kennington said. “Rick has built a race team that competes in a lot of different forms of motorsports, and to be a part of his overall program means a lot to me. To do it with Castrol and Wakefield Canada makes it even more special. They’ve been with me since I was 16 years old. They’re family, and now we get to start another chapter together at RWR.”
Wakefield Canada, the manufacturer and distributor of Castrol-branded lubricants in Canada, has been with Kennington for every one of his NASCAR Canada Series milestones and then some. It’s a partnership that began with a 16-year-old Kennington at the outset of his racing career, and it will continue through the 2029 season at his new RWR home, extending the pairing to an incredible 35 years.
“DJ has been a fantastic ambassador for Castrol and Wakefield Canada for more than three decades. Extending our relationship through 2029 reflects the trust and success we’ve built together, while the addition of Rick Ware Racing creates new opportunities to elevate all three organizations,” said Rob Fifield, marketing director – automotive, Wakefield Canada. “By combining DJ’s connection with fans, Rick Ware Racing’s competitive platform and Castrol’s heritage in motorsports, everyone wins.”
The 2027 season will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the NASCAR Canada Series, and it will also serve as RWR’s return to the series. In 2021, RWR competed in the NASCAR Canada Series with a two-car lineup for drivers Andrew Ranger and Alex Guenette. Ranger scored two wins for RWR – Sept. 12 at Flamboro Speedway in Ontario and Sept. 26 at Delaware Speedway – on his way to a second-place finish in the final points standings, just eight points behind series champion LP Dumoulin. Guenette finished seventh in points with seven top-10s.
“We’ve wanted to get back to the NASCAR Canada Series, but it needed to be the right opportunity, and we feel like we have that with the two-car program we’re putting together for 2027,” said team owner Rick Ware. “DJ gives us a proven winner who knows this series inside and out, and we’re proud to represent Castrol and become part of the relationship they’ve built with DJ over the past three decades. We’re equally pleased with what we’re putting together for our second car, and we look forward to sharing more about that program when the time is right.”
The NASCAR Canada Series features a mix of road courses and tight short tracks, and its season runs May through September. Canadians can watch every race on REV TV, TVA Sports, TSN and YouTube. For those outside of Canada, coverage is provided on the NASCAR Canada Series YouTube channel.
Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Corey Day has signed a long-term contract extension with the organization and will return to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in a full-time role for 2027, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet.
Day will also make his NASCAR Cup Series debut next year in a part-time role with the team. Details will be announced at a later date.
“What Corey has accomplished in such a short time is remarkable,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, in a team statement. “He came to us with generational talent but almost no experience racing on pavement. The fact that he’s already competing for a championship at this level is extraordinary, and he’s just beginning to scratch the surface. We love Corey’s character and how he fits our organization, and we’re proud to have him with us for many years to come.”
Day earned his first national series victory at Talladega Superspeedway in April and followed it up with an impressive win at Dover Motor Speedway a month later. He qualified for the O’Reilly Series’ inaugural Chase — earning the No. 7 seed in his quest for the championship.
Day finished runner-up last weekend at Darlington to climb to fifth in The Chase standings with eight races to go in the 2026 season.
“There’s no substitute for seat time, which makes Corey’s progress even more impressive,” said Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. “We see growth every weekend when he gets in the car. He puts in the work and isn’t afraid to ask questions and apply what he learns. The Cup races next year will give him another opportunity to gain valuable experience and challenge himself at the highest level. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
“When I joined Hendrick Motorsports, I knew I had a lot to learn. And I still do,” Day said. “But the people here have really embraced me and invested a lot of time in helping me grow, both as a driver and a person. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick give us all the resources we could possibly need. I’m so grateful to them, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews and the 500 teammates who put so much into our success. I’m focused on winning a championship together this year and bringing many more trophies home to Hendrick Motorsports in the future.”
