Hauler Talk: NASCAR alters Xfinity Fastest Lap eligibility, age restrictions and more for 2026

Posted on January 16, 2026January 16, 2026 by Nate Ryan

NASCAR announced a bevy of rulebook updates across its top three national series Friday, including a revamp of the eligibility for the Xfinity Fastest Lap of the race in the Cup Series.

After multiple instances last year in which damaged cars returned to set the fastest lap of the race (and earn a bonus point), drivers now will be disallowed from a reward for being fastest once their car has been repaired in the garage.

NASCAR and teams had been debating the merits of the rule since Kyle Larson set the fastest lap despite finishing 42 laps down at Mexico City. The 2025 series champion also set the fastest lap at Watkins Glen International after finishing 15 laps down, and Josh Berry earned the fastest lap of the Southern 500 despite crashing on the first lap at Darlington Raceway.

“It was something that we talked a lot about last year, and it didn’t feel exactly right or fair that teams working on the car in the garage for a while specifically just to lay down that fastest lap,” managing director of communications Mike Forde said during the second season debut of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “It didn’t feel super in the spirit of competition, so we decided to change it.”

Forde said a driver still would be credited with a fastest lap if recorded before entering the garage during a race. “If Larson ripped off a fastest lap and wrecks, he gets to keep that fast-lap point. He just can’t get it after working on his car in the garage after an incident.”

A driver also can remain eligible if the car is fixed in the pit stall, but teams are limited to seven minutes of repairs before being forced to the Cup garage.

Some of the other significant updates for the 2026 season that were unveiled Friday:

— A new penalty structure for loose or missing lug nuts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

If 19 of 20 lug nuts are safe and secure, teams will lose pit selection for the next race. If 18 lug nuts are secure, it’s a fine ($5,000 in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, $2,500 in the Truck Series) and a one-race crew member suspension. If there are four missing lug nuts, it’s a race disqualification in both series. In the past, the fines started at one missing lug nut ($5,000 for NOAPS), and crew chiefs also would be suspended for multiple missing lug nuts. Teams successfully lobbied NASCAR that the punishments were too harsh.

“It’s a lot to help the teams and make it a little bit more consistent between the trucks and O’Reilly and Cup,” said Forde, noting there was no fine for an improperly secured lug nut in Cup. “We want to standardize the rulebooks as often as we can.”

James Gilbert | Getty Images

— NASCAR will hold a potential four additional spots for OEM provisionals in this season’s first three Craftsman Truck Series races as Ram makes its return to NASCAR. If any of the manufacturer’s entries fails to make the 36-truck field on qualifying speed at Daytona, EchoPark Speedway or the street race at St. Petersburg, Florida, the vehicle would be added to the rear of the starting lineup, leading to a maximum 40-truck field if necessary.

Forde said the rule was aimed at helping Ram teams “get their sea legs under them” in light of the most recent manufacturer addition to the Cup Series. Toyota drivers missed several dozen races in the 2007 debut season.

“You have Chevy, Toyota, and Ford who have years and years of experience and data and notebooks filled with how to go fast, and Ram right now doesn’t have any, and so we want to help them get their feet wet,” Forde said.

The rule will be slightly different than the Open Exemption Provisional introduced last year that allows a spot for a renowned driver (four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves used it to make the 2025 Daytona 500; seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has the status this year). While those drivers receive neither points or prize money, the Ram entries would be credited with points for their finishes.

“That’s so they have a little bit of a cushion and safety net later on this season and really have a good start to their 2026 and return to NASCAR,” Forde said. “Part two is to attract future OEMs so that OEMs can come into the series and know they’re going to have a barrier to entry that isn’t as high and difficult to overcome. They’ll know that they come into the series worried about their engineering, drivers, teams and pit crews and not worry about making the race. So those are kind of the two reasons that we’re doing this.”

— NASCAR also lowered the minimum age for competing on 1.25-mile and shorter tracks in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series to 17 years old, which is between the 16-year-old minimum for trucks and 18 for Cup.

“We look at the truck and the O’Reilly Auto Parts series as ladders to get to the Cup series, so it felt from a consistency’s sake kind of like a literal ladder,” Forde said. “Plus, we did get some team feedback that there were a couple of young drivers that had the talent to be in the O’Reilly Auto Parts but just couldn’t because of the age restriction. So some teams came to us and asked if this would be something that we’d look at, and it made sense to go 16, 17, 18. So it felt like the right time to do it.”

MORE: 2026 Cup Series schedule

Other topics covered during the 40^th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:

— The recent test of the new 750-horsepower package at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

— The return of the 10-race Chase championship format that was announced this week.

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

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

Posted on January 16, 2026January 18, 2026 by Zack Albert

A remembrance of the life of NASCAR legend Greg Biffle, his wife, children and three family friends came with heartfelt stories, some laughs and a share of tears, but also with a challenge to those in attendance.

In the weeks since the plane crash that claimed those seven lives, “Be Like Biff” has been a rallying slogan, one that’s meant to empower others to make a difference. Friday, in a public gathering and celebration of life, that mantra rang ever more true.

“We’ve all been saying ‘Be Like Biff’ since we lost our hero,” said close friend Garrett Mitchell, who developed a tight-knit connection with the former driver in recent years as his alt-persona Cleetus McFarland. “What does that mean? That means to take opportunities when you see them, whether you’re taking the opportunity to pass somebody on the track, or getting off your couch and chasing a dream you’ve only been talking about for the last five years. It means showing up for your friends and family. It means using your heart to make the world a better place. It means being generous whenever you can and helping other humans when they’re down. That is what it means to be like Biff, so spread the word.”

The NASCAR community came together Friday to recognize and honor the special impacts of the Biffle family — Greg, his wife Cristina and children Emma and Ryder — and good friends Craig Wadsworth and Jack and Dennis Dutton. All seven perished in the Dec. 18 crash of Biffle’s private jet at the Statesville (N.C.) Regional Airport, and all seven were celebrated in a heart-warming video montage that closed the 90-minute ceremony. The snapshot of those lives included glimpses of family outings, fishing trips and the type of high-adrenaline adventure that Biffle embraced, including victorious moments from his stellar NASCAR career.

As Biffle’s status in big-league stock-car racing took flight, some of the places he won multiple times — Michigan, Homestead-Miami, Darlington, Dover — required a heavy but precise right foot, one that accelerated him to limits where few drivers dared to tread. Later in life, he became a legend in other places — the remote areas among the rustic ridges and valleys of the western North Carolina high country, where serving others and providing life-saving relief in the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024 became a personal mission.

Biffle was celebrated for both Friday at Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum, where family, friends and fans paid their respects. Jeff Burton, the NBC Sports analyst who was a teammate to Biffle for years with team owner Jack Roush, made special mention of those dual roles in his remarks, noting the level of balance that he showed at various stages of his NASCAR career.

“Greg was a unique guy. He was kind of one-of-a-kind. He had the rare ability to sit in a race car and be a complete badass,” Burton said. “He was really fast and he would do whatever it took to win at any point, but also when he got out of the car, he found a way to help others, to be there when others needed help, to make sure everybody around him was having a good time and enjoying themselves. A split personality, it’s really hard to accomplish. Many race car drivers aren’t so cool out of the car because they’re tuned in to being a race car driver. Some aren’t as tough as they need to be in the car because they’re tuned in to being nice all the time. It’s hard to do both. Greg found a way to do it.

“Someone I appreciate a great deal once told me the greatest respect someone can get is the respect from their peers. Greg had that respect because he earned it. He positively influenced an entire industry. He was loved by his family and his friends, he left a mark, and he’ll be greatly missed.”

Family members were among the well-wishers on hand at the Charlotte arena, some making the trip from far-flung areas to pay tribute. Jackie McCarter, a first cousin, made the pilgrimage from Lexington, Kentucky, walking past the show cars out front with another relative from even farther away, Trish Mack from Wasilla, Alaska, who had a family photo draped from a lanyard around her neck.

“It’s a blessing. It shows what a great man he was, a leader, a good father, a good cousin,” said McCarter, whose mother’s maiden name was Biffle. “I remember watching him in the dirt tracks, and then he moved to the Truck Series, and then he moved to the cars. I lived in Texas before Kentucky, and we had tickets. He was driving trucks, and they didn’t allow children under 14 in the pits, but he picked up my son and said, ‘Come on, you’re going with me,’ and got him in the truck and took pictures. Just such a blessing, such a great guy, the whole family. It’s just such a tragedy.”

MORE: Biffle the last of an old-school era

The impression that Biffle left on a generation of fans was also a close-to-home sentiment. Bob Grauna, a 65-year-old retiree who recently moved to the Charlotte area from New York, walked up wearing an RFK Racing hat and a heavy coat that celebrated Dale Earnhardt’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction.

Grauna said he’d attended fan appreciation days for the Roush team years ago, recalling the long lines around the building to get an autograph or a quick conversation with Biffle. He said he once had a chance meeting with Biffle while filling up at a gas station, where he said the stock-car star happily took time to pose for photos. That interaction stuck with Grauna, who recalled Biffle’s selfless nature when his humanitarian works came into greater view.

“He was like a guy next door,” Grauna said. “You’d see him and he would just stop and talk to you. He would never blow you off. He’d stop and sign for everybody. If there were 20 people online, he’d sign for everybody. That’s just the kind of guy he was. I was lucky enough to have him years ago sign a die-cast car for me, and he stopped and talked, he didn’t rush the line, he just talked to everybody. That’s the kind of guy he was.”

Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

Posted on January 16, 2026February 14, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

The new Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC will debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2027, Ford Racing announced in a Thursday livestream.

The new design is based off the sports car Ford unveiled during its annual season launch with 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney behind the wheel, with the street car flexing a 5.2-liter V8 engine. The NASCAR edition will compete for the first time officially in the 2027 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

MORE: 2026 Cup Series schedule

Ford introduced the Dark Horse Mustang in 2024, collecting the 2024 Cup championship with Joey Logano and 19 total wins in the two seasons since. The introduction of the Dark Horse SC — for “supercharger” — highlights the manufacturer’s next step in stock-car racing’s top level.

“This was really a dream project for the team,” Arie Groeneveld, Ford Racing’s chief project engineer, said during the event. “A chance to make a world-class performance icon true to its American muscle car roots using everything we’ve learned on the track.

“That 5.2-liter V8 uses a supercharger to generate massive airflow, bringing incredible power to a street Mustang. … It really is the most powerful Dark Horse we’ve ever released.”

Hosted by Hollywood star Dax Sheppard, the event in Detroit, Michigan, featured racing icons from across multiple genres of racing, including retired Formula 1 racer Daniel Ricciardo, sports car ace Mike Rockenfeller and NASCAR stars Blaney, Logano, Chris Buescher and Zane Smith.

As the first to wheel out the Dark Horse SC, Blaney was enthusiastic for what lies ahead for Ford in the NASCAR world.

“It’s great that I got to drive it for the first time,” Blaney said. “The supercharged feeling is unbelievable. The carbon brakes are really amazing when you get on the track. You just want to punch it hard, brake late.”

Blaney then turned it over to Mark Rushbrook, Ford Racing’s global director, who announced the arrival of the Dark Horse SC in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“In 2027, we will take the Dark Horse SC and debut it at America’s race track with America’s race team, the Daytona 500,” Rushbrook said.

Three teams field Fords in NASCAR, each with three cars under its banner: Team Penske with Blaney, Logano and Austin Cindric; RFK Racing with Buescher, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece; and Front Row Motorsports with Smith, Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson.

The first taste of NASCAR racing in 2026 comes in the exhibition Cook Out Clash on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The season will officially begin with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX, HBO Max, MRN and SiriusXM.

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Kobe Lambeth

Editor’s Note: Today’s Hyak Motorsports preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2026 Cup Series season.

HYAK MOTORSPORTS

Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: Hendrick Motorsports
Driver-crew chief pairings: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.-Mike Kelley (No. 47)

Team outlook: Entering Year 2 under the Hyak Motorsports banner (formerly known as JTG Daugherty Racing), the No. 47 team will work on improving its Cup Series program after finishing 30th in the final standings last year with veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The organization’s only top five of the 2025 season was a fifth-place finish in the second race of the year in the EchoPark Speedway spring race. Hyak traditionally brings fast cars to drafting-style tracks, so look for the No. 47 Chevrolet to be in the mix at EchoPark, Daytona and Talladega. The team’s most recent Cup win was the 2024 Talladega fall race.

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 CHEVROLET

Experience: 13 full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series; 472 starts
2025 stats: 30th in final Cup Series standings; 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 0 poles, 8 laps led

Driver Outlook: Stenhouse’s sixth season with Hyak proved to be his most challenging year yet behind the wheel of the No. 47 Chevrolet. Last season, the 38-year-old from Olive Branch, Mississippi, had five fewer top fives and top 10s compared to 2024. After missing the playoffs for the last two years, Stenhouse will be hungry to return to Victory Lane following a winless 2025 campaign, in a year he made headlines for an ongoing feud with Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar. Looking ahead to the 2026 season, Stenhouse could put that on-track feud in the rearview mirror and get things trending in the right direction to kick off the new year with his second Harley J. Earl Trophy. The Hyak driver won the 2023 Daytona 500, and given how strong he typically runs on drafting-style tracks, he might be able to capitalize on some early-season momentum with Daytona and EchoPark as the first two races of 2026.

MORE: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driver page

Posted on January 16, 2026January 17, 2026 by Adam Fenwick

TULSA, Okla. — Christopher Bell’s first week as a car owner at the Chili Bowl Nationals is off to a fantastic start.

After winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions from the pole Monday night inside the SageNet Center, Bell stormed from eighth to win Thursday’s preliminary night feature to lock himself into Saturday’s championship race.

“This place is magic,” said Bell, who matched fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson with his ninth preliminary night victory at the Chili Bowl. “It’s never over until it’s over, and that’s the way it is here.”

WATCH: 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals

The three-time Chili Bowl winner went undefeated Thursday night, winning his heat race, his qualifier and the 30-lap preliminary feature. He won his heat race from the pole and his qualifier from second, but his road to victory in the feature was much more difficult.

Lining up eighth, Bell spent most of the race playing catchup as C.J. Leary, Ryan Bernal and Spencer Bayston battled for the lead ahead of him.

Christopher Bell on Thursday night. (Photo: Susan Wong/NASCAR)

Bell was struggling to make any gains on the leaders and was running a distant fifth when the first caution of the race waved with seven laps left. Were it not for that caution, Bell said he likely had no shot at catching the leaders.

“I didn’t think I was going to get there,” Bell admitted. “When the yellow came out, I don’t know how far away those guys were, but I just didn’t really have the pace. Everyone was really committed to the top, and I really wasn’t able to keep up.”

When the race resumed, Bell sliced his way to third before another caution slowed the field with five laps left. Finally within striking distance of race leader Bernal and runner-up Leary, Bell knew he had a shot to win the race, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

Bell first moved by Leary, who was driving for NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman in Tulsa, before turning his attention to Bernal. With three laps, left Bell made his move, diving to the inside of Bernal in Turn 1 to take the race lead.

The native of nearby Norman, Oklahoma led the rest of the way to punch his ticket to his 11th Chili Bowl Nationals championship feature. Leary finished second to give Bowman two cars locked into Saturday’s finale.

Christopher Bell in Victory Lane Thursday night at the Chili Bowl. (Photo: Susan Wong/NASCAR)

“When the yellow came out, I was like, ‘OK, i’m just going to have to do something different here,'” Bell explained. “I could make a couple good corners on the bottom whenever I hit it, so I just said I’m going see what happens. The curb got so treacherous that nobody could get off of (Turn) 4 really well on the top, and there was enough juice on the bottom where I could get by and make a lot of speed down the frontstretch.”

Despite finding the checkered flag every time he has been on the race track this week, Bell doesn’t think his car is good enough to win his fourth Golden Driller trophy at the Chili Bowl.

At least not yet.

“The car is insanely fast. Like it is just really, really fast. Every time I hit the track it’s got great pace. I just am struggling with being consistent enough,” Bell said. “I don’t think it’s good enough to win on Saturday. I’ve just got to make the car a little more drivable.

“It clearly has the speed. If I can get to driving it a little more consistent, we’ll be right there.”

The 40th running of the Chili Bowl Nationals presented by NOS Energy Drink continues Friday night. Action begins at 5 p.m. ET with complete coverage available live on FloRacing.

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Adam Fenwick

TULSA, Okla. — Each season when teams converge in the SageNet Center for the running of the Chili Bowl Nationals, the largest Midget car event in the world, a handful of active NASCAR drivers join the fray in pursuit of the famous Golden Driller trophy.

No fewer than eight drivers who competed in one of NASCAR’s three national divisions last year are entered to compete in this year’s Midget car racing extravaganza.

They include defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, defending NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs, among others.

However, if you look a little closer, you’ll find even more involvement from NASCAR personalities in the Chili Bowl pit area.

Five active NASCAR Cup Series drivers are entered in the Chili Bowl this year as car owners, including Larson, Bell, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch. Another familiar face in the NASCAR garage, Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Blake Harris, is the car owner for Love this year at the Chili Bowl.

Car ownership is a growing trend among NASCAR personalities at the Chili Bowl, especially for those who grew up coming to and racing during the Chili Bowl.

Bowman is a perfect example. He has been traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma each January for more than a decade to compete in the Chili Bowl, first as a driver and now as a car owner and crew chief for his own team.

That shift from driver to owner/crew chief was a gradual one for Bowman, who is fielding cars this week for drivers C.J. Leary and Briggs Danner.

“I think this is like the 11th year I’ve brought a car to the Chili Bowl, and I’ve driven five or six times out of those 11 years,” said Bowman, who made 10 Chili Bowl attempts as a driver during his career but never qualified for the Saturday championship feature.

The stress, according to Bowman, has less to do with being a car owner and more to do with being the guy who makes the final setup decisions on his race cars.

“I’m making all the setup calls on these cars,” said Bowman. “Trying to get those calls right is probably the most stressful part of the week, but it’s a lot of fun, and I really enjoy this event.”

So far this week in Tulsa, Bowman’s setup calls have been spot-on. Danner, who was in action Monday night, finished second to Larson in the preliminary feature to lock into Saturday’s championship feature. His second driver, Leary, races Thursday night.

“Briggs has been really fast both years he’s driving for me,” Bowman said. “I think he probably could have, should have, would have won last year. He made some really conservative decisions there at the end (of Monday’s feature) to take the locked in spot, which I’m all good with. That was a good night for us.

“With C.J., we’re such close friends that it is probably the more stressful one of the week for me. Thursday is inherently always the hardest night of the week. In my opinion it is the most stacked night.”

While Bowman’s time as a driver at the Chili Bowl is effectively over — he admits he doesn’t really fit in a Midget anymore — his competitive spirit remains. If he can’t win the Chili Bowl as a driver, he wants to win it as an owner.

“I want to win this event, and my best chance is to do it with not me in the seat probably,” Bowman said. “I’m definitely having fun with it.”

Christopher Bell already has a win in his own Midget this week during the Chili Bowl after he won the Race of Champions on Monday. (Photo: Susan Wong/NASCAR)

Bell, a three-time Chili Bowl champion driver, is the latest NASCAR competitor to field his own equipment in Tulsa.

After previously racing for Keith Kunz Motorsports and CB Industries inside the SageNet Center on the temporary quarter-mile dirt oval, Bell made the decision to shift gears and build his own team from the ground up for the 2026 event.

“Last year I drove for KKM, and when I left the event, it just kind of really hit me. I felt like that chapter of my career was behind me,” said Bell, who is fielding a car for himself and Australian Kaidon Brown this week. “I said, ‘I wanna try something else.’ My goal isn’t to drive for myself. Honestly, my goal was to have two drivers I enjoy being around.

“Kaidon was always part of the plan, but unfortunately the guys that were on my list (for the second car) already had commitments. So, I was then like, “Well, I guess I’ll just drive it.’”

From the moment the checkered flag waved for the NASCAR Cup Series finale last November at Phoenix Raceway, Bell has been solely focused on the Chili Bowl. It’s been a gratifying process for a driver who grew up attending the Chili Bowl long before he was a competitor.

“From the car owner side, I just enjoyed the prep process and the shop work and assembling the cars,” Bell said. “Thinking of how we’re going to setup our pit area, the handling of the food, all that stuff. I think I just enjoyed all the extracurriculars of it.

“The Chili Bowl and the Tulsa Shootout is literally the perfect event for me to spend my offseason. I don’t have to put much into it during my regular day job, then when the offseason comes, I’ve been full-time working on these things and preparing for this week.”

Bell kicked off his tenure as a car owner at the Chili Bowl in fine style Monday when he won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Race of Champions for the fourth time.

Winning inside the SageNet Center is one thing, but doing it in his own equipment meant just a bit more. The goal, of course, is for either himself or Brown to do it again Saturday night.

“I think it’s definitely going to be more special,” Bell said. “Even the Race of Champions just felt very rewarding to win with myself crew chiefing, my father-in-law helping working on the cars, my best friend working on the cars, it definitely meant more.

“Certainly if I could do it with another person driving, it would be icing on the cake.”

Posted on January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Ashly Ennis, Hendrick Motorsports’ director of racing communications, was named the recipient of the inaugural Jon Edwards Excellence in Public Relations Award, NASCAR announced Wednesday evening.

The award honors the legacy of Edwards, a longtime and highly respected public relations representative who passed away unexpectedly in April 2025. Edwards worked with four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and two-time champion Kyle Larson, both at Hendrick Motorsports, establishing a legacy of integrity, mentorship and passion for both NASCAR and his job, leaving a lasting impact on the sport’s communications community.

MORE: 2026 Cup Series schedule | Legacy of Jon Edwards

Ennis was honored with the award in a celebration in Mooresville, North Carolina, for her exceptional work during the 2025 season, during which she served as the communications representative for William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet and two-time Daytona 500 champion. In eight seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, Ennis has established a reputation as a respected leader throughout the NASCAR garage, collaborating often and impactfully with media members and fellow public relations representatives to heighten awareness of Byron, Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 24 team.

“Honestly, I’m a little bit in disbelief,” Ennis told NASCAR.com, “simply because there are so many people in this room who have contributed to my career — Jon by far the most. But there are so many people who have been in this sport longer than me, who worked with Jon before me that also contributed to my career. So it’s a little bit of disbelief, but honestly, I’m just honored.”

David Jensen | Getty Images

Members of Edwards’ family were on hand Wednesday night to deliver the trophy to Ennis. Helping present Ennis the award was Gordon, with whom Edwards worked since 1994, one year into Gordon’s illustrious career that led him into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In Gordon’s eyes, Ennis was the perfect person to receive the inaugural award named in memory of his friend Edwards.

“You’re amazing at what you do. I did not know this is happening, but I’m so proud, so happy,” Gordon said. “There’s very deserving people in this room, but I don’t know if there’s any more deserving right now at this moment than you. You’ve earned it. You deserve it, so congratulations.”

Ennis, who joined Hendrick Motorsports in November 2018, is an Ohio native who earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Georgia Southern University.

The award was created to acknowledge individuals who embody Edwards’ commitment to excellence, service and character both on and off the track, NASCAR said in a release. Ennis worked closely with Edwards at Hendrick Motorsports. His impact and approach to the job, Ennis said, still resonates today with her and countless other public relations professionals throughout the sport.

“There’s moments where I feel bad for the people who are going to be coming up through the ranks that will never know Jon on a personal level,” Ennis said. “And I hate that, because I feel like everyone should know Jon. But I just feel like it shows the level that we should strive for, and we should also go learn to make it in our own way.

“There is no textbook, cut-and-dry ‘This is how the role is.’ And I say that even with training people. You can’t sit there and be like, ‘This is how the role is done,’ because it changes, and it changes every moment, every situation. But the gold standard is Jon. And I just feel like if everyone strives to be close to that, it just makes our sport a little better.”

Posted on January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by Jerry Bonkowski

Editor’s note: Today’s Richard Childress Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2026 Cup Series season.

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING

Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: ECR Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Austin Dillon-Richard Boswell (No. 3); Kyle Busch-Jim Pohlman (No. 8)

Team outlook: RCR has collectively had a tough go of it in the last two seasons. Since 2024, only Austin Dillon made the playoffs (finished 15th in 2025), while Kyle Busch hasn’t made the playoffs since his first year with RCR in 2023. A significant change for 2026 is that Busch will have a new crew chief, Jim Pohlman — Busch’s third crew chief since the start of the 2025 season. The team also named Mike Dillon as chief operating officer, John Klausmeier as technical director and Andy Street as performance director. These leadership changes, coupled with a strong group waiting in the wings in what is now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, could point to a brighter future around the bend.

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO

Experience: 12 full-time seasons/3 part-time seasons in NASCAR Cup Series; 444 career starts
2025 stats: 15th in final Cup Series standings; 1 win, 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 0 poles, 119 laps led

Driver outlook: After finishing with one win and five top-10 finishes in both 2024 and 2025, Dillon is considered a long shot by DraftKings to win the championship in 2026. He’s managed six total wins since 2017 (all of his Cup career wins). With the new Chase championship format set for 2026, Dillon won’t have the “win-and-you’re-in” to make the playoffs this season. This time, the No. 3 team will need to show more consistency over the long haul in order to make it to The Chase.

MORE: Austin Dillon driver page

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEVROLET CAMARO

Experience: 21 full-time seasons/2 part-time seasons in NASCAR Cup Series; 750 career starts
2025 stats: 21st in final Cup Series standings; 0 wins, 3 top fives, 10 top 10s, 0 poles, 88 laps led

Driver outlook: The 2025 season was Busch’s last under RCR’s original contract with him, but the team gave him a one-year extension for 2026. Busch has not been the driver he once was: The 63-Cup race winner has not won a race since 2023, and his finishes in the last two seasons (20th in 2024 and 21st in 2025) are single-season career-worst performances for him. However, if he can recapture what he had at the beginning of his tenure at RCR when he rolled off three quick wins and without the “win-and-you’re-in” rule, it’s not out of the question that Busch could produce consistent enough results to break his postseason drought.

MORE: Kyle Busch driver page

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Staff Report

A Gathering in Remembrance will be held on Friday, Jan. 16, to honor the lives lost in the Dec. 18 plane crash in Statesville, North Carolina, including NASCAR great Greg Biffle.

The memorial, open to the public, is set for 11 a.m. ET at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Biffle, wife Cristina, daughter Emma and son Ryder, as well as Dennis Dutton, his son, Jack, and Craig Wadsworth, will be remembered. Fans unable to attend the gathering in person can watch the ceremonies via live stream on NASCAR.com, Facebook, YouTube and The NASCAR Channel to pay respects to those who were lost.

Biffle, the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and 2002 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, was named as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. The Vancouver, Washington native was a 19-time winner in NASCAR Cup Series competition, earning all 19 victories while driving the No. 16 Ford for team owner Jack Roush.

Biffle was honored as the 2024 NMPA Myers Brothers Award winner for his outstanding rescue and aid efforts in Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Posted on January 14, 2026January 14, 2026 by Staff Report

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut driving the No. 45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway, the team announced Wednesday.

Stenhouse, the 2023 Daytona 500 winner and two-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, has never made a Truck Series start despite competing in NASCAR’s national series since 2009. The Mississippi native will compete in each of the first two truck races of 2026 for Niece, driving the No. 45 J.F. Electric Chevrolet at both Daytona and EchoPark Speedway.

MORE: 2026 Truck Series schedule | The Chase returns

“I’ve always wanted to run a truck, but never had the opportunity to put something together,” Stenhouse Jr. said in a release. “When Cody (Efaw, Niece’s CEO) called me, I definitely had a lot of interest to see what all they have been building here at Niece Motorsports, especially looking at their level of competition. With it being at Daytona, obviously winning the 500 was awesome, and I’d love to win a Truck Series race there, too. I’ve always wanted to race a truck, but I wanted it to be competitive — and this checks all of those boxes.”

Stenhouse has won four Cup Series races and eight O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races across a combined 582 starts. All four of his Cup victories have come on superspeedways — two at Daytona and two at Talladega Superspeedway.

“We are all very excited to welcome Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to our team for his first time racing in the Truck Series,” Efaw said. “I’ve known Ricky for several years now dating back to our time at Roush (now RFK Racing), and he’s always been a natural on superspeedways. I believe he will have a true shot at contending for the win at both Daytona and Atlanta.”

J.F. Electric CEO and chairman Greg Fowler became part of Niece Motorsports’ new ownership group in 2025 along with Josh Morris, CEO of DQS Solutions & Staffing.

“Josh Morris and I are thrilled to welcome Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to Niece Motorsports for his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Daytona,” Fowler said. “There’s no bigger stage for a debut than Daytona, and we believe Ricky gives our team a real opportunity to contend for the win. We’d love nothing more than to be celebrating together in Victory Lane at the end of the race.”

The Fresh from Florida 250 begins the 2026 truck season at Daytona on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.