Alex Bowman has been medically cleared to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday morning.
Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, missed the past four races with vertigo, stepping out of his car during the March 1 race at Circuit of The Americas when symptoms arose.
Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will mark Bowman’s first race since symptoms began.
“I’m grateful for the support I’ve had from Hendrick Motorsports, my sponsor Ally, our fans and the medical team throughout this process,” Bowman said in a team release. “It’s been tough being out of the car, but we all wanted to make sure I was 100% ready before returning. I feel really good, and I’m excited about being at the track with my team and getting back to racing.”
In a release, Hendrick Motorsports said Bowman turned laps Tuesday in a street car at the Ten Tenths Motor Club road course in Concord, North Carolina, then participated in a Wednesday pit practice in addition to simulator testing. Bowman then underwent a medical evaluation before being formally cleared for competition without restrictions.
“We’re proud of Alex and the way he’s handled this situation,” Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, said in a release. “He’s put a lot of work into his recovery and followed the medical team’s plan every step of the way. From the outset, our goal was to prioritize his health and have him return when he was fully recovered and medically cleared. We’re looking forward to seeing Alex back in his race car this weekend.”
Myatt Snider stepped into the No. 48 Chevrolet to complete the race at COTA when Bowman exited the vehicle at Lap 71. Anthony Alfredo, a simulation driver for Hendrick Motorsports, drove the No. 48 car in Bowman’s absence at Phoenix Raceway while Justin Allgaier, the 2024 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, substituted at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.
Bowman, an eight-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, is in his ninth season with the Rick Hendrick-owned team. He returns to action sitting 36th in the Cup standings with a best finish of 23rd (EchoPark Speedway) in three starts this year.
Ever since he won his first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Feb. 20, 2021 at the Daytona Road Course — as an 18-year-old making his first career start at any level of NASCAR national series — Ty Gibbs has been on everyone’s radar as a future winner at the Cup level.
At the time (before Connor Zilisch came along), Gibbs was the third-youngest O’Reilly Series winner in history, trailing only future champions Joey Logano and Chase Elliott. And nobody had ever won with zero national-series experience before. Gibbs went on to win three more races in a part-time schedule that season, then added seven more checkered flags en route to a dramatic 2022 O’Reilly championship win over Noah Gragson, clinched just weeks after his 20th birthday.
All of which is to say that Ty Gibbs knows how to win races against tough competition. So it has long seemed to be a matter of when the No. 54 JGR Toyota would drive to Victory Lane in the Cup Series, not if. But what seemed like a foregone conclusion has proven to take longer than we might have expected: Gibbs is now 130 starts into his Cup career, and the best showings he has put together have been a pair of runner-up finishes in 2024 at Darlington and in 2025 in the Chicago Street Race.
Should this worry Gibbs? The eventual list of winningest modern-era drivers who took at least 130 races to claim their first win is surprisingly sparse: Among that group, only the great Ricky Rudd — who took 161 career races before reaching Victory Lane — even won more than 10 times in his career. Go a bit longer than that, and it was considered remarkable that guys like Sterling Marlin (no wins until his 279th start) or especially Michael Waltrip (0-for-462 before winning in 2001 at Daytona on that fateful day) managed to even win the handful of races that they did after coming up short so many times at first.
Gibbs isn’t quite at that point yet. He’s still only 23 years old; Rudd, Kyle Petty and Alex Bowman all won their first races at age 26 and Austin Dillon was 27 when he broke through, to say nothing of Marlin (37) and Waltrip (38). Sometimes, getting an early head start on your career can help you earn experience without burning too many of your prime-aged years.
And the other encouraging factor for that long-awaited Gibbs win? He’s been driving extremely well so far this season, even if he doesn’t have the trophy to prove it — though that may be coming next, very soon.
With an average Driver Rating of 88.6 through seven races, Gibbs is tracking for both his best career single-season mark — surpassing his 81.4 average from 2024 — and his best ranking among Cup regulars. (At No. 8 in the series, he currently sits above Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain.) Moreover, Gibbs has improved almost across the board so far this year. Here’s a comparison of his ratings in each race of the 2026 season versus his previous career averages at the same tracks: Aside from a tough day at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, which saw him get caught up in traffic with Josh Berry and crash out of the race — finishing 37th with a 38.4 rating — Gibbs has beaten his previous career norms at every other track on this year’s schedule. That’s been especially true over the past five races, when he’s posted a Driver Rating of 89.2 or higher every race, including three in triple-digits (a threshold he broke only six times all of last year in more than five times as many races).
One final stat on Gibbs’ 2026 form to really underscore his improvement: After producing a cumulative head-to-head record of 119-220 (.351 winning percentage) against his JGR teammates over his first four seasons in Cup, Gibbs has gone 13-8 (.619) against teammates this season. Only four other drivers — AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott and Shane van Gisbergen — have shown more improvement in record relative to teammates in 2026 versus 2025.
But while steady improvement is great — and a No. 6 ranking in the standings has Gibbs in excellent early position to make The Chase — we still have to ask: When will that maiden win finally happen?
Well, it could happen this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Among active drivers, Gibbs is tied with Elliott for fourth-best with a 12.8 career average finish; after a 35th-place run in his Cup Series Bristol debut in 2022, he recorded a top 10 in four of his next five starts here (and counting), finishing no worse than 15th in that span. Also, in the Next Gen Car era (since 2022), only Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin have a better average Driver Rating at Bristol than Gibbs’ 98.3 mark: Beyond that, Gibbs also had a top-10 average Driver Rating (91.5) in the Next Gen era at Dover, back when it was a points-paying race track — which is relevant because Dover is the only other track that’s even vaguely comparable to Bristol on the schedule. Gibbs simply has a knack when it comes to these steep concrete tracks, and they probably offer him his best chance to claim that first career victory. That may particularly be the case when we consider that this is all pre-2026 data, predating his overall improvement as a driver so far this season.
In other words, all the ingredients seem to be finally lining up for Gibbs, and when that’s the case, the breakthrough usually isn’t far behind. For years, his first Cup win has felt like just a matter of time. Now — with the way he’s been driving, and with Bristol coming up — that time might finally be here.
In his second season with the team’s NASCAR Cup Series program, Smith has a pair of top 10s and has vaulted as high as fourth in the standings after leading 10 laps in the season-opening Daytona 500. Crashes have hindered the No. 38 Ford’s finishing position at times, including the last race at Martinsville, where a potential top 15 turned into 34th after suffering damage in the giant Lap 324 melee. He enters Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 22nd in the series ranks.
Overall, Smith believes FRM has become more of a premier Ford organization while still outpunching its weight class, with far fewer resources and manpower than some of the other top Cup squads.
“We’re like a Ford A-team. That’s been a big step in the right direction,” Smith said in a media availability on Wednesday. “I still feel like we aren’t quite there, nearly comparing to like the top teams, but those top teams didn’t get there overnight.
“But from comparing last year to this year, I really like where we’re at. I feel like we’ve taken that next step and are a lot stronger in a lot of areas. Our whole weekend seems to be going smoother and just better from a performance standpoint, and I feel like that next step for us is just trying to find ourselves in the top 10 every week. That’s a big step.”
Smith rejoined FRM in 2025 after spending his rookie Cup Series season with Spire Motorsports, briefly driving for the organization as a Trackhouse Racing development driver. The 26-year-old from Huntington Beach, California, previously drove two seasons in Front Row’s Truck Series operation, culminating with a title in 2022.
So while his familiarity with the Bob Jenkins-owned team is certainly crucial, his career adversity is, too. Smith lost his Truck Series ride with GMS Racing after 2021, despite finishing second in points. Combined with his short time at Trackhouse and Spire, he explained that he’s learned to enjoy the small wins and be willing to alter his expectations.
And in an era of stage racing and constantly swimming upstream as an underdog, that perspective means everything.
“You got to take your little wins, which are big wins when you can, and it’s really hard to change your mindset with that,” Smith said. “[I] came up winning in the lower ranks, and it becomes the normal. And you know, you go into a weekend – even if it’s not a great track for you — you still might win a stage and get a lot of stage points, and have a shot to win the race, and then you get on the plane and you’re happy at the weekend, but you’re not excited or just amped.
“What feels really good at this level, but at the same time really frustrating, is when you do damn near everything right in a weekend and you run 12th. You got to dive deep and dig deep to see where you can improve on and move the needle, but that’s just Cup racing.
“I feel like nowadays, if you could get some good stage points or have a shot at a stage win or at the end of these things, it’s crazy how they play out. You could be completely out of it for 90% of the race, and then strategy and weird, timely cautions fall, you find yourself in the first couple rows and you have a shot to win the Cup race. I feel like that’s what really just fuels you up for the next one, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be in that position a few times.”
And one of those times came when the Cup Series last visited Bristol. In a race filled with attrition, tire management, and pure chaos, Smith took what he called “at best, a mid-pack car” and took it all the way to the front. He fired off second on a restart with four laps to go, but Christopher Bell ultimately powered past him and Carson Hocevar, relegating the Ford driver to third in the final running order.
Like most drivers, Smith isn’t sure if the same type of Bristol race is in store this Sunday. But with expected temperatures close to 80 degrees and another new tire from Goodyear on the way, anything is possible — and he’s ready for it.
“I’m good with whatever,” he said of the changes. “I’m a big believer of if you put yourself in contention enough, one will go your way. Once you get that first one out of the way, they sure do come easier.”
The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race at the iconic Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Below are the qualifying orders for all three series.
Life has a habit of getting in the way of racing. Just ask Doug Coby.
The six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion hasn’t run the full series schedule since 2020. He missed one race in 2021 and has stuck to a part-time schedule since while he focused on other business ventures. He competed in just one race last season, the fewest Coby has contested since he made his series debut in 2002.
Fans can expect to see Coby a lot more this year thanks to a new partnership with Jett Motorsports, which will see the driver from Milford, Connecticut compete in nine events beginning with Sunday’s Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (4:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing).
Coby credits Cam McDermott, crew chief for Kyle Bonsignore, for making the connection that led to Coby’s opportunity with Jett Motorsports.
“Last fall, Cam McDermott introduced me to Jariah Roderick and Steve Rollins, who had a Tri-Track team that they were working with Woody Pitkat on,” Coby explained. “Through the course of me racing the Fall Final for them at Stafford last year, they kind of made it known that they wanted to put a Whelen Modified Tour car together for a few races the following season. They expressed some interest in working with me on that.
“At the time, we had just met each other, and we didn’t know how things were going to unfold. When the schedule came out for the Tour this year, they decided they wanted to do a few more than the original number that they had picked.”
Doug Coby has made nearly 300 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts since 2002, earning 35 wins along the way. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
According to Coby, the original plan was to enter somewhere between one and four races this year. However, after Roderick and Rollins saw the 2026 schedule, they decided to expand the team’s slate to include nine events at tracks like Thompson, Stafford Speedway, Seekonk Speedway, White Mountain Motorsports Park, Monadnock Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I told them, ‘You can build the team you want to build and go whatever direction you want to go. I’m available,’” Coby explained. “They decided to go with the nine races and kind of build the team from there.”
The team may be new to Coby, but many of the faces working on the car will be familiar. The crew is made up of people he’s previously worked with, including crew chief John McKenna.
That kind of familiarity means Coby will have an instant bond with many of the crew, which can only help get the team up to speed quicker.
“I was excited to see it coming together with a lot of people involved who are very familiar to me,” Coby said. “My crew chief, John McKenna, from the No. 52 and my No. 10 team and then basically all my crew guys from Mike Smeriglio Racing, most of whom were available, and my No. 10 team.
“It’s not like it’s a whole new team. It’s really a lot of familiar people. A lot of us are pushing on 15 years working together.”
While the Jett Motorsports team has fielded Modifieds before, the car Coby will be driving Sunday is a new LFR chassis that was built specifically for the Whelen Modified Tour.
The team will have sponsorship from Nucar, a Northeastern-based car dealership. Perhaps more importantly to Coby, the car will carry the No. 28, which is a tribute to his friend and mentor Don King.
Doug Coby (28) during the 2003 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. Coby drove the No. 28 for team owner Don King early in his career. (Photo: NASCAR Archives)
“Don wasn’t just my first car owner; he was one of my best friends,” Coby said. “The King family and I go well into aunts, uncles, cousins of all of us having a strong relationship. It’s definitely a family thing.”
Coby made his Modified Tour debut in 2002 driving the No. 28 entry owned by King. He went on to make 36 starts driving King’s car, and the pair remained close until King’s passing in 2021.
“The team knew we needed a car number, and we tried to get the No. 2, which the owner was pretty supportive of even though that was Smeriglio’s number,” Coby said. “The Bertuccio’s have that number, and they were keeping it. So, really, we just threw around some options, and even though the No. 10 was available we kind of had some options that were thrown out there.
“One of the car owners, Steve, of all the options said he really liked No. 28 the best. Secretly, even though it wasn’t many of the crews first choice, it was really my first choice all along.”
He may be racing for a new team, but the goal is still the same for Coby. He wants to win races – his next win would break a tie with Tony Hirschman for fifth on the all-time win list – and he believes the team Roderick and Rollins has assembled can be competitive right away.
“I think the goal is to win nine races,” Coby said. “I think we have some expectation to be competitive. That’s definitely why everybody got on board to do it. If we don’t win nine races, which might be unrealistic, we’re certainly going to go try and contend for wins.
“Obviously there have been lots of changes with format with the tire and the pit stop format change since our guys have been together. There are lots of things for us to adapt to.”
Before hopping into the No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota at Martinsville Speedway, Harrison Burton stated that the beginning of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has been the roughest start to any season he’s endured.
The results back up that statement.
Through the opening two months of the 2026 campaign, Burton has a pair of DNFs with a 24.3 average finish, earning a best effort of 13th last weekend at Rockingham Speedway. He sits 22nd in the regular-season champion standings. The laundry list of misfortune is piling up.
“I know this might sound strange, but I think I speak for everyone at SHR when I say I have more confidence in Harrison being successful here now than I even did back in January,” team owner Sam Hunt told NASCAR.com earlier this week. “As much as we all prefer to be free of adversity, it’s not the reality of our sport and never will be.
“Seeing the leader Harrison has been to his team through countless adverse scenarios, many of which were out of his hands, has solidified who I thought he was when I signed him. He’s the first to pick his guys up, first to say he needs to be better, and first to jump in the fire with them. The entire organization is pulling the rope hard to be better each week, and as one of the few independent teams left in our garage, we know the legwork going in now will show dividends before too long.”
Burton reunited with Toyota after a four-year stop with Ford. From the age of 13 until he jumped to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022 with Wood Brothers Racing, he was under the Toyota umbrella, rising through the ranks with Kyle Busch Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I feel like I grew up in that pipeline,” Burton said. “They have always supported me with the utmost respect and the most opportunities I could ever ask for. To be back with that group is big.”
Watching from a distance, Burton was impressed by what Hunt was building within the Toyota camp. He appreciates the sacrifice and dedication that the 32-year-old has made, including how he started the two-car organization from scratch while living in a van outside of Robert Yates Racing’s old engine shop.
“I know the people that are here, I know the race cars, and I know the goal of the race team,” Burton said. “The goal of the race team is to go win races. It’s not to make a profit here, and let’s make our ownership rich and cut corners. It’s about going to win races and being aggressive.”
Getting an established, full-time driver was important for Hunt. In prior years, it’s been a stomping ground for young drivers to develop, including Dean Thompson. The No. 26 car’s wheelman is one spot ahead of Burton in the driver standings. Having someone with top-level NASCAR experience is rare for a younger O’Reilly team.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
“Having Harrison’s knowledge is going to be helpful for someone like Dean, someone Dean can lean on in the good and bad times,” Hunt said. “There is no ego. He is the perfect teammate for a lot of people. It means a lot to me that Harrison wants to be at SHR. He has made it clear that this is home and he wants to be a part of making it better, and like them all, they want that first win [for our team].”
Returning to a second full-time entry for the first time since 2023 made sense for SHR. The organization ran multiple cars 18 times last season and had enough employees to be efficient.
“You see these four- or five-car teams do so well because there is so much data that each team is gathering and sharing between each other,” Hunt said. “As a one-car team, you are on an island. I think that’s how we get better, is trying a little bit more throughout the season and using each team as a resource.”
Burton is a proven winner at the O’Reilly level, scoring a quartet of checkered flags in 2020 while driving for JGR. He knows a thing or two about significant victories; he won at Daytona International Speedway in the summer of 2024 for Wood Brothers Racing’s 100th race win.
Chasing SHR’s first victory is reminiscent of Burton’s quest for No. 100 in the No. 21 car. Seven different drivers have delivered a top-five finish for Hunt, totaling 13 across 246 starts.
“They have been close, and the cars have shown the potential to do so, and the people are capable,” Burton said. “It’s just about executing and getting it done. I think myself and Dean both want to be the guy that does it, but whoever does it, it’s going to be a big deal.”
The goal for Burton, however, is to return to the Cup Series on a full-time basis. He excelled in 2025, delivering AM Racing a postseason appearance. And while he’s currently 98 points below The Chase cutline, there are still two-thirds of the regular season remaining, with Bristol Motor Speedway next on tap (Sat., 7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m going to give this race team every single thing I have every single weekend, and I think it will make me a better driver,” Burton said. “The end goal might be wanting to get back to Cup and win races, but so does everyone else. So what do you do that differentiates yourself? For me, what that would be is to kick ass in this car and work well with my teammates and go try to win some races.”
With the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season five races old, we’ve seen a bit of everything. A pair of title contenders in Chandler Smith (Daytona) and Layne Riggs (St. Petersburg) have left their mark in victorious fashion. Kyle Busch continues stacking wins. And 2025 Truck Series champion Corey Heim has back-to-back victories and leads the driver standings … despite being a part-timer who isn’t eligible for The Chase.
These storylines have left the full-time Truck field in a bit of a jumble relative to our preseason rankings. So, how does everything currently shake following the most recent on-track action at Rockingham Speedway? NASCAR.com’s John Crane ranks the top 10 drivers with more than a quarter of the regular season complete.
Analysis: It was a bumpy ride to begin 2026 for the 23-year-old Riggs, finishing 31st and 27th at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway, respectively. But for a driver unanimously viewed as a title contender, his fortunes were bound to turn around, and that they have with three consecutive finishes of 12th or better, highlighted by a 70-point win at St. Petersburg. Riggs maintains the top spot in this ranking installment, but others are hot on his heels.
Analysis: The current points leader among full-timers is the 22-year-old Honeycutt, who ironically shares the points lead with part-timer Heim, the previous driver of the No. 11. While Honeycutt has yet to put his Toyota in Victory Lane, it could come soon; Honeycutt has finished eighth or better in four of five races this season and has led laps in three of those four. Lump it together with two 30-plus and two 50-plus points payouts, and Honeycutt is in good shape early on.
Analysis: Let’s start with the good news. Smith won the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, storming through the pack during the second lap of NASCAR Overtime thanks to a strong push from Ty Majeski. Now for the bad: After initially finishing fourth at Rockingham, the No. 38 Ford failed post-race inspection, resulting in a disqualification and just one point earned. Every point matters in The Chase, so this isn’t ideal, but even still, the 23-year-old still has what it takes to recoup lost points.
Analysis: After starting on the pole for six races in 2024, it was goose eggs for Majeski last year. Enter 2026, and Majeski has already broken the ice on that front, claiming the pole at Daytona (and finishing fourth). The 2024 Truck Series champion is still aiming to capture his first checkered flag since that season at Phoenix Raceway. There have been signs of a potential breakthrough, including a St. Petersburg runner-up. Two finishes of 28th or worse are a damper, though, so more consistency will be needed.
Analysis: After a solid 2025 rookie season, the 19-year-old Massachusetts native is off to a good sophomore start with two top fives and three top 10s. Ruggiero has certainly started race weekends strongly, beginning all five contests inside the top 10; his 7.0 average start leads full-timers. That said, Ruggiero has yet to lead a lap, which will be needed if he wishes to find Victory Lane for the first time since Talladega Superspeedway last fall.
Analysis: Speaking of leading laps, Rhodes has certainly done that, with 93 circuits to his name after leading 74 over the two prior years combined. The 2021 and 2023 Truck Series champion currently possesses a 14.6 average finish, which will need improvement, but a Darlington DNF — with just two laps completed — certainly skews the data. What’s next for Rhodes? Rekindle early-season success; after finishing the first three races 12th or better, the 29-year-old has finished 18th or worse in the last two contests.
Analysis: Similarly to Rhodes, a DNF for Eckes (EchoPark) throws the metrics for a bit of a loop. Eckes has finished inside the top 15 in every other race, a decent start to his full-time Truck Series racing return. Eight laps led is a far cry from his 1,401 circuits from 2023-24, however, and if Eckes wishes to find Victory Lane once again (after doing so eight times in his last two full seasons), he will need to find more field-leading speed.
Analysis: It’s great to see Friesen behind the wheel once again after a July 2025 crash during a Super DIRTcar Series event sidelined him for the remainder of last season. And the 42-year-old Canadian is making the most of it, with two top 10s and a stage win to his 2026 ledger. A P4 result at “The Rock” has momentum on Friesen’s side, and with a touch more of where that came from, the No. 52 Toyota could turn heads.
Analysis: Haley’s P10 position in the standings leads Kaulig Racing’s five-truck Ram contingent. A former NASCAR Cup Series mainstay, the 26-year-old Haley is a veteran leader for the team — and manufacturer — to build behind, and with finishes of 15th or better in the last four races, there is a rallying point as the organization wheels into the bulk of the schedule. Patience will be needed for the team and manufacturer, but Haley could very well bump up in these rankings once again in due time.
Analysis: If there is one thing Garcia has a knack for spanning back to 2025, it’s collecting pole positions. After capturing three pole awards last season, the 21-year-old Garcia already has two to his credit in 2026 … in only five races. It’s certainly a good predictor of success; Garcia finished inside the top 10 in both races in which he claimed the pole this season (EchoPark, Rockingham). There are building blocks to work with here.
NASCAR will shorten the lengths of its final two stages in the April 26 race at Talladega Superspeedway to address fuel-saving concerns on superspeedways.
Next January will also bring the return of a “Preseason Thunder” test session at Daytona International Speedway, assessing potential technical changes to the cars that could lessen the impact of conservation strategies at superspeedways.
The sanctioning body also revealed that YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland has yet to be approved for Talladega. (More on that below.)
But back to the superspeedways, where the concept of drivers running at less than full throttle at the longest tracks on the circuit has drawn negative reactions.
“Listen, we talk to our fans every week,” John Probst, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said on the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “So we hear what they’re saying. There’s certainly a lot of feedback from the fans that don’t always like to see some of the three-wide fuel saving that happens mostly at Talladega and Daytona.
“And I think that coming out of Daytona, we have been working hand-in-hand with a lot of our race teams, trying to largely break into two categories of things that we could do. One being the sporting-related things, like rules around pit stops or stage lengths or things of that nature. The other being in a technical bucket, which would mean car changes, spoiler, power levels and things of that nature.”
Though the precise lengths have yet to be announced, Probst said the final two stages at Talladega will be short enough to complete without a fuel stop.
“Generally, how a lot of our speedways were laid out, it was a short stage, a short stage and then a long stage to the end,” Probst said. “Going into Talladega, we’re going to flip that.”
Last year, Talladega’s segments broke down as 60 laps for the first stage, 60 for the second and 68 for the last.
This year, the first stage likely will be closer to 100 laps, with the last two stages under 50 laps apiece, when the Cup Series returns to the 2.66-mile oval in two weeks.
“It could be interesting in that first stage, if there’s some teams that try to do it on one stop versus some that try to do it on two,” Probst said. “We think that if there are some that do it on two, they may drag the group that would try to do it on one stop. So it’s got some potential for some pretty interesting strategies.”
The dates have yet to be set for the Daytona preseason test, but Probst said it would occur before the Rolex 24, which is slated for Jan. 30-31, 2027 (and will be preceded by an IMSA test at the track on Jan. 22-24).
NASCAR plans to test “some different power levels and spoilers and maybe some other car-type things,” Probst said, adding about fuel strategy that “it’s important to point out that this is a tool now that the teams know. And this is not something that I think is ever going to go away because these guys will look for every possible advantage that they can get. And that’s reasonable on their end. So I think that what we can do is just take steps to mitigate that.”
Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media
Other topics addressed by Probst during the podcast:
“We’re all huge Cleetus fans,” Probst said. “We all watch his videos and are certainly very appreciative of everything he’s done in our sport and will continue to do in our sport.
“He is approved right now for O’Reilly Series short tracks, which means he’s good for all of ARCA, all of Truck and then O’Reilly up through the short tracks. We’d like to see more out of Cleetus in the short tracks. So we’re not saying no, but there is more that we would like to see out of Cleetus before we would approve him for Talladega.”
— NASCAR has finalized the track layout for its inaugural race weekend at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California, on June 19-21. Probst said paving will be required in some sections of the track that are used for loading aircraft carriers.
“The drivers will have to deal with some unique features that a course like that will throw at us, but it’s an honor for us to go out there and race in June,” he said. “There are parts of that base that we’ll be racing on tarmac, runway, streets that are concrete and asphalt. So that track will probably have more different aspects to it than any track we’ve ever raced on. There’ll be some curveballs that we have to hit. Once we get everybody at the track and we get kind of into the grind of our normal race weekend, the one thing that our industry has shown is that once we’re on site, we can adapt as well as anyone and put on a really good show.”
— With a Goodyear tire test slated April 21 for Chicagoland Speedway, Probst said there isn’t any major repaving needed for the 1.5-mile speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
“The track surface actually weathered pretty well,” Probst said of Chicagoland, which was mostly dormant since the most recent Cup race in July 2019. “There’ll be some track bond to patch up some minor issues and obviously some painting and cleaning up the garage and some retrofitting of the suites. But we’re pretty pleased how the track weathered over time; this current package has had some pretty good racing at Kansas. Chicago is a bit of a sister track to Kansas, so we’re pretty pumped up. We think that’ll be a really good show.”
Other topics covered by Forde and senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis during the 48th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— Why rain tires were unavailable for use at Rockingham;
— A new rule that resulted in more than a dozen Craftsman Truck Series teams missing 10 minutes of practice at Rockingham Speedway because of inspection failures.
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.
SAN DIEGO (April 7, 2026) — Today, NASCAR announced Arby’s will serve as a Supporting Partner of the NASCAR San Diego weekend, presented by Anduril. Together they create an unforgettable experience for race fans, June 19-21, as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy.
From the thunder of NASCAR to the unmistakable deliciousness of Arby’s classics, fans can expect a race weekend fueled by speed and stacked with flavor as NASCAR embarks on its maiden voyage at Naval Base Coronado.
“As we quickly approach race weekend, it’s important to align with brands that are bold and memorable,” said Amy Lupo, president of NASCAR San Diego Race Weekend. “Arby’s brings energy, creativity and a loyal fan base that perfectly complements the excitement of NASCAR. We’re thrilled to welcome them to this historic event.”
Arby’s, the beloved fast-food chain renowned for its delicious sandwiches and signature sauces, offers a variety of high-quality meats and innovative, crave-able sides, such as Curly Fries and Jamocha shakes. Arby’s restaurant services feature a unique blend of quick-serve speed combined with the quality and made-for-you care of fast casual.
Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., is the franchisor of the Arby’s Brand and is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1964, Arby’s is a leading sandwich drive-thru restaurant brand with more than 3,500 restaurants globally.
Most importantly, Arby’s is no stranger to NASCAR fans. The brand is also a partner of JR Motorsports and can be seen on the cars of NASCAR O’Reilly Parts Series stalwarts Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil and Sammy Smith throughout the season. Arby’s also served as a Founding Partner of the 2025 Chicago Street Race, bringing its signature blend of fun and flavor to one of NASCAR’s most memorable events. NASCAR fans will receive a solid serving of both during NASCAR San Diego Weekend, as Arby’s branding and activation will be prominent on Naval Base Coronado.
Arby’s joins Pala Casino Golf Resort & Spa and Camping World as supporting partners of NASCAR San Diego Weekend, presented by Anduril. More supporting partners will be announced in the weeks ahead.
Racing action at Naval Base Coronado begins with Navy Community Day on Friday, June 19. Friday access will be open exclusively to members of the U.S. Navy at Naval Base Coronado and a limited number of Coronado residents, culminating with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.
Ticket holders from the general public will be welcome aboard June 20-21. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will take center stage on Saturday, June 20, and the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will compete in the Anduril 250 Race the Base on Sunday, June 21.
About Arby’s. Arby’s, founded in 1964, is a leading destination for high-quality meat-crafted sandwiches, with more than 3,500 restaurants in six global markets. Arby’s is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. For more information, visit Arbys.com and InspireBrands.com.
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