Posted on by Dustin Albino

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — With the Brickyard 400 entering its final quarter and Denny Hamlin in command, the 64-time NASCAR Cup Series victor began to think about the reality of possibly checking off one of his bucket-list items.

“We were fortunate to get that lead on that jump [of the penultimate restart], so you start thinking about [whether] it’s possible,” Hamlin said.

But the final caution flew on Lap 120 when John Hunter Nemechek tangled with Ryan Blaney entering Turn 3. Hamlin’s comfortable lead vanished, leaving him alongside his 23XI Racing driver Corey Heim for the ensuing restart.

That’s when everything unraveled — not only for Hamlin, but for Joe Gibbs Racing.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Before getting inside the restart zone on a Lap 126 reboot, three JGR drivers — Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in order — started playing bumper tag on the inside line. Hamlin was vulnerable as the leader, not wanting to get called for a restart violation. When he accelerated, Joey Logano, the second car on the outside line, gave Heim a push to clear Hamlin for the lead, blocking Hamlin to the apron off Turn 2.

Hamlin lost momentum down the backstretch as the No. 11 Toyota plummeted to fifth within a single lap; he remained there for the final 34 circuits. Meanwhile, Heim scored his second signature victory of the summer, also winning last month at Naval Base Coronado.

“It’s on the JGR guys that didn’t execute the restart very well,” Hamlin said of the organization’s collective loss. “I had [Bell] pushing me like 500 yards before the restart zone, and I can’t go until we get to the restart zone. He said he was getting shoved by [Briscoe] way, way, way back there.

“I don’t know, just definitely didn’t time it very well. Into (Turn) 2, I’m in the [marbles], and we’re not going to make a good corner. Everyone is fighting to try to win.”

WATCH: Bell on runner-up | Briscoe talks top-four finish | Hamlin chats about P5

Bell stalked Heim in the closing laps but never found a way around him, crossing the start/finish line second for the sixth time in 22 races this season.

Ironically, Bell’s plan on the final restart wasn’t to challenge for the lead. It was to push Hamlin there.

“It obviously didn’t work out for Denny. Briscoe got onto me way early, and I was into Denny and Denny can’t go before the line,” Bell said. “It was very poorly timed between the three of us. It worked out for me, it didn’t work out for him, but we certainly could have executed that better.”

Briscoe took the checkered flag in fourth position, though he thought he was in position to capitalize on the poorly-executed restart. Down the backstretch on the launch, Logano side-drafted him, dropping the No. 19 Toyota back to defend Hamlin for the remainder of the race.

Briscoe’s mindset for the re-rack was to shove Bell into Hamlin so the three of them could have the best shot at delivering the crown-jewel victory for JGR. Instead, it got discombobulated; the organization hasn’t won at Indianapolis since 2016 when Kyle Busch won his second consecutive Brickyard 400.

“I was shoving the 20, just trying to get him and the 11; if we all stay connected, that would have been the best chance,” Briscoe told NASCAR.com after the race. “I don’t know if that hurt us or not; I haven’t watched it back.

“It’s all about the restart and execution, and I thought we did a good job of that [throughout the race]; we just needed a little bit more.”

It wasn’t the first time Joe Gibbs Racing let a crown-jewel opportunity slip away because of late-race coordination in 2026. Toyota dominated the Coca-Cola 600 in May, but Hamlin and Bell battled each other at the front of the field, allowing Daniel Suárez to clear before inclement weather ended the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway 27 laps before the scheduled distance. Bell settled for second in that one, too.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule

“We talked about what we can do better in pushing situations,” Hamlin said. “At Charlotte, we didn’t do great. I thought we’ve had a few that were certainly good, like the one before when we got the lead; [Bell] did a really good job of getting us to the lead.

“These things are about timing, and we just didn’t time it right.”

Another opportunity slipped away at Indianapolis for Hamlin. He now owns seven top-five finishes in 18 Brickyard 400 starts but is still searching for his first chance to kiss the bricks.

Posted on by Staff Report

The all-time list of NASCAR Cup Series winners starts with Richard Petty (200 wins) and includes more than 60 drivers who won just a single time at NASCAR’s top level.

Below is the list of all-time winners, in order, in the Cup Series.

Last update: After Race 22 of the 2026 season (Indianapolis Motor Speedway).

Active drivers in ALL CAPS

RankDriverWins
1.Richard Petty200
2.David Pearson105
3.Jeff Gordon93
4.Bobby Allison85
5.Darrell Waltrip84
T-6.Jimmie Johnson83
T-6.Cale Yarborough83
8.Dale Earnhardt76
9.DENNY HAMLIN64
10.Kyle Busch63
11.Kevin Harvick60
12.Rusty Wallace55
13.Lee Petty54
T-14.Ned Jarrett50
T-14.Junior Johnson50
16.Tony Stewart49
17.Herb Thomas48
18.Buck Baker46
19.Bill Elliott44
20.Mark Martin40
T-21.Tim Flock39
T-21.Matt Kenseth39
23.JOEY LOGANO38
24.Bobby Isaac37
25.BRAD KESELOWSKI36
T-26.Kurt Busch34
T-26.Martin Truex Jr.34
28.Fireball Roberts33
T-29.KYLE LARSON32
T-29.Dale Jarrett32
T-31.Carl Edwards28
T-31.Rex White28
T-33.Dale Earnhardt Jr.26
T-33.Fred Lorenzen26
T-35.Jim Paschal25
T-35.Joe Weatherly25
T-37.CHASE ELLIOTT23
T-37.Ricky Rudd23
39.Terry Labonte22
T-40.Jeff Burton21
T-40.Bobby Labonte21
T-40.Benny Parsons21
T-40.Jack Smith21
44.Speedy Thompson20
T-45.RYAN BLANEY19
T-45.Davey Allison19
T-45.Buddy Baker19
T-45.Greg Biffle19
T-45.Fonty Flock19
T-50.Geoff Bodine18
T-50.Neil Bonnett18
T-50.Harry Gant18
T-50.Kasey Kahne18
T-50.Ryan Newman18
T-55.Marvin Panch17
T-55.Curtis Turner17
57.WILLIAM BYRON16
58.Ernie Irvan15
T-59.Dick Hutcherson14
T-59.LeeRoy Yarbrough14
T-61CHRISTOPHER BELL13
T-61.Dick Rathmann13
T-61.Tim Richmond13
T-61.TYLER REDDICK13
T-65.Donnie Allison10
T-65.Clint Bowyer10
T-65.Sterling Marlin10
T-68.Paul Goldsmith9
T-68.Cotton Owens9
T-68.Bob Welborn9
T-71.SHANE VAN GISBERGEN8
T-71.ALEX BOWMAN8
T-71.Kyle Petty8
T-74.Darel Dieringer7
T-74.AJ Foyt7
T-74.Jamie McMurray7
T-74.Jim Reed7
T-74.Marshall Teague7
T-79.AUSTIN DILLON6
T-79.CHASE BRISCOE6
T-79.CHRIS BUESCHER6
T-79.ROSS CHASTAIN6
T-83.Ward Burton5
T-83.Dan Gurney5
T-83.Alan Kulwicki5
T-83.Tiny Lund5
T-83.Dave Marcis5
T-83.Jeremy Mayfield5
T-83.Ralph Moody5
T-89.Lloyd Dane4
T-89.Bob Flock4
T-89.Charlie Glotzbach4
T-89.Eddie Gray4
T-89.Bobby Hamilton4
T-89.Pete Hamilton4
T-89.Parnelli Jones4
T-89.Hershel McGriff4
T-89.Joe Nemechek4
T-89.Eddie Pagan4
T-89.Ken Schrader4
T-89.Morgan Shepherd4
T-89.Nelson Stacy4
T-89.RICKY STENHOUSE JR.4
T-89.Billy Wade4
T-89.Michael Waltrip4
T-89.Glen Wood4
T-107.AJ ALLMENDINGER3
T-107.Aric Almirola3
T-107.AUSTIN CINDRIC3
T-107.Bill Blair3
T-107.Robby Gordon3
T-107.ERIK JONES3
T-107.Dick Linder3
T-107.Frank Mundy3
T-107.Elliott Sadler3
T-107.Gwyn Staley3
T-107.DANIEL SUÁREZ3
T-107.Brian Vickers3
T-107.BUBBA WALLACE3
T-120.MICHAEL MCDOWELL2
T-120.Marcos Ambrose2
T-120.John Andretti2
T-120.Johnny Beauchamp2
T-120.Red Byron2
T-120.Derrike Cope2
T-120.Ricky Craven2
T-120.Ray Elder2
T-120COREY HEIM2
T-120.James Hylton2
T-120.Bobby Johns2
T-120.Joe Lee Johnson2
T-120.Al Keller2
T-120.Elmo Langley2
T-120.Danny Letner2
T-120.Juan Pablo Montoya2
T-120.Billy Myers2
T-120.Jimmy Pardue2
T-120.Steve Park2
T-120.Tom Pistone2
T-120.Marvin Porter2
T-120.David Ragan2
T-120.David Reutimann2
T-120.Gober Sosebee2
T-120.Jimmy Spencer2
T-120.Emanuel Zervakis2
T-146.Johnny Allen1
T-146.Bill Amick1
T-146.Mario Andretti1
T-146.Earl Balmer1
T-146.Trevor Bayne1
T-146.Johnny Benson1
T-146.JOSH BERRY1
T-146.Brett Bodine1
T-146.Ron Bouchard1
T-146.Richard Brickhouse1
T-146.Dick Brooks1
T-146.Bob Burdick1
T-146.Harrison Burton1
T-146.Marvin Burke1
T-146.Neil Cole1
T-146.Jim Cook1
T-146.Cole Custer1
T-146.Mark Donohue1
T-146.Joe Eubanks1
T-146.Lou Figaro1
T-146.Jimmy Florian1
T-146.Larry Frank1
T-146.TY GIBBS1
T-146.Danny Graves1
T-146.Royce Haggerty1
T-146.Justin Haley1
T-146.Bobby Hillin1
T-146.CARSON HOCEVAR1
T-146.Jim Hurtubise1
T-146.John Kieper1
T-146.Harold Kite1
T-146.Paul Lewis1
T-146.Johnny Mantz1
T-146.Sam McQuagg1
T-146.Casey Mears1
T-146.Paul Menard1
T-146.Lloyd Moore1
T-146.Jerry Nadeau1
T-146.Norm Nelson1
T-146.Bill Norton1
T-146.Phil Parsons1
T-146.Dick Passwater1
T-146.Lennie Pond1
T-146.Bill Rexford1
T-146.Jody Ridley1
T-146.Shorty Rollins1
T-146.Jim Roper1
T-146.Earl Ross1
T-146.John Rostek1
T-146.Johnny Rutherford1
T-146.Greg Sacks1
T-146.Leon Sales1
T-146.Frankie Schneider1
T-146.Wendell Scott1
T-146.Buddy Shuman1
T-146.Regan Smith1
T-146.John Soares1
T-146.Lake Speed1
T-146.Chuck Stevenson1
T-146.Donald Thomas1
T-146.Tommy Thompson1
T-146.Art Watts1
T-146.Danny Weinberg1
T-146.Jack White1
Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series’ In-Season Challenge returned for its second season in 2026, bringing a five-race, bracket-style tournament to TNT Sports’ portion of the summer schedule.

Thirty-two drivers qualified for the challenge and competed in head-to-head matchups over five consecutive races, culminating with the Champions Round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Todd Gilliland edged out Ryan Blaney for the $1 million.

Print your bracket! | Check your bracket here!

What is the In-Season Challenge?

The In-Season Challenge is a 32-driver, single-elimination tournament contested during the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Drivers are seeded based on their points position entering the challenge and compete head-to-head across five races. The higher finisher in each matchup advances to the next round until a champion is crowned at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

How are drivers seeded?

Simply put, the drivers were seeded in order of their points position following the race at Pocono Raceway.

How do drivers advance?

The driver with the better finishing position in each head-to-head matchup advances to the next round.

The tournament field is cut from 32 drivers to 16, then eight, four and two before the championship matchup at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Where did the In-Season Challenge take place in 2026?

DATEROUNDLOCATIONTIMENETWORK
June 28Round 1Sonoma Raceway3:30 p.m. ETTNT Sports
July 5Round 2Chicagoland Speedway6 p.m. ETTNT Sports
July 12Round 3EchoPark Speedway7 p.m. ETTNT Sports
July 19Round 4North Wilkesboro Speedway7 p.m. ETTNT Sports
July 26Champions RoundIndianapolis Motor Speedway2 p.m. ETTNT Sports

The five-race challenge featured a variety of track types, including road courses, intermediate tracks, a short track and a crown-jewel event to crown the champion.

Race recaps and results

Come back throughout the In-Season Challenge to catch up on each race.

Round 1: Sonoma Raceway

Race winner: Shane van Gisbergen
Race recap: Van Gisbergen fends off Briscoe, seals weekend sweep with Sonoma win
Notable: For the second consecutive year, the No. 1 seed was eliminated on the opening weekend. Finishing dead last with a mechanical issue that put him four laps down, Tyler Reddick fell victim to an upset, as No. 32 seed Alex Bowman advanced with a 10th-place finish. No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland also pulled an upset over No. 8 Daniel Suárez, creating bedlam in the top-left quadrant of the bracket.
Round 1 recap: Read here.

Round 2: Chicagoland Speedway

Race winner: Chase Briscoe
Race recap: Chase Briscoe holds off late charge from Bell to win Cup Series race at Chicagoland
Notable: We officially have our Cinderella story. No. 32 seed Alex Bowman continued into Round 3 by knocking off No. 16 Austin Cindric with his third top-five finish of the 2026 season. No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland also moved on, utilizing a 16th-place finish to beat No. 9 seed Carson Hocevar. With Briscoe’s race win, No. 5 seed Ty Gibbs suffered his first-ever In-Season Challenge loss after winning the tournament last year. No. 6 seed Kyle Larson went for a Stage 2 spin and never recovered, losing to No. 11 seed William Byron, who finished fourth.
Round 2 recap: Read here.

Round 3: EchoPark Speedway

Race winner: Ryan Blaney
Race recap: Ryan Blaney wins Cup Series overtime thriller at EchoPark
Notable: Cinderella no more for No. 32 seed Alex Bowman, who fell to elimination with a 22nd-place finish Sunday at EchoPark. But have no fear — No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland was the one who beat him and heads to the semifinals, for those still pulling for an underdog. No. 12 seed Chase Briscoe crashed late at EchoPark and finished 36th, handing an easy victory to No. 4 seed Chase Elliott. No. 10 Christopher Bell knocked out Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and No. 2 seed Denny Hamlin, and of course, No. 3 seed Ryan Blaney advanced over No. 11 William Byron with his late-night victory. 
Round 3 recap: Read here.

Round 4: North Wilkesboro Speedway

Race winner: Joey Logano
Race recap: Joey Logano dominates to win first North Wilkesboro points race in 30 years
Notable: The Toddfather is moving on. No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland pulled off the upset to advance to the In-Season Challenge finals over No. 4 Chase Elliott, courtesy of an eighth-place finish at North Wilkesboro while Elliott finished 17th. Gilliland will face off against No. 3 Ryan Blaney for the $1 million prize at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Blaney advanced with an 11th-place finish at Wilkesboro, defeating No. 10 Christopher Bell, who finished 19th.
Round 4 recap: Read here.

Champions Round: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Race winner: Corey Heim
Race recap: Corey Heim wins Brickyard 400; nets second career Cup Series victory
Notable: The “Toddfather” is inevitable. No. 25 Todd Gilliland completed the Cinderella run and won the $1 million grand prize after beating finalist Ryan Blaney by two positions in the Brickyard 400. Gilliland finished 24th, while Blaney placed 26th after getting caught up in a multicar wreck early in the final stage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 
Champions Round recap: Read here.

Posted on by Staff Report

With a 24th-place finish, Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland held off Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney to win the 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The No. 34 driver — seeded 25th in the tournament — earns $1 million and bragging rights for surviving the five-week, 32-driver knockout bracket.

Gilliland earned a two-position victory after Blaney suffered damage in a Lap 120 crash.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Indy

“My heart was pounding those last 25 laps,” Gilliland said in a post-race press conference. “Seemed like one slipup and I was going to be right in front of the 12 or right behind him even coming down to the very end.

“I still feel like we kind of earned it coming down the stretch. Yeah, I think I kind of talked about it before, but the biggest thing for me that was really cool through this whole process was seeing how my team really elevated themselves, really grabbed another gear. They worked super, super hard, long hours for this week, just really ramped up throughout this whole In-Season Challenge. I think it’s cool. They unlocked another level within themselves.”

Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Ford, led the fifth-year driver for most of the race. With 40 laps to go, he and John Hunter Nemechek made contact, resulting in a nine-car melee and damage to both ends of his car. Blaney came down pit road for repairs and restarted 30th on Lap 126.

“I was nose to tail with five other cars in front of me,” Gilliland explained of his thought process once Blaney spun. “I just see a little bit of yellow out of the right side of my eye. I was like, man, even if he just spins here, he’s going to be back in the pack. Obviously it’s pretty tough to pass once you get settled in. Then he hit the nose. I was like, All right, maybe that will slow him down a little bit. Maybe it did a little bit, but he was just as fast as us.

“It’s one of those things where you never cheer against someone. After it’s over with, you’re like, All right, that definitely helped us out. Now we definitely need to take advantage of it.”

Gilliland, who refired 15th, dropped significantly over the final stint of the race, and Blaney got within two spots of him. But Blaney got no higher than 26th the rest of the race, and Gilliland won by two spots.

Blaney, who had the No. 3 seed, had finished no worse than 11th through the first four In-Season Challenge races. He advanced to the Champions Round with relative ease, as each of his four previous matchups was decided by eight or more positions. Notably, Blaney earned a berth in the semifinal Round 4 with a rousing, 171-lap led victory into the night at EchoPark Speedway to knock out No. 11 seed William Byron. He defeated No. 10 seed Christopher Bell last Sunday at North Wilkesboro to secure a spot in the championship.

Ultimately, that dominating early effort went for naught, as he also snapped an eight-race top-10 streak and dropped 33 points to Denny Hamlin in the quest for the top seed in The Chase.

MORE: In-Season Challenge hub

“Not a fun day,” Blaney told TNT Sports after the race. “It’s a shame to end it that way; we’re just kind of scrapping along, and yeah, it stinks. I wanted to put together a good run today, just try to have a shot to run well here, a place we try to run really well at, and unfortunately, it didn’t go the way we wanted.

Gilliland had three top 20s during the event, including a banner eighth-place effort last week in an upset of Chase Elliott. Despite finishing 29th in the opener at Sonoma, he knocked out No. 8 seed Daniel Suárez before a 16th-place effort at Chicagoland propelled him past No. 9 seed Carson Hocevar — who suffered damage in an incident with Zane Smith. Gilliland benefited from a late-race crash at EchoPark to beat No. 32 seed Alex Bowman in Round 3, before setting up the Cinderella-like victories over two Cup champions in the final two rounds.

“When you’re the 25th seed looking up at that mountain of we have to beat this guy or this guy, it seems like a very tall task,” Gilliland said. “Even for myself, I never really thought this was a realistic goal. When you get a little bit closer, you go past one round, two rounds, then you’re in the final eight, final four, then the finale, it really ramps up a lot.

“It’s cool. I think you kind of saw that with my team in the shop and everywhere. I honestly feel like they were more into it at the very beginning. They were like, ‘C’mon, dude, we’re in this thing.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, there’s still a long ways to go, though.’ They definitely cared about it a ton from the very beginning.”

Now up to 23rd in points with 14 races remaining this season — and a new contract in hand — Gilliland is hopeful this creates momentum beginning at Iowa (Aug. 9, 3:30 p.m. ET, USA Sports, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after the off-week.

And he’d certainly like to see the In-Season Challenge return in 2027.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Realistically, it’s not going to be someone that is 23rd in points that makes a run through it. I think, obviously, we got super lucky along the way.

“We’re racing against the best of the best every single week. That’s the coolest thing. All of these guys are capable of so much. Hopefully I can do my job to the best of my ability and show them we can do that and close out the season strong.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Ready to watch NASCAR in 2026 and want NASCAR TV and streaming programming this week? Here is this week’s NASCAR broadcast schedule. All times listed are ET.

HOW TO WATCH

Key information: FOX, FS1, FS2 | Prime Video | TNT Sports | Max in-car cameras | NBC, USA | The CW

Stream NASCAR races: Get FOX Sports App | Get the NBC Sports App | Watch on Peacock | FloRacing

Watch NASCAR 24/7: NASCAR Channel on Prime Video, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and Xumo

More on The CW: Find your station

International: Watch NASCAR outside of the US

LISTINGS

Monday, July 27

4:30 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
6:30 p.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Ryan Preece Interview (re-air), FS2
11 p.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton, FS1

Tuesday, July 28

3 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: LiUNA 150 presented by IDEAL Door at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
1 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Indianapolis Recap, FS1
11 p.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Indianapolis Recap (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, July 29

Midnight, SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS1
2 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Indianapolis Recap (re-air), FS2
3 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
10 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Indianapolis Recap (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2

Thursday, July 30

3 a.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
5 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Indianapolis Recap (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, FS1
6:30 p.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
9:30 p.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour (re-air), FS1
10 p.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS1

Friday, July 31

3:30 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: Ryan Preece Interview (re-air), FS2
4 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour (re-air), FS2
4:30 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
5 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
11:20 a.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 at Road America, Peacock
3:40 p.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 at Road America, Peacock
4:40 p.m., IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 1 at Road America, Peacock
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Riverhead Raceway, FloRacing
9:30 p.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
10 p.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour (re-air), FS2
TBD, NASCAR Weekly Racing at Autodrome Granby, FloRacing

Saturday, August 1

8 a.m., NASCAR Youth Series at Little Kalamazoo, FloRacing
8:30 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour (re-air), FS1
9:45 a.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup: Race 2 of 2 (Miami Makeup) at Road America, Peacock
1:45 p.m., IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: Road America 120, Peacock
4:20 p.m., IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Qualifying at Road America, Peacock
5:15 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Riverhead Raceway, FloRacing
5:55 p.m., IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 2 at Road America, Peacock
6 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Berlin Raceway, FloRacing
6:35 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at South Boston Speedway, FloRacing
7 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Langley Speedway, FloRacing
7:45 p.m., NASCAR Modified 100 at Bowman Gray Stadium, FloRacing
TBD, ARCA Menards Series East: Sunbelt Rentals 150 at Flat Rock Speedway, FloRacing

Sunday, August 2

2 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
5:30 a.m., Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour (re-air), FS2
11:30 a.m., IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America, Peacock

Editor’s Note: The 2026 NASCAR TV Schedule is updated weekly throughout the season.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Corey Heim stood on the frontstretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway drained from the effort it took to win one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ crown jewel races — the Brickyard 400.

In a race that produced an unexpected winner and an unexpected millionaire, Heim held off Christopher Bell and Joey Logano over the final 34-lap green-flag run on Sunday to win his second Cup Series race in his 15th start.

Not bad for a part-timer who won’t step into a full-time seat with 23XI Racing until next year. Heim, who won at Naval Base Coronado in June, was driving the No. 67 Toyota for the eighth time this season in his first visit to the Brickyard.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Indy

“Yeah, that was a damn handful,” Heim said of the final run. “I was hanging on for dear life once the shade went down and the pace picked up. My car got really loose. And I had never really been in a lot of clean air throughout the day, so that was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life to just make sure I focused on exits and kept them (Bell and Logano) in dirty air.

“I’m pretty out of breath. That was a workout. It was a dream come true. Winning at the Brickyard. That’s unbelievable. Caught a break early with the pit cycle. And just executed all day. Made no mistakes.”

In the finals of the Cup Series In-Season Challenge, 25th-seeded Todd Gilliland took advantage of third-seeded Ryan Blaney’s unfortunate wreck on Lap 120 to win the $1-million winner-take-all prize by two positions, 24th to Blaney’s 26th.

Blaney was comfortably ahead in the race for the Challenge bounty when his No. 12 Ford turned off the nose of John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota to ignite an accident that collected nine cars.

IN-SEASON CHALLENGE: Recap championship round at Indy

“It feels really good,” said Gilliland, who survived five rounds to prevail in the Challenge. “Obviously, we wish we ran a little bit better than 24th today, but we did what we had to do. Really, that was the name of our game all the way throughout this Challenge. We just barely skated by.

“We were obviously a bit lucky, but we still stuck out these races. We did the best we could, and luckily it was good enough, just barely every single round. It’s a big prize. One million dollars going to the team. That’s just massive.”

The restart on Lap 127 — after the nine-car wreck that ruined Blaney’s chances in the In-Season Challenge — made all the difference in the outcome of the race.

Leader Denny Hamlin chose the preferred inside lane, while Heim picked the outside. Hamlin had two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Bell and Chase Briscoe, behind him on the bottom row, but they failed to organize a coordinated push.

Heim, on the other hand, got a strong, sustained shove from Logano in the top lane and barely cleared Hamlin before slipping in front of his 23XI Racing team owner and stalling his momentum. Hamlin fell to fifth in the running order behind Heim, Bell, Logano and Briscoe, and that’s the way the race ended more than 30 laps later.

In the final green-flag run, Heim slipped noticeably only once — entering Turn 1 on Lap 198 — and allowed Bell to close within a car length.

But by keeping Bell’s No. 20 Toyota in dirty air, Heim extended his advantage over the final two trips around the 2.5-mile track and crossed the famous “Yard of Bricks” 0.287 seconds ahead of the JGR driver, who finished second for the sixth time this season without a win.

Bell had nothing but praise for the 24-year-old race winner.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get there at all,” Bell said. “My guys were telling me he was going loose. I knew really that was going to be my only opportunity; it was a mistake from him. I knew whatever it was, 35 laps, was a very long run. I just needed one bobble. If he had one bobble, I was going to be able to get there.

“Yeah, he did a great job. He showed excellent mental toughness. Put together 35 really good laps. I didn’t have an opportunity.”

Hamlin rued the restart that cost him the chance to win the only Crown Jewel race that has eluded him.

“Yeah, everyone is trying to fight to win the race,” said Hamlin, who extended his series lead to 84 points over 10th-place finisher Tyler Reddick. “When you’re clear by an inch, you’re going to take that inch. It’s really more on us and the 20 (Bell) and the 19 (Briscoe) of just not orchestrating good pushes there. We came detached at the wrong time.

“I thought the 20 obviously was on board with getting us the push. It was way too early before the restart zone. I can’t go till we get to the restart zone. He said that Briscoe was on him way, way early or laying back, one of the two.

“Yeah, that’s how you lose ’em. These restarts, when everyone kind of knows when you’re going to go, it’s about the pushes. That’s essentially where I got the lead from the 67, the restart before (on Lap 120). Just came back the other way around. I maybe was in there just a hair into Turn 2. (Heim) shut the door. I mean, yeah, everyone’s fighting for a big Brickyard victory.”

Two other factors helped Heim’s cause. He was on pit road on Lap 44 when Kyle Larson’s wreck caused the first caution. Gaining spots as the field slowed for the yellow, Heim finished second in Stage 1 after a one-lap dash.

After a debris caution on Lap 114, Heim was first off pit road after running long in Stage 2 and needing a shorter stop for fuel. Though Hamlin regained the lead on the Lap 120 restart, Heim took it back on the restart that proved decisive.

Brad Keselowski finished sixth, followed by Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, pole winner Carson Hocevar and Reddick. Ty Gibbs won the first stage, led twice for 46 laps — second only to Heim’s 58 — and clinched a spot in the Chase with a 12th-place finish.

Four races remain before the 16-driver Chase field is set.

Rotten luck continued to follow reigning series champion Kyle Larson, who maneuvered himself into a race-leading position with an early pit stop on Lap 28, only to have his strategy fall apart thanks to a blown left-rear tire 17 laps later.

When the tire lost air near the end of the backstretch, Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet backed into the outside wall, severely damaging the car.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” Larson said after his release from the infield care center. “To go from 10th to the lead on a good start and race strategy set ourselves up well to gain a lot of points there and set ourselves up well to maintain that track position the rest of the race.

“It’s a bummer but just a part of racing … I had no warning. When I lifted, I felt it drop and spun.”

MORE: Cup standings | Cup schedule

Larson, coming off a 15th-place finish at North Wilkesboro after consecutive 34th-place results at Chicagoland and Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway, fell out of the race in last (39th) place.

On a star-crossed day for Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott fared little better than his teammate. Racing in close quarters with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 60, Elliott slammed the outside wall just beyond the Turn 2 exit.

Attempts to repair the car on pit road proved futile, forcing Elliott to drive the No. 9 Chevrolet to the garage. Elliott returned to the track 41 laps down and finished 37th.

The Cup Series takes a week off and then heads to Iowa Speedway on Aug. 9 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with four races to go until The Chase.

STAGE 2

Ross Chastain took the Stage 2 checkered flag of Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (watch live on TNT Sports, HBO Max) under caution after Daniel Dye crashed in Turn 3 on Lap 96.

Tempers flared as the continued saga of the Carson Hocevar-Corey Heim rivalry wrote its latest chapter.

Similarly to Stage 1, the No. 67 23XI Racing driver ran the stage long while most of the field came down pit road during the green-flag cycle. Hocevar came off pit road just behind Heim, who led the race at the time, trapping the No. 77 Spire Motorsports driver a lap down. Hocevar tried getting around the No. 67 early on fresh tires, but Heim threw a block to prevent the occurrence.

As Heim came to pit road for service, Hocevar came down the track off Turn 4 and buzzed near the No. 67, giving a No. 1 gesture out the window to Heim.

Completing the top 10 in the second frame: Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Heim, Hocevar, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell, Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez.

Early in Stage 2, Chase Elliott went to the garage after hitting the wall down the backstretch of the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The race claimed another Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after the No. 9 made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 60, turning Elliott into the wall. The contact bent a toe link on the right-rear of the No. 9, forcing the team to make extra repairs behind the wall.

MORE: Stage 2 results

Ty Gibbs led the field back to green for the start of Stage 2 after claiming the Stage 1 checkered flag.

STAGE 1

Gibbs took the Stage 1 checkered flag in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway following a one-lap shootout to the line on Lap 50.

A dramatic twist unfolded late in the stage on Lap 45 as Kyle Larson, who was on his way to cycling to the lead and the stage victory after opening pit stops, had a tire go down entering Turn 3. The No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet then spun and crashed into the outside retaining wall, bringing Larson’s day to an abrupt end. He entered Sunday’s race sixth in points.

MORE: Stage 1 results | Watch Gibbs clinch Stage 1 win

Corey Heim, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar and William Byron finished top five in the opening frame, while Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suárez, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick completed the top 10 and those collecting stage points to open the crown-jewel event.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Corey Heim as the winner.

Contributing: Staff Report

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson, the 2024 Brickyard 400 champion and defending NASCAR Cup Series titleholder, crashed during Stage 1 of Sunday’s crown-jewel race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On Lap 45, Larson blew a left-rear tire entering Turn 3, backing his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the outside wall. He was running second at the time after jumping toward the top of the pylon by pitting early at Lap 27. Larson was expected to take the lead after the green-flag pit cycle reached completion. Instead, he was scored 39th with just one point.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Indy

“I had no warning,” Larson told reporters from the infield care center after being evaluated and released. “Right when I lifted, I felt it drop and then spun.

“It’s obviously disappointing. To go from 10th to the lead on a good start and then race strategy set us up to gain a lot of points there, and also set ourselves up well to maintain that track position the rest of the race. It’s a bummer, but that’s just part of racing.”

The DNF will mark Larson’s third finish in the last four races outside the top 30. He spun from the top five at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5 and fell two laps down, never recovering. At EchoPark Speedway, the two-time champion suffered damage in a late-race crash down the backstretch, then went spinning again in a separate incident. Last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Larson suffered damage after contact with Connor Zilisch on pit road, but rallied to finish 15th.

Before his summer slide, Larson sat fifth in the series standings, but now faces another significant points hit with just four regular-season races remaining following Indy.

Larson has plenty of history at the famed 2.5-mile oval, including starts in the 2024 and 2025 Indianapolis 500.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney made his 400th NASCAR Cup Series start by taking the green flag in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford started 13th in the 39-car field for the annual 400-miler. The 32-year-old driver raced with extra incentive as a finalist in the championship round of the In-Season Challenge tournament, facing off against fellow Ford driver Todd Gilliland for the $1 million prize. Blaney ultimately finished 26th, falling two spots short of Gilliland for the title after suffering damage in a Lap 120 crash.

RELATED: Race results | Ryan Blaney through the years

Blaney made his first Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway on May 10, 2014, also driving the No. 12 Ford for Hall of Fame team owner Roger Penske. Since then, he’s collected 19 Cup Series wins, 14 pole positions and 100 top-five finishes, adding the Cup championship to his accomplishment list in 2023.

The bulk of Blaney’s NASCAR national-series career has been spent with Team Penske and its affiliated team, Wood Brothers Racing. In a Tuesday video conference previewing the In-Season Challenge final, Blaney marveled at how quickly the career milestone seemed to arrive.

“It does fly by. I had no idea it was 400 this weekend. It’s incredibly hard to believe,” Blaney said. “It kind of goes back to … none of this happens without Roger Penske, his group, the Wood Brothers, those folks have really given me the opportunity that I can only dream of. I would never have dreamt that I would make it to 400 starts. You just try to continue to take one start at a time, but it does fly by. It does not feel like 400, so I’ve been really lucky to have a great ride for those 400 starts and hopefully I can make it 400 more, for sure.”

Blaney entered Sunday third in the Cup Series standings with five races — including the Brickyard 400 — remaining in the regular season. He has already clinched a spot in the Chase postseason, and has wins this year at Phoenix Raceway and EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta.

Blaney noted how he’s closing in on a more personal milestone — the 473 Cup Series starts made by his father, Dave, over a career that spanned 17 seasons.

“Growing up around the sport, watching my dad do it, I just wanted to do what my dad did,” Blaney said. “I was in love with the sport. As a kid, I was just in awe of race-car drivers and race cars. I just wanted to do that and I’ve been really lucky in my life to get those opportunities and get amazing opportunities to be fairly successful in that sport that I love. … That’s gonna be a really big eye-opener for me if and when I pass my dad in career starts. That’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, man.’ I would never have thought that, but it’s been a fun 400 and, like I said, I hope to make it 400 more.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Seven-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson will reunite with his famed No. 48 in the 2027 Daytona 500 as he caps his NASCAR Cup Series career, Rick Hendrick announced Sunday alongside Johnson on the “NASCAR Nation Pre-Race” show on TNT Sports.

Johnson, owner of Legacy Motor Club, will pilot the No. 48 Toyota in an agreement with Hendrick Motorsports to allow Johnson the fitting sendoff.

RELATED: Buy tickets to 2027 Daytona 500

“This is far more than a number,” Johnson said in a release. “The 48 represents people, relationships, memories and a chapter of my life that shaped who I am. To have the opportunity to make one final Cup Series start carrying that number is something I never imagined. I’m incredibly grateful to Rick, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally and everyone who made this possible. It’s a gesture I’ll carry with me forever.”

The entirety of Johnson’s illustrious full-time NASCAR career came while driving the No. 48 car at Hendrick Motorsports, collecting each of his 83 race wins and seven championships with that number donning the side of his vehicle.

A two-time Daytona 500 champion and four-time Brickyard 400 winner, Johnson made his Cup Series debut in the No. 48 car in 2001 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and carried the number in 686 of his 702 career starts, making his most recent appearance in the No. 48 in the 2020 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

“The No. 48 is part of Hendrick Motorsports’ history, and it’s forever connected to Jimmie,” Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, said in a release. “When Jimmie asked about using the number for his final race, it just felt right. Ally immediately understood why it mattered, too. They’ve always valued relationships, and their willingness to be part of this says everything about the kind of partner they are. Seeing Jimmie back in the No. 48 at Daytona one last time will be quite a moment.”

MORE: Jimmie Johnson through the years

Since returning to NASCAR in 2023, Johnson has 16 part-time starts for Legacy, all while driving the No. 84 car. Johnson has led 18,941 laps in his career but none since piloting the No. 84. His return to the No. 48 for one final race creates the opportunity to add to his already enshrined legacy with a number near and dear to his heart.

Alex Bowman is the current driver of the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports. In conjunction with Johnson’s reunion with the number he made famous, Bowman will instead drive a different numbered car to be determined later for the 2027 Daytona 500. Bowman announced Thursday the 2027 season will be his last before retiring from full-time NASCAR competition.

This story will be updated.

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series take on the famed Brickyard this weekend for their annual stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be in action at the nearby Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from links to qualifying order, average practice speeds, results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | In-Season Challenge preview | TV listings

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT Sports. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Fourteen total sets — 10 new sets for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and three for practice.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Six total sets — three new sets for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and two for practice.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Race day: Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Five total sets — three new sets for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one for practice. If needed, three wet-weather sets will also be available.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results