Nascar news

• Team Penske Makes Major Ryan Blaney Change Days Before NASCAR Chase Begins

  02-09-2026 21:32 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Ryan Blaney will begin his pursuit of a second NASCAR Cup Series championship with a significantly different team around him.Just days before the Chase opens at Darlington Raceway, Team Penske has swapped the pit crews assigned to Blaney’s No. 12 Ford and Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Ford.A Team Penske spokesperson confirmed the change to NASCAR.com.The timing alone makes the move notable. Both drivers qualified for NASCAR’s 16-driver Chase, meaning Penske isn’t simply moving r
  
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• Joey Logano Has a Message for His Critics If He Wins the NASCAR Championship

  03-09-2026 22:18 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Joey Logano has won three NASCAR Cup Series championships. Winning a fourth would apparently bring out a side of him that everyone might want to hear.Or, depending on what comes out of his mouth, perhaps not.During NASCAR’s Chase media day, Dirty Mo Media asked Logano what his Victory Lane speech would sound like if he emerged from the next 10 races as the Cup Series champion. Logano didn’t need much time to consider how satisfying that moment would be.“The sweetest one. Oh gos
  
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• Daniel Suarez on Baby Watch as NASCAR Chase Begins

  03-09-2026 22:13 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Daniel Suarez is set to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the third time in his career. Off the racetrack, the driver of the No. 7 has a major development in his personal life as his wife, Julia, is expecting to give birth to the couple’s first child in a few weeks.With the implications of The Chase, the Spire Motorsports driver is hopeful the birth of his first daughter falls on a weekday. Of course, that is something out of this year’s Coca-Cola 600 winner’s hands. I
  
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• Matt DiBenedetto Set to Return to NASCAR at Las Vegas

  03-09-2026 22:04 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Photo by: Mark J. RebilasMatt DiBenedetto is set to make his return to NASCAR competition next month, giving the veteran driver another opportunity to get back behind the wheel.DiBenedetto will drive the No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 3. Magnesium Performance Wheels will sponsor the effort.The announcement gives DiBenedetto another chance to compete at the national level after spending much of
  
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• IndyCar sets new driver licensing criteria for 2027

  03-09-2026 21:56 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoIndyCar has notified teams of an updated driver qualification and licensing process, offering team owners, managers, and prospective drivers an objective pathway to compete in the IndyCar Series starting in 2027 and beyond.The framework defines advancement standards from Indy NXT by Firestone while establishing formal criteria for international competitors. Here's how the changes break down for next year.Indy NXT advancement pathwayStart actionStart actionTo establish object
  
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• RCR Retires No. 8, Saving It for Brexton Busch

  03-09-2026 21:55 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Photo by: Steve RobertsRichard Childress Racing has made an emotional decision regarding one of the most recognizable numbers in its NASCAR history, announcing that the No. 8 will be set aside and reserved for Brexton Busch, the son of the late Kyle Busch.RCR announced in May that it would suspend the use of the No. 8 following Kyle Busch’s death. The organization immediately moved its second Cup Series entry to the No. 33, with Austin Hill taking over the car. RCR said the No. 8 would rem
  
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• Riley Herbst joins Legacy Motor Club in No. 84 for 2027 NASCAR Cup season

  03-09-2026 21:39 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoLegacy Motor Club has announced plans to expand into three full-time entries for the 2027 NASCAR Cup season. Riley Herbst will drive the No. 84 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, leaving 23XI Racing.The team already has two full-time entries with the No. 42 and the No. 43. John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones are their current drivers, but Nemechek and the team will part ways at the conclusion of the 2026 season. Josh Berry is the leading candidate to replace him.“I’m ex
  
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• NASCAR Darlington Weather Forecast: Will Rain Impact Southern 500 Weekend?

  03-09-2026 21:20 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 01: Jet dreyers are seen on track prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 01, 2019 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) GettyWeather could become a factor as NASCAR begins its 2026 Chase at one of the most demanding tracks on the schedule.The Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500, but before drivers battle th
  
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• Can the Favorites Survive the Southern 500?

  03-09-2026 21:20 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Photo by: Greg AtkinsThe NASCAR Cup Series playoffs officially begin this weekend, and the 2026 Chase couldn’t have a tougher opening race.The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will kick off the 10-race championship battle Sunday, putting all 16 playoff drivers through one of NASCAR’s most demanding tests. The 1.366-mile “Lady in Black” will host a 367-lap, 501-mile race where simply surviving can be just as important as winning.With the championship on the line
  
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• NASCAR Veteran Drops Unpopular Opinion on Paid Drivers in NASCAR

  03-09-2026 20:43 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  DAYTONA BEACH, FL – AUGUST 29: Cars are lined up on the grid prior to the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 29, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Michael Bush/Icon Sportswire AUTO: AUG 29 NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260829003 ©IMAGO/Icon SportswireThe pit lane at Anderson Motor Speedway witnessed an ugly incident in August. Landon Huffman, a veteran of the CARS Tour, rushed over to 19-y
  
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• NASCAR Legend Warns Carson Hocevar That Controversy Alone Can No Longer Save Him

  03-09-2026 19:27 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 28: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Miner Docks Doors and More Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 28, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) GettyKevin Harvick has warned Carson Hocevar that his Talladega victory and the controversy around his racing will not keep him in the spotlight forever without more wins. Harvick discussed Hocevar&rsq
  
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• Denny Hamlin explains just how hard it was driving without a rear camera at Daytona

  03-09-2026 19:03 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoDenny Hamlin's day at Daytona on Saturday got off to a rough start when just a few laps into the race his rear camera stopped working.There was no easy fix for the issue, meaning that Hamlin had to get through the remainder of the race with drastically less information than his competitors."I use it mostly to see what lanes are coming, when it’s appropriate to switch lanes," Hamlin explained on his podcast Actions Detrimental after the race. "Relying only on the spotter for
  
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• Chris Buescher Hits Darlington To Start Title Push

  03-09-2026 18:51 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Sep 2, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA;Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott answer questions from the media during Cup Media Day at Charlotte Convention Center.Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn ImagesThe Chase Begins In South CarolinaThe NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture takes shape this Sunday when the field rolls into Darlington Raceway. Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece represent RFK Racing as they chase their first Cup Series championship together. Both drivers sit inside the top 16, ready
  
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• “I Would Be Shocked”- HMS Legend Admits Chevy’s Inferiority to Toyota Amid Severe Decline

  03-09-2026 18:47 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JULY 26: Ty Gibbs 54 Joe Gibbs Racing SAIA Freight Logistics Toyota and Carson Hocevar 77 Spire Motorsports Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet lead the field to a restart during the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Brickyard 400 on July 26, 2026, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire AUTO: JUL 26 NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon116260726061 ©IMAGO/Icon SportswireFor much of the 2026 season,
  
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• Darlington Raceway 101: Fast Facts, Track History and Everything NASCAR Fans Need to Know

  03-09-2026 18:04 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Darlington Raceway doesn’t need much of an introduction to longtime NASCAR fans.For everyone else, the South Carolina track can take some explaining.Why does it look like an egg? Why do drivers talk about earning a “Darlington Stripe”? Where did “The Lady in Black” come from? And what exactly makes a 1.366-mile oval so difficult that NASCAR has spent decades calling it “The Track Too Tough to Tame”?With the Cup Series returning to Darlington this weekend
  
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• NASCAR Hall of Famer Fears Tom Cruise’s Days of Thunder 2 Could Lose This Piece of History

  03-09-2026 17:46 via yahoo.com
  DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Tom Cruise speaks to guests at the NASCAR COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 29, 2026, in preperation for Days of Thunder. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) GettyDale Earnhardt Jr. wants Days of Thunder 2 to keep a clear link to the original NASCAR movie. The NASCAR Hall of Famer recently spoke with the person working on the sequel and urged the team to use details from the 1990 film. Days of Thunder 2, st
  
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• NASCAR Cup Series Team Makes Shocking Pit Crew Swap Just as the Chase Begins

  03-09-2026 17:18 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MAY 10: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Libman Ford, and Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Snap on Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on May 10, 2026 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) GettyTeam Penske has made a major NASCAR pit crew change just before the 2026 Chase begins. The team swapped the entire over-the-wall pit crews of Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford and Austin Cindr
  
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• “Networks Are Never Going to Allow It”- Dale Jr Commends NASCAR for Defying Broadcasters to Save the Sport

  03-09-2026 16:53 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Practice Feb 15, 2025 Daytona Beach, Florida, USA NASCAR team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona Beach Daytona International Speedway Florida USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xPeterxCaseyx 20250215_pjc_bc1_002 ©IMAGO/Imagn ImagesNASCAR introduced its elimination-style playoff format in 2014 to make the championship more exciting. But it soon drew criticism for n
  
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• NASCAR Cup Series Drivers Respond to Painful Pit Crew Swap Ahead of Playoffs

  03-09-2026 16:39 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Freightliner Ford, (L) and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Wrangler Ford, talk on the grid during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race qualifying heat #2 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 17, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images) GettyTeam Penske has made a major NASCAR Cup Series pit crew change just days before the 2026 playoffs begin, moving the stronger crew from Austi
  
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• Who can win the NASCAR championship? Ranking all 16 Chase drivers

  03-09-2026 15:02 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The postseason for NASCAR’s Cup Series begins Sunday, Sept. 6 at one of the sport’s crown jewel races, the Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina.Following 12 years of the win-and-in elimination-style playoff format, the Chase is back. This postseason system is designed to award consistency and drivers who have achieved success over the stretch of a long season — which began all the way back in February at the Daytona 500 — rather than drivers who simply won one race
  
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• Denny Hamlin Reveals What He Needs to Finally Win NASCAR Title

  03-09-2026 14:40 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectDenny Hamlin enters the 2026 NASCAR Chase in the position he has wanted: the favorite.The Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished the regular season with four wins, 14 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s, and an impressive 880 laps led. He also carries a 25-point advantage over Ryan Blaney into the 10-race championship fight.Yet for Hamlin, the biggest challenge may not be finding something new. It may be doing exactly what he has already been doing.Hamlin sees no weaknes
  
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• 0 Wins in 50 Races: Why Kyle Larson Still Thinks He Can Win the NASCAR Title

  03-09-2026 14:39 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectKyle Larson knows the #5 team has not been where it wants to be in 2026. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion enters the 2026 postseason facing a 50-race winless drought.But he also knows something the rest of the field should not forget: this is almost exactly where he was one year ago.Larson enters the 2026 Chase as the #7 seed, 55 points behind Denny Hamlin. After 26 regular-season races, he has 0 wins, nine top-five finishes, 13 top-10s, and 659 laps led. H
  
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• Explaining the NASCAR Chase: What to watch for as 16 drivers race for the title

  03-09-2026 13:19 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Explaining the NASCAR Chase: What to watch for as 16 drivers race for the title originally appeared on NBC Sports PhiladelphiaThe Chase for the Cup is officially on.Sixteen of NASCAR’s top drivers will battle it out over the next 10 weeks in the revamped postseason format for the Bill France Cup on USA Network, NBC and Peacock.The closing stretch of the season will challenge drivers with races at short tracks, intermediates and a superspeedway.Will Denny Hamlin seal the deal for his first
  
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• Why Bubba Wallace believes he can win first race in the NASCAR Chase

  03-09-2026 12:05 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The pressure that came with trying to make the NASCAR Chase did not take away Bubba Wallace's wry sense of humor.When asked if there was one particular thing that happened down the stretch of the 2026 regular season for his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota team and helped him secure his third berth in the NASCAR playoffs, Wallace said yes."I just decided to start trying again, that's all," he joked.WHY NASCAR PENALIZED BUBBA WALLACE:Why NASCAR penalized Bubba Wallace after Atlanta race finishIt never a
  
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• Ryan Blaney says Ford caught up to Toyota before the NASCAR Chase. Here's the proof

  03-09-2026 12:05 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Ryan Blaney is confident Ford caught up to Toyota in the manufacturer battle headed into the 2026 NASCAR Chase. The evidence is there to back him up.Blaney, in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford, won two of the last seven races in the regular season, and Fords overall won five of the last seven, including the last three.Compare that to the start of the season when Toyota, with Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing on a historic heater, won five of the first nine races.HOW RYAN BLANEY WON A CUP TITLE:Ryan Blane
  
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• JR Motorsports sets the Chase pace as favorites in O'Reilly Auto Parts Series title fight

  03-09-2026 11:59 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Justin Allgaier has already established himself as a favorite for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship, based not just on his edge in experience but on a brilliant regular-season run. His six wins — and counting — plus remarkable consistency left him 229 points clear of the field after last Friday’s regular-season closer at Daytona International Speedway.His strongest challengers in The Chase presented by Mobil 1, however, may come fr
  
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• Austin Cindric Opens Up on Losing Pit Crew to Ryan Blaney Ahead of the Darlington Race: “It’s Not My Race Team”

  03-09-2026 11:17 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  May 28, 2022; Concord, North Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric (L) talks with Ryan Blaney (R) prior to qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. © Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsTeam Penske has ordered a pit crew swap between Austin Cindric’s No. 2 team and Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 entry. Cindric opened up on the change and called it a “great opportunity” to seize the remaining 10 races.Blaney has struggled with his pit crew for a
  
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• NASCAR at Darlington: Key info, links, results for Chase race weekend

  03-09-2026 11:01 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series head to the track “Too Tough to Tame” this weekend as The Chase presented by Mobil 1 gets underway for both tours. Sunday night marks the 77th running of the crown jewel Southern 500, where Chase Briscoe enters as the defending two-time winner. As for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Saturday night will mark the first time Darlington hosts a postseason race. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-wee
  
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• Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR team to part ways with John Hunter Nemechek

  03-09-2026 06:10 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Legacy Motor Club, the NASCAR team owned by seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and a host of celebrities, now has an open seat to fill ahead of next season.The team announced on Wednesday, Sept. 2 that John Hunter Nemechek would not return to drive the No. 42 Toyota for Legacy next season. The news is both surprising and abrupt considering that Legacy announced sponsors for the 2027 season for Nemechek back in May.“Legacy Motor Club has made the decision to part ways with John H
  
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• The Chase is on for NASCAR's new look playoff format

  03-09-2026 03:49 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoPrior to officially unveiling the Chase for the Championship format in January, NASCAR and Racing Insights conducted over 25,000 simulations to predict how the format could potentially play out.The findings:Overall, drivers won the championship 85 percent of time when seeded inside the top six and 69 percent of the time from the top three. There is a pathway to the championship all the way through the 16th seed but the math doesn’t lie about who the favorites are.The Chase
  
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