Nascar news

• These 3 Former NASCAR Cup Champions Still Haven’t Won a Race in 2026

  04-07-2026 16:47 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced plenty of surprises through 18 races.Toyota has won 11 events. Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick have spent much of the summer battling atop the standings. Ty Gibbs has emerged as a legitimate championship contender. Meanwhile, several drivers have already punched their tickets to the Chase.But perhaps the biggest surprise is who’s still missing from Victory Lane.Three former NASCAR Cup Series champions, drivers who own a combined six championshi
  
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• Denny Hamlin earns pole position for eero 400 in NASCAR’s return to Joliet racetrack. ‘I’m a Chicago master.’

  04-07-2026 23:59 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Denny Hamlin is atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings for the first time all season.If that wasn’t enough reason for Hamlin to head into Fourth of July weekend in a celebratory mood, the series’ return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet for the first time since 2019 is definitely a welcome one.Hamlin won the Cup Series race in 2015 and has finished in the top 10 in five of his last six races in Joliet. Now, he’s on the pole for Sunday’s eero 400, adding to his local
  
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• NASCAR O'Reilly Series race at Chicagoland delayed by rain

  04-07-2026 23:08 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The start time for the Cuervo 300NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race on July 4 at Chicagoland Speedway is being delayed for weather.Rain fell on the 1.5-mile speedway about an hour before the scheduled green flag in Joliet, Illinois, as a part of a storm moving in from the west. The track surface will need to be dried, and any storms with lightning will need to move through the area before the race can begin at Chicagoland.No start time target has been given by NASCAR.Connor Zilisch is on the
  
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• Denny Hamlin wins pole position for NASCAR's return to Chicagoland Speedway

  04-07-2026 22:32 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has the pole position for a NASCAR Cup Series race. Again.Hamlin had a lap time of 30.296 seconds and a best speed of 178.241 mph on Saturday in qualifying for the first Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in seven years. It was just enough to edge Kyle Larson in second at 30.297 seconds and 178.235 mph in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.It was Hamlin's third straight pole on an oval track. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has four poles this season in his
  
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• Ryan Preece felt like NASCAR TV pried into a personal exchange over his radio

  04-07-2026 22:15 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoRyan Preece felt like he was having a private conversation with his crew during Cup Series practice on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway but the television crew aired out his frustrations about a NASCAR mandated safety change.“I’m going to argue with NASCAR about this adjustment that they want and I don’t. This headrest is a pain in the [expletive]. It’s knocking my [expletive] head everywhere. Sorry, I’m not trying to swear. I’m just absolutely a
  
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• Michael McDowell faces multiple penalties after three inspection failures

  04-07-2026 22:12 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoThe weekend has gone sideways for the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Michael McDowell, and not on the track.McDowell's car failed inspection three different times, which means they have several penalties coming their way.First of all, the car chief has been ejected for the remainder of the race weekend. Secondly, they were not permitted to take part in qualifying, and will start last (38th) in Sunday's NASCAR Cup race.However, it doesn't stop there. Once the green flag fli
  
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• NASCAR Cup Chicagoland starting lineup: Denny Hamlin beats Larson to pole by 0.001s

  04-07-2026 22:00 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoDenny Hamlin earned pole position for the NASCAR Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, securing his 52nd career pole and his fourth of the 2026 season.It was a nail-bitter for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, with Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports nearly matching Hamlin on his own qualifying lap. He will start on the outside of the front row, just 0.001s slower than Hamlin.The RFK Racing duo of Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski will start third and fourth, respectively. It's then
  
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• NASCAR Starting Lineup for Sunday’s Race: eero 400 Lineup, Cup Series Qualifying Results at Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 21:44 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The NASCAR Cup Series is back at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2019. Following practice on Friday, the field of 38 Cup Series drivers hit the track for qualifying on Saturday to determine the eero 400 starting grid.Let’s take you right into the NASCAR starting lineup for Sunday’s race at Chicagoland following Cup Series qualifying results today. Further below you can find the eero 400 starting grid.Related: Latest Buzz on NASCAR’s Long-Term Plans fo
  
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• Ty Gibbs moves on from Sonoma strategy decision

  04-07-2026 21:15 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoIn real time, immediately after the race last weekend at Sonoma Raceway, the disappointment from Ty Gibbs was palpable.He finished third, but after sweeping both stages it was a fair expectation to have wanted more. Shane Van Gisbergen won but earned track position by giving up points in exchange for track position in flipping both stages.As it turns out, SVG scored the most points anyway in winning the race but Gibbs scored the second most in finishing third. The decision made w
  
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• Nos. 5, 71 Chevrolets penalized after inspection failures at Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 20:00 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  NASCAR officials levied penalties to the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports teams Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway for multiple pre-race inspection failures, the sanctioning body announced.RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photosThe No. 71 Chevrolet failed three times before passing on its fourth try. Consequently, driver Michael McDowell was not permitted to attempt a qualifying lap and will forfeit pit-stall selection. He’ll start Sunday’s eero 400
  
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• What to Watch: A mix of old, new and uncertain in racing's revival at Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 19:30 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Track: Chicagoland Speedway
  Location: Joliet, Illinois
  Track length: 1.5 miles
  When: 6 p.m. ET
  Where to tune in: TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  Race purse: $11,233,037
  Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
  Segments: 80 | 165 | 267
  Sunday’s starting lineup| Pit-stall assignmentsVeterans, first-timers share new-car feel in Chicagoland’s rebirthJOLIET, Ill. — Coming back to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019 has felt in some ways famil
  
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• Kyle Busch Remembered: Chicagoland wins that defined Rowdy

  04-07-2026 19:29 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoAs NASCAR returns to Chicagoland for the first time in seven years, we continue our 'Kyle Busch Remembered' series with a look back at his many victories at the intermediate track. Busch won eleven races across all three national divisions at Chicagoland Speedway, and was victorious in the track's most iconic finish.Busch, the NASCAR record-older for most career wins with 234 victories between Cup, O'Reilly, and Truck, died unexpectedly in May at the age of 41 ... just days after
  
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• Sunday Setup: Bumps create Chicagoland challenge for crew chiefs

  04-07-2026 18:39 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. — NASCAR is back at Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019, but it might as well be the NASCAR Cup Series’ first time ever.Despite 19 prior races on the 1.5-mile oval dating back to 2001, the Cup Series has never raced at the Joliet speedway with its Next Gen car. That alone provides an extra challenge to crew chiefs ahead of Sunday’s eero 400 (6 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).MORE: Starting lineup | At-track phot
  
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• "Not Trying To Swear"- Ryan Preece Rips NASCAR’s Mandatory Safety Change in Aggressive Chicagoland Outburst

  04-07-2026 18:15 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Via Imago ©Via ImagoChicagoland Speedway hosted its last NASCAR Cup Series race in 2019. Seven years of nobody racing there meant NASCAR had to come in and fix the place before it was fit to host a Cup race again. New SAFER barriers, repaved infield roads, restored garage stalls, and a 50-minute practice window to let drivers figure out a track that had gotten rough just from sitting. Most drivers got on with it. But Ryan Preece had a different issue to deal with.NASCAR wanted Preece’
  
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• Denny Hamlin claims Busch Light pole at Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 17:55 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin claimed the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday evening’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (6 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).Hamlin set the pace in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session with a lap of 30.296 seconds at 178.241 mph, barely edging Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson by one-thousandth of a second. Larson clocked a 30.297-second lap at 178.235 mph in his No. 5 Chevrolet.RELATED:
  
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• "Wish He Was There"- Kyle Larson Unmasks Bitter Chicagoland Reality That Saved His Secret Bond With Kyle Busch

  04-07-2026 17:02 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Image Credits: Imago ©Image Credits: ImagoNASCAR is back at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5 for the first time since 2019. Half the grid has never raced a Cup car on this 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Illinois. For Kyle Larson, the place means something specific.He and Kyle Busch put on one of the best final laps anyone had seen in years. Busch died in May 2026. Coming back to that same track, Larson said something simple that stuck.“Wish he was there this weekend.”The race was July 1
  
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• Brad Keselowski Thinks Toyota Has Found NASCAR’s Winning Formula

  04-07-2026 15:51 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  For years, NASCAR’s biggest battles played out on pit road, atop the pit box and behind the wheel.Brad Keselowski believes the sport’s most important competition has moved somewhere else.Speaking Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, the RFK Racing co-owner offered one of the most revealing assessments yet of why Toyota has dominated the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, arguing the manufacturer’s greatest advantage isn’t horsepower or aerodynamics. It’s organizational philo
  
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• Hocevar faces 'mystery' In-Season Challenge opponent in 100th Cup start

  04-07-2026 15:06 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. — To say Carson Hocevar hasn‘t been focused on the In-Season Challenge is putting it mildly.Last Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet finished 11th to Zane Smith‘s 18th, eliminating Smith in the opening round of the tournament.RELATED: Chicagoland weekend schedule | At-track photosAsked after Friday‘s practice about his second-round matchup Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway (6 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, MRN Rad
  
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• Ty Gibbs rises as title challenger: 'We're easily a championship contender'

  04-07-2026 12:07 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. — Ty Gibbs believes he can win the NASCAR Cup Series championship. And halfway through the 2026 campaign, he’s giving others a reason to believe, too.The fourth-year, second-generation driver enters Chicagoland Speedway fourth in the points standings after 18 of 26 regular-season races, with the 10-race Chase looming in September. Gibbs drove the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to his first career win at Bristol Motor Speedway in March and has largely been a top-five main
  
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• NASCAR Chicagoland predictions 2026, expert picks for Cup Series race

  04-07-2026 12:04 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019 for the eero 400 on July 5.18 drivers entered into this weekend's race ran in the last Cup race at Chicagoland in 2019, but the Next Gen car has not run at the track before.Still, it's a 1.5-mile track, and the field will search for grip up and down the grooves.Alex Bowman won the last event in 2019, and he, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are all former winners.Here are The Tennessean's expert picks for Sunday'
  
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• Chase Elliott Says Seven Years Away Has Changed Everything at Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 04:32 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Chase Elliott isn’t convinced anyone has a true advantage entering NASCAR’s long-awaited returnFor the first time since 2019, the NASCAR Cup Series is back at Chicagoland Speedway.That means drivers are returning to one of the sport’s most popular intermediate tracks, but according to Chase Elliott, nobody should assume previous success will automatically translate into speed this weekend.Even drivers with years of experience at the 1.5-mile oval are essentially learning the tr
  
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• Riley Herbst Paces NASCAR Cup Practice at Chicagoland Speedway

  04-07-2026 04:21 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Craig White | Racing America On SIHeading into the weekend, nobody really knew what to expect as the NASCAR Cup Series was set to compete at Chicagoland Speedway for the first time in seven years. After Friday afternoon's practice session around the 1.5-mile speedway in Joliet, IL, one thing seems perfectly clear: 23XI Racing is going to be tough to beat.The team, led by Riley Herbst, the driver of the No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota, swept the top-two spots in single-lap practice speeds, and all f
  
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• Denny Hamlin Finally Believes a NASCAR Championship Is Within Reach

  04-07-2026 04:10 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  For nearly two decades, Denny Hamlin has chased the one accomplishment missing from his Hall of Fame résumé: a NASCAR Cup Series championship.Despite becoming one of the winningest drivers of his generation, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has repeatedly watched title opportunities disappear because of late cautions, untimely restarts, and the randomness that defined NASCAR’s former winner-take-all Championship 4 format.That experience changed the way he approached every season.
  
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• 5 Things NASCAR Cup Practice at Chicagoland Taught Us About Sunday’s Race

  04-07-2026 03:58 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  NASCAR Cup Series teams finally got their first opportunity to put the Next Gen car on Chicagoland Speedway Friday, ending a seven-year absence from the 1.5-mile oval. While Riley Herbst topped the speed chart with a lap of 30.326 seconds, the practice session offered far more insight than a simple leaderboard.Several teams showed race-winning speed, drivers learned plenty about the aging racing surface, and one organization may have quietly established itself as Sunday’s team to beat.Here
  
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• Chicagoland represents the return the old Atlanta after Cup practice

  04-07-2026 03:07 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoUpon climbing out of the 23XI Racing No. 45, and despite being amongst the fastest in practice on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, Tyler Reddick seemed puzzled."In general, pretty happy,” Reddick said in a way that sounded anything but. “Feeling pretty good about where we're at. I guess the only thing I'm holding back on -- just confused about -- I thought we were going to be ripping the top today, but it just took forever to clean up. Hopefully those O'Reilly boys wil
  
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• Chicagoland represents the return of old Atlanta after Cup practice

  04-07-2026 03:07 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoUpon climbing out of the 23XI Racing No. 45, and despite being amongst the fastest in practice on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, Tyler Reddick seemed puzzled."In general, pretty happy,” Reddick said in a way that sounded anything but. “Feeling pretty good about where we're at. I guess the only thing I'm holding back on -- just confused about -- I thought we were going to be ripping the top today, but it just took forever to clean up. Hopefully those O'Reilly boys wil
  
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• Kyle Larson looks to break winless drought as NASCAR returns to Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 01:57 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — When it comes to 1.5-mile tracks, Kyle Larson is always confident. With NASCAR returning to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend, there is even more reason for optimism for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.Larson has a successful history on the bumpy asphalt of Chicagoland, a D-shaped oval circuit. He has four top-five finishes in six Cup Series starts at the speedway about 50 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. His 6.17 average finish is tops in track history among driver
  
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• Riley Herbst leads Cup practice in NASCAR's return to Chicagoland

  04-07-2026 01:08 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoFor the first time since 2019, NASCAR is racing at Chicagoland Speedway. Because of that fact, series officials went with a more traditional race weekend format through a 50-minute practice on Friday.Topping the speed charts was Riley Herbst in the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota, followed by teammate Bubba Wallace. Herbst lapped the intermediate oval in 30.326 seconds (178.065mph), just 0.023s ahead of Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota.Kyle Larson was one of three Cup drivers who took part
  
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• How Did Kyle Busch Perform at Chicagoland Speedway? A Look Back at His Record

  04-07-2026 00:51 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Kyle Busch was one of Chicagoland Speedway’s most successful NASCAR Cup Series drivers, winning twice and leading more than 500 laps before the track left the schedule after 2019. Here’s a look back at his record as NASCAR returns this weekend.As the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019, many fans are remembering one of the track’s greatest competitors.Since Kyle Busch’s death in May, NASCAR fans have continued searching for stor
  
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• Denny Hamlin is starting to believe a championship is possible

  04-07-2026 00:50 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoFor much of this decade, Denny Hamlin hasn’t wanted to talk about that elusive NASCAR Cup Series championship, but instead reaching various goals focused on number of victories.  Under the old playoff format, it would either happen or it wouldn’t, and there was extraordinarily little he could do with so much variability. For example, Hamlin dominated the championship race last year under the old Final Four format at Phoenix Raceway but was denied the title due to
  
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