Sometimes, even for a guy who’s seen it all in NASCAR, watching a race can be tough. For Dale Earnhardt Jr., seeing his friend Denny Hamlin lose the championship this year wasn’t just disappointing; it was gut-wrenching.
The Cup Series championship finale at Phoenix had multiple controversial situations throughout the race. Amid multiple other issues, the Goodyear tire failure was the major one.
There’s clear distinction between the Cup and Xfinity Series in NASCAR, and drivers competing in the Cup are a step above. Do they get to show it often?
William Byron ended a successful 2025 Cup Series season with a Championship 4 appearance at Phoenix Raceway. His run in the finale was not enough to make him champion, but it still reinforced his status as one of the best in the field.
Alex Bowman, after a 2024 season filled with early hope, endured a long and challenging 2025 campaign, in which he remained winless throughout. But the leadership of his team has full faith in him and explained why he’s on the verge of a rebound.
After nearly two decades of closing out the NASCAR season under the Miami sun, the sport made a change in 2020, trading the palm trees of Homestead for the desert heat of Phoenix.
What does a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion do to celebrate? Well, for Kyle Larson, not a whole lot. Larson is going to end his offseason pretty early when he goes to Placerville Speedway for the Hangtown 100 next week.
While the championship result wasn't what Kvapil and the No. 1 team wanted, it was still a solid rookie season — and one that, in the end, could one day be credited with saving his career.
Allgaier came up just shy of winning consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series championships at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 1, finishing fifth in the season finale third in the championship standings behind Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch.
It’s the offseason in NASCAR, but that doesn’t mean the party stops. Noah Gragson showed fans the wild side of Talladega Superspeedway. Everybody knows that Gragson and Dega go together like peanut butter and jelly, so he was perfect for this job.
Connor Zilisch did not have to deal with Shane van Gisbergen in his rookie Xfinity season because SVG was already in Cup. That luxury is gone. In 2026, Zilisch joins him in the top series, where the two will finally go head to head against the sport’s best.
What began as a season of boos for Denny Hamlin slowly turned into genuine affection from the NASCAR crowd. His win at Las Vegas softened even his harshest critics.
Connor Zilisch’s story has taken a turn every young driver dreams of. After an impressive yet bittersweet Xfinity campaign under Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports banner, the 19-year-old is now ready to step onto NASCAR’s biggest stage.
Kyle Larson’s kids may still be in grade school, but competition already runs in their veins. Both Owen and Audrey Larson have been squaring off in the Junior Sprint division, cutting their teeth on the way to becoming successful racers just like their father.
Mark Martin has several concerns about the current state of NASCAR. He literally pushed the sanctioning body to make changes to the playoff format and has clearly stated his intent that he will continue to be a voice of the fans going forward, advocating for change he sees fit.
To the surprise and shock of nobody, Chase Elliott went on to win his 8th straight Most Popular Driver Award for the Cup Series. Elliott’s father, Bill, won the award 16 times in his career, a record.
It feels like just yesterday we were watching a youngster from Clovis, California, tear up dirt tracks with a fire in his eyes that you just don’t see every day.
Chase Briscoe was unable to emerge victorious at the Championship finale at Phoenix. Despite performing great all throughout the playoffs, his performance in the last race was mediocre.
Christopher Bell missed the Championship 4 again this season, yet he still carried favorite status and remained one of the field’s steadiest hands, despite growing up in Sprint racing, where he piled up 26 dirt victories, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2014.