What NASCAR drivers want for Christmas

There's less than two months until the 2026 NASCAR season begins, and had Santa Claus received letters from the Cup Series field, there would've been more than a few requests. Here is what a few of NASCAR's biggest stars would've like to have woken up to under their Christmas tree. 

Denny Hamlin: A different ending to the 2025 championship race

The heartbreaking, gut-wrenching story of how Hamlin lost the 2025 Cup Series championship has been told plenty already, but it's incredible how close the 60-time Cup Series winner finally came to hoisting the Bill France Cup. 

Hamlin was leading the title race with three laps to go when a caution flag flew, re-racking the field and leading to Kyle Larson winning the championship and Hamlin coming up shy for the 20th straight year. 

Kyle Larson: A redo of what could be his final "double" 

2025 marked the second straight year that Larson attempted to complete the Coke 600-Indy 500 "double" — an attempt to run both major races in the same day. And while his 2024 attempt was disappointing, it didn't compare to his second try. 

Larson crashed in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, and while he ended the year by winning his second NASCAR Cup Series championship, he likely wouldn't mind getting another crack at history — especially given the fact that he may never attempt the "double" again. 

Kyle Busch: Speed, in any form or fashion

Not much has gone right for Busch over the last two years, as the two-time Cup Series champion has missed the playoffs and gone winless over the past two seasons. After a hot start in 2023, his pairing with Richard Childress Racing has not aged well at all. 

2025 saw Busch record the second-worst average start of his career (17.5) and the third-worst average finish of his career (17.9). Even if Busch can't consistently compete for wins or a championship, the future Hall of Famer should at least find himself with a fast car once in a blue moon. 

Brad Keselowski: A single stroke of luck 

Keselowski's 2025 season was historically unlucky. The 2012 Cup Series champion was the driver passed for the win in seven of 36 races in a winless 2025 campaign. He then broke his leg in a ski accident and will face a difficult recovery going into 2026. 

Keselowski is still capable behind the wheel, but a single instance of good fortune would do him good. 

Alex Bowman: One week without speculation about his job 

Bowman, a seven-time Cup Series winner, has seven playoff appearances and his seven aforementioned victories in eight seasons driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Yet, at a team like HMS with perennial championship expectations and a boatload of star power, he seems to shrink into the shadows. 

That takes away from the fact that Bowman is a very good driver. There usually seems to be speculation about Bowman's job security at HMS — his current contract runs through 2026. And hotshots such as Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love and Carson Hocevar being in the Chevy pipeline at the moment don't help the narrative that Bowman could soon find himself job shopping, even if said narrative is unfair.