Four young NASCAR stars to keep an eye on in 2026

With a new NASCAR season a little more than a month away, many young drivers are looking to stake their claim as one of NASCAR's next superstars. Here are four — two from the NASCAR Cup Series and two from the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series — who have an opportunity to break through in 2026. 

Corey Day 

No. 17 Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series 

Age: 20 | Hometown: Clovis, California 

Day's racing background lies primarily on dirt. Two-time Cup Series champion and fellow dirt racing enthusiast Kyle Larson has become a de facto mentor to Day, who struggled to find his footing as he made the transition to NASCAR competition on asphalt. 

But Day has improved recently. He managed three top-10 finishes in nine Craftsman Truck Series starts in 2025 and a pair of top 10s in 11 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series starts. He'll be in the spotlight all year as the full-time driver of a Hendrick Motorsports entry in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. 

Day may not have the best NASCAR resume compared to his contemporaries on this list, but he does have plenty of room to improve and could be a fringe title threat in 2026 if he learns quickly.

Carson Hocevar

No. 77 Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | NASCAR Cup Series 

Age: 22 | Hometown: Portage, Michigan 

For better or worse, Hocevar's name dominated the NASCAR news cycle for much of 2025. Whether it was his outright speed, misfortune or his run-in with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over the summer, the 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year usually found his way into the evening paper in some way. 

In 2026, he could be doing so by winning races. Spire is not an organization that can win on a weekly basis, but it can give Hocevar an opportunity every once in a while. If he can harness his absurd talent and keep his head, he could be en route to his first Cup Series win in 2026. 

Jesse Love 

No. 2 Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series 

Age: 20 | Hometown: Menlo Park, California 

Love comes into 2026 as the defending O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion and one of the title favorites. He also got five races worth of Cup Series experience under his belt in 2025, and while he's only a three-time winner in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, he's also one of the most consistent drivers in the field. 

Love is in an interesting position at RCR. With an aging duo of Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon making up the team's Cup Series lineup — the latter of whom could one day find himself running the organization — Love's long-term future seems both secure and foggy at the same time. 

Connor Zilisch

No. 88 Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | NASCAR Cup Series 

Age: 19 | Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Zilisch's maiden voyage into full-time Cup Series competition could end up being the most anticipated rookie season in Cup Series history. The young phenom came up just shy of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series title in 2025 after putting together a dominant season that included 10 wins and 20 top-five finishes. 

Trackhouse Racing is not the strongest team in the Cup Series, but Zilisch showed flashes of brilliance in his first three Cup Series races with the team in 2025. If Trackhouse is able to find some more speed over the offseason, watch out for Zilisch to be running with the top dogs early in his rookie season.