Not impossible at this point, but I heard somewhere that when NASCAR ran its models on this format, that a driver realistically needs to be in the top 6 or 3 at the start of the Chase to have a shot. No more playoff points and no more win and in.

Will be interesting for sure, but I have a feeling that we will end up liking it in comparison to what we had before... but wow, only 2 drivers currently within 100 points of the leader only 4 races in... that's a pretty amazing stat.

Agree, I like this format better than the previous one.

.@FS1 got 2.841 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race @PhoenixRaceway.

48 will be driven by little gator this weekend.

Adam Stern

.@NASCAR has brought on fintech app Super.com as a new official sponsor, and the company will offer discounts to its members on race experiences and try to grow its brand exposure in America's most-watched auto racing series.

Side note, ran into Michael "Fatback" McSwain at Walmart, and had a small convo, what a guy.

That had to be a neat encounter, he was always fun

It was, he talked a little bit about his days at the Wood Brothers. I just about always have something Wood Brothers on when I leave the house. What a mind and a great person.

I believe next year will be Denny Hamlin's final year. From what I read and heard.

ncsupack1 said:

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I believe next year will be Denny Hamlin's final year. From what I read and heard.

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I hope he wins a championship before going out. He has been so close multiple times. I thought he had it last year but wasn't meant to be.

ge_traveler said:

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ncsupack1 said:

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I believe next year will be Denny Hamlin's final year. From what I read and heard.

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I hope he wins a championship before going out. He has been so close multiple times. I thought he had it last year but wasn't meant to be.

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I feel the same.

Mike Bagley


We consider NASCAR's crown jewels the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, & Southern 500. What would be the 5th?

866-PIT-LANE
@SiriusXMNASCAR
#TMDNASCAR

Ryan McGee

I'm old school, so I always go with the Winston Million Crown Jewels, plus one.
Biggest: Daytona 500
Oldest: Southern 500
Longest: Coca-Cola (World) 600
Fastest: Talladega Spring Race (formerly Winston 500)
Plus One: I go back and forth between Brickyard and Bristol Night Race

I'm old school, so I always go with the Winston Million Crown Jewels, plus one.
Biggest: Daytona 500
Oldest: Southern 500
Longest: Coca-Cola (World) 600
Fastest: Talladega Spring Race (formerly Winston 500)
Plus One: I go back and forth between Brickyard and Bristol Night Race https://t.co/oE5oOXcKpw

— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) March 12, 2026

Bristol night race. The Brickyard is more about nostalgia of the place. The racing over the years with stock cars isn't the best. JMO others are free to disagree.

Atlanta is becoming my favorite track to watch. It gives you the Daytona and Talladega experience with much more passing that's real.

Friday, March 13
2 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton, FS1
2:30 a.m., Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour (re-air), FS2
3 a.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2
3:30 a.m., Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour: Phoenix Recap (re-air), FS2
10 p.m., Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour (re-air), FS2
10:30 p.m., SPEED With Harvick & Buxton (re-air), FS2

Adam Stern

"NASCAR execs are especially jubilant about Fox's 26 percent ratings jump in the 18-to-34 demo that advertisers covet. 'That's tough to do in a linear environment that we're in today,' [NASCAR executive @btherbst11] said." - @PuckNews

.@FoxSports' decision to drop "Race Hub" and heavily promote @IndyCar in recent years has led to chatter in NASCAR circles about tension between Fox and @NASCAR.
But Fox and NASCAR say their relationship is fine and that the industry talk is inaccurate.

.@FoxSports' decision to drop "Race Hub" and heavily promote @IndyCar in recent years has led to chatter in NASCAR circles about tension between Fox and @NASCAR.

➡️ But Fox and NASCAR say their relationship is fine and that the industry talk is inaccurate.https://t.co/qn9h6iTKjp

— Adam Stern (@A_S12) March 13, 2026

I have mixed feelings about FOX at times. They have pushed some bad ideas over the years. ie dirt on Bristol anyone here like that?

The Bristol dirt race was one of the worst ideas. There are plenty of dirt tracks if they wanted to try dirt, no need to do it at Bristol. If they wanted to throw in a dirt race, just do Eldora Speedway. But I'm fine with just sticking to asphalt.

ge_traveler said:

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The Bristol dirt race was one of the worst ideas. There are plenty of dirt tracks if they wanted to try dirt, no need to do it at Bristol. If they wanted to throw in a dirt race, just do Eldora Speedway. But I'm fine with just sticking to asphalt.

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FOX pushing the dirt race and taking the trucks off of Eldora was the beginning of the end for Tony Stewart. A lot of folks think Marcus had the idea for dirt on Bristol but my understanding is that FOX pushed NASCAR for it. The next nail was Ford saying no to Kyle Larson.

Saturday, March 14
Noon, NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: Practice and Qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, The CW App
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice and Qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Prime Video
5 p.m., NASCAR Countdown Live, The CW
5:30 p.m., NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, The CW
10:30 p.m., We've Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later (re-air), FS2
11:30 p.m., Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour (re-air), FS2

ncsupack1 said:

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ge_traveler said:

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The Bristol dirt race was one of the worst ideas. There are plenty of dirt tracks if they wanted to try dirt, no need to do it at Bristol. If they wanted to throw in a dirt race, just do Eldora Speedway. But I'm fine with just sticking to asphalt.

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FOX pushing the dirt race and taking the trucks off of Eldora was the beginning of the end for Tony Stewart. A lot of folks think Marcus had the idea for dirt on Bristol but my understanding is that FOX pushed NASCAR for it. The next nail was Ford saying no to Kyle Larson.

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Was that after his debacle with the "N" word?

caryking said:

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ncsupack1 said:

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ge_traveler said:

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The Bristol dirt race was one of the worst ideas. There are plenty of dirt tracks if they wanted to try dirt, no need to do it at Bristol. If they wanted to throw in a dirt race, just do Eldora Speedway. But I'm fine with just sticking to asphalt.

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FOX pushing the dirt race and taking the trucks off of Eldora was the beginning of the end for Tony Stewart. A lot of folks think Marcus had the idea for dirt on Bristol but my understanding is that FOX pushed NASCAR for it. The next nail was Ford saying no to Kyle Larson.

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Was that after his debacle with the "N" word?

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This happened post CGR. Tony had Kyle in the shop and the deal was good until Ford said no. SHR was going to allow him to dirt race and other teams were hesitant. Also, SHR just about had Kyle Busch until Ford didn't want to support another truck team. Sucks cause Busch ended up selling his truck team due to I believe Chevy not supporting the way I think he thought.

Sunday, March 15
11 a.m., NASCAR Youth Series at Las Vegas, FloRacing
1:30 p.m., Rising: How's That For Your TV Show? (re-air), FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FS1
Editor's Note: The 2026 NASCAR TV Schedule is updated weekly throughout the season.

Let's get this show going!

Congrats to the 11. Happy for him and what a great moment with the family after the race. The race itself wasn't bad, but the Ford's got work to do as usual.

ncsupack1 said:

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Congrats to the 11. Happy for him and what a great moment with the family after the race. The race itself wasn't bad, but the Ford's got work to do as usual.

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I thought the racing was solid. Right after stage 2 started, the racing was excellent…. I didn't watch the post race stuff, even though I'm not a Hamlin fan at all, I do appreciate his family involvement. I know most drivers engage with their family; however, Hamlin has been through a lot recently…

caryking said:

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ncsupack1 said:

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Congrats to the 11. Happy for him and what a great moment with the family after the race. The race itself wasn't bad, but the Ford's got work to do as usual.

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I thought the racing was solid. Right after stage 2 started, the racing was excellent…. I didn't watch the post race stuff, even though I'm not a Hamlin fan at all, I do appreciate his family involvement. I know most drivers engage with their family; however, Hamlin has been through a lot recently…

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It was nice to see his mom at the track. Vegas is a track that I would like to hit up one day.

I was able to watch the bulk of this race while traveling, but had to miss the finish... but there were a ton of green flag laps that I got to watch during that final stage and the hierarchy seemed to be pretty well established - as long as no one pulled a "Hocevar" in those last 10 or so laps.

Good day for my #24 - even though he was never a threat to win.

23XI in 1st and 2nd positions in the points now. Bubba seems to be running pretty good on that team right now...

"[Virginia] Sen. Bill Stanley, an avid racing fan who helped organize the caucus, warned that Martinsville which he represents and has one of NASCAR's oldest tracks nearly lost a Cup race in recent years." - @Axios

https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2026/03/16/virginia-nascar-motorsports-caucus-racing-future

Interesting read. Richmond going to 1 race may end up what saves that track, the place was sold out last year, hopefully that continues. As for Martinsville, every track outside of the Daytona 500 and the Coke 600 can change and or have a date taken. These tracks are now owned by either NASCAR or SMI ( Pocono is the last independent track ). Now as a fan I love seeing these government groups start putting money into stock car racing, lord knows that they don't have a issue doing it for any other professional sport. RC did a lot for stock racing here in NC from local all the up to CMS. Glad to see others take notice. RC: Roy Cooper

Adam Stern

.@FS1 got a 1.44 rating and 2.771 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas, down 3% and 8% respectively from a 1.48 rating and 3.011 million last year.

Still, the figure is up from last year's Cup average on FS1 (2.534 million).

Alex Bowman out at least another month due to vertigo. Really hate it for him.

Off topic but Indian football coach Curt Cignetti to drive the pace car for the Indy 500.