The 48th edition of the Dakar Rally (January 3–17, 2026) marks the seventh consecutive year in Saudi Arabia, kicking off the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) season.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Organized by ASO, this year’s event promises to be one of the toughest in recent history, with a reworked route emphasizing raw endurance over gimmicks. The rally starts and finishes in the Red Sea coastal city of Yanbu, featuring a massive loop through central Saudi Arabia’s diverse deserts, rocky tracks, and dunes—without venturing into the vast Empty Quarter this time.

Route and Schedule Overview

The total distance is approximately 8,000 km (7,994 km for cars), including nearly 5,000 km (4,880 km) of timed special stages—one of the highest competitive kilometer counts in the Saudi era. The format includes a short prologue, 13 full stages, and a single rest day in Riyadh on January 10.

Key highlights:

– Prologue (Jan 3): Yanbu loop (98 km total, 23 km special) – Sets starting order.
– Week 1: Focuses on northern regions with fast tracks and building intensity, leading to a long liaison to Riyadh.
– Marathon Stages: Two pairs (Stages 4–5: Al Ula to Hail; Stages 9–10: Wadi Ad Dawasir to Bisha) – Competitors get limited “refuge” bivouacs with no external assistance, forcing self-reliance for repairs.
– Week 2: Heavy on dunes around Wadi Ad Dawasir and navigation challenges en route back to Yanbu.
– New addition: Mid-stage service points on select rocky sections for tire changes and minor fixes, aiding survival without diluting the challenge.

Dakar director David Castera emphasized balance and fatigue: “We have almost 5,000 kilometers of timed stages… It’s been a long time since we’ve had that many kilometers.”

Key Changes from 2025

– Scrapped the controversial 48-hour chrono stage (blamed for crashes and strategic gaming).
– Revived classic two-day marathons (twice) for authentic self-sufficiency.
– Reduced bivouacs for fresher support teams when available.
– No Empty Quarter, shifting focus to varied sand types, rocks, and canyons.

Main Categories and Top Contenders

Over 325 vehicles are entered across bikes, cars, trucks, SSVs, and more.

– Bikes: Defending champion Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM) aims to repeat his wire-to-wire 2025 dominance. Challengers include Honda’s Ricky Brabec (two-time winner), Adrien Van Beveren, Tosha Scharein; Hero’s Ross Branch and José Ignacio Cornejo.

– Cars (Ultimate): Reigning champ Yazeed Al-Rajhi defends in Toyota. Heavyweights: Carlos Sainz (Ford), Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb (Dacia Sandriders), Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Henk Lategan/Seth Quintero.
– Notable debuts: Defender enters the new Stock category with the D7X-R, driven by 14-time winner Stéphane Peterhansel.

The 2026 Dakar strips away experiments, returning to core endurance roots. With massive timed mileage, dual marathons, and Saudi’s unforgiving terrain, expect attrition to separate survivors from winners. The action starts in Yanbu—get ready for two weeks of relentless adventure.

Note: The Penske Entertainment editorial staff is looking back at the five biggest moments of 2025 in INDY NXT by Firestone in this year-end series, with one installment appearing on the site per day in countdown fashion from Dec. 27-31.

The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone season continued the development series’ upward trajectory, showcasing expanding fields, increased competition and unprecedented national exposure.

With an average of 19.4 starters per race, INDY NXT delivered one of its deepest and most diverse grids in over a decade, extending the growth trend that began after the 2022 season and the series rebrand in 2023.

For the second consecutive year, 27 drivers made at least one start, two more than in 2023 and 10 more than in 2022, signaling renewed interest from both established programs and emerging contenders. This modern era of INDY NXT has produced the largest fields since 2009. Among the 2025 highlights was the return of Chip Ganassi Racing to the series for the first time since 2007, adding another heavyweight organization to an already competitive paddock.

That momentum continues into 2026. Ed Carpenter Racing and AJ Foyt Racing both rejoin the series through technical partnerships, with ECR aligning with Cape Motorsports and Foyt partnering with HMD Motorsports. Juncos Hollinger Racing also returns as a standalone entrant, while new team Cusick Morgan Motorsports will make its INDY NXT debut as a two-car effort in collaboration with HMD. The influx of teams and driver development programs reinforces INDY NXT’s position as the strongest pipeline into the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Competitive depth defined the 2025 campaign on track. Five different drivers representing three teams reached Victory Lane, while nine drivers from four organizations earned podium finishes. Qualifying was just as tight, with four different pole winners. The oval schedule produced some of the most dramatic racing of the season, as three of the four events featured a final lead change within the last 20 laps.

Off the track, 2025 marked a breakthrough season for INDY NXT’s visibility. For the first time, the entire schedule aired live on national television. Thirteen races were broadcast on FOX Sports’ FS1 and one on FS2, with every practice and qualifying session also receiving live coverage across the FOX Sports platforms. This comprehensive television package resulted in exponential audience growth, with average viewership more than five times higher than in 2024.

With deeper fields, expanding team participation, thrilling racing and its largest-ever broadcast audience, the 2025 season cemented INDY NXT by Firestone as a premier proving ground for future NTT INDYCAR SERIES stars setting the stage for even more momentum in 2026.

For decades, Daytona 500 twin qualifying races, also known as the Daytona Duels, have been sponsored by brands like Gatorade, Budweiser, and Can-Am. Now, without a sponsor for the races, NASCAR was forced to come up with a new name.

According to the official 2026 Daytona 500 flyer, the longtime Daytona Duels will be called the America 250 Florida Duels at Daytona.

For those who still call them the Duel Twin 125s, the new name is a bit of a mouthful, forced on NASCAR because no sponsor was willing to pay the asking fee.

The president of Daytona International Speedway, Frank Kelleher, remains excited.

“Winning the DAYTONA 500 is the pinnacle of our sport – the race every driver wants most,” he said. “A championship is a career milestone, but the DAYTONA 500 stands alone. Opening the season with the DAYTONA 500 and closing the regular season with one last shot to race into the NASCAR Playoffs keeps The World Center of Racing at the heart of sport’s biggest moments.”

Key Details for the 2026 Duels:

• Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
• Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL.
• Rebrand: The event is officially titled the “America 250 Florida Duels at Daytona,” highlighting a patriotic theme for the 2026 season.
• Purpose: These two 150-mile races set the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.
• Format: 36 chartered cars are locked in, while open cars (including those driven by Jimmie Johnson and Justin Allgaier) battle for remaining spots based on their Duel finishes.

I will never forget my first rally race, partly because nearly half the competitors were Subarus. Anytime a different make or model flew by, usually in the 2WD class, it felt like an event.

From small local teams to top national entries, Subaru dominates the American Rally Association. Until now, Subaru America has had the only manufacturer-backed team in the series (with “Vermont SportsCar” as its technical partner).

After that race, I spent time talking with drivers and longtime rally fans. I asked what other cars could realistically compete. The answer came quickly. “Ford Fiestas and the GR Toyota Corolla. Man, an AWD GR Corolla would be fast.”

It’s almost as if Toyota was listening. The automaker announced it will develop a GR Corolla RC2 rally car and enter one or two of them in the 2026 ARA season. This makes it the second manufacturer-backed team in the ARA.

“TGR will enter the American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship for the first time with a rally car based on the GR Corolla, taking on the challenge of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars on American roads.” — Toyota Gazoo Racing

Why Toyota chose the GR Corolla for ARA

The AWD GR Corolla, powered by a 300-horsepower turbocharged three-cylinder engine, should be a legitimate contender. Toyota did have an easier option. The company already campaigns a GR Yaris Rally2 car in other global series.

So why not use that platform? Because the mission of a manufacturer-backed team is simple: win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

“By developing a GR Corolla rally car, TGR-WRT is harnessing the pedigree of the Corolla model within rallying and further expanding its efforts to use motorsport to help make ever-better cars for the road,” Toyota said. “It also hopes to support the development of rallying in North America, where the GR Corolla is available as a rally-bred performance car for the road.”

Toyota’s new ARA effort will debut at the 100 Acre Wood Rally in March 2026. The team’s co-driver will be Finnish rally veteran Topi Luhtinen. Seth Quintero, fresh off driving the DKR GR Hilux at Dakar, will pilot the car. Something tells me Toyota Gazoo Racing will fit right in.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series from NASCAR.com reviewing the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in reverse order of the 2025 final standings

• Driver: William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 
• Crew chief: Rudy Fugle 
• Final 2025 ranking: 4th 
• Key stats: 3 wins, 11 top fives, 16 top 10s, 1,330 laps led

• How 2025 ended: William Byron’s evolution behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet led him back to the Championship 4 for the third consecutive season after his fourth straight multi-win campaign. 
• Best race: Indeed, the year’s penultimate race at Martinsville Speedway produced an absolute masterclass by Byron, Fugle and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. Entering NASCAR’s final race of the semifinal round beneath the provisional cutline, Byron won the pole, swept the stages and led a career-high 304 of 500 laps en route to winning his way into the Championship 4. Byron muscled past Ryan Blaney with 44 laps remaining to reclaim the lead for the final time, ousting Blaney from Champ 4 contention and propelling Byron to Phoenix. 

RELATED: Panini issues 1 of 1 Jeff Gordon trading card

• Other season highlights: Byron began the season by winning the 2025 Daytona 500, becoming just the fifth driver to win the “Great American Race” in consecutive years. In addition to an impressive win at Iowa Speedway in which he led 141 of 350 laps, Byron also had dominant performances equate to runner-up finishes at Darlington Raceway in the spring and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 24 Chevrolet led the first 243 laps of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington but ultimately could not reclaim the lead late. At Charlotte, a fierce battle between Byron, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain resulted in a Chastain victory despite Byron leading 283 of 400 laps that evening. The No. 24 team showed notable resolve throughout the season’s opening 26 races, overcoming stretches of adversity and inconsistency all the way to clinch the Regular Season Championship one week early.

• Stat to know: Byron ended his campaign with a series-best 1,330 laps led — bettering his previous high mark (1,016 led in 2023) by over 300 laps. The No. 24 Chevrolet was out front more than any other driver this season, leading 224 more circuits than 2025 champion Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate, who led the second-most laps this year with 1,106 laps out front. 
• Quotable: “Winning the regular season championship and winning the (DAYTONA) 500 (and) three races a year is something to really be proud of. So yeah, I feel like it was our best year yet, honestly, but it was a lot of adversity and a lot of things that happened all the way to the end. I mean, it seems like a lot changed for us in the results column with about three laps to go this year. We’ve just got to learn from that – and a lot of it was kind of out of our control. But yeah, just gotta move past it. But I think overall, yeah, it was our best year.” 

RELATED: Check out William Byron’s Liberty University Chevrolet for 2026!

• Looking ahead: Few drivers have maintained a consistent year-over-year level of performance, as Byron has in recent seasons. That level of production and sustained championship contention should remain prominent for him and the No. 24 team entering the 2026 campaign. There is some history on the line in February as he attempts to become the first driver to win three straight DAYTONA 500s. But the biggest question remains: Will 2026 will be the year Byron breaks through for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship? There are very few reasons to think he won’t.

Aaron Rodgers rang in Christmas with a special surprise for his Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive linemen.

The NFL quarterback, 42, gifted his linemen Can-Am Maverick X3 off-road vehicles from Mosites Motorsports, the powersports dealership highlighted in Instagram photos of Rodgers and his teammates riding in the vehicles.

The Pittsburgh dealership revealed the news in a Christmas day Instagram video showing the linemen speeding off in the vehicles in the roadway nearby the dealership and inside the parking lot. Over the video were the words, “Aaron Rodgers’ gift to his lineman came with horsepower.” 

The dealership echoed this in its caption, writing, “This Christmas, Aaron Rodgers gave his offensive line the gift of horsepower. Safe to say, it delivered.”

The vehicles also came with a hefty price tag. The Can-Am Maverick X3 retails at a starting price of $19,999 and can go up to just under $29,000, according to the company’s website.

In the Instagram photos shared by Mosites Motorsports, Rodgers can be spotted wearing a red Christmas sweater and gifting his teammates with the vehicles. In one photo, he could be seen shooting a thumbs-up to the camera as he rode shotgun in one of the vehicles.

Additional photos showed the lineman testing out the vehicles on the roadway and them hugging Rodgers to thank him for the gift. 

“Aaron Rodgers rewarding the guys who protect the pocket,” Mosites Motorsports wrote. “Can-Am Maverick X3s built for work, power, and play. Tough to top this kind of gift.”

This comes as the Steelers are projected to clinch a spot in the 2025 NFL Playoffs. according to ESPN. The team is scheduled to take on the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 28, and if they win the game, they will be guaranteed a spot in the AFC playoffs.

Rodgers isn’t the only quarterback to have given his lineman special gifts this year. Detroit Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff surprised his linemen with state-of-the-art golf carts for Christmas, according to a video on X shared by the team. 

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The linemen could be seen hugging Goff and riding around in the vehicles. The team captioned the video, “Santa Jared came through with the Goff carts.”

Patrick Mahomes also gave his Kansas City Chiefs’ linemen several gifts that included bicycles, watches, sunglasses and shoes. The Chiefs shared a look at the lineman receiving the gifts in the locker room with the caption, “Christmas came early for the o-line! Shoutout to QB1 for the gifts.”