Motorsports

NASCAR RUMOR: 2026 Cup Series Body Update Might Be in the Works

Something’s cooking in the NASCAR’s bowtie camp, and it might hit the track in 2026. Rumors are heating up that Chevrolet is working on an updated Camaro body for the NASCAR Cup Series for 2026. According to several sources, including @NASCARRumorNostalgia on Instagram, which has a strong track record for accuracy, the current ZL1 is […]

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1 month ago

May 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Something’s cooking in the NASCAR’s bowtie camp, and it might hit the track in 2026.

Rumors are heating up that Chevrolet is working on an updated Camaro body for the NASCAR Cup Series for 2026. According to several sources, including @NASCARRumorNostalgia on Instagram, which has a strong track record for accuracy, the current ZL1 is getting a facelift for 2026, not a full replacement.

This would be a smart move for Chevy especially since the street Camaro went out of production at the end of 2023. But the Camaro ZL1 lives on in NASCAR — sort of. While the silhouette is the same, Chevy stripped the “Camaro” branding from its Cup cars starting in 2025. For example, William Byron’s №24 ride from Hendrick Motorsports now has “Chevrolet” across the back of the car, no “Camaro” in sight.

Also Read:: NASCAR RUMOR: Spire Motorsports to Field Surprise Entry in Charlotte Race

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NH Racing: DJ Shaw foiled in ACT event in North Woodstock | Motor Sports

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14 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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Denny Hamlin wins at Michigan for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act. Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver, expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that’s suing NASCAR. “The tackle […]

Published

37 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act.

Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver, expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that’s suing NASCAR.

“The tackle box is full,” Hamlin said Sunday. “There’s all kinds of stuff going on.”

Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack to win by more than a second over Chris Buescher.

“Just worked over the guys one by one, giving them different looks,” he said.

Ty Gibbs finished third, matching a season best, followed by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.

The 44-year-old Hamlin was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. If she was in labor by Lap 50 or sooner at Michigan, he was prepared to leave the track.

Hamlin said he would skip next week’s race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth.

To add something else to Hamlin’s plate, he is also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR.

He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which hadn’t won at Michigan in a decade.

“I think it’s the most underrated track that we go to,” said Hamlin, who has won three times on the 2-mile oval.

Hamlin became JGR’s winningest driver, surpassing Kyle Busch’s 56 victories, and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win after his 700th start.

“It feels good because I’m going to hate it when I’m not at the level I’m at now,” he said. “I will certainly retire very quicky after that.”

Hamlin’s team set him up with enough fuel to win while many drivers, including Byron, ran out of gas late in the race.

“It really stings,” said Byron, the points leader, who was a season-worst 28th. “We just burned more (fuel) and not able to do much about that.”

Hamlin, meanwhile, wasn’t on empty until his celebratory burnout was cut short.

Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on Lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on Lap 36 and stayed up front to win his first stage this season.

Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red flag on Lap 67.

Byron took the lead again after a restart on Lap 78 as part of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage.

Carson Hocevar took the lead on Lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn’t have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a flat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go.

Hocevar faded to a 29th-place finish, a week after he was second to match a career best at Nashville, where he created a buzz with an aggressive move that knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of the race.

Rough times for Bowman

Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback.

“That hurt a lot,” he said after passing a medical evaluation. “That was probably top of the board on hits I’ve taken.”

Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn’t finish for a third time during the tough stretch.

Reddick rallies

Defending race champion Tyler Reddick qualified 12th, but started last in the 36-car field because of unapproved adjustments and rallied to finish 13th.

Up next

NASCAR shifts to Mexico City for its first points-paying international race in modern history on June 15.

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Ram Returns to NASCAR, Dodge Might Follow With Cup Series Racer

Get The Drive’s daily newsletter The latest car news, reviews, and features. Ram is goin’ NASCAR racin’ for the first time in more than a decade. It’s leaning into the Hemi V8’s revival by committing to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, which Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis confirmed is its immediate focus. However, he says […]

Published

38 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ram is goin’ NASCAR racin’ for the first time in more than a decade. It’s leaning into the Hemi V8’s revival by committing to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, which Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis confirmed is its immediate focus. However, he says “the company” has intentions to enter the Cup Series later on.

Huh?

During a Ram media event that The Drive attended virtually, Kuniskis mentioned aspirations of joining the Cup Series. He was asked to clarify later, during the Q&A session, given that Ram builds trucks. “We have cars in our company,” Kuniskis explained. “I don’t have cars. Even though everybody calls them Dodge Rams.”

Clear as mud, then. It’s obviously enough to get people talking.

Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis stands in front of the Ram 1500 NASCAR Concept. — Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis and the brand’s NASCAR Concept truck. *Ram* *Ram*

I’ve written about Dodge’s potential return to NASCAR several times over the years, though for every rumor I’ve decided to cover, there have been 10 more that I passed on. The realest it ever felt was when NASCAR President Steve Phelps commented on Dodge’s supposed return back in 2021. Even then, Phelps simply said, “I won’t confirm or deny that.” Kuniskis’ cryptic statement feels about as weighty.

Even if you interpret this as an indirect confirmation of Dodge’s interest in rejoining the Cup Series, it’s no guarantee. Manufacturers throughout history have planned to join NASCAR, Formula 1, and almost every other racing discipline without following through. There’s a lot that has to go right, even beyond building a car. Finding a team, or, ideally, several teams, is crucial to fielding entries.

Speaking of teams, Kuniskis and Ram don’t have one locked in yet. He plans to have an arrangement in place by the Daytona season-opener in February 2026. And the truck that hits the superspeedway will look a lot like the Ram 1500 NASCAR Concept that just debuted.

Ram 1500 NASCAR Concept sits on track. — *Ram*

The super-sleek race truck concept was unveiled this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. It was in a specialized “donut” trailer with folding sides that revealed it in a cloud of tire smoke. These guys are a hoot.

“For more than a decade, customers and our dealer network asked about getting back into NASCAR. The desire was always there, but we didn’t have a plan that delivered the last tenth and following just didn’t fit our DNA,” said Kuniskis. “Now we have a solid plan that will set us apart from the field and will bring fresh new interest and engagement to America’s Motorsport.”

You can bet NASCAR is happy about having a fourth manufacturer, too, even if it’s only in one series. It sounds like talks are happening to potentially expand that to the top-level Cup circuit.

Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com

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Alex Bowman Walks Away From Massive Head-On Impact at Michigan

Alex Bowman notched his third DNF and seventh finish of 27th or worse over his last nine races, but that statistic wasn’t the main focus after the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took one of the hardest shots you’ll see all season in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. After […]

Published

55 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

After Bowman’s car was sent dead right in a chain-reaction multi-car incident in Turn 2 on Lap 67 of the event and the driver slammed head-on into the outside SAFER Barrier. The impact was so severe that the rear tires of his race car lifted off the ground during the impact.

At the moment of Bowman’s impact, his points position, his latest rough-luck finish, none of that mattered one iota. The only thing that mattered was the safety of Bowman.

Fortunately, as Bowman’s car skidded to a halt, the driver was able to put down the window net on his No. 48 Chevrolet, which is a sign from drivers to the AMR Safety team that they are relatively uninjured after a crash. Bowman would incredibly climb from his car, and walk to the ambulance.

After the customary trip to the infield care center, Bowman said he didn’t even see the crash coming as it all unfolded so fast.

“I mean, it happened so fast, I didn’t even see them,” Bowman explained. “I didn’t know who hit me until I saw the video, right? But it’s always turbulent in 300th, it’s crazy back there. It gets wild, but that’s part of racing; it’s wild all throughout the field. Unfortunately, the further back you get, the less downforce the cars have, and the dirtier air situations you’re in, and the worse everyone’s stuff drives. So, stuff like that tends to happen.”

Bowman would go on to say that the crash was the hardest hit of his stock car racing career.

“Yeah, I mean, I feel okay. It was the biggest hit I’ve ever taken in a stock car by a mile,” Bowman said. “But, head-on into the wall at Michigan, it’s going to be that way.”

Fortunately, Bowman was able to walk away from the massive impact, and regardless of how the point situation looks after Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, at least he’ll live to race another day.

There was a time in NASCAR history, where that wouldn’t have been the case after a hit like the one Bowman took on Sunday.

Motorsports

NASCAR Fans Opine How Mexico “Needs to Chill” as Teams Navigate Sponsorship Hurdles in the Country

To see a Cup Series race in an international venue has been a long wait for NASCAR fans. So, when the racing promotion announced that the field would be racing for points in Mexico City, the hype went over the roof and now we are days away from the big event. But organizing this giant […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bob Pockrass reported on his X handle that Richard Childress Racing has been covering up all the advertisements of alcohol, nicotine, tobacco, and CBD on its haulers ahead of the cross-border visit. Firearm and ammo advertisements are being removed as well. And it all comes down to the strict advertising laws in Mexico.

This presents an issue for sponsors. Holding a race in such an exotic venue is a financial burden for teams. If sponsors aren’t allowed to take advantage of the situation, they aren’t going to be willing to shelve out the dollar. There are many such tricky confrontations that come to mind in light of Pockrass’ update. The NASCAR fandom revealed them without hesitation.

For Mexico, RCR haulers and haulers from other teams have covered up most alcohol (if less than 6% alcohol content, possible to have it through a permitting process), and all CBD, nicotine/tobacco logos. Casino only OK if licensed in Mexico. No firearms/ammo advertising allowed. pic.twitter.com/JeRiWYvDqh

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2025

One fan commented, “Mexico needs to chill out a bit,” while another said, “Not fair for the money the sponsors put out. Also sounds like a major pain in the ass.”

Logistics are already one of the biggest challenges when it comes to such events. This narrow funnel makes things even more difficult. Another fan pointed out how most of Kyle Busch’s sponsors are in the list prohibited by the Mexican government.

They joked, “Kyle Busch gonna be driving a blank race car next week. Maybe they can put his Mexico mug shot from the incident a few years ago on the hood instead.” ‘Rowdy‘ had run into trouble a few years ago for mistakenly carrying a handgun in his luggage at a Mexican airport. It became quite the hot news then.

One more expressed concern, “With every passing day, I’m believing more and more that the juice ain’t worth the squeeze. Never mind how dangerous it can be going down there.” That’s a rather pessimistic view to have ahead of one of the most crucial events in the sport’s history. If it all goes well, it would be a huge step-up for NASCAR.

And yet, a fan criticized, “Last I checked this is NASCAR. Not Formula 1.” Many would agree that the level of sophistication in Formula 1 is what NASCAR should strive to achieve. There can’t be much wrong with following in Formula 1’s footsteps.

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Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway

BROOKLYN, Mich. (WILX) – Denny Hamlin sat in fourth place with under 20 laps left but took the lead on lap 196 and held on to win the NASCAR Firekeepers Casino 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Denny Hamlin NASCAR(WILX) The win is Hamlin’s third of the season and the third of his career […]

Published

3 hours ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The win is Hamlin’s third of the season and the third of his career at MIS. Hamlin last won in Michigan in 2011.

Michigan native Carson Hocevar came in with some hype after a 2nd place finish in Nashville last weekend. Hocevar led the field late in the race but blew a tire on lap 181 and finished 29th.

William Byron took the lead after Hocevar’s tire trouble but was low on fuel and passed by Hamlin before pitting on lap 199.

Chris Buescher finished second, while Ty Gibbs finished third.

The NASCAR Cup Series is racing again next weekend in Mexico City.

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