By Jerry Bonkowski
Even NASCAR’s greatest drivers wouldn’t have found success if not for the men and women “back at the shop.”
Here’s a look at 10 of the most iconic teams in NASCAR history:
Hendrick Motorsports: When Joseph Riddick “Rick” Hendrick formed All-Star Racing (now Hendrick Motorsports) in 1984, he came close to folding several times in the first couple of years due to lack of money. But once his teams started winning both races (291) and Cup Series championships (14), HMS has gone on to become the sport’s most successful organization.
Petty Enterprises: A close second to Hendrick Motorsports, Petty Enterprises was formed by team patriarch Lee Petty in 1949 and continued by son Richard. The Petty camp has earned 268 NASCAR Cup Series victories, with Richard contributing the most (196 wins and seven championships). While the Petty clan became the most successful organization in the 1960s and 1970s, by the 1980s things had gotten lean – and have continued that way since.
Joe Gibbs Racing: When NFL coach Joe Gibbs announced he was forming a NASCAR team in 1992, many laughed at him. But using the same diligence and strategy he utilized on the gridiron; Joe Gibbs Racing has gone on to 200 career Cup Series wins and five series championships. Unfortunately, the two sons Joe Gibbs planned to succeed him in running the organization, J.D. and Coy, have passed away, leaving the future of JGR unclear.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing: This team has gone from Roush Racing to Roush Fenway Racing to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022 when NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski joined the organization as a driver and part-time owner (with the plan he’ll succeed team patriarch Jack Roush when his racing days are over). The organization has 138 Cup Series wins and two series championships, but has struggled of late, with no points finishes higher than 15th since 2015.
Team Penske: Operated by perhaps the most iconic team owner in all of motorsports (including his tremendous success in Indy car racing), Roger Penske has built a NASCAR organization that can hold its own against any rival, with 135 Cup Series wins and three championships (all in the last decade, including Joey Logano winning the 2022 crown). Austin Cindric, who won the 2022 Daytona 500, and Ryan Blaney are on the cusp of becoming NASCAR greats.
Junior Johnson and Associates: Junior Johnson was among the first five inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, not just for his 50 victories as a driver, but also for the 132 wins he amassed as a Cup Series team owner, including six championships (three each by Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip). Johnson was an innovator, mentor and one of the most intelligent men to ever sit behind the wheel or atop the pit box.
Richard Childress Racing: Like many of his predecessors, Richard Childress went from being a so-so driver to an outstanding team owner, amassing 113 Cup Series victories and six championships. All of the team’s titles came with Dale Earnhardt driving and RCR has struggled to find its footing since his death in 2001 Daytona 500. However, with Kyle Busch joining the team this year, look for a major uptick in performance, wins and championships.
Wood Brothers Racing: A true family operation that began in little, bucolic Stuart, Virginia, Glen Wood and brother Leonard formed the backbone of the organization. When Glen retired in the late 1980s, his sons, Eddie and Len, took over leadership of the organization, roles they continue in to this day. The organization has won 99 NASCAR Cup Series, but has never earned a championship.
Holman-Moody Racing: From 1957 until 1973, Holman Moody was one of the most feared organizations in NASCAR. Backed by Ford Motor Co., it also was one of the most coveted destinations for drivers, winning 96 races with the likes of Fred Lorenzen, Mario Andretti (won his only Daytona 500 in 1967 for Holman Moody), Bobby Allison, Joe Weatherly and David Pearson, who brought the company its only two NASCAR Cup Series championships in 1968 and 1969.
Stewart-Haas Racing: This is one of the most pleasant surprises on this list. Prior to Tony Stewart joining as co-owner in 2009, Gene Haas went 284 races as an owner (Haas CNC Racing) with zero wins. But once Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing and received a 50 percent equity share of the rechristened Stewart-Haas Racing, the organization has gone on to win 69 races and Cup Series championships with Stewart (2011) and Kevin Harvick (2014).
Following last week’s shocking lawsuit filed by Joe Gibbs Racing against their former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, team owner and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr chimed in with his take on how the lawsuit will unfold.
Entering the 2026 NASCAR season, most fans felt that a messy season, which saw multiple lawsuits filed between teams and one including NASCAR itself, was in the review mirror.
This illusion lasted not even one week after the 2026 season opening Daytona 500, with Joe Gibbs Racing filing a lawsuit against their former Crew Chief and Competition Director, Chris Gabehart, claiming he stole sensitive information from the team before jumping to Spire Motorsports.
Though the two have yet to come to blows over the matter in court, this battle is quickly picking up steam, with JGR since adding Spire as a co-defendant, and Gabehart filing a fiery and accusatory response on Wednesday afternoon.
Prior to these new additions, NASCAR Hall of Famer and co-owner of JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr., shared his thoughts on the lawsuit, alongside a prediction on how it will end, during the latest episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr Download.
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging he took confidential team information…
During this episode, Earnhardt provided some valuable commentary on the issue, though this did not come from his perspective as a driver. Rather, it came from his insights as an active owner in one of NASCAR’s highest divisions.
The long-time co-owner of JR Motorsports said that situations like this are the reason why teams make employees sign a non-compete clause, which would prevent them from working in a similar capacity in the sport for a period of time.
“The reason why they get them to do that is that they do not want to race against that information the very next week. Or the very next year,” Earnhardt said. “And so, while that person does sign the non-compete, they do have all that information.”
Ultimately, Earnhardt sees two sides to the conflict, saying that Gabehart did something that “has been going on forever” by taking his knowledge and skills to a new team after a rocky end to his time as JGR’s Competition Director.
In fact, as Earnhardt pointed out, losing a veteran, championship-caliber Crew Chief to the competition is something JRM went through just this past off-season, when former Xfinity Series Champion Jim Pohlman left the team for Richard Childress Racing.
While Pohlman is competing in the Cup Series for RCR, Earnhardt acknowledged that he is sure JRM is racing against some of the knowledge that the champion Crew Chief took with him, be that literally or metaphorically, on Saturdays, as RCR has a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program.
“RCR hired Jim Pohlman. You don’t think I’m racing against some of this **** that Jim did here in the O’Reilly Series? We know that. We expect that.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr
But, in contrast, Earnhardt acknowledges that JGR isn’t trying to prevent Gabehart from working, but rather, to protect the millions of dollars they have poured into R&D.
The long-time short track racer also added that this is just part of racing in the highest form of stock car racing, saying that compared to local racing, or even the Truck Series, you probably wouldn’t see a lawsuit like this, but “when it’s $150 to $200 million a year,” the stakes are high.
Nonetheless, Earnhardt admits he is curious to see what is to come of the lawsuit, given the shocking claims that Gabehart was using company equipment to offload this information from JGR.
Unfortunately, in his eyes, those on the outside looking in at this lawsuit will probably never truly know what happened, as the NASCAR veteran thinks that Spire will try to settle.
“I think this settles. I bet [the] money guy at Spire says, ‘You know what? Let’s make this go away, let’s move on,’ and I think that we’ll never really truly know,” Earnhardt said.
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
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While he may not have the accolades of some of the top names in NASCAR, collectors in the NASCAR community are starting to take notice of some outrageous resale prices for Carson Hocevar merchandise. So what exactly is going on here?
Of every subgroup within the NASCAR community, be that gamers, car fanatics, or just motorsports fans, there is perhaps no group more passionate than NASCAR collectors.
Whether it’s cards, sheet metal, merch, or diecast, NASCAR collectors have built a sprawling community of their own across the online NASCAR world to discuss everything you can imagine, from diecast production rumors to what collectables are fetching the highest prices.
A major topic of discussion in the NASCAR collector community this week, specifically in a now-deleted post to the r/NASCAR subreddit, was some sky-high prices for memorabilia of one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ most talked-about drivers, Carson Hocevar.
It’s no surprise that fans are clamoring for more Hocevar collectables. After all, he might have one of the most well-received personalities and racing styles in sports’ recent history, with many fans taking to his unapologetic racing and outgoing personality.
Of course, he has his detractors, as, at the same time, some of his fellow drivers have warned of some form of karma catching up to the former Rookie of the Year down the road.
But, if there were ever any doubt as to whether or not “Hurricane” Hocevar was shooting up the popularity charts in the grandstands, look no further than some of his merchandise being sold on sites like eBay.
For example, a Chili’s snapback hat that is similar to one that retailed for $50 on Spire Motorsports’ website before quickly selling out was recently resold on eBay for $122.50.
Now, a 145% increase is a lot for an unsigned, or non-race used hat (that also features no reference to Hocevar, Spire, or even the No. 77 team) might seem like an outlier, but what about a 1:64 scale diecast?
Well, prices are shooting up in that department as well, as an eBay auction for a 1:64 scale diecast of his 2025 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, which Lionel retailed for $11.75, sold for $41.00 just this morning.
If you think that’s a high price to buy a 1:64 at, what about 1:24 scale diecast? Well, this time you might want to sit down, because, on Wednesday afternoon, a 1:24 scale diecast of Hocevar’s Zeigler paint scheme from his 2024 Rookie of the Year season sold for $449.99.
Now it’s fun to window shop these wild prices, but they may leave you asking why they’re selling for that much.
Now, there are a lot of reasons why NASCAR merchandise will spike in value, and looking at the forces that are behind Hocevar, there is little to suggest that these high prices are going down anytime soon.
First, given his recent performance, some fans could see buying now as an investment, hoping that these items could pull a pretty penny down the line should Hocevar develop into a title contender.
This is similar to how a driver like Kyle Larson has seen their early merchandise (such as diecast from his days at Chip Ganassi Racing) skyrocket in value as his success and popularity have grown in and even outside of the NASCAR community.
Of course, not every NASCAR collector is in it for the current or future value of the item. For example, there are completionist collectors who collect every diecast or hat they can find for one specific driver or team.
Finally, there are those who, plain and simple, like Hocevar, and want to show their pride in whatever they can.
After all, whether it’s his social media presence, his on-track actions, or off-track persona, Hocevar is proving to a lot of drivers in the garage that personality goes a long way.
But, nonetheless, these different groups have all combined to make a highly competitive marketplace for Hocevar’s merchandise, pushing prices to levels that, just a handful of years ago, seemed highly unlikely for the upstart Rookie just promoted from the Craftsman Truck Series.
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iRacing has finally given NASCAR fans a first look at the in-game model of the NASCAR Ram Truck slated to join the racing sim’s lineup in the near future.
Though iRacing says the Ram model is still pending approvals, this announcement marks a major milestone for Ram in its 2026 return to NASCAR, as this is the first appearance the brand will make in motorsports gaming in well over a decade.
Of course, the next major question facing Ram will be its inclusion in iRacing’s next edition of their console-based NASCAR game series, which most expect to be titled NASCAR 26.
iRacing was open about its use of models from its self-titled subscription-based online racing service for NASCAR 25. But, as of press time, they have yet to announce any details about the next game, although it’s fair for players to assume the Ram model used for iRacing will likely be used in the next NASCAR console game.
The NASCAR news for iRacing Season 2 didn’t stop at Ram, as iRacing also confirmed that the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a new addition to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in 2026, will join its track list during Season 2.
iRacing also confirmed tweaks to the in-game physics of both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, focused on updating the series’ in-game drafting model.
But the biggest news of all (beyond Ram, of course) is that iRacing plans to have NASCAR’s San Diego Street Circuit at Naval Base Coronado ready for play before the end of the 2026 season, with the Development Update claiming they are targeting a release date sometime in June.
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