Nick Sanchez Scores New Ride for 2026
What’s Happening? Nick Sanchez will drive AM Racing’s No. 25 car in 2026, filling one of the final open seats in…
AI stands for “artificial intelligence,” which means intelligence that is not real. If the intelligence is not real, then how can it be better than real intelligence? Case in point, when NASCAR on FOX asked ChatGPT to put together the top 10 NASCAR drivers since 2000.
This list is wrong according to this fan. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to list the top 10 NASCAR drivers since 2000. Some drivers are on the original list, while some are not.
Dale Earnhardt Jr
As a NASCAR contributor, sure Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the greatest ambassadors of the sport. As a driver though, he never won a championship and went through a span from 2009-2011 where he was driving in the best equipment in the sport and had an average points finish of 17.7 with zero wins. That is not good enough to be considered for this type of a list.
Kurt Busch
Yes he won a championship and won 34 races, but outside of his championship season, when was Kurt Busch truly a factor? After 2004, he only finished in the top-5 in the standings once in 2009. A champion sure, but he was not consistent enough to be considered for a list like this.
Denny Hamlin
Yes he has won 49 races, but, in order to be considered for a list like this, it is a requirement to have won a championship. Hamlin not only has never won a championship, but he has been in position to win a championship multiple times and continues to choke.
In 2010 he led the points heading into the final race of the season, but he spun out during the race putting him behind the eight-ball. He was the top seed in the Playoffs heading into 2012, but laid an egg during the playoffs. He has made four championship-4s, but has failed to capture a Cup. To be considered for a list like this, these opportunities need to be converted.
Now it is time to name the drivers on the real top ten drivers since 2000 list. Their previous ranking will be in parentheses next to their name.
Kyle Larson deserves to be on this list for his on-track accomplishments, but he also deserves to be on there because he can and will drive anything. There probably is no one currently on the Cup Series circuit with the level of pure talent that Larson has. At the end of his career, he very well could be near the very top of this list.
It took a bit for Truex to find his footing in the Cup Series, but once he was put in good equipment, he flourished. The two consecutive Xfinity Series championships are a testament to how he did when given good equipment. Once Furniture Row Racing found its’ footing, Truex became even more formidable making five Championship-4s in seven seasons and winning the 2017 Championship.
Brad Keselowski has the ability to say what no one else can really say. He beat out prime Jimmie Johnson for a Championship in 2012. Add to that Keselowski’s impressive Xfinity Series resume, and the success RFK is beginning to find as he becomes an owner-driver, Keselowski deserves to be on this list higher than the AI claimed.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day, so the AI got this one right, too. Kenseth won the 2003 Cup Series Championship, and he continued to be a consistent force in the Series. He would record seven top-5 points finishes in 18 full-time seasons.
If this was a list that included the 1990s, Jeff Gordon would easily be number two on this list, but this does not include the 1990s. He has won a Championship in this millennium, and his 44 Cup Series wins are Hall of Fame worthy in and of themselves. However, since he never recaptured the dominance of the 1990s, Gordon cannot be higher on this list.
How can you leave a two-time Cup Series Champion off the list? That is simply absurd, but Joey Logano has been a consistent threat to win every single week since he made the move to Team Penske in 2013. Not only has he won two championships, but he has also made a five Championship-4 appearances, tied for the most since the format began in 2014.
Harvick was thrust into the spotlight in 2001, and he took the NASCAR world by storm winning the Xfinity Series Championship and two Cup Series races. Since then he has crossed the 60 wins threshold in the Cup Series and has an impressive 121 wins across all National Touring Series. He has had a few championship-caliber seasons that did not pan out completely, but he is still worthy of a top-five slot.
The winningest driver in NASCAR National Touring Series history ranked at number six? Yeah the AI got that one wrong big time.
Once Kyle Busch was able to mature enough to harness his incredible driving ability, he became arguably the best driver in the sport in the late 2010s. His success across all levels of NASCAR cannot be understated. Sure it can be seen as punching down, but how can you penalize a guy who races more than others?
Prior to Kyle Larson coming along, Tony Stewart probably held the title of the most diverse driver in NASCAR history. Winning three championships is always going to be an incredible accomplishment. Only nine drivers have won three or more championships in NASCAR history, and Tony Stewart certainly belongs amongst NASCAR legends.
Yes ChatGPT got this right, but anyone could get this right so I am not giving it any credit. Regardless, Johnson is absolutely the greatest of his era and arguably the greatest of all-time. Seven championships simply cannot be debated and may never be topped.
What did we learn today? That AI does not know everything. This list is much more logical compared to what AI cooked up.
Three races into the season, the new Chase format has already intensified the competition for a foothold in the NASCAR standings. As a system that rewards both race winners and those who maintain consistent results, it keeps the postseason race open for a wide range of contenders, while cycling out those drivers who can’t get their wheels under them during the season.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Tyler Reddick has established himself as the early points leader with a dominant lead. After securing three consecutive victories, he enters Phoenix Raceway as the clear favorite to make the Chase, while the rest of the field looks to break his momentum.
However, the start of the season has been difficult for several drivers. Despite their previous accomplishments, these competitors are currently struggling to maintain their standing in the early stages of the race to the Chase.
Christopher Bell
Last season, Christopher Bell kicked off his campaign with a dominant stretch of three wins stretching from Atlanta to Phoenix, propelling him into a clear spot for the postseason.
The early stages of his 2026 campaign, however, have made it difficult for him to secure even top-five or top-ten finishes. Bell currently sits 24th in the standings with 59 points. The speed has been there, yet in-race incidents have dug him into a points hole.
At Daytona International Speedway, Bell ran inside the top ten with fewer than ten laps remaining before the race turned on its head. Contact from behind sent his car into trouble, leaving him to limp away with a 35th-place finish, far from where he had been running.
The following race at EchoPark Speedway brought more of the same. During an overtime restart, Bell lined up on the front row when contact from Carson Hocevar pushed the No. 20 Toyota into the outside wall, turning what looked like a chance at a trip to victory lane into another lost afternoon, ending his day 21st.
Bell finally managed to stop the downward slide at COTA. When a late caution flew, he took a gamble on fresh tires and charged from 16th to third, climbing through the field with solid pace. The run placed Bell on the proverbial podium and brought home 34 points, pushing him up by seven positions in the points standings table.
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch showed speed and talent this past weekend at COTA. Starting 25th, he climbed through the pack and crossed the line in 14th despite a day marred by incidents with other drivers. At one point, he even climbed from the back 30s to fourth before trouble struck again.
While numbers do not tell the whole story, for now, results from the opening racing of the season have left Zilisch with ground to make up. Zilisch collected five points at Daytona, nine at Atlanta, and 23 at COTA. The tally has left him with 37 points, placing him in 32nd in the standings, among the bottom group in the standings.
Zilisch closed last season at Phoenix (albeit in the O’Reilly Series) with a third-place finish, hinting that the one-mile oval in the deserts of Arizona, this weekend, could offer him a chance to improve his ranking.
Chase Briscoe
Chase Briscoe entered 2026 after his best Cup season so far in his young career. His first season with Joe Gibbs Racing ended with a third-place finish in the standings. However, the early stretch of the 2026 season has delivered mixed returns.
Briscoe finished runner-up at Atlanta, but the other two races have slipped through his fingers after looking strong. Briscoe came home in 36th in the Daytona 500, and after starting from third at COTA, he had high expectations.
But his weekend came undone on Lap 63 of the 95-lap race when the No. 19 Toyota lost its transaxle. Briscoe said the car shifted into neutral before smoke began to rise, leaving him with a 37th-place result.
The run was his second DNF in the first three races of the 2026 season. As a result, Briscoe slid from 15th to 27th in the standings with 46 points, trailing Reddick by 140 as the series heads further west.
Beyond the Cup Series, who is facing early points trouble in NASCAR’s lower National Series?
Harrison Burton
Harrison Burton moved to Sam Hunt Racing’s No. 24 and Toyota for the 2026 season. Through the first three races, Burton has recorded two DNFs. He currently sits 34th in the standings with 18 points, a significant decline from the two top-10 finishes he held at this point last year while driving for AM Racing.
Nick Sanchez
Nick Sanchez joined AM Racing this season after closing last year with an 11th-place finish in the standings after scoring his first win in the series at Atlanta. He hoped to ride that momentum into the new season. The start, though, has come with swings in fortune.
Sanchez bagged a third-place finish at Atlanta. But a DNF at Daytona and a 25th-place run at COTA have slowed his climb. After three races, Sanchez finds himself 19th in the standings with 53 points.
What’s Happening? Nick Sanchez will drive AM Racing’s No. 25 car in 2026, filling one of the final open seats in…
Jeremy Clements
Jeremy Clements has long cut out a role as a driver who can surprise race fans and steal a ticket into the NASCAR postseason, though, without the win-and-in format, the driver/owner will have to work much harder to do so in 2026.
Last season, Clements closed the year in 21st place in the standings and began this campaign by scoring a top-10 finish at Daytona. Since then, however, a 32nd-place finish at Daytona, a DNF at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and another P32 result at Circuit of the Americas have left him in P30 with 25 points, placing him well below the cut line.
Grant Enfinger
Grant Enfinger entered the 2026 season after a run in 2024 that carried him to the Championship Four. And last year, despite not reaching victory lane, he sat seventh in the standings by the end of the season.
At this point last year, Enfinger had already placed inside the top five at Daytona International Speedway and at Las Vegas. This year, three races into 2026, Enfinger has finished outside the top 20 in each race and currently stands 23rd in the standings with 41 points.
Daniel Hemric
Daniel Hemric is 19th in the standings with 46 points. After starting the season with a 26th-place finish at Daytona and a 34th-place finish at Atlanta, Hemric secured his first top-10 finish of the year at St. Petersburg. He continues to seek his second career series win following his victory at Martinsville last year.
Mini Tyrrell
Mini Tyrrell arrived in the Truck Series as a rookie after closing last season in the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour with a fifth-place finish and three wins.
Driving the No. 14 Ram for Kaulig Racing, Tyrrell opened the 2026 season with results of 19th at Daytona and Atlanta. His run at St. Petersburg, however, ended with a 28th finish, which dropped him to 20th in the standings with just 45 points.
What’s Happening? One major storyline to follow during the 2025 and 2026 NASCAR seasons is the ongoing saga of Dodge and…
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Alex Bowman will not compete in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway after being diagnosed with vertigo earlier this week. The Hendrick Motorsports driver stepped out of the car during the race at Circuit of the Americas due to illness, and after further medical evaluation, the team decided he should sit out this weekend. In his place, reserve driver Anthony Alfredo will drive the No. 48.
The situation also opens the door for a substitute appearance by Alfredo while the No. 48 team focuses on owner points and waits for Bowman to be medically cleared. Beyond the immediate lineup change, the update has sparked broader discussion about Bowman’s early-season struggles and how quickly he might return to the car.
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Alex Bowman will miss this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick Motorsports confirmed the news after Bowman was diagnosed with vertigo following medical evaluations earlier in the week. With Bowman sidelined, Anthony Alfredo will step in to drive the No. 48 car as the team prepares for Sunday’s event.
The video breaks down the latest update from Hendrick Motorsports, what it means for the No. 48 team this weekend, and how the situation could shape the early part of the season.
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