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ANOTHER Ford Team Reportedly Defecting to Chevrolet in 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 22: Ryan Sieg, driver of the #39 Sci Aps Ford, races Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Ollie's Ford, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on August 22, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

Kauy Ostlien

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Royal T Grafix

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What’s Happening?

The Haas Factory team may not be the only NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series team leaving Ford ahead of the 2026 season, as a reporter claims that RSS Racing could also be headed to Chevrolet.

In September, the Haas Factory Team announced its departure from Ford, with their two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series entries and one NASCAR Cup Series entry set to join Chevrolet in 2026. This move left a vacuum for Ford in the NASCAR OAPS, with just three Ford teams left.

Now, it appears that this number will be reduced to two, as Chris Knight of Catchfence claimed in a post on X that RSS Racing is likely to make the switch as well.

Knight claims that this move will ally the family-owned team with the Haas Factory Team. The two-car team has entered all three OEMs in its history in the series, but RSS has not entered a Chevrolet full-time since 2020.

If RSS does switch to Chevrolet, the Haas alliance would expand to five cars. On Monday morning, long-time Chevrolet team Jeremy Clements Racing also announced its new technical alliance with HFT, bringing the total count to three.

Furthermore, in the event the team switches OEMs, Joey Gase Motorsports and AM Racing will be the two remaining Ford teams in the NASCAR OAPS.

Whether or not Ford will fill the gap left by these teams is unknown. As of press time, no OAPS teams have indicated that they are switching to Ford, with only 89 days left until the series season opener at Daytona.

This is a tough spot for Ford, as a defection from RSS would mean the team is losing two of its three most recent winning organizations.

Since Team Penske closed its storied OAPS operation at the end of 2021, the OEM has scored only 11 wins, one with HFT, one with RSS, and 10 with the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - APRIL 06: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on April 06, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Lionel Racing Reveals First Wave of 2026 NASCAR Authentics Diecast

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

Lionel Racing finally confirmed the first wave of 2026 NASCAR Authentics 1:64 scale diecast for Monday morning, with the line of retail-exclusive diecast featuring a new look for the new year.

  • This line will include six throwback paint schemes from NASCAR’s 2025 throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. Though they did not release one in 2025, this move restarts an annual tradition of Lionel releasing at least one wave of cars carrying the colors of that prior season’s throwback designs.
  • Included in this wave of cars are Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Sammy Smith. Alongside these paint schemes’ debuts in the Authentics line is a new design for the packaging of the 2026 line of NASCAR Authentics.
  • Last season was somewhat turbulent for Lionel as, alongside issues with tariffs, the brand only released three waves of NASCAR Autentics, one wave of NASCAR Autentics Winners Circle diecast, and two waves of Haulers.
  • Lionel announcing the first wave of 2026 early on in the new year is perhaps a sign that 2026 could return this line to its regular release schedule. The post from Lionel Racing also confirmed that the brand will announce another wave by the end of the week, further hinting at a recommitment to the Authentics line.

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SPARTA, KY - JUNE 26: Chase Pistone, driver of the #9 NTS Motorsports Chevrolet, talks with his crew during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Series UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway on June 26, 2014 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Chase Pistone, NASCAR Trucks and Nationwide Series Driver, Passes Away

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

Chase Pistone, a former competitor on the short track racing circuit in addition to NASCAR’s National Series, has passed away. Pistone, now a successful Legends Car owner, was 42.

  • Chase’s brothers Nick and Tom Pistone confirmed the North Carolina natives’ passing to LegendsNation.com. The cause of Pistone’s passing is unknown. The family asked that media share the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number, which is 988.
  • Pistone, the grandson of NASCAR legend “Tiger” Tom Pistone, made his way to NASCAR after competing on short tracks in Legends cars and Late Models. He would make his jump to NASCAR via the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2005, racing for Green Light Racing at Martinsville Speedway.
  • Pistone would continue his NASCAR pursuits in 2006, racing in ARCA and the NASCAR Busch Series. Unfortunately, these two starts, at Martinsville with the Busch Series and Iowa with ARCA, would be his last for nearly a decade.
  • Pistone returned to NASCAR in 2014, racing in a combined eight NASCAR Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series races. During this season, his final in NASCAR, the then 30-year-old scored his best National Series finish, ninth place in the Truck Series annual trip to Gateway.

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8 Takeaways From NASCAR At COTA

by Bryan Aguiar

Three races in, the 2026 season is finally starting to show its hand. COTA shifted narratives, exposed weaknesses, and raised new questions about contenders, pretenders, and everything in between.

  • Has Shane van Gisbergen officially been proven mortal after getting outraced late at Circuit of the Americas?
  • Is 19-year-old Connor Zilisch already ahead of schedule after slicing through the field multiple times?
  • With three straight wins, is Tyler Reddick basically a lock for the postseason this early?
  • And how concerned should the 48 team be after a rough weekend for Alex Bowman?

From substitute drivers being forced into action to points gaps growing faster than expected, COTA delivered more than just a road course chess match. There were momentum swings, reputation hits, and at least one young driver stacking up enemies before stacking up results.

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