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…
Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Austin, Texas, for the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). This will be the fifth year NASCAR has raced at COTA. However, this will be the first year running this specific layout. NASCAR will now be running a shorter 18-turn, 2.356-mile circuit rather than the full 3.426-mile 20-turn loop.
A new tire will add to the challenge of the new configuration. Goodyear is bringing a softer tire to the track that will hopefully have greater tire wear. This is important because the circuit was repaved over the off-season. As such, the surface itself will have less wear than in past years.
There will be two practice sessions on Saturday to help teams compensate for all of the changes at the track. The Cup Series will be split into two groups, each with two 20-minute sessions of practice. So we should get some good practice data to look at ahead of the race to see which teams have brought speed. Given all the changes we do want to be cautious with our mid-week bets. Still, I do see some value on the board that I want to lock in now.
Several years ago, before his first win here at COTA, I wrote something like, “I know, it’s Ross Chastain” before I went into my argument for him to win at +4000. That said, in the time since, it’s become clear that Ross Chastain is a very talented road course driver. In 2024, he finished Top 10 in three of four road course races, including two Top 5 finishes. He has been particularly good at COTA. In four starts, he finished fourth, first, fourth, and seventh last year. He has led laps in three of the four races. Given his overall road course performance and his strength at COTA Ross is the third highest-rated driver in the Win The Race pre-practice and qualifying scores.
The Win The Race SIM FMV shows value on Ross across the board. He is showing outright value at most books. However, given the overall strength of the field, since he is also showing value in his Top 3 odds at FanDuel and his Top 5 odds at Bet365, I want to play these slightly more forgiving markets.
I’m going to allocate a unit across the two bets, with .6u on the Top 5 and .4u on the Top 3. I would bet these down to +350 for the Top 3 and +190 for the Top 5.
Shane Van Gisbergen is arguably the best overall road course driver in the Cup Series. In 2024, he had the best incident-adjusted speed at road courses regardless of whether he was in the 13 or 16. Although his performance in the Cup Series at COTA was underwhelming, He was among the series leaders in true average running position and Win The Race’s True Performance Rankings. However, some bad luck and the overall level of talent in the Cup Series kept him out of the win column. Despite this, the books are giving SVG a lot of (deserved) respect this week.
While SVG has earned respect, and he is rightfully the favorite, the books have overdone it in head-to-head matchups. His matchup with Kyle Larson at Bet365 is showing particular value. The Win The Race SIM FMV Head to Head matchup evaluator does have SVG as the favorite. Our 20,000 simulations have Larson winning this matchup around 46% of the time. That translates to fair odds of +116. However, Bet365 is offering +160 on Kyle Larson, and that’s far better odds than the +116 that we show as fair value.
I fully expect SVG to win this matchup more often than not. At +160, though, Larson would only need to beat SVG around 39% of the time for the bet to be profitable. Last year at road courses in the Cup Series, Larson won the matchup three of four times. Larson also beat SVG at COTA in the Xfinity Series. All factors considered I fully agree with the SIM FMV’s calculations and think that Larson win’s this matchup more than 39% of the time. I would bet this down to +130.
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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