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…
The NASCAR Cup Series headed to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the opening race of the Round of 8. Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports dominated qualifying, with Hamlin snatching pole position over Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell, while HMS’s playoff trio of Elliott, Byron and Larson were 4 through 6, completing the top 6 sweep for the two dominant teams. The Penske playoff drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney started 9th and 14th respectively.
It was a straightforward race most of the time, but calamity struck on the final stage, splitting strategies and with wrecks that brought everybody together, and Denny Hamlin nailed the closing laps to take home the win and a berth to the 2025 Championship 4 at Phoenix.
On the opening lap, Denny Hamlin missed a shift on the backstretch, and Chase Briscoe was able to take the lead early. As the run progressed, Hamlin tried to challenge, but Briscoe pulled away by over 3 seconds.
The battle throughout the top 10 was intense, but it seemed like the Hendrick cars had the edge on the long run, as Byron passed Denny Hamlin for 2nd around lap 30, right before the pit stop cycle.
Tyler Reddick kicked off green flag pit stops on lap 31, and everyone followed. Briscoe, the leader by 4 seconds before the cycle, was the last to pit on lap 34 but had a slow stop, being passed by Byron, Reddick, and Larson, with Byron taking the race lead after everyone cycled. These laps were the first Byron led since leading five laps at Daytona in August. The third race he’s led in the last 16 and the first in the playoffs.
On lap 72, Ryan Blaney, who was complaining about a loose car, had a tire issue and smacked the outside wall. He DNF’d after the wreck with a destroyed right front.
The caution came out late on the stage, and all the lead lap drivers pitted for four tires to flip the stage. On the restart with 3 to go, Byron and Larson shared the front row, but Byron had an amazing restart and pulled away. Behind him, however, it was a dogfight for every position, but it was Kyle Larson who prevailed for 2nd place.
1st. William Byron (P)
2nd. Kyle Larson (P)
3rd. Chase Briscoe (P)
4th. Denny Hamlin (P)
5th. Chase Elliott (P)
6th. Bubba Wallace
7th. Christopher Bell (P)
8th. Tyler Reddick
9th. Ty Gibbs
10th. Joey Logano (P)
On the restart, Byron had the lead as nobody needed to pit thanks to the late caution on the first stage, but a contact with Chase Briscoe nearly sent William Byron spinning, but the driver of the 24 was able to hang on and save it. The lead, however, was handed to Kyle Larson in the process.
On the pit stop cycle, Chase Elliott had an uncontrolled tire while running in the top 5, falling all the way down to 30th and a lap down. After the cycle, Tyler Reddick tried to challenge Kyle Larson for the lead, but was unable to pass.
Kyle Larson held on to the lead to win the second Stage at Vegas. Chase Elliott fought for the free pass position and earned it, getting back to the lead lap. It was Larson’s 10th stage win of the season.
1st. Kyle Larson (P)
2nd. Tyler Reddick
3rd. William Byron (P)
4th. Denny Hamlin (P)
5th. Chase Briscoe (P)
6th. Christopher Bell (P)
7th. Ty Gibbs
8th. Alex Bowman
9th. Joey Logano (P)
10th. Carson Hocevar
Before the restart, playoff driver Joey Logano, who was running 9th, had a slow stop that sent him back to 16th. The battle for the lead was intense for a few laps, but Kyle Larson prevailed once again.
The pit stop cycle was crucial for the playoff drivers. Kyle Larson, who was dominating the stage, had a slightly slower stop and gave away the lead to William Byron. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin had a very slow stop and lost several spots.
William Byron, the leader, got loose out of turn 3, and Kyle Larson took the lead from him.
In a bizarre incident, Ty Dillon slowed down to go down pit road but missed the entry, and William Byron, who was running 2nd and coming right behind him, plowed into him and destroyed his car. He DNF’d, putting himself in a big hole going into Talladega.
The caution with less than 30 to go split strategies; Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and others pitted for two tires, with Briscoe and Logano taking the front row. Through turns 1 and 2, a big crash happened when they stacked up on the back half of the top 10.
Luckily, no playoff drivers got damage. On the restart, Joey Logano challenged Briscoe’s lead, and Briscoe was able to hold on to it. On four fresh tires, Denny Hamlin passed both Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe in the closing laps, taking the race lead.
Denny Hamlin took home his 6th win of the year, the most of the season, and his 60th career win, but more importantly, clinched a spot in the Championship 4 at Phoenix.
1st. Denny Hamlin (Advanced)
2nd. Kyle Larson +35
3rd. Christopher Bell +20
4th. Chase Briscoe +15
——Cutline——
5th. William Byron -15
6th. Chase Elliott -23
7th. Joey Logano -24
8th. Ryan Blaney -31
What did you think of this race? How is your driver’s situation on the cutline heading into Talladega? Let us know! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates. Be sure to tune back in here next weekend at DailyDownforce.com for our weekly coverage!
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…
Let us know your thoughts on this! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.
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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