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…
It’s the greatest weekend in all of racing: Memorial Day Weekend. As we celebrate the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, NASCAR races on their home turf of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Today (Saturday) it was the NASCAR Xfinity Series youngsters time to shine. But in addition to the series regulars, there were a handful of Cup guys trying to steal the spotlight. How did the Xfinity purists stack up against the pros of the NASCAR Cup Series? Let’s talk about it.
Following a dominant first two stages on the part of Justin Allgaier, the No. 7 team was slapped with a penalty for speeding on pit road. This meant that he had to serve a pass through and restart the third and final stage on the tail-end of the lead lap. Kyle Busch inherited the lead as a result. He led for most of the long green flag run before being overtaken by a hard charging Sam Mayer.
Green flag pit stops started around lap 143 with Shane van Gisbergen and Justin Allgaier pitting. Kyle Busch stayed out the longest, giving up a lot of time under green. After the cycle of pit stops was finished, Busch found himself in sixth and Mayer recaptured the lead.
The caution flew on lap 170 when Ryan Ellis spun out. This caution changed everything as everyone running except for Chase Elliott were on aged, scuffed tires. A bottled-up restart saw Elliott through to second behind Mayer. Due to Noah Gragson spinning his tires, the winner of the first two stages, Justin Allgaier spun and hit the wall hard.
After a couple of other cautions, Chase Elliott was able to hold off the hard-charging JRM cars of Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, and Sam Mayer to win the race. Elliott by no means had the best car but they played the smartest strategy enroute to victory.
The Xfinity Series race at Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend is always a popular one for the pros in the NASCAR Cup Series to dip down and try their hand at trophy hunting. This year, there were four Cup regulars running the Xfinity race. Here is how those drivers finished:
The first caution of the race came on lap 31. The two-car incident transpired when A. J. Allmendinger got into the back of Riley Herbst after he checked up and got loose. The contact resulted in Herbst spinning out and hitting the inside wall on the backstretch. This ended his race. You can watch a replay of the wreck in the video clip below. The video is provided by NASCAR on FOX.
When the race started, the Cup guys rocketed out front. Ty Gibbs lead the first 20 or so laps with Kyle Busch, driving a No. 33 RCR car, passing him on lap 22. After a caution on lap 31 involving A. J. Allmendinger and Riley Herbst, nearly every lead lap car pitted. Staying out was Chase Elliott, Jesse Love, Anthony Alfredo, J. J. Yeley, and Kyle Seig. The gamble did not pay off in the short term, however. Though Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch won the race off pit road, Justin Allgaier was able to overtake them for the race lead. The cars who stayed out faded quickly. Allgaier went on to win the stage. It was his 7th stage win of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the most amongst series regulars.
The second stage played out much like the first. Allgaier led much of the opening laps of the stage until a caution fell with about 18 laps to go. The caution happened when Parker Kligerman spun on his own. Seemingly, something broke underneath that car and the single-car spin ended his race. Again, we were on a split strategy with the leaders pitting and Chase Elliott and others staying out. And though those who stayed out this time didn’t fall off as much, it didn’t take long for Kyle Busch and Justin Allgaier to rocket back to the front. With a statement pass on Busch, Justin Allgaier went on to win the second stage. It was his 8th of the year and he also swept both stages of the race.
During pit stops, Justin Allgaier was penalized for speeding on pit road. He was forced to serve a passthrough penalty and restarted the race on the tail end of the lead lap.
Austin Hill had a pretty bad race today. Not in terms of how he actually ran. Overall, he was running decent enough. But on track issues with first Sammy Smith and then Cole Custer ended up defining his race. The incident which ultimately did him in was when he made contact with Cole Custer. When the two doored each other, it ended up cutting the right front tire of the No. 21 RCR Chevy. Hill went up the track, getting into the 00 of Cole Custer and the two continued making contact and flipping each other off after the caution flag waived.
Justin Allgaier undoubtably had the best car all day. He swept the first two stages of the race but was put behind following a speeding penalty on pit road. He was able to slowly work his way back up near the lead. When the race restarted with about 30 laps to go, contact was made between Allgaier and Gibbs. Allgaier ended up getting hard into the outside wall in the dogleg. His race was over.
Nandi Intile really enjoyed the driver-only broadcast. They feel that their insight on how the race is going and how the track changes is much more current. I concur. It’s great to hear their thoughts and expertise on the race as it unfolds live.
Teaser’sFirecatBet criticized NASCAR on FOX’s abundance of commercials. They argue that the broadcast was, in fact, more advertisements than actual on-track action.
Matthew Kendrick is a big Chase Elliott fan. Chase doesn’t compete a whole lot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It’s always a real treat to see how he runs when he does choose to dip down and run on Saturdays. I bet he’s very happy with the end result.
Mainmanlink comments that though Chase Elliott didn’t have the fastest car, he did have the best strategy.
Joel comments on today’s JRM/HMS dominance.
Thirteen Thousand Dollar Sim Rig says that Austin Hill can’t ever be blamed for anything. He’s perfect and does nothing wrong ever!
Florida Dad advocates for the suspension of Austin Hill.
Lately, Charlotte Motor Speedway rarely has a bad race. This race continued the standard of excellence from the track. Cars were able to pass and run side-by-side. There were multiple grooves. Things got a little squirrely at times, which always makes for great racing. We had driver disputes, hot tempers, and it was NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver hoisting the trophy in the end. That makes it a success in my book.
Daily Downforce readers! What do you make of this race? Are you happy Chase Elliott won? Are you rolling your eyes? Are you heartbroken for Justin Allgaier? What do you make of Austin Hill having beef with everyone? Let us know! And be sure to come back here at DailyDownforce.com tomorrow for our coverage of the Coca-Cola 600!
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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