Brad Keselowski is set to miss the 2026 NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, following an injury suffered during the offseason, per a new report.
On December 19, Keselowski announced that he had broken his femur during a family ski trip and had undergone surgery. Per RFK, Keselowski claimed he would be ready for the February 15 Daytona 500, suggesting that the timetable would not hurt any efforts to race in 2026.
However, Keselowski is going to miss the season-opening Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
In place of the 2012 Cup Series Championship, former Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie will take his place in the February 1 exhibition race and will remain as “standby” driver during the early portion of the season.
On social media, LaJoie, a former Bowman Gray Stadium winner in the NASCAR K&N Series, said about his temporary ride, “Happy to be of service. Wishing BK a speedy recovery. Let’s go get another trophy at The Madhouse.
There is a quick turnaround time for Keselowski to race in the 68th Daytona 500, but the driver/owner seems persistent in making the race, telling Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports his “significant rehab plan” is setting him up to be ready in time for the season opener.
Despite a flurry of safety improvements in the sport over the past two decades, it is a smart move for the team to keep LaJoie on standby should Keselowski feel unready to race, as injuries are common at Superspeedway races.
Last season, Connor Zilisch and William Sawalich both missed races due to injuries suffered in separate crashes at different Talladega NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
In 2024, once again at Talladega, Erik Jones became the most recent NASCAR Cup Series driver to miss a race due to injury after a violent crash in turns three and four.
Should he be ready to compete at Daytona, this year will mark Keselowski’s 16th attempt to win the Great American Race. If Brad can finally win the biggest race on the NASCAR calendar, his perseverance through this injury may rank it as one of the most impressive Daytona 500 wins in the race’s lengthy history.
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This year marks the second season of NASCAR’s groundbreaking 2025 media rights deal, and fans are curious to see just how year two will stack up with year one. This article will walk you through the 2026 season race by race, comparing viewership week by week to NASCAR’s 2025 season.
All Races (4 Total in 2026): Will include all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.
Points Races (3 Total in 2026): Will only include the season’s 36 points-paying races week-to-week as they occur.
Cable Races to Date (1 Total in 2025): Races on FS1, TNT, and USA | Including all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.
Network Races to Date (3 Total in 2026): Races on FOX and NBC | Including all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.
Exhibition/Qualifying Races (2 Total in 2026): This is only applicable to the Clash, Daytona Duels, and the All-Star Race as they happen.
*The 2025 Daytona 500 was pushed back several hours due to rain.
**The 2026 Daytona 500 was pushed up one hour to avoid inclement weather.
**2026 Clash was pushed from Sunday to Wednesday due to snow, and moved to FS2 due to overrunning time on FOX.
This tracker will be updated throughout the season. Make sure to check back in for the latest!
Joe Gibbs Racing has added to its lawsuit filed against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, filing to add Spire as a co-defendant, and to prevent Gabehart from continuing his work at Spire.
JGR initiated this lawsuit on February 19, alleging Gabehart, a long-time Crew Chief, most recently for Denny Hamlin, and the team’s now former Competition Director, “embarked on a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information and use it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR.”
That direct competitor, Spire Motorsports, which currently employs Gabehart as their Chief Motorsports Officer, is now a co-defendant in this lawsuit, via an amended complaint filed Tuesday.
Per the latest filing from JGR, which employed Gabehart as Competition Director last season, is asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction with seven key requests.
Key to these requests is that Gabehardt cease providing Spire with “services for Spire similar to those he provided to JGR” for 18 months following his February 9 formal termination from JGR.
JGR also requested that Spire stop accepting Gabehart’s work as per the noncompete obligation of his termination.
The filing also has several requests regarding the team information Gabehart allegedly retained from JGR.
These include Gabehart returning this information alongside the devices that store this information and “cease and desist from retaining, transferring, using or copying any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.”
From JGR’s filing:
c. Gabehart immediately cease and desist from retaining, transferring, using or copying any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets
d. Gabehart return any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets in his possession to JGR;
e. Gabehart transfer to the custody of JGR’s counsel any device used to store the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets and, through an agreed upon Court ordered process, allow the forensic preservation and review of these devices for identification of Confidential Information and Trade Secrets, the return of any identified Confidential Information and Trade Secrets to JGR, and the removal of any identified Confidential Information and Trade Secrets from the devices;
f. Gabehart cease and desist from using or disclosing JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets to third parties;
As of press time, Gabehart has commented on the lawsuit in a post to X on February 20, where he claimed a third-party investigator “examined my laptop, cell phone and personal Google Drive and found no evidence to support the baseless allegations in JGR’s lawsuit.”
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging he took confidential team information…
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The NASCAR rumor mill is heating up as a new rumor suggests that a former series champion and an active NASCAR Cup Series driver could be in line to drive for Legacy Motor Club in 2027.
What’s Happening? NASCAR drivers, much like any athletes, have a period of free agency and multi-million dollar contracts. Based on information…
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season is well underway, while teams and drivers are still settling into their new lineups and seats, others are already prepping for next season.
Most expect the 2027 NASCAR Silly Season to be one of the wildest in years, with many major names on contract seasons, and top seats looking for new drivers.
One story that will likely carry through the 2026 season, and into the offseason, is Legacy Motor Club, which is expanding to three full-time cars in 2027 via the acquisition of a charter from Rick Ware Racing, which is currently leased to RFK Racing for their No. 60 entry.
While many storylines could stem from this transaction, one that is already playing out is LMC’s driver search, as the team looks to add a new face to their roster alongside drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones.
Though we are nearly a year away from what would be the first race for this third car, per recent rumors, a few names are already emerging as top candidates.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
Monday afternoon, a post from a well-known NASCAR rumor account made the rounds on social media, naming two drivers as possible options for LMC.
In their post, the user claimed that 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst and Richard Childress Racing prospect Jesse Love were “early contenders” for the ride.
Of course, this is just a rumor, and even if they are possible candidates, things can change. However, both of these options come with their own storylines and questions.
The first thing that likely comes to mind when hearing this rumor is that both of these drivers would have to depart their current spots, something that most have suspected will happen by next season.
For Herbst, he is facing the impending promotion of top NASCAR prospect Corey Heim to full-time competition.
This year, Heim, the reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, is racing part-time with 23XI Racing, with almost every rumor and blurb suggesting next year will be his first full-time season in NASCAR’s highest level.
While 2026 Daytona 500 Champion Tyler Reddick is reportedly on a contract season, most see Herbst as the clear weak link at 23XI, though, in the somewhat unlikely event Reddick were to jump ship, there could be a world where a spot opens for Heim without affecting Herbst.
Regarding Love, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion is in his third full-time year with RCR in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and, for some time now, has been rumored to be looking for a promotion, beyond his part-time Cup Series schedule.
This is not the first time Love and LMC have been tied together in the rumor mill, as in June 2025, when LMC was in the midst of a lawsuit to get their third charter by this season (something that never came to be), a report from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports suggested there could be interest in Love as that third driver at LMC.
As of right now, Love has yet to score a full-time Cup Series ride. But there is a chance a slot opens in-house as RCR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch is on a contract year, a situation that could leave Love with a difficult decision between staying in a familiar spot or returning ot the Toyota camp.
But the biggest decision could come down to RCR, which, in the event Busch excels this year, could face deciding between a NASCAR legend and keeping their best prospect in some time.
Nonetheless, all of this is hypothetical, as the gears are just now turning on what could be a NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season for the ages.
What’s Happening? Some recent developments in NASCAR Silly Season rumors and reports have some NASCAR fans wondering if Spire Motorsports could…
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