Rumor Mill: 50 Minute Practice Sessions on the Way For 2026?
What’s Happening? A new rumor circulating in the NASCAR community suggests that drivers may finally get to see more on-track practice…
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NASCAR will change two of its National Series practice formats in 2026, with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series set to gain more on-track time during race weekends.
Over the past decade, NASCAR fans have seen fewer and fewer on-track sessions during race weekends.
This evolution has included the removal of extra practice sessions like Happy Hours, an ever-changing qualifying format, the removal of practice at some tracks entirely, and a severe drop-off in the length of each weekend’s solo practice session.
In 2025, NASCAR took steps towards adjusting its rules, specifically regarding the once revolving door of qualifying formats, which was mostly a success with fans. However, the 2025 practice and qualifying rules unfortunately did not factor in more on-track practice time.
Though the 2025 rules varied from track to track, at most tracks, all three national series had a practice session and a qualifying session.
The practice session, at most tracks, consisted of two groups, getting 25 minutes of on-track time. Notably, this would change at road courses for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series, with practice groups eliminated and meshed together for one joint 50-minute session.
According to a social media post from NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, this combined 50-minute practice session is the standard for these two series entering 2026.
Even though this would not add additional on-track time to race weekends, and would see no change to policies regarding things such as changing how setups are changed during the allotted time, it would help on the competition side, as Truck and OAP Series drivers will get an extra 25 minutes of on-track time each weekend.
If this is the plan for 2026, NASCAR fans will likely welcome the increase in total track time for these drivers, most of whom are younger talents, but what cannot be overlooked is the fact that the NASCAR Cup Series is left out of these still unconfirmed plans.
Even though fans lobby for more on-track activity during race weekends from a spectator standpoint, most fans also support less experienced drivers getting more time behind the wheel every weekend to help improve their skills, specifically since the introduction of the NASCAR Next Gen car, which is radically different from the cars used in the lower two National Series.
Drivers, even those more experienced in the series, have also asked for more practice during race weekends, with many suggesting the expanded time be at specific styles of tracks throughout the year and not every race weekend.
As of press time, NASCAR has yet to confirm this change, though there have been rumors that this could be the rules in 2026 for several months now.
What’s Happening? A new rumor circulating in the NASCAR community suggests that drivers may finally get to see more on-track practice…
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