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…
In NASCAR, the driver is important, but so is the quality of the opportunity. Sometimes, drivers get that chance at the top level, but it does not pan out because of factors not necessarily in their control. NASCAR fans on Reddit came up with drivers they wish got a better chance in the NASCAR Cup Series, and here are a few of their responses.
Amongst other drivers, Fluid_Program_5369 mentioned the name Dick Trickle, and he had a very interesting career. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Trickle was tearing it up on the short track scene. He had the nickname “The White Knight”.
He never jumped to NASCAR because why would he? He was running more than 100 races per year, and winning multiple short-track features. He was already making a handsome living racing on the short tracks, so, why would he make the move to racing less than 30 times per year?
Eventually, Trickle came to NASCAR full-time at the age of 48 in 1989. He won the Rookie of the Year, but a combination of bad equipment and age kept him from truly reaching NASCAR stardom. With how good he was in the short track scene, one can only wonder how good he would have been if he had come to NASCAR sooner.
Dave Blaney is another driver that some fans suggested including sam4999. The father of current NASCAR star Ryan Blaney, Dave was a journeyman in NASCAR, but he was anything but that on dirt tracks. He won the USAC Silvercrown title in 1984, and he was a World of Outlaws Champion in 1995.
He did not join NASCAR full-time until his mid-30s. He struggled for years to find a top ride, but he had some modest success in his early NASCAR career. His best finish was third, coming at Darlington in 2003 behind the iconic finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch.
Finally, in 2005, at the age of 42, Blaney got his big break driving the 07 car for Richard Childress Racing. He struggled to only two top-10 finishes and a 26th-place points finish, and Clint Bowyer replaced him at season’s end. With how good he was in sprint cars, one can only wonder what Blaney could have done if he got into NASCAR sooner.
Magnifico-Melon was not the only person to suggest J.J. Yeley on this list, and that may come as a surprise to some people. He had not one, but two full-time seasons in Cup with one of the best race teams in the garage Joe Gibbs Racing. Not only that, but Yeley was around the age of the prime of many driver’s careers when this opportunity came about in his late 20s.
However, Yeley was not good with only six top-10s in two seasons. Since that opportunity, Yeley has continued to have a steady presence in NASCAR primarily for underfunded teams. He is the definition of a journeyman driver, and there is no shame in that type of career path.
Could he maybe have gotten a better opportunity with a big team later in his career as he matured? Maybe he could have, but, his troubled time with JGR probably scared some of those teams away. However, it would be overly harsh to call him a complete failure as a driver.
Ward Burton was a driver who was fiercely loyal to his team owner, Bill Davis. Throughout the prime of Burton’s driving career from 1995 until he left the team in late 2003, he was a stable presence. He won eight races including the 2002 Daytona 500, and he finished in the top-10 in the points standings in 1999 and 2000.
Given the fact that Bill Davis Racing was solid equipment, but not quite the level of the top teams, Burton is an interesting “What could have been?” story. His brother, Jeff won over 20 races driving for the likes of Jack Roush and Richard Childress. If Ward had taken a shot with a big team, could he hit it big?
It’s a fun thought, but the grass is not always greener on the other side. Sometimes a driver finds a team that fits them best, and that team maximizes their abilities. Sometimes drivers make that jump to the top team and find out that that smaller team is exactly where they should have stayed.
A modern driver that a couple of people suggested was Erik Jones. Jones was a promising driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, but he was eventually ousted by Christopher Bell. However, Jones was not all bad in JGR equipment by any means.
He won two races including the Southern 500 in 2019, but he missed the Playoffs in 2020. This allowed Bell to come in and take over, and Jones was moved to Richard Petty Motorsports. However, it seems Jones is having a bit of a career renaissance there.
He won the Southern 500 again in 2022 for the team, and Toyota is set to join in 2024. Maybe Jones could be the next Ward Burton, who is loyal to a team rewarded with a solid career. Maybe Jones can bring Legacy Motor Club to heights previously never before dreamed of.
There are plenty of other drivers who could have gotten better shots in the Cup Series. Which ones do you feel deserve to be mentioned?
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.
Watch Also
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.
Watch Also
