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RCR Confirms 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Plans for Austin Hill

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 14: Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

Kauy Ostlien

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What’s Happening?

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular Austin Hill is officially slated to run part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series throughout 2026 with Richard Childress Racing.

  • Hill will share driving duties with his NASCAR OAP Series teammate Jesse Love in the team’s No. 33 for “select races.” While the team has yet to set a firm schedule for Hill or Love, the Georgia native’s first race is scheduled for next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
  • RCR previously confirmed that the part-time car would return for more action in 2026, after Hill and Love split the ride over eight starts in 2025. During that campaign, Hill scored the car’s best finish, ninth place at the Chicago Street Circuit.
  • The 31-year-old driver is currently racing in his fifth full-time season with RCR in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where he is a 15-time winner. Hill is already off to a hot start on his 2026 campaign, tallying a win at Daytona, a solid run at Atlanta, and now sits atop the points standings after two races.
  • Despite his age and experience, Hill has yet to score a full-time ride in the Cup Series, though he has over 15 part-time starts since 2022. So far, in those 15 starts with RCR and Beard Motorsports, Hill has just one top ten finish and just three DNFs.

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Zilisch vs. SVG Head-To-Head? | Analyzing COTA Contenders

by Bryan Aguiar

Eric Estepp is joined by Ryan Stevens from WinTheRace.info as left turns give way to left and right this weekend as the Cup Series heads to Circuit of the Americas. With road course racing back on the schedule, the big question is simple: Can anyone stop Shane van Gisbergen?

  • Is SVG really a 30% favorite, or is that somehow still too low?
  • Does Tyler Reddick slot in as the clear next-best at COTA?
  • Why can’t Christopher Bell be overlooked on any track type right now?
  • And how quickly can Connor Zilisch turn elite road course talent into a Cup breakthrough?

There are proven winners here, rising stars with massive upside, and veterans looking to reclaim momentum. Add in extra horsepower this year and meaningful practice and qualifying, and the variables only stack higher. From data-driven projections to bold predictions, this COTA preview covers the favorites, the sneaky contenders, and the drivers who could shake up the early-season narrative.

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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 14: Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

RCR Confirms 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Plans for Austin Hill

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular Austin Hill is officially slated to run part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series throughout 2026 with Richard Childress Racing.

  • Hill will share driving duties with his NASCAR OAP Series teammate Jesse Love in the team’s No. 33 for “select races.” While the team has yet to set a firm schedule for Hill or Love, the Georgia native’s first race is scheduled for next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
  • RCR previously confirmed that the part-time car would return for more action in 2026, after Hill and Love split the ride over eight starts in 2025. During that campaign, Hill scored the car’s best finish, ninth place at the Chicago Street Circuit.
  • The 31-year-old driver is currently racing in his fifth full-time season with RCR in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where he is a 15-time winner. Hill is already off to a hot start on his 2026 campaign, tallying a win at Daytona, a solid run at Atlanta, and now sits atop the points standings after two races.
  • Despite his age and experience, Hill has yet to score a full-time ride in the Cup Series, though he has over 15 part-time starts since 2022. So far, in those 15 starts with RCR and Beard Motorsports, Hill has just one top ten finish and just three DNFs.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 12: Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Kroger/Viva Towels Ford, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 zone Jalapeno Lime Chevrolet, race during Duel 1 for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 12, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The Complete 2026 NASCAR TV Ratings Tracker

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

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.

  • The goal of this article is to keep a tally of each race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Our tracker will also compare head-to-head each week’s race (or closest comparable race) to its 2025 counterpart.
  • This tracker will mostly focus on how NASCAR fared week to week, regardless of schedule changes, such as Watkins Glen, which shifts from the fall in 2025 to 2026.
  • To understand how a race stacked up against itself from the prior season, turn to our race-by-race list to see the totals of compared weeks. Look below to the season as a whole section, which only counts races up to a specific week.
  • Throughout this tracker, alongside breakdowns by race type, broadcast availability, and Chase races, there will be notes about any potential delays or changes to the broadcast network or the race weekend.
  • For tracks like Chicagoland, which replaces the Chicago Street Circuit, their race will be compared head-to-head with last season’s most comparable race. In Chicagoland’s case, that would be the 2025 Chicago Street Race.

The 2026 Season as a Whole: Through Week 3 (2025 Atlanta and 2026 Atlanta)

All Races (4 Total in 2026): Will include all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.

  • 2026 (4 Races to Date) Total/Average Viewership to Date: 16.160 Million/4.040 Million Per Race
  • 2025 (4 Races to Date) Total Viewership to Date: 16.261 Million/4.065 Million Per Race
  • Total Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.101 Million (-0.621%)
  • Average Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.025 Million (-0.621%)

Points Races (3 Total in 2026): Will only include the season’s 36 points-paying races week-to-week as they occur.

  • 2026 Total/Average Viewership to Date: 11.976 Million/5.988 Million Per Race
  • 2025 Total/Average Viewership to Date: 11.347 Million/5.674 Million Per Race
  • Total Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): +0.629 Million (+5.543%)
  • Average Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): +0.314 Million (+5.543%)

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.

  • 2026 (1 Races) Total/Average Viewership to Date: 1.835 Million/1.835 Million Per Race
  • 2025 (1 Races) Total/Average Viewership to Date: 1.837 Million/1.837 Million Per Race
  • Total Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.002 Million (-0.109%)
  • Average Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.002 Million (-0.109%)

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.

  • 2026 (3 Races) Total/Average Viewership to Date: 14.325 Million/4.775 Million Per Race
  • 2025 (3 Races) Total Viewership to Date: 14.427 Million/4.809 Million Per Race
  • Total Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.102 Million (-0.707%)
  • Average Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.034 Million (-0.707%)

Exhibition/Qualifying Races (2 Total in 2026): This is only applicable to the Clash, Daytona Duels, and the All-Star Race as they happen.

  • 2026 (2 Races) Total/Average Viewership to Date: 4.184 Million/2.092 Million Per Race
  • 2025 (2 Races) Total Viewership to Date: 4.913 Million/2.457 Million Per Race
  • Total Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.729 Million (-14.838%)
  • Average Viewership Difference (2026 vs 2025): -0.365 Million (–14.855%)

Autotrader 400 on FOX via Adam Stern

  • 2025 Viewership: 4.586 Million Viewers
  • 2026 Viewership: 4.487 Million Viewers
  • Viewership Comparison (2025 vs 2026): -0.099 Million Viewers (-2.159%)

Daytona 500 on FOX via Adam Stern

  • 2025 Viewership: 6.761 Million Viewers*
  • 2026 Viewership: 7.489 Million Viewers**
  • Viewership Comparison (2025 vs 2026): +0.728 Million Viewers (+10.768%)

*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.

NASCAR Cup Series 2026 Duels at Daytona on FS1 via Adam Stern

  • 2025 Viewership: 1.837 Million Viewers
  • 2026 Viewership: 1.835 Million Viewers
  • Viewership Comparison (2025 vs 2026):-0.002 Million Viewers (-0.109%)

NASCAR Cup Series 2026 Cook Out Clash on FOX/FS2 via Frontstretch

  • 2025 Viewership: 3.077 Million Viewers
  • 2026 Viewership: 2.349 Million Viewers**
  • Viewership Comparison (2025 vs 2026): -0.728 Million Viewers (-23.659%)

**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!