78th season of NASCAR Cup Series racing
Kyle Larson enters the season as the defending Cup Series champion.The2026 NASCAR Cup Series will be the 78th season forNASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 55th season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season will start with theCook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1 atBowman Gray Stadium , followed byThe Duel at Daytona on February 12, and the 68th running of theDaytona 500 (the first points race of the season) on February 15, both atDaytona International Speedway . The season will end with theNASCAR Cup Series Championship Race atHomestead–Miami Speedway on November 8.[ 1]
This will be the first season forFreeway Insurance as a premier partner of the Cup Series, replacingGEICO , who left at the end the2024 season.[ 2]
Kyle Larson ofHendrick Motorsports returns as the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion.[ 3]
Non-chartered teams [ edit ] For details about the ongoing antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR, and why these teams are currently non-chartered, see
23XI Racing v. NASCAR .
Manufacturers
Chevrolet unveiled a new body style for theZL1 in November 2025 for the 2026 season to replace the model that had been used since2022 . The redesign is based on the Camaro ZL1 Carbon Performance Package accessories kit.[ 48] Haas Factory Team will switch fromFord to Chevrolet in 2026.[ 5] Crew chief changes
Rookies
Connor Zilisch signed a multi-year contract with Trackhouse Racing to replace Suárez in 2026.[ 25] On October 8, 2025, NASCAR announced it will increase the horsepower from 670 to 750 at tracks under 1.5 miles and road courses.[ 50] On November 1, 2025, NASCAR announced it will raise the amount of races a full-time Cup driver can run in theO'Reilly Auto Parts Series andCraftsman Truck Series .[ 51] On November 14, 2025, it was announced thatBristol ,Darlington ,Dover ,Nashville ,Loudon , andSt. Louis would run the short track package rather than the intermediate package from previous years.[ 52] Daytona II .[ 53] The 2026 schedule was released on August 20, 2025, and consists of 31 oval races, 4 road course races, 1 street track race, and four non-championship races to be held on ovals.[ 1] [ 54]
Notes: Race names and title sponsors are subject to change. Not all title sponsors/names of races have been announced for 2026. For the races where a 2026 name and title sponsor has yet to be announced, the title sponsors/names of those races in 2025 are listed.[ 1]
Bolded races indicate an event generally known as aCrown Jewel race .
O Oval track R Road course S Street course
No Race name Track Location Date Time (ET)[ 54] TV Radio Regular Season Cook Out Clash O Bowman Gray Stadium Winston-Salem, North Carolina February 1 8 pm FOX MRN The Duel at Daytona O Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida February 12 7 pm FS1 1 Daytona 500 February 15 2:30 pm FOX 2 Autotrader 400 [ 55] O EchoPark Speedway Hampton, Georgia February 22 3 pm PRN 3 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix R Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas March 1 3:30 pm 4 Straight Talk Wireless 500 [ 56] O Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona March 8 FS1 MRN 5 Pennzoil 400 O Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada March 15 4 pm PRN 6 Goodyear 400 O Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina March 22 3 pm MRN 7 Cook Out 400 O Martinsville Speedway Ridgeway, Virginia March 29 3:30 pm 8 Food City 500 O Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee April 12 3 pm PRN 9 AdventHealth 400 O Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas April 19 2 pm FOX MRN 10 Jack Link's 500 O Talladega Superspeedway Lincoln, Alabama April 26 3 pm 11 Würth 400 O Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas May 3 3:30 pm FS1 PRN 12 Go Bowling at The Glen R Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York May 10 3 pm MRN NASCAR All-Star Open O Dover Motor Speedway Dover, Delaware May 17 1 pm PRN NASCAR All-Star Race 3 pm 13 Coca-Cola 600 O Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina May 24 6 pm Prime 14 Cracker Barrel 400 O Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee May 31 7 pm 15 FireKeepers Casino 400 O Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan June 7 3 pm MRN 16 The Great American Getaway 400 O Pocono Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania June 14 17 Anduril 250 [ 57] S Coronado Street Course San Diego, California June 21 4 pm NASCAR In-Season Challenge [ 58] 18 Toyota/Save Mart 350 R Sonoma Raceway Sonoma, California June 28 3:30 pm TNT MRN 19 TBA O Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois July 5 6 pm 20 Quaker State 400 O EchoPark Speedway Hampton, Georgia July 12 7 pm PRN 21 Window World 400 [ 59] O North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro, North Carolina July 19 22 Brickyard 400 O Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana July 26 2 pm IMS Regular Season 23 Iowa Corn 350 O Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa August 9 3:30 pm USA MRN 24 Cook Out 400 O Richmond Raceway Richmond, Virginia August 15 7 pm 25 Mobil 1 301 O New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire August 23 3 pm PRN 26 Coke Zero Sugar 400 O Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida August 29 7:30 pm NBC MRN NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 27 Cook Out Southern 500 O Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina September 6 5 pm USA MRN 28 Enjoy Illinois 300 O World Wide Technology Raceway Madison, Illinois September 13 3 pm 29 Bass Pro Shops Night Race O Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee September 19 7:30 pm PRN Round of 12 30 Hollywood Casino 400 O Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas September 27 3 pm USA MRN 31 South Point 400 O Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada October 4 5:30 pm PRN 32 Bank of America Roval 400 R Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval) Concord, North Carolina October 11 3 pm Round of 8 33 Freeway Insurance 500 [ 2] O Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona October 18 3 pm USA MRN 34 YellaWood 500 O Talladega Superspeedway Lincoln, Alabama October 25 2 pm NBC 35 Xfinity 500 O Martinsville Speedway Ridgeway, Virginia November 1 Championship 4 36 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race O Homestead–Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida November 8 3 pm NBC MRN
Confirmed schedule changes [ edit ] ^a b c d e f "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover" .NASCAR . RetrievedAugust 20, 2025 .^a b Srigley, Joseph (October 31, 2025)."Freeway Insurance Named Premier Partner of NASCAR" .TobyChristie.com . RetrievedOctober 31, 2025 . ^ "Kyle Larson takes Cup title as Ryan Blaney wins shocker in Sonoran Desert" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedNovember 5, 2025 .^ "Cole Custer to drive for Haas Factory Team in 2025" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^a b Crandall, Kelly (September 5, 2025)."Haas NASCAR team reuniting with Chevrolet in '26" .Racer . RetrievedSeptember 5, 2025 . ^ "Kyle Larson, HendrickCars.com extend with Hendrick Motorsports through 2026" .NASCAR . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Chase Elliott signs contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron agree to four year contract extension" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Alex Bowman signs three year contract extension; Ally signs five year extension with Hendrick Motorsports" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Ricky Stenhouse Jr signs contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing UPDATE" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Justin Haley on the hot seat" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedSeptember 3, 2025 .^ Christie, Toby (September 2, 2025)."Stenhouse Confirms Return to HYAK Motorsports for 2026 Season" .TobyChristie.com . RetrievedSeptember 3, 2025 . ^a b c d e f g h "2026 NASCAR Cup Series Team / Driver Chart" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Kaulig Racing says A.J. Allmendinger will return to Cup next season" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Kyle Busch signs one year contract extension with Richard Childress Racing" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^a b "Jim Pohlman to serve as Kyle Busch's crew chief next year" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedOctober 16, 2025 .^a b "Spire Motorsports, Justin Haley to part ways at end of season" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedOctober 14, 2025 .^a b "Daniel Suarez signs with Spire Motorsports for 2026" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedOctober 22, 2025 .^ "Michael McDowell leaving Front Row Motorsports at season's end: UPDATE: Moving to Spire" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Carson Hocevar to drive No. 77 for Spire Motorsports next season" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ DeGroot, Nick (February 16, 2023)."Ross Chastain signs multi-year contract extension with Trackhouse" .Motorsport Network . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 . ^ "Trackhouse to pair Chastain with McSwain" .Racer . RetrievedOctober 27, 2025 .^a b "Trackhouse Racing announces changes for 2026 season" .Jayski's Silly Season Site ^ "Daniel Suarez not returning to Trackhouse Racing in 2026" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^a b "Connor Zilisch to drive Trackhouse Chevy in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedAugust 23, 2025 .^a b "Randall Burnett to crew chief for Connor Zilisch in 2026" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedSeptember 23, 2025 .^ "Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing announce multiyear contract extension" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedAugust 8, 2025 .^ "Brad Keselowski headed to Roush Fenway Racing in driver-ownership role" .NASCAR . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^a b "T.J. Puchyr agrees to buy Rick Ware Racing" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Austin Cindric say changes in Penske IndyCar program will not impact him UPDATE" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Ryan Blaney Signs Long-Term Contract Extension with Team Penske" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "NASCAR Champion Joey Logano and Team Penske Agree to Contract Extension" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Josh Berry to drive for Wood Brothers Racing next season after signing multi-year deal" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Denny Hamlin signs contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 25, 2025 .^ Weaver, Matt (July 25, 2025)."Denny Hamlin inks multi-year NASCAR extension with Joe Gibbs Racing" .The Sporting News . RetrievedJuly 25, 2025 . ^ "Chase Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Rheem Returning to Sponsor Christopher Bell" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ Konenski, Austin (October 14, 2022)."NASCAR: Christopher Bell signed 'long-term deal' with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022" .Sportsnaut . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 . ^ "Erik Jones signs multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "JR Motorsports to attempt 2026 Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier" .Motorsport Network . RetrievedNovember 14, 2025 .^ "Jimmie Johnson could run more races in 2026" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJune 25, 2025 .^ "Jimmie Johnson to run Cup race at San Diego" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedNovember 5, 2025 .^ "Noah Gragson signs multi-year deal with Front Row Motorsports" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Todd Gilliland signs extension with Front Row Motorsports" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Zane Smith returns to Front Row Motorsports, will drive No. 38" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Bubba Wallace signs multi-year contract extension with 23XI Racing" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "23XI Racing expanding to three teams with Riley Herbst" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 2, 2025 .^ "Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 racecar set to debut new look for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedNovember 14, 2025 .^ "Kaulig Racing adds Daniel Dye and Justin Haley to RAM 1500 roster" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedOctober 29, 2025 .^ "Teams to run 750hp engines at road courses and tracks shorter than 1.5 miles in 2026" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedOctober 8, 2025 .^ "NASCAR to allow Cup drivers to run more lower series races" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedNovember 15, 2025 .^ "NASCAR issues technical updates, specifying rules for 750-horsepower tracks, A-post flaps" .NASCAR . RetrievedNovember 14, 2025 .^ "NASCAR Makes Technical Changes; A-Post Flap Now Mandatory" . November 14, 2025. RetrievedNovember 15, 2025 .^a b "NASCAR announces start times, networks for 2026 national series races" . November 12, 2025.^ "Autotrader 400" .EchoPark Speedway ^ "STRAIGHT TALK WIRELESS 500" .Phoenix Raceway . RetrievedNovember 6, 2025 .^ "Anduril 250 Race the Base NASCAR Cup Series Street Race to Headline NASCAR San Diego Weekend Presented by Anduril" .NASCAR . RetrievedNovember 1, 2025 .^ "In-Season Challenge returns to Cup Series schedule in 2026" .NASCAR . RetrievedAugust 20, 2025 .^ "Window World 400 Marks North Wilkesboro's First NASCAR Cup Series Points Race Since 1996" .North Wilkesboro Speedway . RetrievedAugust 20, 2025 .^ "NASCAR Championship Weekend to return to Homestead in 2026" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 25, 2025 .^ Crandall, Kelly (July 18, 2025)."Chicago street circuit dropped from NASCAR schedule for 2026" .Racer . RetrievedJuly 18, 2025 . ^ "San Diego to host NASCAR's latest cup series innovation with a street race at Naval Base Coronado" .Jayski's Silly Season Site . RetrievedJuly 23, 2025 .^ Bianchi, Jordan (July 30, 2025)."Mexico City is out for NASCAR's 2026 schedule; Chicagoland likely in: Sources" .The Athletic New York Times . RetrievedJuly 30, 2025 .
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