re: 2026 NASCAR Season Thread

Its obvious Toyota has a super advantage. The question is whether Nascar has given it to them or not. They don’t like monopolies too much and with modern cars so restricted - most parts are made by Nascar sanctioned makers - are they allowing Toyota to cheat and turning a blind eye?

Nascar knows every car inside and out. They tear them down randomly as well. One theory is they don’t want to look vindictive after losing lawsuit and forced to settle. Another is to help Bubba get a win.

On any case, the series is now a Toyota one.

And speaking of Bubba, he is falling like a rock in standings. He was saved a few times making Chase on some fluke wins, but on points only he would have missed. Right now he is 15th, but if Preece had his 25 pts back stolen by Nascar he’d be single digits behind.

What stands out is Reddick has almost double the points as Bubba. And same shop. SVG is higher in standings with a lesser team and less experience.

Thing is all Toyota teams are doing great. Which is highly suspect. I could see one team finding massive gains but to have all of them make this type gain is bigger than just teams. Nascar has always done shady stuff.

If they fond problems during inspections or tear downs and announce penalties it makes Nascar look vindictive from lawsuit. Instead it seems they went opposite. One to help Bubba which has not just been this year. And two to help Hamlin finally win a title.

Ty Gibbs at 5 tells you all you need to know.

Such great racing. Watch final turn and car control by both drivers

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Had a chance this past week to go to several race shops and even mingle and talk with some crew chiefs, car chiefs, and drivers while I was up there for the 600.

Toyota is dialed in, they have had the same powertrain and bodies for several seasons so their aero is spot on, that is why you see JGR, 23XI, and Legacy all running well (maybe not all drivers, but cars from all of these shops).
Ford is still trying to get a grasp on their aero from the switch to the darkhorse body, and the power is not what it once was with the Roush Yates powerplant. RFK is close, but Penske, Wood Brothers, and FRM are still throwing darts trying to find the right combinations. Ford just can't find anything that consistently works, RFK is the closest.
Chevy aero is absolute trash right now, some teams are hitting, but it's hit or miss, which I had a Chevy crew chief say absolutely sucks because their new powerplant is leaps and bounds better than it has been. They feel once they get the aero better they will be absolutely fine especially at the 1.5 milers.
This was from the horses mouth and corroborated by other sources at Ford and Chevy shops. Ford and Chevy both had the same to say about Toyota and did not seem happy at all about it.

That can all be true and Toyota still goven advantages by Nascar. Look at who is spending the most advertising dollars (Toy) and who is doing most TV ads during races (Toy). Its not far fetched based on Nascar past. I just don’t think all Toyota teams would be equally fast if advantages were found.

Hell, Gibbs is suing to keep stuff in house. They would never share with others. Hamlin would though, still think its a conflict and can’t believe Nascar hasn’t stopped it.

The gap is too big to be just finding something.

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I just don’t think all Toyota teams would be equally fast

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I get what you are saying, but also know part of the reason Toyota teams are all so close is because Toyota has an open book with their teams. Now JGR, 23XI, Legacy etc have their own internal knowledge, but if TRD finds something they share it with all of their teams. Chevy and Ford do not. Ford is better than Chevy but there is still a good ol boy where RFK and Penske find out stuff FRM doesn't. Chevy is the worst, Hendrick gets everything and then the second tier with RCR and Trackhouse gets a little, andd then Spire gets a little, and everyone else is left in the dark. I had a very in depth hour plus discussion last week with a crew chief and car chief for a Chevy team and basically once you get past Spire Chevy will not give you anything, literally left on their own. Also had some chats with a crew chief from that second tier where he basically shared the difference in what Hendrick knows and what the next level gets is bonkers. He was with Trackhouse when Chevy Performance was using some of their space before they moved onto the Hendrick campus and said part of their early success was that information as Chevy would give out stuff they would find from tests or the sim that would be huge in their gameplan and dialing cars in, now they are lucky if it's once a week.

I don't think it can be overstated how big having consistent power and aero can be. Chevy and Ford are trying to find consistency and taking big swings to see what sticks and making some big misses, while Toyota is fine tuning to shave off hundreths.

I just think talking to the people in the sport and hearing their experiences that it's not some big conspiracy. If you go back and look at lap times at the non drafting tracks Toyota times are the same to slightly faster. Chevy is tenths slower but making up ground and getting closer to their speed in 2025. Ford has basically stayed stagnate. I don't think they ever figured out the Dark Horse body and have moved their attention to the new body they are getting in 2027 so they aren't as far behind when that one hits. That's from the data and the guys who touch these for their livelihood shared that sentiment.

The teams may share some information, but it's not a lot. JGR isn't sharing anything with TRD beyond what they are obligated to, neither are 23XI or Legacy. TRD has their own team and shop that is looking to make their teams better though. So do the other manufacturers, but as I said earlier the top teams get way more than the other teams and the other teams know it. Legacy was very vocal when they moved over to Toyota at how much more support they receive from the manufacturer than they did with Chevy.

Reddick has won everywhere he has been. A focused Reddick combined with the current Toyota aero advantage is huge. I have said for several years I think he is one of the top wheelman in the sport and that he wins wherever he goes. He won in a Big Machine ride at Texas, not a Gibbs ride, JRM, or RCR, but Big Machine. He has 30% of RCR's cup wins since 2020, despite the fact he hasn't run for them in four seasons. He has +70% of 23XI's wins and is their only driver to finish in the top 10 ever, something he has done every year there. If NASCAR didn't know the kid could drive, then they haven't been paying attention.

I have no doubt they want Bubba to do well, but I don't think there is any cheating to do so. The Cup series is as competitive as it's ever been. The 66 was running lap times within 1 sec of the leaders on Sunday. That kind of competitiveness means those tenths Chevy is lagging is huge. It's just the perfect storm this year with Toyota's advantage by having this body for multiple seasons, Chevy changing their body, and Ford basically having moved on to their 2027 body because they never figured out their new body and don't see a reason to invest more time and money into something that has a fast approaching expiration date.

Like I said fortunate and a bit lucky to have some of the insight I have. We left one shop well after it closed to the public and even gave the crew chief opportunities to kick me out when I saw the time, but he just kept going haha. Car chief joined in at one point and the driver came and sat down next to my son and asked what the meeting was about. When I finally got up and said I really should let y'all go the driver and my son were talking about video games and the Crew Chief was telling me to come back any time.

We got out to the truck and were pulling away and I asked my son if he had any clue what just happened or who any of those people were. I do know some people in the industry mostly in the Oreilly and Craftsman series so I have been fortunate for some access to those over the years, but this was a Cup team and Cup driver.

I will say to anyone who makes that trip up that way to set aside a couple of days to go to the race shops. Put in a tour request with JRM before you go up as their tour access is pretty cool. The big shops are awesome with display cars, memorabilia, trophies, etc. The smaller teams are where to go though. Those shops don't get a lot of visitors so they can often times give some of the best access. Not a guarantee but I have had way more fun at some of the smaller shops than the larger teams.

Another great recap. I will suggest, no race team is going to tell you any good scoop and what they think or know thats not common knowledge. They would never take that risk due to how Nascar rules with an iron fist. So if they suspect a maker is cheating or getting favoritism they just aren’t going to come clean to you. Too many people say too much on social media and they can’t risk getting called out and under Nascar eye.

But I enjoyed your stories it is cool to do all the tours like you said. And to meet crews and staff.