Logano, Hocevar and Hamlin all questioned NASCAR's Next Gen car after a near-passless Brickyard 400, with Hamlin proposing an aero rebalance - while others argue Indianapolis and this car simply cannot be reconciled.
Todd Gilliland never led a lap at Indianapolis, yet the Front Row Motorsports driver walked away with $1 million after Ryan Blaney was spun out of the In-Season Challenge final by John Hunter Nemechek.
Corey Heim passed his own team co-owner Denny Hamlin on the final restart and held off Christopher Bell and Joey Logano to win the Brickyard 400 — the second win of a season the 24-year-old is not even contesting full-time.
Hendrick Motorsports, Ally and Chevrolet have signed off on loaning Jimmie Johnson the stylised No. 48 for the 2027 Daytona 500 - his last Cup start, in a Legacy Motor Club Toyota. Alex Bowman moves to a spare number.
Carson Hocevar edged Spire teammate Daniel Suarez for the Brickyard 400 pole at Indianapolis, locking out the front row and turning the tables on Denny Hamlin after Michigan.
The Brickyard 400 returns to the Indianapolis oval on Sunday with no active repeat winner in the field, leaving one of NASCAR's crown jewels wide open as championship leader Denny Hamlin chases the one big prize missing from his career.
Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland — two third-generation Ford drivers — meet at the Brickyard 400 with NASCAR's $1 million In-Season Challenge on the line, the No. 3 seed against a 25th-seeded underdog who says 'why not us?'
Alex Bowman will retire from full-time NASCAR after the 2027 season, signing a one-year Hendrick Motorsports extension first. The 33-year-old cited his health and a desire to finish his career on his own terms.
NASCAR has ditched its elimination-style playoff and one-race title decider for a revived 10-race Chase in 2026. Denny Hamlin backs a format that rewards consistency but is furious the regular-season championship has been quietly abolished.
Joey Logano led 323 of 450 laps to win NASCAR's first points race at North Wilkesboro in 30 years, ending a 45-race drought and climbing inside the Chase cutline. Shane van Gisbergen matched his career-best oval finish in fifth.
The No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland has ridden a string of narrow escapes into the NASCAR In-Season Challenge semifinals at North Wilkesboro, one weekend from a $1 million payday.
NASCAR's Cup Series returns to North Wilkesboro Speedway for a points race for the first time since 1996 with Sunday's Window World 450 — the payoff for a grassroots revival that Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr and track boss Marcus Smith all credit to the fans who refused to let the old short track die.
