Samwise NASCAR Cup Series Newsletter
Friday, June 26, 2026
NASCAR In-Season Challenge kicks off at Sonoma with Reddick as No. 1 seed
Year 2 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge begins Sunday at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT Sports) in a 32-driver, single-elimination tournament with a $1 million perfect-bracket prize on the line. Tyler Reddick enters as the No. 1 seed, followed by Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Ty Gibbs. The bracket spans five races over five weeks, concluding at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A road course opener differs from the 2025 inaugural challenge, which started at EchoPark and produced eight first-round upsets. Defending Sonoma winner Shane van Gisbergen, seeded 14th, faces Ryan Preece in a high-stakes matchup with Chase implications on the line.
Sources: NASCAR.com Jayski Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Reddick leads Hamlin by just 8 points as Sonoma looms as pivotal championship weekend
Tyler Reddick enters Sonoma Raceway leading the NASCAR Cup Series standings by just eight points over Denny Hamlin — down from a 129-point edge after Watkins Glen. The margin tightened at San Diego when Reddick made contact with 23XI Racing teammate Corey Heim and cut a left-front tire, dropping to 25th while Hamlin finished 14th. Reddick holds 716 points to Hamlin’s 708 heading into the 18th race of 36 in the regular season. Ryan Blaney sits third at 583, well back of the leaders. Both top contenders are among the two highest seeds in the In-Season Challenge bracket opening Sunday at the 1.99-mile road course.
Sources: NASCAR.com Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Van Gisbergen blames Austin Hill for back-to-back crashes, calls him ‘the same spud’
Shane van Gisbergen publicly blamed Austin Hill this week for wrecking him in back-to-back races at Pocono and Naval Base Coronado. In a recap video posted Tuesday, van Gisbergen said he was “still pretty shitty after the weekend” and described being “taken out by the same spud two weeks in a row.” At San Diego, Hill missed the apex restarting on the front row and sent Connor Zilisch and himself into the wall, collecting van Gisbergen as well. SVG has now dropped from 12th to 17th in the standings and sits five points outside the Chase cutline entering Sunday’s Sonoma race, where he is the defending winner.
Sources: Motorsport.com NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Gragson reveals he nearly punched Magnussen at Naval Base Coronado, was warned to stand down
Noah Gragson revealed Thursday that he was warned against punching Kevin Magnussen after a tense confrontation at Naval Base Coronado on June 21. Gragson said he “really, really, really wanted to go fight” after Magnussen made contact late in Stage 2, sending him into the wall with race-ending damage. Gragson said he was told before reaching Magnussen that “there’s going to be long-term consequences with my job if that was the case.” NASCAR security helped defuse the confrontation on the military base. Magnussen, driving Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry in his Cup debut, told Gragson to “f*** off” during the exchange.
Sources: Jayski Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Christopher Bell’s fractured wrist casts doubt over full Sonoma distance
Christopher Bell’s ability to complete Sunday’s Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway remains in question as the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver continues to manage a fractured left wrist from a Michigan crash on June 7. Bell started in San Diego but handed his Toyota to 18-year-old Brent Crews at the first caution before a mechanical failure ended the day. His wrist fracture is expected to heal in roughly six weeks without surgery. Bell faces Ross Chastain in an In-Season Challenge Round 1 matchup; Chastain holds an average Sonoma finish of 11.5 in the Next Gen era and arrives with two consecutive top-10 results.
Sources: NASCAR.com Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
NASCAR orders Cup teams to strip bumper foam from cars at four short track events
NASCAR has directed Cup Series teams to remove energy-absorbing foam from front and rear bumpers for four upcoming short track races: North Wilkesboro (July 19), Richmond (August 15), Bristol (September 19), and Martinsville (November 1). Teams must also modify four front bumper struts accordingly. The move is designed to discourage drivers from deliberately rear-ending a leading car, as contact will now produce aerodynamic damage rather than absorbing the impact harmlessly. The change takes effect at North Wilkesboro in July and applies only to those four race weekends. NASCAR issued the bulletin to teams this week ahead of the stretch of sub-mile events.
Sources: Jayski Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Hocevar vs. Smith: Rivals with bad blood set for In-Season Challenge Round 1 showdown
Carson Hocevar (No. 9 seed) and Zane Smith (No. 24 seed) renew a contentious rivalry Sunday when the two young drivers meet in one of the most anticipated In-Season Challenge Round 1 matchups at Sonoma Raceway. The two clashed at Iowa Speedway in 2025, when Hocevar crashed into Smith and prompted Smith’s crew chief to confront him post-race. Smith later called Hocevar “just a dumb expletive.” Both are having career years in 2026 — Hocevar sits ninth in points with speed across all track types; Smith has posted three top 10s in the last five races for Front Row Motorsports. Neither has a top-15 at Sonoma, but both arrive with strong recent momentum.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Cup Series Standings (Top 16)
1. Tyler Reddick — 716 pts
2. Denny Hamlin — 708 pts
3. Ryan Blaney — 583 pts
4. Kyle Larson — 536 pts
5. Ty Gibbs — 535 pts
6. Chase Elliott — 534 pts
7. Chris Buescher — 500 pts
8. Daniel Suárez — 478 pts
9. Carson Hocevar — 476 pts
10. Chase Briscoe — 431 pts
11. Bubba Wallace — 429 pts
12. Christopher Bell — 422 pts
13. William Byron — 421 pts
14. Erik Jones — 372 pts
15. Austin Cindric — 370 pts
16. Ryan Preece — 367 pts
— Chase cutline — (SVG 17th, 362 pts)
Manufacturer Standings
1. Toyota — 802 pts
2. Chevrolet — 684 pts
3. Ford — 561 pts
Curated by JD · samwise.agency