Author Archives: PressBox

Dodge is nearing a return to NASCAR’s Cup Series, with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21 as the target for its comeback, according to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic. Several hurdles remain, and no official deal has been announced. Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice also said there is no firm timeline for a return and no promise it will happen.

Dodge is working on a temporary engine arrangement with ECR Engines. That setup needed approval from NASCAR, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. Kaulig Racing, which already runs Ram trucks and two charters, is widely expected to be Dodge’s primary Cup team if the plan moves forward. NASCAR is not planning to increase the charter count.

The potential return has also sparked speculation about Brad Keselowski. He won the 2012 Cup championship in a Dodge and is set to leave RFK Racing after the 2026 season, but Rice said he has not spoken with him about driving for Dodge. Dodge last raced in the Cup Series in 2012, and a return would give NASCAR a fourth manufacturer alongside Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.

Tristan McKee has joined JR Motorsports on a multi-year development deal that will bring him to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2027 and lead to a full-time JR Motorsports ride in 2029. The 16-year-old from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is currently a developmental driver for Spire Motorsports.

McKee will make his first JR Motorsports start in the No. 9 Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 13, 2027, and will race part time for the team late in 2027 and throughout 2028. He will also run part time in Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Truck Series entry in 2027, sharing the Chevrolet with Carson Hocevar.

McKee has made three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts, finishing eighth at Richmond, sixth at New Hampshire and fifth at Bristol. JR Motorsports said he has already become the youngest driver to earn a top-five finish in NASCAR’s top three national series. He also won the 2025 Trans Am Series TA2 championship and the 2026 ARCA Menards Series East title with four victories.

Fifth Third Bank is expected to end its sponsorship of RFK Racing after the 2026 NASCAR season, closing a partnership that began in 2012 when the team was known as Roush Fenway Racing. The expected exit is not tied to Brad Keselowski’s planned departure from RFK Racing. Fifth Third has been linked to RFK’s No. 17 Ford, which has been driven by Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chris Buescher.

The Cincinnati-based bank has used the sponsorship as a business-development tool to reach customers in racing and the automotive aftermarket. Fifth Third declined to confirm the reported development, as did RFK Racing. Fifth Third continues to hold other motorsports and sports-marketing properties after its acquisition of Comerica Bank.

Fifth Third was the primary sponsor for five races in 2026. RFK Racing still intends to field three full-time cars in 2027 and is also dealing with other sponsor and charter changes ahead of that season.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase has tightened into a three-driver race heading to Phoenix, with Sheldon Creed leading Jesse Love by two points and Corey Day by seven. Justin Allgaier is 15 points back, and the top four drivers are now separated by just 15 points after starting the Chase 40 points apart.

Corey Day moved up to third in the standings after winning back-to-back Chase races at Las Vegas and Charlotte, and he has gained 85 points on Creed over the last two races. Day said Phoenix has not been one of his stronger tracks.

The next race is Saturday’s Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Allgaier has three wins and 22 top-10 finishes in 32 starts at Phoenix, but he has also had costly problems in nearly every postseason race. The title battle could still include Carson Kvapil, who is 40 points back.

Team Penske entered Phoenix Raceway as the fantasy favorite with four races left in the 2026 Cup Series season, and Ryan Blaney was the top fantasy recommendation and must-start driver for the Freeway Insurance 500. Christopher Bell and Joey Logano also were labeled must-start fantasy plays, while Josh Berry was highlighted as a fantasy option and William Byron was listed as a sleeper pick.

Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar were recommended to avoid because of their Phoenix track records. In featured matchup picks, Denny Hamlin was favored over Kyle Larson, Blaney over Bell, Logano over Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace over Chase Elliott. Riley Herbst was the 36-for-36 selection.

Blaney opened as the betting favorite at +370, with Bell next at +450. Logano and Hamlin were tied at +600. Blaney has six top-two finishes in his last eight Phoenix starts, Bell has two wins in his last five Phoenix races and Logano has four career victories at Phoenix Raceway. The race was scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern and set to air on USA Network.

Chase Briscoe’s back-to-back Cup Series wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway have put him in the title conversation heading into Phoenix, lifting him to fourth in the standings and leaving him 65 points behind Kyle Larson with four races left. Briscoe also finished second at Kansas before the two wins, and his run has kept Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin out of Victory Lane, which has helped Larson maintain the edge in the championship race.

NASCAR.com’s forecast model gave Larson a 72.5% chance to win the title, compared with 10.6% for Bell, 8.9% for Hamlin and 4.6% for Briscoe. The model said Bell or Hamlin would have become the title favorite over Larson if either driver had won both of the recent races, and Briscoe’s championship odds would rise to nearly 20% with three straight wins and 55% with four.

Briscoe will head to Phoenix Raceway for the Freeway Insurance 500, where he won his first Cup Series race in 2022, and he said he feels confident about Phoenix, Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead. He said Martinsville is the biggest question mark for his team and added that Talladega is where his championship fight will come down to. Larson entered Phoenix as the Cup Series Chase leader and had the best Phoenix average start and average finish among the top six in points, at 6.8 and 10.0, with one win in 24 starts. Joey Logano has four Phoenix victories, while Hamlin, Bell and Ryan Blaney each have two.