NASCAR is switching Cup Series practice to a single 50-minute session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, replacing the split-group format used at most events. The change begins this weekend and will remain in place for the rest of the 2026 season at non-superspeedway, non-extended-practice weekends. Superspeedway races will keep their current practice format, and the Homestead-Miami season finale will also keep its current format.

Under the new setup, all entered cars will run together in one session with no mandatory break. Impound rules after qualifying will still limit adjustments, teams will not be allowed back to the garage during practice, and any changes will have to be made on pit road. NASCAR also will add an extra set of practice tires to each applicable weekend allotment.

Officials said the change came after talks with teams and other industry members, with a substantial majority of teams backing it. Jordan Bianchi said on The Teardown that the added track time should help mid-sized and deeper-garage teams make more meaningful adjustments and narrow the competitive gap, while also benefiting the bigger teams. Denny Hamlin questioned whether the longer sessions would make much difference.

The Brickyard 400 returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for its 30th running, and the race again looks wide open at one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel events. Cody Ware described the track’s Pagoda, four corners and long straightaways as unlike anywhere else on the Cup Series schedule, with qualifying, strategy, tire management and track position likely to matter. The modern race has often turned on late cautions, overtime and fuel strategy, and the winner will once again have a chance to kiss the bricks after NASCAR’s return to the oval.

Denny Hamlin arrives as the points leader and the DraftKings favorite at +350, but he has never won the Brickyard 400 and has finished third there four times. He leads Tyler Reddick by 68 points in the regular-season championship race and has four wins this season, a series-best 863 laps led through 21 races and an estimated 90% chance to clinch the regular-season title. Reddick is listed at +550 after finishing second in last year’s race, while Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson are both at +700. Blaney is the defending Brickyard winner, has an 11-race top-11 streak entering Indianapolis and will make his 400th Cup start Sunday. Larson won at Indianapolis in 2024, Bubba Wallace is the defending Brickyard 400 winner after last year’s rain-shortened overtime finish, and Christopher Bell is still seeking his first victory after five runner-up finishes this season.

The Brickyard could also shake up the playoff picture with five races left before the postseason begins. Joey Logano has moved near the cut line after a recent victory, while Erik Jones, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski remain outside the playoff field. Keselowski, Larson and Wallace are the only entered drivers with previous oval victories at Indianapolis, and several contenders have strong résumés at the track. The race is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern on TNT, and it also serves as the final round of NASCAR’s second In-Season Challenge, with Blaney favored over Todd Gilliland in the title matchup.

USA Sports laid out an expanded 2026 NASCAR Cup Series plan under parent company Versant Media, saying the final 14 races of the season will be branded entirely as USA Sports, including races that air on NBC. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will work the broadcast booth, Marty Snider, Brad Daugherty and Dale Jarrett will host the pre-race “Pit Box” show, and Kim Coon, Dave Burns and Trevor Bayne will serve as pit reporters, with Bayne also appearing live from inside the pace car at select races. USA Sports will also cover The Chase for the first time, and Diffey and Letarte said the format should create more open discussion about who can make the cut and win the championship.

The network and NASCAR also announced “NASCAR Americana,” a three-part documentary series that will premiere Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network after the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. Peyton Manning is an executive producer, the series is inspired by America’s 250th birthday, and it looks at NASCAR’s place in U.S. history, from its Southern back-road origins to its rise as a national institution. The series is directed by Emmy winner Max Gershberg and produced by NASCAR Studios, Words + Pictures and Omaha Productions.

The first episode, “Rebel Roots,” airs Aug. 9 and follows Ryan Blaney as he prepares for the 2026 Daytona 500. “Family Bonds” airs Aug. 15 and includes Kurt Busch’s first formal sit-down interview since his brother Kyle Busch’s death in May. “Enduring Spirit” airs Aug. 23 and features Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace at the 2026 Anduril 250. The series also includes interviews with Jeff Gordon, Darius Rucker, Frankie Muniz and Peyton Manning, and will air over three weekends in August after NASCAR broadcasts from Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Goodyear will bring a new right-side tire to NASCAR Cup Series teams for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while the left-side tire will stay the same as the one used at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5 and at eight other intermediate tracks this season. Goodyear selected the new tire after an Indianapolis test in early June, when Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece and John Hunter Nemechek ran cars for Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. The new right-side tire features updated construction and a new tread compound, and Goodyear said the package was designed for Indianapolis’ flat corners and aggressive setups.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will use the same tire combination it ran at Pocono Raceway, including inner liners on tracks one mile and longer. The Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will each have 50-minute practice sessions on Friday.

The Craftsman Truck Series will race Friday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on the same Goodyear setup it used last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Goodyear will also provide both dry-weather and wet-weather tire sets for the Truck Series event.