Hold the phone. This just in from the Florida Department of Transportation …
Boogity, boogity, boogity.
The sun is shining, roads are clear, and the snowplows remain on retainer until further notice.
Unlike NASCAR’s short preseason, which collided with the worst of the unforgiving winter season, the official regular season for all divisions gets a green flag and (mostly) blue skies in Daytona Beach.
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However, East Central Florida, like NASCAR itself, reserves the right to slap a big * Subject to Change on any given week’s proceedings.
But let’s ignore the things we can’t control and turn our attention to NASCAR’s upcoming 78th season of big-league stock-car racin’, kicked off as usual by unpredictable action at Daytona, where we may (or may not) be enjoying our last official three-day weekend, depending on the bargaining power of the NFL Players Association.
You heard me. More on that, and other things, as we shake off the three down months and get this thing up to speed in a hurry.
First Gear: Even the Epstein files were part of this weird NASCAR offseason
It’s been a while since the collective NASCAR industry has been this ready to put the idle months behind us and get back to the grind.
If only those idle months had been idle.
The offseason, as expected, was dominated by the antitrust trial that ended after eight days of testimony that turned embarrassing and maddening at various times. No need to rehash the headlines, but they weren’t good.
Afterward, Michael Jordan was on the courthouse steps explaining his side of things, and if that doesn’t encapsulate the unlikely nature of this whole ordeal, what does?
But it ended with an agreement and a new way of doing business that’s highly unlikely to affect what we see on Sundays (additional horsepower at most tracks will hopefully take care of that situation).
Shortly thereafter, former Cup star Greg Biffle and his family were among those killed in a plane crash.
Next came the house fire that killed Denny Hamlin’s dad, Dennis, and injured his mother, Mary Lou.
It was back-to-back blows that dampened the holiday spirit.
And just as the new season approached the front door, former Cup regular Brian Vickers turned up in the latest released batch of Epstein files.
Good Lord a’mighty, let’s crank those engines and speed away from this hellish offseason.
Second Gear: Daytona 500 will always avoid the Super Bowl
Due to the way the calendar falls later this year, the 2026 NFL season will start a week later than usual, which means it’ll end a week later … which means the next Super Bowl will take over 2027’s Presidents Day Weekend, which is normally reserved for the Daytona 500.
In no mood to crash into Super Bowl Sunday, next year’s Daytona 500 will move a week deeper in February, which is hardly unprecedented (most recently, it sat there from 2012-17). The 500 might want to get comfortable with the Sunday before February’s fourth Monday instead of the third Monday.
The NFL would love to balance things by adding an 18th regular-season game, and no, not just for mathematical symmetry. But as it turns out, the NFL’s Players Association has a say in these things, and the union boss this past week said the players have “no appetite” for an 18th game.
Care to guess what the league’s owners might pile atop a platter to get those hunger pangs panging?
Third Gear: Connor Zilisch headlines short list of moves
Over in our Offseason Transactions Department, layoffs are feared because of the shrunken workload.
Sure, there were plenty of personnel moves atop the pit boxes and over in the teams’ competition offices, as well as a few manufacturer swaps. But as for the stars of the show — the guys turning the wheel — there was really just one big move, which happened to trigger two subsequent tumbling of dominoes.
To the surprise of no one, Connor Zilisch is coming full-time to the Cup Series after acing his full-season test in the 2025 Xfinity Series — 10 wins, on the off-chance you forgot. He’s moving into the No. 88 Chevy for Trackhouse Racing, and since those things still have just one seat, Daniel Suarez had to move along.
Suarez slides into Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevy, whose previous occupant, Justin Haley, has left the Cup Series to join the new Ram effort with Kaulig Racing in the Truck Series.
Fourth Gear: Daytona 500 could be winner’s lone 2026 highlight
Finally, late afternoon or early evening this coming Sunday (depending on how often the green flag is holstered), a driver will be celebrated in a manner that’d make a new Pope envious.
It’s said every year because for some, it needs to be said every year: For that driver, it’ll mean nothing in terms of immediate momentum for the rest of the season.
Sure, William Byron has won the past two Daytona 500s, and Billy the Kid (still?) went on to have good seasons each time, just like he’s supposed to do in that No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet.
But also remember who won the three Daytona 500s before Byron’s back-to-back: Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric and Ricky Stenhouse — none of whom made a lot of noise in the subsequent eight-plus months.
If another non-marquee driver and team break Byron’s little streak and win the Great American Race, it won’t make them a Great American Contender, but that doesn’t take away the biggest single-day prize NASCAR offers. It remains a career-maker, but it’s no omen.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR hits Daytona hoping for blue skies and better headlines
Reporting by Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
