NASCAR Team and Manufacturer News for Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net

Charlotte, NC — We enter the second half of the Chase, and Kyle Larson leads Denny Hamlin by 40 points. This is the third of three consecutive 1.5 mile tracks. The teams have spoken, and we start off with manufacturer news.

FORD DRIVERS IN THE CHASE4th – Joey Logano (-71 behind leader Kyle Larson)5th – Ryan Blaney (-80)9th – Austin Cindric (-128)15th – Chris Buescher (-196)16th – Ryan Preece (-200) CINDRIC SOLID IN CHASE Austin Cindric continued his strong run in the Chase as he paced Ford for the second straight week with a fourth-place finish in Las Vegas. That came on the heels of a season-best second two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway. In the first five races, Cindric has an average finish of 8.0 and has been no lower than 13th at the checkered flag. That string of solid efforts has also allowed him to move up from 15th when the Chase started to ninth going into Sunday’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Overall, Cindric has a streak of eight straight races where he has finished no worse than 13th. CINDRIC CHASE FINISHES13th – Darlington10th – Gateway11th – Bristol2nd – Kansas4th – Las Vegas

LOGANO DOMINATES IN 2015 Joey Logano had one of the more dominating days of his career in winning the 2015 Bank of America 500 as he led 227 of the 334 laps. The victory not only automatically punched his ticket to the Round of 8, but it sparked a streak that saw him win the next two races at Kansas and Talladega. That marked Logano’s first win at the speedway and remains the last Ford victory on the Charlotte oval in the fall event.

FORD DRIVERS IN THE CHASE 2nd – Layne Riggs (-37 behind leader Kaden Honeycutt)3rd – Chandler Smith (-71)7th – Ty Majeski (-88)8th – Ben Rhodes (-98) RIGGS SEEKING CHARLOTTE SEASON SWEEP Layne Riggs goes into the third race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase looking to make up ground after losing his lead two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway. Riggs finds himself 37 points behind Kaden Honeycutt, but he enters Friday night’s scheduled race looking to complete a Charlotte Motor Speedway season sweep. Riggs led a race-high 52 laps in the rain-delayed event earlier this season that ended 40 circuits short of the advertised distance due to time constraints.    MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP RACE HEATING UP Ford is looking for its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series manufacturer’s championship since 2000 and goes into this weekend’s race with a 25-point advantage over Toyota. Ford’s nine wins this year is its highest single season total since winning 12 times in 2000. That’s when Greg Biffle won five times and claimed the first driver’s championship for Ford and owner Jack Roush.

LARSON EXTENDS POINTS LEAD, TOP-FIVE STREAKIt was a true championship-caliber performance by Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Despite a turbulent day that saw them go a lap down in the opening stage, the Cliff Daniels-led team rallied right back into race winning contention late to finish second and extend their streak of top-five finishes in the Chase to five. The result aided in a double-digit gain in his points lead, carrying a 40-point advantage over Denny Hamlin into the Charlotte race weekend. He boasts a 2.2 average finish through the first-half of the postseason, including two wins and four-straight results within the top-two. Larson has one victory on the Charlotte oval in his Cup Series career, which came in his first championship-earning season (2021) where he swept all four stages and led 327 of 400 laps of the Coca-Cola 600 to take the crown jewel win.

BYRON LOOKING FOR A BREAKTHROUGH AT HOME There’s no sweeter spot to breakthrough into victory lane for the first time this season than at your home track, and that’s exactly what’s on the mind of Charlotte native, William Byron. The Team Chevy driver returns home with a solid baseline of consistency after a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway extended his top-10 streak in the Chase to four-straight, an effort that also kept his results on 1.5-mile tracks this season all within the top-10. His prowess on intermediate ovals has largely been demonstrated within his recent history at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He’s ranked third-best in the series with an average finish of 9.6 in the Next Gen era at the track, including a string of three-consecutive top-three finishes in the 2023-25 Coca Cola 600’s. His ninth-place result in this season’s spring race further extended his record to four-straight top-10s at the track. In his past four outings on the track’s oval, his other notable achievements include one pole win, four stage wins and a combined 423 laps led.

CREED STAYS IN COMMANDHeading into the fifth stop of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series nine-race postseason schedule, Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed continues to lead Team Chevy into a sweep of the top-six of the points standings. Despite a disappointing finish just outside the top-10 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he still managed to add on to his points lead to now sit at a 19-point advantage over JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil.

NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTS

Briscoe plans to add another intermediate win… Chase Briscoe earned his second win of the season – and second on an intermediate track – with his dominating performance on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Indiana-native led 175 of 267 laps to add to his win at Chicagoland Speedway in July. Briscoe is looking for his first win at Charlotte but did win the pole for the 600-mile race in 2025, and led 34 laps there earlier this year.  

Bell looks to add another Charlotte victory…Christopher Bell remains in the points picture after battling through no power-steering for the final 100 laps at Las Vegas. Charlotte is the perfect place to rebound. Bell won at Charlotte in 2024 and is riding a streak of three straight top-10 finishes there. He led 44 laps and was battling for the win before the rain came back in May before settlingfor second.

Toyota six of the top 10… Denny Hamlin and Bell lead six Toyota drivers in the top-10 in the championship battle. Hamlin continues to lead the Toyota contingent in second, with Bell one spot behind in third. Briscoe moved up to sixth after his Vegas win, with Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs in close pursuit. Bubba Wallace continues to hold down 10th overall.  

Toyota closes in on manufacturer crown… After Briscoe won the 16^th race for Toyota on Sunday, Team Toyota continues to close in on the manufacturers title as Toyota holds more than a three-race advantage over Chevrolet with five races remaining. Toyota is searching for its first Cup Series manufacturer title since 2019, and fourth overall.

Taylor Gray plans to extend top-10 streak… Taylor Gray has started the Chase with four consecutive top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place run at Las Vegas on Saturday. Gray is one of two Chase drivers to finish top-10 in every post-season race so far. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is a former pole winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway and is looking for his first top-10 finish there. 

KASEY KAHNE RETURNS TO NASCAR FULL TIME
WITH SPIRE MOTORSPORTS
Eighteen-Time NASCAR Cup Series Winner to Contend for 2027 NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series Championship

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 7, 2026) – Spire Motorsports announced today Kasey Kahne, an 18-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner and one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers will return to NASCAR racing full time in 2027 and pilot Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST beginning with the February 19 NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series season opening Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

While Kahne has made just six-career starts in NASCAR’s Truck Series, the Enumclaw, Wash., native has visited Victory Lane in five of those appearances, including Chevrolet’s 200th Truck Series win in the 2015 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

“This is one of the coolest announcements we’ve been able to make,” said Spire Motorsports Co-Owner Jeff Dickerson. “Kasey is not only a legendary driver but is someone that Spire shares a long history with. Having him in one of our trucks running for a championship means a lot to our organization and we fully trust that he has the same competitive nature and drive to win that he’s always had.”

Kahne made his NASCAR national series debut in 2002 at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway for Robert Yates Racing and his first NASCAR Cup Series start in 2004 for Evernham Motorsports following the retirement of 1988 Cup Series Champion and 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bill Elliott.

• In 18 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Spire Motorsports has one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes. Daniel Suárez led 17 laps en route to victory in the 2026 Coca-Cola 600. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Cup Series with Suárez, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The NASCAR Cup Series will contest the sixth race of The Chase Sunday at Charlotte. Hocevar and Suárez sit 11th and 14th, respectively in the championship standings. McDowell is 20th in points following last week’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Spire Motorsports will open its doors to race fans, Friday, Oct. 9, beginning at 8:30 a.m., prior to NASCAR’s tripleheader race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Following the success of last year’s “Spire Goes Pink” initiative, the team’s official retail store will once again feature merchandise honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with all proceeds benefiting breast cancer research. Driver autograph sessions will begin at 11 a.m. inside the showroom and feature Spire Motorsports Cup Series drivers Daniel Suárez, Michael McDowell, and Carson Hocevar. Seven-year-old Bandolero racer Kip Knaus will also be on hand to greet fans and sign autographs. Autographs will be limited to two items per person. A total of 200 QR codes redeemable for autographs will be available on-site on a first-come, first-served basis.