Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR:
Turn 1: Texas Motor Speedway is celebrating its 20th year of racing. What’s your favorite Texas moment?
Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Texas Motor Speedway has become a fabulous racing facility, but it did not begin that way. I get a kick out of Victory Lane and the drivers firing off the pistols. I do not have great memories from the racetrack, having gotten beaten up in the inaugural race in 1997. I suppose my favorite memories are seeing how well-supported it’s been by the Texas race fans. It’s an important market to our sport.
Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: I have two, both from the track’s inaugural season. When they ran the first Cup race in April ’97, the track wasn’t ready yet. It just wasn’t. They were still painting the walls. There was a sewage leak. But the worst was the traffic. It was so bad it took all night to leave. The next week we were at Bristol, and before the race Bruton Smith was walking pit road and struck up a conversation with Chocolate Myers, gas-can man for Dale Earnhardt. Smith asked Choc what he thought of Texas, and Choc says, “All that big stuff you bragged about with that track, but I had no idea y’all had the longest infield tunnel in NASCAR.” Smith was perplexed. He replied, “I don’t think that’s right.” Choc said, “The hell it isn’t. It took us three hours to get through it!” But my favorite moment was two months later, when I had to go stand behind Arie Luyendyk’s transporter and ask him what it’d felt like to be slapped in the face by A.J. Foyt in Victory Lane, which had happened just a few minutes earlier.
John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: I’ve never covered a NASCAR event at TMS, so all of my memories are culled from nearly 20 years of Indy car races — and non-races. Texas hosted the first of the infamous IRL pack races in 1997 when those cars raced on a 1.5-mile oval for the first time, and of course it ended famously when Foyt slapped rightful winner Luyendyk in Victory Lane. Then CART decided to host a race at TMS in 2001 and it never happened. After Paul Tracy ran 239 mph in practice and Big Mo Gugelmin had a crash that started in Turn 2 and ended two-thirds of a mile later in Turn 4, they realized that drivers were blacking out from the g-forces and the race was cancelled three hours before the scheduled start. It was a huge blow to CART’s already shaky credibility. Lastly, I’ll remember Danica Patrick having one of her very best Indy car races there when she pushed her old buddy Ryan Briscoe for all he was worth on the way to second place in 2010.
Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: Foyt slapping Luyendyk in Victory Lane remains my favorite. There is an unspoken rule that you don’t enter someone else’s Victory Lane if not invited. Luyendyk violated that rule, and he paid the price. Plus it was just kind of funny to see.
Turn 2: Kasey Kahne started second on Sunday, but faded quickly and finished 22nd, failing to lead a lap. What’s the future hold for Kahne?
Craven: It’s apparent that Kahne is not a top-tier driver, and by “top tier,” I mean “a driver capable of battling at the level we see from Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.” He is worthy of being grouped in that next tier, which includes drivers capable of battling for a title. I absolutely believe that. Kasey has the talent, he does not have the frame of mind. And as such, a fresh start, a new environment with less pressure would probably help him reach his true potential. Being Jimmie Johnson’s teammate has benefits, but also risks, just as being teammates with Jeff Gordon did for me. This is a classic example of how expectations can go from being an asset to becoming a liability.
McGee: There aren’t many racers I like more than Kahne. I also don’t think that there are many racers who have arrived in the Cup Series with more raw talent than Kahne. But that arrival is growing smaller in the rearview mirror. There’s a youth infusion coming (see our next question) and as much as Rick Hendrick likes Kahne, history says his patience with the seemingly inevitable “fourth car” does have an expiration date.
Oreovicz: I guess it all depends on what Hendrick wants to achieve from his No. 5 car. At this point in his career, it’s obvious Kahne isn’t suddenly going to develop into championship material, and maybe not even regular Chase material, despite being in what should be one of the best-performing cars on the grid. If Hendrick is satisfied with the results the 5 is achieving, Kahne will remain. But if Mr. H. wants to see that car turn into a regular winner, I think he needs to make a change.
Pockrass: Kahne is signed through 2018 with Hendrick, but whether he completes his contract could depend on how he performs — and likely sooner than later. Contracts can be broken with a goodbye check, so Kahne needs to pick up the pace or at least show potential that he can turn things around. One of his sponsors, Great Clips, has a lengthy and strong relationship with him, but that might not be enough for him to remain if he continues to struggle. While I don’t see Kevin Harvick replacing him, there are young drivers who could fill that spot.
Turn 3: Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney are having successful rookie seasons. Todd Gilliland made it four wins in four career K&N Pro Series races. Give us your future recap of the 2026 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Craven: I will begin by saying it’s never that obvious. While each of the three drivers mentioned has a world of potential, you simply never know how they’re going to manage their careers and if they truly get teamed with the correct people to help elevate their skills and abilities. With that said, 10 years from now, Kyle Busch will be closing out a brilliant career, Joey Logano will be the brand name in our sport, and Erik Jones will be an enormous success. Somewhere between now and then will arrive a name that none of us thought of.
McGee: The final four Chase contenders at the NASCAR Walmart Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway comes down to a trio of younger veterans in Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Ty Dillon and soon-to-retire four-time champion Kyle Busch. But the garage is already buzzing about the kid who just won Rookie of the Year in the Vivint Solar Truck Series, 16-year-old Leo Gordon.
Oreovicz: Three-time champion Elliott and Blaney, the most successful stock car driver in the history of Team Penske, both qualified for the Chase Bank Chase Cup final on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the fifth year in a row. Rico Abreu and Erik Jones filled out the Final Four, with Jones finally overcoming years of bad luck to claim his first Chase Cup crown. But people are already talking about the future in the form of 8-year-old kart and quarter-midget driver Rickica Stenhouse.
Pockrass: Some drivers who are considered veterans, such as Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski — and don’t totally rule out Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — will still be racing in 2026. Elliott, Blaney, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon and Christopher Bell will be in the Chase that season. Ty Dillon is certainly also a possibility. Beyond that, it’s tough to say (Daniel Suarez? John Hunter Nemechek? Tyler Reddick? Darrell Wallace Jr.? William Byron? Daniel Hemric? Rico Abreu?). While Gilliland would be no surprise, the K&N Series isn’t a predictor of success on the national series level. But he certainly heads a list of young drivers on the regional/late-model circuits that include Harrison Burton, Kyle Benjamin, Spencer Davis, Dalton Sargeant and Ty Majeski. If Cole Whitt, Matt DiBenedetto, Alex Bowman or Landon Cassill drove for a major Cup team, it would be interesting to see what they could do.
Turn 4: Are you surprised Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean has a sixth and a fifth in the team’s first two races? What could it mean for F1 racing in the U.S.?
Craven: I don’t know if I’m surprised. I do know I’m very entertained and inspired by what Gene Haas has created. Several months ago, I crossed paths with Gene and wished him luck in his pursuit, I added that I believe the whole country is and will rally behind him. His response was a laugh … and “Wow, that’s a lot of pressure.” It’s time to give Gene Haas the credit he deserves. He has been, in my opinion, comfortable in the shadows of Stewart-Haas racing, leaving me to believe he doesn’t want much attention. But he has earned and deserves much attention. He is a bright man, with a gift for building and operating successful businesses.
McGee: I think ultimately for F1 to gain traction with the general American public it will take more than being merely a U.S.-owned team. It will also need to be a car driven by a U.S.-born driver. But the seeds are certainly being planted to potentially capture the imagination of American racing fans. I don’t think that NASCAR fans are suddenly going to start setting their alarms to get up early on Sundays to watch Grand Prix racing, but there’s already an uptick in the attention being paid to F1, especially among an American motorsports media corps that has always surprised me when it comes to their lack of interest in the series.
Oreovicz: The new team’s ability to get the basics correct right out of the box is very impressive and equally surprising. Haas mated proven Ferrari mechanicals to a fairly simple-looking chassis (by F1 standards) and quickly demonstrated how confused and out-of-touch some of the sport’s legendary teams are right now. Haas’ early success certainly has the 250,000 American fans that set their alarms to watch F1 excited, but until the team becomes American in something more than name, I can’t see it suddenly sparking widespread interest in F1 in the U.S.
Pockrass: Certainly surprised considering the team had not raced before this season. While it was criticized for not having a U.S. driver, getting drivers with some experience was important, and the initial success can’t do anything but help attract attention in the United States. Haas has a 17-year-old American, Santino Ferrucci, as a development driver, and if he eventually finds his way to the F1 grid, that would make it even more interesting for Americans to watch.
