Inside The Garage: Potentially Wild Free Agency Tops 2026 NASCAR Storylines

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off (weather permitting) this weekend with the exhibition Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

And take a good look at the starting lineup because it’s quite possible the lineup in 2027 could look quite different.

While only two drivers in 2026 have new Cup rides (rookie Connor Zilisch in at Trackhouse, replacing Daniel Suarez, who has replaced Justin Haley at Spire Motorsports), there could be many more changes in the next offseason.

In a survey of driver agents, there are more than 20 drivers who aren’t signed for 2027. A handful of drivers, including Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski (who will be replaced by Corey LaJoie for the Clash as he recovers from a broken leg) will likely be back in their rides.

But there are several drivers with questions — including 2025 playoff drivers Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric, as well as Kyle Busch. Only two organizations — Trackhouse and Joe Gibbs Racing — appear relatively stable, barring something unforeseen.

Reddick could be the biggest key, as the youngest driver who has proven himself (he won the 2024 regular-season title) but also didn’t have the 2025 he wanted. The 30-year-old said he isn’t sweating having a free-agent year.

"I just work as hard as I can," Reddick told me Thursday at the FOX Sports production day. "I try and leave every last ounce of myself out there on the racetrack every single week.

"As long as I stay committed to being myself, being who I am and driving to my limit and continuing to find ways to improve, I'm not worried about it."

For Bowman, he is used to people talking about his driver status for the last two years, despite having a contract with Hendrick Motorsports through this year. So does he feel more pressure now that his contract is actually up?

"I don’t think so," Bowman said. "It’s kind of par for the course, right? I just look at the situation that I'm given and try to maximize it and do the best job I can with what I have to work with.

"So, obviously, I’m doing the best I can to try to go win races for Mr. Hendrick."

As for Busch, the two-time Cup champion, he said drivers will likely know by the end of May whether their current situation is the one they want to continue with.

"It's going to take a little bit of time before you get a sense of where you're at," Busch said. "I've always kind of said, once you get to the Coke 600, that's sort of like where you'll fall in the season and where your points are and where you kind of stack up. You can go about one or two places higher or lower than where you're at currently. 

"I would say that would be a good time to start judging."

For the drivers, winning is obviously important. And whether the money offered could sway a driver like Reddick to leave a place like 23XI Racing is certainly going to be a storyline.

"More so than anything, I'm a race-car driver, and I show up with the intent to compete for wins every single week," Reddick said. "So that's what's really important to me."

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OTHER STORYLINES TO WATCH IN 2026:

— The new Chase format begins this year, which is a 10-race mini-season to determine the champion. There will be 16 drivers, based on regular-season point standings, who qualify for the Chase with their points reset only for the start of the Chase. There will be 2,100 for the regular-season champion, down to 2,000 for the 16th driver. A win is now worth 55 points instead of 40 points.

— Brad Keselowski’s recovery from the broken leg he suffered in December. He expects to be able to race the Daytona 500, with a test scheduled for next week in Charlotte.

— Connor Zilisch’s rookie season. After a 10-win year in Xfinity (now the O’Reilly Series), the 19-year-old Zilisch will compete in his first full Cup season for Trackhouse.

— There is one new venue and one "return" venue in 2026. Drivers will compete on the streets and tarmacs of the Naval Base Coronado across from San Diego. They will also go to Chicagoland Speedway, which last played host to a race in 2019.

— Whether the sport has healed after the brutal 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit against NASCAR. During the trial, text messages were made public, as well as team and NASCAR financials, that will be scrutinized.

AN EARLY START

Several NASCAR and INDYCAR drivers got their 2026 asphalt racing season started early at Daytona in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The 24-hour, sports-car race gives them the opportunity for plenty of laps, as well as an opportunity to work with several other drivers. Cars had three or four drivers apiece and some teams field two cars.

"I hope [St. Pete] is not going to be as tough physically and demanding as this," four-time INDYCAR champion Alex Palou said about the preparation for the INDYCAR opener Mar. 1. "So many laps, just pushing my driving against my teammates and against competitors. That’s what we wanted."

Zilisch, who won in his class two years ago and competed for the first time in the top class, was part of the team that finished second.

"The cars are certainly a lot of fun to drive," Zilisch said. "They’re tough on cold tires. You have to get them up to temp pretty quick. The restarts are challenging as well."

[RELATED: Will Power Excited for Fresh Start with 'Top Team' Andretti]

INDYCAR driver Will Power, who competed for the first time at Daytona, said it was a great experience.

"On one hand, it was an amazing experience and I felt for the whole team to get so close," Power said. "It was still awesome to be on the podium. It’s amazing. I definitely want to do it again. I really, really like it."

Penske driver Scott McLaughlin didn’t drive for Penske. Penske fields Porsches in sports cars and won the race for the third consecutive year. But McLaughlin was leading in his division before a gearbox seal came apart.

"This gets you in the race mode of passing cars and restarts and cold tires," McLaughlin said. "It’s big. It’s a great start to my year."

IN THE NEWS

— Denny Hamlin confirmed that 23XI Racing has signed the revised charter agreement that resulted from the settlement of the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit against NASCAR. Now that the terms were agreed to by the suing parties, the rest of the teams now have the paperwork to sign the revised deal. They have at least another week to sign.

— Stewart Friesen had a successful test at Charlotte and is set to return for the truck opener at Daytona. Friesen broke his right leg and pelvis in a dirt modified crash in July. Friesen told me: "No marathons yet, and no ballet in my future. I'm good enough to do what I need to do in the race car, and I was pretty nervous about all that. ... It was a long time on crutches and then transitioned to a cane for a couple of weeks. But I started leaving that around the house and losing its place, so I just got to kind of push through it and keep building muscle. I still have some ways to go but I'm feeling really good."

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT

Bubba Wallace on the drums for the Kurt Busch Hall of Fame party.

THEY SAID IT

"My first-ever race in anything, ... it was my dwarf car with my dad in 1994. By September of 2000, I'm in Cup. That's how fast everything went. That's why I wasn't ready for the big time." New NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch on his career.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The winter storm that has blasted through the Southeast could be a concern for the Clash this weekend at Bowman Gray.

Temperatures all week will be below freezing until parts of the weekend, when it could fluctuate above and below freezing. That isn’t necessarily a great thing because of the potential for melting and re-freezing.

With the possibility of temperatures dropping into the teens, there could be some concern about tires and brakes but there is no minimum temperature required for the cars to race.

As big of a concern could be whether the roads are fit to travel, even 4-5 days after the storm in an area that only occasionally deals with severe ice and snow.

In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.