News of the Week - 2026 Schedules, Trackhouse Silly Season, Ram x Kaulig, and More
- Adam Carabine
- Aug 26
- 2 min read
By Adam Carabine
Come and check this out each Tuesday, where we break down the important stories of the last week in NASCAR! Here are some of the headlines you might have missed in the last week:
2026 NASCAR Schedules Announced
NASCAR announced the 2026 schedule for the Cup Series, newly renamed O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity), and the Craftsman Truck Series earlier this week.
Notable changes include a return to Chicagoland, the All-Star Races shifts to Dover, a street-course race on the navy base in San Diego, and the Championship Finale returning to Homestead-Miami, among other things.
Check out the full release here
Connor Zilisch Moving up to Cup in 2026
The worst-kept secret in NASCAR over the last little while, Trackhouse Racing finally made it official. Connor Zilisch is moving up to the Cup Series in 2026. It’s a multi-year deal – no word on what number he’s going to drive just yet, but that will be announced in the coming weeks.
RAM Returning to Craftsman Truck Series – Kaulig Racing Named the Anchor Team
While it’s been known for a while that RAM was coming back to NASCAR, it only recently became official which team will take the jump first. Kaulig Racing, which currently doesn’t have a Truck Series team, will field one in 2026 as the anchor team for RAM. The rest of their organization will continue to run Chevrolets, though one has to wonder if this is the start of RAM moving up to the other series too.
IndyCar Video Game in the Works with iRacing Studios
iRacing Studios, who is about to release a brand new NASCAR Console Video Game, has announced that they are planning to release a standalone IndyCar video game in the latter half of 2026. It’ll be the first strictly IndyCar video game in over two decades.
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