Here’s what’s happening this week Inside The Garage: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Winning the Daytona 500 automatically makes it a historical moment no matter the year, no matter the number of times a driver or team has won it. But the first time? That’s next level. The 2026 Daytona 500 will go down as a seminal moment in not just the career of driver Tyler Reddick but also in 23XI Racing. There have been others: the first race win by Bubba Wallace at Talladega in 2021, Reddick winning the 2024 regular-season title, Wallace winning the 2025 Brickyard 400. And now a victory in the team’s sixth season at the Daytona 500. “We’re only starting our sixth season, so I feel like getting that done, especially coming off a Brickyard 400 win — two crown jewels in a row, so to speak,” 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta told me. “A lot of people on the team, it’s their first Daytona 500 win. That makes a big, big difference in terms of how they’re going to pay attention and focus for the rest of the season.” Even veterans of the sport were still emotional Monday morning as they took photos by the car before it went to the track museum for a year. “I’ve lost track how many years I’ve been in the sport. It’s 27 [or] 28 and this is the first time I’ve been in Daytona on a Monday pushing a car into the museum,” 23XI Racing Senior Director of Competition Dave Rogers told me. Lauletta fielded calls from sponsors Sunday night who were ecstatic. Reddick said when he looked last night, he had 900 texts and had not started to go through them to start responding. For an organization with 10 victories, they can use the Daytona 500 victory to show they can execute on the biggest stage, giving them something to build momentum on for the entire season. The team is co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin (although Hamlin races for Joe Gibbs Racing) and basketball legend Michael Jordan. “This is where the most eyes are on our sport,” three-time Daytona 500 winner Hamlin said in his post-race news conference. “This is good for our partners. It’s good for everyone on our race team. Winning races certainly helps a lot of things. But when you can win the Daytona 500, I’ll tell you, just early in the season — because I’ve done it — it really helps with momentum to start the year because now you’re not chasing anything. “You’re in a good spot. You can race a lot freer.” They could race a little bit differently. With the change in NASCAR’s championship format, the win doesn’t guarantee Reddick a spot in the postseason, but he was already considered a likely participant, as finishing 16th in the standings would be a considerable drop from where he has run the last couple of years. “For us in particular, I think we always had the goal of multiple wins even before the playoffs start,” Reddick crew chief Billy Scott told me. “This is a nice start in the points, a nice momentum builder. But I think we’ll treat the rest of the season as we always have. We’re here every week to win.” The team celebrated at a Daytona Beach bar last night and there will be another celebration at the shop in the coming weeks. “[Our sponsors] will put more plans behind promoting the win, which is good for the sport and good for us,” Lauletta said. “I’m excited to get back to the halls of [our shop] Airspeed and see how everybody is there. “I know they’re excited. It’s just a massive push forward in the momentum you need to start the season.” Reddick, in his post-race news conference, indicated that would happen. “We’ve done a really good job of setting ourselves up for success. And I think this just, if anything, is going to motivate us to work that much harder at the start of this year as we get going,” Reddick said. Kyle Larson extends through 2031 Two-time Cup champion Kyle Larson signed a contract extension through 2031, and team owner Rick Hendrick had hoped it would be for longer. Larson (or at least his agent) knows things can change even if he can’t see it. So five years is long enough. He turns 40 in 2032. “I don’t get too wrapped up in the duration or all of that,” Larson said in the news conference about his new contract. “It’s nice to know that I will be here for at least five years and hopefully more. And that is kind of it. I just get to work on trying to win more races and win more championships in the time that I am there. “I’m grateful and I feel like it’s a very long-term contract compared to what you see these days. I am very happy with all of that. That gets me close to 40 and then we will see after that.” Anthony Alfredo’s Long Week Anthony Alfredo has to be wondering who he made angry last week. He thought he had raced his way into the Daytona 500, only to get disqualified for a couple hoses not sealed following his qualifying race. He then failed to qualify for the O’Reilly Series race after a parts issue on his qualifying lap. The Viking Motorsports team was able to get Alfredo into the Alpha Prime Racing car driven by Cesar Bacarella. On the first lap of the O’Reilly race, he was involved in an accident. But he rallied to finish 11th. “I think that’s just part of the test of my resilience,” Alfredo told me and other reporters after that 11th-place finish. “I’m never going to give up. I want this so bad, and until these opportunities don’t continue to come together, I’m never going to give up.” Why The Call? It was a pretty clear-cut decision to disallow the qualifying result for Alfredo, according to NASCAR Cup Series Director Brad Moran. A transaxle hose was completely loose and a driver cooling hose was not tightly sealed. “We have many rules that no parts can fall off the car for obvious reasons,” Moran said during a news conference. “We don’t say what the intent is, but these parts have to be fastened properly. “Unfortunately, this one piece wasn’t on the right side. There was also another hose disconnected for driving cooling, which affects airflow. Superspeedways, we all know the importance of that [aerodynamically].” Alfredo said he did talk to NASCAR about it, although he wondered whether, since the qualifying races pay points to the top 10, there should have been an opportunity for an appeal. NASCAR treats it like a qualifying call, where there is no appeal. “It came loose from either getting bump drafted or turbulent air,” Alfredo told me and other reporters. “And rules are rules. The rule is they cannot come loose. It did. … It had no effect on our race or our performance. “But it’s the rule. I can live with that because if they’re going to be consistent moving forward, that’s what this sport’s all about. So I appreciate that and I respect that. Just wasn’t meant to be. I’ll accept my fate on that side of things.” News Of The Week — Dale Coyne Racing solidified its 2026 INDYCAR lineup with the hiring of former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean, who competed in INDYCAR from 2021-24 and served as a reserve driver for Prema Racing last year. Grosjean will be in the No. 18, while Dennis Hauger will drive the No. 19. — The future of Prema Racing remains in flux as the team tries to find an investor or funding for the 2026 INDYCAR season. INDYCAR President Doug Boles: “I don’t think we believe that they’re going to be able to answer the bell, at least at the beginning portion of the season.” Prema fielded cars for Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott last year. — Arrow McLaren Racing announced that former Penske executive and strategist Kyle Moyer will be the strategist for Christian Lundgaard this season. Long-time INDYCAR team executive and strategist Tim Keene will work with the young Nolan Siegel. — The Daytona 500 was the last race for the retiring Stu Grant, Goodyear’s GM for global race tires and a fixture in the sport. Justin Fantozzi will assume that role. — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame announced its 2026 class: Scott Dixon and Giampaolo Dallara They Said It “We still have a lot of growing and maturing to do as a company, but I’m confident it will be noticed this year as we get into the schedule and get racing.” — Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson Stat of Note Tyler Reddick led only the last lap, the fourth time a driver won the Daytona 500 after leading only one lap. Social Spotlight In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
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