Berry said opportunities usually come down to how much money you can find, not how you run. Five straight top tens and no seat is a pretty loud test of that. So name the team that should be calling him, and tell me what they would have to move to make it happen.

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Chris Buescher's night at Daytona International Speedway ended before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 really got going. Buescher was leading late in Stage 1 with the stage win in sight when contact from Kyle Larson spun him entering the tri-oval, sending him to the garage. He returned multiple laps down and finished last, 15 laps behind, after just 34 and seven-eighths laps of running. Speaking to reporters on pit road afterward, Buescher said the incident killed their night, that he got dumped, and that the wreck scared the rest of the field into behaving for the remainder of the race. Larson approached Buescher after the race to apologize and the two talked, with Buescher explaining that his issue was not with being pushed but with the push not being square, something he noted has now caught them at a couple of superspeedways. Buescher also offered his assessment of NASCAR's new superspeedway rules package, saying it was a slight improvement but not enough, and possibly directionally correct. Despite the disappointment, Buescher was openly proud of RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece, who won the race in overtime for his first career points-paying Cup victory and raced his way into the Chase. This video covers Buescher's full comments, the incident itself, and the argument over where the blame actually sits. Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, RFK Racing, Daytona, Coke Zero Sugar 400, NASCAR superspeedway package, NASCAR news.

• The Connor Zilisch signing looked like the simplest deal in NASCAR until somebody raised the Red Bull question. Zilisch is a Red Bull athlete on a driver-specific deal rather than a Trackhouse one, which means it travels with him — and Hendrick Motorsports has its own energy partner in Phorm Energy. Pressed on it at the announcement press conference, Jeff Gordon took the microphone before Zilisch could answer, saying those conversations haven't happened, that Hendrick respects Zilisch's longtime relationship with Red Bull, that he'll continue representing them at Trackhouse while Hendrick stands behind Phorm, and that both agreements will be respected until maybe those contracts are up. Zilisch called being a Red Bull athlete one of his favorite jobs. We break down what Gordon's phrasing actually leaves open, why he answered first, and the much larger problem this creates for a completely different race team that nobody is talking about.

DENNY HAMLIN JUST LOCKED UP THE NUMBER ONE SEED AND IMMEDIATELY TRASHED THE FORMAT THAT IS ABOUT TO ERASE IT. Looking at the standings on his podcast, he pointed out that tenth place is about to gain more than three hundred points on him, and that a driver could have sat out the rest of the season, finished top ten, and still collected most of what he spent twenty six races building. But the part people are going to skip is that he actually likes the format itself. He said so in the same breath, and gave a specific reason why. Good format, bad reset. That is a more interesting position than either half on its own. He also has a complaint about what he got for clinching the top seed, which is nothing. 0:00 – Denny Hamlin Expresses Frustration Over the Postseason Points Compression 1:15 – Evaluating the Reset: 10th Place Gaining 300+ Points 2:10 – Hamlin Defends Eliminating the "Win and You're In" Mechanism 3:10 – Complaining About the Lack of a Physical Regular Season Trophy 4:18 – Playing with "House Money" & Why 20 Seeding Points Still Matter 5:50 – Analyzing NASCAR's Postseason Format Strategy & Final Verdict

Kyle Larson called Carson Hocevar possibly the most talented driver in the Cup Series and then explained precisely what he thinks is going wrong. Speaking on Door Bumper Clear alongside Tommy Baldwin and Freddie Kraft, Larson pushed back on the idea that Hocevar needs to be reined in, saying you don't have to totally neuter him. His concern is different — that Hocevar has reached a point where what he's doing isn't really him, that it's a piece of him but he's going above what he really is. Larson also said the pace lap spin at New Hampshire was a thousand percent just to get on television, and revealed an incident from Iowa that cameras missed, claiming Hocevar spent two laps trying to spear Christopher Bell after being lapped. He also couldn't reconcile Hocevar admitting he spun himself against Connor Zilisch and then running through him at the next opportunity. 0:00 – Door Bumper Clear Discussion & Carson Hocevar's polarizing Persona 0:45 – Tommy Baldwin's Critique of Hocevar's Aggressive Driving at New Hampshire 1:00 – Kyle Larson Praises Hocevar's Pure Talent & Addresses Attention-Seeking Behavior 1:30 – Larson Reveals Unseen Iowa Incident Involving Christopher Bell 2:10 – Freddy Kraft Warns Against Gimmicks Over Driving Performance 2:50 – Analyzing Hocevar's Character vs. Genuine Emotion & Experience

Kevin Harvick has issued a blunt warning to Carson Hocevar, telling him that people will forget about him in weeks. Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast, Harvick described a pattern he says he's watched play out repeatedly — a young driver gets attention, has some success, wins a race, and then everybody starts telling him what else he should be doing until he forgets he needs to drive the race car. Harvick was careful to say the off-track work is genuinely cool, from leaning into sponsors to engaging with fans, but argued none of it survives without results, saying nobody cares if your car isn't fast. His prescription was direct: turn the social media off, turn the rest of the nonsense off, and stop worrying about what you say in interviews because it all seems calculated. Hocevar sits 11th in the Chase standings coming off a 19th-place finish at New Hampshire.

Connor Zilisch has revealed the backstory behind Carson Hocevar hooking him at New Hampshire, and it starts before the race even began. Speaking on Stacking Pennies, Zilisch said the friction began in practice, when he came off turn four, got up to Hocevar and touched his left rear — contact he described as accidental and not egregious, not even enough to knock the toe out. According to Zilisch, Hocevar's response a lap later was to throw a big slider and try to wreck him, in practice. Then in the race, Zilisch says he barely touched him again off turn four from a tight spot in the middle of three cars, and guesses that's what sent Hocevar over the edge because of what had already happened. He also pointed out that Hocevar knew exactly where he was, because his spotter was calling him there. Hocevar has publicly said he spun himself out.

• 0:00 – Setup: Controversy Between Connor Zilisch & Carson Hocevar at New Hampshire
• 0:45 – Zilisch Details Saturday Practice Contact & Hocevar's Retaliation Attempt
• 1:40 – In-Race Contact Breakdown & Hocevar Spun Off Zilisch’s Bumper
• 2:10 – Carson Hocevar's Post-Race Response Taking Full Responsibility
• 3:10 – Evaluating Driver Personalities, Emotion, & Public Image
• 4:35 – Looking Ahead to Daytona: Resetting for the Chase

• 0:00 – Connor Zilisch Moving to Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 in 2028 & Red Bull Sponsorship Conflict
• 0:40 – Denny Hamlin's Take: Hendrick's "Buy Low" Opportunity & Trackhouse’s Developmental Costs
• 1:40 – Driver Accountability: Analyzing Zilisch's Inexperience & Avoidable Incidents
• 2:35 – Coaching Breakdown: Analyzing the New Hampshire Wreck & Driving Through Smoke
• 4:30 – Silver Lining & Structural Differences Between Xfinity and Cup Series Racing
• 5:30 – Financial & Resource Advantage: Why Trackhouse Lost Zilisch to HMS

DENNY HAMLIN EXPLAINED THE CONNOR ZILISCH DEAL IN ONE SENTENCE AND IT IS BRUTAL FOR TRACKHOUSE.

He said the great news for Rick Hendrick is that Trackhouse did all the development and paid all the money, and Hendrick is going to get the best years.

He also called it a buy low opportunity that Hendrick took advantage of, which is a striking way to describe acquiring a 20 year old.

But Hamlin did not hand Zilisch a free pass either. He said he does not put all of the struggles on Trackhouse, and that Zilisch is responsible for at least half of them.

His verdict on the wrecks people blamed on bad luck is even blunter.