A new NASCAR season means an all-new set of storylines ready to shape the entire season.
As the 2026 season begins today, which ones are the most important to pay attention to?
Will Joey Logano strike again?
Joey Logano is a winner. The Connecticut native has won three championships, all in the elimination format and all on even years.
Logano’s first championship came in 2018, then 2022 and most recently in 2024.
His 2024 championship came under fire though, after he had an average finish of 17.11. This was the lowest average finish of any championship winning driver in NASCAR history.
Many people have questioned if Logano can do it again. Especially with the championship format changing back to The Chase from the 2000s and early 2010s.
So, can Logano win the championship in 2026?
The Penske Racing driver is never truly out of the fight until the very end. Every season since 2012 Logano has notched at least one win. He even has multiple three and four-win seasons and a six-win season in 2015.
Logano has also finished better in even years than odd years. Since Logano became full-time in the Cup Series in 2009, he has taken part in nine odd year seasons with an average finish of 11.8 in the final standings.
Compare that to the 5.6 average finish in the final standings in even years, and you can tell that Logano performs better when the year is even.
If Logano can consistently find pace that he shown he’s had in recent years, there is a chance for him to win. But he would need to outperform the Hendricks and Joe Gibbs Racing boys in the playoffs, which could be tricky.
Can Shane van Gisbergen make the Playoffs with the new Chase Format?
Shane van Gisbergen had a stellar rookie season in the Cup Series, finishing No. 12 in 2025 standings.
Last year van Gisbergen achieved seven top 10s, including five race wins all at road courses.
That’s the thing though: van Gisbergen only excelled at road courses. However, there is a reason for this. The 36-year-old from New Zealand spent 17 years racing for the Supercars series in New Zealand. He was successful too, winning three championships during that span.
In 2023, van Gisbergen debuted in NASCAR at the Chicago Street Course and in 2024 he raced at his first oval.
2025 was van Gisbergen’s first full season in the Cup Series, and he had some learning curves. He improved a lot over the course of the season with a highest oval finish of No. 10 in the Kansas fall race.
With all things considered, van Gisbergen had a good rookie year for someone who had never raced on an oval before 2024. But he wouldn’t have made the playoffs without the win-and-in rule that was removed following the 2025 season.
If van Gisbergen can keep improving on ovals, he certainly has a case for making the playoffs. But if he does not make any improvement, he will end up falling short even with his road course excellence.
Can Kyle Busch win in 2026?
Two championships, 232 wins in the top three series including 63 in the Cup Series, almost 400 top 10s and 34 pole positions certainly makes Kyle Busch one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time.
But for a driver who has dominated NASCAR since his debut in 2004, the past couple of years have been rough.
Ever since Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing for Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 season, he has struggled mightily.
His first season for RCR wasn’t bad by any means. In a car that wasn’t that competitive compared to the big three, Busch notched three wins including a dominant Enjoy Illinois 300 where he grabbed pole, led the most laps and got the win.
But Busch has not won since that race on June 4, 2023 He has gotten close multiple times since then, but he ultimately has not been able to finish first.
In 2025, Busch’s average start was 17.53 and his average finish was 17.94.
That 17.53 average start was the worst since his rookie season in 2005, and his average finish of 17.94 was his third worst of his career.
The thing is, it’s not entirely Busch’s fault. Richard Childress Racing is not in its heyday anymore.
It is not the 1990s; Dale Earnhardt Sr. is not dominating the entire field anymore and the car, which used to be the best on the field, is nowhere near that anymore.
In 2024 and 2025, all four RCR drivers only achieved 10 top five’s during those two years. During that span all four drivers combined achieved an average finish of 20.6, which is the lowest since 2019.
RCR just isn’t the cream of the crop anymore, or anywhere close. Six teams now have an average finish better than RCR between 2024 and 2025. That won’t cut it if they want to compete.
The only driver that has gotten a win for RCR these past two years is Austin Dillon, who has won at Richmond in back-to-back years. But other than that, RCR has kept falling further and further down the order.
If Busch wants to win a race in 2026, he is going to need a much better car and a whole lot of luck. It is possible, but very unlikely.
And those are some of the biggest storylines heading into the NASCAR season. The opening race at Daytona starts Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2:30 p.m. for the Daytona 500 and the Cup Series.
Tune into FS1, MRN, SiriusXM or HBO Max for Sunday’s race.