NASCAR gives fans a real glimpse into the future as a major car change gets its first big reveal at COTA this weekend.
For years now fans have been unhappy with the lack of the power in the Next Gen car for Cup Series races, but things are changing in 2026.
Last October NASCAR announced that finally it was listening to those fans, up to a point, with an increase in power confirmed for selected tracks.
This means that from this season on, the cars will have 750hp instead of 670hp for road courses and short tracks.
Now technically the drivers had that extra sizzle in their lockers for the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium earlier this month. But hardly anybody was at full throttle in the frigid conditions which accompanied what amounts to an exhibition event.
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Texas gives NASCAR fans a glimpse of the future
That means Texas this weekend will give us the first proper glimpse of what the extra power will look and sound like. The Cup Series cars will race on Sunday (March 1) in the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne (3.30pm ET, FOX).
Before that the first chance to see the cars running in qualifying trim will come on Saturday February 28 at noon Eastern (Amazon Prime Video).
Which NASCAR tracks will have 750hp in 2026?
The following Cup Series tracks get the bump in power:
Circuit of The Americas, Watkins Glen, San Diego, Sonoma, Bowman Gray Stadium, Phoenix, Darlington, Martinsville, Bristol, Dover, Nashville, North Wilkesboro, Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
NASCAR COTA entry list
The entry list for Sunday's Cup Series showdown is out, and looks like this:
| Car | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing / Busch Light Chevrolet |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske / Discount Tire Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing / BREZTRI Chevrolet |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports / Rush Truck Centers Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports / HendrickCars.com Chevrolet |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing / Graza Ford |
| 7 | Daniel Suarez | Spire Motorsports / Freeway Insurance Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing / Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports / NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet |
| 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing / National Debt Relief Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske / Menards / Pennzoil Ford |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing / CELSIUS Energy Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing / Trimble Ford |
| 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing / Columbia Bank Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing / DEWALT Toyota |
| 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing / DEX Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske / Shell-Pennzoil Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing / Robinhood Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports / All-Pro Auto Reconditioning Chevrolet |
| 33 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing / C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports / Love's Travel Stops Ford |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing / Monster Energy Toyota |
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports / Aaron's Rent to Own Ford |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team / Haas / Bonanza Chevrolet |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB / Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota |
| 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing Toyota |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | HYAK Motorsports / Ram Self Storage Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports / Ally Financial Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing / Parts Plus / Costa Oil Chevrolet |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing / Saia LTL Freight Toyota |
| 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing / Castrol Ford |
| 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports / Katz Coffee Chevrolet |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports / Chili's Chevrolet |
| 88 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Racing / Red Bull Chevrolet |
| 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing / SafetyCulture Chevrolet |
