A trio of NASCAR Cup Series drivers have begun official testing for the 2026 season.
Wednesday and Thursday saw three drivers begin testing on the '26 short course package, including both the Goodyear tire setup and the new, upgraded horsepower package.
Bubba Wallace drove for 23XI Racing, and was joined by Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman and RFK Racing's Ryan Preece as they technically kicked off running for the 2026 season.
As well as testing out a theoretically improved tire package which has the level of falloff Goodyear are aiming for – or at least get enough data to produce a tire closer to that goal – the drivers also ran the 750 HP tapered spacer for the first time.
Drivers kick off 2026 testing
Drivers and fans have been calling for an increase in power on a number of tracks for some time and, while the increase from 670 HP to 750 HP isn't a vast jump, NASCAR has insisted it's the maximum possible without prohibitively increasing cost at this time.
NASCAR said this week: “Competition officials indicated that one of the test’s objectives is to determine a tire setup that promotes fall-off and an emphasis on tire management, but without the excessive wear from the Cup Series’ most recent race [at Bristol] on Sept. 13.
"Another prime goal is to zero in on a setup that’s more temperature neutral, with tires that react the same regardless of any swings in temps.”
Not all of the 2026 season is set in stone yet though, with the playoff format yet to be announced – although it's expected that some kind of change will be made from the much-criticised single-race finale.
