4 Burning Questions: Will NASCAR’s New Practice Rule Appease Teams?

Who gets the keys to the Hendrick No. 48 after Alex Bowman retires following the 2027 season?

Concussions suck, man. If there’s one thing that being a sports journalist has taught me, it’s that head injuries are serious business and can have very real adverse affects not just on the mind but also on a person’s body.

That’s why it makes sense for Alex Bowman, the current driver of the No. 48 for Hendrick Motorsports, to step away from the sport after the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season. It’s never a situation you want to see unfolding, but it’s a path that is probably best for all parties involved. Bowman will have one more year in the seat before calling it quits, which already sets up one impressive domino come next offseason.

After the 2027 season, @Alex_Bowman will retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition. Until then, there's one more chapter left to write. pic.twitter.com/GvoCn8BEsM

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) July 23, 2026

Who will fill that seat? The popular answer seems to be Connor Zilisch, and while that may be the case as it stands today, there are a lot of variables between now and then. For instance, what about Corey Day, who has already impressed in his first year in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series? If he puts together a stellar 2027 campaign, the ride could be his.

There are also left-field options, such as Carson Hocevar. Although unlikely, we’ve seen teams buy drivers out of their contracts before. However, if Zilisch was the man for the job at that point, it would mean Hendrick would need to decide whether to bring the No. 88 back into the fold or continue forward with the No. 48.

The way the known contract dates lay out, Zilisch will more than likely get the nod, though. Maybe that’ll take him back to Funky Town, because surely his bad luck can’t continue into next year, right?

Is the new Cup practice rule worthwhile or pointless?

Before this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR announced a new practice regimen for its Cup teams. Many view this as NASCAR actually listening to its fans again and eliminating the two 25-minute group practice sessions of the old format.

However, detractors, such as Freddie Kraft of Door, Bumper, Clear, have stated that too much practice could cause the cars to perform in too tight a window and limit passing ability on the track. He used EchoPark Speedway as an example, stating that at the beginning of the race, when everybody was fresh with no practice, the cars were spread out. Before the end, though, enough adjustments were made that it became more difficult to get a good run.

There’s some validity to that, too. Physically, these cars can’t go much faster than they already do under the current rules. There is a limit to what they can actually do, especially at short tracks. This is a practice rule set, though, that was born from the COVID-19 era, and as with most things from that two-year span, it’s probably best to put it to the wayside.

The new rule helps smaller teams and rookies more than anything. As advanced as sim programs have gotten, nothing can still replace on-track experience, and smaller programs don’t have the same sim budget as the larger groups. If NASCAR’s goal is more parity on the track, this is a step in that direction.

For some, though, there’s still too much red tape. Kraft’s boss at Dirty Mo Media, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has been open in the past about his wish for a more laissez faire practice style: NASCAR says the track is hot for a certain window of time, and if teams want to practice, they can.

Realistically, this is a decision the top teams won’t have much issue with, and the smaller or younger teams will love. If you can make the majority of the garage and fan base happy with the wave of a finger, so let it be.

How much could Days of Thunder 2 help NASCAR?

Breaking news: My generation is reviving the movie theater industry.

Who would have thought that we Gen-Zers would do such a thing? Certainly not me. But nonetheless, after box office hits like Obsession, Backrooms and The Odyssey packed theaters with 20-somethings, plenty of Hollywood directors are looking to cash in on the recent boom.

Along with that trend, motorsports in general seem to be experiencing a bit of a resurgence. Maybe not across the board in NASCAR, but in general, fans are diving into racing more and more each day due to a shift in marketing dynamics. These trends came to a head earlier this week when it was announced that Tom Cruise and Paramount have greenlit a sequel to Days of Thunder.

I hold that Days of Thunder is still one of the best racing movies of all time, especially when it comes to showcasing stock car racing, because. it’s one of the only movies of all time to truly center around stock-car racing. And whether it’s actually titled Days of Thunder 2 or not, this spiritual successor could be a big deal for the NASCAR landscape.

The last time a marquee film bore the NASCAR name, it was Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and there are various opinions on whether it helped or hurt the sport’s image. That was 20 years ago, though, and by the time this successor is released, it could very well be a quarter century old.

That’s plenty of time between releases, and if NASCAR wants to brand itself as one of America’s greatest traditions, it needs to mix well with another one of the country’s greatest: the motion picture. Cruise will give NASCAR the respect it deserves, no question. I’m still not sure Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s rendition of The Wager will ever make it to the cutting room.

How dumb would it be to not reschedule North Wilkesboro Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway next year after both sold out?

For your short answer this week, incredibly. You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Both North Wilkesboro and Chicagoland did everything they needed to ensure they remained on the schedule for 2027 as points-paying races. They sold every ticket they could, and both put on great shows that stuck to their character as tracks. They weren’t cookie-cutter races. Instead, they brought about some character in a stretch of the season when that element is sometimes lost.

The Chicago street course was an amazing idea, and NASCAR should absolutely have a presence in that market. Is Joliet, Ill., a bit far from the metro area? Absolutely, but if it’s going to keep packing its stands on Sunday, why in the world would you axe it from the schedule?

We’re back because of you. Thank you fans for an incredible weekend at North Wilkesboro! 👏 pic.twitter.com/h8E39DGGIX

— North Wilkesboro Speedway (@NWBSpeedway) July 23, 2026

For North Wilkesboro, there are talks swirling about bringing the All-Star Race back there, which would defeat the entire purpose of making it a points-paying day in the first place, as absolutely nobody cared about the All-Star Race being at Dover Motor Speedway of all places.

After making its fair share of great decisions in 2026, it would be a step backward and then some for NASCAR to axe either of the tracks from the points schedule in 2027. There are numerous other candidates that currently get two dates that need to be put on the backburner first (looking at you, Phoenix Raceway).