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By NAPA
Daison Pursley and the
link hidden, please login to view No. 9 team officially kicked off the 2026 High Limit Racing season over the past two weeks, competing in six races across Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Central Arizona Raceway. Following an offseason focused on building chemistry and speed, the Kasey Kahne Racing team entered the year with momentum and immediately showed promise against a strong field of competitors.
The High Limit season opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marked the first points-paying events of the year, and the NAPA No. 9 ran consistently inside the top 10 throughout the three-night weekend.
On Thursday, Pursley qualified eighth in Flight A and advanced to a 12th-place finish in the feature after starting 15th. Friday brought one of the team’s strongest performances of the weekend, as Pursley qualified third, ran up front in the heat race, and drove from ninth to sixth in the A-Main.
The weekend concluded Saturday with another solid showing as the NAPA No. 9 qualified third once again and advanced from 13th to 10th in the feature. The consistent results to open the season positioned the team well in the early championship standings and reinforced the speed shown throughout the offseason.
The team carried that momentum into Central Arizona Raceway for the Cactus Classic, where Pursley delivered a standout performance on Thursday night. After qualifying 10th in a stout, 31-car field, Pursley advanced through his heat race and charged from 10th to a third-place finish in the A-Main, earning the first ever podium for the NAPA No. 9 team.
Friday and Saturday presented challenges, as the team continued to show speed but was ultimately sidelined by incidents in both feature events, resulting in a pair of DNFs. Despite the setbacks, the pace of the NAPA No. 9 remained evident throughout the weekend.
The NAPA No. 9 team now turns its focus to the next event at Vado Speedway Park in New Mexico on Tuesday as the 2026 High Limit Racing season continues.
Start / Finish:
Thursday, March 12, Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 15 / 12
Friday, March 13, Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 9 / 6
Saturday, March 14, Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 13 / 10
Thursday, March 19, Central Arizona Raceway: 10 / 3
Friday, March 20, Central Arizona Raceway: DNF
Saturday, March 21, Central Arizona Raceway: DNF
Points Standing / Total: 11th / 281 pts. (-125)
Next Race: Tuesday, March 24, Vado Speedway Park, Vado, NM
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott qualified 26th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. The 30-year-old driver improved to 20th to end the first stage. In the second stage, Elliott was caught up in a multi-car incident where the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet sustained damage to the left rear. After repairs were made under caution, Elliott continued on to finish the second stage in 13th. In the final stage, Elliott turned laps inside the top 10 before he was collected in another incident. This time, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy received right front damage. After pitting twice for repairs under the yellow, Elliott battled back to finish the 312-lap race in 23rd. Elliott leaves Phoenix fourth in the Cup Series points standings, 97 markers behind the leader. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 26th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. At the start of the 312-lap event, Elliott made headway, climbing to 18th early. He continued to turn laps in the top 20, ultimately ending the caution-free first stage in 20th at lap 60. Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was free. The 2020 Cup Series champion brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy to the attention of his pit crew for four tires, fuel and an adjustment.
Elliott was 18th to choose his lane for the start of stage two, opting for the inside. The field went back to green on lap 71, and he settled into 18th before slipping to 20th on lap 80. Elliott was running in 21st when the caution came out on lap 94 for a single-car incident. He reported to his team that the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy’s handling was better. After a fast stop for four tires and fuel, he lined up 14th for the lap-102 restart. Unfortunately, he was caught up in a multi-car incident before he could take advantage of the gained track position. Under the caution, Elliott came to pit road for four tires and repairs to his Chevy’s damaged left rear. Elliott restarted deep in the field and was up to 28th when the yellow flag was displayed on lap 133. Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four tires and fuel. A fast stop helped Elliott restart in the 20th position. He climbed as high as 17th and was scored in 18th when the race was slowed for debris on lap 158. After pitting for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, Elliott lined up 15th to choose his lane for the restart, opting for the top. The field went back to green on lap 168, and the 30-year-old driver climbed to the 10th position on lap 172 before ending the second stage in 13th at lap 185.
During the stage break, Elliott visited pit road for fuel and four fresh tires. He was 10th to choose his lane to start the final stage, lining up on the outside. Elliott turned laps in the top 10 before slipping to 13th on lap 201. He was scored in 18th when the caution flag was displayed at lap 210. With the team down a set of tires from having to pit following the stage-two incident, the call was made for Elliott to stay out while a majority of the field pitted. He lined up on the front row for the restart, in the second position. Almost immediately after taking the green flag, a multi-car incident slowed the race once again. Elliott was running in third under the yellow and remained on the track to restart from the second row on lap 226. On his older tires, Elliott quickly faded outside the top 20. He was 31st at the time of the next caution on lap 246.
After pitting for four tires and fuel, Elliott restarted in 24th on lap 253. He was collected in a multi-car incident shortly after the field retook the green. This time, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy suffered damage to the right front. Elliott pitted twice for the team to work on repairs. He restarted in 28th at lap 264 and, after initially gaining positions, he slipped back to 28th. As the run went on, he improved to 25th and was scored in 24th at the time of the next caution on lap 288. Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. The driver of the No. 9 restarted 23rd and maneuvered to 21st before another incident brought out the yellow flag with just 18 laps to go. Staying out, Elliott restarted from 21st with 13 circuits remaining. He battled hard for position in his damaged Chevy, ultimately taking the checkered flag in 23rd.
Elliott is now fourth in the Cup Series points standings, 97 markers behind the leader.
Start / Finish: 26 / 23
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 128 pts. (-97)
Next Race: Sunday, March 15, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 4:00 p.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM or PRN
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By NAPA
Ron Capps kicked off NHRA’s 75th anniversary season by qualifying his link hidden, please login to view Funny Car in the No. 1 spot to score the first Funny Car pole of the year at the NHRA Gatornationals. As a seven-time Gainesville Raceway finalist, Capps was looking to add to his four wins at the historic facility, but an upset loss in the opening round of eliminations Sunday morning ended his day early.
Capps qualified on the strength of his Q2 pass of 3.890 seconds at 334.07 mph and was the only Funny Car racer to dip into the 3.8-second range during opening weekend of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Knowing they were safely in the show, crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and the NAPA team used Saturday’s remaining two qualifying rounds as test sessions to prepare for Sunday eliminations and felt they had a solid plan in place heading into round one against No. 16 qualifier John Smith. The three-time Funny Car world champion was first off the line but his machine started rattling the tires. He pedaled the car and got it to hook back up, but the ignition box was inadvertently shut off, allowing Smith to drive away with the win. While the early exit was a disappointment, Capps was not deterred and is eager to head to Phoenix for the Arizona Nationals and a chance to rebound.
“We left the Finals in Pomona at the end of last year and we already knew what we wanted to test to get better,” said Capps, who debuted as a multi-car team owner for the first time at the Gatornationals with the addition of Maddi Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team. “A lot of work was done at the shop with both teams, obviously getting the dragster together and ready for Maddi’s licensing and then the Funny Car team, we had a great game plan and it all came together. We made great runs in testing and Guido was very excited about coming to race under these warm weather conditions.
“Everyone had that decent shot Friday night, and obviously we were number one with that 3.89, which is always great. With the time change Saturday night and the track conditions the way they were, we figured first round was going to be pretty fast. But, typical Gainesville. I always say, the wins I’ve had here, you always feel like you’ve run multiple events in one day because it’s so demanding. It’s hot, humid, hard on the teams, hard on the drivers. And first round was tough, you never discount Paul Smith, that’s a car that will go down the track so you cannot make mistakes. We went out, rattled the tires. I started pedaling and got it going again, but unfortunately, the ignition box inadvertently shut off, and I was just a sitting duck out there and John Smith was able to drive around me. It’s a bummer, but the great thing is we know we’ve got a good hot rod. We’ve got a weekend off and then we’ll get right back at it in Phoenix.”
Up next for Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team is the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, where Capps made his professional debut in 1995 while competing in the Top Fuel category.
Start / Finish: No. 1/ def. in first round
Points Standing / Total: 9th / 41 points (-74)
Next Race: March 20-22, NHRA Arizona Nationals, Chandler, Ariz.
How to Watch or Listen: FS1,
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes returned to EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga., as one of the favorites for the second round of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (NCTS) season. However, the driver of the No. 91
link hidden, please login to view Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST was credited with a 36th-place finish after suffering a broken driveshaft on the second lap.
Eckes clocked in 15th-quickest in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, tucked in behind MHR teammate and NAPA brethren Daniel Hemric. After the duo worked the bottom lane on the opening lap, Eckes pulled to the apron on lap two with a broken drive shaft and also lost third and fourth gears. Despite the early exit, Eckes is 10th in the NCTS standings entering next week’s inaugural event on the St. Petersburg, Fla., street circuit.
“Unfortunate to say the least. This obviously cost us a lot of points and we need to focus on responding at St. Pete next week and put NAPA Nightvision, NAPA Auto Care, Gates Hydraulics up front again and get back at it. Hopefully we can move on from this and be better in the next few weeks.”
Start / Finish: 15 / 36
Points Standing / Total: 10th / 47 pts. (-56)
Next Race: Saturday, February 28th, Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
How to Watch or Listen: 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Daniel Hemric’s promising genesis to the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) season was spoiled in the early stages on Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 19
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Silverado RST took the checkered flag in 26th after regaining three laps following a black flag for broken spoiler braces. Following the opener at Daytona, Hemric is 24th in the NCTS championship standings.
In the opening laps, Hemric was one of the biggest movers from his 33rd starting position, up 10 positions within the first 10 circuits. After crew chief Kevin Bellicourt called Hemric to pit lane under the first caution on lap seven to gain a fuel advantage, Hemric restarted 19th and employed the third lane to advance to 11th by the end of Stage 1 on lap 20.
The strategy ploy netted Hemric second position for the restart on lap 28 after staying out during the stage caution. He kept the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet inside the top five to begin the second segment until being black flagged for broken spoiler braces. On lap 33, Hemric was forced to heed the black flag and pit to repair the braces under the green. The maintenance left him four laps down in 36th position.
Throughout the second half of the event, Hemric kept the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet out of harms way while still in position to regain laps. He took advantage of the Lucky Dog to regain multiple laps and found himself only one lap down before the race’s green-white-checkered finish. He took the checkers in 26th after posting the fastest lap of the race, and earning an additional point, to salvage 11 critical championship points during the second half.
“It’s a shame to have a promising night get away from us,” Hemric said following the race. “Unfortunately, we had to come down and reattached the brace under green and cost us a lot of time. Proud of this NAPA team for keeping their head in the game, managing the night and getting three of our laps back. Not the finish we wanted, but that’s 11 points we saved tonight. You never know where that might sort out when it’s all said and done. We’ll work on cleaning things up this week and go to Atlanta with some more speed.”
Start / Finish: 32 / 26
Points Standing / Total: 24th / 12 pts. (-53)
Next Race: Saturday, February 21st, EchoPark Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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