2026 NASCAR Cup Series Predictions: Kevin Harvick Talks Breakout Stars, Cup Champ
📖 Full Retelling
The NASCAR Cup Series has been unpredictable for several years, and a few of FOX Sports' motorsports experts expect the 2026 season to be just as wild. In the most recent edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour," Bob Pockrass, Kevin Harvick and Mamba Smith were all over the map with their predictions for the upcoming season. Each of them had different picks on who'll be this year's breakout driver, who'll have the most wins and who'll ultimately be the Cup Series champion. So, with Sunday's Daytona 500 just days away (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), here is how Pockrass, Harvick and Smith expect the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series to play out. Which team has the most to prove this season? Pockrass: Richard Childress Racing With an uncertain future looming around RCR following an underwhelming season, Pockrass believes that Richard Childress Racing is under the most pressure in 2026. "You talk about Kyle Busch being a free agent and can you get the track right there with a new crew chief and get him feeling like this can be a place where he wants to keep racing at," Pockrass said. "Where is Austin Dillon in his career? He obviously wants to run better as well. You've got a couple of young guys there who want to go Cup racing. Where are they looking for their futures? To me, RCR, they've gone through another round of competition changes, which seems like they've had a lot over the last two or three years. To me, they're probably under the most pressure." Both Dillon and Busch finished outside the top 12 in the Cup Series standings last year, placing 15th and 21st, respectively. Harvick: 23XI Harvick simply believes that 23XI needs to do more in 2026, specifically pointing to Tyler Reddick as a driver that needs to step up. "We gave them a mulligan last year," Harvick said. "The bottom line is, Bubba [Wallace] got to victory lane, and we saw improvement from that car last year. Tyler Reddick has to win. I think he's expected and went there to win races and b
📄 Original Source Content
The NASCAR Cup Series has been unpredictable for several years, and a few of FOX Sports' motorsports experts expect the 2026 season to be just as wild. In the most recent edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour," Bob Pockrass, Kevin Harvick and Mamba Smith were all over the map with their predictions for the upcoming season. Each of them had different picks on who'll be this year's breakout driver, who'll have the most wins and who'll ultimately be the Cup Series champion. So, with Sunday's Daytona 500 just days away (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), here is how Pockrass, Harvick and Smith expect the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series to play out. Which team has the most to prove this season? Pockrass: Richard Childress Racing With an uncertain future looming around RCR following an underwhelming season, Pockrass believes that Richard Childress Racing is under the most pressure in 2026. "You talk about Kyle Busch being a free agent and can you get the track right there with a new crew chief and get him feeling like this can be a place where he wants to keep racing at," Pockrass said. "Where is Austin Dillon in his career? He obviously wants to run better as well. You've got a couple of young guys there who want to go Cup racing. Where are they looking for their futures? To me, RCR, they've gone through another round of competition changes, which seems like they've had a lot over the last two or three years. To me, they're probably under the most pressure." Both Dillon and Busch finished outside the top 12 in the Cup Series standings last year, placing 15th and 21st, respectively. Harvick: 23XI Harvick simply believes that 23XI needs to do more in 2026, specifically pointing to Tyler Reddick as a driver that needs to step up. "We gave them a mulligan last year," Harvick said. "The bottom line is, Bubba [Wallace] got to victory lane, and we saw improvement from that car last year. Tyler Reddick has to win. I think he's expected and went there to win races and b