Hoot in the Oval
Posts
Odds Favor Keselowski’s Daytona Return, Legge Targets 2026 Double Duty, NASCAR Reaffirms Faith in the Next Gen Car, and More

Odds Favor Keselowski’s Daytona Return, Legge Targets 2026 Double Duty, NASCAR Reaffirms Faith in the Next Gen Car, and More

Gowtham Ramalingam
December 27, 2025

Welcome to Hoot in the Oval — your all-access pass to everything NASCAR. From Denny’s clutch finishes to Ross’ wild moves, Chase Elliott fandom to Bubba’s bold takes—we’ve got the stories that fuel the track and the timeline. Fast, loud, unfiltered. Buckle up, y’all. 🏁

The latest edition of our newsletter covers:

Brad Keselowski and his broken leg, and how it should not affect his 2026 Daytona 500 hopes
Katherine Legge’s ambitious NASCAR-IndyCar crossover
How the governing body is backing the seventh-generation Cup car’s concept all the way
Ryan Newman’s advice to anyone who looks to honor the late Greg Biffle’s legacy

🏁 Inside the Oval

Injury or Not, History Says Brad Keselowski Will Be Ready for Daytona

The NASCAR offseason is a time when drivers spend quality time with their families, taking a break from the race track for a bit. Adrenalin junkies as they are, it is also the time when daredevils like Brad Keselowski go on adventures that go wrong now and then.

The 41-year-old former NASCAR champion was on a family ski trip early this week when he suffered an unfortunate accident that left him with a broken limb. He underwent surgery and was soon released from the hospital, but he has quite an intense recovery ahead of him. The question now is whether he will be fully fit and ready to race in the 2025 Daytona 500.

If history is any indication, Keselowski will not only be able to race in the upcoming Great American Race, but he could also end up winning it. Yes, that’s a bold prediction…

Well, the last time Keselowski suffered a broken bone was in 2011. He was involved in a test session at Road Atlanta when his car crashed head-on into a barrier and left him with a broken ankle. That very weekend, he participated in a Cup Series race at the Pocono Raceway and reached Victory Lane. The grit he displayed impressed many of his competitors and fans at the time.

Even Kurt Busch, an aggressive character not known to acknowledge rivals, couldn’t help but be astounded. “I was amazed he raced the full race. There are moments in our sport that need to be documented as an ‘Iron Man’ type of day. It’s amazing what the body can do,” Busch had commented back then.

If Keselowski can do it once, he can do it again. Or that’s what many fans believe. They even prophesied on social media that his broken leg is a sign that this is the time for him to overcome the career-long curse and finally end up as a Daytona 500 champion. Hopefully, his recovery will go as per the expected timeline, and he will be back behind the wheel of his No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse as the season starts.

🏁 Inside the Oval

Katherine Legge Eyes a 2026 Double-Duty Across NASCAR and IndyCar

Veteran racer Katherine Legge made her NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2025 and found a moderate level of success. Her best finish of 17th place came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the prestigious Brickyard 400. Currently in the offseason, she is attempting to structure her 2026 season in such a way that she gets the best out of America’s two top racing disciplines.

The 45-year-old British driver has made four Indy 500 starts in the past. She wants to make her fifth attempt next year. In an interview with the RACER magazine, she acknowledged that she has not performed well at Indianapolis in the past due to various reasons and is keen to overcome those downfalls and have one proper shot at securing a good finish.

“I would love the opportunity to see where I end up,” she said. “With Sam Schmidt [in 2013], I had a car that was capable of winning, or at least a top 10, and I know I can run there again. No race evokes the same emotion as Indy.”

But that’s not all: Legge is aiming to participate in both the NASCAR and IndyCar Series events that will fall on one special March weekend next year.

The IndyCar Series has announced that it will return to the Phoenix Raceway on March 7 and be a part of a rare doubleheader race day with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The first Cup Series race of the year in Phoenix will go down the day after.

“I’d love to do Phoenix as well and do the Cup weekend with IndyCar and maybe be the only driver who goes there to do both,” said Legge, laying out her ambition.

With the Indianapolis 500 and multiple starts in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR, Legge will have a busy season next year. She can use these opportunities to silence her critics and prove that she is a driver worthy of the attention she gets.

🗣️ Pit Politics

Top NASCAR Official Says the Next Gen Car Is Doing Exactly What It Was Meant To

It is a fact that any move the Daytona HQ makes will have its supporters and detractors among NASCAR fans. There is no such thing as a universally loved change in the sport.

For instance, an overwhelming majority of the fandom has continually pointed out the flaws of the Next Gen car over the past four years. While the promotion is actively working on improving the car, it is not willing to just lie on the floor and take every hit the fans throw.

John Probst, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, defended the Next Gen car in an interview with Epartrade, calling it “an overwhelming success”. Probst’s assessment was backed by the long-term vision that he and his colleagues had for the machine years before it ever came into development.

NASCAR needed more than an incremental update in the car. It needed a car that would lure investors and sponsors, attract new OEMs, engage the old fans, and penetrate the hearts of the new fans. The car also had to be sustainable enough for the existing teams.

Probst explained this and underlined that these goals were uncomproisingly important. “When you step back and say, ‘Okay, four years into this, how are we doing?’ I would say that it’s an overwhelming success,” he said.

Probst used Trackhouse Racing as an example to make his case. Despite being a new organization, the Justin Marks-owned outfit has grown at a rapid pace and is on its way to becoming a powerhouse team.

The quick rise of its star driver, Shane van Gisbergen, and the emerging starlet Connor Zilisch show how conducive things have become for a team and driver to make a mark in the NASCAR Cup Series. While the Next Gen car has been beneficial for the sport, these factors don’t cancel out the obvious performance issues. Probst had an explanation for that as well.

He said that no car can achieve a perfect status at any time and that it will always be a work in progress. Probst reiterated that the promotion is happy with where things are now, even as potential changes to the car are in the works in the R&D department.

🏁 Trackside Trivia

NASCAR once used to race during the offseason as well

From 1994–95 through 1998–99, NASCAR sanctioned the Winter Heat Series, which featured actual stock-car racing during the winter, aka offseason months (November through January). These events were held at Tucson Raceway Park and broadcast on TNN and later ESPN2
The series included late model cars and SuperTrucks (pre-Truck Series), amongst others.
Leading names from NASCAR, such as Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch, graced the series.

🎙️ Hoot’s Radio Chatter

Ryan Newman Shares a Prudent Way to Honor Greg Biffle’s Legacy

The motorsports community suffered a huge loss this week with the death of NASCAR icon Greg Biffle. The 55-year-old retired driver was en route to Florida with his family for Christmas celebrations when his plane crashed at the Statesville Regional Airport. As the world continues to mourn him, Ryan Newman has reminded everyone of the best way to honor his legacy.

Biffle’s humanitarian work, particularly during Hurricane Helene, had gathered nationwide praise and admiration. Newman said in an interview with Frontstretch that the best way for the NASCAR fraternity to pay tribute to him is by continuing his goodwill efforts. “The best thing and the coolest thing that we can do to honor him is to continue to pay it forward in the way that he did,” he said.

Newman recalled how sincere and consistent Biffle’s rescue operations were during Hurricane Helene. He flew for multiple hours to deliver supplies and retrieve people from regions inundated by the hurricane.

Newman then recalled a specific incident: A friend of Newman’s had needed Starlink and had asked him if he could get one from Biffle.

“I called Biffle up. Biffle answered, he said, ‘Yeah, just come and pick it up.’ It wasn’t like he needed to write down the serial number or anything else. He knew, and he trusted me,” the 48-year-old narrated.

Newman underlined that the amount of work that Biffle did for the families that were affected by the hurricane was just unbelievable. But what’s crucial to note is that he did all that just out of pure interest to be helpful to the community he belonged to and because it was the right thing to do.

NASCAR has truly lost a great soul. As Newman said, the best way to honor him is by keeping his spirit of generosity alive.

🏁 Lap Back in Time: NASCAR Stat of the Year
(One stat. One year. Every edition.)

1963: Joe Weatherly won the 1963 NASCAR Cup Series title, driving for nine different team owners. He wasn’t signed to just one ride all season; instead, to make sure he competed enough to collect points, Weatherly drove for a patchwork of teams throughout the year and still managed to win the ultimate prize in the sport.