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Can William Byron Make Daytona History? Dale Jr.’s New Favorite Pairing, Logano Gets Personal, and the Garage Backs Kyle Busch

Can William Byron Make Daytona History? Dale Jr.’s New Favorite Pairing, Logano Gets Personal, and the Garage Backs Kyle Busch

Gowtham Ramalingam
February 14, 2026

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:

How William Byron could make history at Daytona this weekend
Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch will complement each other even more as full-time Cup teammates, says Junior
Joey Logano elaborates on this one habit, which he finds disrespectful
Kyle Busch’s verdict on the recent NASCAR rule change, and its reception in the garage

🏁 Inside the Oval

Why William Byron Has a Real Shot to Make History at Daytona This Year

The 2026 Daytona 500, the 68th running of the biggest event in stock car racing, will see, as usual, drivers lining up with relentless drive to reach Victory Lane and etch their names into the history books. Not William Byron, who wants a bit more than the rest. His target is, after all, unprecedented.

The Hendrick Motorsports star won the event in 2024 and 2025, becoming only the fifth driver ever to reach Victory Lane in back-to-back Daytona 500 races. No driver has ever won it three times in a row, though.

Who, in his situation, will not want to grab such an honor when it is so within reach? And Bryon is more than capable of winning the race yet again. Or so Steve Letarte believes.

“I think that he’s better every year. His experience makes him smarter. Both of them were done in a little bit different fashion. So, I think for William Byron, it’s all about managing. His goal needs to be in the picture with 50 miles to go. And if he does that, anything can happen. But can he do it? Absolutely. I don’t see why not,” said the veteran crew chief on NASCAR Inside The Race.

Kyle Petty, who was on the show with Letarte, concurred before crediting Byron as a driver who mastered the game through his pursuit of knowledge from Day 1. Petty also mentioned that Byron has picked up crucial aspects of race craft from veteran drivers like Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin while competing against them.

What’s intriguing is that Byron was never the dominant driver in the 2024 or 2025 Daytona 500s. He was just up there patiently with the leaders toward the end, waiting for the right chance to leave them in the dust. The awareness he has of the race is simply unseen in drivers. And it helps him draw up strategies that work in his favor.

Byron puts himself in positions that make it easy to take advantage of others' mistakes, while letting him make his own moves at the same time. With such skill and talent, it’s hard to find a reason to say he won’t win the Great American Race a third consecutive time.

🏁 Inside the Oval

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Thinks Zilisch and SVG Bring Out the Best in Each Other

The battles last season between Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) and Connor Zilisch in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (O’Reilly Auto Parts Series from this season) were a sight to behold. The two talented drivers shared the grid thrice, all on road courses, and ended up fighting for the spoils between themselves.

SVG came out on top once, at the Chicago Street Circuit, and Zilisch gained the upper hand twice, at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. When both their names featured on the entry list last year, every other driver automatically knew that their chances of reaching Victory Lane were near zero.

In the 2026 Cup Series season, SVG and Zilisch will be driving under the banner of Trackhouse Racing. Brushing aside the tall egos of race car drivers and racing logic as well, Dale Earnhardt Jr. trusts this association will be productive for the two of them.

Zilisch will pressure SVG to be better on the oval tracks, an area of weakness for the New Zealander, said the icon in the latest episode of Dale Jr. Download. At the same time, SVG will continue to put up a tough challenge for Zilisch on the road courses. This balance of push and pull ought to complement the race crafts of each other well, according to Junior.

“Will Connor spring forward as the season goes and get really, really, really improve at the ovals? I’m not sure he could. I think that’s going to push SVG to continue to get better at ovals, and they will both push each other at the road courses to succeed. And I think that’s good for both drivers,” added Dale Jr.

SVG, 36, has already proven himself in motorsports. The 19-year-old Zilisch, on the other hand, is yet to make a name for himself. Despite their differences in stature and age, they are both deeply respectful toward each other. And they look to get along really well.

🎙️ Hoot’s Radio Chatter

“It’s Disrespectful”: Joey Logano Describes the One Habit He Takes Very Seriously

Joey Logano has many great qualities: A race car driver, he is an exceptional human being outside the track, and carries a warm and likable personality, and more. Out of all his good attributes, the one he takes most seriously is managing time.

Logano hates to keep anyone waiting for him under any circumstances. He spoke about this in detail on the 12 Questions podcast with Jeff Gluck.

The three-time Cup Series champion makes it a point to always be early for meetings. He doesn’t mind if he gets there early and has to wait for people to arrive. But he never wants to be the one arriving late.

“I’m early for everything. For one, I can’t stand people who are late because I feel like it’s disrespectful, so I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want anyone ever waiting on me. I stress out about it, if I’m being honest. I think, ‘What if I get in a traffic jam or something happens and I’m late?’ So I just get there early, and that’s OK. I can do something while I wait,” Logano told Gluck.

Well, this is something no one knew about Logano. It is easy for drivers, even with a little bit of success, to let the clout get to their heads. They act entitled and dictate terms to those around them. But Logano, despite being the respected veteran he is, still chooses to act by his principles and holds himself to a very high standard.

From his point of view, being on time for something is a basic courtesy to extend. So, when he sees someone not doing it, he forms a judgment about that person. That’s not a behaviour that Logano can ever appreciate.

Logano also made it a point to talk about another frustrating aspect of race weekends. He told Gluck that drivers are too disorganized when leaving race venues and create traffic jams that unnecessarily hold everyone up. He thinks that a proper system ought to be in place to save them all some time. Logano indeed takes his seconds very seriously.

🏁 Trackside Trivia

The Daytona 500 is the only NASCAR Cup race where the pole-sitter’s qualifying speed record still stands decades later

In 1987, Bill Elliott set the all-time fastest Daytona 500 pole speed at 210.364 mph during qualifying in a Ford Thunderbird. That record still stands today, even though aero rules and engine restrictions have changed the sport dramatically.

🗣️ Pit Politics

Kyle Busch’s Blunt Rule Change Criticism Finds Plenty of Support in the Garage

Till last season, fans may have seen drivers holding hands beside their window nets during qualifying runs. This action supposedly helps post a better qualifying time by influencing the aerodynamics of the car. Whether it makes sense or not, it will not be allowed from 2026.

This rule was part of the slew of changes that NASCAR made to the rule book in the offseason. Naturally, this one has drawn reactions from several drivers, including Kyle Busch.

The two-time Cup Series champion doesn’t believe that the action made any sense in the first place. He is glad that drivers can now place both their hands on the wheel and do what they are expected to do: Drive.

“I always kind of thought it was dumb. So, yeah, I mean, now we can put our hands on the wheel and go out there and just drive the car around for a lap in 2.5 miles in order to put up the best time possible that the car can make,” said Busch.

Tracks like the Atlanta Motor Speedway don’t have any practice sessions ahead of races. The qualifying lap is the only practice drivers get. Busch would rather spend that lap on something useful rather than on holding his window net.

Not surprisingly, Busch’s thoughts found support in the garage. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace is known for his skill on drafting-style tracks. Even he doesn’t believe that the trick works or helps drivers go faster. Christopher Bell also echoed the same sentiment.

Ryan Blaney, too, followed suit and said that he had done it on instructions from his team before. However, he wasn’t completely convinced by how much it helped. Other drivers, including Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman, spoke on the same lines as Busch. They are all just glad to put both their hands on the wheel. All confusion aside, we will know who is the fastest among them at Daytona on February 15.

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

1968: While Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler products dominated the entry list, a handful of Mercury Cougar entries appeared in the 1968 season. None scored top-5 finishes that year. These cars were very much backmarkers, yet they showed up occasionally, one of these instances being the year Richard Petty won his sixth Cup title.