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Kyle Larson Is Fired Up for the Chase, Erik Jones Bets on Loyalty, and Amy Earnhardt's Surprise Off the Track

Kyle Larson Is Fired Up for the Chase, Erik Jones Bets on Loyalty, and Amy Earnhardt's Surprise Off the Track

Gowtham Ramalingam
February 01, 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:

Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels, in anticipation of the upcoming season
Erik Jones’ demand from his new crew chief at Legacy MC
Amy Earnhardt reveals the unexpected perks of hosting a podcast with Dale Jr.

🏁 Inside the Oval

Missing the Grind Badly, Kyle Larson Can’t Wait for the New Season to Start

Kyle Larson, who won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2025, kept himself busy by competing during the offseason. And the Hendrick Motorsports driver is dying to get into his No. 5 Chevy Camaro again to defend his crown.

We may never be able to find the source of his relentless energy. But he will need all of that and more since winning the title will be a tougher challenge this time around.

The Chase format has been reintroduced, and Larson is a fresher in it. He began his full-time Cup Series career in 2014, right when the elimination playoff format replaced the Chase. From this year, consistency matters a lot more than just winning sporadic races. However, Larson is more excited than nervous to try his hand at this new game.

“I’m just excited to try something new. I’ve only ever raced under in the playoff era. I think it’s good. I think winning is still really important with the amount of points that you get. So, I think it’s great. It benefits a good team like Hendrick Motorsports, so hopefully that makes it a little bit clearer path to winning a championship,” Larson told RACER magazine.

After the season finale at Phoenix last November, Larson focused on his usual side quests. He raced on dirt tracks, he traveled to Perth, and he worked on taking High Limit Racing to the next step. All of that seems to have kept him on the boil, and he is ready, both physically and mentally, to return to NASCAR.

“It’s been plenty for me. I haven’t spent a ton of time around the NASCAR group, so I’m excited to get back with the guys and the teammates, and as weird as it is to say, I miss the meetings and the preparation. I miss the routine, I guess,” added Larson.

🏁 Inside the Oval

Cliff Daniels Believes Chase Format Will Help Kyle Larson in 2026

The Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium will mark the beginning of the 2026 Cup Series season. While every driver on the field will be keen to get off on the right foot, Kyle Larson and Co. are the ones who will have the additional pressure of defending the crown they won last year.

The one big challenge they will face is figuring out the newly introduced Chase format. Since Larson made his full-time Cup Series debut only after the elimination playoff format came into play, he has no experience with the Chase. Despite this, his crew chief, Cliff Daniels, is confident that the change will only help Larson win a third championship.

“With the Chase format this year, it’s all kind of a different look. So what we can take from one year to another is how we build our daily process, how we execute, how we perform, how we communicate, all of those things, and apply it to whatever comes our way this season,” said Daniels.

Their performance in 2025 is lending Daniels the confidence. He pointed out that they were consistent throughout the regular season, and it was only late-race crashes or mechanical failures that shook the ground beneath them a bit. That, he believes, provides ample proof that they can meet the demands of consistency of the Chase format and remain at the top of the leaderboard.

“So again, I think it’s going to benefit our team, and we’ve just got to make sure that how we strategize our races, how we execute, that we’re getting those points along the way,” added Daniels.

With Larson also eager than ever before to get into his Camaro and secure his third title, the No.5 crew appears to be in a great space.

🗣️ Pit Politics

Erik Jones Values Loyalty and Hopes His New Crew Chief Does Too

Erik Jones is entering the 10th year of his full-time career in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. He has moved between four organizations so far and has been driving with Legacy Motor Club since 2023. But a significant change awaits him this year: A new crew chief. With the change, he is hoping to find that perfect chemistry that would let him perform at his absolute best.

From 2022 to 2024, Dave Elenz called the shots as the crew chief of the No. 43 team. Ben Beshore took that position toward the closing stages of the 2024 season and kept it till the end of 2025. The team showed flashes of brilliance under these two men. But now, both Jones and team co-owner Jimmie Johnson are looking for a partnership that can be more consistent and high-performing.

Beshore has been promoted to director of race engineering, and Justin Alexander will assume command of the pit crew. Jones spoke about this change to the press and pointed out how it presents new challenges and fresh opportunities to grow. The challenge, he thinks, is building a strong relationship with the new crew chief.

“This could obviously be a great fit for me. I hope for a long-term fit. I’m not someone who really likes to jump around people, and I like to stay loyal to my people, and so I hope that Justin’s someone we can work together for a long time and have a lot of success,” said Jones.

The connection between a driver and crew chief is paramount for success in the sport. Jones and Alexander will need to find each other’s rhythm if they want to take advantage of the better machinery that Legacy Motor Club will provide them this season.

Alexander is no stranger to Victory Lane. He won five races with Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing car. Legacy is hoping he will have a similar impact on Jones’ game.

🏁 Trackside Trivia

The Clash has been won from outside the top-10 starting position nearly half the time.

Across the entire history of the NASCAR Clash through 2024, 23 of the winners (about 50 %) started the main feature outside the top 10 on the grid, showcasing the exhibition event’s surprises.

🎙️ Hoot’s Radio Chatter

Amy Earnhardt’s Unexpected Bonus While Hosting a Podcast With Dale Jr.

One of the most interesting offerings by Dirty Mo Media is the Bless Your ‘Hardt podcast that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Amy Earnhardt host. It was launched after fans expressed their wish to see more of Amy following her appearance on the Dale Jr. Download podcast. Whatever the reason for its creation may be, it has helped Amy lose her camera-shy persona.

In the weekly episodes of the podcast, the couple discusses a range of topics about their personal lives and shares stories about how they function well despite being opposites. They also talk about the paradox of parenting: How it is both maddening and joyful to raise their two daughters. They also open up about their past, their ongoing routines, and many other nitbits from their household.

During the course of her podcast journey, Amy felt a change in her marriage. “Honestly, I feel like it’s kind of brought us closer together,” she said in a recent episode.

“I mean, I thought we were as close as we’d possibly be, but we’re having fun getting to play like this with one another. We’ve worked together before on little projects here and there, but nothing quite like this. So, I mean, for me, that’s probably it,” Amy added.

Dale Jr., too, narrated the changes he has seen in his wife after she started hosting the podcast. He said that he has just enjoyed watching Amy become a new person, shedding her reservations about being in front of the camera.

Had someone asked Amy to host such a podcast five years ago, she wouldn’t have obliged and probably would have frozen in front of the camera. But that isn’t who she is today.

Dale Jr. said that it was highly gratifying to watch her step into the spotlight and command it. He revealed that she used to be a person who even avoided getting photographed when they first met. Amy sure has come a long way since then.

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

1967: In 1967, Mario Andretti became the first and only European-born driver to win the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s most prestigious race, marking his only NASCAR Cup Series victory to date.