After watching Thursday night’s America 250 Florida Duels at Daytona, Dr. Eric Warren, vice president of global motorsports competition for General Motors, was impressed with the drivability of the new Chevrolet body style.
The NASCAR Cup car’s ability to push and bump-draft? Let’s just say the jury is still out.
“Excited to see how the 3 (Austin Dillon) was able to move through there (in the first Duel),” said Warren during a Friday press conference that included representatives from all four NASCAR manufacturers. “But the second Duel (won by Chevrolet driver Chase Elliott), I was really excited about to see our cars really be able to get to the front and watching Carson (Hocevar) and Chase run together there a little bit.
“We watched (Ford drivers) Ryan (Blaney) and (Joey) Logano really make that two-car bump really kind of work. We haven’t been able to do that. They were certainly able to do that last year.”
The proof will come when all 41 cars race together in Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“When you get all the cars there, the momentum is a little different with the full field versus the Duels, so I’ve learned over the years that whatever you take from those Duels is not necessarily what happens when everybody is there,” Warren said.
“But certainly, promising for what we intended coming into Daytona with the new car.”
Kevin Kidd, North American Motorsports competition director for Stellantis, affirmed the Ram brand’s readiness to compete in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series as well as adding the assurance that Dodge intends to race in the NASCAR Cup Series in the future.
“Don’t have anything ready to announce on that today, but it’s certainly part of the discussion internally,” Kidd said. “It’s looking at what the future brings for us. We have not made any qualms about it. We aim to get back in the Cup Series. It’s really a matter of what the right timing is and what that looks like.
“You’re racing against the best in the world here, so we have to build an incredible amount of infrastructure to go Cup racing. It’s one thing to go Truck racing. It’s a whole different can of worms to go Cup racing. For us, there is a strategy that we’re currently developing to figure out what all that looks like and what the timing looks like behind that.
“Again, nothing ready to announce today, but I can tell you that we are working towards it.”
Pat DiMarco, NASCAR program manager for Ford Racing, acknowledged the Blue Oval teams expect to do better in 2026.
“I’d say ’25 was a miss for us,” DiMarco said. “Anytime you don’t win, you reflect on that. Not having anybody in the final four at Phoenix was a miss.
“There were some highlights, though. Ryan Blaney was consistent and one of the best drivers all year long, and the way the playoff format plays out, he just didn’t make it…
“But looking forward to a great ’26 and more consistency across the board, which I think with the RFK (Roush Fenway Keselowski) cars running up front (Thursday) night, Ryan Preece with the win at the Clash. I think there’s some upside for ’26 for the Ford Motor Company.”
In the Toyota camp, Toyota Racing Development president Tyler Gibbs was pleased with the manufacturer’s effort during the 2025 season, a campaign that could have been even better had a late caution not deprived Denny Hamlin of a chance to win the Cup Series title.
“We were 90 seconds from a great year,” Gibbs said. “A lot of fun over the course of the season, worked hard in the off-season getting ready for this year, and kind of building on what we had last year. We’ve only got one new crew chief this year, same drivers as last year.
“So, building on what we had last year and coming out one spot better this year is really the goal and what we are looking for.”
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