“Easy with it. Take care of your tires here.” This is the radio message that rang over Alex Bowman’s radio twice while he was locked in a tense pursuit with Ross Chastain during the closing laps of the Charlotte race. On the surface, it sounded routine. But given the mistakes, those repeated reminders carried a weight far heavier than they seemed. And almost immediately, the sanctioning body jumped into action mode.

In fact, Alex Bowman wasn’t the only one under the microscope. Cole Custer, too, drew NASCAR’s attention for a familiar radio chat. Reflecting on the same, Managing Director Mike Forde said, “If we do see something or hear something we don’t like, we are going to step in, which we have done now several times.” But it wasn’t the end of it. The radio controversy has now prompted NASCAR to summon all teams for a sit-down meeting, signaling that the organization wants to tighten up the reins before things spiral again.

On the Dale Jr Download podcast, NASCAR’s president, Steve O’Donnell, peeled back the curtain on the fine line between strategy and manipulation when it comes to radio communications: “Sometimes I would say that some of the race teams should be a little smarter and in what they communicate, right? Uh, because it sometimes makes it easy to look at things.”

“But they’ve certainly gotten smarter on, you know, different code words or whatever it may be. But it’s tough... You know, we kind of set our right on this one, but it’s a tough line to draw. We got a lot of smart folks that kind of beat everything up, look through all the facts… That if got to be damn sure we’re right because there’s so much riding on this.”

This heightened scrutiny didn’t appear out of thin air. It traces back to last year’s Martinsville playoff elimination race, a knife that reshaped how NASCAR learns. There, what was said over the radio became the center of a storm. Nine individuals from three different teams were suspended, and a staggering $600K fine was issued for manipulating race outcomes.

In the final laps, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain trailed fellow Chevrolet driver William Byron, both knowing that Byron couldn’t afford to lose another position without missing the championship race. On the Toyota side, Bubba Wallace was told about Christopher Bell’s desperate push to snatch that final transfer spot from Byron.

When the dust settled, NASCAR came down hard, suspending a team executive, a crew chief, and a spotter from each of the three camps. The drivers, however, walked away unpunished.

Emphasizing the importance of it, O’Donnell added, “And so all the communication and everything, you know, we better be able to go in and stand in front of our peers and say, ‘Here’s at least why we did this.’ And if we lose or get overturned, okay, um, but we need to be able to stand up against it. And so, a lot of work goes into those things. We don’t take it lightly when we’re issuing a penalty or having those conversations.” 

Last weekend’s Roval had the same storyline. In a last-ditch effort through the final chicane, Chastain just tried to reclaim the spot but ended up spinning both himself and Hamlin, sealing his own elimination. After the race, Denny Hamlin revealed he hadn’t been clued in about Chastain’s playoff chances: “I wish I would have just known what the last-lap scenario was, and then I make the best decision I can for me. I was surprised. No one told me anything. I absolutely had no idea.”

The single lost position knocked Chastain out of the final transfer spot to the Round of 8, handing the reigning champion, Joey Logano, the advancement instead. And what came out of it? Hard racing. NASCAR doesn’t want any predetermined race manipulation.

However, as Hamlin settles his relationship with Ross Chastain, NASCAR did in fact talk to all teams, but radios aren’t the only thing they listen to… They make sure to hear out fans and drivers and are prepping for huge changes in the 2026 season…

“Started with the fans”: NASCAR official reveals what sparked the 2026 horsepower boost

According to Steve O’Donnell, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to unleash more horsepower at select tracks in the 2026 season, a move that is already sparking major buzz across the garage. NASCAR EVP and chief racing development officer John Probst weighs in on one of the sport’s hottest talking points, confirming that the long-awaited boost is indeed on its way. However, this upgrade won’t apply everywhere.

It will be exclusive to road courses and ovals under 1.5 miles in length, a deliberate choice aimed at tightening the competition. Probst credited the fans for pushing this forward: “Certainly something that started with the fans and obviously a lot of our stakeholders within the industry from the engine builders…you know…you’ve had some of them on your show talking about it. Obviously, we meet with the drivers regularly as well, so it’s been something that we’ve been considering for quite a while, and now we feel like we’ve done enough of the research to go ahead and pull the trigger, if you will, to implement this into the 2026 season.”

This increase will give drivers greater throttle control, better tire management, and more chances to make passes, something fans have been craving for seasons. To get it right, NASCAR has scheduled a test session in early December at North Wilkesboro to fine-tune the higher horsepower setup.

Next year, 21 out of the 38 car races will see the bump in power, including stocks at Bowman Gray, Circuit of The Americas, Phoenix, Darlington, Martinsville, Bristol, Watkins Glen, Dover, Nashville, the San Diego Street course, Sonoma, North Wilkesboro, Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire, Charlotte and World Wide Technology Raceway, among others.

The 2026 season seems to be shaping up to be faster, fiercer, and a whole lot more thrilling. And now NASCAR is on the right side of the fans, and all eyes will be on the up-and-coming speed races.