Garage 66 owner Carl Long reveals comprehensive plans for 2026 NASCAR season

Garage 66 has an extensive plan prepared for the 2026 season. Team owner Carl Long joined an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and shared the team's immediate plans for Daytona 500, as well as MBM Motorsports's expansion into the Truck Series.

The Cup Series outfit had an eventful season this year. The team was originally supposed to attempt the Daytona 500 with 65-year-old Mike Wallace, but was denied entry due to Wallace's extended break from the sport. The team scrambled to find a replacement and met their match in Chandler Smith, who couldn't make the final field after a crash in the Duels.

Drivers like Chad Finchum, David Starr and Josh Bilicki took the wheel in a few more races, while Casey Mears ran the season's final three races to reach 500 Cup Series starts. Mears secured his best finish with an 18th-place result at Talladega.

Looking ahead, NASCAR reporter Joseph Srigley covered Carl Long's SiriusXM interview, writing,

"Long confirms that Garage 66 is planning to run somewhere around 26 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2026, with a number of drivers. The No. 66 will be present at Bowman-Gray for The Clash, with either Josh Bilicki or Chad Finchum." "As for the team’s #NASCAR Truck Series program, Long says MBM has acquired some trucks from FRM (including the truck that Chandler Smith won North Wilkesboro with). Tyler Tomassi will run Daytona, as previously announced, with more to come on the program at a later date," Srigley wrote in a follow-up tweet.

Garage 66 is also planning to field Casey Mears for the 2026 Daytona 500.

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Carl Long explains the reasoning behind MBM's rebranding to Garage 66

MBM Motorsports, also known as Motorsports Business Management, embraced Garage 66 as its new name from 2025 onwards. The team operated under a separate company using its own in-house engine program called the Power Source LLC, while MBM continued its footprint in the Xfinity Series.

After Power Source became the brand's primary Cup Series name in 2024, the team decided to rename it.

“We are rebranding our NASCAR Cup Series entry to Garage 66. The new name and logo reflect the streamlining of our team to fewer people with higher standards. We want to deliver great race cars to each track we compete at and produce solid finishes with fewer mistakes. Management and accountability become much less stressful with just one car at the track most weekends and many fewer people," Carl Long said via Forbes.

Furthermore, Garage 66 had onboarded new investors into their Cup Series team. The Cup Series team ran the No.66 with a Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The independent outfit also ran unique promotional material this year, including Josh Bilicki's Cup start at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he raised awareness for testicular cancer with Manscaped as his sponsor.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna