Diecast Update: Week of 8/31/26

And just like that, the 26 races that make up the Nascar regular season have concluded and the Nascar Chase for the championship is about to begin. After several years of chaotic and seemingly unbalanced results that impacted the playoffs and overshadowed the results of one of the most unpredictable races of the year, some refinement in the points system, and the way teams and drivers could qualify for the playoffs has been repaired. Ryan Preece, after nearly 250 starts in the Cup series finally won the first points paying race of his career. His Kroger/Oikos raced 1/64 leads off this week's issue of the D.U. For all the latest, read on...

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Raced Version: (Daytona)

An elated and nearly speechless Ryan Preece emerged from his RFK Mustang on Saturday night after persevering through an exciting and interesting Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. By winning the race he not only established himself as a winner in the Cup series (finally), but also solidified his place in the round of 16 that begins next week at Darlington. This was a massive win for both Preece, and the No. 60 team which faced the 2027 season without a charter. 

It's exceptionally cool that we had perhaps the two longest dry spells in the Cup and O'Reilly series garages end on the same weekend. Ryan Sieg, after 424 starts (and 6 in the Cup series) Sieg finally was able to hoist a trophy in victory lane. It seems like the trans this year of the most unlikely drivers winning on the biggest stages is destined to continue. It's interesting to note that this is the first time in a long time that Ryan Sieg has driven the 38 instead of the 39. The paint scheme is really nice, and now will be history. 

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Standard Versions (Cup)

Chevy:

We got a handful of new paint schemes this week leading up to the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. One of the best designs ended up on the pole. Ross Chastain brought this Wendy's Watermelon Lemonade branded Chevy to the front row for Saturday's race, and completed all 166 laps. The No 1 team elected to pit with just over 30 laps left in the race to try an take advantage of other teams who did their best to stretch fuel. Had the race gone longer, he could have won. The 17th 1/64 for Ross is also the best.

Also unveiled this week is William Byron's Valvoline Restore & Protect scheme that will take on Darlington in the first round of the Chase. The usual yellow windshield banners and spoilers return to the cars of the drivers who remain in contention for the 2026 Nascar Cup championship. This is the third Valvoline scheme on the year for Byron, and it's good, but not as great as the standard scheme. By my count, this is the 12th standard scheme for Byron, and I've got it ranked 7th best of twelve.

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Ford:

Finally, a car I've been waiting to see be offered for preorder for several years is now finally going to be possible. The Grillo's Pickles Hot Pickle Car looks amazing. It appeared on track last week at Daytona for the first time in 2026, and while Todd Gilliland was unfortunately caught up in a big crash on the last lap of the race, the car had great speed. This is the fourth 1.64 standard paint scheme for Todd Gilliland in the Cup series on the 2026 season, and it's the best looking of the bunch. 

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Toyota:

In a surprising announcement last week, Joe Gibbs Racing and Mars Inc. brand, M&M's announced that they would be collaborating to run a very special tribute to the late Kyle Busch. The car itself features hundreds of pictures explaining the many triumphs of one of the greatest race car drivers the world has ever seen. The car will appear on track at Bristol this fall. Emotions aside, the car looks very good, and of the four standards schemes we've been offered for Ty this year, this is the best. 

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Standard Version (Trucks)

Big recognizable brands have left Nascar more frequently than they have entered the sport in recent years. Dollar Tree continues to invest heavily in Nascar, and two weeks ago at Loudon, they activated in a major way. Not only did the company sponsor the Cup race, but they also renumbered John Hunter Nemechek's car in honor of the company's 40th anniversary. They also hired J.H.N. to drive a Tricon Tundra fully clothed in the Dollar Tree colors. This is the 7th Tricon 1/64 Truck of the year and the first for J.H.

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Drop Preview Report

There are lots of new 1/64 scale diecast that continue to hit the market at the end of August. This week, Booth34 Diecast posted on their social accounts multiple photos of some of the latest 1/64s to hit the main land. Among some late 2025 1/64s, several new Toyota Camry's have begun to appear. Denny Hamlin's 2026 Progressive Camry, and Christopher Bell's Mobile 1 scheme (I've still got that car ranked at Bell's best scheme of the year) along with the first Ty Gibbs first 1/64 of the year, the SAIA JGR No. 54 Camry are in the mix. Ryan Blaney's 2026 BodyArmor Flash IV Mustang that most recently ran at Richmond as also started to appear, and the numbers for this one seem to be quite limited!

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Conclusion:
Even with several high profile races happening right now, there's a noticeable slowdown in the volume of new 1/64 scale diecast that we are being offered each week and that's certainly indicative of the end of the 2026 season which is just ten races away. A few data points to make mention of. We have this week crossed over the 230 mark for standard Cup series paint schemes that are being or have been offered for preorder in 2026. O'Reilly sits at 60, and the Truck series sits at 46. These figures do not include special order items or raced diecast. It's very likely that your favorite driver or paint scheme has been offered unless that's Ty Gibbs and Monster Energy.

This week was still filled with a nice selection of cars that span all three OEMS in the Cup series, and we also get the spare Truck as well. Even though this week's spread is simple, there are a couple contenders for paint scheme of the year. Ross's Wendy's Watermelon Chevy is top-notch and Todd Gilliland's Hot Pickle Car is a personal favorite. Aside from William Byron's Valvoline Chevy complete with Chase Markings, I'm sure more cars with those same features will be announced in the coming days. The pair of raced win diecast we have this week are very special considering they are both first time winners. 

Even on a quieter week, there's lots to consider. There's certainly something here to intrigue most race fans, and even if there isn't there's sure to be many more great new cars that will up for preorder but this time next week! That's it for Volume 2 Issue #34, we'll see you back here next week! 

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Sources:
-Floracing.com
-Jayski.com
-Lionelracing.com
-Nascar.com
-racing-reference.info