Diecast Update: Week of 2/9/26

Even with the delay in racing action this week with the decision to postpone The Clash at Bowman Gray until Wednesday, it’s still shocking how quickly the 2026 season is already upon us. The 16 new preorders that Lionel announced this week are an even better indicator that the 2026 Nascar season truly is in full swing. The massive group of new race cars being offered this week is very evenly divided up. There are four new cars from each of the three OEMs, and there are three O.A.P.S. cars, and one truck. ​There's lots to cover, for more...

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Standard Versions (Cup)

Chevy:
​Suarez is taking his talents to Spire for the 2026 season, his tenth full time season in the Cup series. He brings with him Freeway Insurance as he looks to jumpstart Spire’s No. 7 program which has struggled over the past few years with both Corey Lajoie, and Justin Haley. Even with a departure from high profile team Trackhouse, this move feels like it could be good for Suarez. This livery itself is basic, but clean. ​

Rebel Bourbon joined RCR and Kyle Busch in 2024 where they supported Busch for three races. In 2025, they returned and added a race. Rebel Bourbon is back again with RCR in 2026, and this time, the brand is showing off their root beer flavored whiskey. This is the third 1/64 of 2026 for Kyle Busch, and perhaps the best looking! I love this car's character and textured appearance. Kyle Busch is headed into his 22nd full time Cup season. ​

While the overall impact of The Clash this year under severe criticism, the presence of Team AmeriVet and Burt Myers was cool to see. While every educated race fan knew there was little to no chance of Myers making the show, this is a great looking race car, and Myer’s presence enhanced the weather impacted weekend in a positive way. Team AmeriVet had their car produced last year, and with a great livery, I expect this year’s to be produced as well. This is a tier one preorder for me. 

We also got a second Spire car this week. This is the first 2026 1/64 scale race car preorder for Michael McDowell. Delaware Life, one of the Group 1001 brands returns to the Spire 71 Chevy. The livery is quite similar to ones we’ve seen in the past. The same base blue color covers the car and it is complimented by blue, teal, and red circular flourishes. I’m not inspired by the way this car looks, but Spire No. 71 cars are more rare. ​

Ford:
​There aren’t many Cindric liveries that catch my attention, but I really like this one. I think the neon colors work well together, and the Frog Tape brand is a fun one! Cindric now approaches his 6th season in the Cup series, and has a single win in each of the past two seasons. I think Cindric improves that stat this year. I’m not a Cindric fan, but if I were to pick up a 2026 Cindric car, this would be the one.

Another week, another Ryan Blaney Mustang that is hidden beneath a car cover. This time around, it’s another Bodyarmor car. This car promises to be a new scheme for Bodyarmor featuring their Flash I.V. line with Caffeine. I’d predict this one may be featured at Atlanta in a few weeks. With another Bodyarmor car leaked on socials, I think we are up for some great stuff from Bodyarmor in 2026. 

There have been two Joey Logano schemes revealed this week. One of them is the Pennzoil paint scheme that Logano will race at Las Vegas in March. The other is this AutoTrader Mustang that will drive twice this year at Michigan in June, and at Daytona in August. Both of these cars have upgraded paint schemes, and both of these schemes utilize a faded effect on the secondary colors. I think this is certainly a unique design, but I’m not sure if it works well.

Last month, Lionel Racing announced the preorder for the first Zane Smith 2026 diecast of the year, and a month later, we got a second. The Speedy Cash Mustang is coming back to FRM in 2026, and I’m not sure if we’ve ever had the chance to preorder this car in the past, but I’m psyched we have the chance to now. I’m going to predict that Zane will lead the FRM stable in points in 2026, and this is one of the best looking Smith cars you’ll see this season. ​

Toyota:
One of several new and important partners for Denny Hamlin last year was Bob’s Discount Furniture. I had the chance to attend the paint scheme unveiling in person last summer which was a great experience, and a really well done activation. Even if this isn’t the best looking paint scheme out there, the car still stands out. This will be the same design from last year minus a few changes. 

The third Christopher Bell 1/64 was announced this week and it’s the best looking of the three so far. Mobile 1 aligned itself with multiple Toyota supported teams in 2025, and that will continue with JGR in 2026. This star spangled race car seems to be a mash up of last year’s Mobile 1 car and the patriotic Rheem car. I prefer last year’s livery to this one, but I prefer the Mobile One scheme to the two DeWalt cars we’ve seen!

The second 1/64 Bubba Wallace car of the year was posted this week. Xfinity, which dropped their title sponsorship of Nascar’s second highest series, is still sticking around in the Nascar world by continuing their partnership with 23XL. This purple car with lighter purple swooshes represents Xfinity’s fiber optic supported internet. I like this scheme, and it will be the one Bubba brings to the Daytona 500.

Chumba Casino turned out to be an important partner for 23XL in 2025, and they hit the jackpot when Bubba Wallace brought the brand to victory lane at Indianapolis following the grand return of the Brickyard 400. The livery that Tyler Reddick brought to Bowman Gray, and will likely race with again this season, gets some nice refinement. The black base stays the same, but interesting, curved, pink slashes swoop all over the Camry. This is the first 1/64 of the year for Reddick, and it vaults to the top tier of my ‘need it’ list.

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Standard Versions (O.A.P.S.)

Josh Bilicki has been trying his luck in the O.A.P.S. for nearly a decade. After 107 races, he’s only managed to crack the top 10 once. That finish came in 2021, his only full time season, for Rick Ware in the No. 52 Ford. Bilicki continues to find his way in 2026, and will do so with support from Mando with SS Green Light Racing. This is a basic, but still nice looking paint scheme with complimentary colors. ​

Over the last few seasons, JRM has been very creative with their Brandt paint schemes. They’ve innovated by showcasing the many products that Brandt Agriculture specializes in helping to produce. New this year, and not surprisingly after their collaboration with Traveler Whiskey, but corn, and whiskey in general is now being advertised on the side of Justin Allgaier's race car. This car will debut next week at Daytona and will serve as a precursor to the JRM Cup car. ​

The Corey Day experience continues at Hendrick Motorsports in 2026. Corey Day, the young driver from Clovis, California attempted eleven races last year and came away with one Top 5, and two Top 10s. Day will be taking over full control of the HMS Xfinity flag ship this season. This will be a very telling year for how well the driver can grow and develop. As for the paint scheme, there’s nothing new going on here, just the tried and true Ricky scheme. ​

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Standard Versions (Trucks)

Josh Reaume has been around the Craftsman Truck series for many years. He’s netted one Top 10 in his 83 attempts. The Reaume Racing team held a fan vote for their Truck debut paint scheme for the start of the 2026 season. Supported by Ariel Titans distributes new and used forklifts, booms, and lifts. The patriotic paint scheme is known as the ‘Freedom Flyer’ and I think it looks quite cool! I don’t know if this one will get the votes for production, but it deserves them. ​

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Conclusion:
This has been the busiest preorder week in a very long time. We haven't seen this many cars featured since the tariff situation last spring. There's so many great paint schemes in this week's group. There are just a few teams in the Cup series at this point that haven't made available any cars for preorder yet. By my count, we've seen 33 different drivers get representation with a total of 63 Cup series options. Four of those have officially reached production and are not available on the open market. There are also 15 O.A.P.S. pre orders, and 3 Trucks preorders. 

I think the highlights this week for me are the Burt Myers Chevy, the Austin Cindric Ford, the Tyler Reddick Camry, and the Josh Bilicki Mando car. As always, thanks for checking out the site, and we'll see you back here next week for the Diecast Update!

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