Diecast Update: Week of 4/20/2026

We are nine races into the 2026 season, and history was made once more this weekend at Kansas when Tyler Reddick matched a record previously held only by the great Dale Earnhardt. Winning five of the first nine races is an incredible feat. Reddick and 23XL are running away with the points lead. Turning our attention to the latest 1/64 scale Nascar offerings, there is a much more modest selection this week of new race cars, but I'm sure next week's edition will more robust with Talladega up next. There's a couple of nice cars to ponder. Read on...

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Raced Version: (Kansas)

Tyler Reddick's fifth win of the season, and his fourth winning paint scheme is now being offered by Lionel Racing. SupplyHouse, a brand new sponsor for 23XL enjoyed their first win during their first race. The paint scheme itself is quite mediocre, but anything with confetti on it gets a boost. This is Reddick's 13th career Cup win and his second time winning at Kansas. This is Reddick's Championship to lose, apparently.

Another victory for the Toyota camp took place on Saturday as Taylor Gray brought the Operation 300 Supra across the line. This is the second career win for Gray, and a nice resumé boost for the young driver from Denver, North Carolina. This is Gray's second full season in the O'Reilly series, and after winning at Martinsville last year, he's developing nicely as a future Cup talent. Gray rarely gets diecast cars made representing his team. That makes this one quite interesting. 

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Standard Versions (Cup)

Chevrolet:

Ross Chastain has now taken the lead in 1/64 scale with the most standard paint schemes being offered for any driver. This is his 8th scheme of the year. The Busch Apple car is back even after a few years ago, Busch said that Busch Apple would be gone for good. The Busch Apple car has almost always been a slamdunk, and this version is perhaps the best looking one so far. It has many similar features compared to the Wendy's car. Top pick this one.

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Ford:

Ryan Preece has been having a career year. The momentum he picked up in 2025 continues into 2026. Not only did he win the Clash, but he’s also attracting new sponsors while he continues to keep the third RFK Mustang in the top 16 in points. Kickstand Cocktails made their entrance into the Cup series this past weekend at Kansas. While the car looks like it should be racing at Homestead, ​

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LMSC/CARS Tour

Dale Jr. will once again join the CARs Tour in 2026. This time he'll be racing at Newport Speedway in Tennessee. His partnership with Sun Drop continues as the North Carolina based soda brand will adorn Dale Jr’s LMSC. There doesn't appear to be too many differences on the Sun Drop Chevy compared to last year's version which you can see here. Lionel has done a great job developing their LMSC casting and have been adding more detail to Gold Line cars as well. This will certainly get produced. 

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Render Update Report

As many collectors are aware, Lionel periodically releases render updates that help to paint a better picture of what a finished product could look like. Perhaps one of the most talked about car this year has ben Ryan Preece's Clash win. Coca-Cola the partner brand with Kroger on this car refuse to allow their logos to be placed on Nascar merchandise, so now we're left with this little number. It honestly could be worse, and the good news is, customs are an option. 

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Conclusion:
It's been nice to have a bit of a reprieve this week with far fewer 1/64s to cover and discuss. While Tyler Reddick continues to stink up the show, he owns 5 of the current 11 raced versions being offered in the Cup series. To date, we've gotten 122 Cup cars up for preorder in standard schemes and five of them have reached consumers that i'm aware of and so far, no DNPs. There have been dozens of other 1/64 scale products listed and it truly is a great time to be a 1/64 scale collector. 

I don't see any of this week's offerings making it onto my most wanted list aside from maybe Ross Chastain's Busch Apple car. I haven't picked up many Chastain 1/64s recently. I certainly will be procuring the Wendy's car from this year, so the Busch Apple could be a nice side kick. That's all for this week's edition, we'll see you back here in two weeks on May 4th for the Diecast Update!

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