HOMESTEAD — Denny Hamlin enters the 2026 Chase as the points leader with 2,100 points. Ryan Blaney enters the 2026 Chase in second place with 2,075 points. Chase Elliott enters the 2026 Chase in eighth place with 2,040 points.

The 2026 Chase points reset awards 2,100 points to the first seed, decreasing by five points per position to 2,000 points for the 16th seed. There is a 100-point gap between the first and 16th seeds at the start of the 2026 Chase.

Race winners in the 2026 Chase receive 55 points. A perfect race with two stage wins and an overall victory is worth 75 points in the 2026 Chase.

The 2026 Chase includes races at Darlington, St. Louis, Bristol, Kansas, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead. Denny Hamlin won races at Las Vegas, Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono during the 2026 regular season.

Carson Hocevar won the race at Talladega during the 2026 regular season. William Byron did not win a race during the 2026 regular season. Austin Cindric did not win a race during the 2026 regular season.

Ryan Preece won the race at Daytona during the 2026 regular season. Denny Hamlin has won at all 10 tracks on the 2026 Chase schedule during his career.

Denny Hamlin has seven top-five finishes in 21 starts at Homestead. Chase Briscoe won the last two Southern 500 races.

Why It Matters

The removal of elimination rounds shifts the championship determination from knockout survival to consistent point accumulation over the 10-race postseason. This change favors drivers who have built momentum during the regular season rather than those relying on single-race victories in the final stretch.

Denny Hamlin enters the Chase with a points lead and regular-season wins, positioning him to potentially convert his consistency into a first championship. The format change alters the strategic landscape for all 16 drivers, requiring sustained performance across every race rather than peak performance in specific elimination events.

What's New

Kyle Larson was the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion entering the 2026 season after winning the 2025 title, but did not win a regular-season race in 2026. Chase Briscoe became the 200th different Cup Series winner when he won the 2022 Phoenix Raceway event, marking a milestone in NASCAR history.

Kyle Larson had a 25-race winless streak before winning the 2026 Phoenix Raceway event, which was a key factor in his 2026 championship campaign. Chase Briscoe won the 2024 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, which was his second Cup Series victory and secured his spot in the 2024 playoffs.

Denny Hamlin has won the Daytona 500 three times (2016, 2019, 2020), making him one of only five drivers in NASCAR history to win the race in back-to-back seasons. Denny Hamlin's 2026 regular season included three consecutive wins at Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, and Nashville Superspeedway, marking his first such streak in a single season.

How Sources Differ

NASCAR returns to Chase championship format for 2026: Denny Hamlin has 64 NASCAR Cup Series wins, the most of any driver without a championship, and has made 19 of the last 20 playoffs, missing only in 2013 due to an injury. NASCAR 2025 Cup Series results: Kyle Larson won the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship without winning a race in the Chase.