How do drivers make the NASCAR Cup Chase in 2026?

The top 16 drivers in regular-season points after 26 races make The Chase. Wins no longer guarantee a berth, though a race win pays a large points bonus (about 55 points) that helps climb the standings.

What is the Cup Chase cut line?

The cut line is 16th in regular-season points — the last Chase seat. Drivers outside that mark need points swings before the regular-season finale freezes the field.

How does the 2026 Cup Chase work after the field is set?

Points reset with a small seed (roughly 2,100 down to 2,000). The 16 drivers then race 10 events on cumulative points with no elimination rounds and no one-race Championship 4. Highest points after race 36 is the champion.

Cup Chase desk · 2026 formatLive points feed

The ChaseTop 16 by points

Provisional NASCAR Cup Chase field under the 2026 rules — pure regular-season points, no win-and-you're-in. See who's holding a seat, who's on the cut, and who needs a heater before Daytona freezes the 16.

Live NASCAR points feed · refreshed hourly

Field size

Cut gap (P16−P17)

Winners in 16

Races left

Cut lineShane Van Gisbergen · 567 pts · first out: Ryan Preece (517)

RS leader: Denny Hamlin

How the 2026 Chase works

1 · Regular season (26 races)
Stack finishing points and stage bonuses. A race win is worth about 55 points — a huge haul — but it does not auto-qualify you. Only the top 16 in points after race 26 make The Chase.
2 · Field freezes at 16
After the regular-season finale, the top 16 point-earners are in. No win-and-you’re-in. Everyone else is done for the title chase.
3 · Points reset & seed
Chase points reset with a small seed: regular-season leader starts near 2,100 and 16th near 2,000 (about 5 points between each seed).
4 · 10-race Chase · cumulative
Ten more races. No elimination rounds. No Championship 4 one-race shootout. Keep scoring — the highest point total after race 36 is the Cup champion.

Road to the field

Sun Aug 23 · 1:00 PM MDT · USA Network

Dollar Tree 301

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Flat mile — long-run pace and stage points pad (or erase) the cut-line cushion.

Sat Aug 29 · 5:30 PM MDT · NBC

Coke Zero Sugar 400

Daytona International Speedway

Regular-season finale. Plate chaos can mint big ~55-pt wins and scramble the final spots.

Then The Chase

▸Chase races 1–10 — All 16 race every week · points accumulate
▸No eliminations — Nobody is cut after 3-race rounds
▸No C4 reset — Finale is just another points race for the title
▸Champion — Highest Chase total after race 36 wins the Cup

Bubble scenarios

Snapshot math for the final stretch — pure points race into a 10-race Chase.

2026 rule: points only

Win-and-you’re-in is gone. The Chase field is the top 16 in regular-season points after 26 races. A Cup win still pays a massive haul (~55 pts) that can vault the board — it just doesn’t lock a berth by itself.

6 inside without a win

Consistency still pays. These drivers hold Chase seats on points alone — proof the 2026 field is a standings race, not a winners-only club.

Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Chris Buescher
William Byron
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric

10 winners already in the 16

Wins padded their points totals. Under 2026 rules that’s the whole benefit until the Chase reset — no automatic lock, no old-style banked playoff-point ladder for eliminations.

Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
Ty Gibbs
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Chase Elliott
Joey Logano
Carson Hocevar

Cut line · Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane Van Gisbergen sits P16 at 567 pts — 50 clear of Ryan Preece (517). Anyone behind needs that gap erased (or a huge points day) before the Daytona checkered freezes the field.

Shane Van Gisbergen
Ryan Preece

First ones knocking

Closest hunters outside the 16. With 2 races left, each is a strong finish / stage day away — Daytona plate chaos can still rewrite every cushion.

Ryan Preece (-50)
Ross Chastain (-63)
Brad Keselowski (-78)

Once the 16 is set

Points reset with a small seed (~2,100 for the regular-season leader down to ~2,000 for 16th). Then 10 races of cumulative scoring decide the champion — no Round of 16/12/8 cuts, no Championship 4 one-race shootout.

Provisional Chase field

Top 16 in regular-season points. Chase seed shown if the field froze today.

Jump to bubble →

1
#11
Denny Hamlin
Inside
Joe Gibbs Racing · Toyota · 4 wins
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +402 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 4 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
969
points
+402
vs cut
~2100
Chase seed
2
#12
Ryan Blaney
Inside
Team Penske · Ford · 2 wins
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +287 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 2 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
854
points
+287
vs cut
~2095
Chase seed
3
#54
Ty Gibbs
Inside
Joe Gibbs Racing · Toyota · 2 wins
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +275 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 2 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
842
points
+275
vs cut
~2090
Chase seed
4
#45
Tyler Reddick
Inside
23XI Racing · Toyota · 5 wins
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +264 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 5 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
831
points
+264
vs cut
~2085
Chase seed
5
#19
Chase Briscoe
Inside
Joe Gibbs Racing · Toyota · 1 win
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +148 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 1 win (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
715
points
+148
vs cut
~2080
Chase seed
6
#9
Chase Elliott
Inside
Hendrick Motorsports · Chevrolet · 2 wins
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +128 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 2 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
695
points
+128
vs cut
~2075
Chase seed
7
#20
Christopher Bell
Inside
Joe Gibbs Racing · Toyota
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +128 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips.
695
points
+128
vs cut
~2070
Chase seed
8
#5
Kyle Larson
Inside
Hendrick Motorsports · Chevrolet
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +93 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips.
660
points
+93
vs cut
~2065
Chase seed
9
#22
Joey Logano
Inside
Team Penske · Ford · 2 wins
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +92 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips. Already has 2 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
659
points
+92
vs cut
~2060
Chase seed
10
#17
Chris Buescher
Inside
RFK Racing · Ford
Solid on pointsInside the top 16 with a +86 cushion on Shane Van Gisbergen. Keep banking stage points and finishes — no win-lock safety net if it slips.
653
points
+86
vs cut
~2055
Chase seed
11
#77
Carson Hocevar
Inside
Spire Motorsports · Chevrolet · 1 win
Inside on pointsInside by +78 on Shane Van Gisbergen. One messy superspeedway night can erase it — finish Loudon & Daytona (or cash a ~55-pt win to pad). Already has 1 win (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
645
points
+78
vs cut
~2050
Chase seed
12
#24
William Byron
Inside
Hendrick Motorsports · Chevrolet
Inside on pointsInside by +63 on Shane Van Gisbergen. One messy superspeedway night can erase it — finish Loudon & Daytona (or cash a ~55-pt win to pad).
630
points
+63
vs cut
~2045
Chase seed
13
#7
Daniel Suárez
Inside
Spire Motorsports · Chevrolet · 1 win
Inside on pointsInside by +51 on Shane Van Gisbergen. One messy superspeedway night can erase it — finish Loudon & Daytona (or cash a ~55-pt win to pad). Already has 1 win (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
618
points
+51
vs cut
~2040
Chase seed
14
#23
Bubba Wallace
Inside
23XI Racing · Toyota
Inside on pointsInside by +20 on Shane Van Gisbergen. One messy superspeedway night can erase it — finish Loudon & Daytona (or cash a ~55-pt win to pad).
587
points
+20
vs cut
~2035
Chase seed
15
#2
Austin Cindric
Inside
Team Penske · Ford
Inside on pointsInside by +7 on Shane Van Gisbergen. One messy superspeedway night can erase it — finish Loudon & Daytona (or cash a ~55-pt win to pad).
574
points
+7
vs cut
~2030
Chase seed
16
#97
Shane Van Gisbergen
Cut line
Trackhouse Racing · Chevrolet · 2 wins
On the cutHolds the last Chase seat at 567 pts. Any strong run from a hunter behind flips P16 — protect it over the final 2 races. Already has 2 wins (big points nights, not an auto-berth).
567
points
EVEN
vs cut
~2025
Chase seed

Outside looking in

Closest hunters first. Wins help pad the points — they do not auto-qualify.

P17
#60
Ryan Preece
Bubble
RFK Racing · Ford
Hunting the cut50 pts behind Shane Van Gisbergen. Over 2 races, that’s roughly 25 pts/race of swing — or one big win night (~55 pts) plus stages to leap the bubble.
517
points
-50
vs cut
P18
#1
Ross Chastain
Bubble
Trackhouse Racing · Chevrolet
Hunting the cut63 pts behind Shane Van Gisbergen. Over 2 races, that’s roughly 32 pts/race of swing — or one big win night (~55 pts) plus stages to leap the bubble.
504
points
-63
vs cut
P19
#6
Brad Keselowski
Bubble
RFK Racing · Ford
Hunting the cut78 pts behind Shane Van Gisbergen. Over 2 races, that’s roughly 39 pts/race of swing — or one big win night (~55 pts) plus stages to leap the bubble.
489
points
-78
vs cut
P20
#43
Erik Jones
Outside
Legacy Motor Club · Toyota
Must climb81 pts outside the 16. Needs a heater plus trouble ahead at the cut. A win helps a ton on points — it no longer punches a ticket by itself.
486
points
-81
vs cut
P21
#71
Michael McDowell
Outside
Spire Motorsports · Chevrolet
Must climb104 pts outside the 16. Needs a heater plus trouble ahead at the cut. A win helps a ton on points — it no longer punches a ticket by itself.
463
points
-104
vs cut
P22
#16
AJ Allmendinger
Outside
Kaulig Racing · Chevrolet
Must climb125 pts outside the 16. Needs a heater plus trouble ahead at the cut. A win helps a ton on points — it no longer punches a ticket by itself.
442
points
-125
vs cut
P23
#34
Todd Gilliland
Outside
Front Row Motorsports · Ford
Must climb139 pts outside the 16. Needs a heater plus trouble ahead at the cut. A win helps a ton on points — it no longer punches a ticket by itself.
428
points
-139
vs cut
P24
#38
Zane Smith
Outside
Front Row Motorsports · Ford
Must climb149 pts outside the 16. Needs a heater plus trouble ahead at the cut. A win helps a ton on points — it no longer punches a ticket by itself.
418
points
-149
vs cut

Long shots

P29
#48
Alex Bowman
Long shot
Hendrick Motorsports · Chevrolet
Long shotDeep outside (227 back). Realistically needs a miracle stretch of finishes and chaos ahead — wins alone don’t auto-qualify anymore.
340
points
-227
vs cut
P30
#21
Josh Berry
Long shot
Wood Brothers Racing · Ford
Long shotDeep outside (230 back). Realistically needs a miracle stretch of finishes and chaos ahead — wins alone don’t auto-qualify anymore.
337
points
-230
vs cut
P31
#4
Noah Gragson
Long shot
Front Row Motorsports · Ford
Long shotDeep outside (260 back). Realistically needs a miracle stretch of finishes and chaos ahead — wins alone don’t auto-qualify anymore.
307
points
-260
vs cut
P32
#41
Cole Custer
Long shot
Haas Factory Team · Chevrolet
Long shotDeep outside (280 back). Realistically needs a miracle stretch of finishes and chaos ahead — wins alone don’t auto-qualify anymore.
287
points
-280
vs cut
P33
#10
Ty Dillon
Long shot
RFK Racing · Chevrolet
Long shotDeep outside (283 back). Realistically needs a miracle stretch of finishes and chaos ahead — wins alone don’t auto-qualify anymore.
284
points
-283
vs cut
P34
#88
Connor Zilisch
Long shot
Trackhouse Racing · Chevrolet
Long shotDeep outside (310 back). Realistically needs a miracle stretch of finishes and chaos ahead — wins alone don’t auto-qualify anymore.
257
points
-310
vs cut

Keep digging

Standings bars, race debrief, and the rest of the desk.

Full standings Last race Home

The ChaseTop 16 by points

How the 2026 Chase works

Road to the field

Bubble scenarios

2026 rule: points only

6 inside without a win

10 winners already in the 16

Cut line · Shane Van Gisbergen

First ones knocking

Once the 16 is set

Provisional Chase field

Denny Hamlin

Ryan Blaney

Ty Gibbs

Tyler Reddick

Chase Briscoe

Chase Elliott

Christopher Bell

Kyle Larson

Joey Logano

Chris Buescher

Carson Hocevar

William Byron

Daniel Suárez

Bubba Wallace

Austin Cindric

Shane Van Gisbergen

Outside looking in

Ryan Preece

Ross Chastain

Brad Keselowski

Erik Jones

Michael McDowell

AJ Allmendinger

Todd Gilliland

Zane Smith

Long shots

Alex Bowman

Josh Berry

Noah Gragson

Cole Custer

Ty Dillon

Connor Zilisch