Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin still owns the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead after back-to-back lackluster results to start the postseason, but it has dropped from 25 points to 9 after Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson picked up his first win of the 2026 season at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell is only nine points behind Larson, after scoring his own first win of the year in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway one week prior.
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney entered the playoffs as Hamlin's closest challenger, 25 points behind following the post-regular season reset, and he finds himself 33 points out of the lead. With 76 points up for grabs this weekend, four other drivers mathematically have a chance to lead the standings after this Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Here's how things look heading into the final Saturday night Cup race of the year.
NASCAR Cup Series standings before Bristol
Rank | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2168 | 0 |
2 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2159 | -9 |
3 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2150 | -18 |
4 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford | 2135 | -33 |
5 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota | 2126 | -42 |
6 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford | 2117 | -51 |
7 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2117 | -51 |
8 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2109 | -59 |
9 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 2080 | -88 |
10 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota | 2078 | -90 |
11 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2075 | -93 |
12 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford | 2060 | -108 |
13 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford | 2057 | -111 |
14 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford | 2055 | -113 |
15 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2054 | -114 |
16 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 2049 | -119 |
A full starting lineup for Saturday's 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval was supposed to be determined by Friday's single-car qualifying session, but because qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup was determined by the qualifying metric.
Follow along with our standings updates from Bristol as the Bass Pro Shops Night Race unfolds.
NOTE: Only the 16 playoff drivers are included after the first two stages.
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol: Standings after Stage 1
1 - Denny Hamlin - 2176 (0)
2 - Kyle Larson - 2168 (-8)
3 - Christopher Bell - 2150 (-26)
4 - Ryan Blaney - 2140 (-36)
5 - Joey Logano - 2127 (-49)
6 - Tyler Reddick - 2126 (-50)
7 - Ty Gibbs - 2123 (-53)
8 - Chase Briscoe - 2109 (-67)
9 - Carson Hocevar - 2083 (-93)
10 - Bubba Wallace - 2079 (-97)
11 - Chase Elliott - 2075 (-101)
12 - Austin Cindric - 2064 (-112)
13 - Chris Buescher - 2057 (-119)
14 - Ryan Preece - 2055 (-121)
15 - William Byron - 2054 (-122)
16 - Daniel Suarez - 2049 (-127)
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol: Standings after Stage 2
1 - Denny Hamlin - 2176 (0)
2 - Kyle Larson - 2170 (-6)
3 - Christopher Bell - 2156 (-20)
4 - Ryan Blaney - 2150 (-26)
5 - Joey Logano - 2135 (-41)
6 - Ty Gibbs - 2132 (-44)
7 - Tyler Reddick - 2126 (-50)
8 - Chase Briscoe - 2109 (-67)
9 - Carson Hocevar - 2087 (-89)
10 - Bubba Wallace - 2084 (-92)
11 - Chase Elliott - 2075 (-101)
12 - Austin Cindric - 2064 (-112)
13 - Chris Buescher - 2058 (-118)
14 - William Byron - 2057 (-119)
15 - Ryan Preece - 2055 (-121)
16 - Daniel Suarez - 2049 (-127)
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol: Full standings after Bass Pro Shops Night Race
The fourth race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule is the Hollywood Casino 400, which is set to be shown live on USA Network from Kansas Speedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 27.
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