After 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick opened up the season with three consecutive victories, the past three NASCAR Cup Series races have now produced three different winners, with Team Penske's Ryan Blaney winning at Phoenix Raceway and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past weekend.
Reddick has led the point standings all season, and his still has a comfortable lead heading into the 2026 season's sixth race, the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. His wins came at Daytona International Speedway, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), and Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
The 2025 races at Darlington were won by Hamlin and teammate Chase Briscoe. Interestingly, manufacturers have swept both Darlington races in three consecutive seasons and four of the past five dating back to 2021.
Toyota did it in 2021, Chevrolet did it in 2023, and Ford did it in 2024, ironically with Briscoe winning the Southern 500 for his former team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
Here's how the top 10 drivers stack up in the standings heading into the Goodyear 400.
NASCAR Cup Series standings before Darlington
Rank | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota | 255 | 0 |
2 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota | 194 | -61 |
3 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford | 188 | -67 |
4 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 177 | -78 |
5 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 168 | -87 |
6 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 164 | -91 |
7 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 157 | -98 |
8 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 157 | -98 |
9 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford | 146 | -109 |
10 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 140 | -115 |
A full starting lineup for Sunday's race can be found here.
Follow along with our updated standings from Darlington as the Goodyear 400 progresses.
NOTE: Only the top 10 drivers are included after the first two stages.
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Standings updates
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Standings after Stage 1
1 - Tyler Reddick - 264 (0)
2 - Bubba Wallace - 201 (-63)
3 - Ryan Blaney - 196 (-68)
4 - Denny Hamlin - 177 (-87)
5 - Chase Elliott - 172 (-92)
6 - Christopher Bell - 164 (-100)
7 - Kyle Larson - 163 (-101)
8 - William Byron - 158 (-106)
9 - Chris Buescher - 151 (-113)
10 - Ty Gibbs - 140 (-124)
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Standings after Stage 2
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Full standings after Goodyear 400
Full race results can be found here.
The seventh race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out 400, which is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Martinsville Speedway starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 29. Begin a free trial of FuboTV if you have not already done so, and don't miss any of the action from the "Paperclip"!