The story of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has been the dominance of the Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing Toyotas, which have combined to win 12 of 20 races. Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick have accounted for nine of those 12, and naturally, they are locked in a tight battle for the all-important regular season championship with six races to go before the Chase for the Cup begins.
But don't look now. Sitting in third place is the driver who is having arguably the most impressive individual season, and he's closing fast.
Ryan Blaney is now only 65 markers behind Hamlin and 41 back of Reddick after coming a fastest lap away from scoring a perfect 76-point race at EchoPark Speedway on Sunday night. And given the way the rest of the regular season lines up, he might suddenly be in the catbird seat.
Ryan Blaney's golden opportunity
The schedule to conclude the regular season gives Blaney a golden opportunity to pull off a stunning comeback against Hamlin and Reddick.
Over the next six race weekends, the Cup Series is scheduled to visit North Wilkesboro Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Daytona International Speedway. Out of those six, all besides Indy figure to be right in Blaney's wheelhouse.
In recent years, Blaney has been at his most dominant on short, flat ovals and superspeedways. He won the inaugural Cup Series race at Iowa in 2024, and he was victorious at New Hampshire in the 2025 playoffs. Richmond, which was once his worst venue, has become a strength, with a career-best third place showing in 2025.
Daytona is always unpredictable, but Blaney is arguably the best drafter in NASCAR, which he showed again in Atlanta this past weekend. He's the defending champion of the Coke Zero 400 and will be a favorite there once again.
North Wilkesboro is a wild card, as no active driver has ever competed there in a points-paying Cup Series race. Blaney finished fifth, sixth, and 16th at the track in three All-Star Race showings, but his teammate Joey Logano won in 2024 and led the most laps in 2025. Team Penske should have enough speed to compete with the Toyotas.
Blaney has gotten more out of his equipment this season than any other driver in the Cup Series. And, completely eviscerating last year's lazy narrative that stemmed from a string of comically unlucky DNFs, he's also been the most consistent. Still, it has seemed like a monumental mountain to climb for him to actually have a chance against Hamlin and Reddick to secure the top seed in the Chase and the 100-point bonus that comes with it.
He just might do it. And if he does, it would be the textbook definition of earning it the hard way.
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