NASCAR has a new playoff system in 2026. It’s back to The Chase.
Instead of win-and-in, it’s the top-16 drivers in the regular-season standings that will make the 10-race Chase, which will be a mini-season of its own with no eliminations.
The 16 drivers will have their points reset for the start of the final 10-race stretch with the regular-season champion at 2,100 points, second place at 2,075, third place at 2,065, fourth place at 2,060 and so on by five-point increments with 16th reset to 2,000.
Just one race remains in the regular season: the always unpredictable Daytona. And just three spots remain.
So who is in and who is out?
Here’s a look:
Clinched
Thirteen drivers have clinched spots in the field of 16:
— Denny Hamlin: The Joe Gibbs Racing driver clinched a spot after Atlanta with six races remaining and clinched the top seed at New Hampshire.
— Tyler Reddick: The 23XI driver also clinched a spot after Atlanta with six races remaining. His five wins this year lead the series.
— Ryan Blaney: The Team Penske driver, who has three victories and a series-best 16 top 10s this year, clinched a spot after North Wilkesboro.
— Ty Gibbs: The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has the most stage points of any driver this year with 195 and clinched a spot at Indianapolis.
Chase Briscoe is officially locked into the postseason.
— Chase Briscoe: The JGR driver clinched at Richmond.
— Christopher Bell: The JGR driver clinched at Richmond.
— Chase Elliott: The Hendrick driver clinched at Richmond.
— Kyle Larson: The Hendrick driver clinched at New Hampshire.
— Joey Logano: The Penske driver clinched at New Hampshire.
— Chris Buescher: The RFK driver clinched at New Hampshire.
— Carson Hocevar: The Spire driver clinched at New Hampshire.
— William Byron: The Hendrick driver clinched at New Hampshire.
— Daniel Suárez: The Spire driver clinched at New Hampshire.
In Good Shape
There is one driver among the three on the bubble who can feel safe.
— Bubba Wallace (+75): The 23XI Racing driver needs just two points — a 35th-place finish if no stage points — no matter what any other driver does at Daytona. And that would mean Ryan Preece would have to win both stages, the race and earn the point for the fastest lap.
On The Bubble
It is going to take a huge result for Ryan Preece or Brad Keselowski to make the Chase. Keselowski would have to win and get help.
— Austin Cindric (+44): The Team Penske driver would need a lot to go wrong. Only Ryan Preece can catch him and Preece would need to earn 44 points more than Cindric. Preece has earned more than 40 points in just one race this year. Cindric clinches if he finishes fourth or better at Daytona no matter what anyone else does. But also, with some stage points, he could potentially clinch a spot after the first two stages.
— Shane van Gisbergen (+31): van Gisbergen will need to avoid getting in a crash. Preece has outscored van Gisbergen by more than 31 points twice this year, and in both those races, SVG crashed out early and earned just one point. He clinches a spot if he can earn 45 points in the race.
— Ryan Preece (-31): The RFK driver will need a heck of a day at Daytona to make the Chase. The key, though, is that NASCAR pays out season-ending bonus money based on owner points. Preece had a 25-point driver penalty earlier this year for retaliating against Ty Gibbs. So while Preece is 31 points behind SVG in the driver standings, his team is just six in the owner standings. So they will be fighting for those six spots even if he can’t make up the massive deficit.
— Brad Keselowski (-66): Brad Keselowski would need to win the race and earn at least 12 stage points (or 11 stage points and the bonus point for the fastest lap) in order to even have a chance. There is a chance, but it is very, very tiny.
Already Eliminated
Connor Zilisch has had a forgettable rookie Cup season.
— Ross Chastain: The Trackhouse driver was eliminated after New Hampshire.
— Erik Jones: The Legacy Motor Club driver was eliminated after New Hampshire.
— Michael McDowell: The Spire driver was eliminated after New Hampshire.
— AJ Allmendinger: The Kaulig Racing driver was eliminated after New Hampshire.
— Todd Gilliland: The Front Row Motorsports driver was eliminated after New Hampshire.
— Zane Smith: The Front Row Motorsports driver was eliminated after New Hampshire.
— Austin Dillon: The Richard Childress Racing driver was eliminated after Richmond.
— Riley Herbst: The 23XI driver was eliminated after Richmond.
— Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-143): The Hyak Motorsports driver was eliminated after Richmond.
— John Hunter Nemechek (-153): The Legacy driver was eliminated after Richmond.
— Alex Bowman (-213): The Hendrick driver, who missed four races this year because of vertigo, was eliminated after Richmond.
— Cole Custer: The Haas Factory Team driver was eliminated after Iowa.
— Noah Gragson: The FRM driver was eliminated after Iowa.
— Ty Dillon: The Kaulig driver was eliminated after Iowa.
— Josh Berry: The Wood Brothers driver already knows he won’t be back next season and was eliminated after Iowa.
— Connor Zilisch: The Trackhouse rookie has had a miserable season and was eliminated after Iowa.
— Cody Ware: The Rick Ware Racing driver was eliminated from contention after Indianapolis.
O’Reilly Series
One race remains in the regular season and 12 will advance.
Clinched: Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Corey Day, Brandon Jones, Austin Hill and Sammy Smith.
Truck Series
One race remains in the regular season and 10 advance.
Clinched: Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Gio Ruggiero and Chandler Smith.
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT
NASCAR hotshot Corey Heim is overachieving in his part-time Cup Series ride with a pair of wins. But his competitors aren’t surprised at all.
