The Cup Series season finishes on November 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This time there’s no four-driver shootout for the title, which had been the way since 2014. NASCAR went back to the Chase for 2026. Sixteen drivers are in it, and none of them gets cut along the way.
Four races are left. Kyle Larson, the reigning champion, sits on top, with a small group of rivals close behind him. Homestead is back in its traditional spot as the season finale this year, and New Hampshire was dropped from the Chase to make room.
The 2026 title race
After Charlotte on October 11, Larson leads the Chase by 49 points over Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell is 51 points back, and Chase Briscoe, who won the Bank of America 400 by 0.029 seconds over Bell, is 65 behind. Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano sit 85 and 92 back. That’s a lot of names for four races to sort out.
Bettors following the title fight often go looking for the best US sports betting app, and the useful comparison is simple: licensed in the player’s state, a deep list of race and championship markets, and quick payouts. Odds on the drivers move after every race. The field is deep this year. Tyler Reddick won the first three races of the season, a first in series history, and Hamlin’s win at Michigan was the 63rd of his career.
How the Chase works
Think of the Chase as a race that starts with a head start. Hamlin got the biggest one, 2,100 points. Blaney began 25 behind him at 2,075, and Reddick sat another 10 back. Everybody after that stepped down by five. From there it runs ten races, and nobody gets cut.
A win is worth 55 points, second place 35, and a stage winner picks up 10. Whoever has the most points after Homestead is the champion and takes home an extra $1 million. Toyota has been the strongest brand so far, with 15 wins through 30 races. Chevrolet had eight and Ford seven.
A short history
Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR in 1948. In 1949, the first Strictly Stock season took place, with Red Byron claiming the title. Over the years, the series went by different names, including Grand National, Winston Cup, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Since 2020, it has been known simply as the NASCAR Cup Series.
The Chase showed up in 2004, got replaced by the elimination format in 2014, and now it’s back again. Three men share the record at seven titles each: Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson.
This year’s schedule nods to the old days, too. North Wilkesboro hosts a points race for the first time since 1996. Chicagoland returns after missing the calendar since 2019. San Diego gets a street course nobody has raced on before.
The 2026 cars
Fans keen on understanding a car in and out will find plenty to look at this season. Chevrolet’s new ZL1 body is based on the Camaro. Horsepower goes up from 670 to 750 at tracks shorter than 1.5 miles and on road courses, and a short-track package is used at Bristol, Darlington, Dover, Nashville, New Hampshire, and St. Louis.
Superspeedway cars carry a 4-inch spoiler. Teams get one 50-minute practice session on most weekends now, so crews have less time to fix a car that’s off. Haas Factory Team and Rick Ware Racing switched from Ford to Chevrolet this year, and Connor Zilisch is the only full-time rookie.
Watching the finale
Four races remain: Phoenix on October 18, Talladega on October 25, Martinsville on November 1, and Homestead on November 8. The last three air on NBC, and Phoenix is on USA. For watching NASCAR live, NASCAR’s own follow-live page is useful for fans who can’t be near a TV. Green flags drop at 3 p.m. ET for Phoenix and Homestead and at 2 p.m. for Talladega and Martinsville.
Martinsville is a short track that tends to produce plenty of contact and bent fenders. Talladega is the wild card, where 40 cars run in a tight pack and one wreck can wipe out a points lead. A 49-point cushion sounds big until Talladega.
