2026 NASCAR Chase

The top 16 drivers battle across 10 races with reseeded points. No eliminations, no rounds. Cumulative points crown the champion.

Chase Drivers

2,100

Top Seed Points

Points Per Win

How The Chase Works

After 26 regular-season races, the top 16 drivers in points qualify for The Chase. Their points are reset based on seeding; the regular-season leader starts with a 25-point cushion. All 16 drivers then compete across 10 Chase races, with the driver who accumulates the most points crowned champion. There are no elimination rounds or single-race championship finales.

No Eliminations Points Reset 55 pts/win (up from 40)

Chase Points Reset

When The Chase begins, all 16 drivers receive reseeded points based on their regular-season finishing position.

Seed	Starting Points	Gap to #1	Note
1	2,100	—	25-point cushion
2	2,075	-25
3	2,065	-35
4	2,060	-40
5	2,055	-45
6	2,050	-50
7	2,045	-55
8	2,040	-60
9	2,035	-65
10	2,030	-70
11	2,025	-75
12	2,020	-80
13	2,015	-85
14	2,010	-90
15	2,005	-95
16	2,000	-100

2026 Chase Race Schedule

Race	Date	Race Name	Track
27	Aug 23	Dollar Tree 301	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
28	Aug 29	Coke Zero Sugar 400	Daytona International Speedway
29	Sep 6	Cook Out Southern 500	Darlington Raceway
30	Sep 13	Enjoy Illinois 300	World Wide Technology Raceway
31	Sep 19	Bass Pro Shops Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway
32	Sep 27	Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway
33	Oct 4	South Point 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
34	Oct 11	Bank of America 400	Charlotte Motor Speedway
35	Oct 18	Freeway Insurance 500	Phoenix Raceway
36	Oct 25	Yellawood 500	Talladega Superspeedway
37	Nov 1	Xfinity 500	Martinsville Speedway
38	Nov 8	NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Season Finale	Homestead-Miami Speedway

Season finale

2026 Chase Cutline

Full standings →

Pos	Driver	Team	Points	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Behind
1	Kyle Larson IN	Hendrick Motorsports	2,282	2	13	17	—
2	Denny Hamlin IN	Joe Gibbs Racing	2,256	4	15	20	-26
3	Christopher Bell IN	Joe Gibbs Racing	2,232	1	13	16	-50
4	Joey Logano IN	Team Penske	2,215	3	7	12	-67
5	Ryan Blaney IN	Team Penske	2,191	3	8	19	-91
6	Ty Gibbs IN	Joe Gibbs Racing	2,188	2	12	18	-94
7	Tyler Reddick IN	23XI Racing	2,171	5	12	17	-111
8	Chase Briscoe IN	Joe Gibbs Racing	2,159	1	11	15	-123
9	Austin Cindric IN	Team Penske	2,142	0	3	8	-140
10	Bubba Wallace IN	23XI Racing	2,142	0	4	14	-140
11	Carson Hocevar IN	Spire Motorsports	2,132	1	6	11	-150
12	William Byron IN	Hendrick Motorsports	2,124	0	5	14	-158
13	Chase Elliott IN	Hendrick Motorsports	2,121	2	6	10	-161
14	Ryan Preece IN	RFK Racing	2,109	1	1	10	-173
15	Chris Buescher IN	RFK Racing	2,096	0	2	10	-186
16	Daniel Suarez IN	Spire Motorsports	2,095	1	3	7	-187
17	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	660	2	5	7	-1622
18	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	641	0	2	6	-1641
19	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	614	0	2	6	-1668
20	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	580	0	3	6	-1702

Chase eligible (top 16)

Cutline

NR-Rating Championship Probabilities

These projections are generated by the NR-Rating model using Monte Carlo simulations of the remaining season. Each simulation accounts for driver Elo ratings, track-specific performance, and historical variance to estimate championship and Chase qualification odds.

#	Driver	Champ %	Chase Qual %	Exp. Wins	Exp. Points
1	Denny Hamlin	16.3%	100.0%	0.5	1,435
2	Ryan Blaney	13.8%	100.0%	0.5	1,297
3	Christopher Bell	10.9%	100.0%	0.6	1,198
4	Tyler Reddick	10.5%	100.0%	0.5	1,253
5	Kyle Larson	10.5%	100.0%	0.5	1,205
6	Chase Briscoe	8.1%	99.9%	0.5	1,124
7	Joey Logano	7.2%	100.0%	0.5	1,128
8	Chase Elliott	6.5%	99.8%	0.5	1,054
9	William Byron	4.4%	99.2%	0.5	1,027
10	Chris Buescher	4.3%	97.2%	0.5	1,000
11	Ryan Preece	3.6%	97.6%	0.5	1,002
12	Ross Chastain	1.7%	45.2%	0.4	860
13	Brad Keselowski	1.4%	44.8%	0.4	864
14	Alex Bowman	0.4%	26.1%	0.3	697
15	Ty Gibbs	0.2%	100.0%	0.2	1,208
16	Bubba Wallace	0.1%	95.9%	0.2	980
17	Michael McDowell	0.1%	19.3%	0.2	773
18	Anthony Alfredo	0.0%	0.5%	0.0	57
19	Justin Allgaier	0.0%	8.5%	0.1	162
20	A.J. Allmendinger	0.0%	1.5%	0.0	622
21	Josh Berry	0.0%	2.9%	0.0	607
22	Josh Bilicki	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	0
23	Harrison Burton	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	9
24	Austin Cindric	0.0%	33.6%	0.0	875
25	Cole Custer	0.0%	1.0%	0.0	452
26	Austin Dillon	0.0%	2.5%	0.0	617
27	Ty Dillon	0.0%	0.1%	0.0	348
28	Chad Finchum	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	0
29	Joey Gase	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	4
30	Todd Gilliland	0.0%	4.6%	0.0	666
31	Noah Gragson	0.0%	0.1%	0.0	405
32	Corey Heim	0.0%	0.7%	0.0	66
33	Riley Herbst	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	431
34	Austin Hill	0.0%	0.4%	0.0	54
35	Timmy Hill	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	2
36	Carson Hocevar	0.0%	42.2%	0.0	882
37	Jimmie Johnson	0.0%	0.8%	0.0	83
38	Erik Jones	0.0%	3.0%	0.0	689
39	Katherine Legge	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	9
40	Kevin Magnussen	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	14
41	B.J. McLeod	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	6
42	Zane Smith	0.0%	1.4%	0.0	573
43	Daniel Suarez	0.0%	34.6%	0.0	874
44	Cody Ware	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	226
45	J.J. Yeley	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	0
46	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0.0%	0.4%	0.0	509
47	Connor Zilisch	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	339
48	Shane van Gisbergen	0.0%	11.9%	0.1	817
49	John Hunter Nemechek	0.0%	2.0%	0.0	206
50	Casey Mears	0.0%	3.5%	0.0	132
51	Jesse Love	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	0
52	Daniel Dye	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	3
53	John Nemechek	0.0%	0.0%	0.0	383

Updated September 28, 2026 at 11:16 AM via NR-Rating Monte Carlo pipeline

Chase Scenario Calculator

Assign finishing positions for remaining Chase races to explore championship what-if scenarios. Stage points not included in calculator estimates.

Race 27: New Hampshire Moto... - Aug 23

Kyle Larson Denny Hamlin Christopher Bell Joey Logano Ryan Blaney Ty Gibbs Tyler Reddick Chase Briscoe Austin Cindric Bubba Wallace Carson Hocevar William Byron Chase Elliott Ryan Preece Chris Buescher Daniel Suarez

Race 28: Daytona Internatio... - Aug 29

Race 29: Darlington Raceway - Sep 6

Race 30: World Wide Technol... - Sep 13

Race 31: Bristol Motor Spee... - Sep 19

Race 32: Kansas Speedway - Sep 27

Race 33: Las Vegas Motor Sp... - Oct 4

Race 34: Charlotte Motor Sp... - Oct 11

Race 35: Phoenix Raceway - Oct 18

Race 36: Talladega Superspe... - Oct 25

Race 37: Martinsville Speed... - Nov 1

Race 38: Homestead-Miami Sp... - Nov 8

Rank	Driver	Seed Pts	Total	+/-	NR-Rating Champ %
1	Kyle Larson	2,100	2,100	—	10.5%
2	Denny Hamlin	2,075	2,075	—	16.3%
3	Christopher Bell	2,065	2,065	—	10.9%
4	Joey Logano	2,060	2,060	—	7.2%
5	Ryan Blaney	2,055	2,055	—	13.8%
6	Ty Gibbs	2,050	2,050	—	0.2%
7	Tyler Reddick	2,045	2,045	—	10.5%
8	Chase Briscoe	2,040	2,040	—	8.1%
9	Austin Cindric	2,035	2,035	—	—
10	Bubba Wallace	2,030	2,030	—	0.1%
11	Carson Hocevar	2,025	2,025	—	—
12	William Byron	2,020	2,020	—	4.4%
13	Chase Elliott	2,015	2,015	—	6.5%
14	Ryan Preece	2,010	2,010	—	3.6%
15	Chris Buescher	2,005	2,005	—	4.3%
16	Daniel Suarez	2,000	2,000	—	—

NR-Rating odds reflect full-season Monte Carlo simulation (pre-scenario baseline) and do not update with manual scenarios.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the 2026 NASCAR Chase work?

The top 16 drivers in the regular-season standings qualify for The Chase, which spans the final 10 races. Points are reset with the top seed starting at 2,100 points and the 16th seed at 2,000 points. There are no elimination rounds; the driver with the most cumulative points after all 10 Chase races wins the championship.

How is the 2026 format different from the old playoffs?

The old playoff format (2014-2025) used four elimination rounds where the bottom 4 drivers were cut after every 3 races, culminating in a winner-take-all Championship 4 finale. The 2026 Chase has no eliminations, no rounds, and no single-race championship. It's a full 10-race points battle, rewarding consistency across the entire Chase.

How many drivers make The Chase?

16 drivers qualify for The Chase based on their position in the regular-season points standings after 26 races. Unlike the previous format, a race win no longer automatically clinches a Chase spot; only points standings determine qualification.

How does the Chase points reset work?

The top seed receives 2,100 points, the second seed 2,075, and the third seed 2,065. Seeds 4 through 16 are separated by 5 points each (2,060 down to 2,000). The regular-season points leader gets a 25-point cushion over the second seed as a reward for sustained excellence.

When does the 2026 NASCAR Chase start?

The 2026 Chase begins on Sunday, August 23, 2026 with the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 10-race Chase runs through the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 8, 2026.

Where is the 2026 NASCAR Championship race?

The 2026 season finale is at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 8, 2026. The driver leading the Chase standings after this race is crowned champion.

How many points does a race win earn in 2026?

Race winners earn 55 points in 2026, up from 40 points in the previous format. This increase is designed to reward aggressive racing and winning over cautious point-saving strategies. Playoff points (earned from stage wins and race wins carrying over as bonus points) have been eliminated.

How do the NASCAR playoffs work in 2026?

In 2026, NASCAR replaced the elimination-style playoffs with The Chase. The top 16 drivers in regular-season points after 26 races qualify. Their points are reset (the top seed starts at 2,100 and the 16th seed at 2,000) and all 16 compete across 10 Chase races with no eliminations. The driver with the highest cumulative points after all 10 races wins the championship.

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