After a season dominated by Toyota in the victory column, with Toyota winning more than half the races, it appears Chevy is destined to claim the driver’s championship this year, barring a massive collapse from Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson.
With a 73-point cushion over the next driver in point standings, Larson appears likely to take his third crown after an incredible Chase performance where he has been lights out. To put things in perspective, his finishes in the Chase have been:
— 5th
— 1st
— 2nd
— 1st
— 2nd
— 6th
— 34th
— 1st
That’s an average of 6.5, and if you throw out the one bad race he had in 34th, Larson has averaged a finish of 2.5 in the remaining 7 races.
Still, Kyle knows this sport can throw everyone a curveball, and is not celebrating until the math is official.
“I still feel a lot of pressure. It’s so easy for the points to swing, and you’ve seen that throughout The Chase. A team or driver can have a great day and score maximum points, and we could have a day like we had at Phoenix [Raceway], and boom, they’re right back in it. So, I do feel a lot of pressure. Ultimately, I’d love to go to Martinsville and gain the points I need to lock it up, but if we can’t do that, I still want to have a solid day and give ourselves as much of a cushion as possible heading into Homestead. We’ve done a super good job of staying focused over the past couple of months of The Chase, and we can’t let those thoughts creep into our minds. My goal is to stay locked in and stay on offense.”
If you’re a regular visitor to the NASCAR corner of the social media world, there is a common theme you may be hearing in 2026 — that NASCAR is cooking the books for the Toyota camp, and Denny Hamlin in particular, to become champions this year.
And while I can understand a little bit why that thought springs to mind for some people — as Toyota have won 10 of the first 16 races between Tyler Reddick (5), Hamlin (4) and Ty Gibbs (1); and even lesser Toyota teams like Legacy Motor Club are starting to show speed and run up front — the reality is far more boring that the conspiracy would have you believe.
Hamlin is just that good this year. As he’s said in the past, he’s beating your favorite driver, week in and week out, and achieving new career milestones week after week. He recent entered the ultra-rare 50 win/50 pole club, and has now passed the late Kyle Busch with his 64th career win (and sits 12 wins behind 8th-place Dale Earnhardt).
To be doing this at age 45 is nothing short of incredible in a sport where youth often prevails.
NASCAR: Connor Zilisch, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Preece and more — 5 Cup Series drivers to watch in 2026
With Daytona behind us and a full year of racing ahead, it’s inevitable that some things will be changing this year.
Some drivers will fall off from their 2025 performances, others will step up big time and reach the next level of success. And some new faces will make waves.
Read on for my picks of 5 Cup drivers who I believe will make a big splash in 2026 at the top level of NASCAR.
1. Connor Zilisch: This young man will be the breakout star of the year in Cup, I can say with confidence. He is a generational talent – and he has more accolades as a teenager than most people get in their careers. Sky’s the limit, and Trackhouse has themselves a gem.
Between Zilisch and Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse should take all the road course wins this year, plus some of the ovals as well. Zilisch needs to get better in pressure situations in Cup, but once he does, the rest of the field can get used to the feeling of waving goodbye as he drives off in the distance. I predict at least one checkered flag for the rookie, and possibly several victories.
Hettinger Racing will compete full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026.
Owned by second-generation racer Chris Hettinger, the team will field the No. 5 Ford Mustang Dark Horse and receive technical support from Ford Racing. Roush Yates Engines will be the team’s engine supplier.
“This is about putting our race team in the right place at the right time,” Hettinger said. “The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has incredible momentum. It features great racing and the series gets significant exposure thanks to coverage from The CW. Combining that platform with the support of Ford Racing and Roush Yates Engines gives us the opportunity to grow our program into one that competes at a national level.”
After years of justifiable grumbling from fans about the playoff system as it has existed in recent years, with multiple resets and cutoff rounds, and cries that the champions crowned in recent years weren’t truly deserving due to the one-race finale, change has come to NASCAR in a big way.
Starting with the 2026 season, the sport is returning to its (recent) past. No, we’re not getting a full season championship with no points resets, like we had from 1975 through 2003, but we got as close we were ever going to get — a return to a (slightly altered) version of the 10-race Chase that launched back in 2004 (and similar setups in the O’Reilly and Truck series as well).
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