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NASCAR Cup Daytona 500

Let the Chase begin: NASCAR Cup points after Daytona

The Chase for the Cup is back, and the first of 26 battles is now complete, so let's see where everyone stands

Nick DeGroot

Edited: Feb 18, 2026, 4:31 AM

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Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

It's far too early to start making championship predictions, but every point matters in this return to a more traditional NASCAR championship format. One year ago, we would have been saying 'Welcome to the Playoffs Tyler Reddick' because due to win and you're in, the greater points picture wouldn't have mattered that much.

But it matters now! One race down, 25 to go before the Chase returns for 2026, and only the 16 drivers with the most points will have a shot at the crown.

After his victory in the Daytona 500, Reddick sits squarely atop the standings, 12 points clear of Joey Logano and 15 points clear of Chase Elliott -- two drivers who scored top five finishes in the 500, but also won their respective Duel races earlier in the week.

Right now, Noah Gragson holds in the 16th and final spot, but we obviously are only one race in. The driver in 30th is within 20 points of that position, so a lot is going to change in the next few weeks.

There are notable drivers deep in the standings after Daytona, but they can quickly climb out of these holes with how close the points remain. This group includes Chase Briscoe in 37th, Alex Bowman in 36th, Denny Hamlin in 33rd, and Christopher Bell in 31st.

The series now heads to EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) for another drafting track, which will shake up the standings even more.

2026 NASCAR Cup championship standings after Daytona

Pos. driver points 1 Tyler Reddick 58 2 Joey Logano 46 3 Chase Elliott 43 4 Zane Smith 41 5 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 39 6 Brad Keselowski 39 7 Chris Buescher 39 8 Bubba Wallace 37 9 Carson Hocevar 36 10 Ryan Blaney 36 11 Riley Herbst 35 12 Daniel Suarez 35 13 Josh Berry 33 14 Kyle Busch 29 15 Kyle Larson 29 16 Noah Gragson 27 CHASE CUTLINE CHASE CUTLINE CHASE CUTLINE 17 Michael McDowell 26 18 William Byron 25 19 John Hunter Nemechek 25 20 Ty Dillon 23 21 Cody Ware 20 22 AJ Allmendinger 18 23 Ross Chastain 17 24 Ryan Preece 17 25 Erik Jones 17 26 Ty Gibbs 16 27 Cole Custer 13 28 Shane van Gisbergen 13 29 Austin Cindric 13 30 Casey Mears 9 31 Christopher Bell 9 32 Austin Dillon 9 33 Denny Hamlin 8 34 Connor Zilisch 5 35 Todd Gilliland 4 36 Alex Bowman 4 37 Chase Briscoe 2 38 BJ McLeod 1

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Previous article All the reasons why the Daytona 500 meant so much to Tyler Reddick

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