2028 NASCAR Cup Series (CFJ)

The 2028 NASCAR Cup Series is the 80th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 57th season for the modern era Cup Series. Kyle Busch is the reigning champion, having sealed his 3rd title the previous year, but opted not to defend his title and retired.

Chris Buescher won his first Cup Series championship this season.

Champions 2021-2027

2021:Denny Hamlin

2022:Joey Logano (2)

2023:Chase Elliott (2)

2024:Christopher Bell

2025:Chase Elliott (3)

2026:William Byron

2027:Kyle Busch (3)

Daytona 500 Horrifying Last Lap Crash
Coming down the backstretch on the final lap of the Daytona 500, Jack Lawton was in a 3-wide battle for the lead with Justin Haley and Bubba Wallace. Lawton went up high to side draft Haley, but the pair made contact opening the bottom lane for Timmy Hill. Lawton went to block Hill but left it too late, causing both cars to collide and slam into the outside wall. What then resulted was described as "The Worst Crash in modern NASCAR." Lawton and Hill hit the wall, stacking up the field. Lawton was piled into by many cars, causing him to ride the top of several cars and hitting the catchfence before landing upside down in Turn 4. Behind, a few rows back, Austin Dillon was launched into the air, as well as Cole Custer. Dillon climbed the top of Lawton, along with Custer, who climbed over Logano. Dillon hit the catchfence and was facing vertically before being hit by Custer, who was launched into the air as well. Dillon's car was hit by Custer on the driver's side top, caving the #3's cabin. Dillon's car did a backflip until it landed upside down, before being lifted back up by Myatt Snider. Custer meanwhile, continued to blowover before landing on the ground, and tumbling again. Natalie Decker assumed the lead before being passed by Alex Bowman, who beat Decker to the checkered flag to win the Daytona 500.

Safety crews were quickly on the scene to attend to the drivers. Cole Custer was the first of the 3 injured drivers to be helped from his car after an extensive period of time. He was taken to the infield care center, where it was revealed he suffered a broken back. He would be replaced by Anthony Alfredo for the upcoming races. Jack Lawton was the next to emerge from his car after the safety crew rolled it over. He only suffered a broken left wrist, and bruised ankles and knees. However, he was unconscious when he was extracted, but was later awoken in the care center. Austin Dillon was the big concern among the drivers. It was quickly screen-covered. After an incredibly long period of time, which took almost an hour, Dillon was extracted and taken to a nearby hospital. Multiple hours later, it was revealed Dillon had survived with a head injury, and multiple broken bones on his legs, back, torso, and arms.

A total of 22 cars were involved. The pack was made up of 26 cars.

Gragson's Genius Auto Club Strategy
Bubba Wallace was the most dominant car for most of the race at Auto Club. However, a caution erased his lead, and most drivers had to pit under caution for fuel. However, the caution for the incident came out just as drivers like Noah Gragson and Ty Majeski had pitted. They had managed to stay on the lead lap. Gragson said in a post-race interview he knew there would be a late caution, as he saw Ryan Blaney, who brought out the caution, have problems. Knowing this, he pitted a lap before Blaney would bring out the yellow. Everyone else pitted under the late caution. A series of cautions were thrown for other incidents before the final restart, which Gragson aced, beating the Roush cars of Majeski and Chris Buescher for his 2nd Cup Series win.

Chaos in Sin City
Before the green flag even flew, Ty Gibbs knew he wouldn't make the start, due to an unexpectedly expired engine. Without a backup engine as their other one was used up in practice, he didn't make the start. Close racing and crashes were the theme of the day. Many big names contending like Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Chandler Smith, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson were all involved in crashes. The incredibly close racing with a new package set up for a wild finish. Tyler Reddick would hold off the pack to win. The chaos continued after the finish as Chris Buescher spun racing Thad Moffitt for 3rd, finishing 10th.

Buescher Dominates Phoenix
Chris Buescher put together one of the most dominant performances in Phoenix history. Leading over 280 laps en route to victory, the win should have been easy. However, a late caution for a crash between Corey LaJoie and Thad Moffitt set the field up for another overtime finish. Buescher barely beat Kyle Larson for the win.

Hard Racing at Homestead
Homestead-Miami Speedway had its most competitive race ever, as the package allowed for tight racing and skillful moves to take center stage. Only one caution for an incident was thrown the whole race, as Riley Herbst had a hard crash with Zane Smith. However, the race was clean the rest of the way. Chase Elliott held off Christopher Bell for his first win of 2028.

Atlanta Anarchy
Atlanta Motor Speedway was revamped for 2028, as it only got a single date for 2027. Now, they became the host to 2 incredibly competitive races, one of them being the championship. The first race was just as insane. The first crash was a 3-car pileup between Buescher, Majeski and Jones. A second pileup occurred a bit later when Buescher got into Christopher Bell, collecting many others and sending the 34 of Corey LaJoie into the air. The biggest crash involved over 18 cars on the restart, when Buescher made contact with Noah Gragson and William Byron, triggering a huge pileup. Buescher, who was involved in all 3 crashes, recovered to finish 4th. His teammate, Todd Gilliland, went on to win the race.

Beating and Banging at Bristol
The big one struck on just the 2nd lap, taking out many cars such as Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe and more. Chris Buescher led most of the race, before another caution for Zane Smith hitting the wall tightened the field back up. Chase Elliott crashed on the restart, before on the following restart, Ty Gibbs tried to muscle his way past Chris Buescher, before the pair crashed. Tyler Reddick would beat Chandler Smith for the victory.

Speaking of Chandler Smith...
Talladega, as usual, was chaos. Incredibly close racing and unpredictability ruled the headlines as usual, but the crashes were everywhere you looked. Corey LaJoie brought out the first yellow, before Chris Buescher and Ty Gibbs collided in Turn 1 on the ensuing restart, collecting most of the field. Crashed continued to rule the day, when late in the race, an especially big pileup was triggered by Chase Elliott. The crash sent Daniel Suarez into the fence, as other cars crashed trying to avoid. The race went into sunset. Carnage continued as Thad Moffitt crashed on the restart. A late restart separated the pack, as the Top 9 separated from everybody else. Coming to the white flag, the battle at the front was fierce between drivers like Ty Majeski, Harrison Burton and Joey Logano. Behind, Corey LaJoie blew a tire in front of Chris Buescher. Buescher was damaged but continued. The others behind weren't so lucky. Chandler Smith spun trying to avoid before being hit by Chase Briscoe, sending the #18 into a massive barrel roll. Smith's car flipped 9 times before coming to rest. Under caution, Ty Majeski took his first career win, becoming the 2nd first time winner in 3 races.

Circuit of the Aquaplaning
Near-torrential weather hit the Circuit of the Americas in May. Vale Mosco From The Camping World Truck Series Makes Has Cup Debut. From the start of the race, cars were slipping and sliding everywhere, and many cautions flew for incidents throughout the race. Many top contenders ended up spinning off track during the race. Amidst the chaos, the final restart saw Chase Purdy pass Daniel Suarez for the lead, before Anthony Alfredo made a late move at the final corner to pass Purdy, giving Alfredo his first NASCAR Cup Series win.

The Coca-Cola 599
Chris Buescher was far and away the best car in the Coca Cola 600. He led way more laps than any other driver. Coming into Turn 1 on the final lap, Buescher blew a right front tire while leading and hit the outside wall. Alex Bowman passed Buescher on the backstretch to take the lead and eventually win. Buescher would blow his right rear tire as well and spin out into the grass exiting Turn 4. He would somehow drag his car out of the grass, and still finished 3rd behind Bowman and Chandler Smith, who was 20 seconds behind Buescher at the start of the last lap.

Battle of Wisconsin
Heading onto the last lap of the Kwiktrip 250, Chandler Smith had the lead over Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe. Buescher made a move in Turn 5 which spun Smith out. Elliott would pass Buescher at the next turn for the lead. At Canada Corner, Briscoe tried to pass Elliott for the lead before they both ran wide, allowing Buescher to take the lead and Chandler Smith to regain 2nd. Buescher would win ahead of Smith, Briscoe and Elliott.

Majeski Coasts to Chicago Win
The streets of Chicago produced a thrilling race, which saw lots of battles for the lead throughout the day and a few caution, including one for an enormous pileup triggered by Kyle Larson locking up and hitting the Turn 5 barriers. Many top contenders like Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric were all caught up in this crash. Most drivers stopped for fuel, except one. Ty Majeski. As the rest of the field had to make one more pitstop, and no more cautions occurred, Majeski's strategy paid off, and he easily won his 2nd race of the season.

One of NASCAR's Biggest Upsets?
BJ McLeod earned his first NASCAR Cup Series win after a last lap pass in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The 78 ran near the front all day before managing to sneak through for the win on the final lap.

Race Results
The Season saw 5 new first time winners in Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Anthony Alfredo, BJ McLeod and Myatt Snider. Bold = Final 4

* = Eliminated in Round of 8

Italic = Eliminated in Round of 12

Underline = Eliminated in Round of 16