2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season (Peanut's World)

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season began on February 15, 2026 with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, and ended on November 15th, 2026 with the Season Finale 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. William Byron is the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, and Kyle Larson is the defending NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion.

Chevrolet Teams and Drivers
Hendrick Motorsports: 5-Kyle Larson, 9-Chase Elliott, 24-William Byron, 48-Alex Bowman

Richard Childress Racing: 3-Austin Dillon, 8-Sheldon Creed, 31-Tyler Reddick

Trackhouse Racing: 1-Ross Chastain, 98-Austin Hill, 99-Daniel Suarez

JR Motorsports: 88-Noah Gragson

Kaulig Racing: 16-Justin Haley, 61-AJ Allmendinger

Spire Motorsports: 7-Corey LaJoie

JTG Daugherty Racing: 47-Sam Mayer

Richard Petty Motorsports: 43-Zane Smith

Rick Ware Racing: 15-JJ Yeley, 51-Cody Ware, 52-Garrett Smithley, 53-James Davison

GMS Racing: 94-Ty Dillon

Ford Drivers and Teams
Stewart-Haas Racing: 4-Hailie Deegan, 10-Riley Herbst, 14-Chase Briscoe, 41-Cole Custer

Team Penske: 2-Austin Cindric, 12-Ryan Blaney, 22-Joey Logano

Wood Brothers Racing: 21-Harrison Burton

RFK (Roush Fenway Keselowski) Racing: 6-Brad Keselowski, 17-Chris Buescher

Live Fast Motorsports: 78-BJ McLeod

MBM Motorsports: 13-Timmy Hill

Front Row Motorsports: 34-Michael McDowell, 36-Ryan Preece, 38-Matt DiBenedetto

Toyota Drivers and Teams
23XI Racing: 23-Bubba Wallace, 45-Kurt Busch

Joe Gibbs Racing: 11-Ty Gibbs, 18-Kyle Busch, 19-John Hunter Nemechek, 20-Christopher Bell

ThorSport Racing: 86-Christian Eckes, 66-Ben Rhodes (R)

Kyle Busch Motorsports: 81-Chandler Smith

2026 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule
-Sunday, February 8: Duels at Daytona, Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida), 1pm and 3pm, Paramount Network.

-Race #1: Sunday February 15, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida), 1pm, CBS.

-Race #2: Sunday February 22, PNC Bank 400, Rockingham Speedway Complex (Rockingham, North Carolina), 1pm, CBS.

-Race #3: Sunday March 1, Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum (points race), LA Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, California), 8pm, CBS.

-Race #4: Sunday March 8, Pennzoil 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nevada), 3pm, Paramount Network.

-Race #5: Sunday March 15, Instacart 500, Phoenix Raceway (Avondale, Arizona), 3pm, Paramount Network.

-Race #6: Sunday March 22, Auto Club 500, Auto Club Speedway 3/4-Mile Short Track Configuration (Fontana, California), 3pm, CBS/Nickelodeon.

-Race #7: Sunday March 29, Toyota Save Mart 350, Sonoma Raceway (Sonoma, California), 3pm, CBS.

-Race #8: Sunday April 5, Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway New Configuration (Hampton, Georgia), 12:30pm, CBS.

-Race #9: Saturday April 11, Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway (Ridgeway, Virginia), 6pm, CBS.

-Race #10: Sunday April 19, Toyota Owners 400, Richmond Raceway (Henrico County, Virginia), 1pm, CBS.

-(Off-week)

-Race #11: Sunday May 3, GEICO 500, Talladega Superspeedway (Lincoln, Alabama), 12pm, CBS.

-Race #12: Saturday May 9, Buschy McBusch Race 400, Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kansas), 7pm, Paramount Network.

-Race #13: Sunday May 17, Goodyear 400 (Throwback Weekend), Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina), 1pm, CBS.

-Race #14: Sunday May 24, Jockey Made in America 250, Road America (Plymouth, Wisconsin), 1pm, CBS.

-Race #15: Sunday May 31, EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas), 1pm, CBS.

-Race #16: Saturday June 6, Food City Dirt Race, Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt) (Bristol, Tennessee), 7pm, CBS.

-Race #17: Sunday June 14, Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway (Charlotte, North Carolina), 6pm, CBS.

-Race #18: Saturday June 20, NASCAR All-Star Open/NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points), Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (Nashville, Tennessee), 5pm (Open) and 7pm (All-Star Race), CBS.

-Race #19: Sunday June 21, Ally 400, Nashville Superspeedway (Lebanon, Tennessee), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #20: Sunday June 28, Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, Pocono Raceway (Long Pond, Pennsylvania), 1pm, USA.

-Race #21: Saturday July 4, Knoxville NASCAR Nationals, Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa), 6pm, NBC.

-Race #22: Sunday July 12, Guaranteed Rate Chicago Grand Prix, Chicago Street Course (Chicago, Illinois), 12:30pm, NBC.

-Race #23: Saturday July 18, Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart, Atlanta Motor Speedway New Configuration (Hampton, Georgia), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #24: Sunday July 26, Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon, New Hampshire), 1pm, USA.

-Race #25: Sunday August 2, Go Bowling at the Glen, Watkins Glen International (Watkins Glen, New York), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #26: Sunday August 9, Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (Speedway, Indiana), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #27: Sunday August 16, FireKeepers Casino 400, Michigan International Speedway (Brooklyn, Michigan), 1pm, USA.

-Race #28: Saturday August 22, Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond Raceway (Henrico County, Virginia), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #29: Sunday August 30, Cook Out Southern 500, Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #30: Saturday September 5, Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #31: Saturday September 12 (Playoffs Round of 20), Universal Studios Hollywood 500, Auto Club Speedway 3/4-Mile Short Track Configuration (Fontana, California), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #32: Saturday September 19 (Playoffs Round of 20), Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Tennessee), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #33: Sunday September 27 (Playoffs Round of 20), Bank of America Roval 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (Charlotte, North Carolina), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #34: Sunday October 4 (Playoffs Round of 12), Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kansas), 1pm, USA.

-Race #35: Sunday October 11 (Playoffs Round of 12), Country Music Hall of Fame 500, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (Nashville, Tennessee), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #36: Sunday October 18 (Playoffs Round of 12), YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway (Lincoln, Alabama), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #37: Sunday October 25 (Playoffs Round of 8), AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500, Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas), 1pm, USA.

-Race #38: Sunday November 1 (Playoffs Round of 8), State Farm 500, Phoenix Raceway (Avondale, Arizona), 1pm, NBC.

-Race #39: Saturday November 7 (Playoffs Round of 8), XFINITY 500, Martinsville Speedway (Ridgeway, Virginia), 7pm, NBC.

-Race #40: Sunday November 15 (Playoffs Championship 4), Season Finale 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway (Homestead, Florida), 12pm, NBC.

News and Notes
-Prior to the 2024 season, TV contracts were up and there was a bidding war. FOX bowed out of the running ending a 23-year consecutive run of NASCAR broadcasts. This left CBS and ESPN in a fierce bidding war for NASCAR, with CBS winning. CBS hires Allen Bestwick as their play-by-play commentator with recently retired driver Kevin Harvick as a color analyst and Steve Letarte as their technical analyst. Lindsay Czarniak becomes the pre-race host of NASCAR Today, with Larry McReynolds, Jeff Burton, and Brad Daugherty as analysts, and Matt Yocum, Jamie Little, and Regan Smith as pit reporters. Nate Burleson of the NFL Today does a Grid Walk every week that was similar to Michael Waltrip's Grid Walk on FOX. Paramount Network broadcasts a few races on cable as part of the CBS package, and Nickelodeon does an annual kid-friendly broadcast in the same vein as their NFL Playoff Wild Card Weekend broadcasts as part of the CBS package as well. NBC kept Rick Allen as their play-by-play commentator and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as their drivers' analyst, but they added another retired driver in Aric Almirola and Hendrick Motorsports executive Chad Knaus as analysts. USA does races on cable as part of the NBC package.

-Several new Cup teams are announced due to the advent of the NextGen car in 2022, with Kaulig Racing and GMS Racing becoming a Cup team in 2022, JR Motorsports, JD Motorsports with Gary Keller, and Kyle Busch Motorsports from 2023-2025, and finally, ThorSport Racing in 2026. Kaulig Racing fields the #16 for driver Justin Haley with sponsorship from Leaf Filter and the #61 for 2025 XFINITY Series champion AJ Allmendinger with sponsorship from Pit Boss Grills, JR Motorsports fields the #88 for driver Noah Gragson with sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber, and Black Rifle Coffee, GMS Racing fields the #94 for driver Ty Dillon with sponsorship from the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUna) and Chevrolet, Kyle Busch Motorsports fields the #81 for driver Chandler Smith with sponsorship from SafeLite, and ThorSport Racing fields both the #86 for driver Christian Eckes with sponsorship from Curb Records and the #66 for rookie Cup driver Ben Rhodes with sponsorship from Bombardier.

-JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer replaces Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the #47 for JTG Daugherty Racing with sponsorship from TirePros and Kroger. Kurt Busch moves over to the newly expanded 23XI Racing in the #45 with sponsorship from Dr. Pepper, McDonald's, DoorDash, and Monster Energy. Chip Ganassi Racing is sold to Trackhouse Racing for the 2022 season, allowing the charter for the #42 car to move to the #99 car driven by Daniel Suarez. Meanwhile, the charter for the #1 car moves to the new #1 car for Trackhouse Racing, allowing Ross Chastain to move to the #1 with sponsorship from Clover, AdventHealth, and McDonald's. Trackhouse then expands to a third team in 2023 with the addition of Austin Hill in the #98 with sponsorship from United Rentals. Ryan Newman retired in 2021, paving the way for Brad Keselowski to take over the #6 in a driver-owner role for the renamed RFK (Roush Fenway Keselowski) Racing with sponsorship from Discount Tire, Oscar Mayer, Guaranteed Rate, and Castrol. Sheldon Creed has moved up in 2023 to replace Tyler Reddick in the #8 for Richard Childress Racing with sponsorship from TaxSlayer and Chevrolet. Tyler Reddick moved to a third entry in 2023 at Childress in the #31 with sponsorship from Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen and Alsco Uniforms. GMS Racing driver Zane Smith moved to Cup in 2024, driving the #43 for Richard Petty Motorsports replacing Erik Jones with sponsorship from Pit Boss Grills. Hailie Deegan moved to Cup in 2025, driving the #4 for Stewart-Haas Racing replacing retired driver Kevin Harvick with sponsorship from Ford Performance and Monster Energy. Deegan was the first female NASCAR race winner in its history. Riley Herbst moved to the #10 at Stewart-Haas Racing replacing retired driver Aric Almirola with sponsorship from Smithfield and Monster Energy. Austin Cindric moved to the #2 at Team Penske replacing Brad Keselowski with sponsorship from MoneyLion and Keystone Light. Matt DiBenedetto replaced Anthony Alfredo in the #38 in 2022 with sponsorship from Speedco Partners and Menard's, while Ryan Preece moves over to the revived #36 with sponsorship from DUDE Wipes. 3-time XFINITY Series champion (2022-2024) Ty Gibbs moves to Cup in 2025 in the #11 for Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing retired driver Denny Hamlin with sponsorship from FedEx and Monster Energy, and John Hunter Nemechek moves straight to Cup from Trucks in 2025 in the #19 for Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing retired driver Martin Truex Jr. with sponsorship from Auto Owners' Insurance and Mobil1.

-There is only one rookie in the 2026 Cup rookie class. 2025 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes moves straight to Cup in 2026, driving for the new ThorSport Racing Cup team in the #66 with sponsorship from Bombardier.

-There have been new tracks added since 2021, with a street course in Chicago getting added in 2022 becoming the 22nd race of the season. Auto Club Speedway becomes a 3/4-mile short track in 2023 combining the banking of Bristol, the paperclip design of Martinsville, and the D-shape of Richmond, becoming part of the five-race West Coast Swing as the sixth race of the season, with a second race added in 2024 as the playoff opener. Rockingham Speedway gets added back to the schedule for the first time since 2005 as a renovated track and becomes the second race of the season in 2024. Knoxville Raceway also gets added in 2024 due to the popularity and great racing of the Truck Series events, becoming the 21st race of the season. Atlanta Motor Speedway finally gets reconfigured and repaved in 2022 to a layout that is designed to make it a 1.5 mile version of Daytona and Talladega with two dates as the eighth and twenty-third races of the season respectively. Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway also gets added in 2025 both as a playoff event as the second race of the Round of 12 and the thirty-fifth race of the season and the All-Star Race between the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum starts in 2022 as a preseason exhibition in a purpose-built asphalt short track inside the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California two weeks before the Daytona 500, but then in 2024 becomes a points race and starts off the West Coast Swing as the third race of the season.

-As a result of the new schedule and NextGen car, NASCAR expands the Cup playoff field from 16 drivers to 20 in 2025, thus adding even more parity in the field and more competition for the NASCAR Cup Series championship every year. Due to Auto Club Speedway now hosting the playoff opener, Playoff Media Day is held in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood. Now, Playoff Media Day in NASCAR is just as hyped of an event as the Super Bowl Week Media Kickoff the Monday of Super Bowl week in the NFL. Mainstream sports media attention is more attuned to NASCAR due to the increasing diversity of the drivers, crews, and fan base, as well as the new schedule and new car.

-In 2026, NASCAR debuts the new NextGen car's hybrid engine to be in the car. The engine is a 510hp gasoline-electric hybrid V8 with a switch to turn on the electric power during caution periods as a way to save gas, but also contains a switch to turn on a temporary boost to the engine's horsepower and speed with electric power not unlike the IndyCar Series' Push to Pass function. This boost allows for drivers to steal wins away from other drivers, increasing parity and competition. It also allows for crazy finishes at all types of tracks, and the new engine becomes a huge hit with fans and teams alike.

-In 2023, NASCAR creates a new exhibition series during the off-season with sponsorship from Blue-Emu. There are three races at the beginning, middle, and ending of the months leading to the Daytona 500 in February. The roster includes NASCAR Cup, XFINITY, and Truck Series drivers, drivers from other racing series such as F1 and IndyCar, and drivers from international countries where the exhibition series goes. The series' 2025-2026 schedule starts off at Richmond Raceway on December 7 at 7pm on NBC, continues at Silverstone in the UK on December 14 at 9am on CBS, then a street race in Paris, France on December 28 at 9am on NBC. The series then continues at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan on January 4 at 6pm on CBS, then on January 18 at Nürburgring in Germany at 10am on NBC, and finally concludes at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on January 25 at 12pm on CBS. The series uses multiple types of vehicles and multiple types of powertrains racing at the same time. Vehicles include sedans, sports cars, pickup trucks, SUVs, and yes, even flying cars (which are similar to drones that can fit a driver inside). Powertrains include gasoline internal combustion engines, internal combustion engines with hydrogen, internal combustion engines with other alternate fuels, hybrid engines, and electric engines.

2026 NASCAR Cup Series Final Standings

 * 1) 5-Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports. (2026 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion and 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Champion).
 * 2) 11-Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing. (Eliminated in Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami).
 * 3) 24-William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports. (Eliminated in Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami).
 * 4) 23-Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing. (Eliminated in Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami).
 * 5) 9-Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports. (Eliminated in Round of 8).
 * 6) 48-Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports. (Eliminated in Round of 8).
 * 7) 6-Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 8).
 * 8) 17-Chris Buescher, RFK Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 8).
 * 9) 4-Hailie Deegan, Stewart-Haas Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 12 and NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver).
 * 10) 16-Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 12).
 * 11) 22-Joey Logano, Team Penske. (Eliminated in Round of 12).
 * 12) 3-Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 12).
 * 13) 2-Austin Cindric, Team Penske. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 14) 8-Sheldon Creed, Richard Childress Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 15) 18-Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 16) 12-Ryan Blaney, Team Penske. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 17) 10-Riley Herbst, Stewart-Haas Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 18) 19-John Hunter Nemechek, Joe Gibbs Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 19) 20-Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 20) 45-Kurt Busch, 23XI Racing. (Eliminated in Round of 20).
 * 21) 31-Tyler Reddick, Richard Childress Racing.
 * 22) 88-Noah Gragson, JR Motorsports.
 * 23) 21-Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing.
 * 24) 47-Sam Mayer, JTG Daugherty Racing.
 * 25) 94-Ty Dillon, GMS Racing.
 * 26) 43-Zane Smith, Richard Petty Motorsports.
 * 27) 7-Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports.
 * 28) 86-Christian Eckes, ThorSport Racing.
 * 29) 66-Ben Rhodes (R), ThorSport Racing. (2026 NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year).
 * 30) 81-Chandler Smith, Kyle Busch Motorsports.
 * 31) 14-Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing.
 * 32) 41-Cole Custer, Stewart-Haas Racing.
 * 33) 34-Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports.
 * 34) 38-Matt DiBenedetto, Front Row Motorsports.
 * 35) 36-Ryan Preece, Front Row Motorsports.
 * 36) 98-Austin Hill, Trackhouse Racing.
 * 37) 1-Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing.
 * 38) 99-Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing.
 * 39) 13-Timmy Hill, MBM Motorsports.
 * 40) 78-BJ McLeod, Live Fast Motorsports.
 * 41) 51-Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing.
 * 42) 52-Garrett Smithley, Rick Ware Racing.
 * 43) 53-James Davison, Rick Ware Racing.
 * 44) 61-AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
 * 45) 15-JJ Yeley, Rick Ware Racing.