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 drivers with the most points will have a shot at the crown.
After his victory in the Daytona 500, Reddick does sit 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 sits in the 16th and final spot, but we 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.
But there are drivers with notable drivers deep in the standings after Daytona. They can quickly climb out of these holes with how close the points remain, but 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 |
