The title race for the NASCAR Cup continues to unfold with an exciting frenzy at WWT Raceway, where a record of 18 caution flags were logged. Despite the intense competition, Denny Hamlin maintains the lead with only nine points ahead.
After a long wait, Kyle Larson has managed to clinch his first victory in 51 races, achieving a jump of five positions in the standings, now lurking near the top spot. The Southern 500 winner, Christopher Bell, is 18 points behind the leader in third place.
Those who lost the most positions in this race were Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez, dropping from fifth to eighth and from thirteenth to sixteenth, respectively, in the standings.
While Shane van Gisbergen continues to hold the 17th position, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain have managed to gain ground with standout performances at Gateway.
The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, where drivers will engage in an intense battle over 500 laps.
NASCAR Cup 2026 Points Standings After Gateway (Race 28 of 36)
| Pos. | Driver | Points | Positions Gained or Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 2168 | — |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | 2159 | +5 |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | 2150 | -1 |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney | 2135 | -1 |
| 5 | Tyler Reddick | 2126 | -1 |
| 6 | Ty Gibbs | 2117 | — |
| 7 | Joey Logano | 2117 | +1 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | 2109 | -3 |
| 9 | Carson Hocevar | 2080 | +3 |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace | 2078 | — |
| 11 | Chase Elliott | 2075 | -2 |
| 12 | Austin Cindric | 2060 | +2 |
| 13 | Chris Buescher | 2057 | -2 |
| 14 | Ryan Preece | 2055 | +1 |
| 15 | William Byron | 2054 | +1 |
| 16 | Daniel Suarez | 2049 | -3 |
COLOPHON
| 17 | Shane van Gisbergen | 630 | — |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 591 | — |
| 19 | Ross Chastain | 560 | +1 |
| 20 | Michael McDowell | 554 | -1 |
| 21 | Erik Jones | 544 | — |
| 22 | Todd Gilliland | 502 | — |
| 23 | AJ Allmendinger | 499 | — |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | 474 | +2 |
| 25 | Zane Smith | 468 | -1 |
| 26 | Josh Berry | 463 | -1 |
| 27 | Alex Bowman | 454 | +2 |
| 28 | John Hunter Nemechek | 453 | — |
| 29 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 443 | -2 |
| 30 | Riley Herbst | 412 | — |
| 31 | Cole Custer | 359 | +1 |
| 32 | Noah Gragson | 355 | -1 |
| 33 | Ty Dillon | 323 | — |
| 34 | Connor Zilisch | 304 | — |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 217 | — |
| 36 | Casey Mears | 13 | — |
| 37 | Kevin Magnussen | 11 | — |
| 38 | Jimmie Johnson | 9 | — |
| 39 | Katherine Legge | 8 | — |
| 40 | BJ McLeod | 4 | — |
Note: Kyle Busch earned 217 points before his tragic passing, and the decision of NASCAR to exclude him from the weekly standings has been upheld.
Competition intensifies as the season progresses, and fans eagerly await the next race in Bristol.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_e0d306497d60130743d614d14d2550e1cd3c3ec1