For the first time since June, somebody not named Denny Hamlin is leading the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, and that new leader is none other than reigning champion Kyle Larson, who followed up his first win of the 2026 season at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Hamlin still leads the series in total points scored, with Larson a distant sixth, but that is irrelevant under the new postseason format, which saw all 16 playoff drivers' point totals reset to 2,000, plus bonus points based on the regular season standings, prior to the 10-race "Chase".
But Hamlin remains the favorite, ahead of a stretch of three consecutive races on 1.5-mile ovals. He is one of three drivers within 17 points of Larson at the top of the chart.
Here's how things look heading into Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series standings before Kansas
Rank | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2206 | 0 |
2 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2205 | -1 |
3 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford | 2190 | -16 |
4 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2189 | -17 |
5 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2164 | -42 |
6 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford | 2154 | -52 |
7 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota | 2145 | -61 |
8 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 2121 | -85 |
9 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2119 | -87 |
10 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota | 2114 | -92 |
11 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford | 2090 | -116 |
12 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2089 | -117 |
13 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2085 | -121 |
14 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford | 2082 | -124 |
15 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford | 2082 | -124 |
16 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 2072 | -134 |
A full starting lineup for Sunday's 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Kansas City, Kansas was supposed to be determined by Saturday's single-car qualifying session, but that session was canceled due to rain, marking the eighth qualifying cancelation of the year and the third in the first four weeks of the postseason. As a result, the lineup was set by the metric.
Follow along with our standings updates from Kansas as the Hollywood Casino 400 unfolds.
NOTE: Only the 16 playoff drivers are included after the first two stages.
NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas: Standings after Stage 1
NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas: Standings after Stage 2
NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas: Full standings after Hollywood Casino 400
The fifth race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason schedule is the South Point 400, which is set to be shown live on USA Network from Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting at 5:30 p.m. ET next Sunday, October 4.
