For the first time since Kyle Larson won the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship more than eight months ago, a driver not named Tyler Reddick is leading the point standings.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin turned a 129-point deficit into a one-point lead over his 23XI Racing driver by making up ground over the course of six consecutive races, a stretch which included the 64-time race winner's first career three-race winning streak at Nashville Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Pocono Raceway.
It also included two consecutive non-oval races, where many believed Reddick would begin to open up that gap again.
Important note: it has now officially been more than two months since someone other than Hamlin won a full-length oval race. Including the exhibition All-Star Race, his win streak in such races is four.
Here's how the top 10 in the standings look ahead of Sunday's eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, where Hamlin won in 2015. The four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Joliet, Illinois oval hasn't hosted a Cup race since 2019.
NASCAR Cup Series standings before Chicago
Rank | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 719 | 0 |
2 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota | 718 | -1 |
3 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford | 615 | -104 |
4 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 589 | -130 |
5 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 571 | -148 |
6 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 554 | -165 |
7 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford | 518 | -201 |
8 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 509 | -210 |
9 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 484 | -235 |
10 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 472 | -247 |
With nobody else within 100 points of the lead, one of the top two Toyota drivers is guaranteed to be the points leader after the first race of the 2026 season's second half, at which point there are set to be just seven races remaining on the regular season schedule.
And by the way, Hamlin took pole for the eero 400 as well. The full starting lineup for Sunday's race, led by the driver of the No. 11 Toyota, was determined by Saturday's single-car qualifying session.
Follow along with our standings updates from Chicagoland as the eero 400 unfolds.
NOTE: Only the top 10 drivers are included after the first two stages.
NASCAR Cup Series at Chicagoland: Standings updates
NASCAR Cup Series at Chicagoland: Standings after Stage 1
NASCAR Cup Series at Chicagoland: Standings after Stage 2
NASCAR Cup Series at Chicagoland: Full standings after eero 400
TNT Sports' broadcast stint is set to continue with this coming Sunday, July 12 with the Quaker State 400, which is set to be the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season's second race at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway). Live coverage of race number three of five on the In-Season Challenge schedule is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET.
