The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series is the 78th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 55th season for the modern-era Cup Series. The preseason featured the Cook Out Clash exhibition race on February 4 at Bowman Gray Stadium, followed by the season-opening 68th running of the Daytona 500 on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway. The season will end at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 8.
Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports returns as the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion. Following the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin clinched the No. 1 seed in The Chase, marking its return as the Cup Series' championship format after last being implemented in 2013.
This season was marred by the death of two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch due to sepsis caused by pneumonia on May 21, days before the Coca-Cola 600. Busch was the first active full-time driver to pass away during a season since Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001, the first to do so off-track since Davey Allison in 1993, and overall driver since Jason Leffler, who was a part-time driver in 2013.
Teams and drivers
Chartered teams Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief References Chevrolet Haas Factory Team 41 Cole Custer Aaron Kramer Hendrick Motorsports 5 Kyle Larson Cliff Daniels 9 Chase Elliott Alan Gustafson 24 William Byron Rudy Fugle 48 Alex Bowman Blake Harris Anthony Alfredo Justin Allgaier Hyak Motorsports 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Mike Kelley Kaulig Racing 10 Ty Dillon Andrew Dickeson 16 A. J. Allmendinger Trent Owens Richard Childress Racing 3 Austin Dillon Richard Boswell Kyle Busch Jim Pohlman Andy Street Johnny Klausmeier Austin Hill Rick Ware Racing 51 Cody Ware Billy Plourde Spire Motorsports 7 Daniel Suárez Ryan Sparks 71 Michael McDowell Travis Peterson 77 Carson Hocevar Luke Lambert Trackhouse Racing 1 Ross Chastain 88 Connor Zilisch (R) 97 Shane van Gisbergen Stephen Doran FordFront Row Motorsports 4 Noah Gragson Grant Hutchens 34 Todd Gilliland Chris Lawson 38 Zane Smith Ryan Bergenty RFK Racing 6 Brad Keselowski Jeremy Bullins Mike Skarbowski 17 Chris Buescher Scott Graves 60 Ryan Preece Derrick Finley Team Penske 2 Austin Cindric Brian Wilson 12 Ryan Blaney Jonathan Hassler Matt Swiderski 22 Joey Logano Paul Wolfe Wood Brothers Racing 21 Josh Berry Miles Stanley Matt Swiderski Toyota23XI Racing 23 Bubba Wallace Charles Denike 35 Riley Herbst Davin Restivo Harrison Burton 45 Tyler Reddick Billy Scott Joe Gibbs Racing 11 Denny Hamlin Chris Gayle 19 Chase Briscoe James Small 20 Christopher Bell Adam Stevens 54 Ty Gibbs Tyler Allen Legacy Motor Club John Hunter Nemechek Travis Mack Chais Eliason 43 Erik Jones Justin Alexander
Non-chartered teams Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief Races References Chevrolet Beard Motorsports 62 Anthony Alfredo Darren Shaw Casey Mears JR Motorsports 40 Justin Allgaier Greg Ives Live Fast Motorsports 78 B. J. McLeod David Ingram Daniel Dye Katherine Legge NY Racing Team 44 J. J. Yeley Jay Guy Joey Gase B. J. McLeod Richard Childress Racing Jesse Love Andy Street Austin Hill Trackhouse Racing 91 Kevin Magnussen Phil Surgen FordFront Row Motorsports 36 Chandler Smith Seth Barbour Garage 66 66 Casey Mears Jason Miller Carl Long Timmy Hill Chad Finchum Josh Bilicki Gray Gaulding TBA RFK Racing 99 Corey LaJoie Mike Skarbowski Toyota 23XI Racing 67 Corey Heim Bootie Barker Legacy Motor Club 84 Jimmie Johnson Chad Johnston
Team changes Chevrolet unveiled a new body style for the ZL1 in November 2025 for the 2026 season to replace the model that had been used since 2022. The redesign is based on the Camaro ZL1 Carbon Performance Package accessories kit. Haas Factory Team and Rick Ware Racing switched from Ford to Chevrolet in 2026. HFT has a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, while RWR formed a technical partnership with Richard Childress Racing.
Driver changes Justin Haley did not return to Spire Motorsports. Haley returned to Kaulig Racing, driving in the Craftsman Truck Series. Daniel Suárez, who was released from Trackhouse Racing, moved to Spire Motorports in Haley's place.
Kyle Busch died three days before the 2026 Coca-Cola 600 from hemorrhagic shock caused by sepsis from untreated pneumonia; he was going to skip the race weekend to deal with the illness and Austin Hill was to drive in his place. In his honor, Richard Childress Racing decided to stop using his number, 8, and hold it until his son Brexton could begin racing in NASCAR; the car was renumbered to 33. On June 6, Hill was named as Busch's permanent replacement for at least the remainder of the season.
Rookie
Connor Zilisch is the only full-time rookie for 2026. He signed with Trackhouse Racing to replace Daniel Suárez.
Rule changes Technical changes
Horsepower Horsepower increased from 670 to 750 at tracks under 1.5 miles and road courses.
Track packages Bristol, Darlington, Dover, Nashville, New Hampshire, and St. Louis would run the short track package rather than the intermediate package from previous years. NASCAR also mandated a permanent A-post flap for all races to prevent flips. The A-post flap debuted the previous year at Daytona II.
Superspeedway packages NASCAR changed the superspeedway package starting at Daytona II to a "4-inch spoiler and wide splitter stuffers. The spoiler deflection device was redesigned to accommodate the 4-inch spoiler. New spoiler braces and an engine tapered spacer were reduced to 27/32-inch." Starting at Talladega II, the spoiler was shrunk again to "3.5 inches".
Policy changes Loosening lower series restriction The amount of races full-time Cup drivers can run in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series was increased to ten and eight respectively, up from the 2025 restriction of five in each series. Cup drivers remain ineligible for points, as well as unable to compete in the postseason events.
Age limit The minimum age requirement to race in the O'Reilly Auto Parts series was lowered to 17 for road courses and oval tracks less than 1.25 miles in length. This change creates a staggered minimum age: 16 in Trucks, 17 in O'Reilly, and 18 in Cup Series events.
Qualifying hand restriction The restriction of hands out the window during qualifying at drafting tracks such as Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta (EchoPark) was added, and drivers who touch the window net or the hole in between to redirect air will have their qualifying time disallowed. Noah Gragson was the first to break this rule, having his Daytona 500 qualifying time erased.
Increased practice time Practice time was increased at most tracks besides Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta. The change saw two groups of 25 minutes each to one 50-minute session involving all cars. Beginning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Cup Series practice will be consolidated into a single 50-minute session.
Shorter caution periods Beginning at Iowa, NASCAR announced that when a caution comes out with 10 laps or less in the stage, the stage will be deemed official.
Charter agreement changes
Following the outcome of the 23XI Racing lawsuit, all teams were offered "evergreen" charters. In contrast to previous agreements, which expired at a set date, the new agreement would include charters that would not expire.
Points system changes Postseason format NASCAR revealed a new postseason format in January 2026. Used in the top three series, it is a return of the Chase format previously used from 2004 to 2013. The top 16 drivers on points after 26 races will qualify for the Chase, with the 'win-and-you're-in' rule being scrapped, and starting points in the Chase will be staggered based on the regular season standings. This format replaced a derided playoff system, which included four "rounds" with points resets. With the change, playoff points are no longer awarded.
First-place point increase The points awarded for finishing first in a race was increased from 40 to 55.
Fastest lap restriction Drivers who enter the garage during a race will no longer be eligible for the fastest lap bonus point. If the driver's fastest lap was achieved before they entered the garage, it will still stand.
Removal of regular season championship With the changes of the chase, the regular season championship was removed.
Schedule
The 2026 schedule consists of 32 oval races, 3 road course races, 1 street track race, and 3 non-championship races held on ovals.
Notes: Race names and title sponsors are subject to change. Not all title sponsors/names of races have been announced for 2026. For the races where a 2026 name and title sponsor has yet to be announced, the title sponsors/names of those races in 2025 are listed.
Bolded races indicate an event generally known as a Crown Jewel race.
Oval track Road course Street course