Complete NASCAR Cup points standings after Sonoma 2026

Tyler Reddick has lost control of the championship lead for the first time this year, now just one point behind Denny Hamlin

After 18 of 36 races, we have a new NASCAR Cup Series championship leader for the very first time, and it came about in messy fashion.

A power steering failure for Tyler Reddick left him with a last-place finish, while Denny Hamlin struggled with splitter damage after a late-race spin, finishing 26th. While Reddick secured the fastest lap bonus, Hamlin's result was enough to erase the eight-point deficit and move the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the championship lead, a single point.

The biggest mover in the standings is easily race winner Shane van Gisbergen, who jumped three positions back inside the Chase, now 14th and +36pts over the cut-line. Alex Bowman was another big mover, albeit far deeper in the standings, jumping three positions from 32nd to 29th after a top ten finish.

The biggest loser was Erik Jones, who dropped three positions down to 17th, falling outside of the Chase. Austin Cindric now sits on the bubble, 12 points ahead of Jones after the final road course race of the 2026 season.

2026 NASCAR Cup points after Sonoma (Race 18 of 36)

Pos.	Driver	Points	Positions gained or lost
1	Denny Hamlin	719	+1
2	Tyler Reddick	718	-1
3	Ryan Blaney	615	--
4	Ty Gibbs	589	+1
5	Kyle Larson	571	-1
6	Chase Elliott	554	--
7	Chris Buescher	518	--
8	Carson Hocevar	509	+1
9	Daniel Suarez	484	-1
10	Christopher Bell	472	+2
11	Chase Briscoe	468	-1
12	William Byron	446	+1
13	Bubba Wallace	444	-2
14	Shane van Gisbergen	425	+3
15	Ryan Preece	402	+1
16	Austin Cindric	401	-1
CHASE CUTLINE	CHASE CUTLINE	CHASE CUTLINE	CHASE CUTLINE
17	Erik Jones	389	-3
18	Bead Keselowski	376	+1
19	AJ Allmendinger	375	+1
20	Joey Logano	370	-1
21	Michael McDowell	369	--
22	Ross Chastain	356	--
23	Zane Smith	340	--
24	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	319	+2
25	Riley Herbst	317	-1
26	Todd Gilliland	314	-1
27	John Hunter Nemechek	310	--
28	Austin Dillon	280	--
29	Alex Bowman	231	+3
30	Noah Gragson	221	-1
31	Josh Berry	217	-1
32	Cole Custer	211	+1
33	Ty Dillon	204	-2
34	Connor Zilisch	198	--
35	Cody Ware	156	--
36	Kevin Magnussen	11	--
37	Casey Mears	10	--
38	Jimmie Johnson	9	--
39	Katherine Legge	8	--
40	BJ McLeod	3	--

Note: Kyle Busch scored 217 points before his tragic passing, and we have followed NASCAR's decision to no longer classify Busch in the weekly driver standings.