We’re now by 11 Cup Sequence races this season, with Sunday’s Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway marking the primary race of Could. As we close to the midway level of the 2026 common season, it’s time to take one other take a look at the very best NASCAR drivers proper now.
As all the time with our 2026 NASCAR energy rankings, latest performances are weighted closely. That features NASCAR stats rom the final six races, by way of , which assist form how we ran the very best drivers.
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1. Tyler Reddick (Beforehand: 1)
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The late pit technique most likely price a third-place end at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, however he nonetheless completed fourth. By the primary 11 races this season, Reddick’s common ending place (5.7) is 3 full spots higher than the second-best driver (Chase Elliott, 8.9), and the No. 45 automotive’s common ending place (5.8) is sort of double that of the third-closest driver (Carson Hocevar, 10.1). Reddick additionally has as many top-five finishes (seven) as Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain mixed. Oh, there’s additionally these 5 wins.
2. Denny Hamlin (Beforehand: 2)
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Denny Hamlin admits he didn’t have the success on restarts he wanted to win on Sunday. Nevertheless, he nonetheless completed with the fourth-most laps led (21) within the Würth 400 and he netted the second-most factors (43) on the day. By the primary 11 races in 2026, Hamlin leads the Cup Sequence in laps led (624) and just one different driver (Kyle Larson, 499) has even cleared 330. The motive force of the No. 11 automotive has completed second twice this yr and he boasts a mean ending place of seven.2 within the final 10 races. Given his total consistency, Hamlin is likely to be The Chase favourite proper now.
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3. Chase Elliott (Beforehand: 3)
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Whereas Chase Elliott doesn’t transfer up in our 2026 NASCAR energy rankings after his win within the Würth 400, what’s clear is that he’s the one one on the identical tier as Hamlin and Reddick proper now. The No. 9 was the quickest automotive on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, with Elliott’s excellence on restarts and his potential to maneuver round visitors shortly propelling him to his second win of the season. Lately, Elliott has been Mr. Constant. There hasn’t been fairly as a lot of that this yr, as evidenced by three finishes of fifteenth or worse, however Elliott is profitable extra repeatedly and the run of dominance is likely to be right here.
4. Chris Buescher (Beforehand: 4)
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We’ll let the NASCAR stats do the speaking in relation to Chris Buescher. Within the final six races, he boasts the fifth-highest common ending place (9.7) because of 4 top-10 finishes in that stretch. He practically received it at Talladega final weekend and he adopted that up with a fifth-place end at Texas. Now the motive force of the No. 17 automotive is headed to Watkins Glen, a monitor the place he’s completed top-10 in 4 consecutive races and received in 2024.
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5. Carson Hocevar (Beforehand: 5)
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The recent streak continues for Carson Hocevar, who would possibly finally turn out to be the preferred driver in NASCAR. Hocevar received the Truck Sequence race at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday and adopted that up the subsequent day by profitable the pole in Cup Sequence qualifying. The No. 77 automotive didn’t fairly appear to have the long-run pace to match drivers on the prime of the sector come Sunday, however he nonetheless left with a seventh-place end. On condition that he’s coming off consecutive top-10 finishes for the primary time in 2026, we’re curious to see how he fares at Watkins Glen.
6. Ryan Blaney (Beforehand: 7)
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Cease us should you’ve heard this one earlier than. Ryan Blaney recorded a top-10 end regardless of points on pit street. It wasn’t the pit crew’s fault this time, as Blaney stalled the automotive popping out of the primary pit cease and he bought caught in a clumsy place on one other due to his poor qualifying place. Remarkably, Blaney nonetheless snagged a Tenth-place end in Texas. It definitely looks like the No. 12 workforce has ironed out its points on pit stops, so so long as Blaney retains doing what he’s doing, a number of wins are coming.
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7. Kyle Larson (Beforehand: 6)
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Kyle Larson and the No. 5 workforce are beginning to throw away their probabilities at profitable The Chase. Which may sound outlandish for the reigning Cup Sequence champion, however drivers agreed coming into 2026 that you simply wanted to be within the prime six coming into the 10-race Chase to have a shot on the championship. With two DNFs and two different races of thirty second or worse this season, Larson finds himself 53 factors again of Blaney in fourth place. Larson and the workforce have simply made it tougher on themselves, however we additionally nonetheless wouldn’t guess in opposition to him profitable four-plus races this season.
8. William Byron (Beforehand: 8)
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Credit score to William Byron for salvaging his day at Texas Motor Speedway. An early spin appeared to jeopardize the No. 24 workforce’s probabilities of recording a robust end, however they made it work. It’s precisely what the workforce wanted after recording a DNF (thirty fifth) final weekend at Dega. Up subsequent for Byron and the crew is the problem of turning into extra constant.
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9. Austin Cindric (Beforehand: Unranked)
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Who would’ve thought coming into the yr that Austin Cindric could be outperforming Workforce Penske teammate Joey Logano by 11 races. Within the final six races, Cindric ranks sixth in common ending place (10.7) along with his worst end in that stretch coming at Bristol (sixteenth place). Contemplating the ups-and-downs Penske has been having this yr, Cindric getting that stage of consistency is spectacular.
10. Christopher Bell (Beforehand: 9)
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Christopher Bell is the unluckiest driver in NASCAR proper now. He led 22 laps early on Sunday in Stage 1 and was closing in on a cross of Denny Hamlin to place himself for a possible stage win. Then destiny struck when Todd Gilliland spun out and hit the No. 20 automotive, inflicting race-ending injury when Bell misplaced management and hit the wall. It’s been that form of stretch for Bell, who appears to be getting caught up in each main wreck. Nonetheless, he has the third-most laps led (325) within the Cup Sequence this season and he ranks within the prime 5 in high quality passes.
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