2026 NASCAR Cup Series

2026 NASCAR Cup Series

Previous

2025

Next

2027

Champions | Seasons

Kyle Larson enters the season as the defending Cup Series champion.

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series will be the 78th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 55th season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season will start with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1 at Bowman Gray Stadium, followed by The Duel at Daytona on February 12, and the 68th running of the Daytona 500 (the first points race of the season) on February 15, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season will end with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 8. ^[1]

This will be the first season for Freeway Insurance as a premier partner of the Cup Series, replacing GEICO, who left at the end the 2024 season. ^[2]

Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports returns as the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion. ^[3]

Teams and drivers

Chartered teams

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief	References
Chevrolet	Haas Factory Team	41	Cole Custer	TBA	[4] [5]
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Kyle Larson	TBA	[6]
		9	Chase Elliott	TBA	[7]
		24	William Byron	TBA	[8]
		48	Alex Bowman	TBA	[9]
	Hyak Motorsports	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	TBA	[10] [11] [12]
	Kaulig Racing	10	Ty Dillon	TBA	[13]
		16	A. J. Allmendinger	TBA	[14]
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Austin Dillon	TBA	[13]
		8	Kyle Busch	Jim Pohlman	[15] [16]
	Spire Motorsports	7	Daniel Suárez	TBA	[13] [17] [18]
		71	Michael McDowell	TBA	[19]
		77	Carson Hocevar	TBA	[20]
	Trackhouse Racing	1	Ross Chastain	Brandon McSwain	[21] [22]
		88	Connor Zilisch (R)	Randall Burnett	[23] [24] [25] [26]
		97	Shane van Gisbergen	Stephen Doran	[23] [27]
Ford	RFK Racing	6	Brad Keselowski	TBA	[28]
		17	Chris Buescher	TBA	[13]
		60	Ryan Preece	TBA	[13] [29]
	Rick Ware Racing	51	Cody Ware	TBA	[29]
	Team Penske	2	Austin Cindric	TBA	[30]
		12	Ryan Blaney	TBA	[31]
		22	Joey Logano	TBA	[32]
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Josh Berry	TBA	[33]
Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	11	Denny Hamlin	TBA	[34] [35]
		19	Chase Briscoe	TBA	[36]
		20	Christopher Bell	TBA	[37] [38]
		54	Ty Gibbs	TBA	[13]
	Legacy Motor Club	42	John Hunter Nemechek	TBA	[13]
		43	Erik Jones	TBA	[39]

Non-chartered teams

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief	Races	References
Chevrolet	JR Motorsports	40	Justin Allgaier	TBA	1	[40]
Toyota	Legacy Motor Club	84	Jimmie Johnson	TBA	1	[41] [42]

TBD

For details about the ongoing antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR, and why these teams are currently non-chartered, see 23XI Racing v. NASCAR.

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief	Notes
Ford	Front Row Motorsports	4	Noah Gragson	TBA	[43]
		34	Todd Gilliland	TBA	[44]
		38	Zane Smith	TBA	[45]
Toyota	23XI Racing	23	Bubba Wallace	TBA	[46]
		35	Riley Herbst	TBA	[47]
		45	Tyler Reddick	TBA	[13]

Team changes

Manufacturers

• 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. ^[48]
• Haas Factory Team will switch from Ford to Chevrolet in 2026. ^[5]

Crew chief changes

• Randall Burnett will move to Trackhouse Racing No. 88 car driven by Connor Zilisch. ^[26]
• Jim Pohlman will move to the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 car driven by Kyle Busch. ^[16]

Driver changes

• Justin Haley will not return to Spire Motorsports. ^[17] Haley joined Kaulig Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. ^[49]
• Daniel Suárez will move from Trackhouse Racing to Spire Motorports. ^[18]

Rookies

See also: NASCAR Rookie of the Year § Cup Series

• Connor Zilisch signed a multi-year contract with Trackhouse Racing to replace Suárez in 2026. ^[25]

Rule changes

Pre-season

• On October 8, 2025, NASCAR announced it will increase the horsepower from 670 to 750 at tracks under 1.5 miles and road courses. ^[50]
• On November 1, 2025, NASCAR announced it will raise the amount of races a full-time Cup driver can run in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series. ^[51]
• On November 14, 2025, it was announced that Bristol, Darlington, Dover, Nashville, Loudon, and St. Louis would run the short track package rather than the intermediate package from previous years. ^[52] NASCAR also mandated a permanent A-post flap for all races to prevent flips. The A-post flap debuted last year at Daytona II. ^[53]

Schedule

The 2026 schedule was released on August 20, 2025, and consists of 31 oval races, 4 road course races, 1 street track race, and four non-championship races to be held on ovals. ^[1] The start times were announced on November 12. ^[54]

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. ^[1]

Bolded races indicate an event generally known as a Crown Jewel race.

 O  Oval track
 R  Road course
 S  Street course

No	Race name	Track	Location	Date	Time (ET) [54]	TV	Radio
Regular Season
	Cook Out Clash	O  Bowman Gray Stadium	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	February 1	8 pm	FOX	MRN
	The Duel at Daytona	O  Daytona International Speedway	Daytona Beach, Florida	February 12	7 pm	FS1
1	Daytona 500			February 15	2:30 pm	FOX
2	Autotrader 400 [55]	O  EchoPark Speedway	Hampton, Georgia	February 22	3 pm		PRN
3	EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix	R  Circuit of the Americas	Austin, Texas	March 1	3:30 pm
4	Straight Talk Wireless 500 [56]	O  Phoenix Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	March 8		FS1	MRN
5	Pennzoil 400	O  Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	March 15	4 pm		PRN
6	Goodyear 400	O  Darlington Raceway	Darlington, South Carolina	March 22	3 pm		MRN
7	Cook Out 400	O  Martinsville Speedway	Ridgeway, Virginia	March 29	3:30 pm
8	Food City 500	O  Bristol Motor Speedway	Bristol, Tennessee	April 12	3 pm		PRN
9	AdventHealth 400	O  Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas	April 19	2 pm	FOX	MRN
10	Jack Link's 500	O  Talladega Superspeedway	Lincoln, Alabama	April 26	3 pm
11	Würth 400	O  Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	May 3	3:30 pm	FS1	PRN
12	Go Bowling at The Glen	R  Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	May 10	3 pm		MRN
	NASCAR All-Star Open	O  Dover Motor Speedway	Dover, Delaware	May 17	1 pm		PRN
	NASCAR All-Star Race				3 pm
13	Coca-Cola 600	O  Charlotte Motor Speedway	Concord, North Carolina	May 24	6 pm	Prime
14	Cracker Barrel 400	O  Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee	May 31	7 pm
15	FireKeepers Casino 400	O  Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	June 7	3 pm		MRN
16	The Great American Getaway 400	O  Pocono Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	June 14
17	Anduril 250 Race the Base [57]	S  Coronado Street Course	San Diego, California	June 21	4 pm
NASCAR In-Season Challenge [58]
18	Toyota/Save Mart 350	R  Sonoma Raceway	Sonoma, California	June 28	3:30 pm	TNT	MRN
19	TBA	O  Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois	July 5	6 pm
20	Quaker State 400	O  EchoPark Speedway	Hampton, Georgia	July 12	7 pm		PRN
21	Window World 400 [59]	O  North Wilkesboro Speedway	North Wilkesboro, North Carolina	July 19
22	Brickyard 400	O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	July 26	2 pm		IMS
Regular Season
23	Iowa Corn 350	O  Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa	August 9	3:30 pm	USA	MRN
24	Cook Out 400	O  Richmond Raceway	Richmond, Virginia	August 15	7 pm
25	Mobil 1 301	O  New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Loudon, New Hampshire	August 23	3 pm		PRN
26	Coke Zero Sugar 400	O  Daytona International Speedway	Daytona Beach, Florida	August 29	7:30 pm	NBC	MRN
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs
Round of 16
27	Cook Out Southern 500	O  Darlington Raceway	Darlington, South Carolina	September 6	5 pm	USA	MRN
28	Enjoy Illinois 300	O  World Wide Technology Raceway	Madison, Illinois	September 13	3 pm
29	Bass Pro Shops Night Race	O  Bristol Motor Speedway	Bristol, Tennessee	September 19	7:30 pm		PRN
Round of 12
30	Hollywood Casino 400	O  Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas	September 27	3 pm	USA	MRN
31	South Point 400	O  Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	October 4	5:30 pm		PRN
32	Bank of America Roval 400	R  Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval)	Concord, North Carolina	October 11	3 pm
Round of 8
33	Freeway Insurance 500 [2]	O  Phoenix Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	October 18	3 pm	USA	MRN
34	YellaWood 500	O  Talladega Superspeedway	Lincoln, Alabama	October 25	2 pm	NBC
35	Xfinity 500	O  Martinsville Speedway	Ridgeway, Virginia	November 1
Championship 4
36	NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race	O  Homestead–Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida	November 8	3 pm	NBC	MRN

Confirmed schedule changes

• Homestead–Miami Speedway will return to its traditional date as the season finale for all three major series. ^[60] To accommodate this change, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be removed from the playoffs. ^[1]
• Chicago Street Course announced that the Grant Park 165 will not return in 2026. ^[61]
• The Cup Series will return to Southern California with a street race at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego. ^[62] To accommodate this change, Mexico City was dropped from the schedule due to a conflict with the 2026 FIFA World Cup. ^[63]
• The NASCAR All-Star Race will be moved from North Wilkesboro Speedway to Dover Motor Speedway, giving the former a points race, the first regular-season race held there since 1996. ^[1]
• Chicagoland Speedway will return to the schedule for the first time since 2019. ^[1]

See also

• 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
• 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
• 2026 ARCA Menards Series
• 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

References

1. "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR . August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
2. Srigley, Joseph (October 31, 2025). "Freeway Insurance Named Premier Partner of NASCAR". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
3. "Kyle Larson takes Cup title as Ryan Blaney wins shocker in Sonoran Desert". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. November 2, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
4. "Cole Custer to drive for Haas Factory Team in 2025". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
5. Crandall, Kelly (September 5, 2025). "Haas NASCAR team reuniting with Chevrolet in '26". Racer . Retrieved September 5, 2025.
6. "Kyle Larson, HendrickCars.com extend with Hendrick Motorsports through 2026". NASCAR . September 16, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
7. "Chase Elliott signs contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. February 20, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
8. "Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron agree to four year contract extension". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. May 23, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
9. "Alex Bowman signs three year contract extension; Ally signs five year extension with Hendrick Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. February 15, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
10. "Ricky Stenhouse Jr signs contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing UPDATE". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. May 5, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
11. "Justin Haley on the hot seat". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 29, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
12. Christie, Toby (September 2, 2025). "Stenhouse Confirms Return to HYAK Motorsports for 2026 Season". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
13. "2026 NASCAR Cup Series Team / Driver Chart". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
14. "Kaulig Racing says A.J. Allmendinger will return to Cup next season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 1, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
15. "Kyle Busch signs one year contract extension with Richard Childress Racing". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. May 24, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
16. "Jim Pohlman to serve as Kyle Busch's crew chief next year". Jayski's Silly Season Site . October 16, 2025. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
17. "Spire Motorsports, Justin Haley to part ways at end of season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
18. "Daniel Suarez signs with Spire Motorsports for 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 22, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
19. "Michael McDowell leaving Front Row Motorsports at season's end: UPDATE: Moving to Spire". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. May 8, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
20. "Carson Hocevar to drive No. 77 for Spire Motorsports next season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 10, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
21. DeGroot, Nick (February 16, 2023). "Ross Chastain signs multi-year contract extension with Trackhouse". Motorsport Network . Retrieved July 2, 2025.
22. "Trackhouse to pair Chastain with McSwain". Racer . Retrieved October 27, 2025.
23. "Trackhouse Racing announces changes for 2026 season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . November 7, 2025.
24. "Daniel Suarez not returning to Trackhouse Racing in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. July 1, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
25. "Connor Zilisch to drive Trackhouse Chevy in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
26. "Randall Burnett to crew chief for Connor Zilisch in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
27. "Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing announce multiyear contract extension". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
28. "Brad Keselowski headed to Roush Fenway Racing in driver-ownership role". NASCAR . July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
29. "T.J. Puchyr agrees to buy Rick Ware Racing". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 26, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
30. "Austin Cindric say changes in Penske IndyCar program will not impact him UPDATE". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 1, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
31. "Ryan Blaney Signs Long-Term Contract Extension with Team Penske". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 17, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
32. "NASCAR Champion Joey Logano and Team Penske Agree to Contract Extension". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 24, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
33. "Josh Berry to drive for Wood Brothers Racing next season after signing multi-year deal". Jayski's Silly Season Site . July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
34. "Denny Hamlin signs contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
35. Weaver, Matt (July 25, 2025). "Denny Hamlin inks multi-year NASCAR extension with Joe Gibbs Racing". The Sporting News . Retrieved July 25, 2025.
36. "Chase Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 25, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
37. "Rheem Returning to Sponsor Christopher Bell". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. September 29, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
38. Konenski, Austin (October 14, 2022). "NASCAR: Christopher Bell signed 'long-term deal' with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022". Sportsnaut. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
39. "Erik Jones signs multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 13, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
40. "JR Motorsports to attempt 2026 Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier". Motorsport Network . November 14, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
41. "Jimmie Johnson could run more races in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
42. "Jimmie Johnson to run Cup race at San Diego". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
43. "Noah Gragson signs multi-year deal with Front Row Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
44. "Todd Gilliland signs extension with Front Row Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 5, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
45. "Zane Smith returns to Front Row Motorsports, will drive No. 38". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. January 2, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
46. "Bubba Wallace signs multi-year contract extension with 23XI Racing". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. September 18, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
47. "23XI Racing expanding to three teams with Riley Herbst". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. November 20, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
48. "Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 racecar set to debut new look for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. November 14, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
49. "Kaulig Racing adds Daniel Dye and Justin Haley to RAM 1500 roster". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
50. "Teams to run 750hp engines at road courses and tracks shorter than 1.5 miles in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
51. "NASCAR to allow Cup drivers to run more lower series races". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. November 1, 2025. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
52. "NASCAR issues technical updates, specifying rules for 750-horsepower tracks, A-post flaps". NASCAR . November 14, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
53. "NASCAR Makes Technical Changes; A-Post Flap Now Mandatory". November 14, 2025. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
54. "NASCAR announces start times, networks for 2026 national series races". November 12, 2025.
55. "Autotrader 400". EchoPark Speedway . July 21, 2025.
56. "STRAIGHT TALK WIRELESS 500". Phoenix Raceway . November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
57. "Anduril 250 Race the Base NASCAR Cup Series Street Race to Headline NASCAR San Diego Weekend Presented by Anduril". NASCAR . August 14, 2025. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
58. "In-Season Challenge returns to Cup Series schedule in 2026". NASCAR . August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
59. "Window World 400 Marks North Wilkesboro's First NASCAR Cup Series Points Race Since 1996". North Wilkesboro Speedway . Retrieved August 20, 2025.
60. "NASCAR Championship Weekend to return to Homestead in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. May 7, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
61. Crandall, Kelly (July 18, 2025). "Chicago street circuit dropped from NASCAR schedule for 2026". Racer . Retrieved July 18, 2025.
62. "San Diego to host NASCAR's latest cup series innovation with a street race at Naval Base Coronado". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. July 23, 2025. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
63. Bianchi, Jordan (July 30, 2025). "Mexico City is out for NASCAR's 2026 schedule; Chicagoland likely in: Sources". The Athletic . New York Times . Retrieved July 30, 2025.