As the regular season concludes, Denny Hamlin remains at the forefront of the restructured championship standings. His former 89-point advantage has been revised to a 25-point cushion, underscoring the intense competition where the top 16 drivers are separated by just 100 points. Hamlin accumulated 1,027 points in the regular season and now resets to 2,100 as the premier seed.
Ryan Preece marked a career highlight by capturing his inaugural NASCAR Cup Series win, which secured him the final available Chase position, bumping Shane van Gisbergen out of contention by 17 points.
The victory by Preece also highlights a subtle disparity in the owner’s standings; the No. 60 car leads Preece by five points, and it additionally surpassed Cindric to place 15th before the points were reset.
Daniel Suarez was the standout performer, gaining two positions with a runner-up finish that earned him ten bonus points immediately prior to the Chase reset.
Riley Herbst endured the most significant decline, withdrawing from the event due to lingering effects from a previous week’s accident at New Hampshire. This resulted in a drop of three spots, from 26th to 29th in the championship standings.
Race Replay: Preece Clinches Chase Berth with Daytona Victory
2026 NASCAR Cup Points After Daytona II (Race 26 of 36 Updated)
Note: In a difficult turn of events, Kyle Busch scored 217 points before his untimely passing. In line with NASCAR’s directive, he has been removed from the ongoing driver standings.
