Denny Hamlin narrowly closed the gap on Tyler Reddick in the NASCAR Cup Series championship hunt after the chaotic San Diego street course encounter. While dueling for the victory, Reddick made contact with teammate Corey Heim and suffered a left-front tire puncture shortly thereafter, costing him more than 20 points and sending him to a 25th-place finish. Despite finishing 14th himself, Hamlin trimmed his deficit from 19 points to eight with Sonoma Raceway now on the horizon.
Ryan Preece emerged as the standout riser in the standings, climbing from 19th to 16th and reclaiming Chase playoff eligibility with a strong performance at the street circuit. Conversely, Shane van Gisbergen’s promising day crumbled amid a spectacular multi-car crash, dropping him from 14th to 17th—now five points outside the playoff cutoff. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also suffered a significant setback, falling four positions from 22nd to 26th.
Chase Briscoe capitalized on his strong showing to claim 10th place, pushing Christopher Bell out of the top ten—a position Bell had held previously.
2026 NASCAR Cup Series Points Standings After San Diego (Race 17 of 36)
| Pos. | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | 716 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 708 |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | 583 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson | 536 |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs | 535 |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 534 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher | 500 |
| 8 | Daniel Suarez | 478 |
| 9 | Carson Hocevar | 476 |
| 10 | Chase Briscoe | 431 |
| 11 | Bubba Wallace | 429 |
| 12 | Christopher Bell | 422 |
| 13 | William Byron | 421 |
| 14 | Erik Jones | 372 |
| 15 | Austin Cindric | 370 |
| 16 | Ryan Preece | 367 |
| 17 | Shane van Gisbergen | 362 |
| 18 | Joey Logano | 357 |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski | 354 |
| 20 | AJ Allmendinger | 346 |
| 21 | Michael McDowell | 333 |
| 22 | Ross Chastain | 327 |
| 23 | Zane Smith | 316 |
| 24 | Riley Herbst | 309 |
| 25 | Todd Gilliland | 306 |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 303 |
| 27 | John Hunter Nemechek | 298 |
| 28 | Austin Dillon | 270 |
| 29 | Noah Gragson | 216 |
| 30 | Josh Berry | 208 |
Chase Cutline: Drivers ranked 16th and above are presently positioned for playoff qualification.
Note: Kyle Busch accumulated 217 points prior to his tragic passing earlier in the season, and per NASCAR’s directive, he has been removed from the weekly driver standings.
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