Complete NASCAR Cup points standings after Sonoma 2026
· Yahoo Sports
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.
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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.
Read Also: Shane van Gisbergen wins Sonoma NASCAR Cup race, Denny Hamlin takes points lead Official race results: 2026 NASCAR Cup at Sonoma2026 NASCAR Cup points after Sonoma (Race 18 of 36)
Pos.DriverPointsPositions gained or lost
1 Denny Hamlin719+12Tyler Reddick718-13Ryan Blaney615--4Ty Gibbs589+15Kyle Larson571-16Chase Elliott554--7Chris Buescher518--8Carson Hocevar509+19Daniel Suarez484-110Christopher Bell472+211Chase Briscoe468-112William Byron446+113Bubba Wallace444-214Shane van Gisbergen425+315Ryan Preece402+116Austin Cindric401-1CHASE CUTLINECHASE CUTLINECHASE CUTLINECHASE CUTLINE17Erik Jones389-318Bead Keselowski376+119AJ Allmendinger375+120Joey Logano370-121Michael McDowell369--22Ross Chastain356--23Zane Smith340--24Ricky Stenhouse Jr.319+225Riley Herbst317-126Todd Gilliland314-127John Hunter Nemechek310--28Austin Dillon280--29Alex Bowman231+330Noah Gragson221-131Josh Berry217-132Cole Custer211+133Ty Dillon204-234Connor Zilisch198--35Cody Ware156--36Kevin Magnussen11--37Casey Mears10--38Jimmie Johnson9--39Katherine Legge8--40BJ McLeod3--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.
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