Kyle Larson’s points lead in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase shrunk from 49 points to five points following the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix. The driver of the No. 5 suffered a 34th-place DNF after a right-front tire failure in the final stage caused him to crash into the wall.
Larson did not earn any stage points in Sunday’s race after being mired back in the pack for the majority of the 312-lap race. Christopher Bell finished fourth on Sunday and moved into the second position in the standings with only three races remaining.
Chase Briscoe took over the third position in the points and is now 24 points out of first place. Denny Hamlin dropped two spots in the points back to the fourth position, but managed to gain 18 points on Larson and is now 31 points behind.
Team Penske drivers Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano made up tremendous ground at Phoenix. Blaney ranks fifth in the points standings, 40 points behind Larson, while Logano sits sixth in the points, 44 behind the leader.
Tyler Reddick won the Cup Series race at Phoenix for his sixth victory of the season. The driver of the No. 45 ranks seventh in the standings, 56 points behind Larson.
Following a topsy-turvy afternoon in the desert, seven drivers are within one race of each other in the points standings with only three races to go.
Updated NASCAR Cup Series Chase Standings After Phoenix
Here are the updated NASCAR Cup Series points standings following the Freeway Insurance 500:
- Kyle Larson — LEADER
- Christopher Bell — (-5)
- Chase Briscoe — (-24)
- Denny Hamlin — (-31)
- Ryan Blaney — (-40)
- Joey Logano — (-44)
- Tyler Reddick — (-56)
- Austin Cindric — (-130)
- Ty Gibbs — (-132)
- Chase Elliott — (-149)
- Carson Hocevar — (-158)
- Bubba Wallace — (-162)
- Daniel Suarez — (-188)
- William Byron — (-190)
- Chris Buescher — (-204)
- Ryan Preece — (-211)
Chase Elliott finished third on Sunday and moved up to the 10th position in the standings. That forced Carson Hocevar to lose one position as the driver of the No. 77 now sits 11th in the points.
Daniel Suarez moved up to the 13th spot in the standings after Phoenix, overtaking William Byron, who now ranks 14th.
Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead are the final three races of the 2026 Cup Series season. With the chaos and unpredictability of drafting-track racing, Talladega could be another race where the championship fight sees a major shakeup.
The Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled for next Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. It can be watched on NBC or listened to on the Motor Racing Network.