NASCAR Chase Tracker: Ty Gibbs Clinches; 12 Spots Remain

NASCAR has a new playoff system in 2026. It's back to the Chase. Instead of win-and-in, it's the top-16 drivers in the regular-season standings that will make the 10-race Chase, which will be a mini-season of its own with no eliminations. The 16 drivers will have their points reset for the start of the final 10-race stretch with the regular-season champion at 2,100 points, second place at 2,075, third place at 2,065, fourth place at 2,060 and so on by five-point increments with 16th reset to 2,000. Four races remain in the regular season: Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and Daytona. So who is in and who is out? Here's a look: Clinched Four drivers have clinched spots in the field of 16: - Denny Hamlin: The Joe Gibbs Racing driver clinched a spot after Atlanta with six races remaining. He has an 84-point edge on Tyler Reddick in the battle for the regular-season title. - Tyler Reddick: The 23XI driver also clinched a spot after Atlanta with six races remaining. His five wins this year lead the series. - Ryan Blaney: The Team Penske driver, who has two victories and a series-best 15 top-10s this year, clinched a spot after North Wilkesboro. - Ty Gibbs: The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has the most stage points of any driver this year with 181 and clinched a spot at Indianapolis. In Good Shape There are eight drivers who are 88 points or more above the cutline, and the last on that list (William Byron) would have to lose an average of 22 points a race to fall out. At Indianapolis, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson had accidents and both still lost just 17 points to the cut. - Carson Hocevar (+158): The Spire driver has a win this year along with five top fives, nine top 10s and no DNFs. He should clinch a spot with a couple of races to spare. - Chase Elliott (+155): The Hendrick driver has enjoyed his best start to a season with two victories but has not had a top-10 finish in his last eight races. - Chase Briscoe (+143): The JGR driver gained 52 points on the cutline with his win at Chicagoland a few weeks ago and that put him in the feeling safe category rather than on the bubble. He has gained another 39 points on the cutline the last two races and is now more than safe. - Kyle Larson (+137): The Hendrick Motorsports driver and defending series champion was leading all drivers with stage points until Indianapolis, when he had a flat tire and crashed just as he took the lead near the end of Stage 1. - Chris Buescher (+133): The RFK Racing driver has just one stage win this year but still has had consistent finishes. - Christopher Bell (+129): Bell has six second-place finishes this year. That might not feel great, but if he keeps rattling off those type of finishes, he could very well challenge for the title. - Daniel Suarez (+103): The Spire Motorsports driver might be the biggest surprise of the season. A ninth-place finish at North Wilkesboro put him in a position where he shouldn't get caught by anyone outside the bubble. Just take a look at Indianapolis - he finished 17th but with some stage points, he gained seven points on the cutoff. - William Byron (+88): The Hendrick driver has had an uncharacteristically inconsistent season and still seeks his first win. At least he can comfortably race without worrying about making the playoffs. On The Bubble One or two good or bad races could change who is in and who is out, especially if any drivers below the bubble win a race or two. With 76 points being the most available in a race, I'd say right now any driver 80 points above or below is on the bubble. That's the same as I figured last week and for good reason - for those outside the cutoff, one win could potentially gain them 40 or more points. Joey Logano, for instance, has gained 73 points in the last two races with a win and a third. - Joey Logano (+65): How much does a win mean? The Team Penske driver, a three-time Cup champion, went from eight points below the cutline to 49 points above with his victory at North Wilkesboro. Then with a third-place finish at Indy, he's now up to 65 points. - Bubba Wallace (+60): The 23XI driver had a wild last eight races with finishes of third, 21st, second, 22nd, sixth, 29th, sixth and 28th. One more strong run over the final four, combined with avoiding a string of horrible finishes should keep him safe. - Shane van Gisbergen (+57): The Trackhouse Racing driver won at Sonoma last month to go from five points below the cut to 36 points ahead. But maybe a bigger surprise was a fifth-place finish at North Wilkesboro that added 23 points to his cushion and he should make the Chase with just average finishes the rest of the way. Just look at Indy - he gained three points with 16th-place finish. - Austin Cindric (+38): The Team Penske driver likely expected to not be on the bubble. His fate likely isn't determined as much as what he does versus those below him. If they win like Logano did at North Wilkesboro, Cindric could find himself out of luck. - Ryan Preece (-38): The RFK driver is a fighter and likely has a chip on his shoulder after a 25-point penalty earlier this year for intentionally wrecking Ty Gibbs. A 10th-place finish at North Wilkesboro was solid but the Logano win put a damper on that finish as Preece found himself going from 33 points below the cutline to 48. He gained 10 points at Indy and if he does that the rest of the way, he could slip his way into the Chase. - Erik Jones (-44): The Legacy Motor Club driver lost 41 points at North Wilkesboro to the cutline as he finished 21st and Joey Logano won, earning 73 points compared to 16 points for Jones. Jones can see it slipping away as a 27th-place at Indy cost him another 11 points to the cutoff. - Brad Keselowski (-50): The RFK driver, the 2012 Cup champion, was up 55 points on the cutline nine races ago. He could rally quickly, but he's going to have to get going. And now it looks like he'll need at least one win. Or at least some stage wins. - Michael McDowell (-76): The Spire Motorsports driver didn't take enough advantage of the road-course races. He has no chance without a win, but Indy showed he had some speed. Whether he will have it at the short tracks is debatable. Little Or No Chance Only Cody Ware has been eliminated from contention, but these 14 drivers appear too far back to have even a remote chance to rally. A win might put them back into contention. Might. - Ross Chastain (-82): The Trackhouse driver had back-to-back top 10s entering Sonoma in June, but five finishes outside the top 10 have made this hill now too big to climb unless he can win. --AJ Allmendinger (-109): The Kaulig Racing driver had been within striking range of the Chase but back-to-back 37th-place finishes have ended his hopes before Indy. - Todd Gilliland (-112): The FRM driver has been just a little too inconsistent this year, but he's still won the $1 million prize by taking the in-season tournament. A 24th-place finish was good enough at Indy to beat Ryan Blaney, who was 26th after contact with John Hunter Nemechek. - Zane Smith (-125): His season has gone a little south over the last month. The focus now is to get better to make a playoff run in 2027. - Riley Herbst (-148): The 23XI driver lost 26 points to the cutline at Sonoma and then gained 21 points with a 10th at Chicagoland. And then lost 33 points with a 35th at Atlanta and then lost 30 at North Wilkesboro and then lost 22 at Indy. That's the up-and-down season he has had. - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-154): His chances have slipped away - he lost 21 points to the cutline at Atlanta and then 46 at North Wilkesboro. - John Hunter Nemechek (-163): The Legacy driver could ride the wave of improvement in the Legacy cars, but it is now too tall of a task to make the Chase. - Austin Dillon (-169): The Richard Childress Racing driver will be a favorite at Richmond and could win at Daytona. But even those wins won't be enough. - Alex Bowman (-208): The Hendrick driver missed four races because of vertigo earlier this year. He has three top-five finishes and just one additional top-10 finish. - Cole Custer (-248): The Haas Factory Team driver still seeks his first top 10. But a 13th at Indy showed some promise. - Noah Gragson (-250): The FRM driver has shown speed at times, but the finishes aren't there. - Ty Dillon (-252): The Kaulig driver still seeks his first top 10 of the season. - Josh Berry (-254): The Wood Brothers driver already knows he won't be back next season, and it could be a tough last few months of 2026. But he finished seventh at Indy, a good sign. - Connor Zilisch (-302): The Trackhouse rookie has had a miserable season, having failed to finish eight of the 22 races. ELIMINATED - Cody Ware: The Rick Ware Racing driver was eliminated from contention after Indianapolis. O'Reilly Series Two races remain in the regular season and 12 will advance. Clinched: Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Corey Day, Brandon Jones and Austin Hill. Truck Series Two races remain in the regular season and 10 advance. Clinched: Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith and Gio Ruggiero.