Complete Series Guide

The NASCAR Cup Series: Complete Guide to Stock Car Racing's Premier National Championship

A complete guide to the NASCAR Cup Series, the 2026 championship picture, the teams and manufacturers, key storylines, crown-jewel races, and how to watch every race.

What Is the NASCAR Cup Series?

The NASCAR Cup Series is the top tier of American stock car racing, the premier national championship that sits at the summit of the NASCAR ladder, above the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. It is where the sport's biggest names, deepest-funded teams, and most-watched races live.

A Cup season runs from February to November and is built around a regular season followed by a playoff, with the championship decided at the season-ending finale. Three manufacturers field cars, Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota, and the marquee organizations spend the year chasing both individual race wins and the season-long title.

For the live, always-current order of the championship, see the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series standings, updated after every race.

The 2026 Championship

The 2026 Cup season has 36 points races. The regular season ended at Daytona on Aug. 29, where Ryan Preece won to make the field. The 16-driver Chase runs the final 10 races and ends with the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8.

This year's Chase drivers: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suárez, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece.

For the current order, see the standings page.

Teams and Manufacturers

The Cup garage is defined by a handful of powerhouse organizations:

Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet), the winningest team in series history; Elliott, Larson, William Byron.
Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota), Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe.
Team Penske (Ford), Blaney, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric.
23XI Racing (Toyota), co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan; home of Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace.
Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet), Shane van Gisbergen, Ross Chastain.
RFK Racing (Ford), Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet), Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet), Kaulig Racing, and Legacy Motor Club fill out the field.

2026 Storylines

Remembering Kyle Busch. The 2026 season was marked by the death of two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch on May 21, 2026. The loss reverberated across every national series in the days that followed, with tributes throughout the Memorial Day race weekend at Charlotte. Richard Childress Racing renumbered his Cup entry from the No. 8 to the No. 33 in the aftermath. Busch's final victory had come just days earlier in the Truck Series at Dover.

Larson and Briscoe win in the Chase. Kyle Larson won at Kansas on Sept. 27 for his 34th career Cup win. Chase Briscoe won at Las Vegas on Oct. 4, his second win of 2026.

Hamlin's hot streak. Denny Hamlin won three straight Cup points races at Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono, the first three-race win streak of his career. His Pocono win was his fourth of the season and a record eighth at the track. Earlier in the year he also won the first-ever Dover All-Star Race from the pole.

The Hall calls. The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Larry Phillips, will be inducted in Charlotte in January 2027.

Crown Jewels and Notable 2026 Races

Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte Motor Speedway), NASCAR's longest race at 600 miles, run Memorial Day weekend under a "250 Years of America" theme and the Mission 600 military-honor program.
NASCAR San Diego Weekend, Anduril 250 "Race the Base" (Naval Base Coronado), the Cup Series' first-ever race weekend at a U.S. naval installation, run June 21, 2026 and won by Corey Heim, the defending Truck Series champion, his first career Cup victory on his 12-race development slate with 23XI Racing.

The complete calendar is on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

How to Watch

Cup races are carried across NASCAR's broadcast partners, including FOX, FS1, USA Network, and streaming on Amazon Prime Video (the Coca-Cola 600 aired on Prime Video). Radio coverage is on the Performance Racing Network (PRN), the Motor Racing Network (MRN), and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Check the schedule for the broadcast window of each race.

Why It Matters

The Cup Series is the summit of stock car racing, the championship every driver in the CARS Tour, the Craftsman Truck Series, and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series is climbing toward. For Grand National Today, the Cup Series is the top of the ladder we cover end to end: the same drivers, teams, and tracks that shape regional racing all point here. Every Cup weekend sets the agenda for the entire sport.

Track Guides

Track Guide

The NASCAR Cup Series: Complete Guide to Stock Car Racing's Premier National Championship

What Is the NASCAR Cup Series?

The 2026 Championship

Teams and Manufacturers

2026 Storylines

Crown Jewels and Notable 2026 Races

How to Watch

Why It Matters

Track Guides

Ace Speedway

Anderson Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway

Caraway Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Chicagoland Speedway

Circuit of the Americas

Darlington Raceway

Daytona International Speedway Track Guide

Dominion Raceway

Dover Motor Speedway

EchoPark Speedway

Florence Motor Speedway

Hickory Motor Speedway

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Iowa Speedway

Kansas Speedway

Langley Speedway

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

Martinsville Speedway

Michigan International Speedway

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

Nashville Superspeedway

Naval Base Coronado

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Newport Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway

Phoenix Raceway

Pocono Raceway

Richmond Raceway

Rockingham Speedway

Sonoma Raceway

South Boston Speedway

Southern National Motorsports Park

Talladega Superspeedway

Texas Motor Speedway

Tri-County Speedway

Wake County Speedway

Watkins Glen International

World Wide Technology Raceway

Driver Profiles

Andy Jankowiak

Anthony Alfredo

Austin Green

Austin Hill

Blaine Perkins

Brandon Jones

Brenden Queen

Brennan Poole

Brent Crews

Brexton Busch

Caden Kvapil

Caesar Bacarella

Team Profiles

Alpha Prime Racing

AM Racing

Big Machine Racing

DGM Racing

Haas Factory Team

Hendrick Motorsports

Jeremy Clements Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing

Joey Gase Motorsports

Jordan Anderson Racing

JR Motorsports

Kaulig Racing