Motorsport photo Nick DeGroot Sun, October 18, 2026 at 11:20 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The championship picture has completely changed with just three races left in the 2026 NASCAR Cup season. Championship leader Kyle Larson wrecked out of the race due to a cut tire, finishing 34th and scoring just three points.
Christopher Bell is now second, just 5pts back of the lead while the top seven in the championship have just 56 points between them all. Chase Briscoe is third, 24 points behind.
Denny Hamlin suffered a flat tire and a speeding penalty at Phoenix, dropping down to fourth, but he still gained a little bit of ground. He was 49pts behind Larson, but is now 31pts back following Larson's DNF.
Two Penske drivers made huge gains, as Blaney and Logano erased at least half of their deficit to the leader. Tyler Reddick won the race, and pulls within 56pts of the championship lead.
The biggest mover in the Chase standings was Chase Elliott , jumping two positions to tenth with a third-place finish. Hamlin was the biggest loser, falling from second to fourth.
In the best of the rest battle for 17th, Shane van Gisbergen is now 46pts ahead of Brad Keselowski and 56pts ahead of teammate Ross Chastain .
Tyler Reddick wins Phoenix NASCAR Cup thriller as Kyle Larson crashes
Kyle Larson's points lead vanishes with costly Phoenix crash
Official race results: 2026 NASCAR Cup Phoenix II
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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Source: Sports
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