NASCAR: the Cup Series, the Chase and the Daytona 500.

How NASCAR is organised

Wikipedia (secondary) says Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR on 21 February 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida, where it is still based, and that it remains privately held and controlled by the France family. It runs three national series:

• The Cup Series, the top level.
• The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, the second tier, which was sponsored by Xfinity from 2015 to 2025 and renamed for 2026.
• The Craftsman Truck Series.

Wikipedia adds that it also sanctions the Whelen Modified Tour, the ARCA Menards Series and series in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. NASCAR is one of the six US clubs linked to the FIA through ACCUS; see governing bodies. For the cars and the racing itself, see stock cars.

The 2026 format: the Chase returns

Wikipedia (secondary) says the Cup title was decided by elimination playoffs from 2014 to 2025, and that 2025 was the last season to use them. On 12 January 2026 NASCAR replaced them with a format called the Chase. As NBC DFW reports it:

• The top 16 drivers in points after the 26 regular-season races qualify. Winning a race no longer guarantees a place.
• Points reset once, at the start of the 10-race Chase. The leader starts on 2,100 points and each place below drops by 5, down to 2,000 for 16th.
• There are no eliminations. The driver with the most points after the final race is champion.

Race points changed too. A win now pays 55 points, up from 40, with 35 for second and 34 for third. In each of the first two stages, the top 10 earn bonus points from 10 down to 1, so a driver can score at most 75 points in a race. Wikipedia (secondary) adds that the separate regular-season championship was dropped.

Other changes for 2026

Wikipedia (secondary) lists a street race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on 21 June (won by Corey Heim), North Wilkesboro becoming a points race, the return of Chicagoland, the All-Star Race moving to Dover, Mexico City leaving the schedule, and engine power rising from 670 to 750 horsepower at short tracks and road courses.

The 2025 season

Wikipedia (secondary) describes 2025 as the 77th Cup season, running from the Cook Out Clash on 2 February to Phoenix on 2 November. Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports won the title, his second after 2021, by finishing third in the Phoenix finale after taking only two tyres on his last stop, according to NBC Washington. His rival Denny Hamlin finished sixth, William Byron finished 33rd after a flat tyre, and Ryan Blaney, already out of contention, won the race.

Wikipedia also notes two records from 2025: Shane van Gisbergen's four wins were the most by a rookie, and the race in Mexico City was the first points-paying Cup race outside the US since 1958.

Kyle Busch

The 2026 season was marked by the death of Kyle Busch on 21 May 2026, at the age of 41. NPR member station Michigan Public and the Boston Globe reported that he died after being hospitalised with a severe illness. Wikipedia (secondary) records him as a two-time Cup Series champion.

The 2026 season (in progress)

The 2026 Chase was still running as of 20 October 2026, with no champion decided. The finale is the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on 8 November 2026, per Wikipedia (secondary).

Chase Briscoe won the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte, reported on 11 October 2026, ahead of his teammate Christopher Bell. A week later, on 18 October, Tyler Reddick won the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix, his sixth win of the season and the most of any driver. NASCAR.com reports that he beat Ryan Blaney by 0.801 seconds after taking two tyres under a late caution and led only the final 18 laps. Points leader Kyle Larson blew a tyre, hit the wall in Turn 1 and retired.

Standings are from Bleacher Report. Reddick's 56-point gap to Larson in that table matches the post-race gap given by NASCAR.com. Three races remain: Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami.

The Daytona 500

Background

NASCAR says the first Daytona 500 was run in 1959, when Lee Petty was declared the winner by about two feet after a photo-finish review that took around 61 hours. The race has opened the NASCAR season every February since 1982. Richard Petty holds the record with seven wins, which Britannica lists as 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979 and 1981; Cale Yarborough is next with four, per NASCAR. Wikipedia (secondary) describes the race as 200 laps of the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

Recent races

• 2025. William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports won for the second year running, the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019 and 2020. CNN reports that rain stopped the race after 11 of 200 laps for more than three hours, and that it was settled after a last-lap crash following a green-white-checker restart.
• 2026. Tyler Reddick won the 68th Daytona 500 on 15 February 2026 in the No. 45 for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan. Fox Sports reports that he passed Chase Elliott into the final turn after a late crash took out the leader, Carson Hocevar, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finishing second.