2026 NASCAR Cup Series

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series will be the 78th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 55th season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season will start with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 4 at Bowman Gray Stadium, followed by America 250 Florida Duel races on February 12, and the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on February 15, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season will end with the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 8.
Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports returns as the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Teams and drivers

Team changes

Manufacturers

Chevrolet unveiled a new body style for the ZL1 in November 2025 for the 2026 season to replace the model that had been used since 2022. The redesign is based on the Camaro ZL1 Carbon Performance Package accessories kit.
Haas Factory Team and Rick Ware Racing will switch from Ford to Chevrolet in 2026. HFT will have a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, while RWR will form a technical partnership with Richard Childress Racing.

Crew chief changes

Randall Burnett will move to the Trackhouse Racing No. 88 car driven by Connor Zilisch.
Jim Pohlman will move to the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 car driven by Kyle Busch.
Justin Alexander will move to the Legacy Motor Club No. 43 car driven by Erik Jones.
Drew Blickensderfer will move to an executive role at FRM, Grant Hutchens will replace Blickensderfer as the crew chief for the No. 4 car driven by Noah Gragson.

Driver changes

Justin Haley will not return to Spire Motorsports. Haley returned to Kaulig Racing, driving in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Daniel Suárez will move from Trackhouse Racing to Spire Motorports.

Rookies

Connor Zilisch signed a multi-year contract with Trackhouse Racing to replace Suárez in 2026.

Rule changes

Pre-season

On October 8, 2025, NASCAR announced it will increase the horsepower from 670 to 750 at tracks under 1.5 miles and road courses.
On November 1, 2025, NASCAR announced it will raise the amount of races a full-time Cup driver can run in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
On November 14, 2025, it was announced that Bristol, Darlington, Dover, Nashville, New Hampshire, and St. Louis would run the short track package rather than the intermediate package from previous years. NASCAR also mandated a permanent A-post flap for all races to prevent flips. The A-post flap debuted last year at Daytona II.
Following the outcome of the 23XI Racing lawsuit, all teams became evergreen charters on December 11.
For the first time since 2014, NASCAR revealed a new postseason format on January 12, 2026. Used in the top three series, it is a return of the 'Chase' format previously used from 2004 to 2013. The top 16 drivers on points after 26 races will qualify for the Chase, with the 'win-and-you’re-in' rule being scrapped, and starting points in the Chase will be staggered based on the regular season standings.
* The points awarded for finishing first in a race was increased from 40 to 55.
* The playoff point after a driver won a stage has also been deleted.
On January 16, 2026, NASCAR announced that drivers who enter the garage during a race will no longer be eligible for the "Xfinity Fastest Lap Award". However, the driver's fastest lap before they entered the garage will still stand.

Schedule

The 2026 schedule was released on August 20, 2025, and consists of 31 oval races, 4 road course races, 1 street track race, and four non-championship races to be held on ovals. The start times were announced on November 12.
Notes: Race names and title sponsors are subject to change. Not all title sponsors/names of races have been announced for 2026. For the races where a 2026 name and title sponsor has yet to be announced, the title sponsors/names of those races in 2025 are listed.
Bolded races indicate an event generally known as a Crown Jewel race.
Oval track

Road course

Street course

Confirmed schedule changes

Homestead–Miami Speedway will return to its traditional date as the season finale for all three major series. To accommodate this change, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be removed from The Chase.
Chicago Street Course officials announced that the Grant Park 165 will not return in 2026.
The Cup Series will return to Southern California with a street race at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego. To accommodate this change, Mexico City was dropped from the schedule due to a conflict with the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The NASCAR All-Star Race will be moved from North Wilkesboro Speedway to Dover Motor Speedway, giving the former a points race, the first regular-season race held there since 1996.
Chicagoland Speedway will return to the schedule for the first time since 2019.

Season summary

Preseason

Exhibition: Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium
On January 29, NASCAR announced that practice, qualifying, and the "Last Chance Qualifying" would be postponed to February 1, with the heat races being canceled due to snow. On January 31, it was announced that the events would be postponed to February 2. On February 1, it was announced that the events would be run on February 4.