New season, new drivers, new points system. With the reintroduction of the Chase for 2026, things are going to look a little different.
2026 is going to be more points-focused than any year since 2013 and, with the removal of the win-and-in system for the postseason, NASCAR decided that something had to be done to properly incentivise winning.
As such, points for a race win have leapt from 40 to 55, a full 20 point gap to the 35 points awarded to the second placed driver, with points reducing by one for every position from there down.
There are some more ways to score points which we'll get into in a moment, but first: here are the points per position for race finishes.
NASCAR race points
| Pos | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 55 |
| 2 | 35 |
| 3 | 34 |
| 4 | 33 |
| 5 | 32 |
| 6 | 31 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 29 |
| 9 | 28 |
| 10 | 27 |
| 11 | 26 |
| 12 | 25 |
| 13 | 24 |
| 14 | 23 |
| 15 | 22 |
| 16 | 21 |
| 17 | 20 |
| 18 | 19 |
| 19 | 18 |
| 20 | 17 |
| 21 | 16 |
| 22 | 15 |
| 23 | 14 |
| 24 | 13 |
| 25 | 12 |
| 26 | 11 |
| 27 | 10 |
| 28 | 9 |
| 29 | 8 |
| 30 | 7 |
| 31 | 6 |
| 32 | 5 |
| 33 | 4 |
| 34 | 3 |
| 35 | 2 |
| 36 | 1 |
| 37 | 1 |
| 38 | 1 |
| 39 | 1 |
| 40 | 1 |
NASCAR stage points
There are also the standard points on offer for stage wins – ten points for being the first car over the line at the end of a stage, down to one point for tenth in any given stage.
There are also a maximum of ten points on offer for winning each of the two Duels at Daytona, which is why there are joint championship leaders (Joey Logano and Chase Elliott) before the start of the Daytona 500.
| Stage Finish Pos | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 7 |
| 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 |
Fastest lap points
Points are more of a precious resource in NASCAR than ever this year, and drivers are no longer allowed to steal one for setting the fastest lap of the race after spending half the race in the garage.
The rule is simple: if your car has been taken back to the garage at any point during the race, you can't get a fastest lap point if you come back out and just go for pure one-lap pace.
Last year's champion Kyle Larson may have prompted a rethink about this particular rule when he took the fastest lap point at Mexico City in a race which he finished 42 laps down, before doing it again later (just 15 laps down) at Watkins Glen.
Chase points reset
As recognition for sustained excellence, the top driver at the end of the regular season will earn a 25-point cushion over the second seed.
Here is how the Chase seedings will be set for the NASCAR Cup Series (Note: The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series seedings will be the same, except cut off at 12 and 10, respectively.):
1st: 2100
2nd: 2075
3rd: 2065
4th: 2060
5th: 2055
6th: 2050
7th: 2045
8th: 2040
9th: 2035
10th: 2030
11th: 2025
12th: 2020
13th: 2015
14th: 2010
15th: 2005
16th: 2000
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