New 2026 NASCAR Cup points standings after Iowa, Chase picture
August 10, 2026
Denny Hamlin still leads the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series points standings after Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350, but Ty Gibbs made the biggest move in the title race by winning the 350-lap event and jumping into second place.
Hamlin, who finished fifth after starting from the rear, leaves Iowa with a 103-point advantage over Gibbs with only three regular-season races remaining.
Gibbs’ victory lifted him from fourth to second in the standings, leapfrogging Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick. However, the battle for P2 is far from over as just 17 points separate the three drivers.
Runner-up finisher Christopher Bell moved up from tenth to sixth behind Chase Briscoe, while Carson Hocevar dropped from fifth to eighth after grappling with engine issues throughout the race.
Further down at the Chase cutline, Austin Cindric sits on the bubble but Ryan Preece shaved his advantage to just 29 points with three races to go.
Ross Chastain, meanwhile, jumped up from 21st to 18th and now sits 47 points below the chase cutline, followed by Brad Keselowski and Erik Jones – all three still in contention for the final spot.
2026 NASCAR Cup Iowa Corn 350 Race Results
Full 2026 NASCAR Cup points standings after Iowa Corn 350
| Pos | Driver | Points | Gap | The Chase Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 923 | 0 | Locked into Chase |
| 2 | Ty Gibbs | 820 | -103 | Locked into Chase |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | 813 | -110 | Locked into Chase |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | 803 | -120 | Locked into Chase |
| 5 | Chase Briscoe | 663 | -260 | +166 Above Cutline |
| 6 | Christopher Bell | 659 | -264 | +162 Above Cutline |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 657 | -266 | +160 Above Cutline |
| 8 | Carson Hocevar | 644 | -279 | +147 Above Cutline |
| 9 | Chris Buescher | 637 | -286 | +140 Above Cutline |
| 10 | Kyle Larson | 629 | -294 | +132 Above Cutline |
| 11 | William Byron | 600 | -323 | +103 Above Cutline |
| 12 | Daniel Suárez | 597 | -326 | +100 Above Cutline |
| 13 | Joey Logano | 586 | -337 | +89 Above Cutline |
| 14 | Bubba Wallace | 565 | -358 | +68 Above Cutline |
| 15 | Shane van Gisbergen | 544 | -379 | +47 Above Cutline |
| 16 | Austin Cindric | 526 | -397 | +29 Above Cutline |
| 17 | Ryan Preece | 497 | -426 | -29 Below Cutline |
| 18 | Ross Chastain | 479 | -444 | -47 Below Cutline |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski | 478 | -445 | -48 Below Cutline |
| 20 | Erik Jones | 476 | -447 | -50 Below Cutline |
| 21 | Michael McDowell | 454 | -469 | -72 Below Cutline |
| 22 | AJ Allmendinger | 438 | -485 | -88 Below Cutline |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | 421 | -502 | -105 Below Cutline |
| 24 | Zane Smith | 417 | -506 | -109 Below Cutline |
| 25 | Riley Herbst | 386 | -537 | -140 Below Cutline |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 383 | -540 | -143 Below Cutline |
| 27 | Austin Dillon | 382 | -541 | -144 Below Cutline |
| 28 | John H. Nemechek | 373 | -550 | -153 Below Cutline |
| 29 | Alex Bowman | 313 | -610 | ELIMINATED |
| 30 | Josh Berry | 297 | -626 | ELIMINATED |
| 31 | Noah Gragson | 288 | -635 | ELIMINATED |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 279 | -644 | ELIMINATED |
| 33 | Cole Custer | 279 | -644 | ELIMINATED |
| 34 | Connor Zilisch | 245 | -678 | ELIMINATED |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 188 | -735 | ELIMINATED |
