Seven in, five to be decided. After Atlanta, we know the Chase will feature Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, all in by points. We know that even if Kasey Kahne finishes outside the top-10, he is in as his two win total can be matched but can not be beat among wild card entrants.
Usually we care about the big names, the pied pipers leading the way. At Bristol, there was some excitement as Matt Kenseth held off two-time winner Kasey Kahne to win his fifth of the season and locked a spot in the Chase. It was an exciting finish, but in the scheme of things as to what is most meaningful at the moment, not so much.
So what did we learn at the Glen on Sunday? Well, road course aces usually do not end up with the great finish the owner had hoped for when they made the change. Tommy Drissi drove for Joe Nemechek while Victor Gonzalez Jr got in a car for Tommy Baldwin.
America has always had those who led them to the promised land. Daniel Boone blazed the Wilderness Road. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark followed the Missouri River enroute to the Pacific. Jim Bridger helped open the way to the wonders of Yellowstone.
It was Jimmie Johnson's race to lose, so he did. The Brickyard 400 came down to a pit stop that took about four seconds too long, but more than three seconds more than pole sitter Ryan Newman needed to win.
When you see Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, I swear a Queen song can be heard in the background. "We Are The Champions", they seem to be once again serenading the rest of the field during recent events.
How do you win four races in a season? You Matt'er down of course, which is exactly what Mr. Kenseth did at Kentucky on Sunday. He might not have had the best car on the day, but he did when it counted as he claimed his 28th career victory. The victory moves him to fifth in the standings and, even more important, three bonus points up on Jimmie Johnson in re-calibrated Chase points.
Martin Truex Jr has the best sideburns in the business, and now he has the shortest losing streak. That 218 race gap between victories came to an end as he drove away in the hills of Sonoma, just outside of San Francisco on Sunday. Have there been longer droughts? Certainly. Michael Waltrip went 462 before he finally won a Cup race. J.D. McDuffie went 653 and never won. In fact, in 1991 he died at Watkins Glen in his final attempt.
1000 victories. That is a pretty hefty number no matter what you are talking about. For Ford, Greg Biffle's performance at Michigan allowed the manufacturer to hit the milestone, 64 years after Jim Roper was declared the winner at Charlotte in the first ever NASCAR event. For the Biff, it marked his first win of the season and the 19th of his career to leave him eighth in the standings.
The 18-year-old Crews from Hickory, North Carolina, contended for his first O'Reilly victory in the closing laps before settling in a career-best third place at the Last Great Coliseum.
The 19-year-old Zilisch from Charlotte, North Carolina, led 24 of 300 laps and utilized a late move by remaining on the track with worn tires to prevail through two restarts and claim his first NASCAR victory both of the 2026 season and at Bristol.
The 2023 Cup Series champion from Hartford Township, Ohio, clocked in a pole-winning lap at 127.064 mph in 15.101 seconds for his first Cup pole of 2026 at The Last Great Coliseum.
The two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion from Prairie, Minnesota, claimed his first O'Reilly Auto Parts Series pole position of the 2026 season as he bids for his first Dash 4 Cash bonus.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway.
