Kenseth finished 7th at Dover, failing in his quest to become the first driver to win the first three Chase For The Cup races. Kenseth leads Jimmie Johnson by eight points in the standings.
Kenseth took the lead for good with 93 laps left and held of Kyle Busch to win the Sylvania 300, his second consecutive win. He leads Busch by 14 in the Sprint Cup point standings.
Kenseth passed Kyle Busch on a restart with 27 laps to go and held on to win the rain-delayed Geico 400 at Chicagoland. Kenseth leads Busch by eight points in the Sprint Cup point standings.
Busch took the lead in the pits during the final caution at Atlanta and sped away on the restart to win the AdvoCare 500. It was Busch’s fourth win of the year, tied with Jimmie Johnson and one behind Matt Kenseth.
Kenseth led the final 125 laps and held off Kasey Kahne to win the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol, his series-best fifth win of the year. If the Chase For The Cup started this week, Kenseth would be the top seed.
Johnson’s day ended when his engine blew on lap 55 and he eventually finished 40th, but still maintained a healthy lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He leads Clint Bowyer by 41.
Johnson finished eighth at Watkins Glen, posting his series-best 15th top-10 result. His lead in the Sprint Cup point standings is 75 over Clint Bowyer.
Johnson started from the pole at Pocono but found trouble on lap 76 when he cut a tire and hit the wall. Despite the damage, he finished 13th and actually increased his lead in the points standings to 77 over Clint Bowyer.
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.
