2026 NASCAR Cup Series

Schedule Season Info

Cup Series Tracks

This year's tracks consists of oval, road, and street courses, either on paved, concrete, or road surfaces.

Dover International Speedway
31
oval tracks
Watkins Glen International
4
road courses
Coronado Street Circuit
1
street course

New Rule Changes

Technical Updates

The Cup Series will use a 750-horsepower package with a smaller spoiler on tracks under 1.5 miles, including Bristol, Darlington, Dover, Nashville, and Gateway.

A-post flaps, introduced in 2024, become mandatory at all tracks to prevent cars from flipping.

Lower Series Limits

Experienced Cup drivers (3+ years) can now run up to 10 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (Xfinity) races and 8 Craftsman Truck Series races.

This is up from the previous limit of five each, but they remain ineligible for playoffs in those series.

Charter Agreement

In December 2025, NASCAR agreed to grant all Cup Series teams permanent, or "evergreen," charters.

This change provides long-term stability and security for team ownership, a significant shift from the previous system where charters expired and required renewal.

2026 Teams & Drivers

MFRTeamNo.DriverCrew chief
Chevrolet
Hendrick Motorsports5Kyle LarsonCliff Daniels
9Chase ElliottAlan Gustafson
24William ByronRudy Fugle
48Alex BowmanBlake Harris
Hyak Motorsports47Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Mike Kelly
Kaulig Racing10Ty DillonAndrew Dickeson
16A. J. AllmendingerTrent Owens
Haas Factory Team41Cole CusterAaron Kramer
Richard Childress Racing3Austin DillonRichard Boswell
8Kyle BuschJim Pohlman
Spire Motorsports7Daniel SuárezRyan Sparks
71Michael McDowellTravis Peterson
77Carson HocevarLuke Lambert
Rick Ware Racing51Cody WareBilly Plourde
Trackhouse Racing1Ross ChastainBranson McSwain
97Shane van GisbergenStephen Doran
88Connor ZilischRandall Burnett
Ford
Front Row Motorsports34Todd GillilandChris Lawson
38Zane SmithRyan Bergenty
4Noah GragsonGrant Hutchens
RFK Racing6Brad KeselowskiJeremy Bullins
17Chris BuescherScott Graves
60Ryan PreeceDerrick Finley
Team Penske2Austin CindricBrian Wilson
12Ryan BlaneyJonathan Hassler
22Joey LoganoPaul Wolfe
Wood Brothers Racing21Josh BerryMiles Stanley
Toyota
23XI Racing23Bubba WallaceCharles Denike
35Riley HerbstDavin Restivo
45Tyler ReddickBilly Scott
Joe Gibbs Racing11Denny HamlinChris Gayle
19Chase BriscoeJames Small
20Christopher BellAdam Stevens
54Ty GibbsTyler Allen
Legacy Motor Club42John Hunter NemechekTravis Mack
43Erik JonesJustin Alexander