NASCAR Cup Playoffs Point Standings and Updated Schedule After 2026 Phoenix Results

The race for the NASCAR championship significantly tightened after Sunday's results at Phoenix.

Tyler Reddick used a late pass during the final stage to claim the victory, but that was only half of the story of the Freeway Insurance 500.

The top seven drivers in the championship standings are now separated by 56 points. Championship leader Kyle Larson entered Phoenix with a 49-point lead.

Larson's advantage is down to five points over Christopher Bell. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Reddick fill out the top seven in that order.

Updated NASCAR Playoff Standings

1. Kyle Larson - 2,370 points
2. Christopher Bell - 2,365
3. Chase Briscoe - 2,346
4. Denny Hamlin - 2,339
5. Ryan Blaney - 2,330
6. Joey Logano - 2,326
7. Tyler Reddick - 2,314
8. Austin Cindric - 2,240
9. Ty Gibbs - 2,238
10. Chase Elliott - 2,221
11. Carson Hocevar - 2,212
12. Bubba Wallace - 2,208
13. Daniel Suarez -2,182
14. William Byron - 2,180
15. Chris Buescher - 2,166
16. Ryan Preece - 2,159

Reddick picked up his season-leading sixth victory on Sunday at Phoenix.

Reddick was the most dominant driver at the start of the season, but his form tailed off since then. The Phoenix win allowed him to claw back into the championship race with a 56-point gap up to Kyle Larson.

Larson finished in 34th following a late wreck. That drop down to fourth-from-last place allowed a handful of title contenders to get within striking distance of the No. 5 car driver with three races left in the postseason.

Briscoe was in the lead late, but he fell down to eighth after his alternate pit strategy didn't pan out for him.

The late slide by Briscoe put him in third place going into Talladega next week. Christopher Bell got to within five points of Larson thanks to his fourth-place finish.

The tightness of the standings is important to note going into Talladega because superspeedway races tend to be unpredictable. Half of the top 10 finishers at Talladega in April were drivers that didn't qualify for the postseason.

Talladega is one of three remaining playoff races. The Cup Series heads to Martinsville and then Homestead-Miami in November for the final two races of the 2026 season.