Last weekend at Phoenix Raceway, several NASCAR Cup Series drivers gained ground in the race to make the Chase, while others lost what little footing they held in the standings. Who are some of the biggest losers in the points standings so far?
Among those who came out ahead after Phoenix is Christopher Bell, who entered the race in 24th.
After starting outside the top-ten, Joe Gibbs Racing driver cut through the field to finish second, a finish that helped him climb 18 spots in the standings, after collecting his 54 points.
Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin also moved forward in the standings, rising from 23rd to 12th by the end of the race after another solid run for the No. 11 team.
Sticking with Toyota, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones picked up his first top-10 finish of the season and gained 27 points, moving seven places in the standings.
Meanwhile, as expected, Tyler Reddick has kept a firm grip on the top of the standings through four races.
However, several drivers, including a former NASCAR Cup Series Champion, have seen their early momentum fade as the season rolled further west.
One driver suffering one of the sharpest drops off of 2026 is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing, who kicked off the year with a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500, placing him fifth in the standings.
But the tide turned for Stenhouse at Atlanta, where a crash left him 36th and yielded Hyak Motorsports just one point.
A 28th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas brought nine points, followed by a 22nd-place result at Phoenix worth 15 points. The stretch has dropped Stenhouse from fifth to 27th, a drastic slide of 22 positions since Daytona.
The Wood Brothers Racing driver also watched his spot in the standings move the wrong way.
A ninth-place run at Daytona left him in 13th after the season-opening 500, but the road since then has not been smooth for WBR or Berry. Early retirements at Atlanta and Phoenix totaled just six points, and a 22nd-place finish at COTA produced a mere 11 points.
These outings have pushed Berry down 18 spots, all the way down to 31st in points.
Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports is yet another driver who began the season with a full head of steam.
A sixth-place finish at Daytona delivered 41 points and fourth place in the standings. A seventh-place run at Atlanta added 30 more.
Then the wheels fell off for the No. 38 team when Smith finished 33rd at COTA for four points and 27th at Phoenix for 10 points, sending him down 15 positions to 19th, and putting a cork on a strong start to the season.
After a solid finish in the Daytona 500, that may have intentionally or unintentionally netted Tyler Reddick and 23XI their first Harley J. Earl, Riley Herbst has since seen his 2026 season drift off course.
Herbst’s eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500 snagged the No. 35 team 35 points and 11th place in the standings. But his results at Atlanta, COTA, and Phoenix (33rd, 23rd, and 18th) have yielded Herbst a similar total of 37 points.
In total, that three-race stretch has pushed him down to 24th in points, a 13-spot drop off.
One last driver feeling the reins tighten after a good start is Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing’s resident owner/driver.
After finishing fifth in the Daytona 500 (albeit while still recovering from a femur injury), Keselowski sat sixth in points. Nonetheless, his 17th-place finish at Atlanta, 20th-place finish at COTA, and 15th-place finish at Phoenix have nudged him down to 16th in the standings.
Other drivers who have watched the standings slip through their fingers include Cody Ware, who stood 21st after Daytona but now sits 31st. Meanwhile, Noah Gragson joins his FRM teammate Zane Smith on our list, as he has moved from 16th to 25th after four races.
Daniel Suarez, who had remained inside the top 10 in the standings since the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, fell 10 spots after finishing 30th at Phoenix after a promising start to the race weekend was cut short.
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