Denny Hamlin left Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night, September 19, without the NASCAR Cup Series points lead and with a direct assessment of what must change.
Kyle Larson now heads the standings with 2,206 points, one ahead of Hamlin. Bristol winner Joey Logano sits third on 2,190, bringing another championship threat into a tightly packed fight before the series travels to Kansas.
Larson takes over by one point
Larson’s second-place finish at Bristol completed a rapid change at the front of the Chase. He arrived at the Tennessee short track second in the postseason after ending a 51-race winless streak at Gateway, his first victory in 16 months.
That Gateway result also delivered a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2 finish. One race later, Larson has moved past Hamlin, although the difference between them is the smallest possible whole-point margin.
Hamlin’s comment reflected the new order after the third event of the 10-race Chase.
Logano’s victory added another complication. He scored 73 points at Bristol and reached 40 career Cup wins, while Larson collected 47 points. Logano is now 16 points behind Larson in the displayed standings.
Logano cashes in at Bristol
Logano emerged with the victory after a final restart changed the race. Ty Gibbs had led 120 laps and was in control for that restart, but he lost his grip on the lead as the finish unfolded.
Larson came home second, with Carson Hocevar third on 41 points. Christopher Bell finished fourth, keeping himself near the title conversation after winning the Southern 500 at Darlington in the opening Chase race.
Bell had passed defending champion Larson to win at Darlington. Larson answered at Gateway, then followed that victory with his Bristol runner-up result. The first three Chase events have therefore produced wins for Bell, Larson and Logano.
The championship lead has changed with them.
Ten races decide the championship
NASCAR’s 2026 championship format features 16 drivers across a 10-race Chase, with the title scheduled to be settled at Homestead-Miami Speedway in mid-November.
Bristol was race three of that sequence. Larson’s 2,206 points give him control entering the next round, but Hamlin’s 2,205 leave no margin for a poor result from either contender. Logano’s 2,190 keep the Bristol winner within immediate reach.
The opening stretch has already rewarded three different drivers. Bell struck first at Darlington, Larson ended his long drought at Gateway and Logano converted Bristol into career victory number 40.
There is no elimination reset separating the leading pair after Bristol. Every point collected across the remaining events feeds into the same championship race toward Homestead-Miami.
Bristol produces late flashpoint
The title change was accompanied by a separate postrace confrontation. Hocevar punched Ryan Blaney after their late clash in the Cup race, following an incident that carried from the track into the aftermath.
Hocevar still secured third place behind Logano and Larson. The result gave him 41 points from the race, while the altercation became the other major development from Saturday night.
Larson had started from pole after rain canceled qualifying. NASCAR used its metric to set the grid, placing the Hendrick Motorsports driver at the front before a race that ended with him taking the championship lead.
Gibbs, meanwhile, left without the win after controlling 120 laps. His final-restart loss opened the way for Logano, whose 73-point haul was 26 greater than Larson’s total for the event.
Kansas begins the next phase
The Cup Series now moves from Bristol’s short track to Kansas II, scheduled across September 24 to 27. It begins a three-event run that will continue at Las Vegas II from October 1 to 4 and Charlotte II from October 8 to 11.
Larson arrives at Kansas holding the lead for the first time in this Chase, fresh from consecutive results of first at Gateway and second at Bristol. Hamlin arrives one point behind and publicly calling for better performance.
Logano carries the newest race win and sits 16 points off first place. Bell heads onward after fourth at Bristol, three races removed from his Chase-opening Southern 500 victory.
Kansas will stage the fourth of the 10 championship events from September 24 to 27, with Larson leading Hamlin by a single point.
