Daniel Céspedes

The 2026 Cup Series Season Visualized.

Long thread with graphs for all types of stats: finishes by track type, points scored, Average Running Position, miles led, head-to-head records, and more!

Starting with how many times drivers were the best-finishing driver for their team:

Despite the switch from Playoffs to The Chase, Bell finished 2nd in the standings this season, maintaining his status as the only driver to finish Top 5 in each Next Gen season.

Full look at where every 2026 driver has finished each year:

On Actions Detrimental, @dennyhamlin asked whether it was Larson's performance or execution that improved from the Regular Season to the Chase.

Relative to the field on non-drafting ovals, Larson's pace and ARP rankings dropped; it was the points and finishes that improved.

Points scored in 2026 vs. 2025

Most improved: Gibbs, +384
Most improved in a new ride: Suárez, +283
Most regressed: Bowman, -282
Most regressed without missing races: Byron, -223

Blaney and Larson were the only two drivers to be Top 4 in both seasons.

Larson essentially sealing the title with a win at Talladega of all places was already absurd. But it gets even funnier when you realize that, even with that win, he had the 2nd worst Average Finish on superspeedways this season.