We’re six weeks into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, and things are just now finally starting to level out. As the season progresses and the series begins to tackle some more “normal” racetracks, the point standings become less volatile.
There are several drivers off to a fantastic start this year, while some others are going to need to mash the gas pedal, and soon, to make something happen and potentially save their entire season — and gone are the days of a single victory saving a season, it’ll take several weeks, and several good finishes to make things happen.
After six weeks, here are three drivers (and teams) that are off to a fantastic start this year.
1. Tyler Reddick & 23XI Racing
Duh… Tyler Reddick has been to Victory Lane four times in the opening six weeks of the season, becoming just the third driver in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series to do so, joining Dale Earnhardt (1987) and Bill Elliott (1992).
The Corning, California-native has already broken his single-season record for victories at NASCAR’s top level, which was three before this year, and with 30 points-paying events left on the calendar, has lots of opportunities to collect more.
It’s not just Reddick, though; all of 23XI Racing has been strong to start the year.
Bubba Wallace, the founding driver of the Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin motorsports empire, sits third in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings after four top-10s in the opening six events of the season, and leads the series in stage points earned.
Both Reddick and Wallace have had some incredible pace, and while things haven’t always worked out for the driver of the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE, Reddick has seemingly been able to overcome adversity time and time again to make something happen — a la a ripped off fender at Atlanta and a plethora of issues at Darlington.
Even Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing’s second-year driver, showed some incredible pace at Darlington this past weekend, running as high as 11th-place before getting crashed from a position inside the top-20 by rookie driver Connor Zilisch.
2. Carson Hocevar and Spire Motorsports
There were many questions starting the year about whether the Chevrolet drivers would be as strong with the implementation of the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Carbon Performance Package body, and as it turns out, the answer wasn’t very straightforward.
Hendrick Motorsports, which is the flagship team for Chevrolet, hasn’t been as strong, not winning an event in the first six races of a season for the first time since 2019, but their alliance partner, Spire Motorsports, has shown some muscle.
A relatively new outfit in the NASCAR Cup Series, all three of Spire’s NASCAR Cup Series entries (driven by Daniel Suarez, Carson Hocevar, and Michael McDowell) are sitting inside the top-17 in point standings after six weeks, and all have recorded at least one top-five finish — with Hocevar leading the three drivers with two top-fives.
This past weekend at Darlington, Hocevar led the Chevrolet drivers with a fourth-place result, while Suarez was just behind him in seventh.
#NASCAR… At Darlington, @SpireMotorsport led Chevrolet with Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez inside the top seven, beating alliance partner Hendrick Motorsports. @CarsonHocevar speaks on that alliance, plus the changes to the Chevrolet body for this year: pic.twitter.com/QCNYvi01FP
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) March 26, 2026
3. Shane Van Gisbergen (Especially on Ovals)
Ladies and Gentlemen, it may be in the early stages, but it appears Shane Van Gisbergen has started to figure out oval racing.
The Auckland, New Zealand-native enters this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway on the cutline for “The Chase”, one point ahead of 17th-place Michael McDowell, after a pretty rock-solid start to the season, which included multiple strong runs on the ovals.
Other than a 30th-place finish in the season-opening DAYTONA 500 (which some would call a crapshoot) and a 36th-place finish at Las Vegas that came after getting some significant splitter damage in a near-miss on the opening lap of the race, the driver of the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been rock-solid, even on the ovals.
Before that disastrous performance at Las Vegas, Van Gisbergen was fifth in NASCAR Cup Series point standings (obviously, a career-high) after a stretch of three top-11 finishes — two of which came on ovals. The three-time Supercars champion has been on it, and unlike last season, hasn’t let adversity get him down.
A sixth-place result at EchoPark Speedway came after a spin through the grass at a high rate of speed, an 11th-place finish at Phoenix came after two flat tires and spins, and a 14th-place finish at Darlington came after running outside the top-30 and being a lap down for much of the event.
In fact, Van Gisbergen is the highest of the three Trackhouse Racing drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, and the only one that, if “The Chase” were starting today, would be locked into the 16-driver title battle.
Don’t overlook the Kiwi, because if the progression continues as rapidly as it has to this point, we might be looking at some top-fives and even victories on the ovals by the time the checkered flag waves in Homestead.
