Gateway NASCAR Cup results, full standings and playoff picture

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin entered the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series “Chase” postseason as the points leader, thanks to his 89-point winning margin in the regular season point standings over Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

But that lead was reduced to 25 points to begin the 10-race playoffs, thanks to the predetermined pre-playoff point values that were announced when NASCAR made the decision to go back to the Chase format and abandon the “win and in”, knockout-style setup that had been used since 2014.

That lead was further reduced to 12 points at Darlington Raceway to begin the postseason thanks to Hamlin’s 18th place finish, and it’s now teammate Christopher Bell who is second in points after finally getting into the win column this year by winning the Cook Out Southern 500.

Will there be a new points leader for the first time since June after Sunday afternoon’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, one of just two postseason races set to be contested at a track that did not appear on the 26-race regular season calendar?

Here’s how the championship picture looks with nine races left on the postseason schedule.

NASCAR Cup Series standings before Gateway

Rank

Driver

Points

Gap

1

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2135

0

2

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2123

-12

3

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

2119

-16

4

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

2111

-24

5

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2098

-37

6

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2096

-39

7

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2086

-49

8

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

2063

-72

9

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2063

-72

10

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

2054

-81

11

Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

2047

-88

12

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2046

-89

13

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2041

-94

14

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

2033

-102

15

Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

2031

-104

16

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2021

-114

Team Penske’s Joey Logano took the pole position at Gateway, and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson joined him on the front row. A full starting lineup for Sunday’s race was determined by Saturday’s single-car qualifying session.

Follow along with our standings updates from Gateway as the Enjoy Illinois 300 unfolds.

NOTE: Only the 16 playoff drivers are included after the first two stages.

NASCAR Cup Series at Gateway: Standings after Stage 1NASCAR Cup Series at Gateway: Standings after Stage 2NASCAR Cup Series at Gateway: Full standings after Enjoy Illinois 300

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is the third race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason schedule, and it is scheduled to take place this coming Saturday, September 19, with live coverage set to be provided by USA Network from Bristol Motor Speedway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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