LONG POND, Pa. — Cue the dramatic music. With only 10 races remaining now to set the Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship run, the top of the standings have never been closer and there’s a lot of shuffling happening at the cutoff line too in deciding which 16 drivers will have a shot at the 2026 title.
Sunday’s race in front of a sold-out, ever-enthusiastic Pocono Raceway crowd was significant in many ways – from Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin completing a career first three-in-a-row win streak, to the historical nod of him doing so from pole position in each case (something only three other drivers have ever accomplished) – to the huge impact Hamlin’s summer vibe on atop the championship standings to the reinvigorated vibe Legacy Motor Club is showing on track.
The championship intrigue and gloves-off competitive spirit are peaking heading into a huge high-profile debut weekend for the sport in San Diego – a tripleheader at Naval Base Coronado capped with Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Anduril 250.
As he has since day one of the season, the five-race winner, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick continues to hold his place atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, but what was a one-time 100-points plus advantage on the field has been sliced and diced to a mere 19-point advantage over the series’ hottest driver Hamlin. Who just happens to be a co-owner – along with NBA legend Michael Jordan – of Reddick’s team.
Reddick was 110 points up on Hamlin heading into May. Since then, Hamlin won the non-points paying All-Star Race, and three in a row (at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono).
“I’m just at this point in my career trying to stack as many wins as possible – points, whatever,” Hamlin said after the race. “Wherever we finish in the championship, whatever.
“To me it’s like wins, wins, wins. What is your win percentage? That’s what I really, really am trying to continue on a run. I mean, you always have aspirations to win 36 out of 36 races in a given season. You know it’s not going to happen. But we’ve had so many races where we’ve been dominant this year.
“We won four, but man, we could easily have a lot right now. So, I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve had a year where it’s been this wild and crazy being able to execute. That’s been the biggest difference. The last month compared to earlier in the season, the speed is no different, it’s just that the execution is better.”
Another big storyline out of Pocono was the continued success of another Toyota team, Legacy Motor Club, which had both its drivers finish inside the top-10 for the second time this season – second time in the team’s history in a non-superspeedway race.
The pair essentially one-upped that Texas effort with Nemechek placing fourth and Jones sixth on Sunday – bettering their previous top-10 double at Texas in May (Jones was fifth and Nemechek eighth). Not just that, but Nemechek’s 42 laps led in the No. 42 Toyota were significant considering that’s more than he led the entire 2024 (36 laps) and 2025 (37 laps) full seasons.
Beyond the boost of momentum, the effort has vaulted Jones up three positions to in the championship standings. He’s now 15th among the Chase-bound top-16.
“Good to keep the momentum rolling,” Jones said. “We’ve got two challenging weeks ahead in San Diego and Sonoma that we really have to hammer through and get a result out of both of them. Proud of the effort and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”
And truthfully, what better time for Legacy to claim headlines and feel the competitive shift as the sport heads to team owner Jimmie Johnson’s hometown. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion grew up in El Cajon, less than a half hour drive from the Naval Base Coronado street course hosting NASCAR this weekend, and will drive the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota on Sunday.
“Proud of what our team showed yesterday,” a proud Johnson posted on social media. “We’ve been seeing the progress internally for a while now, and it’s exciting to see it coming together on track. [Nemechek] led a lot of laps, [Jones] was in the mix all day and the pit crew was incredible. Excited to see what we can do in San Diego.”
