The first four races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season included two drafting tracks, a high-speed, technical road course, followed by a 1-mile oval with an emphasis on tire conservation. All told, that creates many variables where, if they don’t play their cards right, drivers could face a significant early-season points deficit.
As outlined by Neil Paine, several competitors are off to rocky starts and could be on the verge of smashing the early panic button. But conversely, a group of seven in the Cup Series are off to significantly better starts compared to this point last year — on the same set of tracks, too.
Courtesy of Racing Insights, see which much-improved drivers are already in solid spots ahead of the first 1.5-mile race of the season Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Cup Series standings | Las Vegas weekend schedule
Tyler Reddick
Reddick pretty much goes without saying, but his three straight wins to open the 2026 season — including the Daytona 500, of course — position him incredibly well for a deep run through the 2026 Chase. His eighth-place finish last weekend at Phoenix Raceway dropped his average finish on the campaign to a whopping 2.8, but in comparison, his start to 2025 certainly wasn’t bad. Reddick earned a pair of top threes over the first four races last year, averaging out to 11.2 after Phoenix (8.2 spots better).
The No. 45 23XI Racing driver has a 60-point lead in the Cup Series standings, down from 70 after Ryan Blaney’s win last weekend. But surviving three “wild card” races and adding a strong run in the desert makes him the early championship favorite, and he’ll be afforded some slip-ups down the road.
“[We] scored the fourth most amount of points on the day. That’s kind of what we need to keep doing all year to keep the lead that we have and try and hang on to it,” Reddick said after his win streak was snapped Sunday. “If we’re not going to win, these are the kind of days we need to have.”
Ryan Preece
Preece got the proverbial monkey off his back with his first Cup Series win of any type in February’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. And while it’s still early, it certainly seems like that momentum has carried over to the regular season. The No. 60 RFK Racing driver has three top 20s through four races, including a ninth-place finish at EchoPark Speedway. That averages out to a 16.3 finish, 8.2 spots better than last year through Phoenix.
For reference, Preece missed the playoffs by 67 points in 2025 after starting 24th in points through four races (although he earned the 16th most points through the regular season). He’s currently 18th in points, but with several short tracks coming up — as well as Las Vegas, where he finished third in the spring — Preece’s early gains could prove worthy toward his first Chase bid.
Ty Gibbs
The opening two drafting tracks didn’t go to plan for Gibbs, but a pair of fourth-place finishes at Circuit of The Americas and Phoenix the last two weeks have quickly turned the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota’s misfortunes around. Gibbs got off to a miserable start in 2025, scoring just one finish better than 22nd over the first six weeks. But compared to the first four races, the 23-year-old is 9.2 spots better than 2025, averaging a 17.0 average finish through Phoenix to open 2026.
Similar to Preece, Gibbs’ rough start last year ultimately took him out of contention for a playoff spot, but with the Chase format — and already sitting 15th in points — the fourth-year driver has his sights set on a bounce-back year.
“I’m with the right guys. That makes a difference. So we’re running good because of that,” Gibbs said Sunday at Phoenix. “Really happy with my team, everybody has done a great job, everybody believes in me, we all believe in each other.”
Shane van Gisbergen
Watch out, folks. The king of the road course is starting to get this oval thing figured out.
Through four races, SVG sits fifth in points, and the way he’s gotten there is nothing short of impressive. After crashing in the Daytona 500 and finishing 30th, the Kiwi ripped off three consecutive finishes of 11th or better, highlighted by a runner-up at COTA — his bread and butter. But at both EchoPark in February and Phoenix last weekend, the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing driver spun twice in each race, yet still recovered for strong points days. His average finish thus far is 12.3, 11 spots better than last year, and is a remarkable 14 spots better in points.
Phoenix started a stretch of seven consecutive races that are featured again on the schedule during The Chase, and SVG clearly improves exponentially each time he revisits an oval. If this trend continues, the Cup Series field could be in trouble.
AJ Allmendinger
Speaking of road-course kings, Allmendinger is off to his own stellar start in 2026, amplified by Kaulig Racing’s current state. With the organization adding a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program under Ram’s support, Kaulig is without a technical alliance for its two Cup Series Chevrolets — but you couldn’t tell. Allmendinger hasn’t finished worse than 19th through four races, averaging a result of 14.8 — 12 spots better than 2025. He’s 13th in points, while teammate Ty Dillon sits a respectable 21st.
Allmendinger doesn’t instantly come to mind as a contender to make The Chase, but his ability to survive attrition-filled races and maximize days — especially at road courses — gives the No. 16 driver a chance to remain in the mix. The next five races on traditional ovals will tell us more about how much speed the 44-year-old has in his third full-time season in the team’s Cup program.
Bubba Wallace
Consistency is often key for Wallace, but so far, so good. The No. 23XI Racing driver hasn’t finished worse than 11th all season, and that includes conquering his road-course demons two weeks ago at COTA. Compared to teammate Reddick, Wallace’s results are unheralded — but by all means impressive. His average finish sits at 8.8, 13 spots better than 2025 through Phoenix. He ranks third in points.
Recognizing the youth of the 2026 season, it leads to wonder: Is this finally Wallace’s breakout season? His results have always been stout since joining 23XI in 2021, but the Mobile, Alabama, native has never won more than one race a season. It seems like all the ingredients are finally there for the series veteran, and his strong start positions Wallace well for what could be a deep, championship-contending run.
Brad Keselowski
Considering the circumstances, Keselowski’s off to an extraordinary start this season, and comes home as the most improved driver through four races. He’s battled the lingering effects of a broken femur in December, an injury that forced him to miss The Clash and put the start of his 2026 season in jeopardy.
But the 42-year-old has raced seemingly unfazed, despite a noticeable limp and walking cane. He nearly won the Daytona 500 before coming home fifth, but over four races, he has finished no worse than 20th — despite a practice crash last Saturday at Phoenix that set the No. 6 team back. Keselowski’s average finish is 14.3, a whopping 14 spots better compared to this point last year. It took the RFK Racing driver and co-owner 12 races to earn a top five in 2025, a difficult stretch that ultimately led to Keselowski missing the playoffs. But Keselowski’s solid run out of the gate could prove meaningful long-term as the 2012 series champion regains full health.
“Driving the race car is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it provides the motivation for me to really push my rehab and do things faster than normal, which is not a bad thing. But it’s a curse because, yes, when I get in the car, it does hurt, it does pull me backwards,” Keselowski said in a Wednesday teleconference, explaining the recovery from his injury. “The long airplane flights to the West Coast and the crash on Saturday were not my friends, so I’ll spend most of this week trying to get back to where I was before I left for Phoenix, and hopefully by Thursday or Friday, before I leave for Vegas, I’ll be ahead of where I was last week.”