After Corey Heim’s second profession NASCAR Cup Collection win within the Brickyard 400 and the ultimate off week of the 2026 season, Sunday’s cease at Iowa Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Community, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) kicks off a 14-week stretch till a champion is topped at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8.
Whereas the battle for the ultimate “Chase” spots is compelling and a few of the prime drivers within the collection had been actually in want of 1 closing break, others have put collectively a mid-season surge and have quietly change into title contenders.
Listed here are three drivers inside the highest 10 of the standings who could make a shock championship run.
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Whereas Hocevar’s antics on and off the monitor proceed to rub drivers the incorrect method, he has surpassed expectations and has emerged as a weekly contender anyplace the collection goes.Â
Since his first profession Cup Collection win at Talladega in April, Hocevar has surged all the best way as much as fifth within the standings following a ninth-place end from the pole within the Brickyard 400. His 9 prime 10s and 156 laps led are the fewest of any driver within the prime 5 of the standings, however he’s additionally considered one of solely three full-time drivers (Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones) with out a DNF this season.
Hocevar is probably not the main candidate to win the championship, however with the looming factors reset forward of the 10-race “Chase,” Hocevar has change into a sneaky title risk if he can proceed to place full races collectively.
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Briscoe skilled a mistake-filled begin to the 2026 season with three finishes of thirty sixth or worse within the first 4 races and struggled to capitalize on the elite velocity the Toyotas have dropped at the monitor all season.
Nonetheless, the outcomes have began to show round with a Fourth of July Weekend win at Chicagoland and 4 top-five finishes in his final 5 races. Briscoe admitted that the Chicago win gave the No. 19 staff a “second breath of life,” and it’s laborious to argue that after the inconsistency that plagued them earlier this season.
Briscoe now finds himself seventh in factors and solely 15 factors beneath Hocevar for fifth. He may use an uptick in laps led, however his 9 prime fives are tied for the third-most in the complete collection and it will not be a shock if he’s in rivalry for the title once more after ending third within the standings final season.
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
The 2026 season has been a making an attempt one for Bell, who fractured his left wrist in a violent crash at Michigan in June and leads the collection with six runner-up finishes this season.
With three second-place finishes within the final 4 races, Bell is on the verge of lastly breaking via for his first 2026 win. He has climbed as much as tenth within the standings and is barely 29 factors behind Hocevar for fifth, which is the place most drivers consider they must be to actually have a shot on the title.
Bell is catching fireplace on the proper time and is getting into a good stretch of races at Iowa, Richmond and New Hampshire. If he can preserve the momentum rolling out of the break, a title isn’t unrealistic for a driver who was barely above the cutline not that way back.
