As offseason preparations proceed throughout the NASCAR trade, some Cup Sequence drivers go into 2026 needing to make a giant splash. Listed here are the 4 drivers who’ve probably the most to show through the 2026 Cup Sequence season.
Riley Herbst | No. 35 Toyota | 23XI Racing
2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 high fives, 0 high 10s, 26.4 avg. end, thirty first in factors
Herbst comes into his second Cup Sequence season after ending thirty first within the Cup Sequence standings in his rookie marketing campaign with zero high 10 finishes. The 26-year-old from Las Vegas has loads of monetary backing, however some outcomes should come for Herbst in 2026.
His teammates in Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick each made the playoffs in 2025, with the previous profitable the Brickyard 400 and the latter making the Championship 4 in 2024. 23XI is a contending group, and a carbon copy of his rookie yr may result in Herbst getting the boot.
Daniel Suarez | No. 7 Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports
2025 stats: 0 wins, 2 high fives, 7 high 10s, 20.9 avg. end, twenty ninth in factors
Suarez is a veteran of 9 Cup Sequence seasons, spending the final 5 with Trackhouse Racing. The 33-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, moved to Spire Motorsports for 2026 on a one-year deal, making it a season through which Suarez should carry out.
The 2016 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Elements Sequence champion has had a topsy-turvy Cup Sequence profession, ending top-20 within the standings 5 occasions however twenty fifth or worse thrice. It certain looks as if he is racing for his Cup Sequence profession in 2026, and if he is capable of carry out effectively, he may develop into a long-term rock at Spire.
Ty Gibbs | No. 54 Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing
2025 stats: 0 wins, 5 high fives, 5 high 10s, 17.9 avg. end, nineteenth in factors
Gibbs might the inheritor obvious at Joe Gibbs Racing, however the 2022 O’Reilly Auto Elements Sequence champion has but to place all of the items collectively on the Cup Sequence degree. He made the playoffs in 2024 earlier than lacking them in 2025, and he is nonetheless winless after 123 Cup Sequence begins — an particularly shocking reality provided that he received in his O’Reilly Auto Elements Sequence debut.
Gibbs is in no obvious hazard — scratch that, zero hazard — of shedding his experience, however the extremely touted 23-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., must get to victory lane if he needs to be taken severely as a future celebrity.
Alex Bowman | No. 48 Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports
2025 stats: 0 wins, 6 high fives, 16 high 10s, 17.4 avg. end, thirteenth in factors
If he weren’t driving for the winningest group in NASCAR historical past, Bowman, an eight-time Cup Sequence winner, could be thought of a stable driver. However at HMS — nonetheless truthful or unfair the narrative could also be — he is the runt of the litter. Bowman has by no means made the Championship 4 and has just one win over the past three seasons.
Consistency should not be a difficulty for Bowman and crew chief Blake Harris in 2026, however in a contract yr for the 32-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., a return to victory lane and a critical championship push may very well be wanted with a purpose to preserve his seat protected from the host of distinguished Chevy prospects making an attempt to make their means up the long run Hendrick pecking order.
