Winners and losers from a surprisingly calm NASCAR Cup race at Kansas

The NASCAR Cup race at Kansas was far calmer than many expected, but it still delivered a dramatic battle for the win in the closing laps. Ultimately, Kyle Larson prevailed after passing Chase Briscoe and holding off Austin Cindric, further extending his championship advantage.

There were only a couple of incidents during the race, with one notable restart pileup where Carson Hocevar found himself at the epicenter. 

There are now just six races left in the 2026 Cup season, and before we look forward to Las Vegas, here’s the biggest winners and losers from Kansas Speedway:

WINNER: Kyle Larson scores maximum points with dominant win

Watch: Larson thrilled with extending Chase lead after Kansas victory

It was a near-perfect day for Larson and the No. 5 team. He became the first driver to score maximum points in a Cup race this year (76 points) by winning the race, sweeping the stages, and securing the fastest lap bonus. He also led 235 of 267 laps, a new track record for Kansas. He even had to fight for it at the very end, losing the lead with 30 laps to go and later reeling Briscoe back in to reclaim the lead with just seven laps to go. Larson’s remarkable Chase run continues, moving to +26pts ahead in the title fight. With top fives in every Chase race so far, it’s reminiscent of the kind of Chase performances Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick No. 48 used to put together, which should worry the competition.

LOSER: Chase Briscoe as victory and title hopes slip away

Watch: Briscoe left frustrated finishing fourth at Kansas

Briscoe needed a big day in Kansas, and he very nearly had it. During the final stint, he took the lead away from a dominant Larson, but he never really could get away from him. He later said that he should have aero-blocked more aggressively in defending the top spot. Larson got back by and Briscoe went into what he called “desperation mode,” hitting the wall multiple times as he tried to build a run back at Larson. He faded to fourth by the time the checkered flag flew, and was clearly frustrated with the outcome. Briscoe lost a further 36 points in the championship fight, now 123pts behind. Had he won, he could have left Kansas 81pts back of the lead, so it was quite the swing in the wrong direction.

WINNER: Austin Cindric with his best run of the year, and nearly a win

Watch: Cindric after runner-up finish: ‘One of the best race cars I’ve driven’

What a day for the driver of the No. 2 Ford, and nobody could have predicted just how close he would get to winning this race. Cindric crossed the line just half-a-second behind Larson in the runner-up spot, leading the way for Team Penske. That was no fluke either, as he ran strong all day with finishes of third and second in the two stages. It was easily his best run of the 2026 season, and helped him to jump two positions in the standings.

LOSER: Carson Hocevar after an unfortunate restart pileup 

All eyes were on Hocevar after the Bristol brawl, and he started things off strong at Kansas as he quickly went three-wide for the lead and ended Stage 1 inside the top five. However, messy pit stops cost him track position, and just before the halfway point of the race, things went very wrong. As Hocevar later explained, he was attempting to go middle on the restart at the very same moment Ty Gibbs was, and they met in a collision that triggered a multi-car accident. Hocevar was able to continue but with damage, finishing 33rd — last among the Chase drivers. He also dropped three positions in the standings down to 11th.

WINNER: Bubba Wallace as he rebounds from mid-race spin

Wallace was caught up in the Hocevar restart melee, but his car wasn’t completely destroyed. He steadily marched back through the field after repairs, and was just outside the top 15 ahead of the final round of pit stops. The team opted to run long, giving him fresher tires for the long run to the finish, and that really paid off. He was the fastest car on the track most laps near the end, and surged up inside the top ten to lead the day for 23XI Racing in ninth-place.

LOSER: Tyler Reddick as the No. 45 team struggles for pace

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

At the other end of the spectrum for 23XI was Reddick, and while he finished just two positions behind Wallace, that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of his day. Reddick started the race with absolutely no pace, much like Bristol, nearly falling a lap down as he ran 34th in the first stint. The team did make progress and at one point he was up to fifth, only to then get up into the wall. Soon after, he suffered an 18-second pit stop as there was an issue tightening the left-front and he had to reverse back into his stall. Reddick later lamented how “we got big problems” as his once-promising season continues to unravel.

WINNER: Ryan Preece with three top tens in first four Chase races

Ryan Preece at ‘Chase’ Media Day, RFK Racing

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

Preece squeezed into the Chase just as the door slammed shut behind him with a dramatic win in the Daytona regular season finale. Since then, he has been the model of consistency, getting the most out of his car every week. Kansas marked Preece’s third top ten in the last four races and he is 14th in the standings, just 33 points out of the top ten at this point in the Chase.

LOSER: Noah Gragson is the lone DNF at Kansas

Looking behind Chase drivers, the lone DNF from Sunday’s race was the No. 4 of Gragson. Even the later restart pileup wasn’t enough to put any other drivers out of the race. He was running inside the top 20 when the engine detonated in a dramatic failure, blanketing the track in white smoke. While 2026 has been a struggle for Gragson, this was actually the first time he was the first driver to fall out of a race so far this year. 

Watch: Race Rewind: Larson puts on clinic at Kansas

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