2026 NASCAR Draft Kit: Driver Projections

Driver projections for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season from Mark Taylor who expects a stellar year from Chase Briscoe. Check out the sortable projections now.

January 6, 2026

2026 NASCAR Draft Kit: Driver Projections

By:

Mark Taylor

January 6, 2026

NASCAR Draft Kit

Below are RotoWire's driver projections for the 2026 NASCAR season.

Click column headings to sort.

RANK	DRIVER	WINS	POLES	LAPS LED	TOP 5	TOP 10
1	Kyle Larson	5	2	1,250	15	22
2	Christopher Bell	3	2	1,025	15	21
3	Ryan Blaney	4	2	878	14	20
4	Denny Hamlin	4	5	936	13	19
5	William Byron	3	3	1,015	12	19
6	Chase Briscoe	4	6	928	15	19
7	Chase Elliott	2	1	511	11	18
8	Joey Logano	1	2	378	7	15
9	Alex Bowman	1	1	145	6	16
10	Tyler Reddick	1	2	355	8	15
11	Chris Buescher	1	1	226	6	14
12	Ross Chastain	1	0	121	5	13
13	Bubba Wallace	0	0	198	5	12
14	Shane van Gisbergen	4	3	254	5	10
15	Ryan Preece	1	1	147	4	12
16	Brad Keselowski	0	0	113	4	12
17	Ty Gibbs	0	0	139	3	10
18	Kyle Busch	0	1	108	3	10
19	Connor Zilisch	1	1	178	4	10
20	Austin Cindric	0	0	208	3	9
21	Josh Berry	0	0	139	3	7
22	Carson Hocevar	0	1	104	2	8
23	Michael McDowell	0	1	63	2	7
24	John H Nemechek	0	0	33	2	6
25	Austin Dillon	0	0	96	2	5
26	AJ Allmendinger	0	1	48	2	5
27	Daniel Suarez	0	0	96	2	4
28	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0	0	28	2	4
29	Todd Gilliland	0	0	35	1	3
30	Zane Smith	0	0	25	1	3
31	Erik Jones	0	0	15	1	3
32	Cole Custer	0	0	16	1	2
33	Noah Gragson	0	0	12	1	2
34	Ty Dillon	0	0	21	0	2
35	Riley Herbst	0	0	10	0	1
36	Cody Ware	0	0	15	0	0
37	J.J. Yeley	0	0	2	0	0
38	Austin Hill	0	0	0	0	1
39	Corey Heim	0	0	0	0	1
40	B.J. McLeod	0	0	3	0	0

Below are RotoWire's driver projections for the 2026 NASCAR season.

Click column headings to sort.

RANK	DRIVER	WINS	POLES	LAPS LED	TOP 5	TOP 10
1	Kyle Larson	5	2	1,250	15	22
2	Christopher Bell	3	2	1,025	15	21
3	Ryan Blaney	4	2	878	14	20
4	Denny Hamlin	4	5	936	13	19
5	William Byron	3	3	1,015	12	19
6	Chase Briscoe	4	6	928	15	19
7	Chase Elliott	2	1	511	11	18
8	Joey Logano	1	2	378	7	15
9	Alex Bowman	1	1	145	6	16
10	Tyler Reddick	1	2	355	8	15
11	Chris Buescher	1	1	226	6	14
12	Ross Chastain	1	0	121	5	13
13	Bubba Wallace	0	0	198	5	12
14	Shane van Gisbergen	4	3	254	5	10
15	Ryan Preece	1	1	147	4	12
16	Brad Keselowski	0	0	113	4	12
17	Ty Gibbs	0	0	139	3	10
18	Kyle Busch	0	1	108	3	10
19	Connor Zilisch	1	1	178	4	10
20	Austin Cindric	0	0	208	3	9
21	Josh Berry	0	0	139	3	7
22	Carson Hocevar	0	1	104	2	8
23	Michael McDowell	0	1	63	2	7
24	John H Nemechek	0	0	33	2	6
25	Austin Dillon	0	0	96	2	5
26	AJ Allmendinger	0	1	48	2	5
27	Daniel Suarez	0	0	96	2	4
28	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0	0	28	2	4
29	Todd Gilliland	0	0	35	1	3
30	Zane Smith	0	0	25	1	3
31	Erik Jones	0	0	15	1	3
32	Cole Custer	0	0	16	1	2
33	Noah Gragson	0	0	12	1	2
34	Ty Dillon	0	0	21	0	2
35	Riley Herbst	0	0	10	0	1
36	Cody Ware	0	0	15	0	0
37	J.J. Yeley	0	0	2	0	0
38	Austin Hill	0	0	0	0	1
39	Corey Heim	0	0	0	0	1
40	B.J. McLeod	0	0	3	0	0

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Taylor

Author

Taylor is RotoWire's senior NASCAR writer. A nine-time FSWA finalist, Taylor was named the Racing Writer of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017. He is also a military historian, focused specifically on World War II and the U.S. Navy's efforts in the Pacific.