Three surprising NASCAR Cup drivers who are in Chase field halfway through regular season

Following an emotional rain-shortened win from Daniel Suarez in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series has officially reached the halfway point of the regular season.

As the series heads to the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, for the running of the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday night (7 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), it is time to start paying even more attention to the Chase picture. 

While a lot of the drivers at the top of the standings were expected to be there, others have surpassed expectations so far this season. With that in mind, here are three drivers who have been pleasant surprises through the first 13 races.

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, 10th place

Sure, it is easy to point to the series' most recent winner and say he has overachieved this season. That may be true, but if you look at his overall body of work prior to his third career win, it is easy to see why he currently sits 10th in points.

He has only led 18 laps all season — 17 of which were at Charlotte — but Suarez has four top 10s and eight top-13 finishes in the 13 races. He has also qualified inside the top 10 three times, highlighted by a season-best second-place starting spot at Texas that culminated with a sixth-place finish.

Coming off the worst average finish (20.9) of his five-year tenure at Trackhouse Racing, many questioned if the move to Spire Motorsports was beneficial for Suarez. If the first half of the 2026 season is any indication, he appears to be right at home and staring down a potential Chase berth later this season.

Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, 11th place

As a past Cup Series champion (2012), Keselowski should be expected to make the Chase. However, after suffering a broken right femur on a December ski trip that left him unsure if he would be able to walk again, it is even more remarkable that Keselowski is 11th in points.

It was just one year ago that a penalty early in the season kept Keselowski mired around 30th in the standings, only for him to recover to 20th by season's end. While he remains winless in his fifth season as owner/driver of RFK Racing, Keselowski has nine top-15 finishes, including a season-best runner-up at Darlington after leading 142 laps.

With 36 career Cup wins to his credit, the 42-year-old is a surefire Hall of Famer when his driving days are behind him. Still, there were some doubts regarding how he would perform when he returned to the track on crutches earlier this season. So far, Keselowski has provided a definitive answer.

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, 14th place

Although an 11th-place finish did not exactly stand out at Charlotte, van Gisbergen ran among the top 10 throughout the Coca-Cola 600, even putting himself among the Toyota contingent at the front.

The New Zealander is a seven-time winner at the Cup level, all of which have occurred on road and street circuits. However, his performance on ovals has always been a work in progress since he went full-time in 2025.

A 10th-place finish at Kansas last fall was his best oval finish at the time, but Charlotte was by far his most complete showing yet. As a result, van Gisbergen quietly sits 14th in points and is slowly gaining more confidence each week.