Four NASCAR drivers with the most to prove in 2026

As offseason preparations continue across the NASCAR industry, some Cup Series drivers go into 2026 needing to make a big splash. Here are the four drivers who have the most to prove during the 2026 Cup Series season. 

Riley Herbst | No. 35 Toyota | 23XI Racing 

2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 26.4 avg. finish, 31st in points

Herbst comes into his second Cup Series season after finishing 31st in the Cup Series standings in his rookie campaign with zero top 10 finishes. The 26-year-old from Las Vegas has plenty of financial backing, but some results must come for Herbst in 2026. 

His teammates in Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick both made the playoffs in 2025, with the former winning the Brickyard 400 and the latter making the Championship 4 in 2024. 23XI is a contending organization, and a carbon copy of his rookie year could lead to Herbst getting the boot. 

Daniel Suarez | No. 7 Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports 

2025 stats: 0 wins, 2 top fives, 7 top 10s, 20.9 avg. finish, 29th in points 

Suarez is a veteran of nine Cup Series seasons, spending the last five 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 in which Suarez must perform. 

The 2016 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion has had a topsy-turvy Cup Series career, finishing top-20 in the standings five times but 25th or worse thrice. It sure seems like he's racing for his Cup Series career in 2026, and if he's able to perform well, he could become a long-term rock at Spire. 

Ty Gibbs | No. 54 Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing 

2025 stats: 0 wins, 5 top fives, 5 top 10s, 17.9 avg. finish, 19th in points

Gibbs may the heir apparent at Joe Gibbs Racing, but the 2022 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion has yet to put all the pieces together at the Cup Series level. He made the playoffs in 2024 before missing them in 2025, and he's still winless after 123 Cup Series starts — an especially surprising fact given that he won in his O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. 

Gibbs is in no apparent danger — scratch that, zero danger — of losing his ride, but the highly touted 23-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., needs to get to victory lane if he wants to be taken seriously as a future superstar. 

Alex Bowman | No. 48 Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports 

2025 stats: 0 wins, 6 top fives, 16 top 10s, 17.4 avg. finish, 13th in points 

If he weren't driving for the winningest organization in NASCAR history, Bowman, an eight-time Cup Series winner, would be considered a solid driver. But at HMS — however fair or unfair the narrative may be — he's the runt of the litter. Bowman has never made the Championship 4 and has only one win over the last three seasons. 

Consistency shouldn't be an issue for Bowman and crew chief Blake Harris in 2026, but in a contract year for the 32-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., a return to victory lane and a serious championship push could be needed in order to keep his seat safe from the host of prominent Chevy prospects trying to make their way up the future Hendrick pecking order.