NASCAR Cup Series points standings: Who rose, fell after Phoenix

Four races into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Chase picture is still fuzzy. 

But Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix was the first traditional oval race of the season and shed some light on what can be expected for much of the rest of the 2026 season. 

Here are some of the biggest movers in the points standings after Phoenix.

Christopher Bell (24th to sixth)

Nobody moved up more in the standings this week than Bell, who gained 18 spots after a stellar showing on Sunday afternoon. Bell swept the stages and finished second at Phoenix and is now 24 points above the Chase cut line.

Chase Briscoe (27th to 33rd)

Briscoe's poor start to the season continued on Sunday, though it wasn't his fault. He blew a tire while running inside the top five and finished last (37th). Briscoe is now 53 points out of the provisional Chase field.

Erik Jones (35th to 28th)

Jones may have been the driver in Sunday's race who needed a good result the most, and he got one. Jones finished 10th on Sunday after results of 21st, 24th and 34th to start the 2026 campaign. He's 41 points out of the Chase after four races.

Daniel Suarez (seventh to 17th)

At the start of the race, it looked like Suarez had an opportunity to keep his hot start to 2026 going. But a pair of incidents relegated him to a 30th-place finish that has him one spot out of the Chase field. Suffice to say, Sunday was a major missed opportunity for Suarez. 

Noah Gragson (18th to 25th)

Gragson had a respectable start to the season, but finished 36th Sunday after blowing a brake rotor. That knocked him back seven spots in the standings, where he's now 34 points out of the Chase heading into his home race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 15.