Who's trending up, down through first two races of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase

The return of NASCAR's Chase has already seen some major shakeups in the points standings through the first two races of the postseason. 

Championship favorite Denny Hamlin has seen his lead dwindle down to nine points from 25, while other drivers have risen and fallen from where they started the Chase. 

Here's who is trending up and down in the Cup Series title hunt going into the third race of the Chase at Bristol on Sept. 19. 

Trending up: Kyle Larson

Larson was in the middle tier of title contenders going into the Chase: not necessarily viewed as a favorite, but not an underdog, either. 

Those relatively long title odds mostly had to do with the fact that Larson carried a 50-race winless drought into the Chase. He was the No. 7 seed but made noise right off the bat at Darlington, leading 99 laps and finishing fifth in one of his best performances of the season. 

Larson then won Sunday's race at Gateway, snapping a 51-race drought and moving up to second in the standings. After a drawn out slow start to 2026, Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports appear to have turned a corner, with Larson at the forefront. 

Trending down: Chris Buescher

Buescher and the No. 17 made the Chase with their trademark quiet consistency, but their start to the Chase has been anything but. Buescher finished 20th in the Southern 500 and 27th at Gateway on Sunday and needs a big night at Bristol, where he won in 2022, on Saturday to stay in contention. 

Unlike Larson, Buescher was certainly considered an underdog in the title fight. But the one thing the Prosper, Texas, native had going for him was that his consistency could carry him past his rivals if they experienced trouble. 

Instead, trouble has found Buescher, and it's unlikely he has the speed to mount a comeback. 

Trending up: Joey Logano

Just making the Chase was an impressive feat for Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske group, who were 20th in the standings at the end of June but made the postseason on the strength of two wins and a late summer surge. 

Logano wasn't spectacular at Darlington, finishing ninth, but finished third at Gateway on Sunday and is seventh in the standings, only 49 points back of Hamlin. The No. 22 team has momentum, and if anyone has learned anything from his three previous championship runs, it's that you can never count Sliced Bread out. 

Trending down: Daniel Suarez

Suarez and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team were one of the pleasant surprises of the regular season, as Suarez won the Coke 600 and made the Chase in his first year at Spire. But finishes of 21st at Darlington and 29th at Gateway have effectively killed any chance of a Cinderella run from Suarez and have the No. 7 group finally looking like what it is: a team in its first year together that doesn't have the speed to overcome setbacks.