Chase Elliott 2026 Report Card: Two Early Wins, an A-
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing 2026 Season Report Cards, where every full-time Cup Series driver gets a grade computed from all 36 races, not opinion. Next up: the number 9, and a season that peaked early.
The Short Version
Chase Elliott's 2026 season was really two seasons. Over the first 11 races he won twice, at Martinsville in March and Texas in May, and averaged an 8.9 finish. Over the last 25 he did not win and led just 122 laps. He finished 12th in points. But the report card counts every race the same, and his computed season grade is an A-, 6th of 35 full-time drivers. That is two spots ahead of the champion, Kyle Larson.
Why the Chase Elliott 2026 Grade Is an A-
Every HHR report card grade comes from the same math. After every race, each driver gets a score out of 100 based on where they finished in the field, how many spots they gained or lost from the start, how many laps they led, and a penalty for not finishing. The season grade is the average of all 36 race scores, curved against the 35 drivers who ran the full year.
Elliott's season score ranked 6th of 35, which lands at A-. Only five drivers graded higher: Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell. The reason is simple. When the number 9 finished, it usually finished well. Elliott was on the lead lap at the end of 26 races, 5th most in the Cup Series, and his 15.1 average finish ranked 7th.
What kept it from an A is the bad days. Elliott finished 30th or worse five times, and three of those were crashes. One rough afternoon costs more in this formula than one good one earns back.
Chase Elliott by the Numbers
Here is where Elliott ranked among the 35 full-time drivers in 14 stats. The bar and the circle show his rank (1 is best). The number on the right is the actual stat.
The finishing stats carry this card. Elliott ranked 5th in lead lap finishes (26), 7th in average finish (15.1), 7th in wins (2) and 8th in top 5s (8). He was 10th in laps led with 318 and 11th in both top 10s (13) and average driver rating (82.4).
The speed numbers sit a step lower. He ranked 12th in average running position (14.9) and 13th in fastest laps (220). The one real weak spot is consistency. He was 23rd of 35 in finish spread, which means his results swung harder than most of the field's. When it went right, he was in victory lane. When it went wrong, he was at the bottom of the box score.
Two Wins in Five Weeks
The first 11 races were as good as anyone in the garage. Elliott ran 4th in the Daytona 500, 2nd at Las Vegas and 4th at Talladega, and he won twice:
- Martinsville, March 29: started 10th, led 84 laps, won. Crew chief Alan Gustafson pitted him early under a caution on Lap 312, and Elliott passed Ross Chastain on the restart and led the final 69 laps. He beat Denny Hamlin by 0.565 seconds. Per the Associated Press, it was his 22nd career Cup win, his second at Martinsville, Hendrick Motorsports' first win of 2026, and it came 11 years to the day after his Cup debut.
- Texas, May 3: started 14th, led a race-high 87 laps, won. On the final restart he took the bottom lane, got a push from teammate Alex Bowman and cleared Hamlin on the backstretch, then held on by 0.407 seconds. It was career win number 23, and FOX Sports noted it was the earliest he had ever reached two wins in a season.
Through Texas, his average finish was 8.9. That is the same number Denny Hamlin posted over all 36 races, the best full-season average in the Cup Series.
A Summer That Undid the Spring
From Watkins Glen in May through the regular-season finale at Daytona, Elliott averaged a 19.1 finish over 15 races. Three of those days stand out:
- Coca-Cola 600, May 24: he spun on Lap 90 and hit the inside wall. "I just made a mistake, spun out and hit the wall," he said. He finished 37th.
- Michigan, June 7: he led 67 laps and won Stage 2. Then on a restart on Lap 148 he got loose, slid into Christopher Bell and put both cars in the wall. Elliott called it "totally my fault."
- Indianapolis, July 26: he was hit by another car on Lap 60, went to the garage for repairs and came back 41 laps down. He finished 37th.
He still made the 16-driver Chase on points. But the number 9 was no longer the car it was in March.
The Chase: One Lap Led in 10 Races
Elliott led one lap in the 10-race Chase and averaged a 15.8 finish. The second race, at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sept. 13, did the most damage. A brake rotor exploded as he entered Turn 1, he spun and collected Chase Briscoe, and he finished 31st. At Talladega on Oct. 25 he was caught in the big Stage 2 crash and finished 36th. NASCAR listed him among the drivers who were out of title contention after that race.
He did finish strong at two tracks. He ran 3rd at Phoenix in October, and at Martinsville on Nov. 1 he finished 2nd, 2.049 seconds behind teammate William Byron. He closed the year 22nd at Homestead and 12th in the final standings with 2,287 points.
What 2027 Looks Like
Elliott stays in the number 9. The five-year extension he signed with Hendrick Motorsports in February 2022 runs through 2027, so next season is the last year of that deal. Alan Gustafson was his crew chief for all 36 races in 2026, and no crew chief change has been announced. Track every move on our 2027 silly season tracker.
The 2027 Daytona 500 is Feb. 21. Start times and channels for every race are on our race TV guide, and every other driver's grade is on the 2026 report cards page.
The Bottom Line
Elliott's A- says the number 9 was one of the best cars in the sport when it finished races. His 12th-place points finish says he did not finish enough of them in the summer and the fall. With a contract year coming, the question for 2027 is whether he can be the March version of himself for all 36 races.
Chase Elliott Gear
- Chase Elliott 2026 Martinsville Winner T-Shirt
- Chase Elliott 2026 Texas Race Win T-Shirt
- Chase Elliott 2026 NAPA Racing Patriotic USA T-Shirt
- Chase Elliott 2026 Four Car Paint Scheme T-Shirt
Sources: NASCAR official race results and loop data for all 36 2026 points races; Martinsville and Texas details via the Associated Press and FOX Sports; Charlotte, Michigan and Indianapolis details via NAPA Know How and the Associated Press; World Wide Technology Raceway via RACER; Talladega and Martinsville via NASCAR.com and the Associated Press; final standings via Heavy; contract via NBC Sports.
