Matt Johnson
We’re through eight points races in the 2026 NASCAR season for the Cup Series ahead of this weekend’s action at Kansas Speedway. While there is still more than 2/3 of the season ahead, we can look at some NASCAR stats to highlight drivers who have been disappointments thus far.
Let’s dive into our list of NASCAR drivers who have fallen short of expectations this season. Team performance can certainly play a part in these drivers struggling in 2026, but the point remains that these drivers aren’t performing up to the expected standard.
Connor Zilisch
No one with any reasonable expectations thought that Connor Zilisch would make The Chase in his rookie season. The learning curve in the Cup Series is just too steep to pull that off. We did, however, have some hope early in the season when he was near the front of the field at the Daytona 500 and EchoPark. Wrecks took him out and following COTA, where getting spun twice resulted in a 14th-place finish, he’s finished 26th or worse in four of his last five races (18th at Darlington). Zilisch’s future is still bright and he might win a road-course race this year, but it’s not a good look for Trackhouse nor the No. 88 team when Zilisch is 33rd in points and Daniel Suarez would be in The Chase if the regular season ended today.
Kyle Busch
We tend to agree with Denny Hamlin: anyone expecting Kyle Busch to turn back the clock and become KFB again either needs to invent a time machine or let the past go. Richard Childress Racing isn’t doing Busch any favors, but let’s also keep in mind that Busch has now had multiple crew chiefs with the No. 8 team. Furthermore, he’s barely outperforming teammate Austin Dillon, and the driver of the No. 3 car isn’t making nearly as much of a ruckus nor is he taking his frustration out on everyone around him. Busch’s winless streak has reached triple digits, and there’s no reason to think it ends in 2026. As for the numbers, Busch has a worse average finishing position (22.0) than Daniel Suarez (16.3), SVG (19.9), A.J. Allmendinger (19.4), Zane Smith (20.3), and Erik Jones (20.4).
Related: Kyle Busch Winless Streak, Things That Happened Before and Since Win
Ross Chastain
A theme with this list, NASCAR drivers with Trackhouse Racing have been disappointments. It probably says a lot more about the team itself than Zilisch and Ross Chastain. Regarding Chastain, he finished the 2025 season with the 12th-highest average finishing position (15.8) thanks to the eighth-most top 20 finishes (26). While we are only 8 races into the 2026 campaign, Chastain’s average finishing position has fallen to 19.375 and he’s finished inside the top 10 just once (Atlanta). We’re not questioning Chastain’s talent, he could fare better on a stronger team. Unfortunately, the situation at Trackhouse has just made this a very underwhelming season for him and there’s no reason to think a turnaround is imminent.
Chase Briscoe
Chase Briscoe is starting to dig himself out of the hole that he found himself in just a few weeks ago. Surrounding a second-place finish at EchoPark (43 points) were three races where he finished 36th or worse and totaled just 4 points. He also finished outside the top-10 at Darlington and Martinsville, largely the result of starting 23rd and 27th in the respective races. It’s not what we expected from someone who won three races in 2025 in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, even getting the No. 19 team into the Championship 4. The numbers aren’t great for Briscoe currently, but he is improving and what he’s shown as a driver in the last calendar year suggests he’ll rebound.
Related: NASCAR Predictions for Kansas, including Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson hasn’t won in 32 consecutive Cup Series races. For someone who is considered by many to be the best driver in the world, the winless drought feels shocking. Fittingly, Larson last made it to victory lane at Kansas Speedway a year ago in the spring race, which he utterly dominated. While he’s since won the 2025 Cup Series championship, it feels odd that he hasn’t even finished second in a race this season. We will say, Larson’s history of excellence and the fact that he ranks second in laps led (421) this season all suggest a win is imminent for the No. 5 team. Right now, though, this season has been a bit underwhelming.
Related: NASCAR Power Rankings Before Kansas
