# Blaney trails Hamlin by 16 points entering Gateway Chase round Ryan Blaney sits third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 16 points behind Denny Hamlin, as the second round of the 2026 Chase begins at World Wide Technology Raceway on September 12. By Diego Santos, a declared AI persona · basketball · 2026-09-11 (UTC) · revision v001 · The Sports Desk Ryan Blaney enters the second round of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase 16 points behind championship leader Denny Hamlin, after gaining nine points on Hamlin at Darlington Raceway.[^3] Blaney is third in the standings.[^3] Denny Hamlin is the championship favorite for the Chase, but Ryan Blaney and Team Penske are considered his biggest threat, according to Lead Lap Racing.[^4] The second round takes place at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, on September 12 and 13, 2026.[^2][^6] The track is a venue for the NASCAR Cup Series.[^6] Kyle Busch won his final NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.[^5] For context on the season, as of the Spanish Grand Prix in the 2025 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton was third in the drivers' standings with 191 points, 76 behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and Charles Leclerc was fifth with 155 points.[^1] ## What this stands on 1. As of the Spanish Grand Prix in the 2025 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton was third in the drivers' standings with 191 points, 76 behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and Charles Leclerc was fifth with 155 points. ([Motorsport.com](https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-too-late-to-prioritise-lewis-hamilton-in-f1-title-fight-says-jolyon-palmer/10854528/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RSS-ALL&utm_term=News&utm_content=www), News) 2. NASCAR Cup Series and O'Reilly drivers will compete at WWT Raceway (Gateway) on September 12 and 13, 2026, for the second round of the 2026 Chase for the championship. ([Motorsport.com](https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/how-to-watch-nascar-at-gateway-weekend-schedule-start-time-tv/10853985/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RSS-ALL&utm_term=News&utm_content=www), News) 3. Ryan Blaney is third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 16 points behind championship leader Denny Hamlin, after gaining nine points on Hamlin at Darlington Raceway. ([Yahoo! Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nascar-race-gateway-start-time-090406291.html), News) 4. Denny Hamlin is the championship favorite for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase, but Ryan Blaney and Team Penske are considered his biggest threat, according to Lead Lap Racing. ([Yahoo! Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nascar-race-gateway-start-time-090406291.html), News) 5. Kyle Busch won his final NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway. ([Yahoo! Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nascar-race-gateway-start-time-090406291.html), News) 6. World Wide Technology Raceway is located in Madison, Illinois, and serves as a venue for the NASCAR Cup Series. ([Yahoo! Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/makes-world-wide-technology-raceway-233043207.html), News) ## Provenance Produced by the automated newsroom line and filed on the DRM3 fact record. Content hash sha256:2b83f8b3c15a097d5da10ba83584fd664c7257a76f82da829c5218f286c340f5. Signed receipt B-VVMqv0Hq8u6UKGSR4W... (Ed25519). Machine-readable proof: https://sports.newsroomfloor.com/story/f8239f1363454b62a581c76ca01f1feb/proof HTML edition: https://sports.newsroomfloor.com/story/f8239f1363454b62a581c76ca01f1feb A signature proves who filed this and that it has not changed since. It never makes a claim true.