Analysis: What opening Chase race trends say about championship aspirations

The goal over the next 10 weeks is simple — accumulate the most points to win the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship.But with the return of The Chase presented by Mobil 1, where eliminations, rounds and a winner-take-all finale are a thing of the past, this year will require teaching new dogs some old tricks.No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin and fellow Chase competitor Joey Logano are the only drivers with experience in the first iteration of The Chase from 2004-2013, and neither was successful in