NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings: 16 drivers in the chase

Week one of the NASCAR Playoffs is here and the standings are set for our top-16 drivers of the Cup Series season. Bubba Wallace held on to that last playoff spot at Daytona. Chase Elliott is out. With two intermediate tracks coming up and Bristol the first round finale, we are in for an exciting few weeks.

The points reset for the top 16 to 2000 to start the playoffs. Then you add on all of the playoff points from stage wins, race wins, and the regular season championship in the case of Martin Truex Jr. Once you add those points, you have the first set of standings for the NASCAR Playoffs.

There are going to be three races in the Round of 16, 12, and 8. That all leads to the Championship Four race at Phoenix on November 5th.

To start, we have two drivers at the top of the NASCAR Playoff Standings. William Byron, with a series-leading five wins and eight stage wins leads the standings at 2036 points. Martin Truex Jr., the regular season champion with three wins and a series-leading 15 top-10s, also has 2036 points. Byron gets the tie-breaker with more wins at the moment.

The rest of the top 16:
Denny Hamlin – 2025
Chris Buescher – 2021
Kyle Larson – 2017
Christopher Bell – 2014
Ross Chastain – 2011
Brad Keselowski – 2010
Tyler Reddick – 2009
Joey Logano – 2008
Ryan Blaney – 2008
Michael McDowell – 2007
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 2005
Kevin Harvick – 2004
Bubba Wallace – 2000

Surprise drivers in NASCAR Playoff Standings

This is the first time for Wallace and everyone else has at least one season of playoff experience. He has remained very consistent since finishing P8 at New Hampshire. He is one of just a few drivers in the playoffs that hasn’t finished outside of the top 20 since that race.

Another driver that is fun to see on the list of 16, is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The Daytona 500 winner has stayed even-keeled for most of the season. However, his last month has not been great. He needs to get back to his early-season form if he hopes to make the Round of 12.

Of course, we have to talk about Chris Buescher who shot all the way up to fourth in the standings in the last five weeks. With three wins in that time, Buescher has flexed his muscles. But it isn’t just out of nowhere. The RFK Racing driver hasn’t finished worse than P18 since his rough P30 day at Richmond in April.

This first round plays into Buescher’s hands. He won at Bristol last season, he’s solid at Darlington and Kansas. What more do you want to see? Don’t be surprised if the 17 team takes the lead in the NASCAR Playoff Standings at some point this postseason.