NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings: Kyle Larson advances at Darlington

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings are all shaken up after a date with The Lady in Black to start the Round of 16. There were drivers who came into the race with a huge buffer on the cutline. Now, there are some, including a couple of former champions, who might need to get busy in the next two weeks.

Of course, the big takeaway as far as the NASCAR Playoffs and the standings are concerned, Kyle Larson won. This race looked like it was going to be Denny Hamlin’s to lose, but issues on pit road cost him big time.

When the opportunity arose, Larson took advantage of the situation and was able to take the lead. Despite scraping the wall multiple times as he ran from Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher, Larson came away with the win.

With the win, Kyle Larson moves on to the Round of 12.

Race No. 1 is in the books. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/A5NRZUvupD

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 4, 2023

Overall on the night, there were drivers that did what they were supposed to, and those that will be scrambling to find a top-5 finish at Kansas this week.

Let’s break down the winners and losers of the weekend before we head on to Kansas. That track produced one of the best races of the entire season earlier this year. With so much on the line in the NASCAR Playoff standings, I’m sure it will be even more intense than the spring race.

NASCAR Playoff standings – winners and losers

The obvious winner from this week is Larson. However, there were drivers that made big moves and have set themselves up very nicely for the next two rounds based on points. Then we had some championship hopefuls that did not do so well, dug a hole, and will now have to drive out of it.

Winners from Southern 500
– Ryan Blaney came into the NASCAR Playoffs at 12th overall in the standings. He was just one point above the cutline. A P9 finish and 38 points on the day, Blaney jumped Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain in the standings and is now ninth overall.
– Tyler Reddick was 10th overall heading into the Southern 500. He was able to pick up 51 points in a runner-up effort to Larson. He jumps all the way up to third overall, just behind William Byron.
– Bubba Wallace was 16th at the start of this race in the NASCAR Playoff standings. After his P7 finish, he jumps Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Michael McDowell. One point below the cutline heading into Kansas has Wallace in a great position to potentially advance.

Losers at Darlington
– Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. entered this week as two of the championship favorites. Hamlin looked like he could win this race. However, poor finishes and not nearly enough points on the day ruined their efforts. Truex Jr. was slow all day and never got back on pace, only picking up 19 points. Another performance like last night could end their playoff hopes.
– Christopher Bell was one of the top eight drivers heading into the race on Sunday night. By the time he had finished the 500 miles, he had been to pit road what felt like a dozen times, hit the wall, got hit by McDowell, and had constant issues all night. He slips back to 12th where he is just a point above Wallace for that cutoff spot.