NASCAR Cup Series standings: Martin Truex Jr. makes a statement

What a weekend in New Hampshire! Martin Truex Jr. had a rough two weeks but he bounced back in the NASCAR standings. They say when Truex wins a race, he leaves no doubt. This was another exciting and dominant race from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and he builds his resume for a championship run.

Part of that championship run begins with winning the regular season. After his stellar performance at New Hampshire, Martin Truex Jr. picked up a perfect 60 points. He swept both stages and led for 254 of 301 laps!

With that said, it is Truex Jr. who finds himself on top of the NASCAR standings. He has 667 points to William Byron’s 650.

Cup points grid (6 races to go): Byron-4w, Truex-3w, Busch-3w, Larson-2w, Bell-1w, Hamlin-1w, Chastain-1w, Blaney-1w, Logano-1w, Reddick-1w, Stenhouse-1w, Harvick +137, Keselowski +108, Buescher +97, Wallace +2, McDowell +1, Suarez -1, Allmendinger -20, Gibbs -41, Bowman -42 pic.twitter.com/7xfmADB6vt

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 17, 2023

Kyle Busch got knocked out of the Crayon 301 early after hitting the wall. He drops two spots to fifth and might not have enough time to compete for a regular-season championship. Christopher Bell (605) and Denny Hamlin (601) jump Busch for third and fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

As the regular season championship race starts to wind down, the bubble for the playoffs grows. That battle is going to be the most interesting thing to watch in these last six races before the postseason.

Bubba Wallace makes moves in NASCAR standings

We are going to see these NASCAR standings change a lot in the next month and a half. However, Bubba Wallace has managed to get back to 15th overall. That is after he finished P8 and picked up 28 points. He had to fight for this finish and really earn those stage points in Stage 2 and the end of the race.

As Wallace jumped two spots over Michael McDowell and Daniel Suárez, he only holds a one-point and two-point lead over those drivers, respectively. The next winless driver in the NASCAR standings ahead of Wallace is Chris Buescher. Buescher has 528 points to Wallace’s 433. Tough hill to climb.

So, the NASCAR standings playoff bubble battle is going to come down to a few drivers. Wallace, McDowell, Suárez, and AJ Allmendinger are all within 21 points of each other. Those drivers could bounce around from 15th to 18th and in between these final six races of the year.

Aric Almirola looked like he might steal a win early on in the Crayon 301. He ran P2 for many laps, but a loose wheel ended his day after he wrecked.

The next three tracks are huge for Wallace in particular. Those other three drivers are better on road courses than he is. So, picking up points at Pocono, Richmond, and Michigan ahead of Indy and Watkins Glen will be so important. The other three will be looking to maintain their proximity to the cutline and hope to pull of a surprise win, erasing all doubt for the playoffs.

If it comes down to Daytona, then a few of these drivers, if not all of them will be disappointed heading into the playoff stretch.