NASCAR Cup Series standings: Ryan Blaney takes control after Enjoy Illinois 300
After winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and finishing P6 in Illinois, Ryan Blaney is the new leader in the NASCAR standings. It has been a strong couple of weeks for the Team Penske driver. He didn’t go back-to-back, but he had a very strong showing on Sunday.
This week’s NASCAR point standings don’t just show a good outing for Ryan Blaney and a few others. It also shows that Ross Chastain needs to get back to his usual ways or he is going to continue to drop on the list.
Chastain was leading after the Coca-Cola 600, but just barely. There was a group of drivers right there behind him waiting to take advantage, and they did.
Blaney is now on top after being second in last week’s standings. He leads the way with 495 points after picking up 50 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Not far behind is William Byron with 482 points.
This is where Chastain gets in trouble. Both Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. were able to pass the Trackhouse driver in the NASCAR standings. Harvick is third with 473 points, and Truex Jr. is fourth with 472. Then, Ross with 466 points in fifth.
This week’s race winner, Kyle Busch, is now in 7th place with three wins. He edges out Denny Hamlin, both drivers have 451 points on the year.
While those top positions are more or less going to be the same but in a different order moving forward, let’s take a look down the list. The playoff bubble is shaping up and there are a number of drivers hoping to break through or hang on to their positions.
NASCAR standings: On the bubble
The drivers in 13th through 18th on the NASCAR standings are all talented and all capable of a playoff run. To start off, you have Chris Buescher in that 13th spot. He won at Bristol in the playoffs last year. He has shown speed this season as well and is hoping to grab another win this year.
Right behind Buescher are Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suárez. Those three are in, for now. Stenhouse is in regardless of points thanks to his Daytona 500 win. So forget him. Wallace and Suárez on the other hand, have yet to win this season.
Bubba was possibly on his way to a fifth straight top-10 finish before his brake rotor blew up. Meanwhile, Suárez had a bit of a turnaround race. He heads to Sonoma, the track he won at last season, with a little momentum. Both are just hanging on to the end of the playoff in 15th and 16th, respectively.
However, if I’m Wallace or Suárez I am very nervous about that position in the NASCAR standings. Alex Bowman is in 17th right now, only because of his extended absence due to injury earlier this season. Then you have Ty Gibbs in 18th. The rookie is hungry to prove himself and has a number of strong finishes this year.
Bowman is the one to watch as he returns to the Cup Series and gets more comfortable. We might see him bump one of these bubble drivers out of playoff contention by the end of the season.