NASCAR Cup Series standings: William Byron takes control after Atlanta

William Byron is the big winner, in more than one way, after the Quaker State 400 as he tops the NASCAR standings. With the Atlanta race cut short by weather, Byron was the big benefactor. Crew chief Rudy Fugle made the call to stay out on the stage break and it paid off in a big way.

When William Byron was hit with that 60-point penalty earlier in the season for a modified greenhouse, it seemed his regular-season title hopes were gone. He’s bounced back in a big way. He now leads the Cup Series in points and is on top of the NASCAR standings.

Byron takes the lead in the standings with 628 points. He is 21 points up on Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain fill out the top-5 following Atlanta.

Cup points grid (7 to go): Byron-4w, KyBusch-3w, Truex-2w, Larson-2w, Bell-1w, Chastain-1w, Hamlin-1w, Blaney-1w, Logano-1w, Reddick-1w, Stenhouse-1w, Harvick +126, Buescher +102, Keselowski +100, Suarez +3, McDowell +3, Wallace -3, Allmendinger -13, Gibbs 26, Cindric -38 pic.twitter.com/dCUHMXkhKt

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 10, 2023

Brad Keselowski wasn’t super thrilled about his finish. He had the lead at the end of Stage 2. With fuel issues and weather moving in, his team had an impossible decision to make. With a P6 finish, Keselowski at least earned enough points to maintain his position in the NASCAR standings.

Right now, it looks like William Byron is on the way to a regular-season title. Byron has been very consistent since the All-Star Race. That has paid off as he gets his fourth win of the season and takes the lead in the standings.

NASCAR standings playoff bubble

Good news and bad news for many drivers on the playoff bubble. Daniel Suárez finished P2 to Byron in the shortened race. To the benefit of all the other winless drivers on the playoff bubble, Suárez was denied a win and a spot in the playoffs.

While Suárez battled Byron, Michael McDowell, running on fumes, stole a ton of points as he finished P4. Had he run out of gas on that final caution, he would have been about P27 or P28 to finish the race, costing him a ton of points. Instead, he’s moved ahead of Bubba Wallace and AJ Allmendinger to take the 16th and final playoff spot.

While McDowell and Suárez sit in playoff contention at 407 points apiece, they aren’t that far up on the drivers below them. 15th through 20th are separated by 38 points. A DNF in the last seven races of the season could doom a driver.

So, Bubba Wallace sits just three points behind McDowell and Suárez. Allmendinger, who has two road courses on the schedule to grab a win, is 10 points behind Wallace. And don’t forget about young rookie, Ty Gibbs. He’s 19th in the NASCAR standings and has five top-10 finishes. Chase Elliott lost points on the cutline as he finished P13 and is 23rd in the standings.

These races will only get more intense as these drivers fight for these final spots in the NASCAR standings.