We are three points races into the season, so let’s start talking NASCAR Cup Series standings as we close on Las Vegas. Looking ahead to Phoenix, the top drivers look familiar, but we’ll see how long they can hold their spots in the top of the standings.
Just like he was last week heading into Vegas, Ross Chastain is your points leader this week with 129. These last two weeks are the first time in his career that he’s topped the NASCAR Cup Series standings.
However, the story shouldn’t be just about Chastain. His teammate Daniel Suárez is right there with him in the top five. The No. 99 sits fourth right now with 104 points. Trackhouse Racing has a combined 100 laps led, two top-five finishes, and five top-10 finishes. They are the highest-ranked duo in the Cup Series right now.
Just three points behind Chastain in second is Alex Bowman with 126 points. He was the pole winner at Daytona and has performed well in all three races. He has yet to finish worse than P8.
Kevin Harvick has also raced well and put himself into third overall in the early going. With 108 points he is just ahead of the other two in the top five, Suárez and Martin Truex Jr. Truex has 102 points. Denny Hamlin is our first driver in the top 10 without 100 points. He sits at 99.
Hamlin is followed by Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and surprisingly Chris Buescher to round out the top 10 drivers. Brad Keselowski is just behind in 11th.
By manufacturer, the top 10 is made up of four Chevys, three Toyotas, and three Fords. Pretty good parity in the early going.
Early NASCAR Standings Show Interesting Picture
So, the standings tell a few things here. Despite Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance at Las Vegas, they only have one driver in the top 10 right now, Bowman. It is just the third race of the year, but that’s noticeable.
Meanwhile, Trackhouse has both drivers at the top of the NASCAR standings. Joe Gibbs Racing has three of its four drivers in the top group as well. Chastain and Suárez are on a mission to not just repeat their success from last season but improve upon it.
Looking a little further down the standings we see the Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 12th. He has a playoff spot for the time being. Some more interesting names in the top 20 come from the bottom of that group.
We see Corey LaJoie, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs in 18th-20th. That’s surprising to me how those cars have struggled at times this year already. It’s a testament to what goes unseen during races.
If the NASCAR standings were solidified this week, the last driver into the playoffs would be Bubba Wallace as he leads Austin Cindric on a tiebreaker for 16th place.