The NASCAR Cup Series points standings saw some changes after Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire. Loudon played host to the next-to-last race before The Chase, with the regular-season finale at Daytona scheduled for this Saturday night.
Thirteen drivers have clinched a spot in the 10-race Chase following New Hampshire, leaving three spots up for grabs. Meanwhile, a couple drivers saw their Chase hopes come to an end at “The Magic Mile.”
Key changes in NASCAR Cup points after New Hampshire
With his victory on Sunday, Ryan Blaney closed the gap on points leader Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 12 ranks second in the standings, trailing Hamlin by 77 points.
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However, with a seventh-place result at New Hampshire, Hamlin managed to clinch the regular-season championship, earning him the top seed for the start of The Chase. The driver of the No. 11 took over the points lead from Tyler Reddick after Sonoma.
Chase Elliott dropped two positions in the standings. With a 25th-place effort at New Hampshire, the driver of the No. 9 fell from sixth to eighth in the points.
Christopher Bell gained two spots in the points standings, going from seventh to fifth after a fourth-place finish on Sunday.
Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, and Daniel Suarez all secured Chase spots after New Hampshire. They joined Hamlin, Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Reddick, Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Chase Elliott, who had previously clinched Chase spots.
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Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, and Shane van Gisbergen hang onto the final Chase spots. Below the cut line, only Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski can mathematically still make the cut this Saturday at Daytona.
Wallace finished second on Sunday, giving the driver of the No. 23 a boost in the standings as he is 75 points above the cutoff. Cindric lost ground on his Chase cushion, but still holds a respectable 44-point edge over the cutoff.
Ryan Preece closed the gap on The Chase cutoff as he trails van Gisbergen by 31 points heading into Daytona. Meanwhile, a last-place finish of 36th for Ross Chastain at New Hampshire eliminated him from Chase contention.
Erik Jones will also fail to make The Chase as he ranks 19th in the standings, one spot behind Chastain.
NASCAR Cup Series top 20 points standings
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11 Denny Hamlin — 1,001 [clinched top seed]
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12 Ryan Blaney — 924 [clinched Chase berth]
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54 Ty Gibbs — 880 [clinched Chase berth]
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45 Tyler Reddick — 860 [clinched Chase berth]
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20 Christopher Bell — 738 [clinched Chase berth]
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19 Chase Briscoe — 727 [clinched Chase berth]
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5 Kyle Larson — 708 [clinched Chase berth]
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9 Chase Elliott — 707 [clinched Chase berth]
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22 Joey Logano — 682 [clinched Chase berth]
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17 Chris Buescher — 676 [clinched Chase berth]
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77 Carson Hocevar — 672 [clinched Chase berth]
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24 William Byron — 644 [clinched Chase berth]
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7 Daniel Suarez — 638 [clinched Chase berth]
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23 Bubba Wallace — 630 (+75)
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2 Austin Cindric — 599 (+44)
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97 Shane van Gisbergen — 586 (+31)
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60 Ryan Preece — 555 (-31)
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6 Brad Keselowski — 520 (-66)
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1 Ross Chastain — 505 (-81) [eliminated from Chase]
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43 Erik Jones — 490 (-96) [eliminated from Chase]
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The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. It can be watched on NBC or listened to on the Motor Racing Network or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The Chase field will be set following Daytona. Seeding for the 10-race run for the championship will be determined by finishing position in the standings.
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