NASCAR Championship: Full Driver Standings After Crayola 301 at New Hampshire
Martin Truex Jr has drawn even with former teammate Kyle Busch with three race wins this season. This on the heels of a winless 2022 campaign have Truex and the Joe Gibbs Racing organization oozing with confidence as the regular season winds down. Today's win at New Hampshire moves Truex ahead of Busch into second place in the standings, 74 points ahead. Kyle Larson sits in fourth place as the only driver in the Cup Series with two victories this season.
Among the drivers with one victory this year, Christopher Bell still leads the pack despite his roller coaster day at New Hampshire. His teammate Denny Hamlin is just behind him in sixth, as three JGR cars sit firmly near the top of the standings. They are above Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing, and a pair of Team Penske drivers in Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. William Byron continues to lead the way with his four race victories.
There are still five open spots up for grabs in the Playoffs, with just six races remaining. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher are all well above the cut line. The battle for those final two spots has been changing each week, and now belong to Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell, who each had strong runs today at New Hampshire.
Daniel Suarez is just one point behind McDowell for the final playoff spot, and just two points behind Wallace. Those will be three of the handful of drivers battling it out over the final six races. AJ Allmendinger, rookie Ty Gibbs, and Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are also in the fight. The final six races are at Pocono, Richmond, Michigan, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Daytona.
2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings | |||
Pos | Driver | Team | Race Wins |
1 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 4 |
2 | Martin Truex Jr | Joe Gibbs Racing | 3 |
3 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | 3 |
4 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 2 |
5 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 |
6 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 |
7 | Ross Chastain | TrackHouse Racing | 1 |
8 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 1 |
9 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 1 |
10 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | 1 |
11 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | JTG Daugherty Racing | 1 |
12 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart Haas Racing | 0 |
13 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | 0 |
14 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | 0 |
15 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | 0 |
16 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | 0 |