Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 13: Cars race during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 13, 2017 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 13: Cars race during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 13, 2017 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Martin Truex Jr. won an unusually wild Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway, but was it enough to get to the top of the Cup Series points race?

Kansas Speedway is a wide intermediate track that usually doesn’t lend itself to all-out craziness. But there are exceptions to the norm at every track, and the Go Bowling 400 featured enough wild moments to expect some shake-ups in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Yet Martin Truex Jr., who clearly had one of the fastest cars all evening, managed to stay out of trouble and win his second race of the year, and points leader Kyle Larson had a good enough night to remain in first place on the season as well.

The driver who suffered the most misfortune on Saturday was Chase Elliott. After running into Michael McDowell on pit road early in the race, Elliott could only manage to come home 29th.

As a result, the gap between the top three drivers and the rest of the field has widened. Only two other drivers, Truex and Brad Keselowski, are within 100 points of Larson. Until the 42 team runs into some bad luck, it’s going to be tough to see that changing.

Still, Larson could use a second win to keep pace with Truex, Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, each of whom has two victories on the season. And drivers like Ryan Blaney, who challenged for his first career victory but didn’t have the late speed to seal the deal, will keep hoping for repeat winners so they can make the playoffs on points.

Next: Stage points widening the NASCAR Cup Series points race

In any case, the Cup Series points race continues to bring intrigue thanks to its mix of new and returning contenders, and we’re now far enough into the regular season to expect that will be the case all the way until the start of the playoffs.

2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Kansas

(11 out of 26 regular season races)

  1. Kyle Larson, 475 points, 1 win
  2. Martin Truex Jr., -44, 2 wins
  3. Brad Keselowski, -67, 2 wins
  4. Chase Elliott, -114 points
  5. Jamie McMurray, -121 points
  6. Kevin Harvick, -128 points
  7. Kyle Busch, -150 points
  8. Jimmie Johnson, -152 points, 2 wins
  9. Joey Logano, -155 points, 1 win (win is encumbered for playoff purposes)
  10. Clint Bowyer, -158 points
  11. Ryan Blaney, -184 points
  12. Denny Hamlin, -186 points
  13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -199 points, 1 win
  14. Trevor Bayne, -225 points
  15. Kurt Busch, -229 points, 1 win
  16. Kasey Kahne, -233 points
  17. Ryan Newman, -237 points, 1 win
  18. Matt Kenseth, -242 points
  19. Daniel Suarez, -258 points
  20. Erik Jones, -258 points
  21. Ty Dillon, -271 points
  22. Austin Dillon, -282 points
  23. Aric Almirola, -287 points
  24. Paul Menard, -302 points
  25. Dale Earnhardt Jr., -302 points
  26. Chris Buescher, -320 points
  27. David Ragan, -331 points
  28. Michael McDowell, -338 points
  29. Cole Whitt, -339 points
  30. A.J. Allmendinger, -345 points
  31. Landon Cassill, -347 points
  32. Matt DiBenedetto, -352 points
  33. Danica Patrick, -360 points
  34. Corey LaJoie, -398 points
  35. Reed Sorensen, -419 points
  36. Gray Gaulding, -424 points
  37. Jeffrey Earnhardt, -426 points
  38. Michael Waltrip, -446 points
  39. Derrike Cope, -459 points
  40. D.J. Kennington, -474 points
  41. Cody Ware, -474 points