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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Pocono

By Nick Tylwalk

LONG POND, PA - JUNE 10: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, sits in his car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 10, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - JUNE 10: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, sits in his car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 10, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
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No change at the top of the standings after the Tricky Triangle, though it’s awfully tight between the first two drivers when it comes to points.

Ryan Blaney, welcome to the winners circle — and to the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

That was the biggest takeaway from the Pocono 400, where Blaney piloted the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford to his first Cup Series victory. He might have made the playoffs on points anyway, but was just low enough in the standings that he and his team might have had to sweat it out a little bit.

Now that’s not a problem. The worrier now has to be Matt Kenseth, who sits 13th in points but would miss the playoffs if they started today. Young guns Erik Jones, Trevor Bayne, Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon are all in a cluster on the outside looking in, as is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was foiled by brake issues at Pocono and saw his day end early.

At the top of the points battle, Martin Truex Jr. remains in first place for the second straight week, but his lead over Kyle Larson has shrunk to just one point. No one else is within 100 points of the lead, though Kevin Harvick is close at 104 points back, and his No. 4 team will coast to the playoffs even without a victory unless they hit an extended string of bad luck.

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Here’s a complete look at how thing shape up right now, courtesy of NASCAR.com:

  1. Martin Truex Jr., 584 points, 2 wins
  2. Kyle Larson, -1, 1 win
  3. Kevin Harvick, -104
  4. Kyle Busch, -121
  5. Brad Keselowski, -130, 2 wins
  6. Chase Elliott, -146
  7. Jimmie Johnson, -163, 3 wins
  8. Jamie McMurray, -166
  9. Denny Hamlin, -198
  10. Clint Bowyer, -215
  11. Joey Logano, -222, 1 win (does not count for playoff purposes)
  12. Ryan Blaney, -224, 1 win
  13. Matt Kenseth, -225
  14. Kurt Busch, -253, 1 win
  15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -259, 1 win
  16. Ryan Newman, -262, 1 win
  17. Erik Jones, -262
  18. Trevor Bayne, -281
  19. Daniel Suarez, -284
  20. Austin Dillon, -297, 1 win
  21. Kasey Kahne, -310
  22. Ty Dillon, -337
  23. Dale Earnhardt Jr., -355
  24. Paul Menard, -366
  25. Chris Buescher, -380
  26. Aric Almirola, -396
  27. Michael McDowell, -398
  28. A.J. Allmendinger, -401
  29. David Ragan, -407
  30. Danica Patrick, -409
  31. Cole Whitt, -423
  32. Landon Cassill, -436
  33. Matt DiBenedetto, -447
  34. Corey LaJoie, -493
  35. Gray Gaulding, -502
  36. Reed Sorensen, -515
  37. Jeffrey Earnhardt, -521
  38. Michael Waltrip, -555
  39. Derrike Cope, -558
  40. Cody Ware, -580
  41. D.J. Kennington, -583
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