Fansided

NASCAR Playoffs: Standings update after Chicagoland

By Nick Tylwalk

JOLIET, IL - SEPTEMBER 17: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, and his team celebrate in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 17, 2017 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
JOLIET, IL - SEPTEMBER 17: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, and his team celebrate in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 17, 2017 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion is already locked into the second round, and a few drivers are slightly behind the 8-ball after Chicagoland.

Martin Truex Jr. was an unhappy camper after Richmond. Despite winning the NASCAR Cup Series regular season title, a late caution caused his chance at a win to slip through his fingers.

One week later, he’s a lot happier. Truex took the checkered flag at Chicagoland Speedway, serving notice that while no one could win the championship in the first playoff race, you definitely could set the tone.

Just in case anyone thought Truex and his 78 team would crack under the postseason pressure, there seems to be no chance of that. Sunday’s win means he’s set for the second round of the playoffs even if disaster strikes at New Hampshire or Dover — and truthfully, his points lead would ensure he was okay anyway.

The man many consider the strongest challenger to Truex had a day to forget. Kyle Busch figured to be a factor, but he was done in by a pair of pit road miscues and could only rally to finish 15th. The irony made those mistakes even more painful, since Joe Gibbs Racing swapped the pit crew for the 18 with the members of the 19 team for the rest of the season.

Chase Elliott tied his career-best finish by coming home second, and nine of the top 10 finishers were playoff drivers. Think that means the rest of this championship chase will be tight?

Here’s a look at the standings leaving Chicagoland:

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs standings after Chicagoland (Round of 16 – Race 1)

  1. Martin Truex Jr., 2102 points (automatically in Round of 12 w/ race win)
  2. Kyle Larson, 2075 points
  3. Kevin Harvick, 2067 points
  4. Brad Keselowski, 2061 points
  5. Kyle Busch, 2061 points
  6. Chase Elliott, 2059 points
  7. Denny Hamlin, 2058 points
  8. Jimmie Johnson, 2046 points
  9. Matt Kenseth, 2039 points
  10. Ryan Blaney, 2034 points
  11. Jamie McMurray, 2031 points
  12. Austin Dillon, 2026 points
  13. Kurt Busch, 2026 points
  14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2022 points
  15. Kasey Kahne, 2021 points
  16. Ryan Newman, 2019 points
Home/NASCAR