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Updated NASCAR Cup Series standings after Kevin Harvick L1-penalty

By Nick Tylwalk

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 04: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, leads Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 04: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, leads Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Harvick’s loss is Joey Logano’s gain, as the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford now sits atop the Cup Series points race.

Sometimes the shake-ups in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings happen on Wednesdays, not Sundays. Today was one of those days, as Kevin Harvick fell from the top of the points race thanks to the L1-penalty his team received from Las Vegas. Yet if the NASCAR Playoffs started today, Harvick would still be the top seed.

Confused? There were multiple effects from the penalty issued to the No. 4 team, including Harvick losing both 20 driver points and all seven of the bonus playoff points he accumulated during the Pennzoil 400. Fortunately for Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick has been so good, including a dominating win at Atlanta, that those sanctions don’t even matter to the team all that much.

In an extreme case of irony, Joey Logano is the driver who assumes the lead in points, after he was hit with a similar penalty for his lone victory in 2017. Because Logano never won again and didn’t rack up enough points to make the playoffs that way, he didn’t even get to race for the championship last fall.

Here’s a look at the revised lists for both points and playoff positioning after the Harvick penalty was handed down.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Las Vegas – Points

(regular season race 3 of 26)

  1. Joey Logano, 132 points
  2. Ryan Blaney, -1
  3. Kevin Harvick, -17
  4. Martin Truex Jr., -17
  5. Kyle Busch, -28
  6. Kyle Larson, -28
  7. Brad Keselowski, -33
  8. Denny Hamlin, -35
  9. Paul Menard, -36
  10. Austin Dillon, -38
  11. Clint Bowyer, -39
  12. Aric Almirola, -39
  13. Kurt Busch, -55
  14. Ryan Newman, -57
  15. Bubba Wallace, -64
  16. Chris Buescher, -65
  17. Alex Bowman, -65
  18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -66
  19. Erik Jones, -68
  20. Michael McDowell, -79
  21. Chase Elliott, -80
  22. Trevor Bayne, -82
  23. AJ Allmendinger, -89
  24. William Byron, -89
  25. Jamie McMurray, -90
  26. David Ragan, -93
  27. Daniel Suarez, -94
  28. Kasey Kahne, -95
  29. Jimmie Johnson, -96
  30. Matt DiBenedetto, -101
  31. Jeffrey Earnhardt, -107
  32. Ty Dillon, -107
  33. Gray Gaulding, -110
  34. Cole Whitt, -114
  35. Mark Thompson, -117
  36. D.J. Kennington, -119
  37. Brendan Gaughan, -123
  38. Harrison Rhodes, -128
  39. Danica Patrick, -130
  40. Corey LaJoie, -131

Next: Why Harvick's big win was an argument for stage racing

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Las Vegas – Playoffs

  1. Kevin Harvick, 1 win, 6 playoff points
  2. Austin Dillon, 1 win, 5 playoff points
  3. Ryan Blaney, 1 playoff point
  4. Brad Keselowski, 1 playoff point
  5. Kurt Busch, 1 playoff point
  6. Joey Logano
  7. Martin Truex Jr.
  8. Kyle Busch
  9. Kyle Larson
  10. Denny Hamlin
  11. Paul Menard
  12. Clint Bowyer
  13. Aric Almirola
  14. Ryan Newman
  15. Bubba Wallace
  16. Chris Buescher, 0 points above cutoff
  17. Alex Bowman 0 points behind cutoff
  18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -1
  19. Erik Jones, -3
  20. Michael McDowell, -14
  21. Chase Elliott, -15
  22. Trevor Bayne, -17
  23. AJ Allmendinger, -24
  24. William Byron, -24
  25. Jamie McMurray, -25
  26. David Ragan, -28
  27. Daniel Suarez, -29
  28. Kasey Kahne, -30
  29. Jimmie Johnson, -31
  30. Matt DiBenedetto, -36
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