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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Phoenix

ByNick Tylwalk|
AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota, and Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, lead the field in a restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 11, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota, and Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, lead the field in a restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 11, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

What penalty? After his third straight victory, Kevin Harvick once again leads the standings in every way that matters.

The last thing Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team needed was even more motivation after winning two straight races. They got it anyway in the form of an L1-penalty that knocked them down the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings just a tad going into the TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix’s ISM Raceway.

Harvick wasn’t leading the series in points before Sunday, but after his third straight victory, he is now. He had only a narrow lead over Austin Dillon if the playoff seeds would have been set on Thursday, but he’s stretched out that gap with victory No. 3.

That domination is casting a very big shadow over some other notable performances. Kyle Busch has started stronger than he did in 2017, when he almost won the title after everything fell into place during the summer. Defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. is just a tick off his form from last year and has been running well, just not contending for race wins.

But Stewart-Haas Racing has been the class of the garage so far, as all four drivers are currently in the playoff field. It’s a long season and that could easily change, but it’s going to take a seismic shift to stop Harvick and his teammates from being a problem for everyone else the rest of the way.

Next: When was the last time someone won four straight NASCAR races?

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Phoenix – Points

(regular season race 4 of 26)

  1. Kevin Harvick, 168 points
  2. Kyle Busch, -12
  3. Martin Truex Jr., -12
  4. Joey Logano, -16
  5. Ryan Blaney, -16
  6. Denny Hamlin, -31
  7. Brad Keselowski, -34
  8. Kyle Larson, -37
  9. Clint Bowyer, -43
  10. Aric Almirola, -45
  11. Kurt Busch, -51
  12. Austin Dillon, -54
  13. Ryan Newman, -67
  14. Paul Menard, -71
  15. Erik Jones, -75
  16. Chase Elliott, -77
  17. Alex Bowman, -77
  18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -80
  19. Bubba Wallace, -91
  20. Chris Buescher, -93
  21. William Byron, -100
  22. Daniel Suarez, -101
  23. Trevor Bayne, -101
  24. Michael McDowell, -104
  25. AJ Allmendinger, -109
  26. Jimmie Johnson, -109
  27. David Ragan, -114
  28. Jamie McMurray, -115
  29. Kasey Kahne, -116
  30. Matt DiBenedetto, -125
  31. Ty Dillon, -131
  32. Jeffrey Earnhardt, -141
  33. Gray Gaulding, -143
  34. D.J. Kennington, -149
  35. Cole Whitt, -150
  36. Mark Thompson, -153
  37. Brendan Gaughan, -159
  38. Harrison Rhodes, -164
  39. Danica Patrick, -166
  40. Corey LaJoie, -166

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings after Phoenix – Playoffs

  1. Kevin Harvick 2 wins (one other win does not count for playoff purposes), 11 playoff points
  2. Austin Dillon, 1 win, 5 playoff points
  3. Kurt Busch, 2 playoff points
  4. Kyle Busch, 1 playoff point
  5. Ryan Blaney, 1 playoff point
  6. Brad Keselowski, 1 playoff point
  7. Martin Truex Jr.
  8. Joey Logano
  9. Denny Hamlin
  10. Kyle Larson
  11. Clint Bowyer
  12. Aric Almirola
  13. Ryan Newman
  14. Paul Menard
  15. Erik Jones
  16. Chase Elliott, 0 points above cutoff
  17. Alex Bowman, 0 points behind cutoff
  18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -3
  19. Bubba Wallace, -14
  20. Chris Buescher, -16
  21. William Byron, -23
  22. Daniel Suarez, -24
  23. Trevor Bayne, -24
  24. Michael McDowell, -27
  25. AJ Allmendinger, -32
  26. Jimmie Johnson, -32
  27. David Ragan, -37
  28. Jamie McMurray, -38
  29. Kasey Kahne, -39
  30. Matt DiBenedetto, -48
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