Fansided

Updated NASCAR Cup Series standings after Chase Elliott L-1 penalty

By Nick Tylwalk

DAYTONA, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Chase Elliott (9) Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro, Jimmy Johnson (48) Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet Camaro and Alex Bowman (88) Hendrick Motorsports Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet Camaro during Daytona 500 Qualifying on Sunday 11, 2018 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DAYTONA, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Chase Elliott (9) Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro, Jimmy Johnson (48) Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet Camaro and Alex Bowman (88) Hendrick Motorsports Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet Camaro during Daytona 500 Qualifying on Sunday 11, 2018 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Chase Elliott’s loss is a gain for one of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings get a slight reshuffle for the second straight week.

Maybe we should just not write about the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings until the mid-week inspection process is over. For the second straight week, an L-1 penalty has hit one of the top drivers, this time Chase Elliott for issues with the No. 9’s rear suspension and trailing arm.

While Elliott hasn’t been running well enough yet in 2018 to mean that the 25 points he lost affects the top of the points chart, where Kevin Harvick rightfully reigns, it does have one of those “if the playoffs started today” ripple effects on the standings. Elliott would have been in the final playoff spot, but only by tiebreakers with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.

That’s no longer an issue. Bowman is now 16th in points all by his lonesome, with Elliott dropping all the way back to 23rd, somewhere between Trevor Bayne and Michael McDowell. Not exactly the start to the season Hendrick or Elliott had hoped to see.

The good news is there’s plenty of racing left, and if Elliott breaks through and finally snags his first Cup Series win, this penalty will hardly be remembered come playoff time. If he doesn’t and is in danger of Loganoing (a term we just made up), remember the TicketGuardian 500 very carefully since the loss of points undid a top-5 finish.

Next: Lowe's is leaving Jimie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2018 season

Here’s how both the points and playoff pictures look now:

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. Alex Bowman, -77
  17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -80
  18. Bubba Wallace, -91
  19. Chris Buescher, -93
  20. William Byron, -100
  21. Daniel Suarez, -101
  22. Trevor Bayne, -101
  23. Chase Elliott, -102
  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. Alex Bowman, 3 points ahead of cutoff
  17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., -3 points behind cutoff
  18. Bubba Wallace, -14
  19. Chris Buescher, -16
  20. William Byron, -23
  21. Daniel Suarez, -24
  22. Trevor Bayne, -24
  23. Chase Elliott, -25
  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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