The NASCAR playoff standings and Cup Series points have been updated following the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Christopher Bell won the race, which was the first road course for the drivers this year. It was a good way to start the month of March, and the race was the second of five races this month. Here’s a look at the updated NASCAR playoff standings and Cup points after COTA.
Updated NASCAR playoff standings after COTA
Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
With William Byron winning the Daytona 500 and Christopher Bell winning the last two races, they have clinched a playoff spot. Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick are not far behind as they have a strong hold on third and fourth place, respectively.
One driver to watch is Kyle Busch, who is ninth in the playoff standings. Busch missed out on winning at COTA but still earned a strong top-five finish to strengthen his spot for the postseason.
RankDriver Wins Playoff Points 1Christopher Bell2102William Byron153Ryan Blaney0+474Tyler Reddick0+445Chase Elliott 0+286Bubba Wallace0+277Alex Bowman0+208Michael McDowell0+189Kyle Busch 0+1410Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 0+1311Austin Cindric0+1312Chris Buescher 0+1013Joey Logano0+1014John Hunter Nemechek 0+915Carson Hocevar0+516Kyle Larson0+417Denny Hamlin0-418Shane van Gisbergen0-819Todd Gilliland 0-820Ross Chastain 0-9
Updated overall NASCAR Cup points after COTA
© michael c. johnson-usa today sports
With William Byron earning a P2 finish at COTA, he is now the points leader over Ryan Blaney. The COTA finish at the Daytona 500 win has given Byron an early chance to win the regular season title.
Bubba Wallace finished 20th on Sunday and is now just 22 points behind Byron for the lead. Wallace has finished in the top 10 in the standings once in his career, which was in 2023 when he reached the playoffs and finished 10th.
Rank DriverPoints Leader1William Byron11602Ryan Blaney 114-23Tyler Reddick111-54Christopher Bell 95-215Chase Elliott 95-216Bubba Wallace94-227Alex Bowman 87-298Michael McDowell 85-319Kyle Busch 81-3510Ricky Stenhouse Jr.80-3611Austin Cindric80-3612Chris Buescher 77-3913Joey Logano 77-3914John Hunter Nemechek 76-4015Carson Hocevar 72-4416Kyle Larson71-4517Denny Hamlin67-4918Shane van Gisbergen 63-5319Todd Gilliland 63-5320Ross Chastain 62-5421Riley Herbst 60-5622Erik Jones56-6023Justin Haley52-6424Ty Dillon48-6825AJ Allmendinger 43-7326Brad Keselowski43-7327Noah Gragson42-7228Austin Dillon 41-7529Daniel Suarez 38-7830Ryan Preece38-78