Matt Johnson
Sunday’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International was the 24th of the regular season, leaving just two races left on the NASCAR schedule before the playoffs. Not only did Go Bowling at The Glen tighten the Cup Series playoff picture, it also added a fight to the finish among the NASCAR points leaders after today.
Let’s dive right into the NASCAR points standings after Watkins Glen for the Cup Series. As always, (P) indicates the driver would make the playoffs if the regular season ended today and a (*) indicates the driver won a race this season.
NASCAR Points Leaders after Today: Cup Series Outlook
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Byron* (P) | 812 | — |
| 2 | Chase Elliott* (P) | 770 | -42 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin* (P) | 731 | -81 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson* (P) | 727 | -85 |
| 5 | Christopher Bell* (P) | 727 | -85 |
| 6 | Ryan Blaney* (P) | 710 | -102 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 701 | -111 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe* (P) | 674 | -138 |
| 9 | Alex Bowman (P) | 644 | -168 |
| 10 | Chris Buescher (P) | 618 | -194 |
| 11 | Bubba Wallace* (P) | 610 | -202 |
| 12 | Ryan Preece | 584 | -228 |
| 13 | Joey Logano* (P) | 583 | -229 |
| 14 | Ross Chastain* (P) | 571 | -241 |
| 15 | Kyle Busch | 516 | -296 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric* (P) | 502 | -310 |
| 17 | Ty Gibbs | 493 | -319 |
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger | 489 | -323 |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski | 465 | -347 |
| 20 | Carson Hocevar | 462 | -350 |
| 21 | Erik Jones | 461 | -351 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell | 458 | -354 |
| 23 | John H. Nemechek | 458 | -354 |
| 24 | Josh Berry* (P) | 445 | -367 |
| 25 | Shane van Gisbergen* (P) | 441 | -371 |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 420 | -392 |
| 27 | Zane Smith | 415 | -397 |
| 28 | Austin Dillon | 406 | -406 |
| 29 | Daniel Suarez | 393 | -419 |
| 30 | Justin Haley | 388 | -424 |
| 31 | Todd Gilliland | 376 | -436 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 355 | -457 |
| 33 | Noah Gragson | 299 | -513 |
| 34 | Cole Custer | 294 | -518 |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 287 | -525 |
| 36 | Cody Ware | 163 | -649 |
Related: NASCAR Xfinity results for Watkins Glen, including stage results and points totals
Of note, with only two races remaining in the regular season, there are only TWO spots remaining in the Cup Series Playoffs. Tyler Reddick clinched the first spot on points. Effectively, any driver who is 100-plus points outside the playoff bubble must win to qualify for the 16-driver playoff.
You can find the NASCAR standings for all three Series, along with the Cup Series playoff points leaderboard in the embedded link.
NASCAR playoff picture after today
- Denny Hamlin – 4 wins
- Shane Van Gisbergen – 4 wins
- Christopher Bell – 3 wins
- Kyle Larson – 3 wins
- William Byron – 2 wins
- Chase Elliott – 1 win
- Ryan Blaney – 1 win
- Chase Briscoe – 1 win
- Bubba Wallace – 1 win
- Joey Logano – 1 win
- Ross Chastain – 1 win
- Austin Cindric – 1 win
- Josh Berry – 1 win
- Tyler Reddick – +117 points above cutline
- Alex Bowman – +60 points above cutline
- Chris Buescher – +34 points above cutline
NASCAR Playoff Bubble
- BUBBLE: Ryan Preece – 34 points behind Chris Buescher
- BUBBLE: Kyle Busch – 102 points behind Chris Buescher
- BUBBLE: Ty Gibbs – 125 points behind Chris Buescher
- BUBBLE: AJ Allmendinger – 129 points behind Chris Buescher
Related: NASCAR Truck Series results from Watkins Glen
