Matt Johnson
Following Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, there’s only one race remaining in the regular season. The NASCAR results today from Richmond tightened up the battle for additional playoff points awarded for the top 10 drivers in the NASCAR standings and there are still two points-eligible playoff spots remaining.
Let’s dive into the NASCAR playoff picture right now after the Cook Out 40, along with the Cup Series points leaders heading into the final race on the regular-season portion of the NASCAR schedule from Daytona International Speedway.
Related: Winners, Losers from the Cook Out 400
NASCAR Cup Series Points Leaders after Today’s Race
Here are the NASCAR points leaders after Richmond. (P) indicates the driver would make the playoffs if the regular season ended today and (*) indicates the driver has won a race this season.
| Rank | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Byron* (P) | 839 | — |
| 2 | Chase Elliott* (P) | 771 | -68 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin* (P) | 766 | -73 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson* (P) | 759 | -80 |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney* (P) | 756 | -83 |
| 6 | Christopher Bell* (P) | 748 | -91 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 714 | -125 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe* (P) | 698 | -141 |
| 9 | Alex Bowman (P) | 685 | -154 |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace* (P) | 639 | -200 |
| 11 | Chris Buescher | 625 | -214 |
| 12 | Joey Logano* (P) | 616 | -223 |
| 13 | Ryan Preece | 591 | -248 |
| 14 | Ross Chastain* (P) | 589 | -250 |
| 15 | Austin Cindric* (P) | 543 | -296 |
| 16 | Kyle Busch | 537 | -302 |
| 17 | Ty Gibbs | 512 | -327 |
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger | 504 | -335 |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski | 496 | -343 |
| 20 | Carson Hocevar | 488 | -351 |
| 21 | Michael McDowell | 478 | -361 |
| 22 | Josh Berry* (P) | 476 | -363 |
| 23 | Erik Jones | 472 | -367 |
| 24 | Shane van Gisbergen* (P) | 464 | -375 |
| 25 | Austin Dillon* (P) | 460 | -379 |
| 26 | John H. Nemecehk | 459 | -380 |
| 27 | Zane Smith | 441 | -398 |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 434 | -405 |
| 29 | Daniel Suarez | 433 | -406 |
| 30 | Justin Haley | 389 | -450 |
| 31 | Todd Gilliland | 388 | -451 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 372 | -467 |
| 33 | Noah Gragson | 309 | -530 |
| 34 | Cole Custer | 307 | -532 |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 293 | -546 |
| 36 | Cody Ware | 168 | -671 |
Related: NASCAR Truck Series results from Richmond Raceway
NASCAR Playoff Picture: Cup Series Playoff Points Standings
Here is the NASCAR playoff picture right now in the Cup Series after the Cook Out 400 at Richmond.
- Denny Hamlin – 4 wins – 24 playoff points
- Shane van Gisbergen – 4 wins – 22 playoff points
- Christopher Bell – 3 wins -17 playoff points
- Kyle Larson – 3 wins – 23 playoff points
- William Byron – 2 wins – 17 playoff points
- Chase Elliott – 1 win – 6 playoff points
- Ryan Blaney – 1 win -11 playoff points
- Chase Briscoe – 1 win -7 playoff points
- Bubba Wallace – 1 win – 8 playoff points
- Joey Logano – 1 win – 7 playoff points
- Ross Chastain – 1 win – 6 playoff points
- Austin Cindric – 1 win – 8 playoff points
- Josh Berry – 1 win – 6 playoff points
- Austin Dillon – 1 win – 5 playoff points
- Tyler Reddick – +89 points – 2 playoff points
- Alex Bowman – +60 points – 0 playoff points
Also Read: Latest NASCAR Rumors on 2026 Schedule, including Dates and Key Changes
- PLAYOFF BUBBLE – Chris Buescher – 60 points behind Alex Bowman
- PLAYOFF BUBBLE – Ryan Preece – 94 points behind Alex Bowman
- PLAYOFF BUBBLE – Kyle Busch – 148 points behind Alex Bowman
- PLAYOFF BUBBLE – Ty Gibbs – 173 points behind Alex Bowman
Read More: 8 Big Changes NASCAR Should Make for the 2026 Season
