7 Different Winners; Denny Hamlin Extends Lead: NASCAR Cup Series Points Standings After Bristol Dirt Race

Published 03/31/2021, 6:30 AM EDT

NASCAR recently wrapped up its first Cup Series dirt race in 50 years. Joey Logano triumphed, making him the seventh different winner in the 2021 season. This win vaulted him up to second in the championship and in striking distance of Denny Hamlin. Till date, Hamlin has yet to win a NASCAR Cup race in 2021, but is still leading the championship.

Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr makes it two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the top three. Hamlin has amassed 327 points, with Logano on 269 and Truex Jr on 247. Kyle Larson leads the Hendrick Motorsports charge in fourth place with 242 points under his belt. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has 232 points and William Byron has 228.

Cup driver grid:Hamlin +159, Logano-1w, Truex-1w, Larson-1w, Byron-1w, Blaney-1w, Bell-1w, McDowell-1w, Keselowski +64, Harvick +57, Elliott +43, Dillon +18, KyBusch +15, Stenhouse +12, KuBusch +5, Bowman +4, Buescher -4, Preece -18, Newman -23, Suarez -28, Wallace -36, Jones -50 pic.twitter.com/uORbgHf8AK
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 30, 2021

Article continues below this ad

Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, and Chase Elliott are the last drivers in the 200s. Then, Christopher Bell and Austin Dillon are tied in 10th place on 186 points. Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch are behind them, tied on 183 points. Meanwhile, Ricky Stenhouse Jr splits the Busch brothers, with Kurt behind him. Finally, Alex Bowman rounds out the top 16 in the final playoff spot.

How does everyone else line up in the NASCAR Cup Series?

Article continues below this ad

Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece are right on Bowman’s tail and are keen to hunt him down. Meanwhile, there is another battle brewing between Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, and Bubba Wallace. The 23XI driver has a decent points buffer to Erik Jones, who is racing for Wallace’s former team.

However, Jones has to keep a wary eye on Cole Custer and Matt DiBenedetto. Finally, Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, and Chase Briscoe are the final drivers in the triple digits. Aric Almirola is just on the verge of entering the triple-digit club as he has 88 points in the bag. He also has a healthy gap to Corey LaJoie, who only has 59 points on the scoreboard.

Article continues below this ad

Anthony Alfredo, Quin Houff, Jamie McMurray, Josh Bilicki, and James Davison close out the show.

“It’s Up There” – Joey Logano Reveals Where Bristol Dirt Win Ranks Among His Biggest NASCAR Wins

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.