Denny Hamlin Leads Points Race: NASCAR Cup Series 2021 Drivers’ Standings After Las Vegas Race

Published 03/09/2021, 5:30 AM EST

The NASCAR Cup Series race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has officially concluded. Kyle Larson emerged victorious at the end, becoming the second consecutive Hendrick Motorsports winner. In the process, he vaulted up the order in the Cup Series championship.

Although Denny Hamlin is still clinging onto the lead, Brad Keselowski is right on his tail. Behind them is Larson, fresh from his first win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Meanwhile, defending champion, Chase Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell complete the top five. Hamlin has a comfortable lead over Keselowski, with 187 points compared to the latter’s 149.

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Cup driver grid: Hamlin +99, Larson-1w, Bell-1w, McDowell-1w, Byron-1w, Keselowski +61, Elliott +51, Logano, +50, Harvick +48, Truex +43, KuBusch +34, ADillon +27, Preece +24, KyBusch +10, Blaney +3, Buescher +2, Stenhouse -2, Bowman -4, Custer -10, Wallace -14, Newman -15 pic.twitter.com/KVZWxUEkrQ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 8, 2021

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson is just two points shy of the Penske driver. Elliott is a further eight points adrift, with Bell and Joey Logano tied for fifth, one behind Elliott. Kevin Harvick in the Stewart-Haas car is a further five points behind, and five points ahead of Martin Truex Jr.

How does the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series pack stack up behind Hamlin?

Martin Truex Jr, Michael McDowell, and Kurt Busch round out the top 10. Considering that many drivers are within a handful of points off each other, the championship battle is heating up quite well. It just goes to show how unpredictable the 2021 Cup Series championship is.

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Admittedly, only four races are complete and the season has only just started. However, just about anything can happen in the next few races until the playoffs begin.

It is also worth mentioning that out of all four of the 2021 race winners, William Byron is the only one who is outside the top 10. However, he has plenty of time to make up for it and stay away from playoff relegation.

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However, for other drivers like Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, and many more, it is crunch time. They will all be looking forward to next weekend’s race at the Phoenix Raceway, hoping to climb up the points latter.

Can Kyle Larson Convert His Brilliant Consistency at Las Vegas Into a NASCAR Cup Win?

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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.