NASCAR Cup playoff standings after 12 races shows who has work to do
Kyle Larson leads the points, has scored the most playoff points, and led the most laps in the 12 races before Sunday night's exhibition event at North Wilkesboro, but is that enough?
Maybe not. Dominance early in a season isn't always rewarded with a Cup title. Consider:
Larson took the points lead from teammate William Byron after winning last weekend's race at Kansas Speedway, the third victory of the season for Larson.
No driver leading the Cup points after 12 races has gone on to win the championship that season since Martin Truex Jr. in 2017.
Dustin Long,
Larson has scored a series-best 23 playoff points (15 points via his three wins and eight points via his eight stage victories).
No driver with the most playoff points after 12 races has gone on to win the Cup title that season since Kyle Busch in 2019.
Take a look at the other end of the playoff picture. Seven drivers have claimed playoff spots with a win, leaving nine spots remaining.
Drivers that made it on points in the Next Gen era (since 2022) had an average of 349.3 points after 12 races. Chase Elliott (378), Ryan Blaney (362) and Tyler Reddick (357) are the only drivers above that point through 12 races this year.
Of the six drivers who made the playoffs on points since 2022, three of them were in the top five in points after 12 races (Martin Truex Jr. was second in 2024, Kevin Harvick was fifth in 2023 and Blaney was third in 2022). Elliott is fourth in the season standings and Blaney is fifth ahead ahead of the All-Star Race.
Only one of the six drivers who made the playoffs on points since 2022 were outside the top 10 after 12 races.
Bubba Wallace was 18th in points after 12 races. He averaged 21.0 points per race in the first 12 races. His performance picked up afterward. He averaged 26.2 points per race in the final 14 races of the regular season that year to earn the final playoff spot.
Among those outside the top 10 in the points and winless this year are: Ross Chastain (11th in the standings), Chris Buescher (12th), Chase Briscoe (13th), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (15th), Ryan Preece (16th), Kyle Busch (18th), John Hunter Nemechek (19th) and Carson Hocevar (20th).
When looking ahead, also consider the schedule. Six of the remaining 14 races in the regular season will be held at either a road course or a drafting track. The road courses are Mexico City (June 15), Chicago Street Race (July 6), Sonoma (July 13) and Watkins Glen (Aug. 10). The drafting tracks are Atlanta (June 28) and the regular-season finale at Daytona (Aug. 23).
Here is a look at the playoff standings after 12 of 26 races in the regular season (those highlighted in yellow are in a playoff spot via a win):
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