NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR star plummets in playoff standings after brutal late penalty

Chris Deeley Friday 16 May 2025 13:00

NASCAR star plummets in playoff standings after brutal late penalty

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series standings have taken a surprise twist this week, without a single race being run.

Kyle Larson took the season lead on Sunday at the Kansas Speedway, smashing the track record for Cup Series laps led in a single race, but a late penalty has seen a number of drivers shift in the standings.

Chris Buescher has dropped a dozen places this week (from 12th to 24th) after being punished for a front bumper cover violation, having been docked 60 points (plus five playoff points) for the infraction.

That penalty has dropped him well below the playoff cut line, with Ryan Preece's 251 points now the 16th driver in after Buescher fell from 284 to 224, now with seven drivers between him and the post-season once race wins are taken into account.

RFK Racing were also hit with a $75,000 fine, with crew chief Scott Graves suspended for the next two races on the Cup Series calendar.

With that said, let's take a look at the latest Cup Series standings in full.

NASCAR Cup Series standings after Buescher penalty

Rank	Driver	Car No	Team	Manufacturer	Points (Difference)
1	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	469 (–)
2	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	434 (–35)
3	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	384 (–85)
4	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	378 (–91)
5	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske	Ford	362 (–107)
6	Tyler Reddick	45	23XI Racing	Toyota	357 (–112)
7	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	346 (–123)
8	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	325 (–144)
9	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske	Ford	318 (–151)
10	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing	Toyota	310 (–159)
11	Ross Chastain	1	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	300 (–169)
12	Chase Briscoe	19	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	278 (–191)
13	Austin Cindric	2	Team Penske	Ford	273 (–196)
14	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	258 (–211)
15	Ryan Preece	60	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	251 (–218)
16	Josh Berry	21	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	244 (–225)
17	Kyle Busch	8	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	244 (–225)
18	John Hunter Nemechek	42	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	234 (–235)
19	Carson Hocevar	77	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	230 (–239)
20	Michael McDowell	71	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	228 (–241)
21	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	227 (–242)
22	Zane Smith	38	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	227 (–242)
23	Todd Gilliland	34	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	227 (–242)
24	Chris Buescher	17	RFK Racing	Ford	224 (–245)
25	AJ Allmendinger	16	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	218 (–251)
26	Ty Gibbs	54	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	217 (–252)
27	Daniel Suárez	99	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	209 (–260)
28	Justin Haley	7	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	206 (–263)
29	Erik Jones	43	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	196 (–273)
30	Ty Dillon	10	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	188 (–281)
31	Noah Gragson	4	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	181 (–288)
32	Riley Herbst	35	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	151 (–318)
33	Brad Keselowski	6	RFK Racing	Ford	148 (–321)
34	Cole Custer	41	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	139 (–330)
35	Shane van Gisbergen	88	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	138 (–331)
36	Cody Ware	51	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	68 (–401)
37	Jimmie Johnson	84	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	34 (–435)
38	Corey LaJoie	7	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	24 (–445)
39	JJ Yeley	44	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet	9 (–460)
40	Katherine Legge	78	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	7 (–462)
41	Casey Mears	13	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	2 (–467)
42	Burt Myers	50	Team AmeriVet	Chevrolet	1 (–468)
43	Chad Finchum	66	Garage 66	Ford	1 (–468)
44	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Tricon Garage	Toyota	1 (–468)
45	Corey Heim *	67	23XI Racing	Toyota	0 (–469)
46	Jesse Love *	33	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	0 (–469)
47	Helio Castroneves	06	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	0 (–469)

NASCAR HEADLINES: Cup Series driver hit with major penalty as Kyle Larson replacement revealed

Kyle Larson NASCAR Cup Series Ryan Preece Chris Buescher RFK Racing

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NASCAR star plummets in playoff standings after brutal late penalty

NASCAR star plummets in playoff standings after brutal late penalty

NASCAR Cup Series standings after Buescher penalty