NASCAR got a new regular season Cup Series champion on Saturday night at Richmond, with just one race to go before the playoffs.
William Byron came into the day with a far from insurmountable lead over Chase Elliott in second place, but the latter was inadvertently wiped out by Kyle Busch around the halfway point of Saturday's race, giving Byron the chance to clinch early.
He did just that with a 12th place finish, earning his reward for a season which has seen him claim wins at the Daytona 500 and at Iowa, along with seven more top-five finishes.
In the playoff race, Austin Dillon's stunning win-and-in from way down in the standings has tightened things up massively for the winless drivers, all of whom are now at risk next weekend at Daytona.
With just two spots currently being awarded on points, Tyler Reddick sits just 29 points ahead of Alex Bowman, having previously looked as good as locked in. That means that should a new driver win at Daytona – far from unlikely at the chaotic superspeedway – a Reddick wreck and good finish for Bowman could see the pair swap positions and the 23XI star squeezed out of what would be the only points spot in the postseason.
With that said, let's take a look at both standings in full below.
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NASCAR standings
Cup Series playoff standings after Richmond
| Pos |
Driver (Car No.) |
Team |
Wins |
+/- to Cut Line |
| 1 | Denny Hamlin (11) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 4 | LOCKED IN |
| 2 | Shane van Gisbergen (88) | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 4 | LOCKED IN |
| 3 | Christopher Bell (20) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 3 | LOCKED IN |
| 4 | Kyle Larson (5) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 3 | LOCKED IN |
| 5 | William Byron (24) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2 | LOCKED IN |
| 6 | Chase Elliott (9) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney (12) | Team Penske Ford | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe (19) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 9 | Bubba Wallace (23) | 23XI Racing Toyota | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 10 | Joey Logano (22) | Team Penske Ford | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 11 | Ross Chastain (1) | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 12 | Austin Cindric (2) | Team Penske Ford | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 13 | Josh Berry (21) | Wood Brothers Racing Ford | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 14 | Austin Dillon (3) | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 1 | LOCKED IN |
| 15 | Tyler Reddick (45) | 23XI Racing Toyota | 0 | +89 |
| 16 | Alex Bowman (48) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 0 | +60 |
| — Playoff Cut Line — |
| 17 | Chris Buescher (17) | RFK Racing Ford | 0 | -60 |
| 18 | Ryan Preece (60) | RFK Racing Ford | 0 | -94 |
| 19 | Kyle Busch (8) | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 0 | -148 |
| 20 | Ty Gibbs (54) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 0 | -173 |
| 21 | AJ Allmendinger (16) | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | 0 | -181 |
| 22 | Brad Keselowski (6) | RFK Racing Ford | 0 | -189 |
| 23 | Carson Hocevar (77) | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 0 | -197 |
| 24 | Michael McDowell (71) | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 0 | -207 |
| 25 | Erik Jones (43) | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | 0 | -213 |
| 26 | John H. Nemechek (42) | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | 0 | -226 |
| 27 | Zane Smith (38) | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 0 | -244 |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) | HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet | 0 | -251 |
| 29 | Daniel Suárez (99) | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 0 | -252 |
| 30 | Justin Haley (7) | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 0 | -296 |
| 31 | Todd Gilliland (34) | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 0 | -297 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon (10) | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | 0 | -313 |
| 33 | Noah Gragson (4) | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 0 | -376 |
| 34 | Cole Custer (41) | Haas Factory Team Ford | 0 | -378 |
| 35 | Riley Herbst (35) | 23XI Racing Toyota | 0 | -392 |
| 36 | Cody Ware (51) | Rick Ware Racing Ford | 0 | -517 |
Cup Series regular season standings after Richmond
| Pos | Driver (Car No.) | Team | Points |
| 1 | William Byron (24) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 812 |
| 2 | Chase Elliott (9) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 770 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin (11) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 731 |
| 4 | Christopher Bell (20) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 727 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson (5) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 727 |
| 6 | Ryan Blaney (12) | Team Penske Ford | 710 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick (45) | 23XI Racing Toyota | 701 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe (19) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 674 |
| 9 | Alex Bowman (48) | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 644 |
| 10 | Chris Buescher (17) | RFK Racing Ford | 618 |
| 11 | Bubba Wallace (23) | 23XI Racing Toyota | 610 |
| 12 | Ryan Preece (60) | RFK Racing Ford | 584 |
| 13 | Joey Logano (22) | Team Penske Ford | 583 |
| 14 | Ross Chastain (1) | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 571 |
| 15 | Kyle Busch (8) | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 516 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric (2) | Team Penske Ford | 502 |
| 17 | Ty Gibbs (54) | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 493 |
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger (16) | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | 489 |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski (6) | RFK Racing Ford | 465 |
| 20 | Carson Hocevar (77) | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 462 |
| 21 | Erik Jones (43) | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | 461 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell (71) | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 458 |
| 23 | John H. Nemechek (42) | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | 458 |
| 24 | Josh Berry (21) | Wood Brothers Racing Ford | 445 |
| 25 | Shane Van Gisbergen (88) | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 441 |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) | HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet | 420 |
| 27 | Zane Smith (38) | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 415 |
| 28 | Austin Dillon (3) | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 406 |
| 29 | Daniel Suárez (99) | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 393 |
| 30 | Justin Haley (7) | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 388 |
| 31 | Todd Gilliland (34) | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 376 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon (10) | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | 355 |
| 33 | Noah Gragson (4) | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 299 |
| 34 | Cole Custer (41) | Haas Factory Team Ford | 294 |
| 35 | Riley Herbst (35) | 23XI Racing Toyota | 287 |
| 36 | Cody Ware (51) | Rick Ware Racing Ford | 163 |
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