The NASCAR Cup Series gets its first break of the 2021 season with an off weekend following the initial seven of 36 races of the year — which, to the surprise of many, produced seven different drivers.
A quick recap: Michael McDowell stunned as the underdog winner of the season-opening Daytona 500, and Christopher Bell won the next race on Daytona International Speedway’s road course for two first-time winners. William Byron won at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Larson won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. won at Phoenix Raceway and Ryan Blaney won at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Most recently, Joey Logano took the checkered flag in Monday’s dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
And now, NASCAR is hitting the pause button this weekend before taking off for Martinsville Speedway for a Saturday night race on April 10.
Despite some of the surprise winners this early in the season, many of the usual drivers and teams remain at the top of the regular-season driver standings. Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske each have three drivers currently ranked in the top-10, with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick rounding out the group.
So ahead of the off-weekend, here’s a breakdown of the regular-season driver standings, who’s looking good and who has some work to do (with plenty of time to still do it).
As a reminder, the regular-season standings are different from the projected playoff points and standings, where the top-16 drivers will compete in the 10-race playoffs this fall.
Typically, a win locks a driver into the playoffs, but with so many different winners early on, there’s a chance for more than 16 winners. If that happens, a win wouldn’t guarantee a playoff spot, and drivers and teams will have to work extra hard at the end of the 26-race regular season to contend for a championship.
