Kyle Larson surges to the top spot as momentum shifts ahead of Las Vegas, while consistent contenders struggle to match the No. 5 team's dominant championship pace
1. Kyle Larson – 2,282 (+1)
Two wins in the last three races and a second in the one he didn’t win. Last week he beat Chase Briscoe and a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota straight up at a track that is supposed to be their kind of place. The No. 5 team is clicking on all cylinders and has become the clear team to beat. Las Vegas is one of Larson’s better tracks, and he has a real chance to stretch this lead even further.
2. Denny Hamlin – -26 (-1)
Hamlin isn’t running poorly. He’s just not running at the level we saw all summer, and Larson is beating him right now. Three straight top-10s keep him firmly in the fight, but that kind of consistency won’t be enough if he can’t get back to Victory Lane. He’s still a threat at every track left, but he needs wins to close the gap.
3. Christopher Bell – -50 (+1)
Bell is quietly putting together some of his strongest runs of the season. He’s just not at Larson’s level at the moment. The Toyota speed is still there, and he’s only 50 points back, so a hot streak could change everything. He needs to start turning strong days into wins.
4. Joey Logano – -67 (-1)
A 20th at Kansas was a rough day. The Bristol win wasn’t that long ago, though, and the No. 22 has looked faster than it did earlier in the year. Logano can absolutely go on a run and close this gap, but he has to answer quickly.
5. Ryan Blaney – -91 (+2)
A top-five at Kansas was solid, even if the points haul didn’t move the needle much. Blaney is still capable of winning races and forcing his way into the title conversation. He’s going to need a dominant stretch in the second half of The Chase to make up this kind of ground.
6. Ty Gibbs – -94 (-1)
A 17th at Kansas wasn’t what the No. 54 needed. Short tracks have been his strength, which makes Phoenix and Martinsville must-win type of races if he wants any realistic shot at the championship.
7. Chase Briscoe – -123 (+3)
Briscoe could have won at Kansas and just couldn’t hold off Larson at the end. The speed has been there most of the year. Closing races out continues to be the problem. Until that changes, the results will keep falling short of the pace.
8. Tyler Reddick – -111
An 11th at Kansas was fine on paper, but he looked nothing like the driver who dominated there in the spring. That’s a telling sign of where this No. 45 team is compared to earlier in the season. Five wins and a Daytona 500 make it a great year, but the title hopes are essentially gone.
9. Austin Cindric – -140 (+3)
Second place at Kansas was one of the best races of Cindric's career, and he might have had the strongest car at times. He won’t win the championship, but performances like that can quiet a lot of the talk about his future, and potentially getting replaced by Brad Keselowski. Penske has to feel good about the speed he showed, and what that could mean for Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.
10. Bubba Wallace – -140 (-1)
Three top-10s in the first four Chase races is respectable for Wallace. Kansas was a missed opportunity, though. If the No. 23 had any real title hopes, that was a race they needed to win. Instead they were a non-factor.
11. William Byron – -158 (+2)
Since the 37th at Darlington, Byron has stacked three straight top-10s. With the speed Hendrick is showing now, it would be a surprise if he doesn’t find Victory Lane before the year is over.
12. Carson Hocevar – -150 (-6)
The Bristol fight with Blaney was fun and the finish was strong. Then a 33rd at Kansas killed the momentum. It’s still been a breakout year with a first win and a postseason berth, but now it’s about trying to crack the top 10 in the final standings.
13. Chase Elliott – -161 (-2)
An eighth at Kansas doesn’t sound terrible until you realize he got passed in the standings by his teammate Byron and lost even more ground to Larson. The No. 9 is stuck in neutral while the No. 5 is taking off.
14. Ryan Preece – -173
Another solid top-10 at Kansas. The first career win at Daytona and a postseason appearance already make this a year to feel good about, even if the title is out of reach.
15. Daniel Suárez – -187 (+1)
Back-to-back 14th-place finishes. Chevrolet has found more speed lately, but Suárez’s Chase run has been pretty underwhelming so far.
16. Chris Buescher – -186 (-1)
The Chase has not been kind to Buescher. His best finish is a 13th at Bristol, and a 23rd at Kansas isn’t exactly a confidence builder heading to Las Vegas. If you forgot he made the postseason, you probably aren’t alone.
Las Vegas has a way of rewarding cars with pure speed. Right now that points straight at the No. 5 team. Everyone else is chasing.
