At the end of the road course race in Sonoma on June 6, Kyle Larson won his second race in a row and third race of the season. Larson is now tied with Martin Truex Jr for three race wins.
However, Denny Hamlin holds on to the points lead. Earlier this season Hamlin had a points lead of over 100 points on the rest of the field; but over the past two weeks, Kyle Larson has cut into that lead and has cut the numbers to just 47 points. Hamlin did not lead a lap at Sonoma or a stage but finished 15th and has a total of 664 points.
With Kyle Larson’s win, Chevrolet has a total of seven wins this season – all from Hendrick Motorsports drivers – and has the lead in the manufacturers race with 587 points. Ford is in second with 556 and Toyota is in third with 547 points.
Sixteen drivers will make it in the first round of the playoffs. So far this season eleven different drivers have won at least one race and have a spot in the playoffs.
The top 16 point standings as of June 7, 2021:
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Joey Logano
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Busch
Ryan Blaney
Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski
Alex Bowman
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Chris Buescher
Christopher Bell
Michael McDowell
While the point standings are important, the playoff system is heavy on race wins with the “win and you’re in” philosophy.
Under those statistics, Kyle Larson is at the top of the list with Martin Truex Jr in second after both drivers have won three races this season.
There are just 10 more races remaining in the 2021 regular season. Once the playoffs begin, the top 16 drivers in the playoffs will have their points reset to 2,000 points with all bonus points and playoff points added to set the field.
Drivers earn playoff points for race wins, stage wins, and bonus points for the top 10 at the end of the regular season.
Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Bryon, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Larson all have a race win this season.
Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Larson have all won at least one stage this season. Larson outpaces the field with a total of eleven stage wins.