Joey Logano didn’t just leave Richmond Raceway with another trophy.
The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion also made one of the biggest moves in the standings.
Logano’s victory in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 vaulted the Team Penske driver four positions, from 13th to ninth, continuing a remarkable turnaround as the regular season enters its final two races.
At the opposite end of the Chase picture, Austin Cindric climbed into 15th while Shane van Gisbergen slipped one position to 16th, leaving the Trackhouse Racing driver occupying the final Chase position.
With New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway remaining before the 16-driver field is set, the margin for error is disappearing quickly.
Denny Hamlin Holds Commanding Lead After Richmond
Denny Hamlin remains firmly in control of the Cup Series standings.
Hamlin’s fourth-place Richmond finish pushed him to 969 points, giving him a 115-point advantage over Ryan Blaney with two regular-season races remaining.
Blaney moved up one position to second despite finishing 13th after starting from the pole. He has 854 points.
Ty Gibbs slipped one position to third with 842 points, while Tyler Reddick remains fourth with 831.
Richmond runner-up Chase Briscoe holds fifth at 715 points. Chase Elliott moved up one position to sixth and is tied with Christopher Bell at 695, although Elliott owns the sixth position.
Kyle Larson was another significant mover Saturday. After starting 30th and recovering to finish sixth, Larson jumped two spots to eighth with 660 points.
Then comes Logano.
His second victory in four races propelled him four positions to ninth with 659 points, putting him only one point behind Larson. Chris Buescher rounds out the top 10 with 653.
Shane van Gisbergen Holds Final Chase Position
The most important line on the standings sheet may now be the one separating 16th and 17th.
Van Gisbergen finished 14th at Richmond and sits 16th with 567 points. Ryan Preece is directly behind him in 17th with 517, leaving SVG with a 50-point advantage heading to New Hampshire.
Ross Chastain sits 18th with 504 points, 63 behind van Gisbergen.
Cindric gave himself some breathing room with an impressive Richmond performance. After starting 23rd, he drove all the way to third and moved up one position to 15th with 574 points, seven ahead of van Gisbergen.
That leaves the current bubble looking like this:
- Austin Cindric — 574 points
- Shane van Gisbergen — 567
- Ryan Preece — 517
- Ross Chastain — 504
Richmond also formally locked several more drivers into the Chase. Hamlin, Blaney, Gibbs, Reddick, Briscoe, Elliott and Bell are shown above the clinch line in NASCAR’s updated standings.
NASCAR Cup Series Standings After Richmond
Here are the top 30 following the Cook Out 400:
- Denny Hamlin — 969
- Ryan Blaney — 854
- Ty Gibbs — 842
- Tyler Reddick — 831
- Chase Briscoe — 715
- Chase Elliott — 695
- Christopher Bell — 695
- Kyle Larson — 660
- Joey Logano — 659
- Chris Buescher — 653
- Carson Hocevar — 645
- William Byron — 630
- Daniel Suárez — 618
- Bubba Wallace — 587
- Austin Cindric — 574
- Shane van Gisbergen — 567
- Ryan Preece — 517
- Ross Chastain — 504
- Brad Keselowski — 489
- Erik Jones — 486
- Michael McDowell — 463
- AJ Allmendinger — 442
- Todd Gilliland — 428
- Zane Smith — 418
- Austin Dillon — 400
- Riley Herbst — 399
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — 389
- John Hunter Nemechek — 388
- Alex Bowman — 340
- Josh Berry — 337
The Cup Series heads next to New Hampshire, where the pressure surrounding the Chase bubble will only increase. After that comes Daytona, one of the least predictable races on the schedule and the final opportunity for drivers to alter the 16-driver field.