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NASCAR playoff standings, Cup points updated after Daytona 500

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Steve Samra | Last updated Feb 17, 2025 10:56 AM ET

The NASCAR playoff standings and overall Cup Series points have been updated following the Daytona 500 on Sunday, giving us a baseline as the season gets underway in 2025.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, Mother Nature made her mark on The Great American Race, but NASCAR was able to get the Daytona 500 in its entirety in throughout the day. When it was all said and done, William Byron elevated to win his second consecutive season-opening race, returning the Hendrick No. 24 to Victory Lane once again.

He’ll of course lead the way to start the season, but it’s anyone’s guess where we’ll end up when it’s time to crown a champion for 2025. Here’s where the playoff standings and overall points stand for the NASCAR Cup Series after the Daytona 500.

Updated NASCAR playoff standings after Daytona

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William Byron is the first driver locked into the playoffs, and some heavy hitters are doing well on points following the Daytona 500, as well. Ryan Blaney is the first driver behind Byron in P2, 30 points to the good following Sunday’s race, while his teammate Austin Cindric is right behind him.

Meanwhile, there’s a bevy of drivers who will need to put in some work over the coming weeks to help their positioning. Kyle Larson, one of the top wheelmen in the Cup Series, famously isn’t usually in the mix at Daytona, and it’ll lead from him starting the season from behind the eight ball, playoff-point wise.

Rank	Driver	Wins	Playoff Points
1	William Byron	1	5
2	Ryan Blaney	0	+30
3	Austin Cindric	0	+27
4	Tyler Reddick	0	+23
5	Alex Bowman	0	+21
6	Chris Buescher	0	+19
7	Erik Jones	0	+19
8	*Jimmie Johnson	0	+13
9	John Hunter Nemechek	0	+13
10	Chase Briscoe	0	+12
11	Chase Elliott	0	+12
12	Ty Dillon	0	+10
13	Daniel Suarez	0	+8
14	Michael McDowell	0	+6
15	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0	+5
16	Ty Gibbs	0	+0
17	Joey Logano	0	-0
18	Riley Herbst	0	-1
19	Corey LaJoie	0	-1
20	Denny Hamlin	0	-1

Updated overall NASCAR Cup points after Daytona

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Meanwhile, the aforementioned Blaney leads the way by one point over Byron in the overall Cup Series point standings after the Daytona 500. His stage win is certainly coming in handy, as he continued to prove why he’s one of the best super-speedway racers in NASCAR throughout Sunday’s race.

Combing through the standings, it can’t be understated what an evening it turned out to be for Legacy Motor Club. Erik Jones, Jimmie Johnson and John Hunter Nemechek are P7-P8-P9 in the standings at the moment. Johnson will drop down due to not being full-time in the Cup Series, but perhaps a bounce-back season is on the way for the team.

Rank	Driver	Points	Leader
1	Ryan Blaney	51	0
2	William Byron	50	-1
3	Austin Cindric	48	-3
4	Tyler Reddick	44	-7
5	Alex Bowman	42	-9
6	Chris Buescher	40	-11
7	Erik Jones	40	-11
8	*Jimmie Johnson	34	-17
9	John Hunter Nemechek	34	-17
10	Chase Briscoe	33	-18
11	Chase Elliott	33	-18
12	Ty Dillon	31	-20
13	Daniel Suarez	29	-22
14	Michael McDowell	27	-24
15	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	26	-25
16	Ty Gibbs	21	-30
17	Joey Logano	21	-30
18	Riley Herbst	20	-31
19	*Corey LaJoie	20	-31
20	Denny Hamlin	20	-31
21	Brad Keselowski	20	-31
22	Todd Gilliland	20	-31
23	Bubba Wallace	20	-31
24	Justin Haley	18	-33
25	Austin Dillon	18	-33
26	Kyle Larson	17	-34
27	Cole Custer	16	-35
28	Christopher Bell	13	-38
29	Cody Ware	12	-39
30	Noah Gragson	9	-42