Kyle Larson can’t be stopped.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the checkered flag Sunday afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway for his third consecutive win in points-paying races. Larson, who now has four wins on the season, led 264 of the 300 laps in the Ally 400.
Despite the win, Larson remains in second place behind Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, though the gap is closing fast.
William Byron, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano currently round out the top five.
Here are the top 16 drivers following Larson’s victory:
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Larson
3. William Byron
4. Chase Elliott
5. Joey Logano
6. Kyle Busch
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Austin Dillon
12. Alex Bowman
13. Tyler Reddick
14. Christopher Bell
15. Chris Buescher
16. Michael McDowell
Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Matt DiBenedetto and Ross Chastain rank 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th, respectively.
The top 16 drivers earn spots in the NASCAR playoffs, with race winners automatically qualifying. Given Hamlin’s position and the fact there have been 11 different winners this season, there really only are four spots up for grabs.
There are 11 races left in the regular season. Drivers will compete Saturday in the first of two weekend Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway.
