With the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season currently stopped as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, here is where things stand.
The fifth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season was supposed to have taken place yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
But after the race’s plans were initially scrapped in favor of running the event without fans in attendance due to the coronavirus outbreak, those plans also went out the window, and the race was put on hold.
Next Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway was also put on hold for the same reason. It, too, was slated to take place without any fans in attendance.
The next scheduled race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 29 at Texas Motor Speedway, but that situation is also being closely monitored, as are the situations for several races down the road.
Stay up to date with all NASCAR postponements and cancellations: TRACKER
When Team Penske’s Joey Logano led Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick across the finish line to take the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway just over a week ago, not many people saw that race as the final event prior to this unexpected stoppage.
So how do things stand right now?
Here is how the point standings look, four races into what is supposed to be a 36-race season.
Point standings
Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind)
1st – Kevin Harvick, #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 164 (0)
2nd – Joey Logano, #22, Team Penske, Ford: 163 (-1)
3rd – Chase Elliott, #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 144 (-20)
4th – Alex Bowman, #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 138 (-26)
5th – Jimmie Johnson, #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 131 (-33)
6th – Ryan Blaney, #12, Team Penske, Ford: 123 (-41)
7th – Aric Almirola, #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 121 (-43)
7th – Kyle Larson, #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 121 (-43)
9th – Matt DiBenedetto, #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford: 118 (-46)
9th – Brad Keselowski, #2, Team Penske, Ford: 118 (-46)
11th – Denny Hamlin, #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 111 (-53)
11th – Kyle Busch, #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 111 (-53)
13th – Clint Bowyer, #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 105 (-59)
14th – Chris Buescher, #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford: 102 (-62)
15th – Martin Truex Jr., #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 96 (-68)
16th – Kurt Busch, #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 90 (-74)
17th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet: 88 (-76)
18th – Bubba Wallace, #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet: 87 (-77)
18th – William Byron, #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 87 (-77)
20th – Austin Dillon, #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 77 (-87)
20th – Erik Jones, #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 77 (-87)
22nd – Cole Custer, #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 73 (-91)
23rd – Tyler Reddick, #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 68 (-96)
23rd – Corey LaJoie, #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford: 68 (-96)
23rd – Ty Dillon, #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet: 68 (-96)
26th – John Hunter Nemechek, #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford: 63 (-101)
27th – Michael McDowell, #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford: 60 (-104)
28th – Brennan Poole, #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet: 40 (-124)
29th – Ryan Newman, #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford: 36 (-128)
30th – David Ragan, #36, Rick Ware Racing, Ford: 33 (-131)
31th – Daniel Suarez, #96, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Toyota: 32 (-132)
32nd – Christopher Bell, #95, Leavine Family Racing, Toyota: 26 (-138)
33rd – Ryan Preece, #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet: 25 (-139)
34th – Reed Sorenson, #27, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet: 17 (-147)
35th – Quin Houff, #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet: 11 (-153)
36th – Garrett Smithley, #51, Petty Ware Racing, Chevrolet: 7 (-157)
Of these 36 drivers, only 33 are full-time drivers; David Ragan, Reed Sorenson and Garrett Smithley are not, although Sorenson hasn’t missed a race yet this season. Ryan Newman is a full-time driver, but he has been out since suffering a head injury in a last-lap Daytona 500 wreck at Daytona International Speedway to start the season back on Monday, February 17.
Harvick leads the point standings, but it is Logano, who also won the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, who sits atop the playoff picture. Harvick has not won a race this season, but he has also not finished outside of the top nine; no other driver has recorded more than three top 16 finishes.
Harvick finished in fifth, eighth, ninth and second place at Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway, respectively. Logano finished in 26th at Daytona International Speedway and 12th at Auto Club Speedway.
Here is how the playoff picture looks, four races into the season.
Playoff picture
NOTE: PP=playoff points. For winners, “Behind” denotes distance behind the lead in playoff points. For non-winners, “Behind” denotes the distance to the playoff cut line (below 16th place). Drivers above the playoff cut line are listed in italics.
Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind)
1st – Joey Logano, #22, Team Penske, Ford: 2 WINS (10 PP (-))
2nd – Alex Bowman, #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 1 WIN (6 PP (-4))
3rd – Denny Hamlin, #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 1 WIN (6 PP (-4))
4th – Kevin Harvick, #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 164 (+76)
5th – Chase Elliott, #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 144 (+56)
6th – Jimmie Johnson, #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 131 (+43)
7th – Ryan Blaney, #12, Team Penske, Ford: 123 (+35)
8th – Aric Almirola, #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 121 (+33)
8th – Kyle Larson, #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 121 (+33)
10th – Matt DiBenedetto, #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford: 118 (+30)
10th – Brad Keselowski, #2, Team Penske, Ford: 118 (+30)
12th – Kyle Busch, #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 111 (+23)
13th – Clint Bowyer, #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 105 (+17)
14th – Chris Buescher, #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford: 102 (+14)
15th – Martin Truex Jr., #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 96 (+8)
16th – Kurt Busch, #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 90 (+2)
—————————PLAYOFF CUT LINE—————————
17th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet: 88 (-2)
18th – Bubba Wallace, #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet: 87 (-3)
18th – William Byron, #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 87 (-3)
20th – Austin Dillon, #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 77 (-13)
20th – Erik Jones, #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 77 (-13)
22nd – Cole Custer, #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 73 (-17)
23rd – Tyler Reddick, #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 68 (-22)
23rd – Corey LaJoie, #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford: 68 (-22)
23rd – Ty Dillon, #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet: 68 (-22)
26th – John Hunter Nemechek, #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford: 63 (-27)
27th – Michael McDowell, #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford: 60 (-30)
28th – Brennan Poole, #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet: 40 (-50)
29th – Ryan Newman, #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford: 36 (-54)
30th – David Ragan, #36, Rick Ware Racing, Ford: 33 (-57)
31st – Daniel Suarez, #96, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Toyota: 32 (-58)
32nd – Christopher Bell, #95, Leavine Family Racing, Toyota: 26 (-64)
33rd – Ryan Preece, #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet: 25 (-65)
34th – Reed Sorenson, #27, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet: 17 (-73)
35th – Quin Houff, #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet: 11 (-79)
36th – Garrett Smithley, #51, Petty Ware Racing, Chevrolet: 7 (-83)
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The other two race winners so far this season, as noted, are Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman, so only one of the top three and two of the top 10 drivers in the point standings have actually been to victory lane this year.
Hamlin won the Daytona 500 while Bowman won at Auto Club Speedway. Hamlin’s other three finishes are 17th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, sixth at Auto Club Speedway and 20th at Phoenix Raceway while Bowman’s other three finishes are 24th at Daytona International Speedway, 13th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and 14th at Phoenix Raceway.
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