NASCAR Cup Series: Where things stand upon return to action
By Asher Fair
What has changed?
While the point standings and the playoff picture look exactly the same as they did when the coronavirus stoppage began, there are a few changes that took place outside of the numerical point totals that will make a huge impact on things moving forward.
Most importantly, Kyle Larson can effectively be eliminated from the playoff picture. Despite his current seventh place standing in points and eighth place standing in the playoff picture, he was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing after using the N-word during a NASCAR race on iRacing at virtual Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which was being live streamed on multiple Twitch channels back on Easter Sunday, April 12.
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That effectively places Ricky Stenhouse Jr. above the playoff bubble in 16th place by one point over Bubba Wallace and William Byron in a 17th place tie.
But even with that in mind, it may not be all that straightforward.
Larson’s replacement behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet is Matt Kenseth, and while Kenseth did miss each of the season’s first four races as a “retired” driver, he was granted a playoff waiver.
Ryan Newman, who was injured in a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, was also granted a playoff waiver after announcing that he planned to return to action once the season resumes.
He missed three races with a brain bruise and sits down in 29th place in the championship standings because of it. He finished the season opener in ninth place and sat in fifth in the standings after it ended.
So of these 36 drivers listed in the championship standings and playoff picture, only 32 are full-time drivers. Larson obviously isn’t now, and neither are David Ragan, Reed Sorenson or Garrett Smithley.
With that being said, Sorenson has competed in all four races this year, and he is set to compete at Darlington Raceway as well. But there are officially 33 full-time drivers with Kenseth now in the mix.
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Be sure to tune in to Fox at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 17 for the live broadcast of the fifth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and the first in 10 weeks, the The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway.