NASCAR: First points leader of 2022 is out of the playoffs

All but one of the drivers who have occupied the top spot in the NASCAR Cup Series standings this year have qualified for the playoffs.

In the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first driver to sit atop the point standings failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon was the only one of the three drivers who led the standings at some point during the regular season but did not qualify for the postseason. He owned the lead following a third place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

The other two points leaders throughout the 26-race regular season, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, finished the regular season in the top two in points.

A similar situation has unfolded in the 2022 season.

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski took the lead of the point standings in his first points-paying race behind the wheel of the #6 Ford. While the race was the first of two Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500 in which he scored just 10 points, he was also able to maintain that lead after the Daytona 500 itself with a ninth place finish.

He emerged from the Great American Race tied with race winner Austin Cindric, who replaced him behind the wheel of the #2 Ford at Team Penske after last season.

However, things have gone downhill for Keselowski ever since. In the other 25 regular season races, he scored just two top 10 finishes, with a top result of seventh place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Even if not for the 100-point penalty which he and the #6 team were issued after the March race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he would only be sitting in 22nd place in the point standings as opposed to 28th. He would have needed a win to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

But the rest of the drivers who have led the standings so far this season have all qualified for the postseason.

And unlike last year, there are more than just two others.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott has led standings since the season’s fifth race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he clinched the regular season championship one race before the regular season ended. With four wins, he is the only driver with more than two wins this year, and he enters the playoffs riding a 22-race streak of leading the standings.

The most recent driver to lead the standings other than Elliott was Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, with whom Elliott was tied atop the standings after the season’s seventh race at Richmond Raceway.

Blaney was the 16th and final driver to qualify for the playoffs, despite finishing the regular season in third place, since he did not manage to win a race while 15 other playoff eligible drivers did.

Cindric, who led the standings with Keselowski after the Daytona 500 and took the lead on his own after the following race at Auto Club Speedway, finished the regular season in 14th place in the point standings. The rookie locked himself into the playoffs thanks to his Daytona 500 win, and he clinched the Rookie of the Year title in doing so.

After the following race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the lead belonged to Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who won the previous race at Auto Club Speedway. He finished the regular season in fifth place as one of seven drivers with two wins (one of eight with multiple wins).

And after the next race at Phoenix Raceway, the lead belonged to Team Penske’s Joey Logano, another two-race winner. He finished the regular season in second place.

Elliott has led ever since.

Keselowski’s teammate, Chris Buescher, could be considered the one exception, since he won the second Duel race and therefore was tied with Keselowski atop the standings with 10 points heading into the Daytona 500.

Buescher did not qualify for the playoffs, but unlike the others, he has never possessed the lead after an official race.

The playoffs are scheduled to begin this Sunday, September 4 with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Tune in to USA Network at 6:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast. Don’t miss your chance to start a free trial of FuboTV today!