NASCAR Cup Series: Full 2024 point standings (without playoffs)

He may have had the worst average finish among all NASCAR Cup Series champions, and he may have only gotten to the round of 8 because of another driver's disqualification.

He may even have only gotten into the playoffs because of a five-overtime win in which he held off the driver who was, at the time, in last place among the 34 full-time drivers in the point standings.

But Team Penske's Joey Logano is indeed the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion, courtesy of his win over teammate Ryan Blaney in Sunday's Championship 4 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Though Logano's metrics in pretty much everything were relatively, for lack of a better word, "mid" throughout the 2024 season, the driver of the No. 22 Ford managed to win three playoff races to secure his third title, all since 2018.

We have done it every year for the last several years, and this year is no exception: who would have been the champion in a season-long points format?

NASCAR standings without playoffs

The standings would obviously look at least a little bit different than the list below, had the championship been determined by a season-long format, as many drivers and teams undoubtedly would have approached various races different with different goals in mind, specifically since stage racing exists.

But with all other things remaining equal, here is what the final 2024 standings would have looked like without any playoff resets. All points penalties, most notably Denny Hamlin's 75-point penalty, were factored in.

1 - Kyle Larson - 1189 (0)
2 - Christopher Bell - 1184 (-5)
3 - Chase Elliott - 1163 (-26)
4 - William Byron - 1152 (-37)
5 - Tyler Reddick - 1112 (-77)
6 - Ryan Blaney - 1101 (-88)
7 - Denny Hamlin - 1072 (-117)
8 - Alex Bowman - 982 (-207)
9 - Martin Truex Jr. - 951 (-238)
10 - Brad Keselowski - 944 (-245)
11 - Joey Logano - 934 (-255)
12 - Chris Buescher - 930 (-259)
13 - Bubba Wallace - 878 (-311)
14 - Ty Gibbs - 869 (-320)
15 - Ross Chastain - 852 (-337)
16 - Daniel Suarez - 769 (-420)
17 - Kyle Busch - 766 (-423)
18 - Chase Briscoe - 753 (-436)
19 - Austin Cindric - 752 (-437)
20 - Carson Hocevar - 686 (-503)
21 - Todd Gilliland - 630 (-559)
22 - Michael McDowell - 624 (-565)
23 - Noah Gragson - 612 (-577)
24 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 590 (-599)
25 - Ryan Preece - 584 (-605)
26 - Josh Berry - 579 (-610)
27 - Erik Jones - 516 (-673)
28 - Daniel Hemric - 515 (-674)
29 - Zane Smith - 505 (-684)
30 - Justin Haley - 503 (-686)
31 - Austin Dillon - 493 (-696)
32 - Corey LaJoie - 489 (-700)
33 - John Hunter Nemechek - 447 (-742)
34 - Harrison Burton - 439 (-750)

Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that the Championship 4 drivers don't officially score stage points in the Championship 4, so we adjusted their final tallies for the year accordingly.

NASCAR playoffs history

Since NASCAR introduced the modern playoff format in 2014, there have only been three seasons in which the official champion and the would-be points champion were the same. It hasn't happened since Kyle Larson won the 2021 title. The unofficial 2024 points title is Larson's second.

Since NASCAR introduced the first playoff format in 2004, there have only been eight seasons in which the official champion and the would-be points champion were the same.

Logano has never won an unofficial points title, despite being a three-time champion. Only two other champions have never won an unofficial points title, and both of them are one-time champions. Kurt Busch won it in 2004, and Blaney won it last year.

The 67th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to get the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season underway at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 16. Fox is set to provide live coverage.