Daytona 500 winner William Byron ironically didn't actually lead the NASCAR Cup Series point standings after the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, but it only took him two more races to take the lead away from Team Penske's Ryan Blaney.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has led the standings ever since, beginning after the season's third race at Circuit of the Americas, and at one point, his lead reached 49 points, which is more than a race win.
But now the points lead has changed hands, and it's no surprise who leads the standings heading into the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Kyle Larson takes NASCAR points lead, first time in 2025
Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson has been on a roll ever since what was arguably the worst race weekend of his career at Darlington Raceway. After dominating at Bristol Motor Speedway, he finished in second place at Talladega Superspeedway, his best ever finish in a superspeedway race, and he was the driver to beat at Texas Motor Speedway before having to settle for fourth.
Then at Kansas Speedway, he returned to his dominant form and won from pole, while Byron could not overcome an early tire issue and finished in 24th place, marking his worst finish since February's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
As a result, the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet has flipped a 13-point deficit into a 35-point lead as the Cup Series heads into its final non-points weekend of the season for the $1 million exhibition race.
Larson, who led all drivers in total points scored last year, is also now tied for the series lead in wins; Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell also has three. Larson leads all drivers with eight stage wins, and he leads all drivers with 23 playoff points as well. Nobody else has more than three and 16, respectively.
Full Cup Series standings can be found here, and full race results from Kansas can be found here.
The All-Star Race is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from North Wilkesboro Speedway beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 18. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!