Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson won the first stage of the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway a week ago, and he went on to place fifth in the second stage, fifth in the third stage, and fifth in the race.
While it extended his win drought to 37 races, it did move the reigning series champion up from eighth to sixth place in the point standings.
And he retook his spot as the top non-winner in the standings.
Kyle Larson now NASCAR's top winless driver
RFK Racing's Chris Buescher began the race fifth in the standings, 43 points ahead of Larson in eighth as the top driver without a victory. Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs and Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar, two first-time winners this season, were the drivers in between.
Buescher crashed late in the Coke 600, and while he still managed to finish the race, Larson's success moved him one point ahead of the driver of the No. 17 Ford. Buescher is now seventh, and sitting in eighth is the next highest non-winner: Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell. He is 25 points behind Larson after his runner-up finish in Charlotte.
Full point standings can be found here.
With the "win and in" playoff format having been abolished after 12 years, Larson doesn't need to worry about the cut line moving if more drivers from below him in the point standings manage to find victory lane. As it stands, three drivers below him in the standings have won this year: Hocevar (ninth), Spire Motorsports' Daniel Suarez (10th), and Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen (14th).
Ironically, if the old format were still in place, Larson would still be 98 points above the cut line, which is where he is now. The difference is he'd be ninth in the provisional postseason picture, rather than sixth.
Regardless of what happens throughout the second half of the 26-race regular season, and no matter how many new winners emerge, it's highly unlikely that the highest non-winner will miss the postseason.
Larson, however, has no desire to remain in that group.
His most recent victory came on Sunday, May 11, 2025 at Kansas Speedway, and he is looking to change that on Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, where he won the series' inaugural race in 2021 en route to capturing his first championship.
Tune in to Amazon Prime Video this evening for live coverage of the Cracker Barrel 400 from Nashville Superspeedway.
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