NASCAR handed down their first disqualification of the 2025 Cup Series season on Sunday evening at Martinsville Speedway, stripping Erik Jones of his 24th place finish in the Cook Out 400 and officially scoring him in 38th (last) in the 400-lap race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Ridgeway, Virginia oval.
Jones was disqualified since the No. 43 Toyota did not meet the minimum weight requirement in post-race technical inspection.
Jones originally scored 19 points, not just 13, in this race since he also finished in fifth place in stage one. As a result, everybody behind him was promoted by one spot, and the six drivers who are now scored from fifth to 10th in the opening stage scored one extra point than they ordinarily would have.
Those drivers include teammate John Hunter Nemechek, RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, Haas Factory Team's Cole Custer, and Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson. Larson didn't initially score any points in stage one since he finished outside of the top 10, but Jones' penalty changed that.
16 drivers gain points, with two gaining multiple
Though 14 drivers moved up by one position in the race results, only 12 of them gained an extra point due to Jones being dropped from 24th to 38th place.
Team AmeriVet's Burt Myers moved up from 37th to 36th, so he still only scored one point, and Team Penske's Austin Cindric moved up from 38th to 37th, so he too still only scored one point.
RFK Racing's Chris Buescher, Nemechek, RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman, Spire Motorsports' Justin Haley, Front Row Motorsports' Noah Gragson, Rick Ware Racing's Cody Ware, 23XI Racing's Riley Herbst, Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry, Custer, Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, and Garage 66's Casey Mears are now scored from 24th through 35th, respectively, and thus scored an additional point after Jones' penalty.
All things considered, the 18 points that Jones lost were spread out among 16 different drivers after the race, with Nemechek and Custer each leading the way with two extra points due to the No. 43 team's disqualification.
Nemechek's post-race boost was enough for three positions in the point standings, further illustrating the fact that every point does indeed count.
Updated Cup Series point standings can be found here.
The eighth race on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Goodyear 400, which is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Darlington Raceway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, April 6. If you have not yet had the chance to begin a free trial of FuboTV, do so now and don't miss any of the action!