NASCAR standings without playoffs: Surprise driver 2nd behind Kyle Larson

Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson retook the NASCAR Cup Series points lead following the most recent playoff reset ahead of the round of 8, thanks to the series-high 52 playoff points he has racked up over the course of the season's first 32 races.

Even without playoff resets, the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet would be the points leader this year, despite the fact that he missed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway back in May when he opted to stay at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete in IndyCar's rain-delayed Indy 500.

Larson's six race wins are twice as many as the next highest drivers, and his 12 stage wins lead the series as well. Had he not missed the Coca-Cola 600, he would have 57 playoff points, since he only missed out on the regular season championship by a single point to 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick.

But it's who would be in second place in points, and by only a narrow deficit to Larson, who comes as somewhat of a surprise.

Larson has racked up 1,053 points this season. Behind him, teammate Chase Elliott sits in second place with 1,027.

Elliott has had a quiet season, to say the least. He is tied for fifth in top five finishes and tied for fourth in top 10 results, but he is only 14th in laps led. The other remaining seven playoff drivers are all in the top 10 in that category, and he trails three drivers who didn't even make it into the postseason.

Elliott also only has a single win and a single stage win. Considering the fact that 18 different drivers have found victory lane in 2024, there isn't much, if anything, that makes these numbers stand out. That win, which came at Texas Motor Speedway in April, is his only win in the last 24 months.

For that reason, he's only seventh out of eight remaining playoff drivers in the standings to start the semifinal round.

But what Elliott has done a great job of is finishing races and taking what's available, two things that many fans seem to think no longer matter in this "win and advance" era of the postseason.

His average finish of 11.7 is nearly a full position higher than the next best, and the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet has only recorded three finishes outside of the top 20 and one outside of the top 30. By comparison, Larson has 10 finishes outside of the top 20 and six outside of the top 30.

Reddick is the only other remaining playoff contender with just one finish outside of the top 30; everyone else has at least four. And the next best in finishes outside of the top 20, among the remaining eight playoff drivers, is nowhere near Elliott's mark of three. Reddick and Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell each have eight.

Here are the top 20 drivers in total points scored this season.

NOTE: * = non-playoff driver

1 - Kyle Larson - 1053 (-)

2 - Chase Elliott - 1027 (-26)

3 - Tyler Reddick - 1003 (-50)

4 - Christopher Bell - 998 (-55)

5 - William Byron - 970 (-83)

6 - Ryan Blaney - 942 (-111)

7 - Denny Hamlin - 920 (-133)

8 - Alex Bowman - 859 (-194)

9 - Brad Keselowski - 856 (-197)

10 - Ty Gibbs - 850 (-203)

11 - Martin Truex Jr. - 840 (-213)

12 - Chris Buescher* - 830 (-223)

13 - Bubba Wallace* - 824 (-229)

14 - Ross Chastain* - 822 (-231)

15 - Joey Logano - 788 (-265)

16 - Kyle Busch* - 711 (-342)

17 - Chase Briscoe - 679 (-374)

17 - Austin Cindric - 679 (-374)

19 - Daniel Suarez - 670 (-383)

20 - Carson Hocevar* - 604 (-449)

Additional note: Denny Hamlin has actually scored 995 points, but he was issued a 75-point penalty.

The round of 8 of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is scheduled to begin this Sunday, October 20 with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a race won by Larson last year. Larson also won at Las Vegas in March. NBC is set to provide live coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!