NASCAR has a new points leader after Michigan rainout

They say every point matters, and that is certainly truly when it comes to the battle for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship and thus the bonus 15 playoff points, the equivalent of three race victories, that go to the regular season champion ahead of the four-round, 10-race postseason.

Entering Sunday afternoon's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson was the points leader. He and teammate Chase Elliott have exchanged the points lead on a number of occasions throughout the summer months, and both are seeking their second career regular season titles.

Larson won it in 2021 en route to claiming his first official series championship, and Elliott, who won the 2020 series title, won the regular season crown in 2022.

Only the first 45-lap stage of Sunday's 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Brooklyn, Michigan oval was completed, plus six laps of the ensuing stage break, before the race was red flagged due to rain and NASCAR made the decision to postpone the remaining 149 laps until Monday.

But factoring in just those stage one results, the NASCAR Cup Series once again has a new points leader.

Elliott, who finished the stage in second place behind Team Penske's Ryan Blaney and thus scored nine points, once again finds himself atop the point standings, albeit unofficially.

Larson, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, the other three drivers inside the top four in the standings, all finished the stage outside of the top 10, despite having been running in the top four with Elliott in the race's early laps.

Including the points from the season's first 23 races and Sunday's stage one results at Michigan, here are the current top five in the Cup Series point standings with two stage and two races remaining on the 26-race regular season calendar.

1 - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - 782 (0)
2 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - 779 (-3)
3 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota - 774 (-8)
4 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota - 758 (-24)
5 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford - 712 (-70)

Though Blaney won stage one, netting him 10 points and an additional playoff point, he did so by not coming into the pits during the caution flag caused by Hamlin's late single-car spin coming off of turn four.

So he made a pit stop during the stage break, while Elliott, who did pit during the Hamlin caution, stayed out before the red flag brought everybody down pit road.

As a result, Elliott is set to lead the field back to the green flag on Monday when the race resumes. Reddick finds himself in fifth place ahead of Larson in seventh, Hamlin in 17th, and Blaney in 24th.

Tune in to USA Network this morning at 11:00 a.m. ET for the live broadcast of the remainder of the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!