NASCAR 2022: What does the points table look like after Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway 

27 races and the first race of the playoffs has already taken place in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Petty GMS Motorsport’s Erik Jones became the 17th different winner of the season after winning Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night.

In an action-packed Cook Out Southern 500, the 26-year-old took the lead when Kyle Busch’s #18 car suffered mechanical issues with 20 laps remaining. He then drove his #43 Chevrolet away from Denny Hamlin on the final lap to cross the checkered flag in P1.

With last Sunday’s victory, Jones, a non-playoff driver, gained 45 points, extending his lead over Aric Almirola in the standings to 32 points. He currently stands in 18th place in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and has a total of 634 points, with one win and three top-five finishes.

The results of the first playoff race have now jumbled the playoff standings. Chase Elliott, the regular-season Champion, lost the top spot for the first time this season and fell to ninth place after his #9 car spun out on Lap 113 of the 267 and finished the race at P36.

Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick dropped seven spots to 16th, William Bryon moved into second, Austin Dillon moved to 14th and Denny Hamlin moved into third from sixth in the Cup Series standings.

Joey Logano, who started from the pole, gave a tough fight throughout the race to win his third race of the season but fell short in the closing laps. The #22 Ford driver crossed the finish line in fourth place. With a P4 result, Logano gained 40 points and moved up a spot to take the lead in the Cup Series standings with 2065 points.

---

Where do NASCAR drivers stand in the points table after Cook Out Southern 500?

Here is the updated list of NASCAR drivers in the Cup Series standings after the first 27 races:

1. Joey Logano - 2065
2. William Byron - 2059
3. Denny Hamlin - 2057
4. Christopher Bell - 2055
5. Tyler Reddick - 2050
6. Ryan Blaney - 2047
7. Kyle Larson - 2044
8. Ross Chastain - 2042
9. Chase Elliott - 2041
10. Alex Bowman - 2037
11. Kyle Busch - 2035
12. Daniel Suárez - 2029
13. Austin Cindric - 2027
14. Austin Dillon - 2025
15. Chase Briscoe - 2019
16. Kevin Harvick - 2016
17. Martin Truex Jr. - 819
18. Erik Jones - 634
19. Aric Almirola - 602
20. Bubba Wallace - 584
21. Chris Buescher - 533
22. Justin Haley - 507
23. Kurt Busch - 485
24. Cole Custer - 475
25. Michael McDowell - 473
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 454
27. Brad Keselowski - 443
28. Harrison Burton - 437
29. Ty Dillon - 411
30. Todd Gilliland - 402
31. Corey LaJoie - 328
32. Cody Ware - 237
33. David Ragan - 89
34. Joey Hand - 63
35. Greg Biffle - 24
36. Jacques Villeneuve - 15
37. Boris Said - 11
38. Kyle Tilley - 8
39. Mike Rockenfeller - 7
40. Daniil Kvyat - 2
41. Kimi Raikkonen - 1

Catch NASCAR drivers and teams again at the Kansas Speedway for the second playoff race on Sunday, September 11, 2022.