Playoff Projections: Kyle Larson & Post-Las Vegas

Hendrick Motorsports

    Kyle Larson earned his first, mile and a half race win of his NASCAR Cup Series career, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Pennzoil 400. This race was also his 7th career Cup victory. Unfortunately, he was not in my Pre-Race Predictions for Las Vegas. I suppose I should have put him in there, though I’m not sure anybody saw this win coming. Brad Keselowski, who finished 2nd, was one of my picks for the win. 

The March 7th Pennzoil 400 was an abnormal race right from the start. There was a lot of three-wide racing throughout the day, and restarts that lasted nearly 5 laps. Even some drivers that have a bad start to the season, finished very well, and moved up in the standings.

Our Top 16 drivers have changed quite a bit with only four races of this season so far. Here is last week's Top 16 drivers, after Homestead-Miami:

Liam Marshall-Stark/Stock Car Media

And now for this week's, Top 16 drivers:

1. Denny Hamlin [No. 11 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - 187 Points [3 Stage Points]
2. Brad Keselowski [No. 2 Ford / Team Penske] - 149 Points [1 Stage Point] (+8)
3. Kyle Larson [No. 5 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] - 147 Points [1 Win, 1 Stage Point] (+5)
4. Chase Elliott [No. 9 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] - 139 Points [1 Stage Point] (+1)
5. Christopher Bell [No. 20 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - 138 Points [1 Win] (+2)
6. Joey Logano [No. 22 Ford / Team Penske] - 138 Points (-3)
7. Kevin Harvick [No. 4 Ford / Stewart-Haas Racing] - 136 Points (-5)
8. Martin Truex, Jr. [No. 19 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - 131 Points (+1)
9. Michael McDowell [No. 34 Ford / Front Row Motorsports] - 126 Points [1 Win] (-5)
10. Kurt Busch [No. 1 Chevrolet / Chip Ganassi Racing] - 122 Points (-4)
11. William Byron [No. 24 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] - 116 Points [1 Win, 1 Stage Point] (+2)
12. Austin Dillon [No. 3 Chevrolet / Richard Childress Racing] - 115 Points (-1)
13. Ryan Preece [No. 37 Chevrolet / JTG Daugherty Racing - 112 Points (-1)
14. Kyle Busch [No. 11 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - 98 Points (+4)
15. Ryan Blaney [No. 12 Ford / Team Penske] - 91 Points (+9)
16. Chris Buescher [No. 17 Ford / Roush-Fenway Racing] - 90 Points [1 Stage Point] (-1)

Where did Cole Custer and Bubba Wallace go? Custer fell back to 19th, losing 5 places in a week. And as for Bubba, he lost 4 positions and currently sits in 20th. Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch weaseled their way in to the Top 16 with good finishes at Las Vegas.

This is only 4 races into the best NASCAR Cup Series season, so make sure you stick around, a lot can change!