© Russell LaBounty/LAT Images www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty
Kyle Larson grabbed his first win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in the Auto Club 400 and extended his points lead.
Check out how the top 30 in the standings stack up after the Auto Club 400.
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1
Kyle Larson, 243 (6 playoff points)
Larson extended his points lead with a dominating win at Auto Club Speedway, finally grabbing some playoff points, too.
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2
Chase Elliott, 214 (1 playoff point)
The second-year, second-generation driver once again contended for a win but fell off toward the end of the race. Still a solid points day.
, LAT Images www.latphoto.co.uk Michael L. Levitt
3
Martin Truex Jr., 205 (8 playoff points)
Truex had the second-best car all day at Auto Club and ended up with another solid top-five finish.
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4
Brad Keselowski, 179 (5 playoff points)
A 35-point penalty knocked Keselowski off the heels of Larson for the points lead but he made a lot of it up with a resilient second-place effort.
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5
Joey Logano, 174 (1 playoff point)
Logano posted another strong effort. He’s due to grab some playoff points, though. Expect the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to grab a win soon.
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6
Jamie McMurray, 162
McMurray continues to run extremely well this season and we could see another Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy in Victory Lane this season.
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7
Ryan Blaney, 157
The sophomore driver has been extremely consistent through the first five races of the season. Good to see the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford up front again.
8
Clint Bowyer, 143
Great effort by Bowyer to get his best finish since Sonoma 2015. He has potential to grab a win this season.
9
Kevin Harvick, 137 (3 playoff points)
Harvick got damage as soon as the green flag waved and struggled to recover all race. He brought home a solid 13th-place finish, though.
10
Kyle Busch, 136 (1 playoff point)
After a struggling start in the first three races, Busch had turned it around the past two weeks.
11
Ryan Newman, 123 (5 playoff points)
Newman followed up his Phoenix win with a 15th-place finish at Auto Club.
12
Denny Hamlin, 123
The entire Joe Gibbs Racing team has struggled in the early season but Hamlin found himself back near the front at the end of the race at Auto Club.
13
Kasey Kahne, 122
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has clearly been the second-best HMS car so far this season but Kahne has failed to close out with strong finishes the past two weeks.
14
Kurt Busch, 118 (5 playoff points)
After winning the Daytona 500, it’s been a downhill slide for the elder-Busch brother.
15
Erik Jones, 116
Jones currently leads the Rookie of the Year race but has struggled to finish after running in the top 10 each of the last four races.
16
Trevor Bayne, 114
Bayne has quietly performed well through five races but a few late incidents has hurt his result.
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17
Jimmie Johnson, 109
What’s going on with the seven-time champ? It isn’t time to hit the panic button but something is off for the No. 48 team.
18
Aric Almirola, 108
The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford quietly sits 18th in the standings. Solid start for Almirola.
19
Daniel Suarez, 102
After a rough start, Suarez has pulled off two unexpected top-10 finishes. It’d be nice for him to have the car at the front more often.
20
Austin Dillon, 92
Dillon has speed so far this season but hasn’t closed out with good finishes. He changed that at Auto Club with a solid run.
21
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 91
After five races back behind the wheel for Dale Jr., it’s been a slow process for the 14-time Most Popular Driver.
22
Paul Menard, 87
After a solid performance in the Daytona 500, Menard has slumped down the standings week after week.
23
Ty Dillon, 87
Germain Racing has improved with Dillon behind the wheel so far.
24
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 86
Roush Fenway Racing has more speed and potential this year than the results they’ve tallied.
25
Matt Kenseth, 73
Another tough hit into the wall by Kenseth for his third DNF in only five races.
26
Michael McDowell, 66
Not a bad start to the season for the underfunded Leaving Family Racing team. McDowell will likely have a few impressive finishes before the season ends.
27
Landon Cassill, 65
Right about where we expected the Front Row Motorsports team to be in the standings this season.
28
Matt DiBenedetto, 64
The Go FAS Racing Ford has shown solid improvement without a carousel of drivers in the car.
29
Danica Patrick, 63
The transition to Ford hasn’t been the smoothest for all of Stewart-Haas Racing but Patrick has struggled the most.
30
AJ Allmendinger, 59
A 35-point penalty was a big knock to Allmendinger in the standings. He’s had some decent runs in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet to start the season, though.
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