NASCAR has new points leader after Gateway playoff race

Sunday afternoon’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway was the second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and it was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin who joined teammate Chase Briscoe by punching his ticket to the round of 12 with the victory.

Briscoe became the first driver to advance to the second round by winning the playoff-opening Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway the previous Sunday night.

Because of the points reset (plus playoff points) ahead of the playoffs, Briscoe’s Darlington win shot him to the top of the point standings for the first time in his five-year Cup Series career.

Now Hamlin is on top for the first time this year.

Hamlin, who leads Briscoe by five points, is the sixth different driver to lead the point standings this year. He joins a list that includes Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron (regular season champion), Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott, as well as Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

Of course, Byron, who has led the point standings for much of the season, is still on top of total points without playoff resets, boasting a 42-point lead over Larson, with Hamlin two points behind Larson in third place.

In the playoffs, Byron finds himself in sixth, 38 points out of the lead, but more significantly, 39 points above the round of 12 cut line.

Larson is the top driver not yet locked into the round of 12, sitting 49 points ahead of the cutoff.

Of course, as far as Hamlin “leading” the point standings, once a driver wins a playoff race, his point total basically becomes irrelevant for the remainder of the round, given the nature of the format.

However, the five playoff points scored due to the win are added to that driver’s point total ahead of all future rounds (other than the Championship 4, where the top finisher of the four remaining title contenders is simply crowned champion).

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is set to be shown live on USA Network from Bristol Motor Speedway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, September 13. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss the final race of the opening round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs!