Cameron Bebeau

Last week’s race, held on April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway marks the 25% point for the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Heading into this event, the major talking point is “Toyota,” as it has been since early March. Joe Gibbs Racing saw driver Christopher Bell go for a three-race win streak, the longest of his career and the first three-time winner of the season.

Bell isn’t the only JGR driver with a hot streak, though. Denny Hamlin is in the midst of a two-race win streak, coming on the heels of them securing a major primary sponsorship deal with Progressive Insurance and a 30+ race winless streak dating back to Spring 2024.

Furthermore in the Toyota camp, Legacy Motor Club is in the middle of a lawsuit with Ford’s Rick Ware Racing, with LMC citing that RWR is attempting to back out of a charter sale following a miscommunication between the two parties as to when this sale would take effect. RWR currently owns 2 charters, leasing one out to Ford teammate RFK Racing. It is unclear how long the RFK/RWR deal is for, but if RWR is forced to sell one, this move could likely force them out of the Cup Series, albeit temporarily.

A charter is a contract between a race team and NASCAR that guarantees a spot in the 36-car field during each race weekend. There are 36 charters in total, and owning one brings other perks, including more purse payouts each weekend among other incentives. Charters have been a source of conflict, as shown by the 23XI Racing v. NASCAR lawsuit that is currently ongoing.

Legalese aside, the action on-track has been keeping pace. A feel-good story came at Las Vegas when Hendersonville, Tennessee native Josh Berry won his first Cup Series race. This was significant, as Josh Berry is in his sophomore season – at the age of 34. Under the tutelage of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Berry was given a chance to rise from the Late Model scene of the South, something very few get to do, due to funding issues.

In the points standings, Chevrolet’s William Byron has managed to maintain his lead despite not winning since the first race of the year. Chevrolet and Toyota are currently in control of the field, with the highest placed Ford driver being Ryan Blaney, who is currently in 7th place.

The next 4 races will be very diverse – Bristol, a 0.5 mile oval followed by Talladega, a 2.66 mile tri-oval are very action-packed tracks. Following this will be Texas and Kansas, with Texas being notorious amongst fans for boring racing, compared to Kansas, which saw the closest finish in NASCAR history in the Spring 2024 race.

Regardless of who you are rooting for, the best time to become a race fan is now!

Photo courtesy of  Frank Albrecht on Unsplash.

Originally Published at: https://www.fsuthevoice.com/nascar-points-standings-legal-status-see-major-shift/