CJ and Eric had another great week while Greg’s rough season continued during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series rain delayed Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. Combined, CJ and Eric took the entire top seven of the finishing order while Greg’s top finisher was Kyle Busch in 10th.
Greg had four of his drivers between 10th and 15th, but that only got him 60 points.
Eric took three of the top four finishing spots and four of his drivers in the top six to score 170 overall points on Sunday which was good enough for second best among the three.
CJ though took the win again with Martin Truex Jr. to earn his fourth victory of the season. Truex, passed Eric’s Denny Hamlin for the lead with 16 to go and never looked back. Eric’s other driver in Chase Elliott later passed Hamlin for second while his surprise of the season in William Byron settled for fourth.
CJ’s lead extends to 60 points now over Eric while Greg trails the lead by 545 heading to Richmond this weekend.
With this being another 750 track, Eric and CJ should be among the ones to beat again. Greg’s best hope is Keselowski winning for a second straight year on the .75-mile Virginia race track.
1 TEAM CJR – 1410 points (4 wins)
M Truex Jr… 310 (2 wins)
K Larson… 310 (1 win)
K Harvick… 240
C Bell… 205 (1 win)
A Dillon… 170
Kurt B… 105
C Briscoe… 70
DRIVER CHANGES
NONE
2 TEAM ES – 1350 points (2 wins)
D Hamlin… 325
J Logano… 285 (1 win)
C Elliott… 280
W Byron… 230 (1 win)
R Chastain… 105
D Wallace Jr… 80
A Almirola… 45
DRIVER CHANGES
NONE
3 TEAM GDP – 865 points (1 wins)
R Blaney… 215 (1 win)
B Keselowski… 160
Kyle B… 155
A Bowman… 95
C Buescher… 80
Stenhouse Jr.… 70
M DiBenedetto… 25
Waived Drivers… (65)
DRIVER CHANGES
3/22 (After Race 6) Claim M DiBenedetto for E Jones (50 points).
3/15 (After Race 5) Claim R Stenhouse Jr. for M McDowell (15 points).
3/1 (After Race 3) Claim M McDowell for M DiBenedetto (5 points).
LEAGUE TRANSACTIONS
3/22 (After Race 6/Atlanta)
Team GDP claims M DiBenedetto for E Jones (50 points).
3/15 (After Race 5/Phoenix)
Team GDP claims R Stenhouse Jr. for M McDowell (15 points).
3/1 (After Race 3/Homestead-Miami)
Team GDP claims M McDowell for M DiBenedetto (5 points).
Weekly Race Points Standings
Week 8 Martinsville
1 CJ 195
2 Eric 170
3 Greg 60
Week 7 Bristol Dirt
1 Eric 180
2 Greg 115
3 CJ 50
Week 6 Atlanta
1 Greg 210
2 CJ 120
3 Eric 95
Week 5 Phoenix
1 CJ 185
2 Eric 170
3 Greg 80
Week 4 Las Vegas
1 CJ 175
2 Greg 165
3 Eric 95
Week 3 Homestead
1 CJ 155
2 Eric 145
3 Greg 75
Week 2 Daytona Road
1 CJ 170
2 Eric 105
3 Greg 85
Week 1 Daytona 500 (Prime 3 Race)
1 CJ 170
2 Eric 105
3 Greg 85
Overall Driver Standings (Top 10)
1 D Hamlin… 325 (Eric)
2 M Truex Jr… 310 (CJ)
3 K Larson… 310 (CJ)
4 J Logano… 285 (Eric)
5 C Elliott… 280 (Eric)
6 K Harvick… 240 (CJ)
7 W Byron… 230 (Eric)
8 R Blaney… 215 (Greg)
9 C Bell… 205 (CJ)
10 A Dillon… 170 (CJ)
