Sprint Cup Chase 2015: NASCAR Standings and Schedule After Food City 500

In an epic, unpredictable and rain-hampered Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth emerged victorious, just 0.287 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson. The final 30 minutes of the race featured several different leaders including Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch, but in the end it was Kenseth who came away with his first win of the NASCAR season. He led for 47 laps, which was the fewest of anyone who held a lead in the race.

The victory ended a 51-race drought for the 43-year-old veteran from Cambridge, Wisconsin.

NASCAR congratulated the winner via Twitter:

Overall points leader Kevin Harvick led early and for a race-high 184 laps, but when Johnson spun out early, the mishap took out Jeb Burton, David Ragan and Harvick. Fox Sports NASCAR caught the events in the tweet below.

Harvick had to settle for 38th after the thrilling ending. Despite the disappointing finish, Harvick still maintained a 30-point lead over Joey Logano who finished 40th at Bristol.

Here's a look at the updated top 10.

 

Current NASCAR Standings

POS	Driver	Car No.	Points	Behind	Wins
1	Stewart-Haas Racing Kevin Harvick	4	314	Leader	2
2	Team Penske Joey Logano	22	284	-30	1
3	Furniture Row Racing Martin Truex Jr.	78	281	-33	0
4	Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson	48	258	-56	2
5	Team Penske Brad Keselowski	2	255	-59	1
6	Hendrick Motorsports Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	241	-73	0
7	Hendrick Motorsports Kasey Kahne	5	237	-77	0
8	Joe Gibbs Racing Matt Kenseth	20	236	-78	1
9	Hendrick Motorsports Jeff Gordon	24	227	-87	0
10	Richard Petty Motorsports Aric Almirola	43	226	-88	0

You can see the entire standings at NASCAR.com.

The win vaulted Kenseth into the top 10 at No. 8. He's just one point behind Kasey Kahne. There's plenty of opportunities left on the NASCAR schedule leading up to the first race in the Chase in Chicago this September. Here are the remaining races on the NASCAR schedule:

What's Next?

NASCAR will travel to Richmond, Virginia for the Toyota Owners 400. Last year, Logano took the checkered flag in this event. If he's able to repeat, he has a great chance to overtake Harvick for the overall lead.

That said, Harvick won the race in 2013. That sets up an epic confrontation between the last two winners of the event and the top two drivers in the NASCAR standings. It's only April, but we already have some compelling stories to follow this season.

It should be fun watching that battle and others on Sunday in Richmond.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2435740-sprint-cup-chase-2015-nascar-standings-and-schedule-after-food-city-500

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