William Byron of Hendrick kicked off the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season by winning his second straight Daytona 500. However, he didn’t leave Daytona International Speedway as the points leader.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney earned the most points during the opening race weekend, thanks to his Duel at Daytona qualifying race performance, stage finishes, and a seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500.
Blaney held onto the points lead after securing fourth place at Atlanta Motor Speedway the following weekend. Byron had been in a strong position to take over the top spot but was knocked back to 27th due to a late crash while battling for second.
At Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Byron couldn’t repeat his Daytona 500 success but finished second behind Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing. Blaney, meanwhile, ended up 19th, allowing Byron to claim the points lead for the first time in 2025.
Through three races, Byron leads the standings by two points over Blaney. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, who has finished one spot behind Byron in two of three races, sits five points back in third place.
Despite winning back-to-back races at Atlanta and COTA, Bell is tied for fourth in the standings with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott. Bell’s poor 31st-place finish at Daytona due to a crash has limited his points total.
