Denny Hamlin leads NASCAR Cup Series standings with 10 regular-season races remaining

Although Denny Hamlin is still racing for his first checkered flag of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, he remains at the top of the driver standings through the first 16 races of the year.

But Kyle Larson with three wins this season is catching up and erasing the substantial lead Hamlin once had in the regular-season standings.

Just 10 races are left in the regular season — which ends with Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in August — before the 16-driver, 10-race playoffs this fall, beginning with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

So ahead of Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway as the regular season winds down, here’s a look at the top-25 drivers in the standings.

As a reminder: The regular-season standings (and subsequent regular-season champion) are different from the projected playoff points and standings, where the top-16 drivers will compete for the 2021 championship.

Typically, a win locks a driver into the playoffs, but with so many different winners early in the season, there’s still a chance for more than 16 winners. If that happens, a win wouldn’t guarantee a playoff spot, and drivers and teams will have to work extra hard at the end of the regular season to ensure they can contend for a championship.