For Owners Points, see my 2009 Sprint Cup OWNERS Points Standings page

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CLASSIC - the OLD way - Driver Points Standings
[after Phoenix, race 35 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson(X), 4996
2) #14-Tony Stewart(X), 4983, -13
3) #24-Jeff Gordon(X), 4940, -56
4) #5-Mark Martin(X), 4635, -361
5) #11-Denny Hamlin(X), 4611, -385
6) #2-Kurt Busch(X), 4593, -403
7) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya(X), 4454 -542
8) #16-Greg Biffle(X), 4420, -576
9) #39-Ryan Newman(X), 4353, -643
10) #18-Kyle Busch, 4310, -686
11) #9-Kasey Kahne(X), 4276, -720
12) #17-Matt Kenseth, 4265, -731
13) #99-Carl Edwards(X), 4252, -744
14) #33-Clint Bowyer, 4224, -772
15) #00-David Reutimann, 4103, -893
16) #83-Brian Vickers(X), 4019, -977
(X) a chase driver.(11-15-2009)

See the full classic points rundown [usually updated Monday] at nascar.com

Johnson wins at Phoenix: #48-Jimmie Johnson won the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway for his 7th win of the season, leading the most laps and winning his 47th race of his career. #31-Burton finished 2nd, followed by #11-Hamlin #5-Martin, #1-Truex Jr. [pole sitter, his first top-5 of the season], #2-Busch, #33-Bowyer, #42-Montoya, #24-Gordon and #00-Reutimann. Johnson's win and Martins 4th place finish allowed Johnson to open up a 108 point lead, so Johnson just needs to finish 25th or better and nothing Martin can do to catch him, Johnson could finish further back if Martin does. Heff Gordon is eliminated when Johnson starts the car at Homestead. There were only 4 cautions for 23 yellow flag laps and there were 9 lead changes among 4 drivers.
Scheduled Race Re-Airs:
ESPN2: Monday, November 16 at 3:00am/et
ESPN Classic: Monday, November 16 at 1:00pm/et
SPEED, Wednesday, November 18 at 12:00pm/et
For race results, awards and more, see my Phoenix Race Results Page.(11-15-2009)

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CHASE Standings
[after Phoenix, Chase race 9 of 10; Season race 35 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind, [wins], race finish
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson [7 wins], 6492, finished 1st
2) #5-Mark Martin [5 wins], 6384, -108, 4th
3) #24-Jeff Gordon [1 win], 6323, -169, 9th
4) #2-Kurt Busch [2 wins], 6281, -211, 6th
5) #14-Tony Stewart [4 wins], 6207, -285, 25th
6) #42-Juan Montoya, 6203, -289, 8th
7) #16-Greg Biffle, 6171, -321, 14th
8) #11-Denny Hamlin [3 wins], 6140, -352, 3rd
9) #39-Ryan Newman, 6081, -476, 20th
10) #9-Kasey Kahne [2 wins], 6016, -476, 15th
11) #99-Carl Edwards, 5972, -520, 16th
12) #83-Brian Vickers [1 win], 5826, -666, 38th
(11-15-2009)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Homestead:
No changes, the spread between 35th and 36th only dropped 3 points to 114 points (was 117)
34) #7-Gordon/Robby Gordon: 2744, +191
35) #34-Andretti/Earnhardt Ganassi: 2667, 114 points ahead of 36th
these teams/drivers must qualify by speed but are close to the top-35:
36) #82-Speed/Red Bull: 2553, 114 points out of 35th
(no other teams are within 500 owners points of 35th)
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owners points standings, see my Owners Points Standings.(11-15-2009)

NOTE: DRIVERS points and OWNERS points are NOT the same, teams who fail to make the race still get points, while drivers who miss the race get no points

NOTE 2 MONEY: why do some drivers listed with out any starts have money won and some do not? Some of the drivers competed in the Gatorade Duels and/or the Sprint Open non-points races and were awarded winnings for those races.

NOTES 3: these points standings are directly from NASCAR Statistics, the unofficial are posted after the race and the official are posted when released, usually sometime Monday afternoon. If they differ from NASCAR.com, take it up with NASCAR.com, I do NOT run that site and have no idea why they would differ, usually with the way penalties are handled, Folks with questions can email NASCAR or NASCAR.com, see my Racing FAQ page this info. Most questions come from folks in Fantasy Leagues, I don't not participate or follow these, ask the person running it how they handles penalties, they should have a rule for such a thing, I do not mediate such things or draft drivers for anyone.

The Points Penalties for the 2009 season
#1-Martin Truex Jr. and team owner 50 pts [Texas 11-8-2009]
#18-Kyle Busch and team owner 25 points [New Hampshire 9-20-2009]
#1-Martin Truex Jr. and team owner 25 pts [Chicago 7-11-2009]
#7-Robby Gordon and team owner 50 pts [Charlotte 5-25-2009]
#46-Carl Long and team owner 200 pts [Sprint Showdown, LMS 5-16-2009]

#1 Chevy deemed too low UPDATE: The #1 Bass Pro Chevy driven by Martin Truex Jr. failed a post-race inspection when NASCAR officials found the height of the car was too low. The violation was discovered because the #1 Chevy was the random car selected for inspection after the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Truex finished 14th. Any penalties for the team will be announced on Tuesday, NASCAR officials confirmed. NASCAR also is taking three cars back to the Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. -- the #2 Dodge of race winner Kurt Busch, the #24 Chevy of Jeff Gordon, who finished 13th, and the #5 Chevy of Mark Martin, who finished fourth. NASCAR also will take three engines to the R&D Center -- the #2 Dodge, the #11 Toyota motor of driver Denny Hamlin, who finished second, and Gordon's. The winning car and the engines from the top two finishers always are inspected in the R&D Center.(ESPN)(11-9-2009)
Penalties Issued For Car #1 Team: NASCAR announced penalties for the car No. 1 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for a violation that occurred during post-race inspection last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. The team was penalized for violating Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12.8.1B (front of the car did not meet the required height specification; too low in post-race inspection). Crew chief Kevin Manion was fined $50,000 and remains on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2009. Car owner Teresa Earnhardt and driver Martin Truex Jr., were penalized with the loss of 50 championship owner and 50 championship driver points, respectively.(NASCAR)(11-10-2009)

#18 car too low in post race inspection: UPDATE: #18-Kyle Busch, who missed making the Chase by just eight points, finished 5th in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. But the left front of the #18 M&M's Toyota was too low in post-race inspection, and he could be penalized by NASCAR this week, usually announced on Tuesday afternoons.(ESPN/Associated Press)(9-20-2009)
UPDATE: NASCAR has issued penalties to the #18 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a result of a rule infraction found last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The #18 car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12.8 1B (the height of the car at the left front fender did not meet the required specification; too low in post-race inspection) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book. Crew chief Steve Addington has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Driver Kyle Busch and car owner Joe Gibbs have been penalized 25 championship driver and 25 championship owner points, respectively.(NASCAR PR)(9-22-2009)

Truex's car too high at Chicago UPDATE Penalties announced: The #1 Chevy driven by Martin Truex Jr. did not pass a post-race inspection when NASCAR officials discovered the right rear quarter panel was too high on the car. Truex finished 16th in the LifeLock 400 race at Chicagoland Speedway. The car will be taken back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for further evaluations. NASCAR officials will determine if the height problem is a violation that requires a penalty. Any announcement of the process will come later this week, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday. Similar height situations have resulted in championship point reductions and fines in the past.(ESPN.com)(7-12-2009)
UPDATE: NASCAR announced that Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #1 Chevy in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, crew chief Kevin Manion and car owner Teresa Earnhardt have been penalized for rule violations during last weekend’s event at Chicagoland Speedway. Truex was penalized 25 points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings. Manion was fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2009. Earnhardt was penalized 25 points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner standings. The three were penalized for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); Section 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules) and Section 20-12.8.1C (right rear quarter panel height did not meet the required specifications; too high in post-race inspection).(NASCAR)(7-14-2009) Comment here

Robby penalized for rear axle: NASCAR has issued penalties to the #7 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a result of rules violations committed at Lowe’s Motor Speedway earlier this week. The #7 car, driven and owned by Robby Gordon, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4I (any determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-10.6H (rear axle housing exceeded the maximum specified toe of plus or minus one degree) of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book. The violation was found during post-race inspection on May 25. As a result, Gordon has been penalized with the loss of 50 championship owner and 50 championship driver points. Crew chief Kirk Almquist has been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR PR)(5-27-2009) Comment here

Long's team recieves record penalty: NASCAR has issued penalties, suspensions and fines to the #46 team [#146] in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rules infractions committed during last weekend’s event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.4A (engine exceeded the maximum engine size of 358.000 cubic inch displacement) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book. As a result, crew chief Charles Swing has been fined $200,000, suspended from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship events, suspended from NASCAR until Aug. 18 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Driver Carl Long and owner Danielle Long have been penalized with the loss of 200 driver and 200 owner points, respectively, suspended from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship events, suspended from NASCAR until Aug. 18 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR)(5-20-2009)