For Drivers Points, see my 2010 Sprint Cup DRIVERS Points Standings page

Denny Hamlin wins at Darlington: #11-Denny Hamlin won the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway for his 3rd race of 2010 and 11th of his career. He also won the Nationwide race Friday night. It was his first weekend sweep in Nationwide and Cup. Pole sitter #1-Jamie McMurray finished 2nd, followed by #2-Busch, #24-Gordon, #42-Montoya, #29-Harvick, #18-Busch, #31-Burton, #39-Newman, and #83-Vickers. Harvick extended his points lead to 110 over #48-Johnson, who was involved in a wreck with #43-Allmendinger midway through the race and finished 36th. There were 20 lead changes among 11 drivers and 11 cautions for 56 yellow flag laps.
See race results, awards, laps led and more on Jayski's Darlington Race Results/Awards page.(5-8-2010)

Race Fast Facts - Darlington:
Denny Hamlin won the SHOWTIME Southern 500 (61st Running), his 11th victory in 162 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his third victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2010.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway.
Hamlin completed the weekend sweep, also winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series event this weekend. It is his first career NSCS/NNS sweep.
The last NSCS/NNS sweep was at Richmond in May of 2009 by Kyle Busch. The last NSCS/NNS sweep at Darlington was September of 1993 by Mark Martin.
Jamie McMurray (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Darlington Raceway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2010.
Kurt Busch (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 14 races at Darlington Raceway.(NASCAR Statistics)(5-8-2010)

2010 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Darlington, race 11 of 36]:
rank, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #29-Kevin Harvick [1 win], 1622
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson [3 wins], 1512, -110
3) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win],1509, -113
4) #24-Jeff Gordon, 1475, -147
5) #17-Matt Kenseth, 1472, -150
6) #11-Denny Hamlin [3 wins], 1458, -164
7) #16-Greg Biffle, 1431, -191
8) #2-Kurt Busch [1 win], 1420, -202
9) #31-Jeff Burton, 1394, -228
10) #5-Mark Martin, 1357, -265
11) #99-Carl Edwards, 1345, -277
12) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 1318, -304
Chase for the Sprint Cup - Contenders:
13) #56-Martin Truex Jr., 1302, 16 points out of the chase
14) #39-Ryan Newman [1 win], 1280, -38
15) #33-Clint Bowyer, 1280, -38
16) #1-Jamie McMurray [1 win], 1279, -39
17) #42-Juan Montoya, 1264, -54
18) #14-Tony Stewart, 1259, -59
2009 Chase Drivers not in top 18
20) #83-Brian Vickers, 1158, -160
22) #9-Kasey Kahne, 1129, -190
See standings on Jayski's Drivers Points Standings page. (5-8-2010)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Dover:
There were no changes in the top 30. The #37 team is now 22 points ahead of the #38 team.
32) #71-Labonte/TRG: 899, +88
33) #34-Kvapil/Front Row: 877, +66
34) #7-Gordon/RGM/BAM: 854, +43
35) #37-Conway/Front Row: 833, 22 points ahead of 36th
these teams/ drivers must qualify by speed:
36) #38-Gilliland/Front Row: 811, 22 points out of 35th
37) #26-Stremme/Latitude43: 706, -127
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see my Owners Points Standings page.(5-8-2010)

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

OWNERS CHASE: The Owners championship takes the same format as the drivers championship. Owners have their own Chase, so if a team uses more then one driver and is in the Top 12 after 26 races, that TEAM [not driver] would run for the Chase for the owners championship. The drivers would NOT. This means a driver in the Chase would have a team that is NOT in the chase. Rules on The Chase on my Chase News and Rules page

NOTES II: 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.

#7 & #55 team fined: NASCAR has issued penalties to the #7 and #55 teams that compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a result of rules violations last week at Darlington Raceway. The #7 car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR required specifications); and 20-18A (unapproved additional door braces) of the 2010 NASCAR rule book. The infraction was discovered during opening day inspection on May 7. Crew chief Samuel Stanley has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Robby Gordon, both driver and owner of the #7 car, has been penalized with the loss of 25 championship driver and 25 championship owner points.
The #55 car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1; 12-4-J; and 20-10.6B (unapproved final drive gear; incorrect tooth count). The violation was discovered during post-qualifying inspection on May 7. Crew chief Zachary McGowan has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Driver Michael McDowell and owner Randy Humphrey have been penalized with the loss of 25 championship driver and 25 championship owner points, respectively.(NASCAR)(5-12-2010)

NASCAR has issued penalties to the #13, #47, #00 and #56 teams that compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a result of rule violations committed at Texas Motor Speedway last week. Robert “Bootie” Barker, crew chief of the #13 team, and Frank Kerr, crew chief of the #47 team, have each been fined $75,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31 for violating Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 20-2.3A (unapproved added weight); 20-7 (all engine cooling system components must be approved by NASCAR prior to being used in competition); and 20-7.3A (radiator mount; failure to submit components) of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rule book.
Car owners Robert Germain (#13) and Tad Geschickter (#47) have each been penalized with the loss of 50 championship owner points for violating Sections 12-1 and 20-2.3A. Drivers Max Papis (#13) and Marcos Ambrose (#47) have each been penalized with the loss of 50 championship driver points for violating Sections 12-1 and 20-2.3A.
Rodney Childers, crew chief of the #00 team, and Pat Tryson, crew chief of the #56 team, have each been fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31 for violating Sections 12-1; 20-7; and 20-7.3A. All of these violations occurred during post-qualifying inspection on April 16.(NASCAR)(4-21-2010)
MWR Statement: Executive Vice President of Michael Waltrip Racing Cal Wells: “NASCAR indicated we were running a part, a radiator pan, which had not been officially submitted for approval. We accept NASCAR’s ruling and will not appeal because we cannot debate whether the part was submitted, only whether or not the part needed submission. This gives us a clear line of sight on how parts need to be submitted for approval. We will work diligently with NASCAR in the future on all new parts to ensure this does not happen to MWR again.”(MWR)(4-21-2010)

For records, some rules and more, see my Main Penalties News page