Four races in, the NASCAR Cup Series drivers are already counting points

Brad Keselowski arrived at Phoenix Raceway with the mindset that it was the start of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season.

“It’s more of a traditional racetrack and more of what we’re going to see,” the RFK Racing driver and co-owner explained. “It values the things that most of the races from here on out are going to value, whether that’s speed in the race car, tactics by the driver, execution by the pit crew, or strategy by the crew chiefs. Those four elements are more represented here than they are in the first three weeks of the season and more representative of the challenges we’re going to have throughout the rest of the year.”

It makes perfect sense, given that the first three races were back-to-back drafting tracks, followed by a road course. And now, with the checkered flag two days in the rearview mirror, Keselowski and some of his fellow competitors might wish they had a do-over.

Keselowski finished 15th in the running order and dropped four positions in the championship point standings to 16th. It’s a much better start to the season at this point than a year ago for the No. 6 team, when they were 33rd after the first four races, but there is still work to be done if they are going to be a consistent top 10 contender. And when it comes to the Chase, they have set themselves up to have a chance to contend for a spot, but the team still feels a long way away from being a legitimate title contender.

The focus on points after four races is exactly what the new championship format is all about. Chase Briscoe, in fact, made no bones about how he was looking and talking about points after the second week, EchoPark Speedway, because he had entered that weekend in the basement following the Daytona 500. It hasn’t gotten any better for Briscoe and his Joe Gibbs Racing bunch.

Briscoe is 33rd in the standings. Perhaps other teams would panic, but the good news is that Briscoe has speed without the finishes. While nothing is guaranteed in any sport, it would be one of the biggest stories of the season if Briscoe were not to win a race this year or be capable of earning buckets of points to propel himself to the top half of the leaderboard.

Someone already up there? Shane van Gisbergen.

Even having missed out on the points that would have come with winning at Circuit of the Americas, van Gisbergen is off to a solid start. Trackhouse Racing has something to build on as they go into the next few weekends of traditional oval racing, in which van Gisbergen continues to make progress. He finished 11th at Phoenix Raceway and is fifth, yes fifth, in the championship standings.

Van Gisbergen left Phoenix fifth in the standings, despite a swing and a miss in the first road course race of the year at COTA. Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“Excellent result for the crazy day we had,” van Gisbergen said. “My Chevy had a lot of speed, but just had those two spins that reset our progress each time. We passed a lot of cars and had a good points day; headed to Vegas next weekend with a lot of momentum.”

There is a lot of racing left to go, but nothing beats early-season momentum. And with that, analysis of the point standings. The drivers are certainly looking at them more after each race weekend.

Welcome to the Chase era.

Austin Cindric doesn’t appear to have momentum, given an average finish of 31.5, but he has a different perspective. After his second DNF in three weeks, Cindric said Sunday that, “I'm not discouraged, though. This (No.) 2 team has shown me a lot in the first four races, and it's just a shame we don't have the results for it."

Phoenix now leads into another oval, and a much faster one that will make it quite clear who has the speed. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a perfect archetype of intermediate racing, which is the bread and butter of the series. Those who have their programs right will shine. There will be no hiding for those at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Darlington Raceway will follow Las Vegas. It's a rough and tough racetrack that is going to test drivers and teams and this time, throw a new variable with the extra horsepower. It could provide one of the best and unpredictable races of the season.

The final race of the stretch before the first break of the season is Martinsville Speedway. It will be the first short track race of the season, which means the teams will have had a look at every type of facility before the calendar hits April.

Every race matters. Every point matters. A hole is not impossible to climb out of (Christopher Bell, main image, gained 18 spots in the points after Phoenix), but it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

So, if, as Keselowski said, the regular season has now begun, it’s already clear who needs some good Sundays over the next few weeks.