NASCAR Point Standings 2013: Jimmie Johnson leads Sprint Cup after Phoenix

Jimmie Johnson's second-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday padded his Sprint Cup Series championship lead, where he sits just eight points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski who are tied for second.

Denny Hamlin finished third and moves into a fourth-place tie with Clint Bowyer with both drivers sitting 18 points behind Johnson.

Carl Edwards moved up a momentous 19 spots - the biggest gainer of the week - to 11th in the standings, thanks to his victory on Sunday. The biggest losers amongst those in the top-30 are Michael McDowell, who didn't start following his top-10 at Daytona, and Danica Patrick who dropped 15 spots to 22nd.

Several notable drivers find themselves near the bottom of the standings, including Tony Stewart (23rd), Kevin Harvick (30th), Kasey Kahne (31st), Kurt and Kyle Busch (32nd and 33rd) and Martin Truex Jr. (34th.)

It's never too early to start thinking about the Chase. Here are the Sprint Cup standings after Phoenix:

1. Jimmie Johnson Ldr.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -8
3. Brad Keselowski -8
4. Denny Hamlin -18
5. Clint Bowyer -18
6. Greg Biffle -24
7. Mark Martin -25
8. Jeff Gordon -30
9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -30
10. Aric Almirola -30
11. Carl Edwards -31
12. Marcos Ambrose - 38
13. JJ Yeley -40
14. Bobby Labonte -41
15. Jeff Burton - 42
16. David Reutimann -42
17. Paul Menard -42
18. Matt Kenseth -44
19. Casey Mears -45
20. Ryan Newman -46
21. Joey Logano -46
22. Danica Patrick -48
23. Tony Stewart -51
24. Juan Pablo Montoya -52
25. Dave Blaney -52
26. Michael McDowell -55
27. Travis Kvapil -55
28. Jamie McMurray -56
29. AJ Allmendinger -57
30. Kevin Harvick -57
31. Kasey Kahne -57
32. Kurt Busch -57
33. Kyle Busch -59
34. Martin Truex Jr. -62
35. Scott Speed -65

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