Sprint Cup Chase 2014: NASCAR Standings and Schedule Following STP 500

Jimmie Johnson had an amazing eight wins at Martinsville Speedway entering Sunday's STP 500, but the defending champion was out-dueled by Kurt Busch down the stretch for the checkered flag.     

A star-studded field of drivers promised to shake up the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase in Ridgeway, Va. Rising in the latest standings, though, is a familiar fixture in Johnson despite narrowly missing out on his first victory of the season after leading 296 of 500 laps.

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In Johnson's defense, there has been a fair amount of parity in stock car racing's top circuit thus far in 2014, per NASCAR Stats:

Here is a look at the latest points standings, along with what's on the schedule in the coming weeks:

Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	227
2	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing	218
3	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	217
4	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	216
5	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	209
6	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	189
7	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	188
8	Joey Logano	Team Penske	187
9	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	179
10	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing	174

Reigning Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. settled for third place to continue his strong start to the season with his fourth top-three finish already, and rose to the top of the standings as a result.

A 13th-place effort wasn't ideal for Carl Edwards, causing him to lose his overall lead in points and slide to third. Edwards had a tough task thanks to the tight standings, a race of elite competitors and a myriad of lead changes.

Fox Sports: NASCAR's Twitter feed noted the significance of Busch's trip to victory lane in the context of the Chase:

Race	Track	Date	Time (ET)	Distance (Miles)	2013 Winner
Duck Commander 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Sun, April 6	3 p.m.	501	Kyle Busch
Bojangles' Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	Sat, April 12	6:30 p.m.	501.322	Matt Kenseth
Toyota Owners 400	Richmond International Raceway	Sat, April 26	7 p.m.	300	Kevin Harvick
Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	Sun, May 4	1 p.m.	500.08	David Ragan
Kansas 400	Kansas Speedway	Sat, May 10	7:30 p.m.	400.5	Matt Kenseth
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Sat, May 17	9 p.m.	135	Jimmie Johnson
Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Sun, May 25	6 p.m.	600	Kevin Harvick
FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks	Dover International Speedway	Sun, June 1	1 p.m.	400	Tony Stewart

It seems Johnson is due to secure his first win of 2014 soon enough with the number of times he's put himself in position already, per Hendrick Motorsports:

The short "Paperclip" track created plenty of drama, including a tangle between Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne in pit lane that resulted in Keselowski wrecking and finishing in 38th.

NASCAR on ESPN's official Twitter account noted how frustrated Keselowski was in losing valuable points:

Jeff Gluck of USA Today reported that Keselowski would welcome a confrontation with Busch after falling from fourth to seventh in the Chase standings:

It's impressive that Busch was able to retain his focus and eventually outlast the prolific Johnson over the final several laps. It also snapped a long, winless drought, per NASCAR Stats:

Busch led just 23 laps, yet it was enough to emerge victorious. He alluded to how successful Johnson has been in the past after the race:

Looking ahead to what's next, Kyle Busch won the Duck Commander 500 last year and will seek to improve his points total after placing 14th at Martinsville.

Placing seventh in spite of adverse circumstances was something Kevin Harvick was proud of his crew for, especially since he was dealing with a broken part:

Harvick has had a tough start to the year but could be on his way to redemption. The 2013 winner at Darlington will seek another strong result there on April 12, which could give him a needed spark.

Matt Kenseth won two of the next five races last season, so it's conceivable that he could be in the Chase lead before the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Then again, Earnhardt has been on a tear, and Johnson is bound to continue climbing given his consistent leads.

Such a small margin separates the top drivers, so just about anything can happen in the foreseeable future for NASCAR. With the diversity in winners from week to week and such depth in every race, the schedule offers plenty of excitement for fans and teams alike.