NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Grid 2016: Standings, Schedule After Bank of America 500

Jimmie Johnson stormed to victory Sunday in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the race was postponed Saturday thanks to adverse weather conditions in Concord, North Carolina.

Hurricane Matthew didn't stop Johnson powering his way to victory, however, as he recorded the ideal start to the Round of 12 and kept alive his hopes of winning the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup with his 78th career win.

There were major hazards that needed to be avoided in Charlotte, too, namely after No. 3 Austin Dillon was at the heart of an 11-car wreck following a restart on the 259th lap, taking himself and Chase Elliott out of the action, along with others.

Dillon was slow off the mark in the mind of Martin Truex Jr., who gave his peer an attempted helping hand off the line. But instead he caused Dillon to spin out and take several of his opponents down with him.

Denny Hamlin didn't even require a collision to take his exit from proceedings, though, after his engine blew on the 308th lap just as he was running second and looking for the win.  

Here's how the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase Grid looks after Sunday's race, complete with a look to the upcoming NASCAR schedule and a recap of Sunday's biggest talking points:

Position	Driver	Car No.	Points	Points Behind
1	Jimmie Johnson	48	3045	-
2	Matt Kenseth	20	3040	5
3	Kyle Busch	18	3036	9
4	Brad Keselowski	2	3034	11
5	Kurt Busch	41	3033	12
6	Carl Edwards	19	3029	16
7	Martin Truex Jr	78	3028	17
8	Denny Hamlin	11	3012	33
9	Austin Dillon	3	3009	36
10	Chase Elliott	24	3009	36
11	Joey Logano	22	3006	39
12	Kevin Harvick	4	3004	41

Round of 12
Round of 8
Championship 4
Date	Race	Location	Time (ET)
Oct. 16	Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	2:15 p.m.
Oct. 23	Alabama 500	Talladega Superspeedway	2 p.m.
Oct. 30	Goody's Fast Relief 500	Martinville Speedway	1 p.m.
Nov. 6	AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	2 p.m.
Nov. 13	Can-Am 500	Phoenix International Speedway	2:30 p.m.
Nov. 20	Ford Ecoboost 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	2:30 p.m.

Visit the official NASCAR website for a look at the Sprint Cup Series standings in full.

Johnson Steals the Limelight

Three years after his most recent Sprint Cup Series triumph, six-time champion Johnson got the Round of 12 underway as he'll hope to carry on, winning under a mountain of pressure from the drivers around him.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver consistently featured among the top three throughout Sunday's race, and NASCAR confirmed his advancement to the Round of 8 after he beat Matt Kenseth by 1.474 seconds:

Lionel Racing noted Johnson has had particularly good fortune at Charlotte during his career, and the NASCAR veteran will have bigger prizes in sight following an astutely clinched victory:

The 41-year-old will count this as a far more prosperous performance in Charlotte than we saw last year, when he spun out twice and had to settle for a 40th-place finish.

One of the most illustrious drivers in the field is looking back to his best and is capable of challenging for Sprint Cup honors at just the right time of year, with anticipation now building ahead of next Sunday's race in Kansas. 

Truex and Dillon Get Physical

In what was an unfortunate development in an otherwise entertaining, clean race, Truex's decision to make contact with Dillon two-thirds of the way through the race ultimately came back to bite him.

Fox Sports' Alan Cavanna reported he was indeed genuine in thinking he was helping Dillon speed up following a caution on the 259th lap, even if his nudge did result in some drivers missing out on their chances at points:

Steve Reed of the Associated Press further reinforced those comments after it appeared Truex had taken accountability for the part he played in the fracas:

Elliott was perhaps the biggest loser to emerge from the incident, getting caught up in a wreck that he otherwise shouldn't have. As such, he saw his chances of winning the Sprint Cup hurt as a direct result.

Both drivers will look to the Hollywood Casino 400 in Kansas next Sunday as a chance to right the wrongs of this weekend, knowing they now sit behind in the standings and need to make up all the points they can.