Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Who’s in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs?
The field of 16 drivers is officially set!
The calendar flipping to September means summer's nearly done, the kids are heading back to school, and the battle for NASCAR supremacy begins in earnest with the Cup Series Playoffs.
The effort gets underway Sunday, September 8 with the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, as 16 drivers set out to win the war of attrition that is the playoffs.
Here's how the field breaks down:
1. Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro
Regular Season Points Total: 2040
After leading a field-best 1089 laps this season, which is more than 350 laps better than next-best Christopher Bell, Yung Money’s back and looking sharper than ever. Though he lost the regular season title to Tyler Reddick by one point from Darlington, Larson notched four wins while stacking 13 top-10 finishes. Look for him to run deep into the postseason if he can keep from wrecking out – an unfortunate ending for any driver but a bit of a paradox for Larson, who saw his outings this season end early six times due to wrecks.
2. Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota Camry
Regular Season Points Total: 2032
Should he survive and make it to the final at Phoenix Raceway, Christopher Bell’s success in the desert this year with his win of the Shriners Children’s 500 could very well set him up for repeated success. Like Larson, he too earned six DNF’s, and Las Vegas could prove to be his Kryptonite.
3. Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota Camry
Regular Season Points Total: 2028
Michael Jordan’s quiet wheelman has been not so quietly putting the field on blast right out of the gate with his victory at the Duel 1 at Daytona in February. Tyler Reddick's win of the regular season title is clutch, especially keeping Larson from gobbling up that accolade, but he still has only two wins this year. That said, the meat of the postseason features tracks where he’s performed well, and another triumph at Talladega could propel him to Phoenix.
4. William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro
Regular Season Points Total: 2022
While “Willy B.” looked to be the championship favorite after the first eight races of the season, a stretch where he accumulated two wins, he’s eked out only a trifecta of top-five finishes in the past 10 races. At that pace, Phoenix may prove elusive for Byron, but if he can make it to the Round of 8 and channel what he did in Martinsville earlier this year, he’ll punch his ticket to Arizona for the second consecutive year.
5. Ryan Blaney
Team Penske No. 12 Ford Mustang
Regular Season Points Total: 2018
Ryan Blaney silenced the doubters last year to win his first Cup Series Championship, but the pressure’s been building this year for a repeat performance. He did reasonably well at Las Vegas, where he notched a third-place finish, but his five DNF’s prove it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Maybe it’s time to bring back the ‘stache.
6. Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota Camry
Regular Season Points Total: 2015
The wily veteran driver cruised to four victories this year, with none being more pivotal than Bristol. Since 2001, Hamlin’s performed well at Kansas, Watkins Glen and Las Vegas, but that won’t matter much if he gets off to a rocky start at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 8 where he has an average finish of 16.3 in seven races.
7. Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro
Regular Season Points Total: 2014
Unfortunately calibrated for what feels like mediocrity this season, Chase Elliott’s current struggles to close out races have prevented NASCAR’s golden boy from achieving anything better than ninth place is his last nine races. That said, if anyone can overcome inconsistency and turn the page, it’s Elliott. His exciting double overtime win of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 in Texas snapped a 42-race drought that’s been perplexing fans and pundits alike since 2022.
8. Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing No. 6 Ford Mustang
Regular Season Points Total: 2008
Like Hamlin, Keselowski’s status as a battle-tested veteran means you can never truly count him out, especially if his outings in Sin City and Talladega, two track’s he’s traditionally comfortable on, go according to plan. The problematic scenario Keselowski could find himself in could actually come to fruition this weekend. His previous 33rd-place finish highlights how unkind Atlanta can be to him, so a smooth opening to the postseason could do wonders for his confidence as the rounds progress.
9. Joey Logano
Team Penske No. 22 Ford Mustang
Regular Season Points Total: 2007
Unfortunately for Sliced Bread, the two-time Cup Series Champion has done little this year to show that he’s truly thirsty for a third title. That said, he scored a win at the NASCAR All-Star race in North Wilkesboro and another during the Ally 400 in Nashville, Tennessee, but his highest finish on a track he’ll face in the postseason was sixth place at Martinsville – the penultimate event of the playoffs.
10. Austin Cindric
Team Penske No. 2 Ford Mustang
Regular Season Points Total: 2007
Cindric will need some improbable luck if hopes to drive deep into the postseason, but improbable is what got him here in the first place. Atlanta’s the only playoff track where he earned a top-five finish earlier this year whereas the other tracks on the list saw him either crash out or post a finish outside the top-20. Still, stranger things have happened with Cindric, such as his outdueling teammate Ryan Blaney to win the Enjoy Illinois 300 – his first Cup Series victory since capturing the checkered flag at Daytona during his rookie season in 2022.
11. Daniel Suarez
Trackhouse Racing No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro
Regular Season Points Total: 2006
Suarez has been able to find the right gear when there’ve been longer stretches of track, but his inconsistency in shorter arenas could prove to be his Achilles heel. Still, though his highlight reel from this season is essentially built around his narrow 1st-place finish at Atlanta, performing that well right off the bat could provide the juice he needs to make a deep run.
12. Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro
Regular Season Points Total: 2005
Much like the ebb and flow of Bowman’s wobbly regular season, the postseason presents several opportunities and several obstacles for the Hendrick wheelman. When it comes to the playoff tracks, he has multiple top-10 finishes and even a top-five he scored at Talladega, but he’ll need to elevate his speed if he hopes to turn those into actual wins. A 20th-place finish at Phoenix earlier this year doesn’t build a lot of confidence if he is able to squeak into the desert this November.
13. Chase Briscoe
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford Mustang
Regular Season Points Total: 2005
If the bottom were to fall out tomorrow, Chase Briscoe could stand tall with a smile on his face because he sent his team, Stewart-Haas Racing, out in style by winning at Darlington to close the regular season. Beyond that, the picture of his playoff potential is fuzzy at best. He has only a pair of top-10 finishes on playoff tracks earlier this year while notching four finishes of 20th or worse on others.
14. Harrison Burton
Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford Mustang
Regular Season Points Total: 2005
Not many people would’ve pegged Burton to their playoff board at the start of the season, but the youngster has defied the odds, and his upset victory at Daytona to punch his postseason ticket might just be the extra mojo he needs to rack up more improbably victories.
15. Ty Gibbs
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota Camry
Regular Season Points Total: 2004
Though the 21-year-old now finds himself in uncharted waters, having never won an official race in NASCAR’s top flight, Gibbs is essentially playing with house money. With nothing to lose, he can continue to make speedy strides, which he showed recently with a pair of top-five finishes at Michigan and Daytona. He’ll need some others to falter along the way to get there, but if he can make it to Phoenix, where he unexpectedly landed a third place finish earlier in the season, the racing gods could, once again, smile down favorably upon the NASCAR royalty.
16. Martin Truex Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota Camry
Regular Season Points Total: 2004
One top-10 finish to go along with seven finishes at 24th place or worse in his last eight starts is a stat that undoubtedly will irk Truex Jr. But like Gibbs, there’s nothing really to lose. After 20 years of grinding in NASCAR’s most elite circuit, Truex Jr. is set to hang up his keys after this season. Named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, the 2017 Cup Series winner has been a stable force in the league. While he’ll be sorely missed by his peers and fans alike, the ultimate swan song would be for the vet to take the playoffs by storm. It might take a miracle to get to Phoenix, where he came in seventh earlier this year, but if he can amass strong performances at Kansas and Bristol, two tracks where he’s had success in the past, Truex Jr. has the potential to go out on top.
