NASCAR Playoffs: What drivers have qualified, and who can make the cut at Darlington?

The final race of NASCAR’s regular season is set to take place this weekend at Darlington Raceway — and that means it’s the last shot the Cup Series field will have to make it into the Playoffs portion of the season, where a field of 16 drivers will be slowly eliminated over the span of 10 races to crown the 2024 champion.

But who has made it into the Playoffs already — and who is still fighting for a shot? We’ll run through them all, as well as what it will take for the drivers on the cusp to qualify for a title.

NASCAR Playoffs: The drivers who are locked into the Playoffs

Kyle Larson: No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports

Kyle Larson has made headlines recently by declaring himself the best all-around driver in the world, especially when compared to Formula 1’s Max Verstappen, and he’s done his best to prove that by taking a whopping four Cup Series wins this year. Those wins have come at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Christopher Bell: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing

JGR driver Christopher Bell has been having an impressive season, taking three wins to firmly guarantee himself a slot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. His first win came at Phoenix Raceway, followed by victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Tyler Reddick: No. 45 23XI Racing

Tyler Reddick got an early start to the season by winning a pre-Daytona Duel, but it would take him a little while longer to secure a points-paying victory and, as a result, to check himself into the Playoffs. That win came at Talladega, but he also earned a second win more recently at Michigan.

William Byron: No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports

The first driver to stamp his Playoff ticket in 2024 was William Byron, courtesy of his victory at the season-opening Daytona 500 — but it wasn’t his only win of the season. Byron also secured victory at the Circuit of the Americas and the Cook-Out 400 at Martinsville.

Ryan Blaney: No. 12 Team Penske

Penske’s Ryan Blaney has taken two victories in a season that has been tough for Ford, his team’s manufacturer. The first for Blaney came at Iowa, with a second soon after at Pocono.

Denny Hamlin: No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing

The ever-controversial Denny Hamlin just lost Regular Season points after Toyota delivered him an unmarked, race-used engine, but he’s still taken three victories to earn a seat at the Playoffs table. His first came at Bristol Motor Speedway, followed by a second at Richmond and a third at Dover.

Chase Elliott: No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports

Eternally voted as NASCAR’s most popular driver, Chase Elliott will have a chance to take another Championship thanks to a win at Texas Motor Speedway that earned him a slot in the playoffs.

Brad Keselowski: No. 6 RFK Racing

Brad Keselowski hasn’t had an easy go of it since defecting from Team Penske to invest in his own outfit, but he’ll have a chance to compete in the Playoffs after winning the Goodyear 400 at Darlington.

Joey Logano: No. 22 Team Penske

Joey Logano’s first victory of 2024 came at the All-Star Race, which sadly didn’t count as a Playoff-eligible, points-paying race. It wasn’t until Nashville that Logano punched his ticket to the elimination rounds.

Austin Cindric: No. 2 Team Penske

Like his Penske teammate Logano, Austin Cindric has only taken one victory, but winning at Gateway was more than enough to raise his Playoff hopes.

Daniel Suarez: No. 99 Trackhouse Racing

Daniel Suarez has taken just one win in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and it took place at the second race of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Alex Bowman: No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports

Alex Bowman’s only win of 2024 came at Chicago — which also happens to be the only street track on NASCAR’s Cup Series schedule.

Harrison Burton: No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing

Harrison Burton is the most recent winner thanks to his shock victory at Daytona. The driver had been sitting at the absolute bottom of the Regular Season points table, with no hope of making the Playoffs unless he could score a win. He did.

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NASCAR Playoffs: The drivers who can still make the cut

Because 16 drivers can compete for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and because only 13 different drivers have won races that qualify for the Playoffs, three drivers will be able to earn a slot in the Playoffs based on points. Right now, five drivers are eligible for those coveted three slots — though if a different driver were to win at Darlington, only two would make it in.

Martin Truex Jr.: No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing

Martin Truex Jr. sits +58 points over the Playoff points cutline. With roughly 60 points overall on the table at Darlington, Truex looks like he’s going to comfortably secure his Playoffs position based on points alone — but he’s got an uphill battle ahead of him, considering his last five starts at Darlington have been miserable.

Ty Gibbs: No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing

Ty Gibbs sits +39 points above the cut line; like Truex, Gibbs is well situated to secure a Playoff position on points alone as he continues to pursue his first victory — and thanks to his impressive consistency this season, that looks likely.

Chris Buescher: No. 17 RFK Racing

Should there be no new winner, and should Chris Buescher finish decently well, the RFK driver could convert his +21-point edge into Playoff eligibility at Darlington.

Bubba Wallace: No. 23 23XI Racing

Now we delve into the drivers who are largely in a “must-win” situation. Bubba Wallace sits -21 points behind the Playoff cutline heading into Darlington. Sure, Wallace could sneak into the Playoffs if Buescher has a bad day, but a lot of things would have to fall into place in just the right way for that to happen.

Ross Chastain: No. 1 Trackhouse Racing

Sitting -27 below the cutline, Ross Chastain will have to hope for a miracle win to secure his slot in the Playoffs.

There are 17 other drivers who are eligible for a slot in the Playoffs should they win at Darlington: Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, John Hunter Nemechek, and Zane Smith.

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