The NASCAR Playoffs are not far away. Tonight, Ryan Blaney secured his spot with a dominating victory at Iowa Speedway. How will that affect the rest of the field?
If you are a fan of Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, or another bubble driver – good news! Ryan Blaney had more points than your driver entering this race, sohis win does not bump anyone or move the bubble.
As it stands right now, Bubba Wallace is the last driver in the playoffs. Two drivers outside of the top-16 in points have wins, Austin Cindric and Daniel Suárez. They are your bubble bursters for the time being.
NASCAR Playoff field after Iowa:
Kyle Larson – 3W
Denny Hamlin – 3W
William Byron – 3W
Christopher Bell – 2W
Tyler Reddick – W
Ryan Blaney – W
Austin Cindric – W
Chase Elliott – W
Brad Keselowski – W
Daniel Suárez – W
Martin Truex Jr. – +122
Ross Chastain – +71
Ty Gibbs – +70
Alex Bowman – +66
Chris Buescher – +27
Bubba Wallace – +6
At the moment, Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 23 playoff points. He seems to win at least a stage every week, just like he did today. Larson was derailed by contact from Daniel Suárez, but he had a great showing up to that point. He will be the likely leader heading into the NASCAR Playoffs.
For those drivers on the bubble, especially Buescher and Wallace, it is time to lock it in. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are below the cutline in points and either of them could win a race at any moment. Even though they have struggled this season, they are still two-time champions.
It is interesting how the drivers like Bowman, Gibbs, Chastain, and Truex Jr. have all separated themselves. Bowman isn’t exactly comfortable right now, but he has two races worth of points up on the cutline. It’s a nice cushion at least.
NASCAR Playoffs are nine races away
Between now and the first race of the NASCAR Playoffs at Atlanta, there are just nine races left. Very limited opportunities for drivers to get into the postseason at the moment. There will be chances for drivers below the cutline to win races and steal playoff spots from others.
After what we saw from Josh Berry today at Iowa, I think he’s a threat at every short track moving forward. Unfortunately for him, that only includes New Hampshire and Richmond. But there is also Daytona and Darlington. Anything can happen at Daytona and Berry was P3 at Darlington earlier this season.
Bubba Wallace had a good buffer on the cutline early in the season. A couple of DNFs derailed his momentum and it has been hard to get back to the front ever since then. He is by far the most vulnerable on the bubble, up just six points.
The NASCAR Playoffs will be here before you know it. Ryan Blaney just punched his ticket to the postseason. Who will win next in the NASCAR Cup Series that hasn’t already?
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