The Cup Series drivers have completed the first two races of the Round of 12, but seven spots still remain in the Round of 8 after a chaotic Talladega finish.
William Byron is the only playoff driver to lock up his spot in the Round of 8. He did so by scoring 14 stage points and finishing third overall. He was the highest-finishing playoff driver at Talladega after a wreck on Lap 184 collected 28 cars.
A non-playoff driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., won the superspeedway race. He was the second non-playoff driver to win a race in the Round of 12, following Ross Chastain at Kansas.
One spot taken, seven #NASCARPlayoffs spots up grabs at the @CLTMotorSpdwy ROVAL next week. pic.twitter.com/wBFZkYHBiu
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) October 6, 2024
This season marks the third consecutive year that Byron has reached the penultimate round of the playoffs. He ended 2022 sixth in the Cup standings and then he ended last season third in the standings. Now, Byron has an opportunity to punch his ticket back to the Championship 4.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is not the only championship contender who capitalized at Talladega. Kyle Larson matched his career-best finish at Talladega (fourth) after scoring nine stage points. This moved him to 52 points above the cutline.
Christopher Bell started Sunday's race at the rear of the field due to a penalty for an unapproved adjustment, but he recovered with a solid performance. He scored six stage points and then avoided major damage in The Big One.
Bell capped off the day by crossing the finish line sixth overall and moving to 57 points above the cutline. He is now in the best position to capture one of the remaining seven spots in the Round of 8.
"I'm excited about the points standings," Bell said after the race. "We came out of here as good as we ever have, so that's awesome.
"Hopefully, we can have a (good) day next week at the Roval. I think we're going to have pace, and we can open up the strategy a little to hopefully race for the win."
Clinching a spot in the next round should be a simple task for both Larson and Bell, two drivers who have won at the Roval in recent seasons. A few points should get the job done.
The task will be more difficult for two Ford drivers who were unable to avoid significant damage.
Austin Cindric led 29 laps and won a stage, but he fell to 29 points below the cutline. The reason is that the crash that sent the race to overtime ended his day. He left Talladega with a 32nd-place finish and only 17 points.
For comparison, Chevrolet driver Alex Bowman scored 26 points after finishing 16th. His team was able to make repairs to his damaged car, which helped him build a 26-point cushion to the cutline.
Chase Briscoe is the other Ford driver facing a major deficit. He is 32 points below the cutline, and he is last in the playoff standings. Briscoe scored three stage points, but he finished 30th after sustaining heavy damage in the Lap 184 crash.
"It's not the day we wanted, just with the way everything went," Briscoe said after the race. "I don't know what the points are, but I'm sure it's not good.
"This is one of those races where if you didn't run top five or whatever, you're probably gonna be in a must-win either way so that probably makes it a little more clear now and puts it where it's not on that bubble of, 'Well, should we go for points or should we just try to win the race.'"
One race remains in the Round of 8, and the path is now clear for the drivers trying to take the remaining seven spots. Cindric and Briscoe have to focus on the win. Other drivers such as Daniel Suarez (-20), Joey Logano (-13), and Chase Elliott (+13) could potentially lock up spots with points-heavy days.
This final battle at NASCAR's home track will be fascinating.