When NASCAR made the decision back in 2019 that Daytona’s summer race would decide who makes NASCAR’s 16 car playoff field, most were skeptical of NASCAR’s decision. But now, just four years later, we finally see why Daytona is the perfect race to host the regular season finally.
Drivers like Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, and many others were trying to secure the 16th and final spot in the Playoffs, but only one driver was able to survive the flips and mass chaos to lock himself in. Bubba Wallace did just that with a 12th place finish, and will make his first appearance in the NASCAR Playoffs in his sixth full time season.
“That was the most stressed but also the most locked in I’ve ever been. Knowing that this place is mostly out of your control, I just tried to focus on doing the things that I could do. Missing that wreck was massive. Appreciate Freddy. He’s one of the best up on the roof. Gets us through that a lot. That’s what helps our resume here with the speedway stuff.
“Proud to be locked into the Playoffs. 23XI, third year in, getting both cars in the Playoffs. We’ve gone through a lot of trials and tribulations. So proud of the effort we put in. No matter how much we set ourselves back, we know that we have a kick-ass group and can bounce back from everything.”
On the opposite side of things, NASCAR’s most popular driver Chase Elliott missed the Playoffs for the first time in his eight year career.
“It’s a bummer, for sure. Hate the season has worked out like it has. The good news is the car got in at the owner’s points. That’s a big deal. Credit to Alan and everybody for continuing to work and scratch and claw while I was out to keep our team alive and to give ourselves a chance. That’s a big deal, probably much bigger than a lot of people realize to our team. Looking forward to these next 10. Try to make a little noise on that side of things and just try to get ready and prepared for next year.”
Here are the drivers who made the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs:
1st: No. 24 William Byron
2nd: No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
3rd: No. 11 Denny Hamlin
4th: No. 17 Chris Buescher
5th: No. 8 Kyle Busch
6th: No. 5 Kyle Larson
7th: No. 20 Christopher Bell
8th: No. 1 Ross Chastain
9th: No. 6 Brad Keselowski
10th: No. 45 Tyler Reddick
11th: No. 22 Joey Logano
12th: No. 12 Ryan Blaney
13th: No. 34 Michael McDowell
14th: No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
15th: No. 4 Kevin Harvick
16th: No. 23 Bubba Wallace
Here are the drivers who had a shot to either point their way in the playoffs or could have stole a win away:
17th: No. 99 Daniel Suarez
18th: No. 54 Ty Gibbs
19th: No. 48 Alex Bowman
20th: No. 9 Chase Elliott
21th: No. 16 AJ Allmendinger
22nd: No. 2 Austin Cindric
23rd: No. 10 Aric Almirola
24th: No. 31 Justin Haley
25th: No. 7 Corey LaJoie
26th: No. 41 Ryan Preece
27th: No. 38 Todd Gilliland
28th: No. 43 Erik Jones
29th: No. 3 Austin Dillon
30th: No. 21 Harrison Burton
Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series will kick off its Playoffs at Darlington Raceway for the 74th annual CookOut Southern 500. That race will start at 6 p.m. Eastern and will air on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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