NASCAR Cup Playoff Preview: Meet the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Drivers
After 26 races of fighting for their Playoff lives, and where they would be seeded heading into the Round of 16, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field is set heading into this weekend's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Included in the mix of 16 drivers and teams are some of the biggest juggernauts in the NASCAR Cup Series garage as well as some of the biggest surprises to make the Playoffs in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs' win-and-you're-in format. From regular season champion Tyler Reddick, to series wins leader Kyle Larson, to Harrison Burton, who ranked 34th in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship standings, here is a full refresher course on all 16 drivers who will makeup the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contenders as the series heads into its final 10 races.
1. Kyle Larson (+35 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Age: 32
Hometown: Elk Grove, CA
Career Achievements: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, 27-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner
It's been another solid season for Kyle Larson, who has emerged as the best overall driver in the NASCAR Cup Series since landing at Hendrick Motorsports as the driver of the team's No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro heading into the 2021 season, a year where he won 10 races and took home his first NASCAR Cup Series title.
Heading into the 2024 Playoffs, Larson has a series-high four wins on the season, and he narrowly missed the regular season championship to Tyler Reddick by just one point, despite not even running the Coca-Cola 600 due to running the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his career. Larson enters the Playoffs with more Playoff Points than anyone. In order to have a long, sustained Playoff run, he'll just have to mitigate potential flare ups of disaster along the way.
2. Christopher Bell (+27 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE
Age: 29
Hometown: Norman, OK
Career Achievements: Nine-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, Two-time NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 competitor (2023, 2024), 2017 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion
Christopher Bell comes into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs looking to secure his third-consecutive Championship 4 appearance, and while he's had a wildly inconsistent season evidenced by his 15.0 average finish, it's not due to a lack of speed, it's been more attributed to a lack of luck in the regular season.
Bell is tied for the second-highest win total in the series this season with three wins, and had it not been for six DNFs due to crashes, he likely would have been mixing it up for the regular season championship. Even with the bad luck, Bell is just one top-five away from matching his total of top-five finishes in 2023, and he still has 10 races left. If Bell can avoid DNFs in the Playoffs, he's a solid bet to return to the Championship 4.
3. Tyler Reddick (+23 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE
Age: 28
Hometown: Corning, CA
Career Achievements: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion (2018, 2019)
Tyler Reddick flashed a never-say-quit attitude in the regular season-finale race at Darlington Raceway to secure the regular season championship. Despite suffering from a stomach ailment, Reddick remained in the game, and collected exactly as many points as he needed to take the 15 bonus Playoff Points for winning the regular season title (by one point) over Kyle Larson.
Now, Reddick will look to do even more damage driving the No. 45 entry for 23XI Racing, a team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan. While he has just two wins this season, no driver has been more consistent in 2024 than Reddick, who has amassed 11 top-five finishes, and 18 top-10s. Reddick comes into the Playoffs particularly on a tear as he has piled up 11 top-10 finishes over his last 13 starts. If he can keep the momentum rolling, a first career Championship 4 appearance could be in the cards for Reddick and 23XI Racing.
4. William Byron (+17 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Age: 26
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Career Achievements: 13-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, One Championship 4 appearance (2023), 2024 Daytona 500 winner, 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion
Through the opening quarter of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, you would have been hard-pressed to find a driver that looked more ready to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship than William Byron. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro piled up three wins through the opening eight races of the season.
However, Byron hasn't found victory lane since, and after a 30th-place finish following a crash late in Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, Byron heads into the Playoffs with a total lack of momentum. The driver has three DNFs over his last five starts, and aside from a runner-up finish at Michigan International Speedway, Byron has no top-10 finishes during that stretch. Perhaps the Playoff reset is just what Byron needed to reset his championship aspirations.
5. Ryan Blaney (+13 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Age: 30
Hometown: Hartford Township, OH
Career Achievements: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, 12-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner
It took the Ford teams a bit to get the ball rolling in 2024 with the debut of the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse bodies, but once teams like Team Penske wrapped their heads around the new car, the results have begun to come together. Blaney picked up his first win of the season in race 17, which was the first-ever NASCAR Cup race at Iowa Speedway, and he followed that up with an additional win at Pocono Raceway four races later.
Blaney and Team Penske always bring their a-game in the Playoffs, as evidenced by their back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships with Joey Logano in 2022 and Blaney last season, so they should come to life even more than we've already seen to this point in the season. The only knock on Blaney heading into the Playoffs is the lack of luck he's had on track this season, which carried into the last two races at Daytona and Darlington, where he was swept up in crashes not of his doing.
6. Denny Hamlin (+10 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE
Age: 43
Hometown: Chesterfield, VA
Career Achievements: 54-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, three-time Daytona 500 winner, four-time Championship 4 competitor
Denny Hamlin's NASCAR Cup Series championship quest is eerily similar to Dale Earnhardt's quest for his first Daytona 500 win. While Earnhardt was the man to beat nearly every year for the Daytona 500, the legendary seven-time champion found every way imaginable to lose that race, until he finally broke through in 1998. Hamlin has had similar luck in the race for the championship. Whether it be a roof hatch popping open, a comically large sized piece of tape overheating his car, missing out on the Championship 4 due to Ross Chastain's 'Hail Melon", or spinning out on his own while carrying a point lead prior to the Playoff format, Hamlin had seen just about every scenario play out prior to 2024.
Until he found a new potential reason for missing out on a title this year. After scoring a win in the Food City 500 at Bristol in March, Hamlin lost 10 Playoff Points last month after Toyota Racing Development accidentally violated the sealed engine rules by opening up the Bristol motor before allowing NASCAR to inspect it. As a result, Hamlin's comfortable padding of Playoff points dwindled, and now he will have to be on pins and needles throughout the Playoffs. While Hamlin seems cursed, he still has a chance to make it to the Championship 4 this season and finally break through. It took Earnhardt 20 years to win the Daytona 500, Hamlin is hoping year 19 is the lucky charm for his first NASCAR Cup Series title.
7. Chase Elliott (+9 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Age: 28
Hometown: Dawsonville, GA
Career Achievements: 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, 19-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff format has been cruel to the sport's most popular driver, Chase Elliott. Despite finishing third in the regular season championship standings, Elliott will chase his second NASCAR Cup Series title as the 7th seed in the Round of 16.
While Elliott has limited on-track miscues throughout the 2024 season (he has just one DNF and only two finishes outside of the top-20), he hasn't had many overwhelming highlights through the opening 26 races of the season. Elliott's seventh-place ranking is indicative of only scoring one race win and one Stage Win heading into the Playoffs. While Elliott showed a penchant for making the Championship 4 in three-consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2022, he'll likely need to dial up the speed to get there this time around.
8. Brad Keselowski (+3 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Age: 40
Hometown: Rochester Hills, MI
Career Achievements: 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion, 36-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion
Life as an owner/driver is treating Brad Keselowski well. After a rough opening season with RFK Racing in 2022, Keselowski has reached the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in back-to-back seasons, and 2024 saw Keselowski snag his first NASCAR Cup Series race win since a triumph at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021.
While there has been plenty of good to write home about for Keselowski and the RFK Racing team this season, they undoubtedly are stinging from Chris Buescher narrowly missing out on making the Playoffs in the team's No. 17 entry. Keselowski will look to carry the banner for the race team. If Keselowski, who has been a fixture in the top-10 this season, can elevate himself into a top-five contender and potentially a winner, a time or two more this year, you never know what the cagey veteran can achieve in the Playoffs.
9. Joey Logano (+2 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Age: 34
Hometown: Middletown, CT
Career Achievements: Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, 33-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, five-time Championship 4 competitor
You should never count Joey Logano out, no matter how out of it he and his team seem to be. For Logano, he's struggled through an uncharacteristically sluggish couple of seasons but has found himself in the Playoffs, where he's been every season since 2018. However, had it not been for his lone win, which came in an ultra-crazy quintuple overtime finish at Nashville Superspeedway, Logano, by way of points, would have been on the outside looking in of the Playoffs.
Now, with the standings reset, Logano has a chance to emerge as a contender over the final 10 races, but it all starts with the Round of 16, where he was eliminated from championship contention a season ago. The Ford camp, which had a rough start to the year, has come on strong in recent months as the blue ovals have won seven of the last 14 NASCAR Cup Series races after starting the season 0-for-12. If Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe can find some of that Penske Playoff magic, Logano could be a surprise driver in the mix in the later rounds of the Playoffs.
10. Austin Cindric (+2 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Age: 26
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Career Achievements: Two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, 2022 Daytona 500 winner, 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion
Austin Cindric is possibly one of the most interesting names in the Playoff field this season. When you look at his stat sheet, it doesn't scream championship contender, but the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford has had flashes of speed at tracks, where it takes more than a lucky push or draft to be good, throughout the campaign.
While he lucked out when his teammate Ryan Blaney ran out of fuel on the final lap at Gateway to gift him his only win this year, Cindric was in the mix all race long that day as he led 53 laps and was sitting P2 when Blaney found trouble. Cindric also had speed at Indianapolis, where he finished seventh in the Brickyard 400, and was 13th this past weekend at Darlington. While it looks like Cindric, on surface, will be a first round exit from the Playoffs, he very well could surprise if he can string together a couple of good races early.
11. Daniel Suárez (+1 point to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Age: 32
Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico
Career Achievements: Two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion
Coming into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season with seemingly all of the pressure in the world on his shoulders, as Trackhouse Racing had a packed list of talented drivers waiting in the wings via its driver development program, Suárez ended the speculation on if he would return to the No. 99 team in 2025 by taking his second career win in a three-wide photo finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the second race of the season.
While Suárez and his No. 99 team, led by crew chief Matt Swiderski, haven't had incredible consistency, they have started to find their stride heading into the Playoffs. Suárez finished eighth in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, then won a Stage and led 93 laps by perfectly utilizing the multiple tire compounds at Richmond as he finished 10th, and then came home eighth a week later at Michigan. Had it not been for an insane fire that broke out on his No. 99 car on pit road at Daytona, Suárez and his team could be heading into the Playoffs red-hot. But with Ross Chastain missing the Playoffs, Trackhouse Racing's primary focus will be on making the most of Suárez's opportunity.
12. Alex Bowman (+0 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Age: 31
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
Career Achievements: Eight-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, five-time NASCAR Cup Series Playoff competitor
Coming off of a literal back-breaking season in 2023, which saw Alex Bowman not make the Playoffs after being sidelined for three races due to an injury sustained in a dirt track racing event, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet secured his fifth career NASCAR Cup Series Playoff appearance with a win in the Chicago Street Race, the eighth win of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
While Bowman doesn't come into the Playoffs riding a wave of momentum (he's finished outside the top-15 in five consecutive races), he and crew chief Blake Harris have shown that when they're in the zone, they're among the best driver/crew chief combos in the sport. In a 10-race stretch earlier this season, Bowman reeled off eight top-10 finishes. And prior to his injury last season, Bowman briefly held the point lead for three races, and was the series-leader in top-10 finishes. If Bowman and Harris can find their footing in the Playoffs, they could make a sustained Playoff run. If not, it could be an early exit.
13. Chase Briscoe (-0 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Age: 29
Hometown: Mitchell, IN
Career Achievements: Two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, two-time NASCAR Cup Series Playoff competitor
With his back against the wall, Chase Briscoe, the chosen successor to the retiring Martin Truex Jr., got up on the wheel and snatched a victory in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, which was the regular season finale. That dramatic win will allow the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to compete for a championship in the final year of existence for the Stewart-Haas Racing team.
While Briscoe figures to be a longshot, as SHR will likely begin laying off employees as the races wind down in 2024, Briscoe made a long sustained Playoff run in his only other appearance in 2022. The driver made it to the Round of 8, and was led 25 laps near the end of the final race of the round at Martinsville Speedway. However, Briscoe couldn't hold off Christopher Bell, who got by for the lead, with five laps remaining, and went on to win the race. Briscoe says he thrives in high-pressure situations. Maybe last Sunday's game-7 moment was a preview of things to come for Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team?
14. Harrison Burton (-0 points to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Age: 23
Hometown: Huntersville, NC
Career Achievements: One NASCAR Cup Series race win, first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff appearance
Not many had Harrison Burton on their prospective Playoff Grid predictions heading into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and even less had the driver penciled in after he was essentially fired while collecting the least points of any full-time driver this season. However, the Wood Brothers Racing driver found himself with a shot at the win in an Overtime finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
All he needed to do to bring it home? Oh, just pass a very hungry Kyle Busch. Burton did just that with a shove from Parker Retzlaff, and scored the 100th win for the Wood Brothers Racing team, which everyone had assumed if it was going to come was going to come with Josh Berry in 2024. Now, with his future on the line, Burton will have a chance to show more evidence that removing him as the driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang was a bad idea.
15. Martin Truex Jr. (-1 point to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE
Age: 44
Hometown: Mayetta, NJ
Career Achievements: 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, 34-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion (2004, 2005)
The curtain call for Martin Truex Jr., who will retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at season's end, nearly resulted in the driver missing the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. While Truex has had a very consistent season on track by all metrics, a poorly timed mistake on Lap 3 at Darlington Raceway put him out of the race and put his Playoff status in jeopardy.
Fortunately, Truex doesn't have to live with the regret of that Darlington mistake for the rest of his life, but now he must refocus on doing what he wasn't able to do in 26 regular season races -- win. Truex enters the Playoffs as the next-to-last driver on the Playoff grid, and there is no margin for error if the New Jersey native wants to drive off into the sunset as a Cup Series champion.
16. Ty Gibbs (-1 point to Playoff cutline)
Team: No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE
Age: 21
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Career Achievements: First NASCAR Cup Series Playoff appearance, 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion
Earlier this season, the question was when, not if, Ty Gibbs would capture his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. However, after a bunch of close calls early in the season, Gibbs has cooled off down the stretch, and he enters the Playoffs as a big question mark for those trying to predict the final points rankings for the 16 drivers in the field.
While he's led 352 laps, and has just two DNFs this season, you'd expect Gibbs to be in the mix to at least make it through the opening round. However, as the youngest driver in the Playoff field, there will be questions as to whether the moment is too big for Gibbs at this juncture in his career. Gibbs can silence those questions with a win early in the opening round of the Playoffs, and while he very well could make a long run through the Playoffs, Gibbs' performance heading into the Round of 16 (eight finishes outside of the top-15 in his last 11 starts) suggests he may be rooting on one of his JGR teammates to bring home the hardware. But you never know.
TOBY CHRISTIE