Shane van Gisbergen’s second Chicago Street Race victory in three seasons has added pressure to the playoff bubble. With only a handful of races remaining, just one more new winner outside the current playoff cut could completely upend the standings especially with Sonoma Raceway up next.
Playoff Basics:
For full-time drivers, a win virtually guarantees a playoff berth in each of NASCAR’s top three series: 16 spots in the Cup Series, 12 in Xfinity, and 10 in the Truck Series. Beyond race winners, playoff positions are filled based on points earned throughout the regular season.
NASCAR Cup Series
Shane van Gisbergen’s second win of the season boosted him five spots in the standings, putting him fifth overall trailing only Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell (each with three wins), and points leader William Byron.
Rank Driver Cutoff
1 Kyle Larson 3 WINS
2 Denny Hamlin 3 WINS
3 Christopher Bell 3 WINS
4 William Byron WIN
5 Shane van Gisbergen 2 WINS
5 Ryan Blaney WIN
6 Austin Cindric WIN
7 Joey Logano WIN
8 Chase Briscoe WIN
9 Josh Berry WIN
11 Chase Elliott WIN
12 Ross Chastain WIN
13 Tyler Reddick +143
14 Alex Bowman +39
15 Chris Buescher +35
16 Bubba Wallace +2
ELIMINATION LINE
17 Ryan Preece -2
18 AJ Allmendinger -43
19 Kyle Busch -46
20 Erik Jones -50
21 Ty Gibbs -66
22 John Hunter Nemechek -68
23 Carson Hocevar -75
24 Michael McDowell -77
25 Zane Smith -80
26 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -82
27 Austin Dillon -128
28 Brad Keselowski -136
29 Daniel Suárez -136
30 Todd Gilliland -137
31 Justin Haley -149
32 Ty Dillon -152
33 Noah Gragson -178
34 Cole Custer -202
35 Riley Herbst -217
36 Cody Ware -299
Currently in the playoffs via win (12 drivers):
Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell (3 wins each), William Byron (1), Shane van Gisbergen (2), Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain.
Top winless driver above cutoff:
Tyler Reddick (+143 points above elimination line)
Notable shifts:
Up: Kyle Busch moved up after a fifth-place finish in Chicago, gaining 26 points. He’s now 46 points below the cut.
Down: Bubba Wallace dropped 21 points after finishing 28th and is now just two points ahead of Ryan Preece for the final playoff spot.
Remaining regular-season races: 7
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Van Gisbergen’s Chicago win had no impact on the Xfinity playoff chase, as he isn’t collecting points in this series.
Rank Driver Cutoff
1 Justin Allgaier 3 WINS
2 Austin Hill 3 WINS
3 Connor Zilisch 2 WINS
4 Brandon Jones WIN
5 Sammy Smith WIN
6 Jesse Love WIN
7 Nick Sanchez WIN
8 Sam Mayer +149
9 Carson Kvapil +63
10 Sheldon Creed +30
11 Jeb Burton +12
12 Taylor Gray +8
ELIMINATION LINE
13 Harrison Burton -8
14 Ryan Sieg -30
15 Christian Eckes -60
16 Dean Thompson -61
17 Daniel Dye -65
18 Brennan Poole -103
19 Josh Williams -127
20 Jeremy Clements -130
21 Anthony Alfredo -174
22 Matt DiBenedetto -179
23 Kyle Sieg -206
24 William Sawalich -207
25 Parker Retzlaff -213
26 Blaine Perkins -214
27 Ryan Ellis -225
28 Kris Wright -287
Playoff-qualified drivers via win (7):
Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill (3 wins each), Connor Zilisch (2), Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Jesse Love, and Nick Sanchez.
Top winless driver above cutoff:
Sam Mayer (+149 points)
Biggest mover:
Sheldon Creed jumped 30 points and climbed two spots to 10th overall after finishing third in Chicago.
Remaining regular-season races: 8
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
No changes this week with the Truck Series on a break until July 25 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Playoff-qualified drivers via win (7):
Corey Heim (5 wins), Chandler Smith (2), Layne Riggs, Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Hemric, Stewart Friesen, and Rajah Caruth.
Rank Driver Cutoff
1 Corey Heim 5 WINS
2 Chandler Smith 2 WINS
3 Layne Riggs WIN
4 Tyler Ankrum WIN
5 Daniel Hemric WIN
6 Stewart Friesen WIN
7 Rajah Caruth WIN
8 Kaden Honeycutt +67
9 Grant Enfinger +64
10 Ty Majeski +38
ELIMINATION LINE
11 Jake Garcia -38
12 Giovanni Ruggiero -65
13 Ben Rhodes -68
14 Tanner Gray -101
15 Connor Mosack -141
16 Matt Crafton -153
17 Andres Perez -165
18 Jack Wood -175
19 Matt Mills -189
20 Dawson Sutton -206
21 Spencer Boyd -248
22 Toni Breidinger -273
23 Frankie Muniz -280
Remaining regular-season races: 3
The next few weeks will be pivotal especially in the Cup Series as playoff spots hang in the balance and chaos looms if another new winner emerges.
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