Tag: NASCAR playoffs

NASCAR open to tweaking playoff format

NASCAR’s playoff system is not going anywhere, but the door is not closed on future tweaks to the format. “The format is one thing, but we’re not going to go away from the playoffs,” NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell said on Friday …

NASCAR’s playoff system is not going anywhere, but the door is not closed on future tweaks to the format.

“The format is one thing, but we’re not going to go away from the playoffs,” NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell said on Friday during his annual State of the Sport address. “We read fans (complaints) and everything. We will, as we always do … look at what form the playoffs take in the offseason. You always learn.

“But the playoffs in and of itself… you cannot argue with the quality of racing that the playoffs have delivered. You can talk about format; if we do some different things, but absolutely, we’re going to stick with it.”

NASCAR crowns its three national series champions this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The questions about whether the system is the best way to crown a champion centers around the fact that the four contenders in the Cup Series this year do not lead in any statistical category.

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Kyle Larson, who leads the series in wins (six), is not one of the Championship 4 drivers. Christopher Bell, who leads the series in the top-10 finishes (22) and top-five finishes (14), is also not among those four drivers.

But this is not a first-time occurrence. Martin Truex Jr. won the regular season championship last year but did not advance to Phoenix. Kevin Harvick won the regular season championship and nine races in 2020, but also did not make it to the championship race.

The criticism over which drivers deserve to be in the championship race has not gone unnoticed. NASCAR president Steve Phelps directly addressed those comments, without being asked, in his opening remarks. Phelps said the four drivers in each of the three national series know the format and earned their spots at Phoenix Raceway.

“The format is the format,” Phelps said. “We are always looking (and) if there are opportunities for us to tweak something, so be it. We’re not the only sport where the best statistical team does not get to the final four or the Super Bowl or the World Series. The format – there was a huge emphasis 10 years ago when the format was put into place about winning. Three of the four (drivers) on Sunday, they won to get through.

“I go back to (how) the format itself creates incredible racing. So if we are all going to be honest and say, ‘Hey, how’s the racing been during the playoffs and these nine weeks?’ I don’t think it’s ever been better, and I think part of that is due to the system itself. They race their guts out. They did.”

Phelps mentioned Tyler Reddick’s run at Homestead-Miami Speedway two weeks ago (main image). Reddick went from third to first on the final lap to clinch his first Championship 4 appearance. The 23XI Racing driver is also the regular season champion.

In the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway, Ryan Blaney won to earn his spot and will attempt to defend his championship on Sunday. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and others all led laps and ran at the front in the closing laps as they needed to win to advance.

“I think it provides great, great racing for our race fans,” Phelps said.

The elimination format was introduced in 2014. NASCAR introduced stage racing and playoff points to the format in 2017, which rewards a regular season champion and seeds drivers based on their performance in the first 26 races.

Byron rising to the occasion again

William Byron has been the best NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver in the last two races. Not only has he earned back-to-back top-five finishes, he’s also been the highest-finishing playoff driver. This has seen Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick …

William Byron has been the best NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver in the last two races.

Not only has he earned back-to-back top-five finishes, he’s also been the highest-finishing playoff driver. This has seen Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team already locked into the Round of 8 on points, and going into the elimination race at the Charlotte road course, they are the only ones guaranteed a spot in the next round.

Byron also leads the overall point standings, although in the postseason that hardly matters when it’s about getting to Phoenix Raceway and being the last man standing. You can ask him what it meant to lead the Cup Series in multiple statistics last year before the finale played out at Phoenix. Spoiler alert: It meant nothing. He didn’t win the championship. The 2017 Xfinity series title-winner finished third behind Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and his own teammate, Kyle Larson.

But being the only driver locked into the next round and heading the points table has to feel good for now. Actually, it probably feels really good for a driver who was given the chance to defend his race team over the weekend.

Byron was asked by RACER if he was bothered by the comments about his race team. The question stemmed from him telling NBC Sports after the Kansas Speedway race that his team has “gotten a lot of [crap] over the summer.” It was a reference to what’s become a common theme in recent seasons: the No. 24 team has a dip in results through the midseason.

“It doesn’t bother me that people say or notice, but it bothers me (because) we’re not that much different from any other team,” Byron said. “If you look statistically, we have 10 top fives and 16 top 10s, and that’s right in line with the other five or six guys that we’re racing. So, yes, we haven’t had a stellar season based on what we did last year, but we’re still plugging along and finishing races in the front … and we just need to continue that.”

From Daytona to doldrums — the Hendrick team can always turn it around when it counts. Gavin Baker/Motorsport Images

The statistics are spot on. Byron has the second most wins in the series – three – behind teammate Kyle Larson and second most top-10 finishes (16) behind Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell.

And to further prove Byron’s point, the top 10 drivers in the Cup Series standings indeed have similar numbers.

  • Byron: three wins, 10 top fives, 16 top 10s
  • Bell: three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s
  • Larson: five wins, 12 top fives, 15 top 10s
  • Denny Hamlin: three wins, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s
  • Alex Bowman: one win, seven top fives, 15 top 10s
  • Ryan Blaney: two wins, nine top fives, 14 top 10s
  • Tyler Reddick: two wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s
  • Chase Elliott: one win, eight top fives, 15 top 10s
  • Joey Logano: two wins, five top fives, nine top 10s
  • Daniel Suarez: one win, three fives, seven top 10s

“It bothers me that we get treated a little differently because everyone this year has been, for the most part, pretty inconsistent,” Byron continued. “But for us, we’re trying to continue to put weeks together and plug away and try to put back-to-back weeks together. It’s tough when you go from a mile-and-a-half to a speedway; you don’t really have control of that result. So, we’re trying to do more of that – more consistency.”

If the results were skewed during the summer, it was, Byron admitted, the product of fast cars with no payoff or slow cars that finished only where they were capable. Byron ended the regular season fifth in the championship standings and was reseeded fourth with 22 playoff points.

Proving the naysayers wrong once again. The No. 24 way. Rusty Jarrett/Motorsport Images

Although the comments rubbed him the wrong way, Byron didn’t take it as being written off as a contender for the championship. Nor should he be.

“I feel like there’s a certain narrative out there of, ‘Hey, they’re not good in the summertime,’ and I don’t know if that’s completely true,” Byron said. “I think we have certain races that are great in the summertime and I think we had certain weeks that we weren’t that great. But you can look across the whole garage and that’s pretty consistent.”

Which is why Byron still has as good a shot as anyone to win the Cup Series title. Over the last few weeks he’s been the one who has stood out from the field, and it must bring him added satisfaction that the team is showing its capabilities at the time it matters most.

 

Larson leads the way into Cup Series playoffs Round of 12

Kyle Larson capped off the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a dominating victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. Larson was the second playoff driver to win in the first round after Joey Logano did so at Atlanta. Instead, the theme of …

Kyle Larson capped off the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a dominating victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Larson was the second playoff driver to win in the first round after Joey Logano did so at Atlanta. Instead, the theme of the postseason thus far has been adversity for the championship contenders. The first round eliminated former champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. as well as Ty Gibbs, who was above the cutline going into the night.

Alex Bowman bested the playoff field in stage points earned in the first round (37). Christopher Bell, however, ended up as the overall point leader over Larson.

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Hendrick Motorsports has all four of its drivers still in the championship hunt while Joe Gibbs is down to two contenders. All three Team Penske drivers, including defending champion Ryan Blaney, also advanced, as did regular-season champion Tyler Reddick. And then there are the underdogs in Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe.

Here is how the Round of 12 will begin at Kansas Speedway (Sept. 29):

1. Kyle Larson: 39 points above the cutline (47 playoff points)

2. Christopher Bell: 24 points above the cutline (32 playoff points)

3. Tyler Reddick: 20 points above the cutline (28 playoff points)

4. William Byron: 14 points above the cutline (22 playoff points)

5. Ryan Blaney: 11 points above the cutline (19 playoff points)

6. Denny Hamlin: 7 points above the cutline (15 playoff points)

7. Chase Elliott: 6 points above the cutline (14 playoff points)

8. Joey Logano: 4 points above the cutline (12 playoff points)

9. Austin Cindric: 4 points below the cutline (8 playoff points)

10. Daniel Suarez: 6 points below the cutline (6 playoff points)

11. Alex Bowman: 7 points below the cutline (5 playoff points)

12. Chase Briscoe: 7 points below the cutline (5 playoff points)

Tyler Reddick is the defending winner at Kansas Speedway.

Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 6) and the Charlotte Roval (Oct. 13) will complete the Round of 12.

Chaotic trip to Watkins Glen shakes up Cup playoffs

It was a bad day to be a playoff driver at Watkins Glen International. On a day when 15 of the 16 title contenders were hoping to avoid trouble and secure their place in the Round of 12, most of the field was caught up in crashes and drama that left …

It was a bad day to be a playoff driver at Watkins Glen International.

On a day when 15 of the 16 title contenders were hoping to avoid trouble and secure their place in the Round of 12, most of the field was caught up in crashes and drama that left their playoff fates uncertain heading to the Round of 16 finale.

A classic battle for the win was settled by drivers outside of the playoff field. No playoff drivers finished in the top five and only two playoff drivers ended the day inside of the top 10. Chase Briscoe led all contenders with a sixth-place run, while Austin Cindric came home 10th.

Ryan Blaney was taken out in a lap 1 crash that also included Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell. Blaney was knocked out in 38th, but that was only the beginning of long days for the other three. Bell was later spun by Austin Dillon while trying to get to pit road.

Keselowski was hit with penalties for speeding and an uncontrolled tire that mired him in traffic and forced him into an alternate strategy. Hamlin had to rally from two laps down to salvage a point with a 10th-place finish in Stage 2.

The pair came together in Stage 3 when a three-wide battle with Kyle Larson went awry in the esses, sending Hamlin slamming into the wall a second time and causing further damage.

Hamlin wound up salvaging a 23rd-place finish from a brutal day that left him below the playoff cutline.

“It’s just a couple races where things out of your control didn’t go well,” Hamlin said of his Round of 16 run thus far. “(It started on) the first lap. I’ve got to take responsibility for what I did on Saturday, which is not qualify well. That’s on me. Certainly, that put us right in the middle of where wrecks usually happen and we got shoved into it.”

Keselowski soldiered on but was caught up in a third crash when Joey Logano lost control of his No. 22 Ford and turned him up into the wall in the esses again.

That last incident sent Keselowski into the path of William Byron, who climbed up the guardrail and put his right-front tire on top of Keselowski’s left-rear window. Thankfully neither driver was hurt, Byron didn’t get into the catch fence and they were each able to continue on after coming unlatched.

Keselowski’s Mustang had a lot of wear and tear. Motorsport Images

Keselowski limped home in 26th. Byron got the worst of the damage and finished two laps down in 34th.

“It’s really a shame,” Keselowski said of the final crash that ruined his comeback. “We had brand-new tires on. … I feel like we were going to salvage a really good day with everybody having old tires. Drive up to a top 10. Who knows? Maybe have a shot at a top five after everything we’ve been through. Didn’t make it through the first lap. Just a tough way to go.”

While those drivers got the worst of the damage, they were far from the only playoff drivers to endure difficult days. Larson, Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick were caught up in an accident that send Reddick spinning. Suarez later spun by himself and got trapped in the gravel with two laps left in Stage 2, throwing off the planned strategy for leading Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain and future teammate Shane van Gisbergen.

Larson and Suarez emerged relatively unscathed from the mayhem, coming home 12th and 13th at race’s end. Bell and Logano followed in 14th and 15th.

Reddick was less fortunate. Todd Gilliland was forced to lift after contact with Larson heading into the esses on a late restart and the field stacked up behind him. Two pairs of drivers made contact and washed up into the wall, including playoff contenders Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. Reddick was behind them and spun off the nose of Kyle Busch.

The accidents significantly hampered the runs of all three drivers. Elliott and Truex had to settle for 19th and 20th. Reddick faded to 27th.

None of the other playoff contenders fared much better. Harrison Burton avoided crashes, but blew a tire with 11th to go and came home 24th. Alex Bowman ended up 18th, with Ty Gibbs four spots back in 22nd.

Sunday’s chaos sets up a dramatic ending to the Round of 16 at Bristol, with many expected title contenders at risk of elimination.

Logano is locked into the Round of 12 with a win. Bell is in the best position of all other drivers, up 46 points on the cutline. Cindric (+43), Bowman (+41) and Suarez (+36) are also in good position to advance heading to the “Last Great Coliseum.”

Just behind them are many of the championship favorites. Reddick (+30), Elliott (+30), Blaney (+29), Larson (+26) and Byron (+25) can advance without any further issues, but run the risk of a shocking elimination with any issues.

Briscoe’s solid day turned his playoff hopes around, lifting him from last among contenders to six points above the cutline. Gibbs is tied with Briscoe in the final provisional Round of 12 spot.

The most shocking of the drivers below the cutline is Hamlin, who sits six points back heading to Bristol courtesy to his misfortune and lost playoff points from the penalties tied to his win at Bristol in the spring. The Virginian was a regular season title contender a month ago, but now sits at risk of an early postseason exit.

Despite the risk, Hamlin isn’t worried. “We’ll be fine,” he said. “I have no doubts that we’re going to be good, up front and control our own destiny.”

Keselowski sits 12 points out after his crash-filled day in New York. The retiring Truex (-14) will need a strong Bristol run to keep his final playoff run alive, while longshot Burton (-20) heads to Bristol in need of a win or some chaos to shock the field and advance to the Round of 12.

Multiple storylines in play as Cup Series contenders head to Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen hosts a NASCAR Cup Series playoff race for the first time this weekend, and there are a few different storylines to track going into Sunday afternoon. The racetrack itself is the first one. NASCAR has eliminated the elevated curbing …

Watkins Glen hosts a NASCAR Cup Series playoff race for the first time this weekend, and there are a few different storylines to track going into Sunday afternoon.

The racetrack itself is the first one.

NASCAR has eliminated the elevated curbing going into the “Bus Stop” for smoother and shorter rumble strips. The change resulted from multiple drivers sharing mouthpiece data following the 2023 race that showed the G forces they were taking from going over the curbs with the Next Gen car.

But drivers aren’t sure if the changes will affect the racing. If anything, Ty Gibbs said this week that drivers might be more aggressive going into the Bus Stop and have more speed.

“I got to run it into the sim … I didn’t feel like it was too different,” Gibbs said. “It was a little faster, honestly.”

But once he gets on track for practice, Gibbs admitted he would have a better answer. Saturday’s practice session will also be highly intriguing to Austin Cindric, who also believes that is where drivers will quickly learn what they can and cannot do — or how much the changes will come into play, if at all.

“I feel like there are a couple of tenths of a second into each corner that you can gain by using a lot of the runoff,” Cindric said. “But, otherwise, I really think it will all look really similar.”

Another track change is off Turn 1 — rumble strips were added where drivers go wide off the corner.

“You don’t really know how much it’s going to limit the cars,” Cindric said. “Is it just going to chew up tires? Is it not going to change anything at all? I think that’s up until practice — we’ll have a pretty good read at that, but otherwise, it’s going to change the racing line a little bit. The intent is to not use as much of the runoff as we have in the Next Gen car at the exit of Turn 1. Don’t ask me why that is, it’s just kind of where it’s gone with it, whether it’s because it’s more of a momentum car or what.”

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Cup Series teams will have an extended practice session Saturday. This is because of the track changes and the third main storyline: Goodyear is bringing a new tire compound.

The new tire is expected to produce some fall-off, but how much is yet to be seen. During initial testing, Goodyear saw as much as four seconds of fall-off. But during a wheel force test that fall was suddenly less.

The variable will likely dictate a team’s strategy. Watkins Glen is a race where teams flip the stages and choose either track position or points.

“In our ongoing efforts to introduce more fall-off, we tested at Watkins Glen in June and came out with a new tire that will accomplish that goal,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Based on our test and a subsequent (wheel force) test with the manufacturers, we should see around three seconds of fall-off per lap over a run. That, of course, can mean more passing throughout the race.

“It’s always tricky on road courses as drivers take advantage of a limited number of ‘passing zones,’ so the increased fall-off should lead to more comers and goers as some drivers manage their tires and gain on the field as the runs go on.”

The second race in the postseason, Watkins Glen will continue to separate the drivers who will advance from those who will go into the elimination race with their backs against the wall. William Byron is the defending race winner, sitting 33 points above the cutline.

Austin Cindric helped his cause with a strong points day at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which put him 27 points above the cutline. Cindric knows that Watkins Glen is another opportunity race for his team.

Cindric, Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez all sit over 20 points above the cutline. Those three might not have been favorites coming into the postseason, but a strong start puts them in a good position to survive and advance.

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin need rebound days at Watkins Glen. Martin Truex Jr. is already in a hole after an incident in the playoff opener. All three are former winners at Watkins Glen.

Some additional miscellaneous notes for this weekend:

• Christopher Bell has the best average finish of active drivers in the Cup Series at Watkins Glen: 6.0.

• Hendrick Motorsports has won the last five Cup Series races at Watkins Glen with William Byron (2023), Kyle Larson (2022, 2021) and Chase Elliott (2019, 2018).

• Austin Dillon makes his 400th start this weekend.

• Juan Pablo Montoya makes his return to NASCAR this weekend with 23XI Racing. It will be Montoya’s first Cup Series start since 2014.

• Shane van Gisbergen is in the field for Kaulig Racing in the No. 16 Chevrolet.

• AJ Allmendinger is also in the field for Kaulig Racing in the No. 13 Chevrolet, which gives the organization three entries at Watkins Glen.

Cup champ Blaney happy playing defense: ‘I think that’s motivated us a lot’

Ryan Blaney has been the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion since February, but beginning Sunday afternoon, he’s now on championship defense. But the Team Penske driver doesn’t feel that makes him a target. “I’ve gotten wrecked a lot this year, …

Ryan Blaney has been the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion since February, but beginning Sunday afternoon, he’s now on championship defense.

But the Team Penske driver doesn’t feel that makes him a target.

“I’ve gotten wrecked a lot this year, more than other years, so I don’t know if that means I have a bullseye on my back,” Blaney said with a laugh earlier this week. “I don’t think it’s intentional; it just seems that way. But no (target on us). I feel like we’ve kind of taken it as we have to defend our championship.

“We’re still in title defense — until the year is over and you don’t win it, you’re still in title defense. So, I think that’s motivated us a lot — everyone is kind of gunning for you. … Everybody is envious of where you’re at, and everyone wants to take it away from you, and they want the outside to stop talking about you being the champ. They want to be that. I was the same way before we won the championship.”

Rusty Jarrett/Motorsport Images

Blaney won the championship in his first Championship 4 appearance. It happened in his eighth full Cup Series season and he became the lowest-seeded driver, from the No. 12 position, to win the championship in the elimination era.

The No. 12 team finds it motivating to be the ones chased or the ones with all the eyes on what they’re doing. Blaney wants it known how good his group is, and he also wants to make sure they remember themselves by delivering that message before another postseason begins.

“I want to scare every other team,” Blaney said. “I want you guys to be so good that everyone is nervous about us when we unload, and that’s kind of the mindset we’ve tried to have because I think that’s a great mindset for everyone on the team. You want everyone worrying about you because you can be that dangerous, and I think we definitely are. Hopefully that carries over.”

It was hard to argue that Blaney and his team weren’t peaking at the right time when the regular season ended. Blaney won two of the final 10 races and had five top-10 finishes. He also led 286 laps in that stretch.

Blaney was sixth in the championship standings after Darlington Raceway. He was reseeded fifth with 18 playoff points.

There is no denying that Blaney and the team are much better prepared for a playoff run this year than in 2023.

“I said it a couple of months ago, I thought our group was in a great spot,” he said. “Mentally, performance-wise, whether that’s on pit road (or) that’s on the racetrack, I feel like we’re really good. I thought this time last year we were kind of scrounging to figure out how are we going to perform how we need to because we were off a little bit and this year, I think we’re in a much better spot. So, hopefully, we can continue to bring that same pace and continue to learn at the pace that we’ve been bringing the last few months.

“But yeah, this group is in a way better spot. I think we as a whole, too, as a Team Penske, are in a much better spot as well. Hopefully that means a lot for all three of our cars and (Harrison Burton) to make a good run at it.”

Playoff points little comfort for Bell in ‘unsafe’ schedule

Christopher Bell begins his quest for a NASCAR Cup Series championship from the best position he’s ever been, but he’s wary nonetheless. Bell is not only the No. 2 seed but has 32 playoff points in his pocket. Those insurance points are more than …

Christopher Bell begins his quest for a NASCAR Cup Series championship from the best position he’s ever been, but he’s wary nonetheless.

Bell is not only the No. 2 seed but has 32 playoff points in his pocket. Those insurance points are more than double what Bell has brought into the postseason in any of his three previous appearances.

“I feel a little safer in that aspect, but I do feel very unsafe, I guess, about the schedule,” Bell said ahead of Sunday night’s opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “If we knew Bristol was going to rubber up and we were going to have a normal race, then I would feel really confident about the round of 16. If I knew that Watkins Glen was going to race the same (type of race).

“But we know Watkins Glen is going to have a tire change. Bristol is likely to be how it was in the spring with tire management — just completely changed the driving style of that racetrack and the strategy of calling the race. So, the round of 16 is going to be wild this year and nobody, I think, knows how it’s going to play out.”

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For the first time since NASCAR implemented a playoff system in 2004, it opens with a superspeedway race at Atlanta. Watkins Glen is in the postseason for the first time, which puts two road courses in the final 10 races. The new tire compound is expected to produce upward of four seconds of fall-off, which could change how crew chiefs approach flipping the stages for points versus track position.

And Bristol, a short track, will have the same tire compound that produced excessive tire wear in the spring. It is unknown if the tire will react the same way during the September night race, when weather conditions will differ. It’s also unknown how NASCAR will prep the track for adding resin.

Tracks like Bristol might be familiar, but the way they will race remains an unknown for Bell and company. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

Bell knows things won’t get easier in the second round. A traditional mile-and-a-half, Kansas Speedway, gives way to Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte road course. The latter has repeatedly produced an entertaining and somewhat dramatic elimination race to the round.

Of the first six races in the postseason, Bell has a win at the Charlotte road course. He did not finish the Atlanta event in the spring and was 10th at Bristol.

“Absolutely,” said Bell of having the position he wants only for it to potentially not matter with two tough rounds ahead. “And the round of 12 has always been the crazy one or the one that is scary, and now we’ve got two of those. So, whoever makes it to the round of 8 is going to be like, ‘All right. Now, we can race for it. We’ve got three amazing racetracks ahead of us.’

“But there’s just a lot of calamity mixed into the first two rounds.”

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is one of the favorites for the championship. Bell and Kyle Larson led the series with 10 stage wins and had one fewer race win — three — than the series-leading four Larson had. At the end of the regular season, Bell was fourth in the championship standings after sitting as low as 15th after the spring Darlington race.

Bell must make a third consecutive run to the Phoenix finale to compete for the championship. Bell said his team needs to keep doing what they’re doing to get there.

“This year, we’ve had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” he said, “and if we just bring those lows up a little bit more, we’re going to be right where we need to be.”

Reddick not feeling title pressure despite regular season championship win

Tyler Reddick feels no additional pressure to cap off the season as the NASCAR Cup Series champion after winning the regular season title. But the 23XI Racing driver knows that pressure will build naturally if he makes a deep run in the postseason. …

Tyler Reddick feels no additional pressure to cap off the season as the NASCAR Cup Series champion after winning the regular season title. But the 23XI Racing driver knows that pressure will build naturally if he makes a deep run in the postseason.

“You have to understand the moment, and you have to step up and perform and execute each weekend,” Reddick said. “This first round, obviously, presents its challenges, but there are 16 of us all in this together. If one of us has a bad day, there will probably be three or four of us that will, too. Hopefully, we can weather the bad days and just not have them.

“That’s has been our strong suit – when things happen, it seems to happen around us and we miss it. But we’ll just see how it goes.”

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Reddick claimed the regular season championship but begins as the number three seed with 28 playoff points. Number one playoff seed Kyle Larson, whom Reddick beat by one point for the honor, still wound up with 40 playoff points through his 10 stage wins, four race wins, and 10 additional playoff points for being second in the regular season standings.

The regular season championship came with 15 playoff points for Reddick, which were arguably far more valuable to him and the No. 45 team given how much they helped with his seeding. Before the reseed and the additional playoff points were awarded, Reddick only had 13 playoff points.

“I guess I didn’t really think about where I would have been if I had run second or third in the regular season, but it is good to see where we’re at,” Reddick said. “I know we gave away at least 12 playoff points at some point during the year, but I think everybody else who is a part of that conversation with me – Christopher [Bell] and Kyle [Larson] could all say the same. I think we are in a good spot.”

Reddick, Larson, and Bell were among the best of the Cup Series in the regular season. Larson led in race wins (four), while Bell (3) and Reddick (2) were close behind. Larson topped the series in laps led (1,088), while Bell was third-best in the category (721), and Reddick was fifth-best (473).

“I learned pretty quickly a month or so ago when we were trying to close in on Chase Elliott, Larson, and Denny Hamlin that when you all are running around the same spot, it’s hard to gain four, five, six points in a weekend,” Reddick said. “So, it’s good to have these extra playoff points.”

DraftKings, an official partner of NASCAR, lists Reddick as the fourth odds-on favorite to win the championship behind Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

“Maybe the numbers show that, but I don’t think we are carrying ourselves around like we are the baddest group around,” Reddick said. “I think we just do a good job, each individual on the team, of doing their part throughout the week, and we just show up to the racetrack, and we have a good amount of focus, and we do a really good job of getting the results that we need.

“Even on the days that we have issues that has been a nice thing about this year is a number of times, countless times, it feels like, we’ve had some things not go our way, and we’ve been able to fight through it and still get the results.”

Reddick has never made the Championship 4 in his Cup Series career. He finished a career-best sixth in the championship standings last year.

Denny Hamlin had the perfect self-deprecating joke about it being ‘his year’ to win a NASCAR championship

Denny Hamlin’s got jokes.

Is this the year Denny Hamlin finally breaks through and wins his first NASCAR Cup Series champion? Probably best not to ask him that because he’s definitely tired of hearing it.

In fact, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver even made a joke about it at NASCAR playoffs media day Wednesday.

Hamlin has been racing full-time at NASCAR’s highest level for 19 seasons and has an impressive three Daytona 500 checkered flags on his resume. His 54 career wins have him in a two-way tie for 12th-most in NASCAR history, and he has three wins so far this season at Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Dover Motor Speedway.

He’s one of the best, most versatile and decorated NASCAR drivers of all time, but he’s never been a Cup Series champion. He’s also well aware of that, and in case he forgets, NASCAR reporters often like to ask if this is his year ahead of the playoffs.

In 2019, For The Win even wrote an in-depth feature about Hamlin’s standout season, headlined: “Denny Hamlin is the best active NASCAR driver without a title. Is this his year?” (It was not.)

Mocking himself and everyone else, Hamlin had the perfect joke about 2024 being his year. He had a sign taped to his back at playoff media day with a simple message:

“Please don’t ask him if it’s his year.

It’s always ‘his year’

Maybe this is finally the year for Hamlin. Maybe he still has to wait and keep racing to be a NASCAR champion. Maybe he ultimately ends his illustrious career as the most decorated driver to never win a title. Maybe he’s at peace with it all regardless.

But at least he’s making very good jokes about it.

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Quaker State 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network). Hamlin enters ranked sixth in the standings and 10 points ahead of the cutoff when four of the 16 drivers will be eliminated after the first three playoff races.

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Darlington breakthrough has Briscoe, Stewart-Haas asking ‘why not us’ in playoffs

Chase Briscoe might have been an unexpected last-minute addition to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff field, but now that he’s here, the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing driver and his team have adopted a “why not us” attitude. The group has the perfect …

Chase Briscoe might have been an unexpected last-minute addition to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff field, but now that he’s here, the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing driver and his team have adopted a “why not us” attitude.

The group has the perfect example to aim for — one Briscoe has mentioned multiple times since Sunday night’s Southern 500. In 2011, Briscoe’s hero and team co-owner, Tony Stewart, went winless in the regular season and then won half of the races in the postseason en route to claiming the championship. The same belief of being capable of coming from behind to win a championship is once again floating around the team.

“When you look at the makeup of Stewart-Haas Racing, a lot of it all stems from Tony and the mental toughness and things that Tony’s been able to do,” Briscoe said. “Momentum is a crazy thing in sports. I related it to N.C. State in the NCAA basketball tournament. They go from not even having a prayer to make the NCAA tournament to winning the ACC tournament and going all the way to the Final Four, and I feel like we certainly can relate to that where when you have momentum and confidence, it goes such a long way.

“I don’t see what team right now would have more momentum and confidence than we do. It’s just a different feel for the playoffs than I’ve ever had.”

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Briscoe qualified for the postseason in 2022 after winning the spring race at Phoenix Raceway. It left his team thinking about the postseason for 23 weeks, whereas now the scenario is different, considering how Briscoe made the field.

“I’m excited and really feel like if we can get to Phoenix, we can get it done there,” Briscoe said. “We’ve already proven it once.”

Stewart-Haas Racing does not have any other driver championship eligible aside from Briscoe. While the organization certainly wanted more, it goes in Briscoe’s favor that all attention be paid to helping his efforts for the rest of the season.

There also hasn’t been any turnover on Briscoe’s road crew or pit crew since the announcement was made that the organization is shutting down. Some who worked in the race shop have left, but Briscoe will go to battle with his core group of guys.

“The day we found out,” said Briscoe, “all of the [No.] 14 guys, at least road crew guys, went over and met up at the setup plate, and all literally looked at each other in the eye and went one by one in a circle and said, ‘I’m in, I’m in, I’m in,’ until the end of the year. Even if we ran 35th, we were sticking it out until the end, so no worries on [our] side.

“The other teams have had a couple of people leave. But I think it’s going to be way harder for guys to leave now, knowing that there’s a chance we win a championship.”

And that’s the type of change in dynamic that’s occurred at Stewart-Haas Racing since Briscoe triumphed at Darlington Raceway.

“If a Stewart-Haas car didn’t win Sunday night, Tuesday morning when everyone came in after Labor Day would have probably been the gloomiest, darkest shop in the entire industry,” he said. “And now we’re probably the most electric, fired-up shop. Or at least the most fired-up I’ve ever seen Stewart-Haas. Everybody has a pep in their step. Everybody is excited and if Stewart-Haas car didn’t win Sunday night, then it would have been hard, realistically, to get cars to the racetrack these final 10 weeks, and things would probably have been getting shut off and things like that. So, for us to be able to win that race is pretty dang cool from the standpoint of what it means for Stewart-Haas Racing.

“So, I’m definitely excited. I feel like it’s one of those things that we all internally feel like we can honestly go win the championship, and that’s crazy probably coming from a guy that wasn’t even in the playoffs until (a few) days ago. But I think internally, everyone believes it. We saw Tony do it in 2011 and we’re kind of going with that same mindset of if we can win the Southern 500, why can’t we win more?”