We now know which 16 drivers are locked into the postseason after a wild, rain-affected, wreck-marred regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
14 drivers were locked in prior to the race, but both Ryan Blaney and Martim Truex Jr. were in a position of uncertainty. A new winner mould mean that one of them would be eliminated, and with 25 points between the two drivers, they had to fight from the drop of the green flag.
It all went wrong for Blaney early, getting collected in a wreck near the end of the first stage. Truex did well to narrow the gap, earning 15 stage points and coming to within 10 points of his playoff rival. But then, it was Truex involved in an incident on the backstretch.
As the laps ticked away, Truex was fighting hard to stay above Blaney in points when chaos struck. The pack hit wet track and most of the field crashed. It was Austin Dillon squeezing his way through. The race eventually resumed, but Dillon hung on to win his way into the playoffs.
Truex just missed out, a mere three points behind Blaney.
Pos. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Wins | Points |
1 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 | 2040 |
2 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2 | 2025 |
3 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 2 | 2020 |
4 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 | 2019 |
5 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 | 2014 |
6 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 | 2013 |
7 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 0 | 2013 |
8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 | 2012 |
9 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 | 2012 |
10 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 | 2011 |
11 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 | 2010 |
12 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 | 2009 |
13 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 2007 |
14 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 1 | 2006 |
15 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 | 2006 |
16 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 2005 |