Going into the race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday’s Ally 400, the NASCAR Cup Series has just 10 of 26 regular-season races remaining, which means only 10 more chances for drivers to win a race and lock themselves into the playoffs, starting in September.
After a rare off-weekend, NASCAR is headed to Nashville before taking on Chicago’s street course race in a new event, followed by races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Richmond Raceway to close out the month.
If a driver wins at least one of the 26 regular-season races, they secure their spot in the 10-race playoffs culminating in a winner-take-all championship race at Phoenix Raceway in November. If there are fewer than 16 different race winners in the regular season, the rest of the playoff field is determined by points.
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With the season’s first 16 races in the books, Martin Truex Jr. is at the top of the regular-season standings, and the regular-season winner gets a 15-point bonus headed into the playoffs.
Notably absent from the current projected playoff picture is 2020 champ Chase Elliott, who’s recent suspension and injury have kept him sidelined for seven races. At 27th in the regular-season standings, he’ll likely have to win a race to make the postseason at this point.
So with 10 races remaining before the playoffs, here’s a look at the top-20 drivers in the regular-season standings, along with their projected playoff rank and points.
1
Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Regular season points: 525
Projected playoff rank: 2
Projected playoff points: 2026
2023 wins: 2
Top-5 finishes: 5
Laps led: 434
2
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Regular season points: 512 (-13)
Projected playoff rank: 1
Projected playoff points: 2027
2023 wins: 3
Top-5 finishes: 7
Laps led: 717
3
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Regular season points: 501 (-24)
Projected playoff rank: 4
Projected playoff points: 2015
2023 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 4
Laps led: 319
4
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Regular season points: 501 (-24)
Projected playoff rank: 6
Projected playoff points: 2012
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes:5
Laps led: 348
5
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Regular season points: 500 (-25)
Projected playoff rank: 11
Projected playoff points: 2007
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 4
Laps led: 98
6
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Regular season points: 496 (-29)
Projected playoff rank: 3
Projected playoff points: 2022
2023 wins: 3
Top-5 finishes: 5
Laps led: 214
7
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Regular season points: 493 (-32)
Projected playoff rank: 9
Projected playoff points: 2009
2023 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 5
Laps led: 206
8
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Regular season points: 462 (-63)
Projected playoff rank: 7
Projected playoff points: 2011
2023 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 4
Laps led: 255
9
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Regular season points: 444 (-81)
Projected playoff rank: 8
Projected playoff points: 2009
2023 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 5
Laps led: 217
10
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Regular season points: 440 (-85)
Projected playoff rank: 5
Projected playoff points: 2013
2023 wins: 2
Top-5 finishes: 6
Laps led: 588
11
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Regular season points: 430 (-95)
Projected playoff rank: 14
Projected playoff points: 2001
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 3
Laps led: 50
12
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Regular season points: 424 (-101)
Projected playoff rank: 13
Projected playoff points: 2001
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 3
Laps led: 115
13
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Regular season points: 420 (-105)
Projected playoff rank: 10
Projected playoff points: 2007
2023 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 5
Laps led: 168
14
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Regular season points: 400 (-125)
Projected playoff rank: 12
Projected playoff points: 2005
2023 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 2
Laps led: 21
15
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Regular season points: 354 (-171)
Projected playoff rank: 15
Projected playoff points: 2000
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 4
Laps led: 53
16
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Regular season points: 3331 (-194)
Projected playoff rank: 16
Projected playoff points: 1995
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 3
Laps led: 47
17
Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Regular season points: 328 (-197)
Projected playoff rank: 17
Projected playoff points: N/A
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 1
Laps led: 16
18
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Regular season points: 320 (-205)
Projected playoff rank: 18
Projected playoff points: N/A
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 0
Laps led: 4
19
Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Regular season points: 317 (-208)
Projected playoff rank: 19
Projected playoff points: N/A
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 0
Laps led: 12
20
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Regular season points: 298 (-227)
Projected playoff rank: 20
Projected playoff points: N/A
2023 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 0
Laps led: 1
