NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Win-and-in is no longer part of the Cup Series postseason formula, but time is still running out for drivers hoping to lock up a spot in The Chase. Only 13 spots remain after Sunday night's race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Videos by FanBuzz
Regular-season points leader Denny Hamlin has clinched his spot after piling up 842 points in 21 races. He has a 380-point cushion to the cutline, which makes it impossible to fall below with only five races remaining.
Tyler Reddick, who has a series-high five wins this season, has also clinched his spot despite dealing with recent struggles. This includes a 30th-place finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway due to a tire rod issue.
Reddick has 774 points and a 312-point cushion to Erik Jones, the first driver below the cutline for The Chase.
Ryan Blaney is the third driver to clinch his spot in the postseason. He did so on Sunday night by accumulating 29 points with a 12th-place finish.
The pursuit of a second title starts now.@Blaney clinches a spot in The Chase! pic.twitter.com/D5z1cdPbJD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 20, 2026
Now, only 13 spots remain for drivers hoping to compete for a championship, and they have five races to lock themselves into the 10-race Chase.
The current drivers above the cutline are Ty Gibbs (+246), Chase Elliott (+172), Kyle Larson (+154), Carson Hocevar (+136), Chase Briscoe (+125), Chris Buescher (+123), Christopher Bell (+112), Daniel Suarez (+96), William Byron (+84), Bubba Wallace (+69), Shane van Gisbergen (+54), Joey Logano (+49), and Austin Cindric (+33).
Logano is the biggest mover in this group of drivers above the cutline. He dominated Sunday night's race at North Wilkesboro by leading 323 laps and scoring a race-high 73 points. This moved him from below the cutline to back into contention for a spot in The Chase.
"The pressure's still on. It's not a comfortable situation," Logano said after winning his first race since May 4, 2025. "Still it's a long ways from the ultimate goal."
With Logano moving above the cutline, this meant that another driver fell out of contention. Jones entered North Wilkesboro Speedway in a Chase spot. Now, he is 33 points below the cutline. Ryan Preece is 48 points below the cutline.
Brad Keselowski is 19th in the Cup Series standings after 21 races. He is 58 points below the cutline. Michael McDowell is 20th in the standings. He is 83 points back.
The regular season will continue this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which will provide another opportunity for drivers to clinch spots in The Chase.
The month of August will close out the regular season as teams travel to Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Daytona International Speedway.
