The NASCAR Cup Series drivers are running out of opportunities to secure spots in The Chase. Only nine spots remain after Joey Logano's win at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night.
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The evening in Virginia began with four drivers locked into the postseason. Points leader Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, and wins leader Tyler Reddick all had punched their tickets by scoring enough points.
Chase Briscoe then joined this group after leading a race-high 171 laps, scoring 17 stage points, and finishing second behind Joey Logano. He moved to fifth in the standings and secured his spot.
Chase, meet The Chase.
Following tonight's strong run, @chasebriscoe secures a postseason ticket in 2026. pic.twitter.com/CLBoXaQMXw
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 16, 2026
Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell also secured their spots in The Chase at Richmond Raceway. They didn't contend for the win, but they scored crucial points.
Bell, who has seven runner-up finishes this season, raced inside the top-10 all night. He scored six stage points and finished eighth. This moved him three spots up in the standings to seventh.
Elliott scored six stage points and finished fifth, his first top-10 finish since Nashville Superspeedway on May 31.
"Obviously it's not a win, but for how things have been going the last few months, it feels nice to just have a really solid night and hopefully we can get things rolling in the right direction," Elliott said after the race.
"There's been a lot of hard work put in across the board; everyone on this No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet team and Hendrick Motorsports. I appreciate that effort."
Now that Richmond is in the rearview, only two races remain in the regular season. The Cup Series drivers will head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend for another close quarters race. They will then close out the regular season on Aug. 29 at Daytona International Speedway.
Kyle Larson, who finished sixth at Richmond, is currently in the best position with two races remaining. He moved to eighth in the standings after gaining two spots.
Logano is ninth after scoring his second win of the season and the 39th of his career. Chris Buescher is 10th. Carson Hocevar is now 11th after two consecutive weeks with issues.
7 of 16 spots in The Chase are taken with two races left before it begins.
A four spot leap for Joey Logano with the dub. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WhKPbzKdZl
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) August 16, 2026
He finished ninth in the Brickyard 400 and moved to fifth in the standings. He then finished 31st last weekend at Iowa Speedway due to multiple issues. This dropped him to eighth in the standings. Hocevar then fell to 11th at Richmond after a shifting mistake that caused a mechanical failure.
The other drivers currently above the cutline are William Byron in 12th, Daniel Suarez in 13th, Bubba Wallace in 14th, Austin Cindric in 15th, and Shane van Gisbergen in 16th.
Cindric entered Richmond in 16th, but he delivered a complete performance. He scored 14 stage points and finished third. He now has a seven-point advantage over van Gisbergen, who finished 14th.
Ryan Preece is the first driver below The Chase cutline. He fell to 50 points below after finishing 21st. The timing of a caution disrupted a green flag pit stop and his team's strategy.
Ross Chastain is now 63 points back and 18th in the standings. He finished ninth in a quiet day for the No. 1 team.
