How quickly things change for drivers not named Denny Hamlin. The playoff standings have shifted significantly due to wrecks and penalties at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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Hamlin entered the Round of 8 first in the playoff standings. He then won the 60th race of his Cup Series career and punched his ticket to the Championship 4. He remains atop the standings as he prepares to battle for the championship for the first time since the 2021 season.
Spot No. 2 is where things change. Ryan Blaney headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a six-point cushion to the cutline. He left the 1.5-mile track at a 31-point deficit.
He finished last in the race after a cut tire sent him hard into the outside wall in the opening stage. He is now in a must-win situation heading to Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway.
Three #Championship4 tickets remain.
Who's next to join @dennyhamlin? pic.twitter.com/NGo2y2b7kJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 13, 2025
Kyle Larson entered the Round of 8 third in the standings. He is now second after finishing second and scoring 19 stage points. He has a 35-point cushion to the cutline.
"We did have a great points day, but it could easily change next week," Larson said. "We'll just try to execute again; have a good points day at Talladega and be in a good position heading into Martinsville."
William Byron scored 18 stage points early at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he finished 36th after a crash involving Ty Dillon. This dropped Byron from four points above the cutline to 15 points below.
With Byron and Blaney dropping below the cutline, this opened the doors for Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell. The two drivers capitalized. They still left the track disappointed after missing out on the win.
Bell finished third after scoring nine stage points. This helped him move to 20 points above the cutline. Briscoe scored 14 stage points and finished fifth after using a two-tire pit gamble to gain track position. He didn't score the win after leading with five laps to go, but he moved from 14 below the cutline to 15 above.
"We got to go (to Talladega), race, see what happens," Briscoe said after the Las Vegas race. "Obviously, that's where the biggest points swing is probably going to come for all of us.
"Luckily for us, we didn't use our one mulligan today, I guess. Go there, see what we can do, hopefully come out there on the plus side, maybe even win it, go on to Martinsville and see what we can do."
What about the other two playoff drivers, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano? They had significantly different experiences at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Elliott started the race inside of the top five, and he scored six points in stage 1. However, a penalty for an uncontrolled tire in stage 2 buried him in the pack and took him off of the lead lap. Elliott received the free pass at the end of stage 2, but he never got back into the mix.
He remained outside of the top 10 for the rest of the race and sustained some damage in a multi-car incident started by Ty Gibbs spinning near the front of the pack. Elliott ultimately crossed the finish line 18th and fell from 14 points below the cutline to 23 points below.
"We started our day strong," Elliott said. "I thought we had the balance of our No. 9 NAPA Chevy in a really good spot. I was just happy with the way it was driving. Unfortunately, we got a pit road penalty in stage 2 and we just got back in traffic.
"I needed something pretty different, balance-wise, to be good back there. I probably missed a little bit on my first read and we only had a couple shots to try and help that."
Logano, the defending champion, just didn't have the speed to run better than ninth or 10th in the first two stages of the race. He only scored three stage points early while other playoff drivers stockpiled points.
Yet, Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe made a bold call when the caution flew for Byron and Dillon crashing. They opted for tires while the leaders went with four tires.
The No. 22 team then benefited from a long caution in which the field circled the track for seven laps. Once the field lined up for the final restart, they only had 14 laps remaining in the race.
While Logano joined Briscoe on the front row for the final restart, he didn't have the speed to hold off Larson, Hamlin, or Tyler Reddick. The three-time champion had to settle for a sixth-place finish. He left Las Vegas facing the same 24-point deficit to the cutline.
