Two races into NASCAR's new Chase, the championship standings are already showing how quickly things can change.
Kyle Larson left Darlington 49 points behind Denny Hamlin. One win at Gateway later, he sits second, just nine points back.
Ryan Blaney experienced the opposite. He entered Gateway 16 points behind Hamlin before a brake failure ended his race in 35th. Now he trails by 33.
Next comes Bristol Motor Speedway, and there is no reset waiting on the other side.
Under NASCAR's previous playoff format, drivers raced through elimination rounds with points resets along the way. The 2026 Chase is different. After the initial reseeding, all 10 races count toward the same championship total.

#points #championship

Christopher Bell opened The Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series by earning his first victory of the 2026 season. After passing Kyle Larson for the lead with 12 circuits remaining, Bell captured the victory in Sunday night's Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway.
It was Bell's first Darlington win, first victory of the 2026 season and 14th career Cup win overall. The win was huge for Bell's championship hopes as he moved into the second position in the standings, 12 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
It was a trying evening for Hamlin, who entered the Chase as the top seed. In the final stage, contact between Hamlin and Michael McDowell caused toe link damage on the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
The contact forced Hamlin to go a lap behind. The 45-year-old gained his lap back and ultimately finished 18th. Going into Darlington, Hamlin had a 25-point lead over second place Ryan Blaney. Now, the JGR driver has a 12-point edge over Bell.
William Byron had a difficult evening at Darlington as he posted a DNF of 37th place. The driver of the No. 24 suffered a flat tire in the final stage, then suffered an engine failure on the subsequent restart.

#darlington #bell #season #behind

Mother Nature had other plans for the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Saturday as a lengthy lightning delay canceled the single-car session. Based on the metric, Tyler Reddick will start the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway from the pole position.
Because of this, Reddick earns the luxury of not only starting up front, but having an advantage on pit road. The driver of the No. 45 will be pitting from the No. 1 pit stall on Sunday night, the closest box to the exit of pit road.
Ryan Blaney lost his privilege of selecting his own pit stall after issues during pre-race inspection. The driver of the No. 12 will be pitting from the No. 27 pit stall, based on where every other team selected.
Here is a look at where every driver will pit for Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington.
Image courtesy of NASCAR.com

#stall #road

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The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway with the Cook Out Southern 500. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, and the Cook Out Southern 500 gives The Chase the kind of opener it deserves. Ryan Preece forced his way into the 16-driver field with a win at Daytona last weekend, grabbing the final playoff spot and adding one more dramatic twist before the ***** le fight officially begins. Now the regular season is over, the field is set, and only 16 drivers have a path to the championship.
Denny Hamlin starts The Chase in the best position, carrying a 25-point lead over Ryan Blaney, while the rest of the field has plenty of ground to make up. Preece enters as the final seed and starts 100 points back, but with 10 races still ahead, there is still plenty of time for chaos, comebacks, and mistakes that can reshape the standings quickly. Darlington is the perfect place to start, with its tire wear, narrow racing groove, and unforgiving walls ready to punish anyone who gets too aggressive too early. The Chase is wide open, and Sunday night is the first real test.
The green flag drops for the first race of The Chase at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, and racing fans can watch every lap on Sling TV.

#series

23XI Racing will lead the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for the Chase race at Darlington Raceway in September. Tyler Reddick won the pole for the 2026 Southern 500 at Darlington this weekend. Daniel Suarez will join Reddick on the front row for Sunday afternoon's event. Qualifying was cancelled due to lightning.
Ryan Preece and Denny Hamlin will follow the two drivers on the second row. Most notably, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, and Chris Buescher are the Chase drivers starting 20th or worse for Sunday afternoon's event.
The full NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Darlington in September 2026 is below!
No. 45 Tyler Reddick*
No. 7 Daniel Suarez*

#darlington

What time does NASCAR start today? TV schedule, channel, live stream to watch 2026 Darlington playoff race originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Now that the NASCAR regular season is officially over, it's time to head into a thrilling playoff Chase. Drivers will not get much time to ease into competition, as the Cook Out Southern 500 gets things started on Sunday.
With the playoff circuit heading to Darlington, things should get interesting. The South Carolina oval is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame", and the Cook Out Southern features a grueling 501-mile stretch that has been humbling drivers for more than 70 years.
This weekend's race serves as the first of 10 postseason competitions that will culminate in a 2026 Cup Series champion. Only 16 drivers qualified for the Chase, with Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick leading points, and Ryan Preece just squeaking in after winning last weekend's ******* e Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.
Who can make an impression as the NASCAR postseason gets started?

#nascar #drivers #darlington #cook

Denny Hamlin may have bigger hardware on his mind over the next 10 weeks, but NASCAR's top driver through the first 26 races of 2026 finally has a trophy to show for it.
Hamlin finished the regular season atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings, securing the No. 1 seed for the newly revived Chase and a 25-point advantage over Ryan Blaney entering Sunday's postseason opener at Darlington Raceway.
There was just one unusual detail.
With NASCAR returning to a 10-race Chase format this season, the sanctioning body moved away from the official "regular-season champion" designation and trophy that had accompanied the previous playoff system.
Hamlin still got one anyway.

#blaney

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has never won a Cup Series championship.
This may be the 45-year-old's best chance based on his overall body of work this season.
Hamlin enters NASCAR's modified 10-race playoff format known as "The Chase" with a 25-point cushion over second-place Ryan Blaney and an even bigger advantage over the rest of the 16-driver field after finishing the regular season with the most driver points.
The new format — which was last used in 2013 — is designed to reward performance throughout the entire season and provide a larger sample size to determine a champion. Fans have been clamoring for its return because of its simplicity.
And the drivers love it.

#hamlin #driver #blaney

Tyler Reddick knows how quickly a NASCAR championship run can unravel.
He's lived just about every version of it.
There were seasons when simply making the postseason felt like an accomplishment. There were years when he entered as a legitimate championship threat. He's experienced early exits, deep runs and the pressure that comes when winning a Cup Series ******* le stops feeling hypothetical.
Now Reddick is getting another shot, and this one begins from a position of strength.
The 23XI Racing driver enters NASCAR's 10-race Chase third in the standings, trailing only Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. He also arrives at Darlington Raceway having already won there this season.

#chase #denny #ryan

Glentoran were the comfortable 3-1 victors over Linfield at the Oval in the first round of the County Antrim Shield, while holders Carrick Rangers exited after being defeated by Crusaders after a penalty shootout.
Jordan Jenkins struck twice inside the opening six minutes to hand the home side a dream start in east Belfast before Charlie Chapman's early second-half strike threatened a Linfield fightback.
The Blues could not find a way back level after Cal Weatherup restored the home side's two-goal advantage.
At Seaview, Jacob Blaney and Owen Wardell gave the Crues a comfortable lead before an impressive final five minutes from the holders forced the tie to be decided on penalties.
However, Declan Caddell's side were the 5-4 victors in the penalty shootout to book their spot in the next round.

#victors #home #side

Denny Hamlin is entering the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase with one of the best opportunities of his career to finally capture his first championship.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will lead the 16 driver postseason field as the No. 1 seed after putting together a dominant regular season. Hamlin officially clinched the top seed following his seventh place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He enters the Chase with a 25 point advantage over Ryan Blaney.
Hamlin's regular season was highlighted by an impressive three-race winning streak. He picked up victories at Nashville Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway and Pocono Raceway, establishing himself as one of the strongest drivers in the series heading into the postseason.
Consistency has also been a major reason for Hamlin's success. After 26 regular-season races, he finished with 1,027 points before the championship reset. That reset puts him at 2,100 points to begin the Chase, giving him the largest starting advantage in the 16 driver field.
Now, Hamlin will try to turn that regular-season success into a championship.

#championship

Picking a NASCAR Cup Series winner is rarely easy. Picking one at Daytona International Speedway can feel closer to throwing darts.
That hasn't stopped oddsmakers from identifying two drivers as the men to beat entering Saturday night's **** e Zero Sugar 400.
William Byron and Ryan Blaney are the co-favorites at +850 for NASCAR's regular-season finale, according to the latest odds listed by FOX Sports. Joey Logano sits alone behind them at +1100, while Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott are each +1200.
The Cup Series returns to the 2.5-mile Daytona superspeedway Saturday, Aug. 29, with the green flag scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The race will also determine the 16-driver field for NASCAR's returning Chase postseason format.
And if there is one track where bettors may want to keep scrolling beyond the favorites, it's Daytona.

#chase

The ***** e Zero Sugar 400 doesn't have the Super Bowl-sized reputation of its slightly older and bigger brother, the Daytona 500.
But boy, it sure has plenty of history.
From 1959 when Daytona Beach's own Fireball Roberts claimed the first Firecracker 250 all the way to 2025 when Ryan Blaney put on a clinic in the final two laps, a who's who of NASCAR legends has won the World Center of Racing's summertime bash.
Buy our Dale Earnhardt book here
Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch. All of them have sped into Victory Lane — some of them multiple times.

#zero #bowl

Ryan Blaney is back in victory lane. On Sunday afternoon, Blaney and the No. 12 team for Team Penske won the 2026 Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Team Penske driver was able to hold off a hard-charging Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry in the closing laps.
Following the event, Blaney spoke about his big NASCAR win at New Hampshire, his second in two years.
"Yeah, that made it difficult," Blaney said. "No, it was a good call after our issue on pit road. We did two at the end to try to hopefully get the lead, and we did. It was a long, long run to the end, longest run we had. Just tried to manage my stuff. Knew the four-tire guys would pressure me eventually. Bubba came on hard there. Just tried to manage the lap traffic and manage the tire, not make a mistake. What a cool race. Fun day starting in the rain. Ended up being beautiful day. Everybody came out, thanks for sticking with it."
Blaney is now firmly placed second in the standings, meaning he will enter the Chase as the No. 2 seed if all goes right at Daytona International Speedway. Team Penske has found incredible speed over the last month, and if it continues, he could be in line for a second Cup Series championship this fall.
NASCAR reveals post-race inspection results from New Hampshire

#hampshire #manage #speedway

When the green flag waves at New Hampshire on Sunday, every car will run the same 301 laps on the same track, chasing the same checkered flag. But with only two races left before the Chase begins, what counts as a good Sunday has a different meaning for every driver.
Start near the back of the Chase picture, where the margin for error is thinnest. Shane van Gisbergen currently holds the 16th and final Chase spot with a 50-point cushion over Ryan Preece. For SVG, Sunday is about keeping Preece from making a significant dent in that advantage. For Preece, it's about closing the gap enough to give himself a realistic shot at taking that final Chase spot when the regular season ends at Daytona.
Move up the standings and the picture changes. Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell have already clinched their Chase spots and enter New Hampshire tied at 695 points. Getting in isn't the problem anymore. Now it's about improving where they'll start when the points reset.
Then there's Denny Hamlin, who's playing an entirely different game. He arrives 115 points ahead of Ryan Blaney with a chance to secure the Chase's No. 1 seed before Daytona. His magic number Sunday is 37 points. Get them, and the No. 1 seed is officially his.
The battle for the win will always demand the most attention. But this Sunday, some of the most important racing may happen nowhere near the lead. They'll all take the same green flag, but a good Sunday won't look the same for any of them.

#sunday #preece #points #start

Joey Logano leapfrogged into the top-10 standings after winning Saturday's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. The result marks his second win in just four races.
Logano had a podium start in the season-opening Daytona 500, but struggled to make headway ever since. At his lowest, the former champion was out of the Chase cutoff in 20th, while Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney consistently finished top-10.
With his latest win, Logano has tied Blaney for two wins this season. The No.22 driver addressed the resurgence in his victory lane interview, saying,
"Don't let the boys get hot, we're pretty strong right now. It's awesome to see the speed in the No. 22 again….we've had a great car here the last five races. We haven't been able to capitalize with a win, we've been so close but sweet redemption today."
"We got a strong team, no doubt, and Paul made some great calls there. The 19 was better than us in that last run so I was trying to just manage the tires and yeah, kind of a fun back and forth….it's getting the points that we need. This is important, we need to get ourselves back in the top-10 and I ***** ume this gets us pretty close," he added via NASCAR's official website.

#season #great

Ryan Blaney already earned the best starting position for Saturday night's NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. Now the Team Penske driver will have a prime piece of real estate on pit road, too.
Blaney, who won the pole in the No. 12 Ford, will occupy pit stall No. 1 for the Cook Out 400. His stall sits at the Turn 1 end of pit road, giving the pole-sitter a clear opening ahead of him when leaving his pit box.
The rest of the field will be spread across Richmond's notoriously busy pit road, with a few strategically placed vacant stalls potentially giving certain teams some additional room to work with Saturday night.
Two teams also entered the weekend without the ability to choose their pit stalls. Christopher Bell's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team and Cody Ware's No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team each failed pre-race inspection twice. Their respective car chiefs were ejected, and both teams lost pit selection for the weekend.
Here is where every Cup Series driver will pit at Richmond.

#blaney #series #race

Team Penske will lead the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for the race at Richmond Raceway in August. Ryan Blaney won the pole for the 2026 Cook Out 400 at Richmond this weekend. Chase Briscoe will join Blaney on the front row for Saturday night's event. It is Blaney's fourth pole position of the 2026 Cup Series season.
Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs will follow the two drivers on the second row. Most notably, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Carson Hocevar, Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Hill all start 20th or worse for Saturday night's event.
The full NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Richmond in August 2026 is below!
No. 12 Ryan Blaney
No. 19 Chase Briscoe

#blaney #briscoe #saturday

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Ryan Blaney can't fully explain his recent dominance in NASCAR qualifying, but he attributed Mother Nature with an ****** ist Friday at Richmond Raceway.
The Team Penske driver captured his third pole position in the past five races and the 16th of his Cup Series career, turning a lap in 22.225 seconds (121.485 mph) around the 0.75-mile oval. Blaney was the second-to-last driver to make an attempt, and a cloud late in the session cooled the track for better grip and faster speeds.
"I appreciate the cloud," said Blaney, who also qualified first last week at Iowa Speedway and last month at EchoPark Speedway. "I got the benefit."
With 12 races remaining after Saturday's 400-lap event at Richmond, Blaney already has a career-best four pole positions for a single season and is tied with points leader Denny Hamlin for the series lead in 2026.
"I wouldn't specify myself as a very good qualifier," Blaney said. "For a little bit I struggled in qualifying, just not really able to find the one-lap speed and kind of doing the wrong things behind the wheel. But I think (crew chief) Jonathan (Hassler) and I have just worked through how we can get better and adjust from the end of practice to the start of qualifying. It's been fun to work through that."

#qualifying #speedway

Ryan Blaney's qualifying hot streak shows no signs of slowing down.
The Team Penske driver captured the pole for Saturday night's NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway, giving him his second consecutive pole position and his fourth in the last five races. Blaney will lead the field to the green flag after edging Chase Briscoe in Friday's qualifying session.
The pole continues one of the most impressive stretches of qualifying speed in the Cup Series this season as Blaney looks to convert another front-row starting spot into a long-awaited victory.
Blaney will be joined on the front row by Briscoe, whose No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota qualified second.
Josh Berry continued a strong season for Wood Brothers Racing with the third-fastest lap, while Ty Gibbs and William Byron completed the top five.

#blaney #pole #briscoe #season

It wasn't that long ago, June 28th, that Tyler Allen played it safe at Sonoma Raceway and Ty Gibbs really wished his crew chief had been more aggressive.
At the time, Allen took what looked like a car capable of challenging Shane Van Gisbergen for the win but took a more conservative strategy that led to a second-place finish. Allen, not knowing if they would have enough to take on SVG on a road course elected to get stage points and retain a spot inside the top five of the championship standings.
Allen was playing a long game, recognizing there would come a time and place to be aggressive for Gibbs, and Sunday at Iowa Speedway was just the moment.
Gibbs was running third behind Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney approaching the final green flag pit cycle. Blaney undercut Bell but couldn't blend back in front of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20.
Allen gambled further, taking two tires, and coming out ahead of both of them. Earlier in the race, Bell was able to pass Blaney for the lead on four tires versus two, but Allen tasked Gibbs with aggressively defending the lead.

#place

The NASCAR Cup Series competed at Iowa Speedway, and it was an exciting event. Ryan Blaney won Stage 1 while Christopher Bell won Stage 2; however, neither driver was able to enter victory lane. Instead, it was a Joe Gibbs Racing driver showdown with Bell finishing in the runner-up position.
Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team for Joe Gibbs Racing won the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, earning their second victory of the 2026 Cup Series season. Gibbs held off a hard-charging Bell, who earned his fourth second-place finish in the last five races. For Gibbs, it is his second career Cup Series victory.
Tyler Allen, the crew chief of the No. 54 car, made the right strategy call with two tires during the final green-flag pit stops. Gibbs was able to hold off Bell and his four fresh tires on the No. 20 car. It was a thrilling beginning to USA Sports' portion of the NASCAR schedule with Gibbs ending up in the winner's circle.
No. 54 Ty Gibbs
No. 20 Christopher Bell

#iowa

Ty Gibbs had enough tires to hold off teammate Christopher Bell and take his second NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, winning the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.
Bell took four tires on his final stop with 60 laps left, but Gibbs' No. 54 crew went with two to hand the 23-year-old the lead that he maintained in the battle of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and win by 0.253 seconds.
It was Gibbs' second career win in 146 races, while Bell's winless streak extended to 30 races with his seventh runner-up showing this season.
Polesitter Ryan Blaney finished third. Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Toyota won for the 14th time in 23 Cup races in a standout 2026.

#iowa #christopher

Ty Gibbs continued to build momentum toward the NASCAR Cup Series Chase on Sunday, delivering another statement victory for Joe Gibbs Racing with a commanding performance in the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway.
The win marked Gibbs' second victory of the 2026 season and capped an afternoon in which he overcame early competition from Ryan Blaney and teammate Christopher Bell before taking control when it mattered most. By the time the checkered flag flew, Gibbs had firmly established himself as one of the hottest drivers entering the final stretch of the regular season.
After Blaney started from the pole and swept Stage 1 by leading all 70 laps, the race appeared to shift in Bell's favor. Bell captured the Stage 2 victory and paced much of the middle portion of the event, looking poised to add another win to his résumé.
Instead, Gibbs emerged as the driver to beat during the closing run.
The No. 54 Toyota methodically worked his way to the front before pulling away from Bell over the final laps to secure another signature victory for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell crossed the finish line second, while Blaney completed the podium after leading early.

#racing

Iowa Speedway will play host to the NASCAR Cup Series' Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday. Ryan Blaney qualified for the pole position and will start out front.
The green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Series points leader Denny Hamlin qualified 29th for Sunday's race. Tyler Reddick is second in season points, and he will start from the fifth position.
William Byron won last year's Cup race at Newton. Chase Briscoe finished second and Brad Keselowski was third.
Follow along below for live updates from the Iowa Corn 350.

#corn #race #speedway

The race to the NASCAR Chase begins on Aug. 9 at Iowa.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns after a week off for the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway, the first of four August races to end the regular season.
Ryan Blaney is on the pole at a track that he drove to victory in 2024.
Austin Cindric holds the final Chase spot coming into the race weekend by 38 points over Ryan Preece. Cindric starts 12th, while Preece begins from 35th.
Follow along with the Tennessean's NASCAR race updates below:

#begins

Is there a NASCAR race today? Date, start time, TV schedule for next Cup Series race originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The NASCAR Cup Series had another thrilling race at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, but this weekend, drivers will rest.
The Brickyard 400 at Indy was anything but a typical race. Part-time driving for 23XI Racing, Corey Heim held off NASCAR veterans Christopher Bell and Joey Logano in the closing laps, sealing a historic win for the 24-year-old.
After several months of consecutive racing, the Cup Series will take a much-needed break this weekend before heading to the Midwest for the Iowa Corn 350 on Aug. 9. Denny Hamlin still leads the overall standings with 886 points, but Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs are not far behind.
Here's everything you need to know about the next NASCAR race, including TV channel and streaming options for the upcoming Iowa Corn 350.

#corn

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Blaney faces a high-stakes weekend in Indianapolis.
He's hoping to put Roger Penske back in victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he'd like to add a second crown jewel win to his resume. At the same time, he's chasing a $1 million pay day — if he finishes ahead of surprise finalist Todd Gilliland in NASCAR's second In-Season Challenge.
Blaney's solution is to simplify matters by sweeping both ******* les Sunday with one amazing Brickyard 400.
"We obviously understand what we're going for with the In-Season Challenge," Blaney said before Friday's short practice. "But at the same time, you're trying to win the race. That's the big one here — and trying to win for Roger at this place is incredibly important in our race shop and to everyone on this team. So I've looked at it as like, just go try to run the best race you can and focus on that."
Blaney heads into race weekend as the favorite in the final round of the challenge. The 2023 Cup champion has strung together 11 consecutive finishes of 11th or better, a feat he's achieved in 17 of 21 races this season. Two weeks ago in Atlanta he captured his second win of the year.

#weekend

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the sport's most iconic venues this weekend as Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the 2026 Brickyard 400.
NASCAR has released the official entry list for Sunday's race, with 39 drivers entered for the annual crown-jewel event. Because fewer than 40 cars are entered, every driver on the list is locked into the field.
Among the notable names is Connor Zilisch, who returns to Cup competition in the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet after making his series debut earlier this season. Corey Heim is also entered in the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing, while veteran Casey Mears returns in the No. 66 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports.
The weekend also marks the championship round of NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Challenge, with Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland battling head-to-head for the $1 million prize while competing in Sunday's Brickyard 400.
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

#entered #nascar #brickyard #series

Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will mark the 22nd points race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. The regular season is quickly drawing to a close, with three drivers (Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney) already having locked up three of the 16 spots in The Chase.
As always, courtesy to great work by Reddit user scepthan, a The Chase points to clinch tracker has been created to monitor how close your favorite drivers are to making it in.
Let's dive into this week's NASCAR The Chase tracker, looking at how many points the top drivers are from clinching a spot in the 10-race chase ahead of Sunday's race. Right now, we're focused on drivers within 200 points of clinching. However, the final slide shows how many points down drivers ranked 11th through 16th in points are from locking up a spot.
Ty Gibbs is the only Cup Series driver with a shot at clinching a spot in The Chase this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Granted, it's going to take a great showing in the Brickyard 400. Gibbs was 97 points back last weekend, picking up 43 points for the second consecutive race. He did have 54 points at Sonoma and he's recorded 47-plus points five times (COTA, Martinsville, Bristol, Charlotte, and Sonoma) this season, so there's at least a shot of him clinching. Of note, he netted just 16 points last year at the Brickyard thanks to a 21st-place finish. We'd bet he clinches in Iowa on Aug. 9.
Related: Brickyard 400 Entry List

#season #indianapolis