Elliott and Bowman are set to commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs in seventh and 12th, respectively, in the Playoff standings in a season where both snapped a one-year winless drought and returned to NASCAR's postseason battle for a season title.
The 2016 Xfinity Series champion from Monterrey, Mexico, is set to commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs in 11th place in the Playoff standings following a regular-season stretch where he notched his second Cup career victory at Atlanta and finished in the top 10 six times.
The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, will commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs in ninth place in the Playoff standings following a roller coaster regular-season stretch where he won at Nashville in June and recorded four top-five results and eight top-10 runs.
The 2022 Daytona 500 champion from Mooresville, North Carolina, is set to commence his second career Cup Series Playoffs in 10th place in the Playoff standings with 2,007 points amid a difficult 2024 regular-season stretch despite recording a final lap victory at Gateway.
The 2023 Cup Series Rookie of the Year from Charlotte, North Carolina, will commence his first Cup Series Playoffs in 15th place in the Playoff standings after recording seven top-five results, 11 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.7 throughout the 2024 regular-season stretch.
The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, is set to commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs in sixth place in the Playoff standings following a strong regular-season stretch highlighted with three victories, 12 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 15.0.
The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Norman, Oklahoma, is set to commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs in second place in the Playoff standings after notching three victories, 10 stage victories and 15 top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch.
The 23-year-old Burton from Huntersville, North Carolina, will commence his first title pursuit by reaching a milestone start in his third full-time campaign in NASCAR's premier series.
The 27-year-old Jones from Atlanta, Georgia, will rejoin Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot a Toyota Supra entry on a multiyear basis following a two-year campaign at JR Motorsports.
In a span of 367 grueling laps of the 2024 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace went from competing against one another for the 16th and final berth to this year’s Playoffs to both being knocked out of contention amid a new race winner capitalizing on the Playoff’s “Win and You’re In” format.
The 2021 CARS Super Late Model Tour champion from Mooresville, North Carolina, led a race-high 121 of 250 laps and reduced his points deficit from 59 to 31 with his third O'Reilly victory of 2026 in Ridgeway, Virginia.
Brandon Jones rallied from deep in the field yet again to lead Toyota with a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Martinsville Saturday evening.
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Delta Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I think this is a track where you definitely need a good qualifying run because of pit selection."
The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, notched a pole-winning lap at 98.492 mph in 19.226 seconds for his sixth Cup pole of 2026, sixth at Martinsville and the 54th of his career.
