Facing a “must-win” scenario to retain his championship hopes for the 2022 season, Austin Dillon survived a whirlwind of a day to execute his lone mission of the day: winning to advance to the Cup Series Playoffs, which he did in the rain-postponed Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, August 28.

The 32-year-old Dillon from Welcome, North Carolina, led twice for 10 of 160-scheduled laps overall. He threw himself in race-winning contention after dodging the Big One with 23 laps remaining while ironically rallying from being involved in an earlier multi-car wreck with 36 laps remaining, where he slid his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sideways and backwards through pit road. Shortly after taking the lead, the race was placed in a red flag period due to rain for three hours and 19 minutes. When the race restarted for a 16-lap dash to the finish, Dillon lost the lead to rookie Austin Cindric at the start. Thirteen laps later, however, contact between Cindric and Dillon enabled the latter to reassume the top spot, where he had teammate Tyler Reddick drafting him amid a small pack of competitors. With his teammate behind him and no late challenges emerging from behind over the final three laps, Dillon was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim his first elusive checkered flag of the 2022 Cup Series season and race his way into the Playoffs.

In the midst of the late turn of events with Dillon winning, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr., both of whom were involved in separate multi-car incidents of their own, were left to battle amongst one another for the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs. At the conclusion of the event, Blaney claimed the final spot to the Playoffs with a top-15 finish by a mere margin over Truex, who ended up in the top 10.

With on-track qualifying that would determine the starting lineup initially scheduled for Friday but cancelled due to rain, Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, was awarded the pole position based on a metric qualifying formula per NASCAR’s rulebook. Joining him on the front row was teammate Chase Elliott, the 2022 Cup regular-season champion.

When the green flag waved and the race started on Sunday morning after rain postponed the event from its original starting time from Saturday night, Larson briefly jumped ahead with an early advantage on the outside entering the first turn, but teammate Elliott received a strong push from Joey Logano and a bevy of competitors on the inside lane through the first two turns to launch ahead. With the inside lane gaining the advantage for a full lap, Elliott proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Logano, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell while Larson was mired back in seventh.

Two laps later, Elliott continued to lead ahead of Logano and Bell while Larson, the first competitor on the outside lane, moved up to fourth as the outside lane started to gain momentum towards the competitors on the inside lane.

Five laps into the event, Elliott’s No. 9 Adrenaline Shoc Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading a long line of competitors on the inside lane while Logano, Bell, Harvick and McDowell were in the top five. Martin Truex Jr., Cole Custer, Larson, Daniel Suarez and William Byron were scored in the top 10, with Larson remaining as the first competitor leading the outside lane.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the field fanning out to three tight-packed lanes, Elliott retained the lead ahead of Logano, Bell, Harvick and McDowell. Meanwhile, Larson, who was placed in a four-wide situation entering the backstretch and was shuffled all the way outside of the top 20 earlier, was trying to carve his way back to the front as he was scored in 20th while drafting teammate Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney on the outside lane.

Four laps later, trouble ensued for Larson as he fell off the pace entering the first turn and slowly limped his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road and to the garage as he retired due to an engine issue. During Larson’s on-track issue, he stalled rookie Austin Cindric’s progress within the pack when he fell off the pace as Cindric lost the draft and was mired all the way back in 39th, eight seconds behind the leaders.

Back on the track and at the Lap 20 mark, Elliott retained the lead of the overall event on the inside lane while Erik Jones started to gain a strong run on the outside lane with drafting help from Denny Hamlin and a bevy of competitors. Not long after, a side-by-side battle for the lead commenced between Elliott and Jones as Jones continued to receive a draft from Hamlin in a bid for the lead while Elliott remained in front of Logano’s front nose to fight back and retain a narrow advantage.

Ten laps later, Erik Jones, who led the previous five of 10 laps following his side-by-side duel against Elliott, was out in front and with clean air on the inside lane followed by Hamlin, Elliott, Blaney, and Logano while Bell, Corey LaJoie, Harvick, rookie Harrison Burton and McDowell were in the top 10. By then, Cindric was lapped by the field.

Just then on Lap 30, the first caution of the event flew when Hamlin, who nearly got Jones sideways entering the backstretch, slipped sideways in his No. 11 FedEx Cares Toyota TRD Camry and triggered a chain reaction wreck that involved teammate Bell, Keselowski, Harvick and Blaney while everyone else scattered to avoid the calamity. The incident moved Truex, who dodged the incident, up to 15th place in the regular-season standings while Blaney, who lost multiple lanes on pit lane for repairs after damaging the right front of his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang, fell back towards the edge of the cutline in 16th place in the standings and in jeopardy of not making the postseason in the case of a new winner. The incident also eliminated Keselowski from Playoff contention amid a disappointing campaign in his first season as a driver/co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

During the caution period, nearly the entire field pitted while names like Elliott, Harrison Burton, Logano, Truex, BJ McLeod, Noah Gragson and Kyle Busch remained on the track.

With a single lap remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Elliott jumped ahead on the inside lane while Logano received drafting help from Truex on the outside lane to challenge for the lead. Logano then moved in front of Elliott to assume the lead. As Elliott tried to move to the outside lane of Logano to reassume the lead exiting the backstretch, Logano managed to maintain his advantage on the inside lane through the final two turns and beat Elliott back to the start/finish line to claim the first stage victory on Lap 35, thus claiming his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season. Elliott settled in second followed by Harrison Burton, Kyle Busch, Truex, LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones and McDowell. By then, Blaney was mired back in 34th and three laps behind the leaders.

Under the stage break, some led by Logano pitted while the rest led by LaJoie, who pitted prior to the first stage’s conclusion, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was sent to the rear for running over equipment. Prior to the restart, names like Chase Briscoe, Gragson, Truex, Elliott and Kyle Busch returned to pit road to top off on fuel.

The second stage started on Lap 40 as LaJoie and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, LaJoie and Wallace dueled for the lead as Wallace had drafting help from Erik Jones while LaJoie was getting drafted by Stenhouse. Following a side-by-side battle for nearly a full lap, Wallace assumed command on the outside lane. Not long after, a third drafting line formed as Christopher Buescher launched his bid for the lead. As Wallace moved up the track to stall Buescher’s progress, Erik Jones moved into the lead with drafting help from LaJoie, who soon moved to the inside of Jones to challenge for the lead. By then, the field fanned out the three tight-packed lanes as LaJoie moved into the lead despite being challenged by Jones and Buescher.

Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Erik Jones, who reassumed the lead on Lap 46, was leading ahead of Wallace, Buescher and a number of competitors on the outside lane while LaJoie was leading the charge on the inside lane. Shortly after, Wallace was shuffled out of the lead pack and Jones lost the lead as Buescher moved to the lead with drafting help from LaJoie. By then, Ty Gibbs, who remained as an interim competitor in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for Kurt Busch, was lapped by the field.

Ten laps later, Erik Jones, who led the previous seven of 10 laps, was out in front ahead of Byron and Buescher while Bowman issued his challenge for the lead on the outside lane with drafting help from Hamlin. By then, Blaney, who was a lap down at the start of the second stage, was lapped for a second time by the field with a flapped hood amid his early wreck.

Another five laps later, Hamlin, who rallied from his early incident, was leading for the first time ahead of Logano, Burton, Kyle Busch, Daniel Hemric and Ross Chastain while Jones, who fell back into the top 10, remained as the first competitor on the inside lane ahead of Byron. Meanwhile, Buescher was shuffled all the way back to 27th. 

Nearing the Lap 70 mark, Erik Jones drifted his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 towards the rear of the rear while bailing out of the lead pack as Hamlin continued to lead ahead of Logano, Burton, Kyle Busch and Justin Haley. By then, Gilliland was in sixth followed by Harvick, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon and Chastain while Bowman, Byron, Hemric, LaJoie, Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Truex, Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer and Cindric were in the top 20.

Six laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops ensued as Toyota competitors Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Truex peeled off the track to pit for fuel. Another two laps later, the rest of the field led by Logano pitted for fuel as Logano was the first competitor to exit pit road. Amid the pit stops and with the event reaching its halfway mark on Lap 80, McLeod was leading ahead of Elliott, Reddick, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Burton and the rest of the field. 

By Lap 81, however, Elliott was back out in front before he was overtaken by Reddick with drafting help from Kyle Busch during the following lap. By then, the Toyota competitors that included Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Truex and Wallace cycled their way towards the top five after pitting two laps earlier than the field.

At the Lap 90 mark, Kyle Busch and Reddick, both of whom led a combined six of the previous 10 laps, were locked dead even for the lead before Reddick assumed command with drafting help from Elliott as the field began to stack up in two tight-packed lanes. By then, Gibbs and Blaney were lapped by the field, with Gibbs five laps behind the leaders while Blaney was now six laps behind.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 95, Kyle Busch fended off the field through multiple lanes in his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry to claim his second stage victory of the season. Teammate Truex edged teammate Hamlin and Logano in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot while Wallace, Gilliland, Reddick, Harvick, Stenhouse and Austin Dillon were scored in the top 10. By then, Elliott was shuffled all the way back to 16th while Blaney was mired in 34th and six laps behind the leaders.

Under the stage break, names like Ty Dillon, Buescher and McLeod remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted. During the pit stops, Busch was penalized for speeding on pit road. Prior to the start of the final stage, names like Ty Dillon, McLeod, Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Gilliland, Erik Jones, Gragson, Suarez and Blaney returned to pit road for service.

With 60 laps remaining, the final stage started as McDowell, who assumed the lead after only opting for fuel, and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, McDowell emerged out in front with drafting help from Logano on the inside lane before Logano pulled out on the outside lane and took the lead with drafting help from teammate Cindric. 

A lap later, the caution returned when McDowell got hooked off the front nose of Reddick in the backstretch as he slapped the outside wall and veered back across the superspeedway before clipping LaJoie and triggering another multi-car wreck that involved Chastain, Buescher and Byron. Among those involved included Truex, who slowly limped his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry back to pit road with right-front fender damage. In the midst of the wreck, McDowell’s Playoff hopes came to an end as he was unable to continue.

With 53 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Logano and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchens Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 received drafting help from Stenhouse’s No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the outside lane while Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang retained the lead as he received drafting help from Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the inside lane. Reddick was able to lead the following lap before Logano reassume the top spot the lap after.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Reddick and Logano dueled for the lead followed by Stenhouse, Bowman, Wallace, Cindric, Briscoe, Hamlin, Custer, Burton and a bevy of competitors with potential weather threats looming near the superspeedway.

A few laps later, the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Wallace, Logano and Bowman while moving from the inside to the outside lane to preserve his narrow advantage. As Reddick tried to fend off Wallace and the field with the lead, Bowman made his move into the lead with 46 laps remaining as he received drafting help from Stenhouse and Logano.

With 40 laps remaining, Bowman continued to lead the race and a long line of competitors on the outside lane followed by Stenhouse, Logano, Briscoe and Custer. On the inside lane, Kyle Busch was in seventh with drafting help from Toyota teammates Wallace and Hamlin. By then, Truex, who remained on the lead lap, was in 26th while Blaney, who remained six laps behind the leaders, was mired back in 30th.

Four laps later and just as Logano reassumed the lead from Bowman with drafting help from Briscoe, the caution flew when Briscoe, who moved from the bottom to the outside lane entering the frontstretch, got loose off the front nose of Bowman as he spun and veered back into the outside wall in front of a bevy of competitors on the outside lane. In the midst of his incident and spin, Briscoe’s No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang briefly came off the ground before his car came to a rest in the frontstretch grass. Among those involved included Bowman, Custer, Stenhouse, Gilliland, Wallace and Austin Dillon, who spun his No. 3 BREZTRI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through pit road, as Wallace, who slid through the frontstretch grass, emerged with left-front fender damage to his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry. In the midst of the incident, some like Wallace and Dillon continued while the rest including Briscoe were eliminated from title contention.

During the caution period, names like Justin Haley, Erik Jones and McLeod remained on the track while the rest led by Logano pitted.

With 30 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Haley received a draft from Logano to retain the lead before Erik Jones started to gain momentum on the outside lane. Entering the backstretch, however, the caution returned when Erik Jones slipped off the front nose of Almirola and veered into the path of Logano as both spun below the backstretch and were dodged by the field. In the midst of the incident, Aric Almirola emerged in the runner-up spot behind Haley while Daniel Suarez, Buescher and Elliott were in the top five. In addition, Truex was in 14th while Blaney was mired in 29th and still six laps behind the leaders.

Four laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Haley fended off both lanes to retain the lead as Suarez issued his challenge for the lead on the inside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch while Almirola was on the outside lane with drafting help from Buescher.

Another lap later, Suarez moved to the outside of Haley through the frontstretch as he moved into the lead with drafting help from Almirola while Haley fell back to third in front of Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Shortly after, a stack-up through the backstretch allowed Hamlin to challenge Suarez for the top spot.

Just then and with 23 laps remaining, the caution returned when nearly the entire field led by Suarez and Hamlin slipped sideways and wrecked in Turn 1 as rain was being reported around the superspeedway venue. Amid the late turns of events and with nearly everyone running towards the lead pack wrecked, Austin Dillon, who was running in the middle of the pack but dodged his wrecked fellow competitors while running below the apron, emerged out in front with the lead followed by Kevin Harvick, Cindric, Cody Ware and Kyle Busch while Truex, Landon Cassill, David Ragan, McLeod and Noah Gragson were scored in the top 10.

Two laps later, the field led by Austin Dillon were led to pit road and the race was red-flagged due to inclement weather and with rain falling amid dark clouds and a shining sun.

Following a delay of three hours and 19 minutes as the track was dried out amid the extensive rain delay, the red flag was lifted and the field returned to the track under a cautious pace. Meanwhile, Harvick, who was in second during the red flag delay, retired and had his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang towed back to the garage after sustaining terminal damage from the Big One prior to the red flag period. Harrison Burton also retired after failing to maintain speed under the damage vehicle policy as the number of lead lap competitors dwindled to 10 led by Austin Dillon.

Down to the final 16 laps of the event, the green flag waved and the race restarted. At the start, Dillon and Cindric briefly dueled for the lead until Cindric received a draft from Truex to launch his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang into the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Cindric retained the lead followed by Austin Dillon and Landon Cassill wile Truex got shuffled back to fourth in front of teammate Kyle Busch and Reddick.

During the following lap, Cindric led a four-car breakaway from the small pack followed by Austin Dillon, Cassill and Truex while Kyle Busch led the small pack ahead of Cody Ware, Reddick, McLeod, Ragan and Gragson. Meanwhile, Wallace was in 11th and a lap behind the leaders while Logano was in 12th, two laps behind. Logano’s teammate Blaney continued to run six laps behind in 18th place.

With 10 laps remaining, Cindric continued to lead ahead of Austin Dillon, Cassill and Gragson, who received drafting help from Reddick to catch the four-car lead pack, while Truex fell back to fifth. Truex soon lost ground of the lead pack as he settled in sixth with Cassill in fifth while Gragson situated himself behind Cindric and Austin Dillon as Reddick settled stabilized himself behind Gragson’s No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Cindric retained the lead ahead of a four-year breakaway from the scattered pack followed by Austin Dillon, Gragson and Reddick while Cassill trailed by two seconds. Truex, meanwhile, stabilized himself in sixth while Ragan, Cody Ware, McLeod and Kyle Busch were in the top 10.

Then with three laps remaining, Austin Dillon got into the rear of Cindric as Cindric slipped sideways below the apron in Turn 1. This allowed Dillon to return to the top of the leaderboard, though he was far ahead of the pack that quickly caught back to him towards the backstretch. Through the backstretch, however, teammate Reddick settled in second behind Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet followed by a hard-charging Cassill, Gragson, Ragan and Cody Ware while Cindric fell back to seventh.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Austin Dillon remained as the leader ahead of teammate Reddick, Cassill, Ragan, Cody Ware, Cindric and Gragson. Entering the first two turns and through the frontstretch, Dillon and Reddick continued to run first and second followed by Ware. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Cindric made his move to the outside of Ware for third place. He, however, could not gain any further drafting help from behind. This allowed Dillon to return to the frontstretch with a clear racetrack and no challenges from behind as he stormed across the finish line in first place and victorious ahead of Reddick and Cindric.

By winning at Daytona in a “must-win” scenario, Austin Dillon notched his fourth career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his second at Daytona after winning the 2018 Daytona 500 and his first Cup victory since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in July 2020. Above all, he raced his way into the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked his fifth overall appearance in the Playoffs and first following a one-year absence.

“Crazy faith,” Dillon said on NBC. “We stayed ready. I got to thank my teammate Tyler Reddick, BREZTRI, Bass Pro Shops. Everybody that makes this thing happen. Man, we’re in the Playoffs. There was a lot going on there [at the end]. I knew that if we got to the white [flag], if I waited too long, I was afraid somebody would wreck behind us, so I wanted to go ahead and get the lead. We were able to get it. I had a big run to [Cindric] and then, I had my teammate back there. I knew we were in pretty good shape to the end. He did a good job checking up any kind of run. I felt like I had good teammates and Chevrolet behind me. If I could get the lead, [Cindric] would not be able to hold onto the draft. It’s crazy. You just never give up and have faith. We had some tough finishes this year like Charlotte [in May]. I beat myself over that. I made a good move and just didn’t finish it off. Today, we finished it off. I’m so proud of these guys and I’m glad to be going to Victory Lane.”

Teammate Reddick, who already solidified his spot in the 2022 Playoffs by virtue of winning twice throughout the regular-season stretch, came home in second place as he made it a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing while RCR secured both competitors into the Playoffs. Cindric, who won the Daytona 500 in February and is a 2022 Cup Playoff newcomer, rallied for third place while Cassill and Gragson, both of whom were ineligible for the Playoffs but seeking their first victory in NASCAR’s premier series, finished in the top five.

“I got hit by another race car going 190-200 mph,” Cindric said. “Glad I saved it. Glad I had a shot to come back through the field. [Dillon] is racing for a playoff spot. Totally expect to get drove through. Just a matter of time. Pretty bummed. I mean, we had a shot to win today. We put ourselves in position. Not a scratch on [the car]. Dang it. I knew I was a sitting duck. I felt like I was Xfinity racing again. I was the only Ford out there. One lap longer, [I] might have had a shot. I don’t know. Just frustrating just to be that close. Kind of pissed about it, but can’t be too upset. In the Playoffs and have a lot to fight for. Great opportunity.”

Cody Ware, McLeod, Truex, Ragan and Kyle Busch finished in the top 10.

Meanwhile and amid the late turn of events on the track, Blaney finished 15th while still six laps behind the leaders while Truex, who lost the draft and could not gain any momentum towards the frontstretch, ended up ninth. In the end, Blaney was the beneficiary as he claimed the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by three points over Truex. The result extended Blaney’s consecutive seasons of making the Cup Playoffs to six seasons, thus ensuring all three Team Penske cars in the Playoffs, while Truex, the 2017 Cup Series champion, missed the Playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“We’re very fortunate, that’s for sure,” Blaney, who continues to pursue his first victory of the season, said. “It was not a good day get going. You get torn up early and that point, our fate was not really in our hands. All we could do was try to keep working on it and fix it to where we could make laps. Thankfully, we were able to get enough cars throughout the wrecks that we kind of just kept moving up and we were able to get in. That’s definitely a lot more stressful than I wanted coming into here, but I just got to give a lot of props to the No. 12 group for fixing [the car] and sticking with it all day. That’s why you do it. Your day could start off like that and you just stay with them. Stay in the game and it was definitely beneficial for us, so I appreciate them. We’ll go race for a championship…Definitely, a roller coaster of emotions and luckily, it ended on a high for our group.”

“Just not fast enough to keep up with those guys,” Truex said. “We got the restart we needed and got in a decent spot there. Just couldn’t keep up. I was wide open the whole last run there. It’s a shame. It stinks, but just too much damage to have enough speed to do what we needed to do. Hindsight’s always 20/20. We gave away plenty of points throughout the season, but it is what it is.”

Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, rookie Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon have made the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, rookie Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, rookie Todd Gilliland, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware and Kurt Busch, who was absent as he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms, are the remaining competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

There were 39 lead changes for 19 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 30 laps. A total of 17 of 37 starters finished the race, with 10 finishing on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Austin Dillon, 10 laps led

2. Tyler Reddick, 13 laps led

3. Austin Cindric, 13 laps led

4. Landon Cassill

5. Noah Gragson

6. Cody Ware

7. BJ McLeod, two laps led

8. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

9. David Ragan

10. Kyle Busch, seven laps led, Stage 2 winner

11. Bubba Wallace, one lap down, two laps led

12. Joey Logano, two laps down, 14 laps led, Stage 1 winner

13. Ty Gibbs, two laps down

14. Alex Bowman, four laps down, 11 laps led

15. Ryan Blaney, six laps down

16. Cole Custer, seven laps down

17. Erik Jones – OUT, Dvp, 22 laps led

18. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident, one lap led

19. Harrison Burton – OUT, Dvp

20. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

21. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

23. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

24. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident, two laps led

25. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Accident, 13 laps led

26. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

27. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident, one lap led

28. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

29. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led

30. Corey LaJoie, 23 laps down, six laps led

31. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident

32. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident, two laps led

33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

34. William Byron – OUT, Accident, one lap led

35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

37. Kyle Larson – OUT, Engine

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to commence next weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, for the Cook Out Southern 500. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 4, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.