Bubba Wallace’s Brickyard 400 win on July 27 gave more clarity to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture with four regular-season races remaining in 2025.
Wallace locked himself into the playoffs, bumping Chris Buescher to 16th and above the playoff cutline by 42 points over RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece.
Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs’ long-shot wild card playoff chances all but ended with Wallace’s victory, leaving everyone below Preece in a win-or-else scenario over the next four weeks.
Atop the standings, Chase Elliott’s regular-season points lead shrunk to four points over William Byron.
Here’s the updated NASCAR Cup Series points standings:
Through 22 races
Denny Hamlin (4 wins)Kyle Larson (3 wins)Christopher Bell (3 wins)Shane van Gisbergen (3 wins)Chase Elliott (1 win)William Byron (1 win)Ryan Blaney (1 win)Chase Briscoe (1 win)Bubba Wallace (1 win)Joey Logano (1 win)Ross Chastain (1 win)Austin Cindric (1 win)Josh Berry (1 win)Tyler Reddick +138 ahead of playoff cutlineAlex Bowman +63Chris Buescher +42Ryan Preece -42 behind 16thKyle Busch -81Ty Gibbs -95AJ Allmendinger -124Michael McDowell -129John Hunter Nemechek -134Erik Jones -147Carson Hocevar -149Brad Keselowski -161Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -165Zane Smith -165Todd Gilliland -195Justin Haley -196Austin Dillon -203Daniel Suarez -208Ty Dillon -213Cole Custer -279Noah Gragson -284Riley Herbst -297
Unofficial after Indianapolis
Chase Elliott 726 points (1 win, 6 playoff points)William Byron: -4 (1 win, 12 playoff points)Kyle Larson -15 (3 wins, 23 playoff points)Denny Hamlin -20 (3 wins, 24 playoff points)Christopher Bell -62 (3 wins, 17 playoff points)Tyler Reddick -71 (1 playoff point)Ryan Blaney -110 (1 win, 10 playoff points)Chase Briscoe -127 (1 win, 7 playoff points)Alex Bowman -151Chris Buescher -167 (5 playoff point penalty)Bubba Wallace -176 ( 1 win, 7 playoff points)Joey Logano -194 (1 win, 7 playoff points)Ross Chastain -208 (1 win, 6 playoff points)Ryan Preece -209 (2 playoff points)Kyle Busch -248Ty Gibbs -262Austin Cindric -287 (1 win, 8 playoff points)AJ Allmendinger -291Michael McDowell -296 (1 playoff point)John Hunter Nemechek -301Josh Berry -312 (1 win, 6 playoff points)Erik Jones -314Carson Hocevar -316Brad Keselowski -328Shane van Gisbergen -329 (3 wins, 17 playoff points)Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -332Zane Smith -332Todd Gilliland -362Justin Haley -363Austin Dillon -370Daniel Suarez -375Ty Dillon -380Cole Custer -446Noah Gragson -451Riley Herbst -464