![\"NASCAR\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757334428_330_heavy-chase-briscoe-in-pit-at-darlington.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Chase Briscoe won the Cook Out Southern 500.<\/p>\n
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have been intense, with top drivers showing strong performances in the opening Round of 16 and gearing up for the next stages.\u00a0 After World Wide Technology Raceway<\/a> (Gateway), the standings are shaping into a thrilling battle.<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin<\/a> leads the pack with five wins, three poles, 12 top-five finishes, and 15 top-10s per Driver Racing Reference<\/a>. Hamlin\u2019s victory at Gateway<\/a> locked him into the Round of 12.<\/p>\n Right behind him is Chase Briscoe<\/a>. His clutch win at Darlington, along with a dozen top-fives this season, has made him one of the biggest surprises of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Kyle Larson<\/a> sits third with three wins and 16 top-10s. Larson\u2019s consistency keeps him firmly in contention.<\/p>\n Bubba Wallace<\/a> is fourth, and Ryan Blaney<\/a> rounds out the top five with two wins, 15 top-10s, and the kind of steady scoring that makes him dangerous down the stretch.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings after Gateway per NASCAR.com<\/a><\/p>\n Denny Hamlin<\/p>\n Chase Briscoe<\/p>\n Kyle Larson<\/p>\n Bubba Wallace<\/p>\n Ryan Blaney<\/p>\n William Byron<\/p>\n Tyler Reddick<\/p>\n Christopher Bell<\/p>\n Chase Elliott<\/p>\n Joey Logano<\/p>\n Ross Chastain<\/p>\n Austin Cindric<\/p>\n Below the cutline: Key Drivers to Watch<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin, the veteran, continues to prove why he\u2019s a championship favorite. His Gateway win was his fifth of the season, and his playoff experience makes him the one to beat.<\/p>\n Chase Briscoe\u2019s breakthrough at Darlington has given him massive momentum. With six poles already this year, his qualifying speed could be key in advancing deeper.<\/p>\n Larson\u2019s mix of wins and relentless consistency makes him a steady threat. He hasn\u2019t dominated, but his points tally keeps him within striking distance.<\/p>\n Bubba Wallace\u2019s steady climb in the standings, capped by a big gain at Gateway, proves he\u2019s finding form at the perfect time.<\/p>\n NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs schedule<\/p>\n The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs bring 16 drivers into a four-round battle for the championship. The Round of 16 opened with Darlington<\/a> (Aug. 31) and Gateway (Sept. 7), with the cutoff race set for Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 13. After that, the field shrinks to 12.<\/p>\n The Round of 12 will be contested at New Hampshire<\/a> (Sept. 21), Kansas (Sept. 28), and the Charlotte Roval (Oct. 5). From there, just eight drivers advance.<\/p>\n The Round of 8 includes high-stakes races at Las Vegas (Oct. 12), Talladega (Oct. 19), and Martinsville (Oct. 26).<\/p>\n Finally, the Championship<\/a> 4 showdown takes place at Phoenix Raceway<\/a> on Nov. 2, where the top finisher among the finalists will be crowned the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champion.<\/p>\n Bristol Elimination Race Set to Decide 2025 NASCAR Playoff Fate<\/p>\n With Bristol Motor Speedway<\/a> set as the Round of 16 elimination race, the stakes couldn\u2019t be higher. Drivers like Dillon, van Gisbergen<\/a>, Bowman<\/a>, and Berry<\/a> must swing for the fences to avoid being cut, while Hamlin, Briscoe, and Larson aim to solidify their championship push.<\/p>\n The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are shaping into one of the tightest battles in recent memory, combining the dominance of veterans with the rise of younger stars. Every lap at Bristol will matter, and the field is bracing for fireworks.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Chase Briscoe won the Cook Out Southern 500. The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have been intense,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-128784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Austin Dillon
Shane van Gisbergen
Alex Bowman
Josh Berry<\/p>\n