{"id":192356,"date":"2025-10-06T02:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T02:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/192356\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T02:40:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T02:40:15","slug":"nascar-playoff-rankings-is-denny-hamlin-the-driver-to-beat-entering-round-of-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/192356\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Playoff Rankings: Is Denny Hamlin the Driver to Beat Entering Round of 8?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bob <\/p>\n

Bob Pockrass<\/p>\n

FOX Motorsports Insider<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

There is no more “survive and advance” left in the NASCAR playoffs.<\/p>\n

The semifinal round (Round of 8) is here. And that means the pressure is on to win or finish top 5 and earn stage points. There won’t be any backing into making the Championship 4 event.<\/p>\n

NASCAR\u2019s playoffs are based on three-race rounds (every team still competes even if not a playoff team). If a driver who’s still alive in the playoffs wins in the round, that\u2019s an automatic bid to the next round. The four winless drivers with the fewest points are eliminated after each round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drivers have earned playoff points with stage and race wins, as well as based on their regular-season finishes, which are added to their point total when the points are reset at the start of each round, which can help them advance.<\/p>\n

At the championship race, the best finisher among the four finalists is crowned champion.<\/p>\n

The 2025 playoff tracks:<\/p>\n

Opening Round (Round of 16): Darlington (winner: Chase Briscoe<\/a>), World Wide Technology Raceway (winner: Denny Hamlin<\/a>) and Bristol (winner: Christopher Bell<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Quarterfinal Round (Round of 12): New Hampshire (winner: Ryan Blaney<\/a>), Kansas (winner: Chase Elliott) and Charlotte road course (winner: non-playoff driver Shane van Gisbergen).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Semifinal Round (Round of Eight): Las Vegas (1.5-mile oval), Talladega (2.5-mile high-banked superspeedway) and Martinsville (0.528-mile oval). Teams have raced at all three of these tracks this year.<\/p>\n

Championship: Phoenix (1-mile oval). Teams last raced at Phoenix in March.<\/p>\n

Here are my playoff rankings based on who has the best shot at winning the title with only eight drivers remaining in contention:<\/p>\n

1. Denny Hamlin<\/a>
Joe Gibbs Racing: No. 11 Toyota
Position: First, +8 on the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, Seventh; Gateway, First; Bristol, 31st; Loudon, 12th; Kansas, Second; Charlotte, 23rd<\/p>\n

March 2025 Las Vegas finish: 25th
April 2025 Talladega finish: 21st
March 2025 Martinsville finish: First<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hamlin might be the best situated for this round as the Toyota drivers will be strong at Las Vegas and Talladega. He has a combined nine wins at these three tracks, and there should be no lack of confidence he can advance. But one mistake and no wins could be costly for Hamlin, as it would anyone in this round with the points so tight.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Championship Four<\/p>\n

2. Ryan Blaney<\/a>
Team Penske: No. 12 Ford
Position: Second, +6 on the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, 18th; Gateway, Fourth; Bristol, Fourth; Loudon, First; Kansas, 24th; Charlotte, 13th
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a035th
April 2025 Talladega finish: 37th
March 2025 Martinsville finish: 11th<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Don’t let the fact that Blaney hasn’t finished top 10 earlier this year at any of the tracks in this round fool you. He has three wins at Talladega and won at Martinsville a year ago to advance. He has the speed to advance, but his margin of error will be slim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prediction: Championship Four<\/p>\n

3. Christopher Bell<\/a>
Joe Gibbs Racing: No. 20 Toyota
Position: Fifth, -4 behind the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, 29th; Gateway, Seventh; Bristol, First; Loudon, Sixth; Kansas, Third; Charlotte, Third
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a012th
April 2025 Talladega finish: 35th
March 2025 Martinsville finish: Second<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bell will need to scrap to get out of this round and get over any hard feelings of not advancing last year as part of a controversial NASCAR call on his last-lap move at Martinsville. But with top-three finishes in three of the last four races, it appears he is peaking at the right time.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Championship Four\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Chase Elliott<\/a>
Hendrick Motorsports: No. 9 Chevrolet
Position: Sixth, -14 behind the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, 17th; Gateway, Third; Bristol, 38th; Loudon, Fifth; Kansas, First; Charlotte, Eighth
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a010th
April 2025 Talladega finish: Fifth
March 2025 Martinsville finish: Fourth<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Elliott didn’t have to sweat out the elimination race at the Charlotte road course and that should help him be ready for this round. He finished top-10 at each of these tracks earlier this year, but he hasn’t been consistent enough to make one confident he will repeat that over the next three weeks. Still, he appears to have a little bit of swagger and it would be wrong to underestimate him.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Eliminated in semifinal round<\/p>\n

4. Kyle Larson<\/a>
Hendrick Motorsports: No. 5 Chevrolet
Position: Third +4 on the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, 19th; Gateway, 12th; Bristol, 32nd; Loudon, Seventh; Kansas, Sixth; Charlotte, Second
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a0Ninth
April 2025 Talladega finish: Second
March 2025 Martinsville finish: Fifth<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While Larson isn’t a big fan of Talladega, he does have three wins at Las Vegas and one at Martinsville in his career. As he has said over the last several weeks, he feels things are returning closer to where he was running earlier in the year when he was dominating races. The fact he was fourth at Talladega and third at Martinsville in the playoffs races last year shows he can perform when under pressure.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Championship Four<\/p>\n

6. Chase Briscoe<\/a>
Joe Gibbs Racing: No. 19 Toyota
Position: Seventh, -14 behind the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, First; Gateway, Second; Bristol, Ninth; Loudon, 10th; Kansas, Fourth; Charlotte, 14th
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a017th
April 2025 Talladega finish: 15th
March 2025 Martinsville finish: Ninth<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Briscoe will have to have career days at the tracks in this round to advance. He has just four top-fives combined at these three circuits. But he’s in a Joe Gibbs Racing car now, and that could make the difference. Well, it won’t make all the difference. Briscoe will need to be on his game.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Eliminated in semifinal round<\/p>\n

7. William Byron<\/a>
Hendrick Motorsports: No. 24 Chevrolet
Position: Fourth, +4 on the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, 21st; Gateway, 11th; Bristol, 12th; Loudon, Third; Kansas, Ninth; Charlotte, 11th
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a0Fourth
April 2025 Talladega finish: Third
March 2025 Martinsville finish: 22nd<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Byron has won at Las Vegas and Martinsville and his two Daytona 500 wins are enough to show that he could get the job done at Talladega. But he hasn’t challenged for many wins over the last few months, and with one top-five so far in the playoffs, he needs to turn things around quickly to avoid elimination.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Eliminated in semifinal round<\/p>\n

8. Joey Logano<\/a>
Team Penske: No. 22 Ford
Position: Eighth, -24 behind the cutoff<\/p>\n

2025 playoff results: Darlington, 20th; Gateway, Fifth; Bristol, Fifth; Loudon, Fourth; Kansas, 21st; Charlotte, 20th
March 2025 Las Vegas finish:\u00a015th
April 2025 Talladega finish: 39th (DQ)
March 2025 Martinsville finish: Eighth<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Logano barely made it into this round, but he is the defending winner of the Vegas race, a win that propelled him to the 2024 championship. He also has three wins in his career at Talladega and a win at Martinsville. He could win any of these races, and with the way he has run this year, he’ll have to win to advance. It’s possible but not likely.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Eliminated in the semifinal round<\/p>\n

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0@bobpockrass<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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