{"id":195693,"date":"2025-10-07T19:11:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/195693\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T19:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:11:14","slug":"the-nascar-cup-series-playoffs-round-of-8-who-made-the-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/195693\/","title":{"rendered":"The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8: Who Made the Cut?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The field for the NASCAR<\/a> Cup Series Round of 8 is now locked after New Zealand\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen captured the checkered flag this weekend at the Bank of America ROVAL 400 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He may not be in contention for any hardware at the\u00a0Cup Series Championship in Phoenix (exclusively airing on NBC and Peacock<\/a>), but that didn\u2019t stop the speedster from Down Under from seizing his fifth consecutive road-course victory. \u00a0<\/p>\n

As SVG continued to cement his legacy as the best road-course racer in NASCAR\u2019s top flight, plenty of drama unfolded back in the pack during the climatic finish to the Round of 12<\/a>, including multiple drivers crossing the finish line in reverse<\/a>. Ross Chastain tried to conjure another spectacular finish with a move reminiscent of his epic \u201cHail Melon,\u201d but the Florida wheelman instead spun into Denny Hamlin to end his day. Joey Logano clinched the final spot for the semifinal round, while Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick from 23XI Racing as well as Austin Cindric from Team Penske were all eliminated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: NBC Sports NASCAR Announcers for 2025 Season: Which Commentators Are in the Booth?<\/a><\/p>\n

With the postseason contenders revving up for the South Point 400 this Sunday, October 12 on USA Network<\/a>, here\u2019s a look at the eight remaining drivers in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The action returns to\u00a0NBC\u00a0and\u00a0Peacock<\/a>\u00a0for the final three races of the postseason: the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19, the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, and the Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 2.<\/p>\n

Meet the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 Drivers1. Denny Hamlin \u2013 4,036 points
No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota<\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin rolls into the Round of 8 with nothing but the wind at his sails. Counting Las Vegas, Talladega and Martinsville, Michael Jordan\u2019s business partner has amassed a total of nine career wins at the three tracks he’ll soon face in this round, including six victories on \u201cThe Paperclip\u201d alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. Ryan Blaney \u2013 4,034 points
No. 12 Team Penske Ford<\/p>\n

Just two points behind Hamlin is former Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. He was unsuccessful this season on the three upcoming tracks he\u2019ll see this round \u2013 he landed in 35th at Sin City and 37th at Talladega \u2013 but that hasn\u2019t always been the case. He scored a crucial victory at Martinsville last year to advance, and he\u2019s won three times previously at Talladega.<\/p>\n

3. Kyle Larson \u2013 4,032 points
No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet<\/p>\n

Kyle Larson has history on his side as the Round of 8 begins. He may occasionally struggle on shorter tracks, but the wily vet is a three-time winner at Las Vegas. Though he\u2019s never had an issue coping with the pressure of the postseason \u2013 or pressure in general \u2013 an early victory in Sin City would not only take the edge off ahead of Martinsville, it would lock Yung Money into the desert-bound Championship 4.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0How to Watch the 2025 NASCAR Season on NBC & Peacock: Times, Dates & More<\/a><\/p>\n

4. William Byron \u2013 4,032 points
No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet<\/p>\n

William Byron knows what it takes to win at both Las Vegas and Martinsville, but he hasn\u2019t been much of a threat so far in the playoffs. His speed\u2019s been inconsistent and, due to an evolving, risk-averse nature on the track, we haven\u2019t seen Willy B score more than his solo Top 5 finish this postseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Christopher Bell \u2013 4,028 points
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota<\/p>\n

Last year, a controversial call ended Christopher Bell\u2019s postseason run in the Round of 8 at Martinsville, but the Joe Gibbs Racing talent seems to have put it all in his rearview. Coming off back-to-back Top 3 finishes, Bell remains poised and focused on the track. That said, considering he crashed out in his last two Talladega races, his best shot at clinching a berth in the Championship 4 will most likely be back at Martinsville where he won in 2022 to advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

6. Chase Elliott \u2013 4,018 points
No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet<\/p>\n

Like his HMS comrade Larson, nothing ever seems to ruffle Chase Elliott\u2019s feathers. Though some might say his Kansas win catalyzed his confidence boost, he\u2019s strutting into the Round of 8 with extra swagger for a reason. He bagged Top 5 finishes at Talladega and Martinsville earlier in the year, in addition to a Top 10 finish in Vegas.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0NASCAR: News, Videos, Stats, Highlights, Results & More<\/a><\/p>\n

7. Chase Briscoe \u2013 4,018 points
No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota<\/p>\n

Chase Briscoe has certainly defied expectations this season in the Cup Series, but he arguably faces his tallest task yet as he prepares for the Round of 8. Out of the next three tracks in the semifinal round, he\u2019s notched only one Top 10 finish this season, and that was at Martinsville \u2013 the final race of the round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. Joey Logano \u2013 4,008 points
No. 22 Team Penske Ford<\/p>\n

Joey Logano may have just barely eked into the Round of 8, finishing 21st and 20th in the last two races, but the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is headed back to comfortable territory. Last year, his Vegas victory propelled him to Phoenix, where he ultimately hoisted the Bill France Cup.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 motors into Las Vegas this Sunday, October 12 with the South Point 400, airing exclusively on USA Network. The action zooms to\u00a0NBC\u00a0and\u00a0Peacock<\/a>\u00a0for the final three races of the postseason: the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19, the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, and the Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The field for the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 is now locked after New Zealand\u2019s Shane van…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,23511,634,17228,5250,82],"class_list":["post-195693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-episodic","tag-nascar","tag-nbc-sports","tag-peacock","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195693","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=195693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}