Has playing racing games ever made you curious about real-life motorsports, but you haven’t been sure where to start? Well, now’s the time to jump in, with the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in full swing. You can watch the best of the best face off in their chase for glory.

There was a heated chase for the final playoff spots this season, with multiple not being decided until the last races of the regular season. It was a particularly strong year for Team 23XI, who saw two drivers (Bubba Watson and Tyler Reddick) and team co-owner Denny Hamlin (the other co-owner is NBA legend Michael Jordan) all among the 16 drivers to qualify.

If none of that meant anything to you, don’t worry. We’re here to give you a crash course on the playoffs: How drivers qualify, how eliminations work, and how you can watch the action. Let’s get into it.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Explained

A total of 16 drivers qualify for the playoffs, and the easiest part to understand is “win and you’re in.” There are 26 races during the regular season, and if a full-time driver wins one of them, they qualify for the playoffs. This year, 14 of the 16 playoff drivers qualified by winning at least one race. The final two were decided by points, and you can see the bracket with all 16 playoff drivers in the image below.

Points are awarded after every race based on finishing position as well as performance in the first two stages of each race. So even if you don’t win, you still get rewarded for finishing high up the leaderboard. For example, Tyler Reddick qualified for the playoffs despite not winning any races thanks to five Top 5 finishes and nine Top 10 finishes.

Now, you might be wondering: “There are 26 races and 16 playoff spots, so what happens if more than 16 people win a race?” Well, that’s never happened before, but if it did, spots would be chosen based on who had the most wins. Ties would be broken by total points.

Once the field is set, the playoffs begin and occur across four rounds. The first three rounds consist of three races each, with drivers eliminated between each round. That leads to a final group of four drivers who face off in a “winner takes all” championship race. So that’s 10 playoff races to decide the eventual champion.

The “win and you’re in” philosophy carries over to the playoffs, too. If a driver wins one of the races during a playoff round, they automatically move on to the next round. The Round of 16 is currently happening, and there have been two race winners: Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. So they’re now guaranteed spots in the Round of 12. If a different driver wins the final race of the first round, they’ll advance too. The rest of the spots are determined by points, and this is where “playoff points” come in and where things can get a little confusing for those who don’t follow the sport.

Drivers build up playoff points throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. Winning a race nets them five playoff points, and winning a stage within a race nets one. Then they get additional playoff points based on where they finished in the final regular season standings. The overall winner gets 15 playoff points, and everyone else in the Top 10 also gets a gradually decreasing number of playoff points.

When the playoffs begin, every driver’s point totals get reset back to a base of 2,000, but then their playoff points get added on top. So let’s say a driver amasses 30 playoff points; that means they’ll start the playoffs with 2,030 points. At the end of each round, the four drivers with the lowest point totals who didn’t win a race that round are eliminated. The points are then reset back to 2,000, playoff points re-added, and the process repeats until the final four racers are determined.

To sum this up in layman’s terms: Drivers are rewarded for particularly strong performance in the regular season by getting a leg up in the playoffs. It creates a kind of buffer, making it easier for them to advance past the first couple rounds of the playoffs. It’s a reward for drivers who excel all season and prevents them from coasting if they win an early-season race and lock up a playoff spot. But the “win and you’re in” philosophy makes it possible for drivers to advance even with point totals that would normally eliminate them. And once the final championship race arrives, all the points are thrown out and the champion is decided by which of the final four drivers has the best finish in that one race.

Plus, what makes NASCAR unique compared to other sports is that drivers still take part in races after they’re officially eliminated. That includes those who didn’t make the playoffs, so playoff drivers still have to contend with a full racetrack of competitors going after each race’s prize money.

How to Watch the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

So now you’re caught up on how all this works, here’s how you can watch the playoff races this year. They’ll be broken down by round, with the name of the race, the raceway where it’s happening, the date and time, and where you can watch live on TV or by streaming:

Round of 16

Race 1: Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway | Winner: Chase Briscoe

Date: August 31 at 6:00 p.m. ET. TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Race 2: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway | Winner: Denny Hamlin

Date: September 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET. TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Race 3: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Date: September 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Round of 12

Race 1: NASCAR Cup Series Race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Date: September 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET. TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Race 2: Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway

Date: September 28 at 3:00 p.m. ET. TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Race 3: Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Date: October 5 at 3:00 p.m. ET TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Round of 8

Race 1: South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Date: October 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET. TV: USA Network; Streaming: HBO Max

Race 2: YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Date: October 19 at 2:00 p.m. TV: NBC; Streaming: HBO Max

Race 3: Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway

Date: October 26 at 2:00 p.m. TV: NBC; Streaming: HBO Max

Championship Race

NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway

Date: November 2 at 3:00 p.m. TV: NBC; Streaming: HBO Max