MADISON, Illinois — Going into race two of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, who’s hot and who’s not?

Hot: Toyota

Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE

To say Toyota commanded Sunday night’s race at Darlington may actually be an understatement.

Toyota drivers claimed six of the top seven finishing positions Sunday. In between the green flag and the checkered flag, Toyota drivers led 351 of the 367 laps run and claimed 73 of the 110 stage points up for grabs — with only Ty Gibbs and Riley Herbst failing to either lead a lap or earn stage points.

Chase Briscoe led the way, sweeping the stages, leading 309 laps and holding off Toyota drivers Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones for the win. John Hunter Nemechek, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin finished fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Christopher Bell placed seventh in the first stage but finished 29th due to damage from a pit road incident with Carson Hocevar.

Although the championship ultimately comes down to Phoenix Raceway, Darlington gives us a good look at who has the best balance of handling and power to produce the speed needed to win a championship.

Gateway does too and it’s looking good for Toyota. Hamlin won the pole with Briscoe in third, Reddick in seventh and Bell in eighth. No other manufacturer put more than three cars in the top 10. Bubba Wallace qualified 14th but showed some pace and is in good shape for points:

Chase Briscoe: 1st in points, Locked into Round of 12 with Darlington win

Denny Hamlin: 2nd, 43 points above the cutline (+43) heading to Gateway

Tyler Reddick: 4th, +35

Bubba Wallace: 5th, +25

Christopher Bell: 10th, +11

On track position and history, you can count Hamlin, Briscoe, Reddick and Bell as favorites.

Lukewarm: Hendrick Motorsports

Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE

In a race where a good showing mattered more than ever, NASCAR’s premier team absolutely did not show up.

Hendrick didn’t have any of their cars finish in the top 10 at Darlington for the fifth time at the track since becoming a 4-car organization in 2002. The team had their worst best finish in the last 34 Darlington races, with Chase Elliott finishing 17th. Elliott led 8 of Sunday’s 367 laps, the most of anyone on the same lineup that led 506 of the Cup Series’ preceding 664 laps at Darlington.

Kyle Larson was second to Elliott for laps led, leading just two laps. Larson was also the only driver to muster multiple stage points – getting seven in stage one and five in stage two.

When the checkered flag flew, however, Larson finished 19th. He finished two positions ahead of William Byron who had issues with handling and pit stops.

Still, nothing compared to the issues Alex Bowman had Sunday.

Bowman started 29th and could hardly move up once the race started. Then, less than 70 laps into the race, he lost two laps due to a 40-second pit stop. After not being able to get the right-rear tire off, the tire changer ran back to the wall and found the air gun hadn’t been plugged in and tested before the race.

Bowman gained a lap with a wavearound under caution on lap 204 and another quick caution on lap 211. During the second stage break, Bowman earned the free pass and got back on the lead lap for the final stage.

In the end, that really didn’t matter. Bowman lost two laps in the final 130 laps and finished 31st. He is now last in the playoffs, 19 points below the cutline.

Getting to Gateway, things are almost no better for Bowman. He was 25th-fastest in practice and will start there after a poor qualifying run.

Set to start six spots ahead of Bowman at Gateway is Chase Elliott, who is only nine points above the cutline.

In stark contrast, Kyle Larson and William Byron are 38 and 25 points above the cutline and will start second and sixth, respectively, at Gateway. Neither can be ruled out for the win Sunday.

Not*: Team Penske

Courtesy of JEM

Photo: Joseph Eigo/TRE

Note the big, fat asterisk next to the “Not”. We’ve all seen this film before, right? Penske doesn’t necessarily start the playoff the best but then cruises to the title with wins at the right times late in the going.

However, Darlington didn’t see any of their drivers really go out and put on a strong performance.

Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney placed eighth and 10th in the first stage. Then, Cindric’s team didn’t keep up with the track while Blaney had an incident that took them out of the running for a top 10. They finished 12th and 18th respectively, while teammate Joey Logano finished 20th on speed.

Josh Berry had the worst night of the Penske ecosystem. He finished 38th in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford after crashing on lap 1.

It wasn’t all a waste, however. Berry ran 239 laps, including the fastest lap of the race that netted him a bonus points. Berry will need it as he is tied for last in the playoffs, 19 points below the cutline and worst of the Penske ecosystem:

Ryan Blaney, 7th, 22 points above the cutline (+22)

Austin Cindric, 9th, +12

Joey Logano, 13th -3

Josh Berry, 16th, -19

At Gateway, Logano has finished inside the top five in every Cup race and both Cindric and Blaney have run well there, even battling for the win last year with Cindric winning after Blaney ran out of fuel.

Blaney will start fifth while Cindric will start ninth, Berry will start 12th and Logano will start 13th. Blaney showed strong pace and is a favorite for the win.

Hot: Ross Chastain

Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE

It’s unlikely Ross Chastain will go to the Championship 4 this season but you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking otherwise after his strong run at Darlington and a good qualifying effort at Gateway.

Chastain started sixth and placed fourth and sixth in the stages. The 12 stage points meant he still tied for the fifth-most points earned on the day despite finishing 11th. The result put Chastain eighth in points, 21 points above the cutline, after Darlington.

Some anticipated Chastain might be a Round of 16 exit but it’s not shaping up that way. Chastain qualified fourth despite not showing the best pace in practice. Sunday is likely to be a track position race, however, and the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet is perfect for that.

If he can run well at Gateway, Bristol looks much easier. In the Round of 12, Chastain advancing further may be a taller task with inconsistent performance on intermediate tracks and road courses. However, he can take pride in getting there with the struggles Trackhouse Racing has had this season.

Touching on Trucks… Corey Heim is boiling and Front Row is hot

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En route to his eighth win of the 2025 season, Corey Heim won the first stage and finished second in the second stage last Saturday at Darlington. Heim now has 16 stage wins and 71 total playoff points. He now leads the points by 59 after just one playoff race.

If Heim is anything other than the champion in October at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR needs to blow up the playoff system and replace it with something that fairly rewards the best driver of the year. The thought alone of him not being the champion should warrant a total overhaul of the system.

If a driver is great in a season, they are just great. Greatness should be rewarded. Greatness defines drivers and their legacies and legacies define NASCAR.

You can’t pull the wool over fans’ eyes. Any fan can tell you who they think has been the best all year and, therefore, who should be crowned champion.

…okay, I’m off my soapbox now. Fine.

All that to say, Layne Riggs has been close to Corey Heim and could spoil his title run this year – and last Saturday’s race at Darlington showed that.

Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE

Riggs won the pole for last Saturday’s race at Darlington. After finishing second to Heim in the first stage, he beat him in the second and led six more laps than him (71 vs. 65). Riggs only finished 17th because of a late-race issue.

Riggs sits second in points, 38 points above the cutline that teammate Chandler Smith sits below after issues.

Smith is still long for a deep playoff run, even with the rough start. You can expect Smith to run well at Bristol and New Hampshire and advance to the Round of 8.

NASCAR Cup Series Points Standings after Darlington

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Points Standings after Darlington