After a grueling 26 regular season races, it’s time to go playoff racing.
Sixteen of NASCAR’s best drivers will battle it out over the next 10 weeks for the Bill France Cup, on NBC, Peacock and USA Network.
The upcoming schedule of races will challenge playoff drivers both physically and mentally, with tests at short tracks, intermediates, a road course and a superspeedway.
Here’s everything to know for the playoffs:
Who made the NASCAR playoffs?
Sixteen of the 36 full-time drivers qualified for the 2025 NASCAR playoffs.
Here’s who will compete for the championship (car number, driver name, team name):
No. 1, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing
No. 2, Austin Cindric, Team Penske
No. 3, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing
No. 5, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports
No. 9, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports
No. 11, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 12, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
No. 19, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 20, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21, Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing
No. 22, Joey Logano, Team Penske
No. 23, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
No. 24, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
No. 45, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
No. 48, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports
No. 88, Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace is one of the most recognized names in NASCAR. Here’s what you need to know.
NASCAR playoff standings and bracket
Sixteen drivers make the playoffs by either winning a regular season race or being the highest-ranked winless driver. Since there were 14 different race winners, there were two spots left for the winless drivers with the most points scored over the regular season.
As far as playoff seeding goes, drivers can accumulate playoff points throughout the regular season in three ways — winning races (5 points), winning stages (1 point) or finishing in the top-10 of the overall points standings (15 points for first, 10 for second, eight for third, seven for fourth, etc).
Here’s how the seeding and bracket looking heading into this year’s playoffs:
Kyle Larson, 32 points (3 race wins, 9 stage wins, third in standings)
William Byron, 32 points (2 race wins, 6 stage wins, first in standings)
Ross Chastain, 7 points (1 race win, 2 stage wins)
Joey Logano, 7 points (1 race win, 2 stage wins)
Josh Berry, 6 points (1 race win, 1 stage win)
Tyler Reddick, 6 points (2 stage wins, seventh in standings)
Austin Dillon, 5 points (1 race win)
Alex Bowman, 2 points (ninth in standings)
How does the NASCAR playoffs work?
We’ve already broken down how drivers make the playoffs, but here’s how it works once they get there.
All 16 drivers battle over the first three races. At the end of the third race in the Round of 16, the bottom four drivers will be eliminated. Drivers can advance to the next round by either winning a race in that round or being above the bottom four spots in the standings.
With the field then cut to 12, the same process is repeated over again. The standings are reset to the original playoff points earned at the beginning of the round, and they fight for three more weeks before the bottom four are eliminated.
The same thing happens in the Round of 8. In the Championship 4, the four qualified drivers enter tied — whichever driver finishes first at Phoenix wins the title. It’s one race for all the marbles, playoff points don’t matter.
NASCAR schedule for playoffs and elimination races
The 10 playoff tracks are all unique in shape, size and track surface.
The Round of 16 features an egg-shaped oval in Darlington, South Carolina, a flat oval in Madison, Illinois and a high-banked concrete short track in Bristol, Tennessee.
After that, the Round of 12 goes to a one-mile flat track in Loudon, New Hampshire, a 1.5-mile intermediate in Kansas City, Kansas, and a combined road course/oval in Concord, North Carolina.
The Round of 8 begins in Las Vegas for a high-speed intermediate, then the superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, and the paperclip-shaped short track in Martinsville, Virginia.
It all wraps up in Avondale, Arizona, for the championship race in the desert.
Round
Track
Date and time
TV/stream
Round of 16
Darlington Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 31, 6 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 16
World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway)
Sunday, Sept. 7, 3 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 16
Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 12
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 12
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 12
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Sunday, Oct. 5, 3 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 8
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, Oct. 12, 5:30 p.m. ET
USA Network/NBC.com
Round of 8
Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2 p.m. ET
NBC/Peacock
Round of 8
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, Oct. 26, 2 p.m. ET
NBC/Peacock
Championship 4
Phoenix Raceway
Sunday, Nov. 2, 3 p.m. ET
NBC/Peacock
NASCAR playoffs and championship predictions
The 2025 NASCAR playoffs are closer than ever. Unlike past season, there wasn’t a single dominant driver who enters with a massive points advantage.
In the first round, there’s typically a major upset — one driver who is a surprise elimination. This year that could be Reddick, who made the Championship 4 last season but hasn’t won in 2025.
All eyes will be on Shane van Gisbergen in the opening round as the New Zealand rookie makes his playoff debut. He’s won four times this year, but all on road courses. He has to survive the Round of 16 to get to the road course in the Round of 12, which could be a difficult task.
When looking at the title contenders, it’ll likely come from the group of five that has been best all season — Larson, Byron, Hamlin, Blaney and Bell. Elliott, Briscoe and the defending champion Logano could sneak into that group, too.
The prediction for the Championship 4 is Larson, Hamlin, Blaney and Briscoe, with the Team Penske star winning his second title for the Captain. Blaney has thrived at Martinsville and Phoenix, the last two tracks on the schedule. He’s shown a knack for big moments in recent years, and that continues in 2025.
The 2026 season will be a special one for Team Penske, which made its first foray into the racing scene in 1966. Whether it’s NASCAR, IndyCar or IMSA, Team Penske has enjoyed plenty of success and plans to savor many more victories in the future.
Team Penske cars in all three major series will sport special retro livery at select races, while the team will also introduce an anniversary identity that will appear across its race cars, uniforms, digital platforms and merchandise, with the first items available online and in the team store beginning in January.
“Our 60th anniversary is a tremendous milestone for our organization,” Roger Penske said in a team release. “The 2026 season will give us the opportunity to celebrate the people, partners and fans who have helped shape Team Penske since 1966, while also looking ahead to the future. This year ahead is a meaningful one with many terrific moments for our team and story still to come.”
Few teams can match the Penske programs when it comes to success on the track. The team has 20 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 wins and has won at least one major championship for the past 14 years, including last season’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sweep of the team, drivers and manufacturers titles. It was the second straight season Porsche Penske swept the awards and last season saw the team become the first since 2017 to win Daytona and Sebring in the same season.
With the team not competing in the World Endurance Championship in 2026, Team Penske will focus all of its sportscar racing attention on IMSA. Despite winning the GTP title the past two seasons, there will be some new faces on the team in 2026.
The team will see Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor move from the WEC to drive the No. 6 Porsche 963, while the No. 7 will be in the hands of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer. Matt Campbell, one of the championship drivers this season, will serve as the endurance driver for the No. 6 car at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta, while Laurin Heinrich will serve in the same role for the No. 7 Porsche. All six are Porsche factory drivers.
Porsche Penske will begin its 2026 season in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 16-18. The Rolex 24 At Daytona begins Saturday, Jan. 24.
MANAMA: The director of the Kuwaiti Motor Sports Club, Sheikh Sabah Dawood Al-Sabah, praised the outstanding results achieved by the club’s racers in the second round of the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship on Saturday, emphasizing that they reflect the advanced level reached by Kuwaiti champions in this sport. The team director stated that the racers delivered a remarkable performance in the competitions held at the Bahrain International Circuit’s drag strip.
Abdullah Ali Al-Aqab secured first place in the Pro 29.5 category, while Ahmed Zaman took second place in the 8.5 Index category, and Fawaz Al-Awadhi finished third in the same category. The remaining members of the participating delegation also achieved high rankings in the eight rounds.
Al-Sabah affirmed that these achievements are the fruit of the continuous efforts exerted by the racers and the technical and administrative staff.
He noted the club’s commitment to providing all means of support and care to raise Kuwait’s flag high in regional and international events, wishing them continued success in future competitions.
The second round of the Bahrain National Drag Racing Championship, the most popular drag racing championship in the region, kicked off over the past two days at the Bahrain International Circuit’s drag strip. The new season of the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship is scheduled to run until March, with the third and fourth rounds taking place in January and the championship concluding in March. — KUNA
It’s the biggest motorcycle drag racing grudge race of the year, Kings of Grudge Grinchmas from Orlando Speedworld Dragway and we cover this shocker as a fast mini bike calls out a stretched Suzuki Hayabusa grudge bike on the opening day of this event. We also see some motorcycle drag racing gone wrong as a fast Suzuki Hayabusa and GSXR 1000 suffer engine damage. Enjoy some thrilling motorcycle drag racing from Kings of Grudge
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.
It’s episode No. 3 of the Racing Jack Show and we sit down with media mogul “Bubba The Love Sponge” to Talk about what’s really hurting the racing business and what the sport must do to bring fans back to NHRA, NASCAR, Dirt Races and a whole lot more. After an in-depth discussion on the state of motorsports and racing the leader of the Bubba Army shocks us when he calls his good buddy and motorsports legend Tony Stewart.
We ask Bubba how the next generation of race fan has changed, how difficult it is to run a track and an organization and how racing organizations can follow the successful formula of WWE and UFC. We also discuss the controversial decision by the NHRA to cancel its final race of the season and discuss some of the interworking of NHRA drag racing and how it functions as a not for profit organization. Bubba also talks about what it’s like to climb the ladder in NASCAR in today’s climate compared to how it once was in the days of greats like Dale Earnhardt Sr. Finally we discuss Bubba’s reporting on the untimely death of Hulk Hogan and how the wrestling legend’s passing changes the way Cycledrag operates.
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.
We head to the biggest motorcycle drag racing grudge race of the year where we unfortunately see one fast racer on a Suzuki GSXR blow an en engine and suffer a big top end crash at Orlando Speedworld Dragway. It’s motorcycle drag racing gone wrong as this veteran driver suffers an incident but the good news is he was alert and awake and the Orlando safety team was right on top of it. We also see some unbelievable motorcycle drag racing as nitrous and turbo Suzuki Hayabusa and GSXR 1000 and Kawasaki ZX-14 stretched bikes go for big money win at the biggest Grudge race of the year, Kings of Grudge Grinchmas from Orlando, FL
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season was a 36-race saga of raw speed, strategy, and sheer misfortune, ending with Kyle Larson claiming his second championship at Phoenix Raceway—despite Denny Hamlin delivering what many consider the most statistically dominant campaign of the modern era. Hamlin’s six wins led the series, but a heartbreaking late caution in the finale snatched victory away, allowing Larson to capitalize. Points reset in the playoffs obscure the full picture of performance across ovals, road courses, and superspeedways.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
This ranking prioritizes overall impact: wins, poles, consistency, laps led, playoff pushes, and overperformance—elevating those who truly excelled beyond the trophy. In a year of road-course brilliance, veteran grit, and cruel twists, here are the top 10 drivers who defined 2025.
1. Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) – The True Season Dominator
#11: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Progressive Toyota Camry. Photo courtesy of Toyota
Rank in Point Standings: 2nd No. of Wins: 6 No. of Poles: 5 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Led JGR No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Strong
Hamlin’s six victories were the most in the series, backed by aggressive restarts, bold strategy, and unmatched hunger at age 44. He dominated the finale at Phoenix, leading a record 208 laps from pole—only for a late caution (unrelated to him) to erase his lead and hand the title to Larson. Heartbreakingly close after superior raw stats all year, Hamlin proved he’s among NASCAR’s all-time greats, championship or not.
2. Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) – The Opportunistic Champion
Kyle Larson poses for a photo during NASCAR Production Days at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 21, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 1st No. of Wins: 3 No. of Poles: 1 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Tied high at Hendrick with Byron No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Competitive
Larson’s versatility and calm execution sealed his second title, leading over 1,100 laps with 15 top-fives and minimal errors. A smart two-tire call in Phoenix overtime turned Hamlin’s dominance into victory. Deserving champion, but Hamlin’s superior wins and poles make this a debated crown.
3. Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing) – The Road-Course Phenom
Shane Van Gisbergen poses for a photo during NASCAR Production Days at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 21, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 12th No. of Wins: 5 No. of Poles: 3 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Dominated road courses No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Led on twisties
In his full-season debut, SVG monopolized road courses with five wins (often by massive margins) and Rookie of the Year honors. Playoff qualifier with oval improvements, his raw talent overperformed the No. 88 Chevy—turning heads and redefining road-ring mastery.
4. Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing) – The Qualifying Ace and Adapter
Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota poses for photos after winning the the Busch Light Pole Award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 12, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 3rd No. of Wins: 3 No. of Poles: 7 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Competitive No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Led JGR
Switching to JGR after replacing Truex Jr., Briscoe exploded: series-high seven poles, three wins, and a Championship 4 berth. Massive speed gains and aggression made him a breakout, dragging his team deep into the playoffs.
5. William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports) – The Consistent Frontrunner
William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor Chevrolet, spends time on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on August 03, 2025 in Newton, Iowa. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 4th No. of Wins: 3 No. of Poles: 3 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Tied with Larson No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Strong
Regular-season points leader Byron claimed three wins (including back-to-back Daytona 500s) and led thousands of laps. Dominant stretches and clutch Martinsville playoff advance highlighted his evolution into a perennial threat.
6. Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) – The Clutch Closer
Ryan Blaney poses for a photo during NASCAR Production Days at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 21, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 6th No. of Wins: 4 No. of Poles: 2 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Most at Penske No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Competitive
Blaney’s four wins included a late surge, capping with Phoenix victory. Leading 852 laps despite inconsistencies, his momentum and improvements made him Penske’s leader.
7. Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) – The Reliable Winner
Christopher Bell poses for a photo during NASCAR Production Days at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 22, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 5th No. of Wins: 4 No. of Poles: 1 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Tied high at JGR No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Solid
Bell’s four wins and series-high 22 top-10s showed reliability across tracks. Steady playoff runs positioned him as a future champion in JGR’s lineup.
8. Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) – The Resurgent Favorite
Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA/Children’s Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Echo Park Speedway on June 28, 2025 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Krista Jasso/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 8th No. of Wins: 2 No. of Poles: 0 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Solid No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Competitive
Elliott returned strong with two wins, consistent top-10s, and playoff pushes. Balanced oval/road performance rebuilt his momentum.
9. Joey Logano (Team Penske) – The Experienced Fighter
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Echo Park Speedway on June 27, 2025 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 7th No. of Wins: 1 No. of Poles: 2 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Led at times No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Strong
An “off” year for the defending champ still yielded a win and poles through savvy racing, keeping Penske competitive amid challenges.
10. Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing) – The Quiet Maximizer
Tyler Reddick poses for a photo during NASCAR Production Days at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 21, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Rank in Point Standings: 9th No. of Wins: 0 No. of Poles: 2 No. of Wins vs. Teammate: Overperformed No. of Poles vs. Teammate: Competitive
Winless but consistent with runner-ups and top-10s, Reddick extracted maximum from 23XI amid hurdles—excellent racecraft in a rebuilding effort.
2025 blended triumph, heartbreak, and emerging stars. While Larson holds the trophy, Hamlin’s dominance and SVG’s flair captured imaginations. NASCAR’s depth shines—on to 2026!
