The race for the last playoff spots comes down to the final races of the regular season in the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series.

Shane van Gisbergen’s victory in last weekend’s Cup race at Watkins Glen didn’t alter the playoff standings for those trying secure one of the last spots. Thirteen drivers are in via wins, leaving three positions open with two races left in the regular season.

Tyler Reddick is 117 points above the cutline, Alex Bowman is 60 points above the cutline, and Chris Buescher holds the final playoff spot by 34 points.

Ryan Preece, Buescher’s RFK Racing teammate, is the first driver outside a playoff spot. Preece is 34 points behind Buescher heading into Saturday night’s race at Richmond — coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Here is a look at the Cup playoff standings (drivers in yellow have won and clinched a spot in the playoffs):

Xfinity Series

The Xfinity Series, which is off this weekend, has three races left in the regular season. Eight drivers have secured playoff spots with wins, leaving four spots open.

Carson Kvapil is 112 points above the cutline, Sheldon Creed is 77 points above the cutline, Taylor Gray is 76 points above the cutline and Harrison Burton holds the final playoff spot.

Jeb Burton is the first driver outside a playoff spot. He’s 30 points below the cutline. Ryan Sieg is 38 points below the cutline.

The series is back in action Aug. 22 at Daytona.

Craftsman Truck Series

Friday night’s race at Richmond is the final race of the regular season for the Truck Series.

Two spots remain via points. Kaden Honeycutt is 65 points above the cutline. Jake Garcia holds the final playoff spot by 11 points on Ben Rhodes and 21 points on Giovanni Ruggiero.

New Zealand NASCAR Road Racing standout Shane van Gisbergen’s win at Watkins Glen Sunday, his 4th in a row on a road course, was extra special for him.

He thoroughly schooled all the NASCAR Cup drivers in Mexico, Chicago, and Sonoma this season as well, adding to a successful year with Trackhouse Racing.

During the past year, Van Ginsbergen’s father, Robert (shown above with Shane during his Supercar years), has not been at the races to celebrate with his son, battling some heartbreaking personal issues.

In the Watkins Glen post-race press conference, van Gisbergen explained his father’s heartbreak this year.

Robert suffered the loss of Shane’s mother, Karen Wallace, after she fell ill. Additionally, Robert’s sister and mother passed away during this period.

Luckily, Shane had his father present for his most recent win.

“It’s been pretty difficult,” the NASCAR driver said after his victory on Sunday.

“He lost his wife, my mother, and then his sister, and then his mum a month or so ago.

“It’s been a really rough run for Dad. It’s hard to support him when I’m on the other side of the world. That’s probably why I’m the most homesick.

“Then my sister has moved away as well, so he’s kind of by himself all of a sudden.

“I try and talk to him every day. To have him here – like he was almost in tears, too – it’s really special to share that because we’re a long way from home.”

Robert is expected to join Shane for the remaining regular season stretch at Richmond and Daytona before the playoffs begin.

With his father at his side, van Gisbergen hopes for more success with his support system around him.

“It’s obviously something to dream about winning on an oval, and superspeedways. I’ve had some pretty good moments there,” van Gisbergen added.

“Last year, I think Talladega… Kaulig was a smaller team, Dad was on the front row of the pit box, helping with the strategy, or talking with Travis Mack on the strategy. You know, he loves it.

“I’d love to have a good result with him the next couple weeks.

“He’s driving the bus for me with his friend Jason to those races. I’ll probably drive to Daytona with them, and it’ll be a good time like we used to do.”

Ending his run on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Spencer Hughes of Meridian, Miss., said today he’s departed the Birmingham, Ala.-based JCM Motorsports No. 19m team with plans to focus on building street stock chassis with his 4Way Fab Shop business.

The 23-year-old Hughes, who joined the JCM team in October 2023, won five Super Late Model events for the Colten Miller-owned team, all in 2024. He made 30 Lucas Oil feature starts with the team in 2025 with one top-five and three top-10 finishes and stood 11th in series points before missing Saturday’s national tour action at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky.

“I’m thankful for all of it, Colten and his family and everyone that’s been with him that’s been able to do it for me the couple years,” said Hughes, who left the team last week. “Just sometimes life takes you down different paths. He wanted to continue pursuing the Lucas Oil Late Model Series and I just wasn’t really in the position at this time to do so.”

Hughes, a standout street stock driver with three victories in the division this season, wants to commit his time to building race cars.

“I just wanted to be able to, if you go into the race car business, you have to do the manual work when it’s within your control and do what you’re supposed to do there,” said Hughes, who is also finishing the construction of a house and will soon become a father.

“I felt like it was in the best interest for me personally in my life to run more of a regional schedule for the back half of this year until we can get all our ducks in a row,” he said. “Colten wanted to continue on. He wanted to go on Lucas and stuff, and I just believe I have to do what’s right for me and everyone around me. There was no big blow up either. I talked to him, and he talked to his wife. And they understand.”

Miller wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Bowman Gray Stadium released a statement after driver Robbie Brewer died in an incident on Sunday.

One of the unfortunate aspects of motorsport is that danger can lead to tragedy. J.D. McDuffie died at Watkins Glen’s 1991 NASCAR race, while Chris Raschke lost his life in a 283-mph car crash as he attempted to break the land speed record in Utah.

On Saturday night, Brewer crashed head-on into the wall on a restart during a race in the Sportsman Division. The alarming crash caused the car to roll down the straight, creating a horrific scene at Bowman Gray Stadium, which hosted the Cup Series’ Cook Out Clash earlier this year.

Brewer was extricated from his car and taken to a local hospital. On Sunday morning, his family confirmed the 53-year-old had died.

Following the tragic news, Bowman Gray Stadium officials released a statement, which read: “We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical facility following an on-track medical incident during last night’s event at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Sign up to our NASCAR newsletter here.

“Robbie was a talented and passionate racer and a highly respected competitor among his peers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robbie’s family and friends at this time.”

Brewer’s passing is the first death at Bowman Gray Stadium in more than two decades at the track. The last death was Bubba Beck, who crashed after suffering a heart attack in a Modifieds race in 2002.

It was reported that a medical emergency, potentially a heart attack, was the initial cause of Brewer losing control of his car. Brewer was a veteran driver who had spent decades racing.

Brewer was a seasoned racer at Bowman Gray, with 11 wins in 311 starts, including 24 in a Tour Type Modified, 259 in a Sportsman, and 28 in Stadium Stock. He was a 2011 division champion at the track and made his first start in North Carolina in 1990.

DON’T MISS…

Bowman Gray Stadium is an iconic circuit on the NASCAR calendar. The stadium hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Clash back in February.