By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

NASCAR Playoffs rapidly approaching for those not locked in

RICHMOND, Va. – With two races remaining to settle the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field there are three drivers currently in title contention via points standings. But a new race winner in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) or next week in the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway changes the outlook dramatically.

Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Mobil 1 Toyota, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on August 10, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick holds a 117-point advantage over the cutoff line and would only need to earn 30 points Saturday night to formalize his 2025 Playoff opportunity.

The other two drivers above the Playoff cutoff line include Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who holds a 60-point cushion to the good and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, who is only 34 points up on his RFK teammate Ryan Preece. Their other RFK teammate, team co-owner and the 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski is also in need of a victory to claim another title shot.

“I think ideally we would have all liked to have either won by now and kind of locked ourselves in, but when you look at the past however many weeks, 24, to be right there with each other and both of us have penalties. …It’s not like one of us had a penalty and all that, where we’ve been neck and neck,” the driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Preece said of racing his teammate for that last points position.

“I’m just grateful to be a part of this opportunity or to have this opportunity because it’s been a lot of fun.”

“I think Chris and I are both trying to figure out what’s the best strategy for us,” Preece continued. “I know crew chiefs Scott (Graves) and Derrick (Finley) are working hard on that. I have really fast race cars and need to go execute great races. If you’re in a position for a green-white-checkered and you have an opportunity to win, when it comes Monday I don’t think about what I should have done different.”

As with Preece, Buescher, driver of the No. 17 RFK Ford tends to have a very easy-going personality. He said he wasn’t surprised either that after two-thirds of the season, that final Playoff position may ultimately come down to RFK teammates.

Keselowski and Buescher have previous wins at both Richmond and Daytona tracks. Keselowski won at Richmond in 2014 and 2020 and the summer Daytona race in 2016. Buescher won at both tracks in 2023.

“We’ve had some really good days and just needed to get the detail right really,” Buescher said of finding himself in this tenuous position. He said he genuinely does not spend time worrying or even thinking about it.

“There’s a whole lot of racing that got us to this points and a whole lot of racing left in the year,” Buescher said. “It’s a big part of our year and obviously the game we’re playing but it’s not something you’re living in that little tiny box. It’s the same focus every week, figuring out how we can set ourselves up to win a race and be fast. Points come with all that stuff. It’s not that we’re just hyper-focused on it.”

“We plan on us being the new winner, that’s the first priority,” he added with a smile.

*INTENSITY IS PICKING-UP

With these final two regular season races at vastly different venues, the three-quarter mile Richmond oval followed by the 2.5-mile Daytona superspeedway next week, most drivers concede the intensity is picking up heading into the 10-race Playoff that starts Aug. 31 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Competitors fully expect more frantic racing, at least as the final laps tick off toward the checkered flag.

New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen, fresh off a dominating fourth victory of the season last week at the Watkins Glen, N.Y. road course, smiled and acknowledged he is preparing for a more frenetic pace in these final regular season races – his first year competing fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“I watched the race here last year and I can’t believe the lengths people go through to get in,” said Van Gisbergen, the driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet who sits second in the Playoff standings. “It’s a desperate situation, and it means so much to get in the Playoffs, so I’m certainly glad we’re not involved in it, and hopefully won’t be involved in it.

“But yeah, I think that’s an awesome part of this sport. It creates those storylines and that desperation to win when someone’s in that position. There’s a lot of people in the bubble and a lot of people needing a win, and hopefully that creates some good but safe racing for the next couple of weeks.”

Virginia-native and five-time Richmond winner Denny Hamlin agreed, although he expects more of a delayed response on the night

“This [Richmond] is not really a big fashion forward track when it comes to strategy, it is pretty straightforward, especially with the amount of tires that we have, so I don’t really notice a big change in intensity,” said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “More desperation perhaps. You may see someone mid pack try to take a big swing with their setup trying something just totally out of the box, hoping to hit something, but other than that, I can’t really pinpoint anything, except for at the end of race.

“There is always going to be chatter when you are racing around those that have to win to get in the Playoffs at this point of the season. You just know that those group of drivers are going to be more intense around you and make more aggressive moves and put you in pretty tough spots. That is really where it changes – late race restarts where that is their last and only attempt.”

*LOGANO’S LONG MEMORY

Last year’s Richmond race featured a dramatic overtime ending that ultimately affected the Playoff situation.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon won the race that included eight laps of overtime and hard contact between him and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who was leading after the overtime re-start.

In the days following the race, Dillon was ruled ineligible for the Playoffs because of the aggressive move but allowed to keep the win. And Logano was fined $50,000 for his angry reaction post-race, spinning his tires in front of Dillon’s team’s pit stall.

“It’s a year ago and you’ve got to move forward at some point,” Logano said of the frustrating ending to his Richmond race last summer. “Gotta go and get sweet redemption.”

Logano a three-time and the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion is currently 10th in the Playoff standings having claimed a victory at Texas Motor Speedway in May. He’s had only a pair of top-10 finishes in the last five races, but has wins at both this week’s Richmond track (2017) and is the 2015 Daytona 500 champion.

“You’re never where you want to be, you’re always striving for more,” said Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. “I wish we had a few more Playoff points at this point.

“With all that said, been here before and it’s worked out pretty well,” he added with a smile. You’re never out of these things. Just have to stay alive and get through the rounds. We’re definitely starting the Playoffs behind the eight-ball, a little behind where we’d like to be, but like I said, pretty much all three championships looked really similar. It’s okay.”