Daytona Beach, Florida (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. should feel comfortable going into the Cup Series’ regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway.
The 2017 series winner has a 58-point lead in the playoff standings, which is probably enough given that the most any driver could make up is roughly 60.
Thirteen of the sixteen postseason spots are already secured, with Harrison Burton unexpectedly winning the most recent one at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.
Truex is holding a firm hold on one of the final three spots, meaning NASCAR effectively has two bids up for grabs at the “Track Too Tough to Tame.”
Next weekend’s race promises to be exciting, with nearly two dozen drivers, including two-time series champion Kyle Busch, fighting for a single berth based on points and Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain needing to win on Sunday to get entry.
At Daytona, where he hasn’t won since 2008, Busch had a chance to book his postseason ticket, but Burton overtook him in overtime to record his first victory in 98 career starts.
Josh Berry will replace Burton, who was dismissed earlier this season, in the storied No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing in 2025. It was a feel-good story for Burton.
“It’s clear to me that the last three years have not gone the way I would have liked to represent this team and myself.
It’s just the circumstances.” “My time to get to drive this historic car has a different end because of the kind of walls closing in.”
It’s really, extremely significant to me to find a way to win while those walls are kind of closing in. It nearly justifies the last three years.
As they came closer to the checkered flag, Busch caught up to Burton, but he lacked the momentum to pass.
Now, in order to continue his run of years in which he has made the playoffs, Busch must win at Darlington.
Busch, who has placed second, fourth, and twelve in August, remarked, “We’ll take this.”
“We’ve had a great run these past three weeks, and hopefully we can finish what needs to be done next week.”
Busch won’t be one of the favorites to pull off a thrilling victory in the regular-season finale because he has only one Cup win (2008) in 25 starts at Darlington. The following players have a higher chance of making it to the postseason:
Gibbs,
Ty With a 39-point cushion, Gibbs is ranked 15th in terms of points. Although he’s not as safe as Truex, he’s still around.
His second-place performance at Darlington in May, behind Brad Keselowski, gave him even more confidence.
Gibbs remarked, “I think we have the speed to go win it.” “I believe it would be awesome to win the Southern 500 for the first time. That would be fantastic.
Chris Buescher As one of the favorites for the championship in 2023, Buescher won three of the last five races of the regular season.
Even though he started the playoffs in third place at Darlington, he lost ground and finished ninth in points. On Sunday, he could use one more solid run.
He said, “We’ll take a few days; we’ll take a breather.” “Now that we’re in Darlington, it’s time to get business.”
Wallace Bubba Wallace needs to drive his way into the playoffs for the second straight year because he trails Buescher by 21 points. A year earlier, he barely made it onto the Daytona field. In his last five races, he has finished in the top ten four times.
On Saturday, he finished sixth while co-owner Michael Jordan was watching from his pit stop. Six days prior, Wallace had been involved in a late-night collision at Michigan with one of the fastest cars as well.
Along with Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, his teammate at 23XI Racing, Tyler Reddick, is one of three drivers vying for the regular-season championship at Darlington.
One vehicle is vying for a regular-season title, while another is virtually out of the running.
Unacceptable, remarked Wallace. “All that weight will fall on my shoulders.
This year, I should have won several times, but I haven’t. Even though we don’t deserve to be here, we are. I have to go play next week. That concludes it.
Ross Chastain Two months ago, the “Melon Man” ranked eighth in points, but over the last seven races, he has lost ground.
During that time, he has only finished in the top 10 once, in Richmond. In order to make the playoffs for the third straight year, he needs to win or get a lot of help.
Right now, he is 27 points off of the 16th playoff spot. In ten Cup starts at Darlington, he has not won.
“The points are awarded at the halfway and finish lines of the race,” Chastain remarked. They give you a lot of them if you run well. I simply get thrilled about the prospect of winning the Southern 500.