NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings: Ryan Blaney wins by a nose at Talladega

Ryan Blaney went out and got the job done at Talladega. He now moves on to the Round of 8, but what about the rest of the NASCAR Playoff standings? Now we have two drivers into the Round of 8 and one more race to determine the other six.

We had a little bit of movement in the standings. The Blaney win puts more pressure on drivers below the cutline. After a tough finish at Texas, anything could have happened at Talladega for the 12-team. They just so happened to be out front at the end of the race. (After a ton of hard work, of course).

We are now seeing the importance of those playoff points for other drivers. Martin Truex Jr. is hanging in there with a decent cushion on the cutline. All of that could change in an instant at the Roval, though.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings:
William Byron – W
Ryan Blaney – W
Denny Hamlin – 3108
Christopher Bell – 3080
Chris Buescher – 3077
Martin Truex Jr. – 3075
Kyle Larson – 3073
Brad Keselowski – 3060
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Tyler Reddick – 3058
Bubba Wallace – 3051
Ross Chastain – 3050
Kyle Busch – 3034

Quietly, Christopher Bell has been performing well this round. He isn’t in as much trouble as he was last round. However, none of these drivers, with the exception of Byron, Blaney, and Denny Hamlin are safe.

If any of these drivers have an early exit or a bad day at Charlotte, their playoff journey might just end.

NASCAR Playoff Standings: Winners and Losers from Talladega

Winners:
Ryan Blaney – The only Team Penske driver still in the playoffs, Blaney was great at Talladega. He didn’t lead a lot of laps, but he led meaningful ones. In classic Blaney at Dega fashion, it was a photo finish, the third in three wins at the track.

Denny Hamlin – Despite going a lap down due to a pit road penalty, Denny Hamlin salvaged his day and finished P3. He was really strong in the pack, and pushed his 23XI Racing drivers a lot. However, the Toyotas as a whole didn’t have a great group in the draft, so they all suffered. Hamlin sneaked out a top-5 finish.

William Byron – I’m throwing Byron in here because he came in second overall, after the Kevin Harvick DQ. He gave a great push to Ryan Blaney, would have been an awkward Thanksgiving this year if he had wrecked him out of the win. Every time I doubt Byron, he keeps responding. It might be his year.

Losers:
Bubba Wallace – P23 overall and not a lot of points to show for it. Wallace is now nine points below the cutline in the NASCAR Playoff standings and needs to have a career-best race at the Charlotte Roval. For one reason or another, Bubba didn’t get up through the pack how he needed. He said it was his fault for making a bad judgment call.

Ross Chastain – Poor Ross Chastain. Minding his own business when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran out of fuel and caused Kyle Busch to hit the wall. Busch bounced off and came down on Chastain, and then the No. 1 car wrecked. DNF. Chastain drops from 6th to 11th in one race. That’s a tough break.

Kyle Busch – What else can you say about Busch’s season? Poor Rowdy doesn’t look like he wants to get too Rowdy lately. Time and again, one thing or another leads to the 8-team having some kind of issue. This time, Busch didn’t get the pushes he needed and was left to fend for himself without his teammate Austin Dillon in the race.