Bubble Watch: World Wide Technology Raceway offers ‘Gateway’ to Round of 12

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 continues with its penultimate race at World Wide Technology Raceway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) — still a fairly new addition for Cup Series competitors to tackle.

Before the green flag drops, check out who's trending toward a solid race in St. Louis with the latest edition of Bubble Watch.

(Stats provided by Racing Insights)

RELATED: Weekend schedule 

Safely above the cutline:

1. Chase Briscoe (Adv.)

2. Denny Hamlin (plus-43)

3. Kyle Larson (plus-38)

4. Tyler Reddick (plus-35)

Not as safe but still with a high-percentage chance of advancing:

5. Bubba Wallace (plus-25)

6. William Byron (plus-25)

7. Ryan Blaney (plus-22)

8. Ross Chastain (plus-21)

Austin Cindric

Points above cutline: 12

Chances of advancing to next round: 75.6%

Trending: Warming up

Gateway outlook -- Warm: Cindric's top-15 run at Darlington gave him more of a cushion to the cutline entering this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. Team Penske has run very well at the 1.25-mile race track and Cindric returns looking to defend his victory from a year ago.

Christopher Bell

Points above cutline: 11

Chances of advancing to next round: 96.4%

Trending: Cold

Gateway outlook -- Warm: Christopher Bell has been on a performace slump as of late, with finishes of 13th or worse in his last three races. Gateway could prove to be the turnaround the No. 20 team needs, as Bell has two top-10 finishes in the three trips to the Midwest.

Chase Elliott

Points above cutline: 9

Chances of advancing to next round: 76.7%

Trending: Cold

Gateway outlook -- Cold: Since his win at EchoPark Speedway back in June, things have been up and down for the 2020 champion with a pair of finishes outside the top 25 in the last four races. He'll hope for a little better showing this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway to pad some room to the cutline, where his best finish is 13th in two starts.

Shane van Gisbergen

Points above cutline: 3

Chances of advancing to next round: 12%

Trending: Ice Cold

Gateway outlook -- Cold: A 32nd-place showing at Darlington was not what SVG needed to keep his hopes of advancing to the Round of 12 alive. Now enter World Wide Technology Raceway, a track he's never visited. It will certainly be a tall task for the No. 88 driver to leave St. Louis above the cutline.

Joey Logano

Points below cutline: 3

Chances of advancing to next round: 70.7%

Trending: Warm

Gateway outlook -- Hot: A top-20 finish at Darlington was enough to stay within striking distance of the cutline entering one of his better tracks ahead this weekend. The 2022 Gateway winner has yet to finish outside of the top five in three starts at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Austin Dillon

Points below cutline: 8

Chances of advancing to next round: 45.2%

Trending: Cold

Gateway outlook -- Hit or Miss: Austin Dillon will need a better outing than a 23rd-place finish at Darlington to keep the other drivers on the bubble honest. His stats at World Wide Technology vary, with him needing to emulate his best finish of sixth (2024) to keep his hopes of pointing into the next round alive.

Alex Bowman

Points below cutline: 19

Chances of advancing to next round: 27.2%

Trending: Cold

Gateway outlook -- Ice Cold: Bowman's results at World Wide Technology Raceway are subpar, with his previous two finishes at the St. Louis-area track outside the top 25. Bowman has work to do if he wants to advance into the Round of 12.

Josh Berry

Points below cutline: 19

Chances of advancing to next round: 26.1%

Trending: Ice Cold

Gateway outlook -- Warm: While Lap 1 of the Southern 500 at Darlington will be a memory Josh Berry would soon like to forget, his chances of bouncing back at World Wide Technology Raceway seem promising. He now folds into the Team Penske system, which has been stellar at the 1.25-mile track with two organizational victories in three races held there. He'll look to tap into that Penske prowess this weekend and erase the sting of Darlington.