Meet the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs field

Sixteen drivers. One champion. The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are officially here, and that means 16 drivers will begin a 10-race battle toward title glory. 

The playoffs will consist of four rounds, beginning with the Round of 16 at Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Bristol Motor Speedway. The Round of 12 will encompass New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The Round of 8, meanwhile, will include Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway. The Championship 4 will occur at Phoenix Raceway. 

View the playoff drivers vying for the Bill France Cup this postseason. 

MORE: Playoffs Grid Challenge presented by Goodyear

16. Alex Bowman, 2002 points

No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Points.

Favorable track(s): Kansas (19 starts, four top fives, 11 top 10s); Charlotte Roval (six starts, two top fives, five top 10s); also has a win at both Las Vegas and Martinsville.

Outlook: After early struggles, Bowman made a strong late run, with top-10 finishes in seven of the last 11 races. This stretch included a second-place finish at Richmond and third-place finishes at EchoPark near Atlanta and Dover. The first round could be challenging, though, as none of the tracks (Darlington, Gateway, Bristol) have been among his better ones statistically.

15. Austin Dillon, 2005 points

No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Win (Richmond).

Favorable track(s): Darlington (18 starts, two top fives, five top 10s).

Outlook: After having his playoff berth taken away from him at Richmond last season due to a penalty, Dillon did everything the right way in his win there this year. Unfortunately, Richmond is the only high-point race he's had all season (no other top fives and just five top-10 finishes). Much like Josh Berry, Dillon is facing a rough uphill climb in the first round if he hopes to get to the Round of 12.

14. Tyler Reddick, 2006 points

No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Reached playoffs by: Points.

Favorable track(s): Darlington (12 starts, four top fives, six top 10s); Charlotte Roval (five starts, one top five, three top 10s); Talladega (11 starts, one win, one top five, three top 10s).

Outlook: Reddick has had a rough season thus far. Not only has he not won a race, but he also has just five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. While he has had just one DNF, he's not shown the kind of consistency that he has in the three previous seasons. While to his credit he's been able to rank high in the standings even without a win, it's likely that he will need a win to advance deep into the playoff rounds and be a title threat.

13. Josh Berry, 2006 points

Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford

Reached playoffs by: Win (Las Vegas).

Favorable track(s): Las Vegas (four starts, one win, one top five, one top 10); also has a third-place finish at New Hampshire in one start there.

Outlook: If it wasn't for his early win at Las Vegas, Berry would not be in the playoffs. He's done very little since then, with just three top-10 finishes. Before his eighth-place finish at Richmond, he had not finished higher than 12th in his 12 previous starts. He could have one of the steepest uphill climbs of any driver in the playoffs in the opening round.

12. Joey Logano, 2007 points

No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Reached playoffs by: Win (Texas).

Favorable track(s): Las Vegas (24 starts, four wins, eight top fives, 14 top 10s); Martinsville (33 starts, one win, 11 top fives, 21 top 10s); Phoenix (33 starts, four wins, nine top fives, 17 top 10s).

Outlook: This has not been a typical Logano season. He's struggled far too often, with just one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He has not looked anywhere near as strong as he did in both 2022 and 2024, both in which he won the championship. Logano must go for the jugular right from the start at Darlington, lest 2025 wind up being like 2023, when he won only one race and finished 12th.

11. Ross Chastain, 2007 points

No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Win (Coca-Cola 600).

Favorable track(s): Darlington (12 starts, three top fives, four top 10s); Bristol (13 starts, three top 10s).

Outlook: Other than his win at Charlotte, Chastain has had a marginal season to date, with only three top fives and 10 top-10 finishes in the first 26 races. While he's happy to have made the playoffs this year -- after failing to qualify last season -- unless he has a strong start at Darlington, he runs the risk of being one of the first four drivers to be eliminated after the first round.

10. Austin Cindric, 2008 points

No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Reached playoffs by: Win (Talladega).

Favorable track(s): World Wide Technology Raceway (three starts, one win).

Outlook: Cindric's average finish to date has been only 19.7. You don't win a Cup championship that way, even if your two teammates, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, have combined to win the last three Cup titles. Cindric has won at Gateway, so he needs to build early momentum there to advance to the Round of 12. Whether he's around when Talladega shows up in the Round of 8 remains to be seen.

9. Bubba Wallace, 2008 points

No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Reached playoffs by: Win (Brickyard 400).

Favorable track(s): Talladega (15 starts, one win, one top five, three top 10s); Kansas (15 starts, one win, two top fives, three top 10s).

Outlook: This is the second time in eight full-time seasons that Wallace has qualified for the playoffs. While it would be sad to see him not be able to build upon the biggest win of his career (the Brickyard), prospects do not look the best for Wallace, at least not at the Round of 16 tracks, which aren't his best statistically. Unless he can earn a surprise finish at Darlington or Gateway, his playoff hopes may come down to a battle at Bristol.

8. Chase Briscoe, 2010 points

No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Reached playoffs by: Win (Pocono).

Favorable track(s): Darlington (nine starts, one win, two top fives, two top 10s); Phoenix (nine starts, one win, two top fives, four top 10s).

Outlook: Briscoe has had an excellent season to date in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing. He has already earned single-season career highs in top-five (10) and top-10 (12) finishes -- and there's still 10 playoff races to go. He's an underrated pick to advance deep into the playoffs and has a strong history at Phoenix if he can get that far and compete for the championship.

7. Chase Elliott, 2013 points

No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Win (EchoPark Speedway -- formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

Favorable track(s): Charlotte Roval (seven starts, two wins, three top fives, five top 10s); Talladega Superspeedway (19 starts, two wins, six top fives, nine top 10s).

Outlook: Elliott's season to date has been mixed. He has been consistently in the top 20 but should have more wins than just one. He completed all but one lap in the first 24 races (no DNFs) until he crashed out and finished last at Richmond. And with no previous wins at any of the first four playoff tracks, he can't afford to struggle too much or risk falling behind William Byron, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, who have the benefit of multiple wins boosting their points.

6. Shane van Gisbergen, 2022 points

No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Win (Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen).

Favorable track(s): Charlotte Roval (one start, one top 10, one pole).

Outlook: To date, van Gisbergen's best career finishes on an oval have been 12th last fall at Martinsville and a pair of 14th-place finishes this year at Charlotte and Richmond. Unless he can suddenly find success on ovals, he will likely not advance far, but his playoff points cushion gives him an outside shot of making it to the Round of 12, where a road course (the Charlotte Roval) awaits.

5. Christopher Bell, 2023 points

No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Reached playoffs by: Win (EchoPark Speedway, Circuit of The Americas, Phoenix).

Favorable track(s): New Hampshire (five starts, two wins, three two fives, three top 10s); Charlotte Roval (five starts, one win, two top fives, three top 10s); Phoenix (11 starts, two wins, three top fives, seven top 10s).

Outlook: Bell has reached the Championship 4 in two of the last three seasons -- finished third in 2022 and fourth in 2023 (and was fifth last season). He has a knack for rising to the occasion when he needs to do so the most. If he can get past the first round, he's particularly strong at New Hampshire and the Charlotte Roval, two Round of 12 tracks -- and beyond that, he's been strong at Phoenix, too.

4. Ryan Blaney, 2026 points

No. 12 Team Penske Ford

Reached playoffs by: Win (Nashville, Daytona).

Favorable track(s): Charlotte Roval (seven starts, one win, two top fives, five top 10s); Talladega (22 starts, three wins, six top fives, eight top 10s).

Outlook: Blaney has finished well in the last six races (no lower than eighth, including a win at Daytona) and has put behind him the seven DNFs (five crashes, two engines), tied with Cody Ware for the most of any Cup driver this season. He's riding into the playoffs hot and is a legitimate threat to win his second title and keep the Bill France Cup in Team Penske's possession. 

3. Denny Hamlin, 2029 points

No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Reached playoffs by: Win (Martinsville, Darlington, Michigan, Dover).

Favorable track(s): Darlington (26 starts, five wins, 14 top fives, 19 top 10s); Bristol (36 starts, four wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s).

Outlook: Hamlin hopes to give himself an early 45th birthday present (Nov. 18) by winning his first-ever Cup championship on Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway. He’s had an outstanding season to date, tied with Shane van Gisbergen for most wins (four each). If Hamlin can get through the first two rounds quickly and solidly, there will be a clear path for him toward earning that elusive first Cup crown.

2. William Byron, 2032 points

No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Win (Daytona 500, Iowa Speedway).

Favorable track(s): Darlington (14 starts, 1 win, five top fives, seven top 10s); Martinsville (15 starts, two wins, five top fives, eight top 10s).

Outlook: Having never ranked lower than second in the standings all season, plus having won the Regular Season Championship, Byron is the driver to beat heading into the playoffs. He has momentum and has been building toward a championship each of the last five seasons (including career-best showings of third in both 2023 and 2024). This could finally be his year to end the season No. 1.

1. Kyle Larson, 2032 points

No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Reached playoffs by: Win (Homestead, Bristol, Kansas).

Favorable track(s): Darlington (15 starts, one win, seven top fives, nine top 10s); Bristol (18 starts, three wins, eight top fives, 13 top 10s).

Outlook: If Larson gets through the Round of 16, watch out, as he is equally or even stronger at Round of 12 tracks like Kansas and the Charlotte Roval. To his credit, Larson has just one DNF thus far this season. If he can get through the first two rounds, it may be smooth sailing all the way into the Championship 4 round for him.