With Ryan Blaney winning his second race of the 2025 season, Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman clinched the final two spots in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in Saturday’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
Both of their spots came with adversity, knowing a new winner could potentially knock either driver out of the postseason.
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Reddick went around at Lap 18 after contact with Zane Smith and nosed into the inside wall. His No. 45 23XI Racing team made repairs, keeping the Toyota driver on the lead lap for the ensuing restart.
Just four laps later, a big crash down the frontstretch claimed Alex Bowman, who entered Saturday’s race 60 points above the elimination line. The Hendrick Motorsports team attempted to fix the battered Chevrolet in the DVP (damaged vehicle policy) area before series officials determined the No. 48 couldn’t return to the track. Bowman’s DNF locked Reddick into the playoffs.
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From that point on, all Bowman could do was wait. Several other winless drivers competed for the Daytona victory in the closing laps, including Daniel Suárez, Justin Haley and Cole Custer, but Blaney held the trio off in a four-wide finish to cement Bowman’s spot in the 10-race battle for the Bill France Cup.
Including Blaney, fourteen drivers secured playoff spots with wins earlier in the season. They are: Denny Hamlin (4 wins), Shane van Gisbergen (4 wins), Kyle Larson (3 wins), Christopher Bell (3 wins), William Byron (2 wins), Blaney (2 wins), Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry and Austin Dillon.
MORE: Playoffs Grid Challenge presented by Goodyear | Printable Cup Series Playoffs bracket
See the standings heading into next Sunday’s Cup Series Playoffs opener at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). The bottom four drivers will be eliminated after the first three races.
| Position | Driver | Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 2032 | +26 |
| 2 | William Byron | 2032 | +26 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 2029 | +23 |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney | 2026 | +20 |
| 5 | Christopher Bell | 2023 | +17 |
| 6 | Shane van Gisbergen | 2022 | +16 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 2013 | +7 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | 2010 | +4 |
| 9 | Bubba Wallace | 2008 | +2 |
| 10 | Austin Cindric | 2008 | +2 |
| 11 | Ross Chastain | 2007 | +1 |
| 12 | Joey Logano | 2007 | +1 |
| ELIMINATION LINE | |||
| 13 | Josh Berry | 2006 | -1 |
| 14 | Tyler Reddick | 2006 | -1 |
| 15 | Austin Dillon | 2005 | -2 |
| 16 | Alex Bowman | 2002 | -5 |