Shane van Gisbergen won twice this season. Brad Keselowski hoisted the championship trophy in 2012. Ross Chastain finished second in points just four years ago.
It’s hard to fathom these stars out of title contention. Yet, all three wound up on the outside looking in of The Chase following the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, headlining a group of key drivers who won’t battle for the Bill France Cup over the next 10 weeks.
Three NASCAR Cup Series Chase spots remained up for grabs heading into Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric punched their tickets with relative ease, and Ryan Preece scored a dramatic victory — the first points-paying win of his career — to solidify the final Chase spot.
RELATED: Daytona results | Cup Series standings
But on the other side of the coin, several drivers left Daytona scratching their heads about what went wrong over the first 26 races of the season, and why they fell short of the postseason. Some of these prominent drivers had teammates qualify for The Chase, perhaps worsening the sting of elimination.
Here are five notable drivers who missed The Chase — analyzing what they could’ve done differently and what their immediate futures look like.
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN (out by 17 points)
Season performance and key results: In his second Cup Series season, SVG made significant strides on ovals — particularly at short and drafting tracks. He finished sixth in both EchoPark Speedway races, while earning top fives at Nashville Superspeedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway. Of course, the former Australian Supercars ace thrived on road courses — winning Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway — but those alone wouldn’t be enough to earn a postseason spot.
Why he fell short: Recognizing SVG’s road-racing dominance, it’s hard not to view Naval Base Coronado — where he crashed with Austin Hill and teammate Connor Zilisch racing for the lead in Stage 2 — as his greatest missed opportunity. But in total, the Kiwi finished 30th or worse eight times this season, three of which he scored a single point. Van Gisbergen failed to record a top 10 in each of the final five regular-season races, and a P20 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway set him back 19 points — even though he remained 31 markers above the cutline heading to Florida.
What needs to change: Results on larger ovals. This might be the low-hanging fruit. While van Gisbergen has improved at bigger tracks, it wasn’t enough as a Cup Series sophomore. But with a limited oval background before coming to the United States, a learning curve was certainly expected. He’s generally qualifying better, and when he starts up front, he’s likely to earn strong results. Missing The Chase is certainly a disappointment after placing 16th or better in points following 20 of the first 25 races, but it isn’t earth-shattering — although expectations continue to grow going into 2027.
Quotable: “I haven’t done a good enough job throughout the year; we’ve lost points at various places. We didn’t just lose it tonight. It is what it is … Obviously, I want to do better as a team. As a team, we’re not quite there, but I think we’ve made good improvement on the ovals compared to my teammates.” — van Gisbergen on Saturday at Daytona.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (out by 79 points)
Season performance and key results: Nursing a broken right femur suffered in the offseason, Keselowski jumped out to arguably his strongest start since joining the RFK Racing team and ownership group. His second-place effort in March at Darlington Raceway launched him to eighth in points, the highest he’d climb the rest of the season. Keselowski’s three best finishes came in the opening nine races.
Why he fell short: The 42-year-old driver hit a late-spring swoon that swung well into the summer. A crash in April at Talladega Superspeedway started a stretch of five finishes outside the top 30 in seven races, including three DNFs and a measly seven-point effort at Watkins Glen on pure pace. Though he turned up the wick late with top-seven results at North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis, it proved too little, too late as sub-20th-place efforts at Iowa Speedway and Richmond Raceway all but sealed his postseason fate.
What needs to change: Sustained consistency. These types of stretches aren’t uncommon for Keselowski since pivoting to RFK in 2022. Last season, he spent 14 of the first 16 weeks outside the top 30 in points. In 2024, he finished 22nd or worse in five of 10 playoff races. Qualifying for The Chase rewards consistency — which Keselowski failed to accomplish. He’s the only RFK driver to miss The Chase — which is certainly a spot of concern.
Quotable: “It’s an interesting inversion that we had from the start of the year where I felt like the 6 was the best of the three teams at the start of the year. I think it was up to [eighth] in points. Knocking on the door with a win at Darlington. Then just completely fell flat through the months of May, June and July. Pushed itself to where it’s now, I think 18th or 19th in points, which is very frustrating. We’re not where we want to be. We can’t hide from that.” — Keselowski on Saturday at Daytona.
ROSS CHASTAIN (out by 104 points)
Season performance and key results: From nearly the get-go, Chastain began treading water in 2026, starting with a wheel that fell off his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet at Circuit of The Americas, resulting in a 35th-place finish in March. He earned just two top-10 finishes in the first 15 races — both coming at drafting tracks. His statistics are tracking toward career worsts since joining the organization in 2022.
Why he fell short: Chastain found some of his best results during the summer months, earning back-to-back top 10s at Pocono Raceway and Naval Base Coronado in June, followed by a key seventh-place effort at Iowa and a P12 a week later at Richmond. Those results gave him a fighting chance entering New Hampshire, but an early engine issue officially eliminated him from The Chase. Ultimately, a four-race stretch from Texas Motor Speedway to Nashville where he finished no better than 26th sealed his fate. That included Watkins Glen, where he qualified fourth but quickly plummeted out of contention.
What needs to change: Speed. Chastain has shown in years past that he’s plenty capable behind the wheel of a Cup Series car, and this Chase exclusion should be a one-time occurrence. His talent — as evidenced by taking Trackhouse Racing to the Championship 4 during the organization’s sophomore campaign — does not evaporate in one subpar season. If the organization can make strides down the stretch, that would be a crucial first step toward returning the Alva, Florida, native to the postseason.
Quotable: “Points are the points, and that comes with going fast and finishing up front in stages and races. We just haven’t done it. That’s why it feels insurmountable … You can go grab 76 points in a single race if you are the best. Definitely, it feels insurmountable because of the speed, is what I meant.” — Chastain at Iowa in August.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (out by 105 points)
Season performance and key results: McDowell scored a bulk of his points this season at road courses. He finished top 10 in all four events turning left and right, including a key runner-up to SVG in May at Watkins Glen. Other than a ninth-place finish at hometown Phoenix Raceway and a top five at Daytona on Saturday, his oval results left plenty to be desired.
Why he fell short: Beginning in the spring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, McDowell had a 12-race stretch where he finished inside the top 10 just once. That included finishes outside the top 30 at Kansas Speedway and Talladega in consecutive weeks, scoring a combined eight points. Top 10s at Naval Base Coronado and Sonoma got him headed back in the right direction, but McDowell never strung together consistent results the rest of the way to seriously contend for a Chase spot.
What needs to change: Narrowing the gap. McDowell hasn’t always been in situations over his career where he’s driving premier equipment, but Spire as a whole is rapidly improving. He’s the bar at road courses for the organization, but otherwise, his results tend to fall far behind Daniel Suárez and Carson Hocevar, both of whom made The Chase and won races in 2026. So the goal is simple moving forward: run closer to his teammates — although that’s much easier said than done — as McDowell searches for his first postseason spot since 2023.
Quotable: “I feel like everything’s there for us to do our jobs. We just have to go do it. Is there extra pressure? Yeah, there’s always extra pressure, but I feel like that comes from myself, too, right? Like nobody likes to suck. Nobody likes to run bad, and when you do it a few weeks consecutively, it hurts, and you’re ready to make it better.” — McDowell before Watkins Glen in May.
ERIK JONES (out by 124 points)
Season performance and key results: Sitting 25th in points through the first 10 races, Jones and his No. 43 Legacy Motor Club team caught fire, stringing together a strong stretch of races from May to early July. He went the next 10 races with just one finish worse than 20th, including a runner-up at his hometown Michigan International Speedway and another top five at EchoPark. The rest of the season, however, lacked needle-moving finishes.
Why he fell short: Jones finished EchoPark above the provisional cutline by eight points over Joey Logano, but his fortunes began to turn a week later at North Wilkesboro. Logano won, rocketing up the standings while Jones finished 21st, three laps down and losing 41 points to the cut. At Iowa in early August, Jones was an innocent bystander when Tyler Reddick washed up the track on Lap 4 and crashed, ending his race prematurely after qualifying 10th. That DNF set Jones back to 20th in points.
What needs to change: Better Saturdays. Jones qualified inside the top 10 just four times this season, and two of those resulted in top-10 race finishes. He has the second-fewest stage points among the top 23 drivers in points — and it often takes him time to drive up front when he’s fast. As evidenced by a slew of new investors and a third full-time car for the organization next season, Legacy Motor Club is growing and seemingly headed in the right direction. But it could take some time for the results to bear fruit.
Quotable: “It’s gonna be a long shot from here. I mean, we’re gonna be deep after today … we needed three really good weeks — and it had to start today.” — Jones after crashing at Iowa.
