NASCAR playoffs 2024: Postseason format, standings, schedule for Cup Series' race to the championship

From the rise of the green flag dropped on the Daytona 500 to the fall of the checkered flag in the Southern 500, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season was full of unexpected developments. Developments which are firmly reflected in the field of drivers for this year's playoffs.

2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, but missed out on a regular-season championship by only a single point that he may have had if he hadn't missed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte due to travel issues stemming from a rain-delayed first try at the Indianapolis 500. 15 different drivers won a race during the regular season, but one of them -- Austin Dillon -- was not allowed to maintain his playoff eligibility after driving through two cars to win on the final lap at Richmond. And those 15 drivers, by the way, include Harrison Burton and Chase Briscoe, both of whom earned major upsets to earn playoff spots in the final two weeks of the regular season.

All of that has set up the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the 10-race tournament that will whittle the field of 16 drivers down to the four who will race for the championship at Phoenix in November. The field includes six former Cup champions, including defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney who is seeking to become NASCAR's first repeat champion since Jimmie Johnson won a record five-straight from 2006 to 2010. Two-time Cup champion Joey Logano seeks his third title, while Larson, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski look for their second -- as does 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. in his final Cup season.

Then, there's others like Denny Hamlin -- trying to finally become a champion and earn the one prize that has eluded him in NASCAR -- William Byron, who is looking to become the first driver to win both the Daytona 500 and the Cup championship in the same year since Johnson did it in 2013, and regular-season champion Tyler Reddick among those looking to hoist the Bill France Trophy at year's end and put their name in the record books as the 2024 champion of stock car racing's highest level.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff format

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs features an elimination-style format with four rounds in all. Drivers are seeded based on their number of race wins as well as the number of "playoff points" -- points earned from either winning a race, winning a stage mid-race, or through their points position at the end of the regular season -- they have accumulated throughout the entire season.

A driver can advance one of two ways:

• If they win a race, they automatically advance to the next round of the playoffs.
• Alternatively, they can also make it into the next round on points so long as they are above the cutoff line at the end of each respective three-race round.
• The four drivers below the cutoff line at the end of each round are eliminated from the playoffs and eliminated from championship contention. After each round, every remaining driver's points totals are reset, with playoff points continuing to determine seeding.

The four rounds of the playoffs are the Round of 16, the Round of 12, the Round of 8, and the Championship 4. The Championship 4 has special rules, as all four remaining drivers will have their points totals reset to an equal number for the final race of the season at Phoenix Raceway. That effectively turns the final race of the year into a pure match race, as whichever Championship 4 driver has the best finish in the season finale wins the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings

1. #5 - Kyle Larson -- 2040 pts (+35) -- 4 wins, 40 playoff points
2. #20 - Christopher Bell -- 2032 pts (+27) -- 3 wins, 32 playoff points
3. #45 - Tyler Reddick -- 2028 pts (+23) -- 2 wins, 28 playoff points
4. #24 - William Byron -- 2022 pts (+17) -- 3 wins, 22 playoff points
5. #12 - Ryan Blaney -- 2018 pts (+13) -- 2 wins, 18 playoff points
6. #11 - Denny Hamlin -- 2015 pts (+10) -- 3 wins, 15 playoff points
7. #9 - Chase Elliott -- 2014 pts (+9) -- 1 win, 14 playoff points
8. #6 - Brad Keselowski -- 2008 pts (+3) -- 1 win, 8 playoff points
9. #22 - Joey Logano -- 2007 pts (+2) -- 1 win, 7 playoff points
10. #2 - Austin Cindric -- 2007 pts (+2) -- 1 win, 7 playoff points
11. #99 - Daniel Suarez -- 2006 pts (+1) -- 1 win, 6 playoff points
12. #48 - Alex Bowman -- 2005 pts (+0) -- 1 win, 5 playoff points
13. #14 - Chase Briscoe -- 2005 pts (-0) -- 1 win, 5 playoff points
14. #21 - Harrison Burton -- 2005 pts (-0) -- 1 win, 5 playoff points
15. #19 - Martin Truex Jr. -- 2004 points (-1)
    
16. #54 - Ty Gibbs -- 2004 pts (-1) -- 4 playoff points
    

NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule

Round of 16

Sunday, Sept. 8 -- Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sunday, Sept. 15 -- Watkins Glen International
Saturday, Sept. 21 -- Bristol Motor Speedway

Round of 12

Sunday, Sept. 29 -- Kansas Speedway
Sunday, Oct. 6 -- Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, Oct. 13 -- Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval

Round of 8

Sunday, Oct. 20 -- Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, Oct. 27 -- Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, Nov. 3 -- Martinsville Speedway

Championship Race

Sunday, Nov. 10 -- Phoenix Raceway