NASCAR Cup Series playoff bubble battle watch: The gap closes after Indianapolis

With only four races remaining in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, the playoff bubble continues to tighten.

Fifteenth through 17th in points is only separated by 24 points after Sunday's Brickyard 400. Here's where the postseason picture sits after Indianapolis.

13. Martin Truex Jr. (+108)

A horrendous weekend for Truex doesn't hurt him too much, but the No. 19 team doesn't seem to be as quick as they were earlier in the season. In what is Truex's final chance to chase a championship, all he needs to do is be quietly consistent over the next four weeks to ensure a playoff berth.

14. Ty Gibbs (+42)

Engine issues in two straight races have put pressure on Gibbs, who is looking to make the playoffs for the first time in his Cup Series career. Richmond should provide an opportunity for Gibbs to get back to his early-season form, but the No. 54 team can't afford any more mechanical issues down the stretch.

15. Chris Buescher (+17)

Unlike Truex, Buescher's poor showing at Indianapolis puts him right back on the playoff bubble. Tire issues plagued the No. 17 team early, and a 22nd-place finish simply can't be the norm for Buescher over the next four weeks. The good news? Buescher won at both Richmond and Michigan last season, and those tracks comprise the next two races on the schedule.

16. Ross Chastain (+7)

To Chastain's credit, a 15th-place finish was a much better result than seemed possible early in the day, where the No. 1 car ran as low as 33rd. However, it's concerning that Chastain still has no semblance of speed, especially when his main bubble competitor is heating up.

17. Bubba Wallace (-7)

A stage win and a finish mark the fourth straight week where Wallace has looked like a legitimate playoff contender. Four straight finishes of 13th or better have Wallace on the cusp of his second straight playoff appearance, and all four tracks remaining on the regular-season schedule should favor the No. 23 team.

18. Chase Briscoe (-83)

Briscoe — and everyone below him — will need a win to make the Cup Series playoffs at this point in the year. The Indiana native's first Brickyard 400 certainly didn't go as planned, but a 24th-place finish doesn't show the top-15 speed the No. 14 car exhibited at points of the race.

19. Kyle Busch (-112)

It was another miserable week for Busch, who ran outside of the top 30 early in Sunday's race. While strategy enabled him to race in the top five during the middle portions, a crash late relegated him to 25th — a routine day in what's been an extremely disappointing season for the two-time champion.

20. Todd Gilliland (-118)

Make that another extremely solid week for Gilliland, who has 10 top-20 finishes in the last 11 races. The young driver finished sixth on Sunday, and while late-race chaos certainly helped his cause, he's shown the innate ability to be able to navigate said chaos when it pops up.