2024 NASCAR Playoffs: Who made the Cup Series cut, and what to expect from the postseason

Last weekend’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway marked the end of the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season — and the coming race at Atlanta will kick off the 2024 Playoffs. Here, drivers will be eliminated in each “round” of the Playoffs, before four drivers compete for the crown at the season finale.

If you’re new to NASCAR, or if you just need a refresher, PlanetF1.com has all the information you need to know to stay up to date.

2024 NASCAR Playoffs: What drivers made the cut?

Only 16 drivers can make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. To make the cut, those drivers must either win a race, or score enough Playoff points to earn their way in.

The following drivers made the cut:

• Kyle Larson (No. 5) : Wins at Las Vegas, Sonoma, Kansas, Indianapolis
• Christopher Bell (No. 20) : Wins at Phoenix, Charlotte, New Hampshire
• Tyler Reddick (No. 45) : Wins at Talladega, Michigan
• William Byron (No. 24) : Wins at Daytona, Circuit of the Americas, Martinsville
• Ryan Blaney (No. 12) : Wins at Iowa, Pocono
• Denny Hamlin (No. 11) : Wins at Bristol, Richmond, Dover
• Chase Elliott (No. 9) : Win at Texas Motor Speedway
• Brad Keselowski (No. 6) : Win at Darlington
• Joey Logano (No. 22) : Win at Nashville
• Austin Cindric (No. 2) : Win at Gateway
• Daniel Suarez (No. 99) : Win at Atlanta
• Alex Bowman (No. 48) : Win at Chicago
• Chase Briscoe (No. 14) : Win at Darlington
• Harrison Burton (No. 21) : Win at Daytona
• Ty Gibbs (No. 54) : Secured enough Playoff points
• Martin Truex Jr. (No 19) : Secured enough Playoff points

Worth noting is Austin Dillon’s win at Richmond. Though Dillon’s win still counts as a win, NASCAR determined that the driver’s behavior was not appropriate, and it therefore decided that the win would not count toward the Playoffs.

Understanding NASCAR:

👉 F1 v NASCAR: How US racing is finally discovering the magic of rain

👉 Why so serious? Four valuable lessons F1 can learn from polarising NASCAR series

At this point in the season, all of NASCAR’s Cup Series drivers will still compete on track, but there will be an additional competition taking place among the 16 drivers that made it to the Playoffs. If a non-Playoff driver wins a race, they do not earn a slot in the Playoffs; rather, they simply just win a race.

All 16 Playoff drivers will compete against one another in three races; after that, the four lowest-scoring drivers will be eliminated from the Playoffs. Three more races will determine the eight drivers that move forward and the four that are cut from the playoffs — all leading to the season finale and championship decider at Phoenix.

Round of 16:

• Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 8)
• Watkins Glen International (Sep. 15)
• Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 21)

Four Playoff drivers will be eliminated from championship contention at the end of the Bristol event. Twelve drivers will proceed to the next round of the Playoffs.

To advance, drivers must either win a race, or score well enough to make the cut. The four lowest-scoring drivers are the ones that are eliminated.

Round of 12:

• Kansas Speedway (Sept. 29)
• Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 6)
• Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (Oct. 13)

Four Playoff drivers will be eliminated from championship contention at the end of the Charlotte event. Eight drivers will proceed to the next round of the Playoffs.

Round of 8:

• Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 20)
• Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 27)
• Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 3)

Four Playoff drivers will be eliminated from championship contention and the end of the Martinsville event. Four drivers will continue to the next round of the Playoffs — the Championship 4.

Championship 4:

• Phoenix Raceway (Nov. 10)

In Phoenix, the four drivers who survived the Playoff eliminations will compete for the title. The driver that finishes highest on the track will win the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Read next: From F1 to NASCAR: The 10 F1 drivers who made the move to the US