NASCAR 2024 Playoff Grid Set: Who are the 16 drivers who qualified after Chase Briscoe’s win at Darlington

The 26-race NASCAR Cup Series regular season came to an end with the conclusion of Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, where Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag.

The regular-season finale sets the Cup Series playoff field for who will compete in the 10 races postseason against each other for the Bill France Cup.

The 13 of the 16 playoff positions were already determined. With Briscoe as the new winner from below the cut-off line at Darlington, it changed the playoff picture. Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain, who were in contention, were knocked out of the race of playoffs.

Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., and grandson of Joe Gibbs, Ty Gibbs, clinched the final three spots in the final regular-season points standings. Briscoe, Truex Jr., and Gibbs entered Cook Out Southern 500 with -144, +58, and +39 points, respectively.

The potential drivers who missed the playoff this season are Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Noah Gragson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. The season had been tough for Busch, as he couldn’t win a race in the regular season.

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NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid: 16 drivers who advanced to postseason

With 16 out of 36 Cup drivers advanced to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson, who had a strong season so far, grabbed the top spot to begin the Round of 16.

Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs, and Martin Truex Jr. enter into the playoff as the four drivers below the cut-off line for the next round.

See below the 16 drivers who make the 2024 Cup Series playoffs:

1. #5 - Kyle Larson
2. #20 - Christopher Bell
3. #45 - Tyler Reddick
4. #24 - William Byron
5. #12 - Ryan Blaney
6. #11 - Denny Hamlin
7. #9 - Chase Elliott
8. #6 - Brad Keselowski
9. #22 - Joey Logano
10. #2 - Austin Cindric
11. #99 - Daniel Suarez
12. #48 - Alex Bowman
13. #14 - Chase Briscoe
14. #21 - Harrison Burton
15. #54 - Ty Gibbs
16. #19 - Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400, the first race of the 2024 playoff season. The action will go live at 3 pm ET on Sunday, September 8, 2024.