Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are heading in opposite directions on the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid. Wallace secured a fifth-place finish at Indianapolis, bringing him closer to the bubble spot. With four races remaining in the regular season, the driver for 23XI Racing is now just seven points away from a postseason berth.
Unfortunately, Chastain finds himself in a precarious position with a slim seven-point advantage. He has experienced a decline in performance, finishing 15th or worse in four out of the last six races. Prior to this slump, Chastain had a comfortable lead above the cut line, sitting comfortably in 12th place on the grid with a 71-point advantage.
The events unfolded as follows:
• Joey Logano, initially below the cut line by six points, managed to surpass Wallace by 13 points after the New Hampshire race. Chastain, still in 12th place, increased his lead over the cut line from 71 to 93 points.
• Logano secured a victory at Nashville Superspeedway, pushing him 51 points above the cut line and surpassing Alex Bowman. Chastain, on the other hand, dropped to 14th place on the grid with a 66-point advantage.
• Another shift occurred in Chicago when Bowman went from being on the cut line to securing a spot with a victory. Wallace, still below the cut line, reduced his deficit to Chris Buescher to 45 points. Chastain fell to 15th place on the grid with a 53-point advantage.
• Wallace made significant progress at Pocono Raceway with a top-10 finish, while Chastain crashed out. Chastain found himself on the cut line with a 27-point gap behind Wallace.
• At Indianapolis, Wallace finished fifth while Chastain finished 15th, narrowing the gap to just seven points.
“We had a great day, finishing in fifth place,” expressed Wallace. “I didn’t perform well on Friday and Saturday, which put us at a disadvantage in terms of track position. However, I had confidence in the team and the No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry. It was an incredibly fast car, and it felt great to be back on the oval. Passing was challenging, but overall, it was a good day and a positive points day.”
Heading into the next race at Richmond Raceway on August 11, here is the current playoff grid:
1. Kyle Larson: 4 wins, 28 playoff points
2. Christopher Bell: 3 wins, 24 playoff points
3. Denny Hamlin: 3 wins, 21 playoff points
4. William Byron: 3 wins, 16 playoff points
5. Ryan Blaney: 2 wins, 12 playoff points
6. Tyler Reddick: 1 win, 8 playoff points
7. Austin Cindric: 1 win, 7 playoff points
8. Chase Elliott: 1 win, 6 playoff points
9. Joey Logano: 1 win, 6 playoff points
10. Brad Keselowski: 1 win, 5 playoff points
11. Alex Bowman: 1 win, 5 playoff points
12. Daniel Suarez: 1 win, 5 playoff points
13. Martin Truex Jr.: +108 above the cut line
14. Ty Gibbs: +42 above the cut line
15. Chris Buescher: +17 above the cut line
16. Ross Chastain: +7 above the cut line
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17. Bubba Wallace: -7
18. Chase Briscoe: -83
19. Kyle Busch: -112
20. Todd Gilliland: -118
The regular season will conclude with races at Richmond, Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington.
