Chase Elliott on renewed excitement heading into the NASCAR playoffs
NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott said the regular season can get long and drawn out, making the playoffs something to look forward to.
- Eight drivers remain in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with four races left in the season.
- The last four Cup Series champions, including Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson, are still in contention.
- The next race is the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 12.
Only eight NASCAR Cup Series drivers remain in the 2025 playoffs heading to Las Vegas on Oct. 12.
The original field of 16 has been whittled down with only half the drivers surviving since the playoffs kicked into gear on Aug. 31.
The last four Cup Series champions — Joey Logano (2024, 2022), Ryan Blaney (2023), Kyle Larson (2021) and Chase Elliott (2020) — are still in the field heading into the South Point 400 (4:30 p.m. CT, USA Network) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Blaney and Elliott have won in the 2025 playoffs along with Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Biscoe, who also are still in the field.
NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule and picture
Here are the races left on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs schedule and the drivers in the field heading into the final four races.
Following the Oct. 12 race at Las Vegas, the playoffs head to Talladega (Oct. 19), Martinsville (Oct. 26) and then to the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix (Nov. 2).
Martinsville serves as the final elimination race reducing the field to the final four drivers.
The eight drivers still in the playoffs in order of their points series standings include Denny Hamlin (+8 ahead of 5th); Ryan Blaney (+6); Kyle Larson (+4); William Byron (+4;) Christopher Bell (-4 behind 4th); Chase Elliott (-14); Chase Briscoe (-14); and Joey Logano (-24).
Here is our ranking of the final eight drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
No.1 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for Ryan Blaney
Blaney has traditionally been strong in the Round of 8. Since 2022 he has two wins, five second-place finishes, a third and a sixth in the last four races.
Blaney or Joey Logano hope to help Team Penske win its fourth consecutive Cup Series championship.
No. 2 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for Kyle Larson
Larson has won three times in Las Vegas so his chances to move up in the point standings are favorable if he is able to add another victory in the 400 miler on Oct. 12.
The Hendricks Motorsports driver is coming off a runner-up finish at the Charlotte Roval, was sixth at Kansas and seventh at New Hampshire so he has momentum. Larson’s 426 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks is the most of all the drivers in the playoff field.
No. 3 NASCAR Cup Series playoff chances for Denny Hamlin
Hamlin made a case earlier this week on his Actions Detrimental podcast for removing the Charlotte Roval from the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. That’s not surprising considering his 23rd-place finish was his second-worst in the playoffs with the worst coming at Bristol when Hamlin lost a wheel, which resulted in a crash and a penalty.
Hamlin did not have a good race at Las Vegas in the spring finishing 25th, but he won there in 2021 and has not finished below 11th there in any of his other races.
No. 4 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for Chase Elliott
Elliott has been consistent through the 2025 regular season and playoffs, but has not earned a lot of points in the standings.
He needs to finish strong and it starts on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas where he’s had mixed results. He was 10th in the spring of 2025, 33rd in the fall of 2024, 12th that spring, and 32nd in the fall of 2023.
Elliott has been in the top-10 in four of the last five 2024 playoffs races.
No. 5 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for William Byron
Byron is in prime position to move up in the standings with Las Vegas and Talladega coming up.
He has recorded top-10 finishes in each of his last five races at Las Vegas and Talladega. He also led in each of those five Las Vegas races.
No. 6 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for Christopher Bell
Watch for Bell to make a move on Oct. 12. He has top-5 finishes in three of the last five Las Vegas races. He was runner-up in the last two Vegas fall races.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished third in the last two 2025 playoff races after winning at Bristol.
No. 7 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for Joey Logano
Logano barely clinched the last playoff spot at Charlotte where, after not having a good race, he beat Ross Chastain, who finished backward after spinning out.
He finished 20th at the Roval after finishing 21st on Sept. 28 at Kansas.
It’s hard to count the Team Penske driver out, but he will have to pull off more of his late-season heroics to win the championship in 2025.
No. 8 NASCAR Cup playoff chances for Chase Briscoe
The only driver among the remaining eight in the playoffs who has never made it to the championship race is Briscoe.
He has been better in the 2025 playoffs than he was in 2024 when he failed to finish in the top 10 in the last seven races, but remains a longshot.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MIkeOrganWriter.
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