NASCAR Chase: What to know about the postseason with two races to go

Just two races remain until the postseason begins for the NASCAR Cup Series.

And, you might remember, the format is different this season.

Following 12 years of the win-and-in elimination-style playoff format, the Chase is back. This postseason system is designed to award consistency and drivers who have achieved success over the stretch of a long season — that began all the way back in February at the Daytona 500 — rather than drivers who simply won one race amid an otherwise mediocre season.

“I feel like how I’ve approached racing in the Cup Series was probably better suited for the Chase format,” Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Toyota, recently told USA TODAY Sports. “I feel like one of our strengths as a team is consistency. Another one of our strengths is the fight we put up, the grit that we have. We have days that don’t go smooth, but we don’t let it derail us.

“So, I feel like for us, what we’ve been through, how we handle the things that come our way, we have the right qualities to be good in the Chase.”

The point standings have been interesting to follow all season long.

After winning five of the first nine races, including three in a row to start the season, Reddick built a massive lead at the top of the standings. But 45-year-old Denny Hamlin, still in pursuit of his first championship, had a midseason surge amid some struggles for Reddick and ripped off three consecutive wins at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono. Hamlin has maintained his place at the top of the standings with top-five finishes in five of the last six races.