The 16-driver playoff field is set for the first postseason since NASCAR did away with the "win and in", knockout-style format that had been in place from 2014 to 2025.
RFK Racing's Ryan Preece ironically won his way into the playoffs anyway in the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, as that win was enough to move him from 17th to 16th in the point standings over Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen.
Prior to the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the 16 drivers inside the provisional playoff picture actually would have been the 16 drivers in the provisional playoff picture under the old format as well; nobody from outside the top 16 (aside from Corey Heim, who isn't a full-time driver) had won a race.
That changed when SVG was knocked out, as he won at both Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway earlier this year. As a result, he is the only driver who would have qualified for the postseason under the old format, but failed to do so under the new format.
Who was on the opposite end of that spectrum?
Ironically, it's a driver who had historically benefited from "win and in" in the past, and that is Team Penske's Austin Cindric.
Cindric finished the regular season 15th in the standings, making him the sixth and lowest non-winner inside the top 16. Had the 11 winners all gotten in, Cindric would have been 17th in the playoff picture, making him the first driver out.
The driver of the No. 2 Ford is one of those whom many believed would be hurt most by the new format, since he had historically relied on upset victories to qualify for the playoffs in years past.
In 2022, he got in thanks to his Daytona 500 victory. In 2024, he got in thanks to teammate Ryan Blaney running out of fuel on the final lap at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, handing him the win. And in 2025, he got in thanks to his win at Talladega Superspeedway. In 2023, he did not win, and he did not qualify.
Yet now that "win and in" is gone, he ended up being the one and only driver who actually made the playoffs because the new format was introduced.
Cindric is set to start the postseason as the No. 15 seed, 95 points out of the lead.
The Cook Out Southern 500 is set to open up the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs this Sunday, September 6, with live coverage from Darlington Raceway set to be provided by USA Network starting at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Add us as a preferred source on Google