Darlington Raceway's Cook Out Southern 500 is set to kick off the first NASCAR Cup Series "Chase" postseason since 2013, after NASCAR finally made the decision to do away with the old "win and in", knockout-style playoff format that had been in place for the past 12 years.
While the new format is purely points-based, the point tallies for all 16 playoff drivers were reset ahead of the upcoming 10-race postseason, with bonus points added based strictly on the results of the regular season standings.
In other words, the standings themselves haven't changed, with all 16 playoff drivers still in the same positions they ended the regular season, but their point values have, based on a predetermined set of bonuses announced back when the new format was confirmed in January.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin leads the way with 100 bonus points, giving him 2,100 to start the postseason, but because his points lead over Team Penske's Ryan Blaney is only 25, thanks to Blaney's 75-point bonus, rather than 89, which was his winning margin in the regular season points battle, there's a case to be made that Hamlin is actually the biggest loser of this year's points reset.
In total, he lost a combined 3,440 points to his 15 championship rivals. After Hamlin ended the regular season with Blaney being the only driver within 132 points of him, now the other 14 are all within 100, even though Hamlin is still both the championship leader and the clear championship favorite at all of the sportsbooks.
But who is the biggest winner of the points reset?
RFK Racing's Ryan Preece gained the most points with a de facto 305-point boost, moving from 405 points behind Hamlin to just 100 back. But that is because he was so far behind to begin with; he is actually set to start the postseason in last place as the only driver with no bonus points added to his 2,000-point reset tally.
The biggest winner, on the other hand, is really Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe.
The drop-off from fourth to fifth place in the point standings was substantial. Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs finished fourth and was 135 points behind Hamlin, and he was a whopping 131 points ahead of Briscoe in fifth.
But following the reset, Gibbs and Briscoe are only separated by five points, with Gibbs awarded 60 bonus points, placing him 40 behind Hamlin, and Briscoe awarded 55, placing him just 45 behind.
Briscoe finished the regular season 266 points out of the championship lead. His effective 221-point boost (up to just 45 behind Hamlin) is the largest percentage boost (83.08%) of anybody in the field.
And oh, by the way, the Southern 500 is also set to open up the postseason again, and Briscoe is the two-time reigning winner of the Darlington Raceway crown jewel.
Here's a look at what percentage of each playoff driver's deficit to Hamlin was sliced away, thanks to the new postseason format's one and only points reset.
NASCAR Cup Series points boosts with pre-Chase reset
Rank | Name | Points | Gap | Regular season points | Previous gap | Gained on Hamlin | % boost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2100 | 0 | 1027 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
2 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford | 2075 | -25 | 938 | -89 | +64 | 71.91% |
3 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota | 2065 | -35 | 894 | -133 | +98 | 73.68% |
4 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2060 | -40 | 892 | -135 | +95 | 70.37% |
5 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2055 | -45 | 761 | -266 | +221 | 83.08% |
6 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 2050 | -50 | 758 | -269 | +219 | 81.41% |
7 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2045 | -55 | 724 | -303 | +248 | 81.85% |
8 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2040 | -60 | 723 | -304 | +244 | 80.26% |
9 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford | 2035 | -65 | 709 | -318 | +253 | 79.56% |
10 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford | 2030 | -70 | 677 | -350 | +280 | 80% |
11 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 2025 | -75 | 676 | -351 | +276 | 78.63% |
12 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | 2020 | -80 | 673 | -354 | +274 | 77.40% |
13 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 2015 | -85 | 666 | -361 | +276 | 76.45% |
14 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota | 2010 | -90 | 651 | -376 | +286 | 76.06% |
15 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford | 2005 | -95 | 631 | -396 | +301 | 76.01% |
16 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford | 2000 | -100 | 622 | -405 | +305 | 75.31% |
Tune in to USA Network at 5:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 6 for the live broadcast of the Cook Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway. Don't miss the first NASCAR Cup Series "Chase" race since 2013!
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