Entering Saturday night's Quaker State 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was the 16th and final driver above the provisional playoff cut line, just behind 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace in 15th.
Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott was one of the three non-winners ahead of both, with the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet sitting in the top spot behind the 11 drivers who had already found victory lane through the season's first 17 races.
In the closing laps of the 260-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia oval, RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski looked poised to shake up the playoff picture in a manner similar to what NASCAR saw when Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen won in Mexico a few weekends ago.
Keselowski is only 27th in points, so him becoming a 12th different winner would have moved up the cut line.
Instead, Elliott got a well-timed push from Bowman, and he utilized it to perfection to take his second win at his home track and first Cup win since April 2024.
Bubba Wallace gets well-timed boost from Alex Bowman
Wallace only finished in 22nd place on Saturday night after another incident-filled race, and Bowman was able to pass him in the point standings with his third place finish.
It's no secret that Wallace and Bowman haven't necessarily gotten along over the years. But that push could very well be the difference between Wallace making and missing the playoffs when the regular season is all said and done.
Had Keselowski managed to hang on, he would be one of 12 winners in the provisional playoff picture. Elliott would still be well ahead of Bowman and Wallace on points, so the cut line would be between Bowman and Wallace, instead of below both.
Wallace may have fallen to the final spot above the cutoff, but had Keselowski won, he would be on the outside looking in after his 2025 season started with such promise.
The 19th race on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is the Grant Park 165, which is set to be shown live on TNT Sports from the Chicago Street Course beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 6.