Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott paired opportunism with aggression in double overtime at Kansas Speedway two weekends ago, moving from 10th to first to take the win away from Toyota after 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin clashed on the closing lap.
The win moved Elliott to the top of the playoff picture and punched his ticket to the round of 8 for the eighth time in nine years. He was only fifth in points, but the round of 12's other winner, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, was sixth, so Elliott was technically classified as being on top in terms of the playoff standings.
But Elliott's playoff point shortage has been a major talking point this season. While he has been as consistent as they come, he only won one regular season stage and one regular season race. So even with a fourth place finish in the regular season standings, he only entered the playoffs with 13 playoff points.
The Kansas win netted him five more, but with 18, he's still only tied for sixth among the eight drivers remaining in championship contention.
Chase Elliott drops below NASCAR Championship 4 cut line
As a result, despite his Kansas win, the 2020 champion has dropped out of the provisional Championship 4 picture to open up the round of 8. Instead of opening the round of top, he is tied for sixth with Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe.
Briscoe is technically classified as owning the tiebreaker, though because the round of 8 tiebreaker will ultimately be best finish in the round of 8, where things stand right now is basically irrelevant. Both drivers are 14 points below the Championship 4 cut line, ahead of only Team Penske's Joey Logano, who is 24 behind.
Hamlin leads the way with 36 playoff points, ahead of Blaney with 34. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron led the regular season with 32 each and have yet to score any more through the first six races of the playoffs.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell is the top driver below the cutoff with 28, placing him four points back, and like Elliott, he technically dropped out of the Championship 4 playoff picture following the round of 8 points reset.
Officially, to conclude the round of 12, it was Elliott on top of the playoff picture (third in points with a win) ahead of Blaney (fifth with a win).
Larson and Bell were officially third and fourth (first and second in points), as the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval was won by Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, who had already been eliminated and therefore was ineligible to clinch a spot in the round of 8.
Byron was classified as fifth ahead of Hamlin in sixth, Briscoe in seventh, and Logano in eighth. Logano, the reigning series champion, ironically would not have advanced if not for Hamlin running Wallace up the track at Kansas, and he would not have advanced if not for Hamlin passing Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain on the final lap at the Roval.
Set to open up the round of 8 is Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Logano clinched his Championship 4 spot in 2024. The South Point 400 is set to be shown live on USA Network starting at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 12. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action!