After every single NASCAR Cup Series race following the 2026 season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, there have been changes to the provisional 16-driver playoff field, and that was true again following Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, the sixth race on this year's schedule.
Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez elevated himself back into the top 16 in the point standings with a seventh place finish, and in doing so, he knocked teammate Michael McDowell out of the top 16.
McDowell is technically tied for 16th in points after finishing 20th at Darlington, and thus tied for the final "Chase" playoff spot, with Team Penske's Joey Logano.
Daniel Suarez displaces teammate in NASCAR playoff picture
But Logano owns the tiebreaker over the driver of the No. 71 Chevrolet, as his top finish of the season is third in the Daytona 500, while McDowell's is fifth in the race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Ironically, it was Suarez who was in a three-way tie for the 16th and final playoff spot before the Goodyear 400, following the previous weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet was on the wrong end of that particular tiebreaker.
That three-way tie involved Suarez, former Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen, and Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger. SVG owned the tiebreaker due to his runner-up finish at COTA, while Suarez was officially classified as being 17th, having notched a top finish of fifth at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway). Allmendinger's season-high result is ninth at COTA.
Suarez, who hasn't made it to the playoffs since 2024, when he clinched a spot with his win in Atlanta, now finds himself 11 points above the playoff cut line. With 16 drivers within 40 points of the cut line in either direction, there could be plenty more changes following this coming weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway as well.
That race, the Cook Out 400, is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 29. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action from the "Paperclip"!