NASCAR alters playoff picture, several days after Richmond race

Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon appeared to have secured his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series playoff berth and first since 2022 with a victory on Sunday night at Richmond Raceway. The win was the fifth of his career, also his first since 2022.

However, because of how he achieved that win, wrecking Team Penske's Joey Logano and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin in the final corner of the final lap in overtime, NASCAR officials made the decision to have his win not count toward playoff eligibility, even though the win itself was allowed to stand.

Dillon, who was also docked 25 points, went from being one of 13 winners locked into the playoffs to being in a must-win situation down in 31st place in the point standings with three races remaining on the regular season schedule at Michigan International Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, and Darlington Raceway.

As a result, there are now still four playoff spots open instead of just three, meaning that as many as four drivers could end up locking in as winless drivers via their point totals.

Here is what the cut line battle looked like when Dillon's win appeared as though it would count toward his playoff eligibility.

14 - Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing - 662 (+78)
15 - Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing - 602 (+18)
16 - Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing - 587 (+3)
---playoff cut line---
17 - Chris Buescher, RFK Racing - 584 (-3)
18 - Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Team - 584 (-3)
19 - Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing - 485 (-102)
20 - Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing - 465 (-122)
21 - Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports - 454 (-133)

Here is what it looks like now, with Dillon no longer in the provisional playoff picture.

13 - Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing - 662 (+78)
14 - Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing - 602 (+18)
15 - Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing - 587 (+3)
16 - Chris Buescher, RFK Racing - 584 (+0)
---playoff cut line---
17 - Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Team - 584 (-0)
18 - Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing - 485 (-99)
19 - Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing - 465 (-119)
20 - Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports - 454 (-130)

The margins themselves haven't shifted much, given how close Wallace, Buescher, and Chastain are; the big change is the fact that there are now four spots above the cut line on points. Buescher currently owns the tiebreaker over Chastain for the 16th and final spot due to having a better top finish (second place, twice; Chastain's best result is fourth).

There could still be up to three more new winners during the regular season, meaning that by the time the end of the regular season rolls around, there is a chance that only one driver will get into the four-round, 10-race playoffs on points. Truex currently leads that battle by 60 points over Gibbs.

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