NASCAR: Denny Hamlin not locked into playoffs after Bristol win

This past Sunday afternoon, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin earned his first win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at the same venue where he earned his third and final win of the 2023 season: Bristol Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 11 Toyota's victory in Sunday's 500-lap Food City 500 around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval, which saw a track record 54 lead changes, presumably punches his ticket to the playoffs for the 11th year in a row.

However, at this point in the season, nobody is truly locked into the playoffs, as there is still a good possibility that there could be more than 16 different winners before the 26-race regular season is scheduled to reach its end in early September at Darlington Raceway.

NASCAR playoffs: Nobody locked in (yet)

The modern NASCAR Cup Series playoff format is widely considered a "win and in" format, and for good reason: every single playoff eligible driver who has won a race since the format was implemented back in 2014 has qualified for the playoffs, except for Joey Logano in 2017 when his victory at Richmond Raceway was encumbered (but still tallied for historical purposes).

But the reality of the format is this: there are 16 spots. One goes to the regular season champion, whether he is a winner or not, and the next 15 spots go to the drivers who rank next highest in wins.

This means that, at this point in the year, the only way to qualify for the playoffs is by winning twice; there can be no more than 13 multi-race winners during a 26-race regular season.

In the event that there are more winners than playoff spots, the tiebreaker to determine which single-race winners are in and which ones aren't becomes points. It's really no different than when there aren't more winners than playoff spots; at that point, the tiebreaker to determine which non-winners are in and which ones aren't is points, as we have seen pretty much every year.

As far as winners go, Las Vegas Motor Speedway winner Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports is tops in the point standings, tied for the overall lead. Hamlin is next highest in fifth place, followed by teammate Christopher Bell in eighth, Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron in 10th, and Trackhouse Racing Team's Daniel Suarez in 11th.

Bell won at Phoenix Raceway, Byron won the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and Suarez won at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

All things considered, Hamlin is effectively playoff-bound. He simply hasn't mathematically secured his spot yet because of how the postseason format is actually worded.

Will a sixth different winner emerge in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season's sixth race? The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Circuit of the Americas beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 24. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now if you have not already had the chance to do so!