Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway is set to wrap up the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season and determine which two drivers are set to join the 14 drivers, all of whom winners at some point through the season's first 25 races, in the upcoming four-round, 10-race playoffs.
The playoff scenario is actually quite simple, and fans can ironically thank Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon for that, following his upset win at Richmond Raceway last Saturday night.
23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman currently occupy the final two playoff spots, and they are the only two drivers able to lock up either one of them on points; everybody else needs to win. Reddick currently boasts a 29-point lead over Bowman.
If a new winner not named Reddick or Bowman should emerge, then that new winner would be in, as would the higher of Reddick and Bowman in the point standings. If anybody else wins, including either Reddick or Bowman, then both Reddick and Bowman would get in.
So if the current leader at the end of a stage is a driver who is below the cut line, that driver would provisionally be listed as "in", and the higher of Reddick or Bowman, factoring in points as they run (and projecting forward through the end of the race), would be listed as "in" as well.
Follow along with our live updates.
NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Playoff updates
Stage 1
Winner: Kyle Larson
Currently in playoffs on points: Tyler Reddick (locked in), Alex Bowman (not locked in; DNF in race)
Stage 1 result has ensured that the 16th and final playoff spot will either go to a new winner (if not Reddick) or Bowman on points.
Stage 2
Winner: Ross Chastain
Currently in playoffs on points: Tyler Reddick (locked in), Alex Bowman (not locked in; DNF in race
Race finish
Winner: Ryan Blaney
Locked in: Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman (both on points)
NBC is airing live coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 from Daytona International Speedway. The playoffs are scheduled to begin with the Cook Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway next Sunday, August 31. Live coverage of that race is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. ET on USA Network. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the upcoming playoff action!