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Becoming one of the 16 drivers to make the NASCAR playoffs is a massive accomplishment and the mark of a successful season. But to reach this point in the playoffs, it takes more than simply being a winning driver and a winning race team. By making it to the Round of 8, eight drivers and teams have exhibited that they were among the very finest in all of auto racing and deserve the right to try and get to NASCAR's finale with a shot at winning the Cup Series championship. Now, it's a matter of taking advantage of that right.

With four races to go in the season, the Round of 8 of the NASCAR playoffs begins with the first opportunity for the remaining playoff drivers to win a race and make the Championship 4 coming this weekend in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Of the eight remaining drivers in the playoffs, one in particular knows exactly what this race can do for him. In 2022 and again last year, Joey Logano won this race to earn his Championship 4 berth, which he seized upon both times to win at Phoenix and win the Cup championship.

NASCAR playoffs 2025 race schedule, results: Complete list of Cup Series race dates, winners, tracks
Steven Taranto
NASCAR playoffs 2025 race schedule, results: Complete list of Cup Series race dates, winners, tracks

Having been the last driver to make the Round of 8 on points, the defending champ's presence in the penultimate round of the playoffs looms large over the rest of the field. And for Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott, the pressure is on to strike first before Logano gets the opportunity to spoil their hopes of taking his crown.

Where to watch the NASCAR playoffs at Las Vegas

  • When: Sunday, Oct. 12 | Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
  • Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- Las Vegas
  • TV: USA | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) 

Starting lineup

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the South Point 400 in qualifying on Saturday, posting a lap of 29.213 (184.849 MPH) to lead a Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3 sweep of the front three spots. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson will start fourth, fifth and sixth, with Joey Logano ninth and Ryan Blaney 14th rounding out the Round of 8 drivers.

  1. #11 - Denny Hamlin
  2. #19 - Chase Briscoe
  3. #20 - Christopher Bell
  4. #9 - Chase Elliott
  5. #24 - William Byron
  6. #5 - Kyle Larson
  7. #23 - Bubba Wallace
  8. #45 - Tyler Reddick
  9. #22 - Joey Logano
  10. #54 - Ty Gibbs
  11. #17 - Chris Buescher
  12. #48 - Alex Bowman
  13. #88 - Shane van Gisbergen (R)
  14. #12 - Ryan Blaney
  15. #1 - Ross Chastain
  16. #60 - Ryan Preece
  17. #99 - Daniel Suarez
  18. #71 - Michael McDowell
  19. #43 - Erik Jones
  20. #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
  21. #41 - Cole Custer
  22. #77 - Carson Hocevar
  23. #38 - Zane Smith
  24. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  25. #3 - Austin Dillon
  26. #42 - John Hunter Nemechek
  27. #7 - Justin Haley
  28. #4 - Noah Gragson
  29. #21 - Josh Berry
  30. #34 - Todd Gilliland
  31. #2 - Austin Cindric
  32. #8 - Kyle Busch
  33. #35 - Riley Herbst (R)
  34. #6 - Brad Keselowski
  35. #10 - Ty Dillon
  36. #51 - Cody Ware
  37. #44 - J.J. Yeley
  38. #78 - Katherine Legge

Storyline to watch

Despite major efforts being taken to stamp out playoff race manipulation after the finish to last year's Martinsville elimination race, the finish to last week's race at the Charlotte Roval saw team and OEM orders yet again play a factor in the battle for the final spot above the cut line to advance to the Round of 8. In the hours that followed the finish and Joey Logano's triumph over Ross Chastain in the cut line battle, radio communications on both Cole Custer and Alex Bowman's teams while they were trailing Logano and Bowman respectively were the subject of examination and heavy questioning.

After Custer followed Logano -- a fellow Ford -- through traffic and made one attempt to pass him with four laps to go, Custer's spotter Andy Houston was heard being asked if he had his "watch on" after Custer crossed the start/finish line to take three laps to go. At that point, a message of "nice and easy" was relayed to Custer, with the directive to try and save his tires in case of a late-race restart.

While the optics of the radio communications relative to the situation made it seem as though Custer was receiving orders to stand down and not pass Logano, there was at least some plausible deniability inherent in Haas Factory Team's messaging. The messaging over Alex Bowman's radio was slightly more clumsy, as he was reminded to save his tires -- on the final lap -- the moment he got to Ross Chastain's bumper to challenge him for position. Bowman never seriously challenged Chastain for position from that point onward, instead leaving a comfortable gap between his car and the fellow Chevrolet of Chastain.

Speaking on Hauler Talk this week, NASCAR's Mike Forde shared that officials felt that neither the No. 41 or No. 48 team's radio communications rose to the level that a penalty was necessary. However, NASCAR does plan to meet with teams this week in the leadup to the race at Las Vegas to remind them that race manipulation and particularly blatant actions by teams and/or manufacturers to ensure that their drivers advance to the Championship 4 will not be tolerated.

"At a certain point during this week, we will just remind teams if they need a reminder 'let's not put yourselves or ourselves in jeopardy here,'" Forde said. "Fans should be coming to the racetrack and expecting a straight up race where each position is fought for as hard as possible, especially at the end of a race. If we do see something or hear something we don't like, we are going to step in... So we are aware, and I think come this week -- Vegas and Talladega maybe not as much so, but certainly Martinsville we'll be on high alert again. And if we hear something, we will certainly react if necessary."

As a result of last year's Martinsville cutoff race -- which saw NASCAR suspend nine and hand out $600k in fines after multiple teams tried to manipulate the outcome of the battle for the final Championship 4 spot between Christopher Bell and William Byron -- NASCAR has been much more vigilant in monitoring team actions and communications in this year's playoffs. For instance, NASCAR officials warned two Xfinity Series teams -- both of which had already advanced to the Round of 8 -- not to discuss the points scenarios for teams that had yet to advance over their team radios, as had happened in last week's elimination race in Charlotte.

Exactly where each playoff contender stands relative to the cut line on points likely won't be as much of a factor in the opening race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas, but it certainly will be worth monitoring in the final two before the Championship 4 is settled.

NASCAR news of the week

  • Judge Kenneth Bell has ordered NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to participate in a settlement conference on Oct. 21, a move which comes shortly after NASCAR asked the Western District Court of North Carolina to order the parties to participate in a judicial settlement conference. The move opens up the possibility of the teams' ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the sanctioning body being settled before it is set to go to trial on Dec. 1. Representatives for 23XI and Front Row, however, accused NASCAR's request for a settlement conference of being "another effort to play to the court of public opinion" and not an effort toward resolution.
  • NASCAR officially announced this week that they will be increasing horsepower in 2026, moving from 670 to 750 HP for Cup Series cars at all ovals less than 1.5 miles and all road courses. The full list of tracks that will see a power increase include Bowman Gray Stadium, Circuit of the Americas, Phoenix Raceway, Darlington Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, San Diego Street Course, Sonoma Raceway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. 
  • AM Racing announced that Harrison Burton will not return to their Xfinity Series team in 2026, ending a one-year run that came after Burton returned to the Xfinity level following three seasons in Cup. In one season with AM Racing, Burton earned two top fives, 10 top 10s, and made the playoffs before being eliminated at the end of the Round of 12.
  • Finalists for the Comcast Community Champion of the Year award, the most prestigious annual award honoring philanthropic efforts of those across the NASCAR industry, have been announced. This year's finalists include former NASCAR Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton (The Corner Table), Bristol Motor Speedway general manager Jerry Caldwell (Speedway Children's Charities, Bristol chapter), and NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Daniel Dye (Race to Stop Suicide).

Pick to win

Christopher Bell (+500 at DraftKings) -- The past two years in a row, this race has served as Christopher Bell's stumbling block on his way to trying to win a Cup championship. In both 2023 and 2024, Bell finished a narrow second, and last year was particularly painful in that Bell had dominated the entire race only to lose to Joey Logano on strategy, a loss which ended up having massive consequences when Bell fell apart at Martinsville and missed the Championship 4 entirely.

Bell has found himself in a big spot in both of his last two Vegas starts, as he entered the spring race looking to win four in a row after rattling off three straight wins at the start of the year. Bell ended up only running 12th, and his Bristol win a month ago has been his lone victory since his hot streak to begin the year. But with five top 10s in a row including consecutive third-place finishes, it appears the time is nigh for Bell to claim a Championship 4 spot and potentially the Cup championship he missed out on a year ago.