Tight Race at Top and Bottom of NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Rankings

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The recent race at Michigan International Speedway has caused a significant change in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff outlook. As the series heads to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night, the standings have shifted and the cutoff line has become even more important. The race was a dramatic one, and it has set the stage for an intense battle for the regular-season championship and the 16 playoff spots.

Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing earned his second win of the year, propelling him to the top of the standings for the first time in his career. With only two races left to decide the regular-season champion, Reddick currently holds a 10-point lead over Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing is in third place, 28 points behind Reddick.

Kyle Larson, who has led the championship for a series-best 14 weeks this season, dropped to fourth place after a crash at Michigan resulted in a 34th-place finish. This puts him 32 points behind Reddick. The top spot in the regular-season standings comes with a 15-point bonus, making it a highly coveted position.

\"We are going to go to Daytona and, hopefully, don\'t crash,\" Reddick said. \"Last time we were there, we won the Duels (in February), so hoping to walk away from Daytona with the points lead. If we can do that, it will set us up really good to close it out in Darlington (on Sept. 1).\"

Hamlin has the best record at Daytona among the top four drivers in the standings, with three Daytona 500 wins. Reddick has a win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona, while Elliott and Larson have Xfinity Series wins at the track.

The competition is also tight at the bottom of the playoff standings, with three drivers fighting for the final spot. Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace have all been inside the top 16 at different points during the Michigan race. Ultimately, Buescher came out on top with a sixth-place finish, moving him up to 15th in the standings and giving him a 16-point cushion above the cutoff line.

Qualifying for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will take place on Friday evening, with Chastain as the defending pole winner. The race is sure to be an intense one, with so much on the line for the drivers.

--By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.