And then there was one.
Just one race remains in the Cup Series’ regular season slate. And it’s The Big One: Daytona International Speedway, the most famous site in all of American stock car racing.
It’s an environment where Bubba Wallace has thrived in years past; the 23XI Racing starlet has notched three second-place finishes at the track, two of which came in the Daytona 500.
It’s hard to argue the stakes are much higher than now, though. Wallace is hanging onto his playoff spot by a thread, 30 points above the cut line. He got through the hard part — two hellish road courses that prioritize precision over speed.
Now, he returns home. He’s one of the best superspeedway drivers in the entire division. With a chance to clinch his first-ever playoff berth, what better surface could he have to strut his stuff?
MORE: William Byron dominates, notches first-career road course win at the Glen
With that, here’s what you need to know about how the playoff field shapes up ahead of the Cup Series’ regular season finale.
NASCAR playoffs standings 2023
Below is a current look at the top 16 drivers in the Cup Series playoff standings, based on regular season points. This section will be updated as the Cup Series campaign nears its conclusion.
| Rank | Driver | Points | Points over cut line |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr.* | 861 | +0 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin* | 822 | +0 |
| 3 | William Byron* | 785 | +0 |
| 4 | Christopher Bell* | 752 | +0 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson* | 721 | +0 |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski** | 697 | +139 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher* | 695 | +0 |
| 8 | Ross Chastain* | 695 | +0 |
| 9 | Ryan Blaney* | 694 | +0 |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick** | 693 | +135 |
| 11 | Kyle Busch* | 688 | +0 |
| 12 | Tyler Reddick* | 683 | +0 |
| 13 | Joey Logano* | 666 | +0 |
| 14 | Bubba Wallace | 590 | +32 |
| 15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* | 566 | +0 |
| 16 | Michael McDowell* | 553 | +0 |
* clinched playoff spot with a win
*clinched playoff spot with points
NASCAR schedule 2023: Playoff races
(All times Eastern)
| Date | Race | Track | Time | TV | Radio |
| Sept. 3 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway | 6 p.m. | USA | MRN |
| Sept. 10 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway | 3 p.m. | USA | MRN |
| Sept. 16 | Bass Pro Shops Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway | 7:30 p.m. | USA | PRN |
| Sept. 24 | AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 | Texas Motor Speedway | 3:30 p.m. | USA | PRN |
| Oct. 1 | YellaWood 500 | Talladega Superspeedway | 2 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
| Oct. 8 | Bank of America Roval 400 | Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval | 2 p.m. | NBC | PRN |
| Oct. 15 | South Point 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | PRN |
| Oct. 22 | NASCAR Cup Series Race at Homestead-Miami | Homestead-Miami Speedway | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
| Oct. 30 | Xfinity 500 | Martinsville Speedway | 2 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
| Nov. 6 | NASCAR Cup Series Championship | Phoenix Raceway | 3 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
