The NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway could not have been any more dramatic as Ryan Blaney rallied from 13th to first in the final laps to win for the second time this season in a four-wide finish and prevent Daniel Suarez, Justin Haley and Cole Custer from winning their way into the playoffs.
With no new winner emerging, Alex Bowman secured the 16th and final playoff spot in nerve-wracking fashion. Now that the 16-driver playoff field is set, the series heads to the historic Darlington Raceway for the Round of 16 opener in Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
With World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Bristol Motor Speedway rounding out the opening round of the playoffs, these three drivers will need to respond at Darlington and put themselves in a better position to make it out of the first round with their title hopes still intact.
Alex Bowman, No. 48 (Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
Bowman's outing at Daytona was over not long after it started when he was caught up in the Big One on Lap 27, ending his race prematurely in 36th. Luckily for him, Blaney saved the day and locked up the playoff berth for him in dramatic fashion. While Bowman's 2025 season has been as inconsistent as anyone, he has been much better of late with seven top-10s in the last 11 races, including a runner-up at Richmond and a third at Dover.
Aside from a runner-up finish after leading 41 laps in the first of two Darlington races in 2020, Bowman only has three other finishes there of 10th or better. Two of the last four have been outside the top 30, which would be a major blow on Sunday for a driver who enters five points below the cutline in 16th before the playoffs even start. If Bowman can score some stage points and have a solid finish at Darlington, that may be all he needs to come out of the challenging 500 miles above the cutline, especially considering the attrition this race has produced in its prior races as the playoff opener.
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 (23XI Racing Toyota)
Daytona was not much better for Reddick, who was involved in a crash on Lap 19 before ultimately clinching his playoff berth when Bowman was involved in the Lap 27 Big One. That has been the story all season for the defending regular-season champion, who only has nine top-10 finishes, including one such finish in the last six races.
If Reddick, who enters the playoffs as the 14th seed (-1), is going to advance out of the first round, Darlington will likely have a huge say. His 317 laps led there in the Next Gen era are the third-most of any driver. He has also finished runner-up at The Lady in Black twice and finished inside the top 10 in three of the last four. Reddick's playoff run may very well depend on how he performs at Darlington, especially considering his inconsistent results at the other two first-round tracks.
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
Tied with Shane van Gisbergen for the series lead with four victories this season, Hamlin is presented with another excellent opportunity at his first title. Due to the competitiveness of the playoff field, he is third in the standings but only 23 points to the good, leaving little room for error. He also enters the Round of 16 with three finishes outside the top 20 in the last four races.
As a five-time winner at Darlington, including an assist from his pit crew earlier this season, Hamlin is historically great at the 1.366-mile venue. His average finish (7.9) is the best in the track's history among drivers with two or more starts, and he has led laps in 11 consecutive races, speaking to his consistency around a track that is arguably the most difficult on the schedule. If anyone can get back on track and get their playoff run started on the right foot, it is certainly Hamlin.