The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs determine the season’s champion through an exciting and drama-packed postseason format. The playoffs have been a part of NASCAR since 2004, with the current format of an elimination-style tournament starting with the 2014 season.
EDITOR’S NOTE: 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Grid pictured.
Regular Season
The regular season consists of the first 26 races in NASCAR’s 36-race schedule.
- From half-mile short tracks to the fastest superspeedways on earth to world-class road courses and everything in between, the NASCAR schedule is the most diverse and grueling in motorsports.
Drivers accumulate points throughout the regular season.
- Points are awarded based on finishing position in each race, and drivers can earn additional points through their performance in each of a race’s opening two stages.
Playoff Eligibility & Qualification
Sixteen drivers qualify for the playoffs.
- Win and you’re in: a driver competing full-time who wins one of the 26 regular-season races qualifies for the playoffs.
- If fewer than 16 drivers win races in the regular season, then the remaining playoff spots are filled by the highest-ranked drivers based on points totals at the end of the regular season.
- Eligibility and seeding are prioritized first by number of race wins, then by points totals.
Collecting playoff points matters in the playoffs.
- Throughout the season, in addition to regular points, drivers accumulate playoff points based on their performance. Each race win nets a driver five playoff points, while a stage win within each race awards an additional playoff point. So, even if a driver qualifies for the playoffs with an early-season race win, there’s still incentive to continue performing well.
- Additional playoff points are also awarded based on where drivers place in the regular-season standings: the regular-season champion earns 15 points. Bonus playoff points are awarded to the top 10 regular-season drivers.
All drivers still compete during the playoffs.
- NASCAR’s playoff system is unique in that all drivers, regardless of playoff eligibility, continue to compete alongside playoff drivers after the regular season ends.
- This means team dynamics and rivalries still apply even when a championship is on the line.
Playoff Structure
The playoffs consist of the season’s final 10 races, divided into four rounds.
- Round of 16 (playoff races 1-3): All 16 playoff-eligible drivers compete in the opening three races of the playoffs. After the third race, the lowest four playoff drivers in points are eliminated.
- Round of 12 (playoff races 4-6): The remaining 12 drivers compete in the next three races. Four more drivers are eliminated following the third Round of 12 race.
- Round of 8 (playoff races 7-9): Eight drivers battle it out across another batch of three semifinal races, eliminating four drivers and leaving four finalists to compete for the championship.
- Championship 4 (playoff race 10): The four remaining drivers compete in a singular championship race. The highest-finishing driver of the four is crowned the NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Points reset between each round – but not playoff points.
- At the start of each playoff round, each remaining driver’s points are reset, wiping the slate clean for the next round.
- However, each driver’s playoff points are re-added for each round. This means a driver’s regular-season and early-playoff performance can help prevent an early elimination by providing a nest egg of points.
- Suppose a driver won the regular-season championship (15 playoff points), four races (5 playoff points each, for 20 playoff points), and five stages (1 playoff point each, for 5 playoff points) — that’s a total of 40 points that the driver can use to their benefit in each round of the playoffs. If all drivers’ points are reset to 2,000, this driver’s points would be reset to 2,040 (2,000 points plus their 40 playoff points).
- Playoff points are off the table when the Championship 4 round is set — the winner takes all.
“Win and you’re in” continues between playoff rounds.
- Playoff drivers who win a playoff race are given automatic advancement to the next round.
- This rule has created some clutch moments over the years when a driver facing elimination was able to eke out a win in a round-ending race to keep their season alive.
- And, yes, this means a race win in the Round of 8 advances a driver to the championship race.
Special playoff rules, notes and edge cases
- If more than 16 drivers win races in the regular season, playoff spots are first awarded to the drivers with the most wins, with ties broken by points — though this has never happened since NASCAR’s playoffs were introduced.
- In rare instances, NASCAR may deem a driver’s win ineligible toward the playoffs (Austin Dillon, Richmond 2024).
- If a driver wins a race in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season but isn’t a full-time driver competing for championship points, the win does not make that driver eligible for the playoffs (Shane van Gisbergen, Chicago 2023).
- Drivers eliminated from the playoffs at any point compete amongst themselves for the highest points totals behind the Championship 4 — fifth through 16th place in the final standings.
- Playoff points don’t matter to drivers not competing in the playoffs. So, if a driver wins a stage in the regular season and doesn’t qualify for the playoffs, that playoff point awarded is eliminated.
- In the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series, the playoffs take place over the final seven races instead of the final 10, and the number of eligible drivers is adjusted (12 in the Xfinity Series and 10 in the Craftsman Truck Series).