The battle along the bubble tightened up after repeat winner Shane van Gisbergen ruled the Chicago streets for the second time in three seasons. But all it will take is another new winner from below the bubble next weekend at Sonoma Raceway — or in the next few weeks — for total chaos to ensue.
As a reminder: A win clinches a playoff spot for full-time drivers in all three series, and it’s the simplest path to the postseason. The remainder of the postseason field — 16 drivers in Cup, 12 in Xfinity and 10 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — is determined by points earned over the regular season.
Read on to see full playoff standings and key battles in each of NASCAR’s three national series.
RELATED: Upcoming Sonoma schedule | Cup standings
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Shane van Gisbergen picked up his second win of the season and improved by five spots in the playoff standings. The New Zealander is now fifth in the standings behind only three-time winners Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell and regular-season points leader William Byron.
Drivers provisionally qualified for playoffs with a win (12): Kyle Larson (three wins), Denny Hamlin (three wins), Christopher Bell (three wins), William Byron (one win), Shane van Gisbergen (two wins), Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain.
Winless drivers more than 100 points above the elimination line (one): Tyler Reddick (+143).
Biggest movement: Kyle Busch gained 26 points by virtue of his fifth-place finish at Chicago, and he now stands 46 points below the elimination line. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace lost 21 points after a 28th-place finish at Chicago and is just a scant two points above Ryan Preece for the final playoff spot.
Note: Drivers in bold have provisionally clinched a playoff spot by virtue of winning. There are seven races remaining in the regular season.
| Rank | Driver | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 3 WINS |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 3 WINS |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | 3 WINS |
| 4 | William Byron | WIN |
| 5 | Shane van Gisbergen | 2 WINS |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney | WIN |
| 6 | Austin Cindric | WIN |
| 7 | Joey Logano | WIN |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | WIN |
| 9 | Josh Berry | WIN |
| 11 | Chase Elliott | WIN |
| 12 | Ross Chastain | WIN |
| 13 | Tyler Reddick | +143 |
| 14 | Alex Bowman | +39 |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | +35 |
| 16 | Bubba Wallace | +2 |
| ELIMINATION LINE | ||
| 17 | Ryan Preece | -2 |
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger | -43 |
| 19 | Kyle Busch | -46 |
| 20 | Erik Jones | -50 |
| 21 | Ty Gibbs | -66 |
| 22 | John Hunter Nemechek | -68 |
| 23 | Carson Hocevar | -75 |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | -77 |
| 25 | Zane Smith | -80 |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | -82 |
| 27 | Austin Dillon | -128 |
| 28 | Brad Keselowski | -136 |
| 29 | Daniel Suárez | -136 |
| 30 | Todd Gilliland | -137 |
| 31 | Justin Haley | -149 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | -152 |
| 33 | Noah Gragson | -178 |
| 34 | Cole Custer | -202 |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | -217 |
| 36 | Cody Ware | -299 |
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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Shane van Gisbergen’s win at Chicago did nothing to alter the complexion of the Xfinity Series playoff race since he’s not eligible for points in this series.
Drivers provisionally qualified for playoffs with a win (7): Justin Allgaier (three wins), Austin Hill (three wins), Connor Zilisch (two wins), Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Jesse Love and Nick Sanchez.
Winless drivers more than 100 points above the elimination line (one): Sam Mayer (+149).
Biggest movement: Sheldon Creed gained 30 points and moved up two spots in the standings to 10th after his third-place finish at Chicago.
Note: Drivers in bold have provisionally clinched a playoff spot by virtue of winning. There are eight races remaining in the regular season.
| Rank | Driver | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Allgaier | 3 WINS |
| 2 | Austin Hill | 3 WINS |
| 3 | Connor Zilisch | 2 WINS |
| 4 | Brandon Jones | WIN |
| 5 | Sammy Smith | WIN |
| 6 | Jesse Love | WIN |
| 7 | Nick Sanchez | WIN |
| 8 | Sam Mayer | +149 |
| 9 | Carson Kvapil | +63 |
| 10 | Sheldon Creed | +30 |
| 11 | Jeb Burton | +12 |
| 12 | Taylor Gray | +8 |
| ELIMINATION LINE | ||
| 13 | Harrison Burton | -8 |
| 14 | Ryan Sieg | -30 |
| 15 | Christian Eckes | -60 |
| 16 | Dean Thompson | -61 |
| 17 | Daniel Dye | -65 |
| 18 | Brennan Poole | -103 |
| 19 | Josh Williams | -127 |
| 20 | Jeremy Clements | -130 |
| 21 | Anthony Alfredo | -174 |
| 22 | Matt DiBenedetto | -179 |
| 23 | Kyle Sieg | -206 |
| 24 | William Sawalich | -207 |
| 25 | Parker Retzlaff | -213 |
| 26 | Blaine Perkins | -214 |
| 27 | Ryan Ellis | -225 |
| 28 | Kris Wright | -287 |
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
The Craftsman Truck Series is off until July 25 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, so there were no changes in the standings this week.
Drivers provisionally qualified for playoffs with a win (7): Corey Heim (five wins), Chandler Smith (two wins), Layne Riggs, Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Henric, Stewart Friesen and Rajah Caruth.
Note: Drivers in bold have provisionally clinched a playoff spot by virtue of winning. There are three races remaining in the regular season.
| Rank | Driver | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Heim | 5 WINS |
| 2 | Chandler Smith | 2 WINS |
| 3 | Layne Riggs | WIN |
| 4 | Tyler Ankrum | WIN |
| 5 | Daniel Hemric | WIN |
| 6 | Stewart Friesen | WIN |
| 7 | Rajah Caruth | WIN |
| 8 | Kaden Honeycutt | +67 |
| 9 | Grant Enfinger | +64 |
| 10 | Ty Majeski | +38 |
| ELIMINATION LINE | ||
| 11 | Jake Garcia | -38 |
| 12 | Giovanni Ruggiero | -65 |
| 13 | Ben Rhodes | -68 |
| 14 | Tanner Gray | -101 |
| 15 | Connor Mosack | -141 |
| 16 | Matt Crafton | -153 |
| 17 | Andres Perez | -165 |
| 18 | Jack Wood | -175 |
| 19 | Matt Mills | -189 |
| 20 | Dawson Sutton | -206 |
| 21 | Spencer Boyd | -248 |
| 22 | Toni Breidinger | -273 |
| 23 | Frankie Muniz | -280 |