NASCAR playoff field: Who are the 16 drivers who will compete for the NASCAR Cup in 2022?

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NASCAR’s “Win and you’re in” playoff policy struck Martin Truex Jr. with a vengeance on Sunday.

Truex entered Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 — the last race of the NASCAR regular season — sixth in the points standings. But because he had yet to win a race, he and Ryan Blaney were on the playoff bubble. Both would get in assuming there wasn’t a first-time winner at Daytona International Speedway.

Sure enough, there was.

Austin Dillon overtook leader Austin Cindric in the draft — with help from Richard Childress Racing teammate Tyler Reddick — with three laps remaining and faced no real challenges after that. He earned his first victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season and sneaked into the playoffs at Truex’s expense.

MORE: Watch NASCAR playoff racing live with fuboTV (free trial)

That Dillon was in position to take the lead was itself contentious: He evaded a massive crash that many felt was caused by rain on the track. The thought was that NASCAR officials should have gone to red-flag conditions before that.

Either way, Dillon’s win secured him a spot in the playoffs and cost Truex, who finished three points behind Blaney for the final spot.

“It’s a shame. It stinks,” Truex said. “But just too much damage to have enough speed to do what we needed to do.

“Hindsight’s always 20-20. “We gave away plenty of points throughout the season. Yeah, but, it is what it is.”

Now the playoff field is set, starting with regular-season champion Chase Elliott in the first position. Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and William Byron make up the remainder of the top five, respectively.

Blaney, the lone driver in the playoff field without a win, is seventh in the playoff standings.

The playoffs will begin with the three-race Round of 16 from Sept. 4-17. Then come three Round of 12 races from Sept. 25 through Oct. 9; three Round of Eight races from Oct. 16-30; and the Championship 4 race at Phoenix on Nov. 6.

NASCAR playoff field 2022

Driver Playoff points Wins
1. Chase Elliott* 2,040 4
2. Joey Logano 2,025 2
3. Ross Chastain 2,020 2
4. Kyle Larson 2,019 2
5. William Byron 2,014 2
6. Denny Hamlin 2,013 2
7. Ryan Blaney 2,013 0
8. Tyler Reddick 2,012 2
9. Kevin Harvick 2,012 2
10. Christopher Bell 2,011 1
11. Kyle Busch 2,010 1
12. Chase Briscoe 2,009 1
13. Daniel Suarez 2,007 1
14. Austin Cindric 2,006 1
15. Alex Bowman 2,006 1
16. Austin Dillon 2,005 1

* Regular-season champion

NASCAR schedule 2022: Playoff races

Round of 16

Date Race Track Start time (ET) TV channel Radio Winner
Sept. 4 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway 6 p.m. USA MRN TBD
Sept. 11 Hollywood Casino 400 Kansas Speedway 3 p.m. USA MRN TBD
Sept. 17 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30 p.m. USA PRN TBD

Round of 12

Date Race Track Start time (ET) TV channel Radio Winner
Sept. 25 AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Texas Motor Speedway 3:30 p.m. USA PRN TBD
Oct. 2 YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway 2 p.m. NBC MRN TBD
Oct. 9 Bank of America ROVAL 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL 2 p.m. NBC PRN TBD

Round of 8

Date Race Track Start time (ET) TV channel Radio Winner
Oct. 16 South Point 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2:30 p.m. NBC PRN TBD
Oct. 23 Dixie Vodka 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway 2:30 p.m. NBC MRN TBD
Oct. 30 Xfinity 500 Martinsville Speedway 2 p.m. NBC MRN TBD

Championship 4

Date Race Track Start time (ET) TV channel Radio Winner
Nov. 6 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Phoenix Raceway 3 p.m. NBC MRN TBD

In Canada, fans can watch all NASCAR races on TSN.

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