Nascar 2025 Chase Playoffs Round 1 Elimination

The 2025 Nascar Chase Playoffs are officially underway. The August 31st race at Darlington was a surprising night for many drivers. Chase Briscoe scored his second win of the season and punched his way into the next round. Tyler Reddick, another Chase contender, finished second, and seems to be gaining momentum at the right time. Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin also finished in the top 10.

Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric scored 11th and 12th place finishes, respectively. Unfortunately, Cindric’s Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano didn’t fare so well, finishing 18th and 20th.

Meanwhile, it was a tough night for Hendrick Motorsports. Chase Elliott was the highest-finishing driver with 17th place. Kyle Larson finished 19th and William Byron came in at 21st. As for Alex Bowman, it was a tough night with him finishing 31st.

With most drivers suffering bad luck, the Chase standings are looking pretty interesting. Currently, the bottom 4 in the Chase standings are Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Bowman, and Josh Berry. Above the cut line, a few points only separate Elliott, Cindric, Christopher Bell, and Shane van Gisbergen from 13th place Logano.

There's still plenty of racing left and 2 more races for drivers to make their way into the top 12.

So, whose Championship hopes will be eliminated after the Sept. 13th race in Bristol?

1. Alex Bowman

Bowman got lucky advancing to the playoffs. However, after the Darlington race, its obvious luck isn't on his side. A 31st finish isn't a great start to the Chase. Out of all the Hendrick drivers, he's winless this year despite 14 top 10s and 6 top 5s. Unless Bowman can score a win the next two races, then his championships hopes are over.

2. Austin Dillon

After last year's debacle of having his Richmond win and Chase spot taken away, Austin Dillon redeemed himself by winning this year's Richmond race. Dillon is the only Richard Childress driver in this year's playoffs. While he'd love nothing more than to bring a championship home to his grandfather's race team, luck isn't on his side. So far this year, he's only had only 5 top 10s and 3 DNFs. With his 23rd place at Darlington this past weekend, things aren't looking good for the #3 driver.

3. Josh Berry

Josh Berry clinched his playoff spot earlier this season with a win at Las Vegas Speedway. It was a huge victory for the driver and Wood Brothers Racing. Since then, Berry's had a string of bad luck. While he ran well in some races, in others mechanical issues or a wreck took him out of contention. The Chase playoffs got off to a bad start for him when he wrecked on the first lap at Darlington. Although his team worked to get the car back on track, Berry finished 38th. Unless Berry scores a win at St. Louis or Bristol, then he can say goodbye to his championship hopes.

4. Ross Chastain

There's no denying that Ross Chastain is a fighter. In May, he overcame a 40th place starting position to win the Coca Cola 600. Chastain has been a contender in two of the last three Chase playoffs. After missing out in 2024, he earned his spot for the 2025 season. Chastain left Darlington with an 11th place finish and is currently 8th in the standings. Yet, there's only 21 points separating him from the cutoff line. Aside from his win, Chastain has ten top 10 finishes and three top 5 finishes. However, he also has 4 DNFs and with the competition getting fierce, one wrong move have him in the elimination spot.