Entering last weekend’s race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano sat 17th in points, eight points behind Erik Jones for 16th in points, the final spot available in The Chase.Â
In convincing fashion, Logano dominated all night and led a race-high 323 laps en route to his first victory of 2026. His win at North Wilkesboro not only snapped a 45-race winless streak, but also moved the No. 22 up two spots to 15th in the standings, now 49 points clear of 17th-place Jones with five races remaining until the battle for the title commences at Darlington Raceway.
These next five weeks are going to be some of the most intense of the season, with drivers continuing to jostle for postseason positioning with points at a premium at this juncture. Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney have already clinched spots in this year’s Chase, leaving 13 spots still up for grabs.
While we have a good idea who will join those three in the postseason, there are several drivers just below the cut line that could potentially make a surprise run at The Chase.
Erik Jones (17th in points, -33 points below cut line)
Through 21 races, Jones has equaled his top 10 total from last year with five. With impressive showings of second at Michigan International Speedway and sixth at Pocono Raceway a few weeks ago, Jones moved into a Chase position before Logano’s North Wilkesboro victory dropped him below the cutline.
While he’s within reach of 16th-place Austin Cindric to make The Chase on points, a win would instantly take away a lot of pressure for Jones’ No. 43 team. Of the tracks left in the regular season, look for him to be a threat to win at Daytona International Speedway, where he won the 2018 summer race driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ryan Preece (18th in points, -48 points below cut line)
It wasn’t that long ago that Ryan Preece was among the top 16 in points, sitting in a good spot to make his first postseason appearance driving for RFK Racing. After losing 25 points for intentionally spinning Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway, though, Preece endured a tough four-race stretch from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Pocono where he didn’t finish better than 28th.
Short tracks have been Preece’s strong suit during his Cup career, and with three of them coming up on the schedule, an incredible opportunity could lie ahead for Preece to become postseason eligible.
Brad Keselowski (19th in points, -58 points below cut line)
Brad Keselowski, like his teammate Preece, at one point sat inside the Chase picture before his own string of poor finishes dropped him below the cut line. In the last seven races, Keselowski hasn’t finished better than 15th.
In a season where he’s only scored four top-10 finishes, he’ll need to score stage points if he has any hope of racing for the title in 2026.
As a past winner at four of the five remaining regular-season tracks, the cards might be lining up in the 2012 Cup champion’s favor to make another run at championship No. 2.
Michael McDowell (20th in points, -83 points below cut line)
On most weekends, Michael McDowell has been the third wheel while his Spire Motorsports teammates Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar have both visited victory lane and shown winning speed throughout the season.
While he’s had a reasonable pace on the non-road courses, it will still take a win along with a string of solid results for McDowell to score his first postseason appearance with Spire. Like Jones, it could all come down to Daytona, where McDowell scored a career-defining win in the 2021 Daytona 500.
Ross Chastain (21st in points, -83 points below cut line)
2026 has been a season to forget for Ross Chastain, who remains winless and is on pace to score the fewest top-10 finishes since his rookie season in Cup. Of the remaining races leading into The Chase, Chastain’s strongest track is Iowa Speedway. His average finish in two appearances at the 0.875-mile track is 11th, but he’s also run well at Richmond Raceway in the past with a pair of top-five finishes.
AJ Allmendinger (22nd in points, -98 points below cut line)
Currently, the last driver within 100 points of cut line, AJ Allmendinger, will need to improve from a 20th-place average finish to have any chance of making the postseason.
Daytona will be the best chance for Allmendinger should he remain within striking distance. Despite a 20.6 average finish in 25 Daytona starts, he compiled four-straight top 10s while driving for Hyak Motorsports.
He followed that up with an impressive sixth-place finish in his return to full-time Cup racing for Kaulig Racing in the 2023 Daytona 500.
