Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain proceed to development in reverse instructions on the NASCAR Cup Sequence playoff grid.
Wallace earned a fifth-place end Sunday at Indianapolis to additional minimize into the bubble spot. With 4 races to go within the common season, the 23XI Racing driver is seven factors out of a spot within the postseason.
Sadly for Chastain, he’s the man with the slim seven-point benefit. Chastain has fallen to the bubble spot because of 4 finishes of fifteenth or worse within the final six races. Earlier than the slide started, Chastain was comfortably above the minimize line, sitting twelfth on the grid leaving Iowa Speedway with a 71-point benefit.
Right here is the way it’s all performed out since:
• Joey Logano went from under the cutline by six factors to above the cutline by 13 on Wallace after New Hampshire. Chastain, nonetheless twelfth on the grid, elevated his hole to the cutline from 71 to 93 factors.
• Logano received per week later at Nashville Superspeedway, pushing under the cutline by 51 factors to Alex Bowman. Chastain, in the meantime, fell to 14th on the grid with a 66-point benefit.
• One other shake-up got here in Chicago the place Bowman went from the cutline to locked in with a victory. Wallace, nonetheless under the cutline, knocked a couple of factors off his deficit to be 45 factors behind Chris Buescher. Chastain fell one other spot to fifteenth on the grid with a 53-point benefit.
• Wallace took an enormous chunk out of the hole at Pocono Raceway due to a top-10 end whereas Chastain crashed out. Chastain fell to the cutline with a 27-point hole on Wallace.
• Wallace completed fifth at Indianapolis whereas Chastain completed fifteenth. The hole narrows to seven factors.
“We had been fifth — what a day,” Wallace stated. “I simply didn’t do job on Friday and Saturday and set us behind for observe place. I actually didn’t know what our automotive had, however I knew the folks we had on it and that’s what issues probably the most. I admire Bootie (Barker, crew chief) and the gang for simply giving me a automotive to work with. The No. 23 U.S. Air Pressure Toyota Camry was actually, actually quick. It felt actually good.
“After a couple of laps, I used to be like, ‘I don’t know what now we have however it’s good to be again on the oval.’ The end is making my temper higher, but it surely was actually troublesome to move. All-in-all, day. A very good factors day.”
Right here is the playoff grid heading to Richmond Raceway (Aug. 11):
1. Kyle Larson: 4 wins, 28 playoff factors
2. Christopher Bell: 3 wins, 24 playoff factors
3. Denny Hamlin: 3 wins, 21 playoff factors
4. William Byron: 3 wins, 16 playoff factors
5. Ryan Blaney: 2 wins, 12 playoff factors
6. Tyler Reddick: 1 win, 8 playoff factors
7. Austin Cindric: 1 win, 7 playoff factors
8. Chase Elliott: 1 win, 6 playoff factors
9. Joey Logano: 1 win, 6 playoff factors
10. Brad Keselowski: 1 win, 5 playoff factors
11. Alex Bowman: 1 win, 5 playoff factors
12. Daniel Suarez: 1 win, 5 playoff factors
13. Martin Truex Jr.: +108 to the cutline
14. Ty Gibbs: +42 to the cutline
15. Chris Buescher: +17 to the cutline
16. Ross Chastain: +7 to the cutline
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17. Bubba Wallace: -7
18. Chase Briscoe: -83
19. Kyle Busch: -112
20. Todd Gilliland: -118
Richmond, Michigan, Daytona and Darlington will full the common season.
