NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid After Talladega

Chase Briscoe came back from a speeding penalty in Stage 1 to win Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. As he drove his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE to victory lane, Briscoe secured his place in the Championship 4.

Race Results: YellaWood 500 at Talladega

This marks the first-ever Championship 4 appearance for the 30-year-old driver, and he joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in being locked into the Championship 4 this year.

While two of the slots in the Championship 4 field have been decided, two are still up for grabs, and with Martinsville Speedway serving as the venue for the final race of the Round of 8, you never know what you will see at the 0.526-mile short track.

We've seen Ross Chastain move to the Championship 4 there with a hail melon in 2022, and we saw all sorts of shenanigans in the closing laps result in William Byron advancing over Christopher Bell a season ago. With Bell and Kyle Larson separated by just a point for the final two spots inside the top-four of the Playoff standings, a driver below the cutline could really make things stressful for them both next weekend.

All four drivers below the cutline (William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott) essentially find themselves in a must-win situation next weekend.

Here are the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings after the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the 34th race of the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series season, and the second race of the Round of 8 of the Playoffs.