Bubba In, Chase Out: NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Set

By Gary Gastelu |

Aug 27, 2023

Bubba Wallace snagged the last spot in the NASCAR Playoffs at Daytona on Saturday night with a 12th place finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, while Chase Elliott came up just short of a much-needed win in fourth place.

Chris Buescher won his third race of the season in overtime with a helpful push in the last laps from his RFK Racing teammate and co-owner Brad Keselowski, who finished second ahead of Aric Almirola. Almirola also needed a win to make the playoffs.

A push from @keselowski, and @Chris_Buescher was well on his way. ðŸ pic.twitter.com/6rs4p0GceD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 27, 2023

It will be Wallace’s first post-season appearance and the first time Elliott has failed to make it in his eight-year full-time Cup Series career.

Elliott missed six races early in the season do to a snowboarding injury and was suspended for the race at Gateway Motorsports Park in June after intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin the week before at Charlotte.

The race was marred by a dramatic wreck on lap 156 of the 160-lap race that saw Ryan Preece’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang go airborne and roll 10 times before coming to rest upright.

Ryan Preece flipped 10 times in this violent crash late at Daytona.#NASCAR | @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/ho1EpXZr3E
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023

Preece was transported to a hospital, but released on early Sunday to travel home to North Carolina, according to his team. The extent of his injuries has not been announced.

Preece posted on social media:

“If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough. Dammit. Fast @racechoice @FordPerformance Mustang. Iâ€™m coming back.”

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Martin Truex Jr. finished in 24th, but secured enough points to claim the regular season championship and 15 bonus playoff points. It’s the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s second regular season championship and comes a year after he failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Truex is tied with William Byron on points and playoff points, but Byron is seeded first in the post-season on the virtue of winning five races to Truex’s three.

Here’s the full list of 16 drivers that will be heading into the playoffs at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sep. 3:

1. William Byron: 2,036 points

2. Martin Truex Jr.: 2,036 points

3. Denny Hamlin: 2,025 points

4. Chris Buescher: 2,021 points

5. Kyle Busch: 2,019 points

6. Kyle Larson: 2,017 points

7. Christopher Bell: 2,014 points

8. Ross Chastain: 2,011 points

9. Brad Keselowski: 2,010 points

10. Tyler Reddick: 2,009 points

11. Joey Logano: 2,008 points