There’s just one race left to go in the NASCAR regular season before the start of the Chase.
At Daytona this weekend, the drivers still on the bubble will look to secure their spots in the top 16, while those who have already punched their ticket to the postseason will continue to jockey for position in the standings.
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That positioning is important. With the win-and-in advancement system of the previous playoff format now gone, the points reset at the start of the postseason becomes crucial to any driver hoping to win the title. In the previous Chase era, the commonly accepted wisdom was that you really needed to be in the top six or seven at the start of the Chase to have a shot at lifting the trophy.
But that might not be the case any longer. As Joey Logano’s crew chief Paul Wolfe explained as a guest on Inside the Race after the No. 22’s win in Richmond, the Chase feels more open this year, in part because of how open the season has already been.
“From that fifth to 15th range, I don’t know how much consistency is there. You see guys, and we’re an example of it, can go weeks and not run good, and then all of a sudden you run good for three or four weeks,” Wolfe explained. “The consistency among the field seems just different than it was when we were in this format however many years ago. We all said, ‘Oh if you’re not in the top three to five, you don’t have a chance.’ But I just think the racing in general is a little bit different, and the competition among the field, and how hard it is to be dominant.”
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Wolfe noted that with the Next Gen car, there has been less separation between the most dominant teams in the Cup Series.
“I feel like back when I got started in this 15 years ago, you had teams that could get an advantage with just their car in general. So you could see guys go on runs. You just don’t see that as much. Maybe that’s a part of the don’t count yourself out just because you’re 10th in points. I think maybe we’re a little bit of an example of that. I think that gives us a little bit of optimism as we get ready for the Chase to start.”
Wolfe said the proof of the shift could be seen in the No. 22’s own run up the standings in the last stretch of the regular season. Logano was outside of the top 16 for much of the year, but with two wins and a third-place finish over his past five races, has made a significant jump in the standings.
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“It’s definitely eye-opening to how much we’ve actually gained. At one point it was, let’s hope we can get in this thing. Now we’re sitting ninth and a few points out of eighth. It just goes to show if you get on a run and put together a bunch of really good races, that you can maybe score more points than what you think.”
Logano remains in ninth in the standings after a 14th-place finish in New Hampshire, with 26 points between him and Chase Elliott in seventh place, and just six points ahead of Chris Buescher in 10th.
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He has plenty to race for on Sunday, but as Wolfe explained, it feels like given the hot streaks we’ve seen teams go on all season, the Chase is truly up for the taking.
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