Joey Logano has three championships in the NASCAR Cup Series but none in the Chase system that has returned this season .
With an impressive surge from 20th to ninth in the standings over the past six races, Logano has flipped the narrative on the elimination playoffs that were in place for 12 years. But that safety valve has disappeared in the Chase, which will rely entirely on points to set the 16-driver field. Shane van Gisbergen holds the 16th and final spot by 50 points over Ryan Preece, who dropped 21 points further below the Chase cutline with a 17th-place finish at Richmond. 6 at Darlington Raceway with the championship leader ahead by 25 points. Second will start 10 points ahead of third, and the remaining 14 spots will be separated by five-point increments.
There’s been more intrigue toward the top half of the standings — particularly the progress of the Team Penske trio. As Logano continued his push up the points ladder, teammate Ryan Blaney moved past Ty Gibbs into second in the standings at Richmond. Austin Cindric, Penske’s third driver, shored up his title eligibility with a career-best third on a short track to move up a spot to 15th in the points. The standings then will be reset for the Chase, which begins Sept. There also is an emphasis on finishing the regular season in the top half of the points standings.
