NASCAR: Will a surprise winner again steal one of the last two Cup Series playoff spots available at Daytona?
Austin Dillon's surprise win at Richmond made him the 14th winner of the 2025 season. The victory came a year after Dillon won at Richmond when he crashed Joey Logano on the last lap in an attempt to get a playoff berth. Though Dillon officially kept the win, NASCAR revoked his playoff privileges from the victory and Dillon failed to qualify for the postseason.
This year, he's in. Dillon became the third driver to get a victory in 2025 despite currently sitting outside the top 20 in the points standings. Josh Berry (22nd) won the third race of the season at Las Vegas. And Shane van Gisbergen (24th) has dominated road courses thanks to his excellence in Australian Supercars. But he doesn't have any top-10 finishes on oval tracks.
With Dillon winning his way into the playoffs, there are just two playoff spots up for grabs on Saturday night in Daytona (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC). If a winless driver becomes the 15th winner of the season, just one driver will make it into the playoffs via his position in the points standings.
And you don't have to go back very far to find the last time a driver snuck his way into the playoffs at Daytona. A year ago, Harrison Burton got the first victory of his Cup Series career to get into the playoffs. Burton led only the final lap as the seven-caution race featured two massive crashes.
Can a similar surprise happen in 2025? Here's a look at how the playoff race looks ahead of the final race of the Cup Series regular season. All odds are from BetMGM.
Already in the playoffs
Denny Hamlin (4 wins)
Shane van Gisbergen (4)
Kyle Larson (3)
Christopher Bell (3)
William Byron (2)
Chase Elliott (1)
Ryan Blaney (1)
Chase Briscoe (1)
Bubba Wallace (1)
Joey Logano (1)
Ross Chastain (1)
Austin Cindric (1)
Josh Berry (1)
Austin Dillon (1)
Larson and Hamlin are the co-favorites for the Cup Series title at +400 while Bell is at +450.
van Gisbergen is currently third with 22 playoff points but is 80-1 to win the title thanks to his inability to get a top-10 outside of a road course. Chase Elliott's early end to his Richmond race means that William Byron will win the regular-season title and start the playoffs with the most playoff points.
The Team Penske trio of Blaney, Logano and Cindric are the three favorites to win Saturday night's race thanks to their prowess at drafting tracks. Blaney and Logano are 10-1 to win while Cindric is 12-1.
Would love a repeat winner
Tyler Reddick (714 points)
Alex Bowman (685 points)
Both Reddick and Bowman would love a Team Penske driver — or any driver with a win, for that matter — to get to victory lane if neither of them are going to make it. Bowman is 60 points ahead of Chris Buescher in the points standings; Buescher cannot catch him without getting a win to automatically qualify himself for the playoffs.
If there is a new winner, Reddick has a 29-point advantage over Bowman for what would be the final playoff spot. But we've seen points deficits like that get erased at tracks like Daytona and Talladega before. All it takes is an early crash.
Needs to win to get in
Chris Buescher (20-1 to win Daytona)
Ryan Preece (25-1)
Kyle Busch (14-1)
Ty Gibbs (35-1)
AJ Allmendinger (60-1)
Brad Keselowski (13-1)
Carson Hocevar (35-1)
Michael McDowell (40-1)
Erik Jones (40-1)
John Hunter Nemechek (60-1)
Zane Smith (60-1)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (20-1)
Daniel Suarez (40-1)
Justin Haley (60-1)
Todd Gilliland (50-1)
Ty Dillon (30-1)
Noah Gragson (50-1)
Cole Custer (60-1)
Riley Herbst (80-1)
Cody Ware (200-1)
Keselowski and Busch are considered the favorites among the winless drivers to get a win and make the postseason. It's been a rough year for both Cup Series champions. Busch is 16th in the points standings and has just two top-five finishes. Keselowski has shown speed recently, but he's 19th with four top-five finishes.
Keselowski could be staring at all three of his Roush Fenway Keselowski cars missing the playoffs if neither he, Buescher or Ryan Preece win on Saturday. Buescher and Preece are currently 11th and 13th in the standings, respectively. In most years, that's enough to get you into the postseason. Not this year with three winners outside the top 20 in the standings.
Both Stenhouse and McDowell are former Daytona 500 champions and could be in position for a victory late in the race. Ty Dillon is 15 places behind 17th-place Ty Gibbs in the standings but has shorter odds to get a victory.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal Had Words for Dwight Howard
Earlier in 2025, the NBA had confirmed that Dwight Howard would be among the players inducted into the Hall of Fame. The former NBA star made eight All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams, five All-Defense teams, won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. After Howard found out about his induction, he took to his personal X account to reveal who he wanted to present him at the Hall of Fame, writing, "I want KG , Shaq, and Kareem to walk me out," with a prayer emoji and a #hof. Howard clearly indicated that he and O'Neal had squashed their years-long beef with one another through this message. However, on August 7, the Basketball Hall of Fame announced who would be presenting for each player who got inducted. In Howard's case, that would be Patrick Ewing, Robert Parish, Dennis Rodman, and Dominique Wilkins. O'Neal's name was not on the list. Shaquile O'Neal Reveals How He And Dwight Howard Worked Things Out Over the weekend, FOX Sports' Rachel Nichols talked to O'Neal about Howard, where the former confirmed that he would be on stage to present for the latter at the Hall of Fame. He also explained to Nichols how he and Howard squashed their beef with each other. "We finally had a heart-to-heart," O'neal told Nichols. "The same thing I did with him, the same thing I did with Kobe (Bryant), (Dwyane) Wade, Penny Hardaway. That's how I motivate young players to become great. I treat 'em like I don't like 'em and I try to get 'em upset because I know guys like Dwight and Penny and Kobe especially and D-Wade. When you upset 'em, they play at a higher level. "But we hashed it out. He thought I generally disliked him. I told him, 'No, that's not the case.' As a leader, sometimes you have to find different ways of motivating youngsters." The difference between Howard and the other former NBA stars O'Neal mentioned is that he was never teammates with him, though they did play for a few of the same teams, most notably the Lakers and the Orlando Magic. During Howard's playing days, he and O'Neal had some choice words for each other, particularly because Howard called himself Superman as a nickname when O'Neal did the same thing when he played. This has led to an argument on X even after Howard's NBA days were over. Still, it appears Howard and O'Neal have put that behind them, as Howard has voiced his desire to have O'Neal there, and O'Neal has confirmed that the feeling is mutual. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Braves third baseman Austin Riley's injury-shortened season ends following core surgery
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley will miss the remainder of the season after having core injury surgery on Thursday. The Braves announced the surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia. Riley, who was placed on the 10-day injured list for the second time in two months on Aug. 4 with a strained lower abdominal muscle, is expected to return in time for spring training next year. Riley first landed on the IL on July 12 with a strained abdomen. He returned on July 25 and finished the season hitting .260 with 16 homers and 54 RBI. The Braves also claimed right-hander Cal Quantrill off waivers from the Miami Marlins and optioned right-hander Dane Dunning to Triple-A Gwinnett. Also, the team added outfielder Jake Fraley to its roster after optioning RHP Connor Seabold to Gwinnett. Fraley was designated for assignment by Cincinnati on Sunday before being claimed by the Braves. Left-hander Dylan Dodd was recalled from Gwinnett, and infielder Luke Williams was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique muscle. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Guardians' Bo Naylor starting to feel confident after making offensive adjustment
Guardians' Bo Naylor starting to feel confident after making offensive adjustment originally appeared on The Sporting News Cleveland Guardians' slugger Bo Naylor has struggled at the plate this season. Through 96 games, he is hitting .179/.276/.357 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs, and 29 runs batted in. Naylor has made adjustment after adjustment this season, with not a lot of success. However, his most recent change at the plate resulted in a four-hit game on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, giving him some of his confidence back. According to Paul Hoynes, Naylor has shied away from a traditional leg kick and has replaced that with a toe tap at the plate. This allows him to get his foot on the ground earlier and time up baseballs better. "Our hitting group, looking at video from a different angle, they figured my loading pattern was better suited for a toe tap - foot on the ground - as opposed to a leg kick," said Naylor. "I was a little inconsistent in getting to the same position with the kick, so they felt the toe tap would allow me to get to the ground earlier and let my body sequence the way it's meant to." Bo Naylor is not the only Guardians slugger struggling offensively While Naylor blasted four hits in Sunday's game, he knows he is still not out of the hole. He understands there is still work that needs to be done, but he is happy to see the progress he is making. "It's been a good progression. There are some things to clean up and work on, but it's been going well so far." An improved Naylor at the plate could be exactly what this club needs to get things going as the regular season continues to dwindle. The Guardians currently sit with a .227 team batting average, the worst in all of MLB.
