16-DRIVER FIELD SET FOR START OF NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS THIS WEEKEND

CHASE ELLIOTT, WHO HAS WON THE NASCAR FAN FAVORITE DRIVER NINE YEARS IN A ROW, IS SEEN HERE ON PIT ROAD AT POCONO RACEWAY EARLIER THIS YEAR – MOTORSPORT AMERICA PHOTO

* _NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs open Sunday at Darlington Raceway._ * _Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Sept.

7, to serve as second of three races in the opening Round of 16._

_ _

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 25, 2025) – The 16-driver field has been set for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs following Saturday night’s dramatic

regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

With two of the 16 Playoff berths up for grabs, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney spoiled the opportunity of the four drivers that finished behind him to gain entry with a victory. Blaney, already in as a result of an earlier win this season at Nashville, finished .031 of a second ahead of Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing. Justin Haley of Spire Motorsports, Cole Custer of the Haas Factory Team and Erik Jones of Legacy Motor

Club, respectively, rounded out the top five.

Blaney’s victory was of great solace to the winless duo of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who both earned Playoff berths via points. It was a huge relief to Bowman, who finished 36th after an early-race crash with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and would have been the odd man out with a win by

any of those four.

Hendrick Motorsports paces the way with a series-high four drivers advancing to the Playoffs while Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have

three each. Here is the 16-driver field:

* William Byron, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports * Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing * Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric of Team Penske * Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing * Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing * Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing

* Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs open Sunday with the Round of 16 race at Darlington Raceway (5 p.m. CT, TV: USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM)

and will be followed by the Enjoy Illinois 300 [2] at World Wide

Technology Raceway [3] on Sunday, Sept. 7 (2 p.m. CT, USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM). This will mark the fourth Cup Series race held at

WWT Raceway, but first in the Cup Series Playoffs.

The Cup Series Playoffs consists of four rounds – the Round of 16, Round of 12, Round of 8 and then the Championship 4 Round. The first three rounds are made up of three races each while the Championship 4 is the one-race playoff finale Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway where the highest race finisher among the four remaining drivers is crowned the series

champion. Click here [4] for an overview of the format.

Here’s a quick look at the Cup Series Playoffs and its upcoming visit to World Wide Technology Raceway:

* Planting the Seeds: Hendrick Motorsports secured the top two seeds with Larson earning the No. 1 spot and Byron, the regular-season champion, seeded No. 2. They both enter the Playoffs reset at 2,032 points, but Larson secured the top seed by virtue of more wins during the season. Behind the Hendrick duo are Hamlin (No. 3, 2,029), Blaney (No. 4, 2,026), Bell (No. 5, 2,023), van Gisbergen (No. 6, 2,022), Elliott (No. 7, 2,013), Briscoe (No. 8, 2,010), Wallace (No. 9, 2,008), Cindric (No. 10, 2,008), Chastain (No. 11, 2,007), Logano (No. 12, 2,007), Berry (No. 13, 2,006), Reddick (No. 14, 2,006), Dillon (No. 15, 2,005) and Bowman (No. 16, 2,002). * New Kids on the Block: The opening Round of 16 has two of the three new venues in the Cup Series Playoffs this season. Darlington Raceway, the regular-season finale last year, will kick off the Playoffs as the opener. World Wide Technology Raceway, after three years as a regular-season June race, now moves to the second of three races in the Round of 16 on Sunday, Sept. 7. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a June regular-season race a year ago, will open the Round of 12 on Sunday, Sept. 21. * Gateway to the Round of 12: A victory by a Playoff driver will automatically advance them to the next round, with one in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway moving them to the Round of 12. Playoff drivers who have won at WWT Raceway previously are both Team Penske drivers. Cindric is the defending race winner while Logano was victorious in the inaugural 2022 race. * Championship Pedigree: Four of the 16 Playoff drivers are previous Cup Series champions under this format. The group is led by Logano, the defending series champion and only two-time winner (2022, ’24) among the field. The others are Blaney (2023), Larson (2021) and Elliott (2020). * Welcome to the Post-Season Party: Two drivers – van Gisbergen and Berry – are making their first appearances in the Cup Series Playoffs. Van Gisbergen heads to the post-season during a stellar rookie campaign in which he was the co-series leader for victories (4) with Hamlin. All of his wins have come on road courses or temporary street circuits – Mexico City in June, the Chicago Street Race and Sonoma Raceway in July, and Watkins Glen in August. Berry, in his second full season and first with the Wood Brothers, made the field by securing his first career Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. * Spoiler Role: The most prominent name to miss the Playoffs is Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion. Busch, the 2023 winner at WWT Raceway, has missed the Playoffs the last two seasons after previously qualifying for the post-season 11 consecutive years (2012-23). Busch, a 63-time Cup Series race winner, has won at nine of the 10 Playoff tracks, with the

lone exception being the Charlotte ROVAL.

Limited tickets remain for the Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 16 race and are available by visiting

www.wwtraceway.com [3].