How important are stage points in the final push to the NASCAR Playoffs?

With NASCAR's regular season nearing its end, fans are now looking forward to the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs. Two more races remain before the Playoffs, and all teams will be looking at every single stage point ahead of the clash between the Top 16 drivers.

The Playoffs system was first introduced in the 2004 season with the intention of making the finals of all three national NASCAR series (Cup, Xfinity, and Truck) more interesting. In 2014, the sanctioning body updated the system, while stages were added in 2017.

As per the new system, eligible drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series season earn points for every race they compete in. They earn it in two ways: once after the end of the race and twice after the first two stages.

With the stage system in place, racers can earn a maximum of 20 points with two stage wins and a total of up to 60 points if they win both stages and the race. Additionally, each stage winner gets a Playoff point, while the race winner gets five points. Although a single point may seem inconsequential in the race, it can make a big difference in the final standings of the regular season after 26 races.

Essentially, it makes stage wins very important. For example, if driver #1 ends a race in the Top 10 but has no stage wins, while driver #2 finishes outside the Top 10, but still has two stage wins, the latter might end up scoring more points than the former.

As for the 2024 Playoffs, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Chris Buescher are currently contending for the final two places on the list. Buescher is 16 points clear of the cut-off mark. Meanwhile, Chastain and Wallace are teetering on the edge, with the former just a point above the elimination line and the latter one point below it.

With two races remaining in the regular season (Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona and Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington), the three aforementioned drivers will have to maximize their results in the last six stages to make it to the Top 16 list.

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A look at all NASCAR drivers confirmed for the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs so far

With just two races remaining in the 2024 Cup Series regular season, NASCAR fans eagerly await for the Playoffs to begin in September. As of now, 14 of the Top 16 drivers are confirmed.

The list this year begins with Kyle Larson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has four wins to his name this year. Joining Larson with multiple wins in the 2024 season are Denny Hamlin (three wins), Christopher Bell (three wins), William Byron (three wins), Tyler Reddick (two wins), and Ryan Blaney (two wins).

Others on the list include Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Daniel Suárez, and Alex Bowman with one victory each. Apart from the aforementioned drivers, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs are the two confirmed drivers on the list without a win. The former is 77 points clear of the cut-off mark, while the latter is 39 points above the elimination line.

As for the final two spots in the NASCAR Playoffs, there are three drivers in contention (Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace).