NASCAR Playoff Standings: Hendrick Motorsports stars on top as Cup Series playoff field locked in

After a dramatic regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season now heads into the playoffs.

First and foremost, with Ryan Blaney winning the race, it was excellent news for Alex Bowman, with the Hendrick Motorsports star having been forced to retire early due to damage sustained in a big wreck in stage one.

That meant that Tyler Reddick's place in the playoffs was confirmed mid-race, but also that if there had been a new winner, Bowman would have been the driver to make way.

In the end, Blaney's win meant Bowman made it, and that all four Hendrick cars are in, and, in even better news for the team, two of their stars lead the playoff standings on +26 to the cut line in Kyle Larson and regular season champion William Byron ahead of the first race.

Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin (+23) is next up in third heading to Darlington, with his teammate Christopher Bell (+17) rounding out the top five. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney (+20) is the man in between in fourth.

Elsewhere, due to his road course dominance this season, Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen (+16) finds himself in a very healthy position as the playoffs begin, currently sixth and ahead of some very big names, including multiple former champions.

With that said, let's take a look at the full playoff standings below as we head into the postseason!

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NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings after Daytona

Following the regular season finale, here is how the playoff standings look heading into the first playoff race at Darlington next weekend.

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