NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs 2025: Drivers, standings, schedule, odds and more

After a gruelling 26-race regular season, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs have finally arrived.

Postseason action kicks off at Darlington Raceway this weekend, with 16 drivers eyeing title glory come the championship race at Phoenix in November.

Among this year's playoff hopefuls are multiple former champions, a veteran star whose illustrious career is still missing a championship, and even a rookie.

But how do we go from 16 hopefuls to one champion? We've got that and all of the other playoff information you need to know below.

Playoff format

Currently, the Cup Series playoffs are contested by 16 drivers over 10 races and four rounds.

In the first round, or the round of 16, 16 drivers - who have qualified via wins or points in the regular season - compete over three races, after which four drivers are eliminated.

This will be the lowest-ranked four drivers come the end of the round, and it's also important to note that a victory guarantees progress to the next round.

The remaining 12 drivers then compete in the round of 12, with a further four drivers eliminated based on the rankings after another three races.

This process is then repeated in the round of eight, with four drivers ultimately qualifying for the championship race at Phoenix in November.

Unlike the previous rounds, the championship race is exactly that - one single race that decides the championship winner. Whoever finishes highest of the four remaining playoff stars is the driver to etch their name into the history books.

So, to summarize the above, here is how the Cup Series playoff works:

Round of 16

- 16 drivers
- 3 races
- 4 lowest-ranked drivers eliminated at the end of round

Round of 12

- 12 drivers
- 3 races
- 4 lowest-ranked drivers eliminated at the end of round

Round of 8

- 8 drivers
- 3 races
- 4 lowest-ranked drivers eliminated at the end of round

Championship race

- 4 drivers
- 1 race
- Highest finisher crowned champion

Playoff Points

Ahead of the playoffs, all drivers have their points total reset. This also happens at the end of each playoff round. However, throughout the regular season, drivers have gathered playoff points via stage and race victories.

These playoff points are added to your total at the start of the playoffs, and subsequently the start of every round (barring the championship race), meaning those who performed well in the regular season are rewarded with having a stronger starting position than those who performed worse.

We'll get on to the full driver lineup and how the standings look heading into the playoffs later, but this year, Kyle Larson and William Byron earned the most playoff points with 32 each, whilst Alex Bowman collected just two.

This means that Bowman is the lowest-ranked driver heading into the postseason and is five points below the Round of 12 cutoff line to start, whilst Larson and Byron are plus 26 to elimination from the off.

The major difference is when it comes to the championship race, playoff points are off the table. The Cup Series champion is based solely on which of the four remaining stars finishes highest that day.

Playoff Standings

After earning playoff points throughout the 2025 regular season, here is how those 16 drivers and the Cup Series playoff standings shape up heading into the Round of 16 opener at Darlington.

Playoff Schedule and TV details

We've established that there are 10 playoff races in total, and how the playoff standings currently look, but where exactly do these playoff races take place?

Below is the full 2025 Cup Series playoff schedule, including TV details.

Odds

At the time of writing, here are the latest odds on who will win the 2025 Cup Series championship, via Oddschecker US.

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