Potential Cinderella Runs in Each Round of the NASCAR Playoffs
After a grueling 26-race regular season, the field of 16 is set for the NASCAR Playoffs. Over the next 10 weeks, NASCAR’s best will race it out in the hopes of becoming a champion. While drivers like William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson enter as favorites, some could make deep, unexpected runs in the postseason. Here is a round-by-round look at a driver that may end up busting brackets and making a surprising run.
Round of 12: Austin Dillon
While he will be looked at as the weak link in the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs, Austin Dillon enters with some momentum. Dillon, who won the 25th race of the regular season at Richmond, finished 25th in the regular season point standings, which was the worst of the playoff field. Looking at the three tracks in round one, Dillon may have a shot to escape. He nearly won the Southern 500 at Darlington in 2020 and finished second, which will be the playoff opener this season. Dillon’s teammate, Kyle Busch, finished second in last year’s Southern 500.
At the Daytona race the week after his Richmond win, the broadcast on NBC mentioned that Dillon and his team had a whole new outlook and mindset entering the playoffs. Dillon could pull a rabbit out of his hat at the other races, too. Gateway has played host to chaos in all three of its Cup Series races so far, and with it in the playoffs this year, anything can happen. A win literally changed their season, and the momentum and a strong race at Darlington may be the key to push the number three Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the Round of 12.
Round of Eight: Shane Van Gisbergen
One of the biggest questions heading into the playoffs is whether Shane Van Gisbergen can escape the opening round. With four road course wins in the regular season and two stage wins, Van Gisbergen racked up 22 playoff points and sits 16 points above the cutline when the playoffs begin. His oval racing still isn’t fantastic, but he has improved and has been vocal about Darlington being his favorite oval track. If Van Gisbergen can escape the first round by taking stage points when presented with opportunities and finish every race in the top 20, he can make it to round two.
To make the Round of Eight, Van Gisbergen has a clear path: win at the Charlotte Roval. The Roval is the lone road course in the playoffs, and Van Gisbergen has won at every road course he has raced at in NASCAR on either the first or second try. Last year, he qualified first at Charlotte, but finished sixth. This year is attempt number two, and with a lot on the line, Van Gisbergen may be able to set himself up with a chance to win his way all the way to the Round of Eight, a feat few people expected when the season began.
Championship Four: Chase Briscoe
The summer months have been kind to Chase Briscoe, as he picked up his first and lone win at Pocono and has won six pole awards, with the most recent coming at Iowa Speedway. Since his Pocono win, he has been a little inconsistent with three finishes outside of the top 20, yet has three runner-up finishes at Sonoma, Dover and Iowa. Briscoe is in his first season at Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19, a team that has made the Championship Four in 2016 with Carl Edwards and in 2019 and 2021 with Martin Truex Jr. A spot in the Round of Eight wouldn’t be new to Briscoe either, as he made it there in 2022 and was a handful of laps away from a Martinsville win that would have sent him to the finale. If Briscoe can fix his consistency problem and potentially grab a win, it could be everything he needs to shock the NASCAR world and take a spot in the Championship Four.
