1 week Ago By Jarrod Castillo
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field has been set following an eventful finish at Darlington which saw a massive crash on Lap 345 end the hopes of many drivers including Bubba Wallace . Although the crash took out many playoff hopefuls, one of the drivers able to escape the mess was Kyle Busch. Coming into the regular season finale, Busch needed a win to sneak into the playoffs , which would be his 12th consecutive year making it to the postseason.
And the 39-year-old surely made it interesting, as he was neck-and-neck with Chase Briscoe until the very end of the race. However, Briscoe did just enough to squeeze by Busch, ending his postseason hopes despite finishing in second place. In the end, it was Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr.
who made the playoffs, with Wallace, Busch, Chris Buescher and others being leapfrogged once the dust settled. Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin in agreement over NASCAR playoff hopeful Bubba Wallace playoff miss divides NASCAR fans as Michael Jordan ordered to 'get rid' Although Busch has been eliminated from playoff contention , he and the rest of the field will continue to race alongside and against the 16 drivers in the playoffs. Before Darlington, Busch shared what was going through his head if he were to end up outside of the postseason.
"The whole season's been frustrating," he said at the time. "Every week, it just kind of seems like, ‘OK what's next?' But that's something that we can't change." "Chris Buescher just said it [earlier that] there's a lot of things and a lot of questions that we have for ourselves and answers that we might not be able to answer exactly right now as to how our year has gone, but that's in the past, and you know you can use that as a distraction or a motivation tool, and we'll look to try to make that as a motivation tool.
" The motivation to do well, despite not being in the playoffs, stems from the fact that in the final 10 races, t hose drivers still have something to fight for . Although they might be driving for the championship, each driver is still competing for owner points, which are still being counted in the final handful of races. Drivers are also using those races to prove they belong, even if their performance might state otherwise.
By performing better, each driver is putting themselves in a position to garner more winnings for themselves and their team, if they finish just outside the top-16. With each driver performing well, that also helps a team's sponsors, with the added exposure garnered from each race or win. Lastly, drivers are racing for pride, knowing they competed and did their best in the final races of the season.
Don't Miss NASCAR Playoff standings as Martin Truex Jr. among four drivers in danger of being cut Kyle Busch's NASCAR future clear after missing out on playoff spot Who has reached NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs? Full list confirmed as 16 drivers involved Kyle Larson further explained what it means for the drivers not in the playoff picture to continue racing with those in the postseason, claiming it adds intrigue to the races and why it is important for each driver to compete. "The races would be a lot less exciting because the field would be so much smaller, and you'd never run into lap traffic," Larson explained to For The Win .
"So it'd be harder to pass than it is already, so you need a full field of cars to have competitive, exciting fun races." "There are still guys that aren't in the playoffs that are well capable of winning races, and they're trying their hardest to compete and be up front and win a race, because their season is still going on. "They're still racing for points as well.
They might not be racing for a championship, but the points battle to get to 17th is tight, and there's money that's paid for that. So they've got every reason to race us as well.".
