Former Cup champ knocks another former champ out of NASCAR playoff position

Kyle Larson’s victory at Kansas Speedway still leaves nine Cup playoff spots available via points as the regular season nears the midpoint.

This weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FS1) is the 13th of 26 regular season races in Cup.

Kansas finish another close call that keeps Ford winless in NASCAR in 2024

Ford has lost four Cup races this season by less than half a second combined.

• Dustin Long,

• Dustin Long,

Larson is one of seven drivers who has secured a playoff spot with a victory. The others are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez.

Of the nine remaining playoff spots, eight remained the same after Kansas.

Brad Keselowski moved into a playoff spot after his 11th-place finish at Kansas. He replaces Joey Logano, who finished 34th at Kansas.

NASCAR’s closest finishes in Next Gen era

Kansas victor Kyle Larson has won more closes finishes in Cup since 2022 than any other series driver.

• Dustin Long,

• Dustin Long,

Keselowski holds the final playoff spot. He has a four-point lead on Bubba Wallace, the first driver below the cutline. Logano is 18 points below the cutline. Next is Noah Gragson, who is 71 points below the cutline.

The regular season ends with the Sept. 1 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on USA Network. The playoffs begin Sept. 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on USA Network.

In the graphic below, drivers in yellow have won. The red line marks the cutline for the playoffs.