Moving on from the Round of 12 is no small feat, but none of the drivers still alive in the championship hunt are an easy out.
Twelve Cup drivers will enter this round, which starts Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, post-race on Peacock). Four drivers will be eliminated after three races.
The Round of 12 is the biggest wild card of the playoffs. It has an intermediate track, a superspeedway known for crashes and a road course where only two drivers in last year’s playoff finished inside the top 10.
This unique setup means that it is almost impossible to predict which four drivers will be eliminated. Here are the reasons why each of the remaining 12 playoff drivers can move on to the Round of 8:
William Byron
Standings: 1st
Points above 9th: 25
- Tied for the most points (36) among playoff drivers
- Has superspeedway, intermediate and road course wins in Cup
- Pit crew has the best four-tire stop average time at 11.011 seconds
Martin Truex Jr.
Standings: 2nd
Points above 9th: 25
- Tied for the most points (36) among playoff drivers
- Has five wins on road courses and 12 wins on 1.5-mile tracks in his Cup career
- Toyota has speed at every intermediate track
Denny Hamlin
Standings: 3rd
Points above 9th: 21
- Has the third-most points (32) among playoff drivers
- Has led laps in the past nine races while scoring two wins and three runner-ups
- Has three wins at Texas Motor Speedway and two at Talladega Superspeedway
Kyle Larson
Standings: 4th
Points above 9th: 12
- Posted the second-best all-time average finish (2.33) in the first three playoff races
- Won at both Texas Motor Speedway and the Roval during the 2021 playoffs
- Has the second-best average finish on 1.5-mile tracks (9.45) in Next Gen era
Chris Buescher
Standings: 5th
Points above 9th: 10
- Has three wins and six top-10 finishes in the past eight races
- Finished third at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season
- Has two straight top-six finishes at the Charlotte Roval
Kyle Busch
Standings: 6th
Points above 9th: 8
- Has four wins at Texas Motor Speedway
- Won at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season
- The No. 8 car won at Texas Motor Speedway last season
Christopher Bell
Standings: 7th
Points above 9th: 5
- Won the Roval race last season
- Speed translated to three straight pole wins to start the playoffs
- Ranked ninth-best on restarts in the Cup Series
Tyler Reddick
Standings: 8th
Points above 9th: 3
- Won at Texas Motor Speedway last season
- Has three road course wins, including COTA this season
- One of two drivers without a significant issue during first round of the playoffs
Ross Chastain
Standings: 9th
Points below 8th: 3
- Has the best average finish on 1.5-mile tracks (9.18) in Next Gen car
- Won at Talladega Superspeedway last season
- Has the most points scored on 1.5-mile tracks (415) in Next Gen car
Brad Keselowski
Standings: 10th
Points below 8th: 3
- A 14-time winner on 1.5-mile tracks
- A six-time winner at Talladega Superspeedway
- One of two drivers who did not have a significant issue during the first three playoff races
Ryan Blaney
Standings: 11th
Points below 8th: 6
- Scored sixth-most points on 1.5-mile tracks (336) in Next Gen era
- Has wins at Talladega and the Roval
- Has top-10 finishes in eight of the last nine Texas races and an All-Star Race win
Bubba Wallace
Standings: 12th
Points below 8th: 14
- Ranked as the best driver on restarts
- Won at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021 and excels at drafting tracks
- Finished fourth in three of the past four races at 1.5-mile tracks
