.Bob Pockrass.FOX NASCAR Insider.The greatest issue of those fighting for a playoff location in the NASCAR Cup Series is that a driver who isn't from another location in the mix vaults into the playoffs with an upset victory.Hello, Austin DillonDillon, who was actually 32nd in the standings getting in Richmond, placed himself in the playoffs with a success-- albeit a disputable one-- on Sunday, the 23rd race of the 26-race routine season.Following Richmond, 3 races stay to establish the playoff farmland: Michigan, Daytona and also Darlington.The NASCAR playoffs consist of 16 chauffeurs-- the regular-season champ and after that the upcoming 15 chauffeurs placed by wins with ties broken through points.With the leading 7 motorists in the standings all having at least one triumph, the regular-season champion likely will be just one of the victors. Thirteen drivers have actually won this year, suggesting around three places can be on call on aspects. Thus who's in, who performs the blister and also who goes to win-at-all-costs? Those thirteen vehicle drivers with success who are in: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Pursuit Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric and also Austin Dillon.The bubble altered substantially along with Dillon's success as now at most just three spots-- certainly not 4 as prior to the Richmond race-- might be offered to winless vehicle drivers. Both Chris Buescher and also Ross Chastain dropped under the cutline while Bubba Wallace moved to the silver lining of being one of the three winless motorists along with the best points.Joey Logano explains Austin Dillon's overtime transfer to gain the Cook Out 400 So let's get to the points: There are 5 winless vehicle drivers who will be actually fighting for the current three areas accessible solely on points.Martin Truex Jr. has a 78-point edge on the cutline (currently Buescher and Chastain), along with 60 points on Ty Gibbs, that is actually 15 aspects above Wallace. Buescher as well as Chastain, incorporated the status, are three points behind Wallace.In other phrases, it's visiting be actually a match to the finish.Buescher won at Michigan and also Daytona in 2014, yet those additionally are areas where Wallace traditionally has operated well. Gibbs still finds his first profession Mug succeed. Chastain is actually the driver with one of the most current adventure in playoff tension circumstances, where he mostly has proven he can easily create factors happen.There are actually 16 other playoff-eligible motorists who virtually face must-win scenarios: Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, John Hunter Nemechek, Harrison Burton as well as Zane Smith.Bob Pockrass deals with NASCAR for FOX Sporting Activities. He has actually spent decades covering motorsports, consisting of over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. Get extra from NASCAR Mug Collection Observe your faves to get details about activities, news and also even more.