.Bob Pockrass.FOX NASCAR Expert.The most significant problem of those defending a playoff place in the NASCAR Cup Series is that a vehicle driver that isn't from another location in the mix vaults right into the playoffs with a distressed victory.Hello, Austin DillonDillon, that was 32nd in the standings getting in Richmond, placed himself in the playoffs along with a victory-- albeit a controversial one-- on Sunday, the 23rd race of the 26-race regular season.Following Richmond, 3 nationalities remain to establish the playoff field: Michigan, Daytona as well as Darlington.The NASCAR playoffs are composed of 16 motorists-- the regular-season champion and then the upcoming 15 vehicle drivers rated by triumphes with dead heats broken through points.With the top 7 vehicle drivers in the standings all having at the very least one success, the regular-season champ more than likely is going to be just one of the winners. Thirteen chauffeurs have won this year, implying around 3 spots might be on call on points. Thus who's in, that's on the bubble and also that goes to win-at-all-costs? Those thirteen chauffeurs with triumphes who reside in: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Alarm, Ryan Blaney, Hunt Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric as well as Austin Dillon.The bubble altered dramatically along with Dillon's triumph as right now at most simply three locations-- certainly not 4 as prior to the Richmond competition-- can be accessible to winless vehicle drivers. Each Chris Buescher as well as Ross Chastain fell below the cutline while Bubba Wallace moved to the silver lining of being just one of the 3 winless drivers with the most points.Joey Logano talks about Austin Dillon's overtime relocate to gain the Cook Out 400 So allow's specify: There are five winless vehicle drivers that would certainly be combating for the existing 3 areas offered solely on points.Martin Truex Jr. has a 78-point edge on the cutline (presently Buescher and also Chastain), along with 60 factors on Ty Gibbs, that is 15 aspects over Wallace. Buescher as well as Chastain, tied in the status, are actually 3 aspects behind Wallace.In other phrases, it is actually visiting be actually a fight to the finish.Buescher gained at Michigan and also Daytona in 2014, yet those also are spots where Wallace generally has run properly. Gibbs still finds his initial profession Mug win. Chastain is the vehicle driver along with one of the most recent experience in playoff pressure conditions, where he mostly has actually verified he can easily make factors happen.There are actually 16 other playoff-eligible chauffeurs that pretty much skin must-win conditions: Hunt 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 Seeker Nemechek, Harrison Burton and also Zane Smith.Bob Pockrass deals with NASCAR for FOX Sporting Activities. He has devoted many years covering motorsports, featuring over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Headlines, NASCAR Scene publication as well as The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Observe him on Twitter @bobpockrass. Receive much more from NASCAR Mug Set Follow your favorites to get information regarding games, news as well as additional.