Josh Berry punched his ticket to the playoffs by winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he was not the only driver who made a major move in the standings. Austin Cindric and Daniel Suarez both made huge leaps after Sunday's race.
Suarez entered the weekend 29th in the Cup Series standings. He is now 19th. Cindric went from 32nd to 21st.
MORE: Post-Vegas Cup Series standings
Suarez gained 10 spots in the standings by scoring his first top-10 finish of the season. He crossed the line second behind Berry after scoring four stage points. He added a season-high 39 points to his total.
Suarez's previous best performance this season was the Daytona 500 when he scored 29 points.
The Trackhouse Racing driver has had speed all season but has dealt with issues. He was involved in crashes at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Circuit of the Americas, both of which ended his races. He then sustained damage at Phoenix after Katherine Legge spun right in front of him.
"Overall, just very, very proud of everyone at Trackhouse Racing," Suarez said after the Las Vegas race. "The entire organization has been working very hard and it's showing.
"Thank you to Chevrolet, Freeway Insurance, Coca-Cola, Quaker State - all of our partners that help us to get to the track every weekend. It was a solid effort."
Cindric, for comparison, entered the weekend with one top-10 finish (Daytona 500). His other three finishes were 28th, 25th, and 19th. He also lost 50 points as part of a penalty for intentionally hooking Ty Dillon at Circuit of the Americas.
These factors led to Cindric falling to 32nd in the Cup Series standings, but he delivered a big performance for Team Penske at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by winning the opening stage and finishing sixth overall.
Cindric scored 41 points and gained 11 spots in the Cup Series standings. He is still below the playoff cutline in 21st place, but he is only 23 points back of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the first driver above the cutline.
"Definitely a solid day for our Discount Tire Ford Mustang," Cindric said in a team release. "Think we showed great pace and fought back through some adversity. Great call by Brian (Wilson) to gain back that track position. We can certainly build off today."
Strong performances at Las Vegas Motor Speedway do not guarantee playoff spots, but they set both drivers up for the meat of the season. They have shown they will be in contention on intermediate tracks.
This is a key piece of information, considering that the series next heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway before heading to Texas, Kansas, and Charlotte in May.