DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Cup Series drivers have not completed the regular season, but they are already looking ahead to what could be a chaotic opening round of the playoffs due to its wild card races.
With the Olympic break moving the schedule back one week, Darlington Raceway is no longer the playoff opener. Instead, it is the final race of the regular season. In its place is Atlanta Motor Speedway, a mini-superspeedway with pack racing and aggressive moves.
The second race of the opening round is Watkin Glen International, a road course that traditionally hosts NASCAR in the summer. Now, it will shake up the playoffs.
And then there is Bristol, the Last Great Colosseum. This race was already a wild card due to the number of pit stops teams must complete throughout the 500-lap race, but the unexpected tire issues in the spring added even more intrigue.
"I think it's going to be race by race because it's going to be chaotic in some ways," William Byron said Friday at Daytona. "We don't know what to expect with tires at Bristol, and Atlanta can be a crap shoot. There's a lot that goes into running well at Atlanta, but you can always get into a crash at the front as we've seen with bad pushes and things.
"I mean, it's going to be race by race and just seeing what points position you're in. The only one I feel really good about is Watkins Glen based on last year and things. I feel like our road course stuff is really good. Just got to see what happens."
Byron has won at two of the three tracks in the opening round. He has won two Next Gen races at Atlanta. He also won last season's race at Watkins Glen. His best finish at Bristol is third.
Byron is not the only driver with wins at these tracks who sees the possibility of chaos. Daniel Suarez, the man who won the February race at Atlanta in a photo finish, shares the viewpoint. Although Suarez has seen potential issues beyond Bristol.
"I actually think that the first two rounds are very crazy," Suarez said in response to a question from AltDriver. "Having super speedways there -- kind of a superspeedway with Atlanta -- and road course stuff. ...The playoffs, I believe, this year are quite a bit more difficult than in the past, in my opinion.
"But we'll see. It can play either way. Atlanta, obviously, has been good for me in the past. Road courses have been good to me in the past. So we'll see. If we continue the path that we are going right now, I think we should be pretty good."
What makes Atlanta and Watkins Glen chaotic? There are multiple reasons.
Atlanta sits in an odd place after its reconfiguration. It's only 1.5 miles, but it races like a superspeedway at times. Drivers complete lap after lap while running in the pack, and they constantly push each other.
Big wrecks are a common occurrence, and there is always the possibility of a first-time driver breaking through. Corey LaJoie nearly achieved this feat in 2022 before a crash on the final lap of the race.
Watkins Glen is less known for crashes, but it still provides opportunities for teams and drivers who are willing to gamble on strategy. If points are not a priority, they can short-pit each stage and try to gain track position after the stage break. This potentially puts them near the front of the pack for the final run to the checkered flag.
Short-pitting is not a "foolproof" strategy, but it is one that aggressive drivers can use to try to win their way into the second round of the playoffs.
Of course, some drivers care less about strategy plays and more about just surviving and advancing.
"Atlanta is obviously tough, but that's what you work all year for -- to get those playoff points," Christopher Bell told AltDriver. "So if we can survive Atlanta, I feel optimistic that we can maintain our own in points or increase points going into Watkins Glen and Bristol, right?
"But even Bristol, I mean, that's going to be a wild card too because you don't know what race you're preparing for. If you're preparing for the tire debacle, your driving style, your car setup is going to be completely different than if you were preparing for a normal Bristol race.
"So, I mean, in one sense, it is three wild cards."