How quickly things have changed for NASCAR drivers on the playoff bubble after Ryan Blaney's win at Nashville Superspeedway.
Interestingly, it wasn't Blaney winning that shook up the playoff standings. Instead, it was other situations that unfolded at the 1.33-mile Tennessee track. Some drivers crashed while others avoided incidents and scored some crucial points.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a fitting example. The Hyak Motorsports driver had spent the season quietly accumulating points while finishing no worse than 25th. This kept him above the playoff cutline...that is, until Sunday's race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Contact from Carson Hocevar spun Stenhouse into the outside wall on Lap 106 and ended his race. He failed to finish an event for the first time this season, and he fell five spots in the standings after only scoring one point.
Hocevar, for comparison, gained five spots after scoring four stage points and finishing second in the race. He is now two points ahead of Stenhouse and four points below the playoff cutline.
AJ Allmendinger also fell in the Cup Series standings, albeit for a different reason. NASCAR penalized the No. 16 team for unapproved adjustments after pre-race inspection. As a result, he lost his qualifying spot (17th) and had to start from the rear of the field. He also had to serve a stop-and-go penalty on Lap 1, which dropped him off the lead lap.
Allmendinger spent a portion of the race trying to get back on the lead lap. He ultimately achieved this goal but missed out on stage points. He crossed the line 20th after also struggling with handling and only secured 17 points.
"I felt like we maximized the day as best as we could, but it was disappointing," Allmendinger said. "We all expected to be a little bit faster, but with how the weekend went and how the race played out, I think we finished about as high as we should have finished."
A fourth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 moved Allmendinger closer to the playoff bubble. He is still in contention for a playoff spot, but the issues at Nashville did not help his situation.
While some drivers fell in the Cup Series standings, Kyle Busch capitalized. He didn't win a race or even score stage points, but he avoided the issues that have plagued the No. 8 team this season. He didn't get collected by a multi-car incident, nor did he spin late in the race.
Busch just delivered a 12th-place finish and scored 25 points, his most since Darlington on April 6. He gained four spots and moved above the playoff cutline. Busch is now 15th in the standings. He remains on the bubble, but he is momentarily in a playoff position.