Alex Bowman snapped an 80-race winless streak Sunday night on the streets of Chicago, locking up a playoff spot in the process. Now only four spots remain as Cup teams head to Pocono Raceway.
Martin Truex Jr. is in the best position as he seeks to return to the playoffs in his final full-time season. He is 125 points above the playoff cutline, and he has a four-driver cushion. A playoff spot is not a guarantee, but the 2017 Cup champion is much better off than many fellow drivers.
MORE: Cup driver and playoff points
The situation is far more precarious for Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher now that Bowman has taken a playoff spot. Chastain is only 53 points above the playoff cutline as he seeks his first win of the season. Buescher is 45 points above the cutline. He holds the final playoff spot heading to Pocono Raceway next Sunday.
Buescher and Chastain are both behind Ty Gibbs, who sits 84 points above the playoff cutline after at third-place finish on Sunday.
Photo credit: NBC Sports
The situation has not changed much for Bubba Wallace, who finished 13th in Chicago. He entered the weekend as the first driver below the playoff cutline. He was 51 points behind Bowman.
Wallace is still the first driver out of a playoff spot. He is 45 points behind Buescher with six races remaining in the regular season. Wallace could realistically point his way into the playoffs for the second consecutive season, but this will be difficult considering the limited number of spots.
While Wallace can potentially point his way into the playoffs, the drivers below him are unlikely to have this opportunity. Chase Briscoe is 88 points below the cutline after finishing 32nd in Chicago. Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch is 98 points below the cutline despite scoring his first top-10 finish since Kansas Speedway on May 5.
Todd Gilliland is 121 points below the cutline after a seventh-place finish in Chicago, his third top-10 of the season. Gilliland and the No. 38 team struggled with consistency early in the season, but they have since posted 10 top-17 finishes in the last 11 races.
While the cutline changed, one thing remained the same -- Kyle Larson is still atop the Cup standings despite crashing and finishing 39th. He has an 11-point lead over teammate Chase Elliott, who finished 21st. Larson, who has three wins, also has the second-most playoff points (23) behind only Christopher Bell (24).