Overview

• The Southern 500 on Sunday starts the 10-race Cup postseason with 16 drivers and a Championship 4 finale slated for Nov. 2 at Phoenix.
• Denny Hamlin enters with a series-best four wins, called the playoffs “another chance to roll the dice,” and said the December antitrust trial involving 23XI and Front Row will not distract him as he backs crew chief Chris Gayle.
• Christopher Bell publicly advocated adding more races to decide the champion to boost legitimacy, and team owner Rick Hendrick said he prefers the older points-based approach.
• Defending champion Joey Logano described Team Penske’s blueprint as week to week, and team president Michael Nelson warned rivals not to overlook Logano.
• Recent analyses project Kyle Larson, William Byron and Hamlin as near locks to advance from the Round of 16, with fantasy outlooks also favoring Hamlin, Byron and Bell at Darlington.