When the NASCAR Cup Series arrived at Richmond, Austin Dillon was 28th in points, but when the checkered flag flew, he was in the playoffs as the 14th different winner of the 2025 season.
Before Dillon's victory, there was a lively points battle around the cutline with Chris Buescher sitting 34 points ahead of teammate Ryan Preece -- who earned pole for the race.
Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick were in fairly strong positions, and even had thoughts about clinching a playoff spot one week early.
But all that changed in an instant when the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet pulled into Victory Lane.
Tyler Reddick +89 points and feeling the pressure
Reddick's chances of clinching a playoff spot via points were looking very good on Saturday night. He had a comfortable margin and a very fast car. However, because his race ultimately fell apart and Dillon secured the win, he will enter the regular season finale with a very different outlook. Reddick is now just one spot above the bubble, and he lost almost 30 points to Bowman despite winning Stage 1 at Richmond. If he loses another 30 points at Daytona and there is a new winner again, it will be the end for the driver who won the regular season title just one year ago. It's a shocking turn of events, as Reddick seemed fairly safe just a few days ago.
Alex Bowman +60 points and facing uncomfortable odds
Bowman finished second at Richmond, but he wasn't smiling about it, and for good reason. The driver who beat him put Bowman in a very difficult situation. The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is on the bubble, and if any of the 20 full-time drivers below him in points win at Daytona, then it's over for him. Unfortunately for Bowman, the odds of that happening are pretty good. His only hope beyond a repeat winner is if he himself can win the race, or if he can gain another 30 points on Reddick next weekend. But as we've seen many times before at Daytona, your fate is never really in your hands.
All RFK drivers among the 20 facing a must-win at Daytona
We'll take a closer look at each of these drivers later this week in a special feature, but at least half of the field will be focused only on winning the race at Daytona. It's all or nothing for them. This unfortunate group includes two former Cup Series champions and seven drivers who have won Cup races at Daytona before.
RFK Racing has to be feeling rattled at this point. Before the Richmond race, they had one driver in a must-win situation and two others in a spirited points battle. They even won the pole at Richmond, but nothing went their way as all three of them are now without hope of making the playoffs via points. There is no scenario where that is still possible, and winning is their only option now. And even then, this is a trio of teammates all fighting for the same race win, so at best, two of them will go home disappointed. Buescher and team co-owner Brad Keselowski are among that aforementioned group who have won at Daytona before, but Preece has zero wins at the Cup level, and unfortunately, two terrifying airborne crashes at the iconic superspeedway.
And when we say that any of these 20 drivers can win at Daytona, we truly mean it. Last year, Harrison Burton was let go by the Wood Brothers due to underperforming in the No. 21 Ford. He entered Daytona outside the top 30 in points, and yet, he shocked the NASCAR world by earning his first Cup win there and making the playoffs.
