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As the NASCAR Cup Series regular season comes to an exciting conclusion with its final four races, drivers Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing and Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing are under pressure to secure a playoff spot. Currently, Wallace is the first driver not to qualify for the playoffs, just seven points behind his rival, Chastain.
Chastain is in 16th place, the cutoff for the playoffs. Speaking about the pressure to defend his position, the Trackhouse Racing driver commented, as quoted by NASCAR.com:
“The approach for me is a continuous evolution. In truth, no two weeks are the same. If I find something that will help me be more physical, then I do it. My weeks and my preparation are never the same. “We can’t try any harder now than we did before the break.”
Wallace, on the other hand, faces a more daunting path. In the past, he has struggled with inconsistency at these tracks, especially in Richmond, where, despite several starts, he continues to fail to finish in the top 10. Reflecting on his precarious position, Wallace revealed his weakness: “Of course, you don’t feel safe until you’re locked up. We have four very good opportunities to do this. We run really well here in the spring. Four very good opportunities to improve, but you know, also four good opportunities to put us out of the competition, so we have to do it and it’s time to go again.” In this weekend’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, Wallace is expected to start the race from the 8th position, while Chastain is expected to start the race from the 22nd position.
Current 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Standings
1.
2. Kyle Larson – 749 points
3. Denny Hamlin – 706 points
4. William Byron – 654 points
5. Christopher Bell – 651 points
6. Ryan Blaney – 676 points
7. Chase Elliott – 739 points
8. Tyler Reddick – 734 points
9. Brad Keselowski – 615 points
10. Alex Bowman – 606 points
11. Joey Logano – 525 points
12. Daniel Suarez – 460 points
13. Austin Cindric – 438 points
14. Martin Truex Jr. – 653 points
15. Ty Gibbs – 587 points
16. Chris Buescher – 562 points
17. Ross Chastain – 552 points
18. Bubba Wallace – 545 points
19. Chase Briscoe – 469 points
20. Kyle Busch – 440 points
21. Todd Gilliland – 434 points
22. Michael McDowell – 404 points
23. Josh Berry – 388 points
24. Noah Gragson – 383 points
25. Carson Hocevar – 383 points
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 375 points
27. Ryan Preece – 329 points
28. Erik Jones – 329 points
29. Corey LaJoie – 324 points
30. Justin Haley – 319 points
31. Daniel Hemric – 316 points
32. John Hunter Nemechek – 307 points
33. Austin Dillon – 294 points
34. Zane Smith – 248 points
35. Harrison Burton – 238 points
36. Kaz Grala – 166 points
37. Cody Ware – 47 points
38. Joey Hand – 43 points
39. Jimmie Johnson – 39 points
40. Derek Kraus – 32 points
41. David Ragan – 17 points
42. Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
43. Will Brown – 6 points
44. Cam Waters – 2 points