NASCAR playoffs, explained: Final race schedule, format for 16 drivers who made 2021 Cup Series cutoff

Tom Gatto

NASCAR playoffs, explained: Final race schedule, format for 16 drivers who made 2021 Cup Series cutoff image

NASCAR has reached the playoff stage of the 2021 Cup Series season. The regular season wrapped up Saturday, Aug. 28, with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The race's results finalized the 16-driver field and determined the starting order for the opening Round of 16. 

Sporting News breaks down the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, including the drivers, format and dates for the 10 races that will decide a series champion for 2021.

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Who made the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in 2021?

Sixteen drivers advanced to the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Kyle Larson won the regular-season points championship and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoff field. Tyler Reddick completed the field on the final night of the regular season in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, holding off teammate Austin Dillon and getting help with playoff driver Ryan Blaney winning the race.

Seven of the 16 playoff drivers are past Cup Series champions: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Pos. Driver Car No. Team Points
1 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports 2052
2 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske 2024
3 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing 2024
4 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing 2022
5 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports 2021
6 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports 2015
7 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing 2015
8 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports 2014
9 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske 2013
10 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske 2008
11 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing 2008
12 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing 2005
13 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing 2005
14 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports 2005
15 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing 2003
16 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing 2002

How do the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs work?

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs consist of four rounds: the Round of 16, the Round of 12, the Round of 8 and the Championship 4. The Round of 16, Round of 12 and Round of 8 consist of three races each. The Championship 4 is a one-race, four-driver showdown for the NASCAR Cup. 

All playoff drivers begin the Round of 16 with 2,000 playoff points. NASCAR then adds the bonus points the drivers earned during the regular season: for race wins (five points per win), stage wins (one point per stage win) and finishing in the top 10 in the regular-season standings (15 points for first place, nine points for second place and, finally, down to one point for 10th place). The final points totals set the starting order for the Round of 16.

NASCAR will also reset the points totals for each round: to 3,000 points (plus playoff bonus points) for the Round of 12, to 4,000 points (plus playoff bonus points) for the Round of 8 and to 5,000 points for the Championship 4.

Playoff drivers advance to the next round by winning a race or finishing a round with enough points to be above the cutoff line. The bottom four drivers at the end of each of the first three rounds are eliminated. Eventually, just four drivers will still be alive for the Championship 4 race at Phoenix.

NASCAR Cup Series 2021 playoffs schedule

Round of 16

Date Race Track Time (ET) TV Radio
Sept. 5 Cook Out Southern 500 Darlington Raceway 6 p.m. NBCSN MRN
Sept. 11 Federated Auto Parts 400 Richmond Raceway 7:30 p.m. NBCSN MRN
Sept. 18 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30 p.m. NBCSN PRN

Round of 12

Date Race Track Time (ET) TV Radio
Sept. 26 South Point 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 7 p.m. NBCSN PRN
Oct. 3 YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway 2 p.m. NBC MRN
Oct. 10 Bank of America ROVAL 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course 2 p.m. NBC PRN

Round of 8

Date Race Track Time (ET) TV Radio
Oct. 17 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Texas Motor Speedway 2 p.m. NBC PRN
Oct. 24 Hollywood Casino 400 Kansas Speedway 3 p.m. NBCSN MRN
Oct. 31 Xfinity 500 Martinsville Speedway 2 p.m. NBC MRN

Championship 4 race

Date Race Track Time (ET) TV Radio
Nov. 7 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Phoenix Raceway 3 p.m. NBC MRN

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.