.Bob Pockrass.FOX NASCAR Expert.The most significant concern of those defending a playoff location in the NASCAR Mug Series is actually that a driver that isn't from another location in the mix vaults right into the playoffs with a dismayed victory.Hello, Austin DillonDillon, who was 32nd in the standings entering Richmond, placed themself in the playoffs along with a triumph-- albeit a disputable one-- on Sunday, the 23rd race of the 26-race frequent season.Following Richmond, 3 nationalities stay to establish the playoff field: Michigan, Daytona and also Darlington.The NASCAR playoffs feature 16 vehicle drivers-- the regular-season champ and afterwards the next 15 motorists rated through wins with dead heats broken through points.With the top seven motorists in the standings all contending minimum one triumph, the regular-season champion probably is going to be just one of the winners. Thirteen drivers have succeeded this year, indicating up to 3 areas might be on call on points. Therefore that resides in, that gets on the blister and that goes to win-at-all-costs? Those thirteen chauffeurs along with triumphes who remain in: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric as well as Austin Dillon.The blister altered considerably with Dillon's success as now maximum simply three locations-- certainly not four as prior to the Richmond race-- may be accessible to winless chauffeurs. Each Chris Buescher as well as Ross Chastain dropped below the cutline while Bubba Wallace relocated to the silver lining of being among the 3 winless vehicle drivers along with the most points.Joey Logano explains Austin Dillon's overtime move to succeed the 400 Therefore permit's get to the points: There are five winless drivers that would be actually combating for the current 3 places offered solely on points.Martin Truex Jr. possesses a 78-point side on the cutline (presently Buescher as well as Chastain), with 60 factors on Ty Gibbs, who is actually 15 factors above Wallace. Buescher and also Chastain, tied in the standings, are three points responsible for Wallace.In various other phrases, it is actually mosting likely to be actually a battle to the finish.Buescher won at Michigan and Daytona in 2014, yet those likewise are actually areas where Wallace commonly has run effectively. Gibbs still seeks his very first job Cup win. Chastain is the motorist with one of the most current expertise in playoff stress circumstances, where he mainly has verified he can create traits happen.There are 16 other playoff-eligible vehicle drivers that virtually face must-win scenarios: Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, John Seeker Nemechek, Harrison Burton and also Zane Smith.Bob Pockrass deals with NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has devoted decades dealing with motorsports, consisting of over 30 Daytona 500s, along with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal as well as The (Daytona Beach Front) News-Journal. Observe him on Twitter @bobpockrass. Obtain more coming from NASCAR Cup Set Follow your faves to acquire info regarding activities, news and additional.