There are two important battles to watch heading into this season’s regular season finale for the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
With only one spot open in the 16-driver postseason field, all eyes will be on 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace as he tries to hang on to his 32-point advantage over Ty Gibbs and hopes a first-time winner doesn’t emerge from Saturday night’s event.
A driver such as Chase Elliott or Alex Bowman getting his first victory of the season, would push Wallace out of the playoffs. However, Wallace could also lock in with a victory of his own.
Alongside the chaos of making the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is a two-driver fight for the regular season championship.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin enter Daytona with a shot at the title, which boasts a trophy and a crucial 15 points toward the playoffs.
Truex has the upper hand with a 39-point gap over Hamlin. Though with the three-wide, unpredictable racing the 2.5-mile superspeedway often brings, anything is possible.
The 2017 Cup Series champion knows the importance of playoff points and feels a safer strategy will bode well for the No. 19 team.
“I mean, obviously those 15 points are huge. Playoff time starts and you want to have all of the bonus points that you can,” Truex said. “Hopefully we can do that. That’s really the main goal. Obviously, we want to win the race. More points come with that.
“We’ve just got to do our jobs and be smart about it and I’ve just got to be smart about not taking a lot of big risks or anything like that. Just really do what we’ve done all year. That’s the name of the game right now. Do what we know how to do and don’t screw up.”
Not messing up is easier said than done, especially at the World Center of Racing.
Hamlin finished second last weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l, but he’s also concerned with keeping last week’s winner William Byron, who is third in the standings, 37 points behind Hamlin.
Despite the potential pressure from Byron, Hamlin and the No. 11 team are staying zeroed in on Truex.
“We’re still racing for something, but the biggest thing is more bonus points and there are only a couple ways we can do it,” Hamlin said. “And, that’s getting a win, getting stage wins and getting the regular season moving up one spot. That’s our goals.”
