NASCAR Cup Series playoffs: Schedule, format, rules and tracks for 2024

NASCAR Cup Series

Published Jul. 15, 2024 5:38 p.m. ET

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will feature a couple of new tracks but the same format as in recent years.

The new races are the first two in the opening round as Darlington, which has been the playoff opener, moved to the regular-season finale since its traditional Labor Day date is on the 26th race weekend of the season.

Atlanta, which now races as a drafting track, moved into the playoffs as the opener, and then Watkins Glen was added to give the first round a road course. The Glen replaced Texas, which moved to the spring and had been the opening race of the second round. Kansas, which was the second race of the opening round, now moves to the first race of the second round.

Here are the playoff rounds:

First round: Atlanta, Watkins Glen, Bristol (Sept. 8-21)
Second round (quarterfinal round): Kansas, Talladega, Charlotte road course (Sept. 29-Oct. 13)
Third round (semifinal round): Las Vegas, Homestead, Martinsville (Oct. 20-Nov. 3)
Championship: Phoenix (Nov. 10)

So how do the playoffs work?

The 16-driver field is comprised of the regular-season champion and then 15 drivers based on the number of regular-season wins with ties broken by points. If there are not enough winners to fill all the slots, winless drivers highest in points make the field.

Drivers earn playoff points throughout the season. They earn five playoff points for a race win and one playoff point for a stage win. Playoff points also are awarded to the top 10 in the regular-season standings on a 15-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.

At the start of each of the first three playoff rounds, drivers have their points reset — 2,000 to start the opening round; 3,000 to start the second round; 4,000 to start the third round — plus the playoff points they have earned throughout the season up to that point (including those earned in the playoffs).

Four drivers are eliminated in each round but it isn’t just by points — a win in any of the three races automatically advances a driver into the next round. The four drivers winless in the round and lowest in points after the three races are being knocked out of contention.

Ryan Blaney breaks down his win at Pocono with Kevin Harvick

What if drivers are tied in points at the end of the round? The tiebreaker is best finish in the round. If drivers have the same best finish, it would be the second-best finish and then, if still tied, the third-best finish. If drivers have the same three finishes in the round, then whoever had the best finish earliest in the round earns the tiebreaker.

For the championship race, each driver has points reset to 5,000 with no playoff points added. The championship drivers do not earn stage points during the championship race, so the highest finisher in the championship race among those four drivers ends the season with the most points and is declared the champion.

Drivers eliminated during the playoffs have their points reset to 2,000 plus the playoff points earned during the season except in the round where they are eliminated plus the regular points earned in the playoff races. So any playoff driver eliminated, regardless of the round, can finish anywhere from fifth to 16th in the standings.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.