There will never be another championship like the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
That’s safe to say, even though the final ten races of the season should be synonymous with unforgettable moments that define the crowning of a champion in NASCAR’s premier series. Controversy, drama and pressure have been the hallmarks of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 20 years, and this year will likely be remembered for the same reason.
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But before the green flag drops at Atlanta Motor Speedway, this playoffs is already one of a kind.
They will feature a unique mix of drivers, races and circuits that will likely never be brought together in this manner and order. A curious mix of imminent departures (Martin Truex Jr., Stewart-Haas Racing), intriguing debuts (Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs) and captivating one-off races (Atlanta Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International) that will add an unpredictable sparkle to the championship fight.
Here’s a look at some of the spicy ingredients that set the table for the 2024 playoffs to be such a rare breed:
Chaos in the first round
For the past 10 years, the first three races of the playoffs have been held primarily on mid-level tracks that seem designed to eliminate the weakest teams. Darlington Raceway and Kansas Speedway are known for rewarding drivers and teams with few weaknesses.
But Darlington and Kansas are out in 2024, as the first round turns into an underdog paradise with a draft track and road course for the first time.
Start with the Sept. 8 opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, whose 2022 reconfiguration into a miniaturized version of Daytona or Talladega has produced razor-thin margins (the Feb. 25 race was the closest three-way finish in NASCAR history) and surprise auctions.
This is the first playoff race ever held at Watkins Glen, another haven of surprise results that has also seen its share of first-time winners (Steve Park, Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott). The Sept. 15 event will also mark the first time the race will be held outside of its traditional early-to-mid-August weekend since 1986 (when the 2.45-mile road course returned to the Cup schedule after a long hiatus).
And of course, the September 21 playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway is a high-turn short track that is always capable of producing fireworks.
This year’s first round is an X-Factor-like delight, but with a quick expiration date.
Atlanta and Watkins Glen are in the playoffs together this year, but both teams have already been bumped to the regular season next year. the recently announced 2025 calendar.
Goodbye to all that
Chase Briscoe resounding victory in the Southern 500 Stewart-Haas Racing has ensured it will have at least one more chance at a title in its final season before closing its doors. This is the final playoff appearance for a team that was once a perennial title contender: two championships in the last 15 years and five Championship 4 appearances with Kevin Harvick.
Martin Truex Jr., also a mainstay in the championship race (five appearances between 2015 and 2021), will cap his Hall of Fame career with a final attempt at a second Cup title that has eluded him (with three second-place finishes since the 2017 championship).
Upstarts upset
It would be hard to find a more inconceivable playoff debut than Harrison Burton, who went from outside the top 30 in points to championship contender in the span of Two Magical Laps at Daytona International Speedway. But what makes it even more surprising is that Burton’s first playoff appearance comes with little assurance that he’ll have a chance to do it again. Wood Brothers Racing has already moved on from its No. 21 team next season, and Burton has no confirmed plans for 2025, making the 2024 playoffs a major audition for the next team.
The 2024 playoffs will also be Ty Gibbs’ first, and after a season that was an improvement in virtually every category over his rookie year in 2023, the 21-year-old’s first career Cup victory could come within the final 10 races.
Perfect Presence
These are the top teams in the Cup Series, but it still means something when Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports can qualify for the playoffs with a 100 percent success rate. Since Penske expanded to a third car in 2018, this will be just the second time all 11 cars from these three powerhouse organizations have qualified for the championship.
Missing but still present
It’s safe to say that this will be the last playoff series in a long time (say, the next decade at least) that doesn’t include at least one of these names: Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace.
But in the unique and inclusive nature of the NASCAR playoffs, there’s a good chance at least one driver will leave his mark in victory lane this year. The last three Cup seasons have each seen at least one non-playoff driver win in the last 10 races. With Busch in top form, and Buescher and Wallace agonizingly close to victories and devastated to have missed the playoffs While their teammates have qualified, expect one of the final 10 checkered flags to fall in their direction.
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Nate Ryan has been writing about NASCAR since 1996, working for the San Bernardino Sun, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is the host of the NASCAR podcast on NBC and has covered a variety of other motorsports, including IndyCar and IMSA.
