With just one lap to go, it was looking like the final playoff spot in the NASCAR Cup Series would be snatched by a driver on their hail mary attempt. Whether it was Erik Jones, almost all of RFK Racing or Daniel Suarez, the amount of drivers who hadn’t won this year looked to outnumber the ones who had. 

Then, like a sleek chariot of doom, the black #12 Advance Auto Parts Mustang blasted through the field, assuming the lead and holding off the hungriest the roster had to offer for his second win of 2025. Blaney’s heroics may have saved Alex Bowman a few more years in the 48 as well. 

As usual, the two of us had a few things to say about the second race of the year at the World’s Center of Racing. 

Walking in Wounded 

It’s been a bit of a volatile end to the summer for 23XI Racing. The #45 team of Tyler Reddick has seemed to fight tooth and nail just to stay in the top 15, and just barely eeked into the playoffs (despite yet another attempt from fate to prevent it tonight). 

I’m confident it’s only a matter of time for the former Championship Four driver, whose magical ability to run the high side at Darlington should give him an opportunity to start the playoffs right. Reddick’s 15th place starting spot gives him no room for mistakes, but if anyone can dig themselves out of the hole when it counts, it’s the Corning, Calif. native. 

For Bubba Wallace, the crown jewel win at Indianapolis continues to pay dividends. Last week’s pit road blunder derailed a potential winning day at Richmond, and an admittedly odd wreck tonight early on ruined any chance to certify his superspeedway pedigree further. Like his teammate Reddick, Wallace has some serious ability at the Lady in Black, and the team’s proven talent in the postseason proves important. 

Shot in the Arm

If it weren’t for Shane Van Gisbergen achieving a level of road course racing we haven’t seen since Chase Elliott in the Gen. 6 car, Trackhouse would be feeling a bit worse for wear right now. 

Sure, while the road dominance is no doubt helping them grow and is exactly why they hired SVG, oval consistency is something they seem to be chasing across the entire team. 

Enter Connor Zilisch. The 19-year-old wheelman just announced he’ll be driving full time for The House in 2026 and beyond. The eight-time Xfinity series winner is on a fast track and is set to make a splash immediately. If the young driver can get over his mistakes on the track, he could easily be good for wins immediately. The new driver presence will be much needed for a team that going on year six will want to become a more rounded team. 

…But honestly if SVG just keeps winning road course races for the next decade, will Justin Marks complain? 

Playoffs? We’re talking about Playoffs!? 

As we end the regular season and head into the playoffs, I once again reach an impasse when it comes to how this whole circus works. Yes, there’s always storylines created from this format that I do find interest in, but it’s always at the behest of something else. 

I don’t really think the buzzword of “playoffs” is necessary and I never have. Most people interested in motorsports aren’t equating it to stick and ball sports, or are under the predisposition to not be expecting it. 

If the regular season didn’t have any playoffs, we would still be looking at an interesting battle at the top of the field. I also don’t think you even need to make an actual playoff format. Just market the end of the schedule as a sort of “playoff,” in the sense that drivers need to perform and rack up points to have any chance of winning the title. 

If a driver wins it a race or two early, then so be it, they deserved it. I’m a broken record here, so let’s move on, but I really hope we see a change someday. 

Talk is Cheap 

Don’t let Alex Bowman’s miraculous luck distract you from the fact that this #48 team almost missed the playoffs entirely. The people in charge at Hendrick Motorsports can say all they want about keeping Bowman, but the fact of the matter is that there’s a black sheep at HMS. 

Bowman’s consistent lag behind his three teammates has never been more apparent than in 2025, where his six total top fives equal the combined wins for the rest of the team. The team that once signified HMS’s imperial like dominance over NASCAR has turned into a purple and white shell of its former self. 

If you’re tenured HMS brass, seeing the 48 with seven Cup championships around it everyday in the office has to be a stark reminder of what once was, and what could be. At least Jeff Gordon can rest easy knowing his Axalta 24 is still winning races and snatching video game covers even 16 years later. 

Luckily for Bowman, the clown show that is the NASCAR Playoffs benefits him in the perfect way. If he can find his teammates’ speed and translate it into results, who knows, he could very well back his way into the later rounds like his teammate Elliott did in 2020.