Wins for Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin at Darlington and Gateway respectively have advanced the Toyota drivers.
One race in the Round of 16 remains at Bristol, which could prove pivotal in shaping the Playoffs thanks to the win-and-you’re-in format.
With Briscoe and Hamlin locked in, all eyes are on the bottom of the ladder where four drivers find themselves on the outside looking in.
Josh Berry is the worst-placed driver in 16th. He spun on the opening lap at Darlington before being wrecked out at Gateway thanks to contact from Chase Elliott.
The #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang is 45 points below the cutoff line, making the task of getting into the Round of 12 effectively a must-win heading to Bristol.
Alex Bowman hasn’t moved from 13th week-on-week. He sits 35 points below the line in the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
Shane van Gisbergen has dropped from being the first driver above the cutoff line in 12th at +3 to 14th at -15 after a wretched run at Gateway.
He spun the #88 Trackhouse Racing Camaro and copped a pit lane speeding penalty on his way to 25th.
The last car below the cutoff line is Austin Dillon, who improved one place and is -11 below in the #3 Richard Childress Racing Camaro.
At the same time van Gisbergen has dropped below the line, Joey Logano has got himself out of trouble. He left Darlington in 13th but now sits pretty in 10th.
Other improvers include Bubba Wallace from fifth to fourth, Ryan Blaney from seventh to fifth, Christopher Bell from 10th to eighth, and Chase Elliott from 11th to ninth.
Ross Chastain has dropped from eighth to 11th while Austin Cindric is at risk in 12th having fallen from ninth.
The NASCAR Cup Series continues at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday at 9:30am AEST.
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Standings (Race 2 of 16)
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Points | Cutoff (+/-) | Wins | Stage Wins |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 2120 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | 2115 | 1 | 3 | |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 2103 | +60 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | 2093 | +50 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 2085 | +42 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 2082 | +39 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | 2080 | +37 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 2075 | +32 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 2071 | +28 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 2064 | +21 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | 2062 | +19 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | 2054 | +11 | 0 | 0 |
| CUTOFF LINE | |||||||
| 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | 2043 | -11 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 88 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | 2039 | -15 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 34 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | 2019 | -35 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | 2009 | -45 | 0 | 0 |
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