Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 this past Saturday and with the checkered flag flying, the field for the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs has been set. Cody Ware, my darkest of dark horse picks (just to see people’s heads explode when he made the playoffs, led about half of the second stage, but finished 20th. Cole Custer, Justin Haley, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, with a combined total of 0 wins this season, filled out the top 5 but because Blaney, a repeat winner, won, it allowed both Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman to get in on points. Reddick had solidified his playoff spot when Bowman retired from the race following “The Big One,” leaving the driver of the #48 to watch the rest of the race before learning his playoff fate.
With the playoff field set, that means it is time for Track Talk to deliver our predictions regarding out the playoffs will play out.
Eliminated After the Round of 16: Shane Van Gisbergen, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry
Eliminated After the Round of 12: Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon
Eliminated After the Round of 8: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano
Championship 4: William Byron, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick
2025 Cup Champion: Denny Hamlin
Notes: This was one of the easier playoff predictions to fill out, even when it came to eliminating all the big names after the Round of 8. I can see a few discrepancies between those eliminated after the Round of 16 and the Round of 12. (Maybe Cindric replaces Briscoe, for example.) However, I feel very confident in the drivers I have advancing to the Round of 8. And, as big as the names are that I’m eliminating after the Round of 8, I just don’t see who I would eliminate from my Championship 4. Picking the eventual champion was tough and, if I’m being perfectly honest, Hamlin is probably the guy I’d like to see win the least of all four. Hamlin’s a guy with a lot of other things going on in his life and career. He’s also the guy who falls victim to pit road miscues: his own and his crew’s. (Hence the reason he’s been vocal about not liking the NASCAR season coming down to one race.)
However, maybe Hamlin can use the noise not as distraction but as inspiration and make 2025 the year he finally wins that championship. I guess we’ll find out over the course of the next 10 races.
johnmilner.ca 