The Lady in Black was not kind to all but a select few Cup Series Playoff drivers this past weekend. With tomorrow’s race at Gateway coming quickly, it is a second chance for each of them. As with each race, four sit below the cutline, and some, for instance, are not in their control.

Josh Berry -19

Josh Berry’s famous No. 21 Ford bottomed out hard coming through Turn 2 on lap one at Darlington and took him completely out of contention for the evening. With considerable damage done to the car, Berry was able to get back out on track, but well over 100 laps down in dead last, earning only 1 point. However, his Playoffs may have been saved by numerous other Playoff drivers having bad days. So, 19 points back could have been much worse. Climbing back from a 19-point deficit is a lot easier than it could have been. What’s going well for him? He races what is essentially a fourth Penske car, and they have had spectacular success at Gateway.

Alex Bowman -19

Bowman qualified poorly, so a rebuild of his afternoon was a must. But early on in the race on pit road, his race essentially died. Bowman’s 48 crew failed him… Miserably. With wheel gun issues combined with wheel gun issues, Bowman fell back and was never able to rebound from multiple laps down, and ended up 19 points back as well. Lucky for him, he races for Hendrick Motorsports. Unlucky for him, Hendrick Motorsports has not had the best luck at Gateway, so digging out tomorrow could be hard.

Austin Dillon -8

Austin sits 8 points back of the cutline, and of course, that’s not a lot. After finishing 23rd, Dillon’s run at Darlington was less than one may have hoped for. But Austin had a great run at Gateway in 2024, where he finished P. 6. So with even a decent finish tomorrow, those 8 points can go away and look positively for the RCR driver.

Joey Logano -3

Joey Logano’s evening at Darlington saw a 20th-place finish and no Stage Points. He fell back six spots following the start of the race and was out paced by about half of the Playoff field. But 3 points back isn’t a big deal for the driver who won the inaugural Cup race at Gateway and never finished worse than 5th. Unless the 22 team unloads horrifically, there’s no way Logano leaves tomorrow afternoon in the red.

Conclusion

As you can see above, none of these drivers have lost Round of 12 dreams in the first race. Some will have an easier time than others, but racing is unpredictable. So what do you think as the fan? Who makes it? Who falls flat this weekend?

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