.Bob Pockrass.FOX NASCAR Expert.The largest issue of those defending a playoff place in the NASCAR Cup Collection is that a vehicle driver that isn't from another location in the mix vaults right into the playoffs along with a distressed victory.Hello, Austin DillonDillon, who was 32nd in the status getting into Richmond, put himself in the playoffs along with a victory-- albeit a disputable one-- on Sunday, the 23rd ethnicity of the 26-race routine season.Following Richmond, 3 nationalities remain to establish the playoff farmland: Michigan, Daytona and also Darlington.The NASCAR playoffs contain 16 motorists-- the regular-season champion and afterwards the next 15 motorists rated through victories with dead heats violated by points.With the leading seven chauffeurs in the status all contending least one success, the regular-season champion probably is going to be among the champions. Thirteen chauffeurs have succeeded this year, meaning approximately 3 spots could be readily available on factors. Therefore who's in, that gets on the bubble and also that goes to win-at-all-costs? Those thirteen chauffeurs with success that are in: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Alarm, Ryan Blaney, Pursuit Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric and also Austin Dillon.The blister altered substantially along with Dillon's success as now just simply three places-- not 4 as prior to the Richmond race-- can be accessible to winless motorists. Each Chris Buescher as well as Ross Chastain dropped beneath the cutline while Bubba Wallace moved to the good side of being among the 3 winless motorists with the absolute most points.Joey Logano talks about Austin Dillon's overtime transfer to succeed the 400 Therefore permit's get to the points: There are actually five winless motorists who will be actually combating for the current 3 locations on call entirely on points.Martin Truex Jr. possesses a 78-point edge on the cutline (presently Buescher and Chastain), along with 60 aspects on Ty Gibbs, that is 15 points over Wallace. Buescher and Chastain, incorporated the status, are actually 3 aspects responsible for Wallace.In various other phrases, it is actually heading to be a battle to the finish.Buescher won at Michigan and also Daytona in 2015, however those additionally are areas where Wallace typically has operated properly. Gibbs still finds his first profession Cup gain. Chastain is actually the chauffeur with the most latest experience in playoff tension circumstances, where he usually has actually confirmed he can easily make points happen.There are actually 16 other playoff-eligible drivers that pretty much face must-win circumstances: Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, John Seeker Nemechek, Harrison Burton and also Zane Smith.Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has invested years dealing with motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Headlines, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Coastline) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. Receive extra coming from NASCAR Cup Collection Follow your favorites to receive details regarding games, headlines and more.