Under the new "Chase" playoff format, the 16 postseason spots are simply set to go to the drivers who finish the 26-race regular season in the top 16 in the point standings, since there is no more "win and in", and the battle at the cut line is heating up as the regular season winds down. NASCAR deemed RFK Racing's Ryan Preece to have intentionally wrecked Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway, and they docked him 25 points because of it. Without Preece's penalty, 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace would only be 43 points to the good, Team Penske's Joey Logano would only be 64 points to the good, and Spire Motorsports' Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez would only be 75 points to the good, all margins that can mathematically be made up or lost in a single race.