Bubba Wallace cuts points deficit down after Ross Chastain falters at Pocono Raceway

With Ross Chastain being wrecked out of the Pocono race in the second stage, Bubba Wallace made big moves in the points. Wallace entered down 45 points to Chris Buescher for the final NASCAR Playoffs spot and was 53 down to Chastain in the next spot up.

By the end of this one, he is now down to Chastain by just 27 points. He made up 26 points in just a single race and there are five races left. Look, he will need Chastain and maybe Buescher to DNF again this season, but he has a path on points.

Of course, the sure-fire way to make the NASCAR Playoffs for the second straight year, win. With Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington on the schedule, Wallace has opportunities.

Chase Elliott took the regular season points lead. He has three more points than Kyle Larson. It’s a four-driver race for the regular-season championship. Tyler Reddick is just 15 points back with Denny Hamlin only 20 points out from the lead.

Here are the standings from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

Cup pts (5 to go: Indy Rich Mich Day Darl): Larson-3w, Hamlin-3w, Byron-3w, Bell-3w, Blaney-2w, Elliott-1w, Reddick-1w, Keselowski-1w, Bowman-1w, Logano-1w, Suarez-1w, Cindric-1w, Truex +137, Gibbs +67, Buescher +44, Chastain +27, Wallace -27, Briscoe -75 pic.twitter.com/wfPoznthMC

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 14, 2024

There have been multiple times that this 23 team has missed on opportunities. Other times they have been taken out in other people’s messes. While that has hindered them this year, there is a path to the postseason.

Right now, it is hard to determine what to do if you are Bubba Wallace and his team. Today, Wallace asked his team to swing for the fences, and it worked for them from a points perspective.

Since a DNF finish at New Hampshire, Wallace has had some good runs. P7 at Nashville, P13 at Chicago, and P10 today in Pocono. It’s started to add up.

Bubba Wallace making a playoff push

Between Pocono and the regular season finale at Daytona last season, Bubba Wallace had an average finish of 13.83. He picked up an average of 31 points per race during that time. It was a strong performance with every finish in the top-18 over that same span of races.

With the Indy Road Course being taken out for the return of the Brickyard 400, that plays to Wallace’s advantage. Also, Watkins Glen has been pushed to the Round of 16 in the playoffs. When you add in Darlington now being the regular season finale and not the first race of the postseason, it gets better for the 23 team.

So, if you’re a Wallace fan, there is still hope. He has a path to the NASCAR Playoffs. If you’re a fan of Chris Buescher or Ross Chastain, they have a pretty good advantage. It would be historic for Wallace to close the gap all the way and point his way in.

Whether Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, or Chris Buescher make the playoffs will be decided in the next five weeks. Based on raw speed, I think Chastain is vulnerable. If any of them wins a race between now and Darlington, they will lock themselves into the postseason.