The NASCAR playoff season is a defining period for the sport, highlighting intense competition as drivers vie for the coveted championship. However, for those who fail to make the cut, it’s a time of bitter disappointment.
Being on the outside looking in can be emotionally and financially devastating, but it also brings a shift in focus—from the pressure of competing for a title to the simplicity of just racing. This year, several high-profile drivers, including Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, and others, are experiencing this sting firsthand.
Ross Chastain: A Tough Adjustment
Ross Chastain, a driver who had become accustomed to postseason competition, found himself excluded from the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time in three years. The notifications that began to flood his phone after his elimination were a brutal reminder of what was lost.
Chastain explained how his calendar was rapidly cleared of playoff-related events after failing to qualify, leaving him helpless to do anything but watch. “I get notifications whenever stuff gets added or taken off,” Chastain said. “It was motivation as I just had to watch them ding and pop up, ‘Deleted. Deleted. Deleted.’ So, it was tough. It doesn’t feel good, for sure.”
Chastain had been a postseason regular since joining Trackhouse Racing, a team that quickly positioned him as a championship contender. In 2022, he reached the Championship 4, an incredible accomplishment, and over the course of the last two seasons, he notched four race wins. As the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet, Chastain had become a formidable competitor, with high expectations surrounding him and his team. But this season, things took a downward turn.
Despite entering the second half of the regular season well above the playoff cutline, Chastain and his team struggled, bleeding over 120 points in the final eight races.
By the end of the regular season, they had slid out of contention. “The expectation was for more of the same this year,” Chastain admitted, “but we went winless, and the points just slipped away.” Now, as the most critical part of the season begins, Chastain is reflecting on a season that has statistically been his worst since joining Trackhouse Racing, with fewer top-10 and top-five finishes than in previous years.
Kyle Busch: A Champion on the Outside
While Chastain’s exclusion was tough, it was perhaps even more surprising to see two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch miss the playoffs.
For Busch, this is only the fourth time in his illustrious career that he hasn’t made it into the postseason—and the first time in over a decade. Reflecting on his absence during the NASCAR Cup Series playoff media day, Busch joked, “My Wednesday was great. I loved it. I got to do what I wanted to do.”
But behind the humor, there’s a deeper realization of what missing the playoffs means, both emotionally and financially. Busch acknowledged the monetary hit he has taken by not qualifying. “I’ve lost a substantial amount of money in the last few weeks,” he said, “because of not making the playoffs, not getting wins and things like that. That’s a big hit.”
For a driver as competitive as Busch, missing the playoffs is a hard pill to swallow, but he’s already setting his sights on the role of spoiler. With fewer responsibilities and less pressure, Busch plans to disrupt the plans of championship hopefuls by competing for race wins in the final weeks of the season.
Busch’s performance this season has been inconsistent, and his Richard Childress Racing team has struggled to find the speed and rhythm needed to consistently compete inside the top 10.
Although the team showed signs of improvement after the series returned from the Olympic break, it was too little, too late. Busch began to come to terms with his postseason fate five races before the end of the regular season, knowing that the team simply didn’t have what it took to make a serious playoff push. Now, his focus is on salvaging what he can from the remainder of the season.
Chris Buescher: On the Verge
Chris Buescher’s situation is a little different. Buescher has experienced both sides of the playoff bubble, having made the postseason in 2016 with an unexpected win at Pocono Raceway, and again in 2022 with RFK Racing.
This year, Buescher and his team had a strong season, finishing 11th in the overall standings with an impressive average finish of 13.7—the fourth-best in the series. Yet, despite their consistent performance, they were knocked out of playoff contention when Chase Briscoe secured a win late in the regular season.
“It goes through a range of emotions,” Buescher said of the playoff miss. “The first part of it was just the frustration and airing that out with our entire group.” The team debriefed after the regular season finale at Darlington Raceway, discussing what went wrong and how they could have done better.
However, Buescher acknowledged that there wasn’t much they could have changed—aside from securing a win. “We felt we covered the competitors we needed to at Darlington,” Buescher explained, “and if it hadn’t been for Briscoe’s win, we were headed toward a postseason berth.”
For Buescher and his team, missing the playoffs was tough, but they remain proud of the season they put together. “We had a really great year,” Buescher said, “our average finish on the season is top five. Our year has been strong in a lot of different ways.”
Rodney Childers: A Different Mentality
Rodney Childers, longtime crew chief for Kevin Harvick, also finds himself in an unusual position this season. For the first time since 2013, Childers isn’t competing for a championship. During his tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing, Childers helped guide Harvick to seven top-five finishes in the championship standings and five appearances in the Championship 4. But this year, with rookie Josh Berry behind the wheel, the team needed to win a race to secure a playoff berth—and they fell short.
“It really is weird not to be on a championship run again,” Childers admitted. “It seems like it’s been forever since we weren’t in the playoffs. But maybe we took that for granted.” Despite missing the playoffs, Childers remains focused on winning races with Berry in the final stretch of the season. “We want to win a race so bad with Josh, and we’ve had really good cars lately,” he said.
In some ways, Childers appreciates the reduced pressure that comes with being out of the playoff picture. “It was nice last week to not deal with the drama,” he said, “I’m not much for drama; I just want to go race and win races.”
The Road Ahead for Those on the Outside
For drivers and teams like Chastain, Busch, Buescher, and Childers, missing the playoffs is a disappointment, but it also opens up new opportunities. Without the weight of championship expectations, they can focus on individual race wins and play spoiler for the drivers still in contention. While the final 10 weeks of the season are undoubtedly more stressful for those competing for a title, those on the outside are not entirely without stakes—they still have something to prove.
In the high-stakes world of NASCAR, being on the outside looking in can be painful, but it’s also a chance to regroup, refocus, and find new ways to succeed. As the season continues, these drivers and teams will be looking for redemption on the track, even if the ultimate prize is no longer within reach.
