Bubba Wallace’s Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn’t do anything to help the NASCAR playoff hopes of Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece or Ty Gibbs. In fact, thanks to Wallace’s breakthrough victory, their playoff hopes are on life support.
With four races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Busch, Preece and Gibbs — all very much in the playoff hunt before Indy — now find themselves with their backs against the wall.
How bad is the outlook for this trio as the Cup Series heads to Iowa Speedway this weekend? Bad enough to suggest that without winning one of the next four races, their chances of making the playoffs are all but over.
Just How Bleak Is The NASCAR Playoff Outlook For Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece And Ty Gibbs?
With his Indy triumph, Bubba Wallace became the 13th different winner of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. So, instead of four drivers still being able to race their way into the playoffs on points, only three now have that opportunity.
Wallace now being locked into the playoffs by virtue of winning, he is no longer squarely on the playoff bubble where he sat prior to Indianapolis. Instead, the last driver in position to make the cut based on points is Chris Buescher, who holds a healthy 42-point cushion over Ryan Preece — the first driver out.
Prior to the Brickyard, when Wallace was on the bubble, he held just a 16-point advantage over Preece. So Preece’s deficit to the bubble driver more than doubled with Wallace’s win, because Preece is now chasing Buescher, not Wallace.
The outlook for Kyle Busch is even more bleak. After a disappointing 25th-place finish at Indy, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion trails Buescher by a whopping 81 points and is 39 in arrears of Preece. Considering that 60 is the maximum number of race points a driver can collect in a typical event featuring just three stages, Busch is more than a full race behind Buescher.
The situation is even more dire for Ty Gibbs, who despite winning the NASCAR In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis over Ty Dillon, fell further off the playoff bubble with a 21st-place finish. To qualify for the playoffs on points, Gibbs virtually needs a miracle over the next four weeks. He is currently 95 points back of bubble man Buescher and would need to leapfrog not only Buescher, but also Preece and Busch, to take over the final transfer spot.
Chris Buescher Isn’t The Only Winless Driver Well-Positioned To Make The NASCAR Playoffs
Naturally, given that Chris Buescher is winless and on the bubble, the two other winless drivers in position to make the playoffs by way of points are even safer.
Alex Bowman is 21 points ahead of Buescher and 63 clear of Preece. Tyler Reddick, the winless driver with the highest point total among all Cup Series drivers, is 138 points ahead of Preece. So barring something totally unforeseen over the next four races, Reddick will be one of the 16 championship-eligible drivers when the playoffs commence.
Bowman and Buescher don’t have as much breathing room but are pretty secure, nevertheless — assuming there’s not another first-time winner in the next four races.
As for Preece, Busch and Gibbs, it’s probably win or bust.
