The second half of the Cup Series regular season is in full swing following Ryan Blaney’s win at Nashville Superspeedway.
Only 12 races remain until the playoffs begin, starting with this Sunday’s stop at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
As the summer grind gets set to pick up and the playoffs draw near, here are three drivers who have struggled and find themselves in a precarious position to make the playoffs.
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
The 2025 season has not gone according to plan for the owner/driver of RFK Racing, who currently finds himself 32nd in the standings, 97 points behind Kyle Busch for the final playoff spot.
While that is not insurmountable with a versatile stretch of 12 races looming, it certainly puts the 36-race winner and 2012 champion in a vulnerable position to make the playoffs. His lone top-10 remains his fifth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.
Keselowski is on pace for the worst average finish (25.3) of his Cup Series career, thanks in large part to five DNFs. Unless Keselowski can start putting some solid runs together and build up some more points, he may have to rely on a win to make the playoffs.
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Suarez only has two career wins to his credit, but he has made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons and finished no worse than 19th in points during that time. Currently, Suarez sits 28th in the standings and only has one top-five finish (Las Vegas) all season.
To make matters worse, his teammate Ross Chastain is two weeks removed from winning the Coca-Cola 600, the same race that produced Suarez’s fourth DNF of the season.
A poor averaging starting position of 25th has constantly put Suarez behind in each race and left him with few opportunities to score points. As a return to his home country looms on June 15 at Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Suarez needs to right the ship and put himself closer to the front at the beginning of each race. If not, the lack of points could prove costly.
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
After improving in most areas during his second full-time Cup Series season in 2024, Gibbs still failed to find Victory Lane. 14 races into 2025, he is still searching for his first win and is 27th in points with only one top-five (Bristol) and a lackluster average finish (21.5).
While his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell (second), Denny Hamlin (third) and Chase Briscoe (13th) are in the top-16 of the playoff standings, Gibbs is 55 points behind the cutline after finishing outside the top-20 each of the last two weeks.
How he performs over the next month will set the tone for his playoff push. If the finishes do not improve and the struggles persist, Gibbs could be in serious trouble in his third full-time season at NASCAR’s highest level.
