The NASCAR playoffs have always been wild, with unexpected twists and turns ensuing regularly. But this year’s playoffs are looking even more unpredictable. We’ve got a mix of familiar faces and new contenders. The expected names in the playoffs were Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain. Now, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe, and Daniel Suarez have taken their place.

Adding to the underdog element, the fresh additions to the playoffs are bound to make things interesting. This year’s playoffs will differ from past years. We’ll have two road courses and two drafting tracks in the final ten races, including Watkins Glen and Atlanta. In the recent podcast episode of Dale Jr Download episode, Dale Earnhardt Jr predicts the uncertainties in the playoffs to come.

Dale Earnhardt Jr has advice for the underdogs

The first half of the playoffs will be a wild card, with four races on unpredictable tracks. This offers underdogs a golden opportunity to advance. Drivers like Burton and Cindric have excelled in drafting tracks, while Suarez and Briscoe have thrived on road courses. The reconfigured Atlanta, for example, has become a chaotic Superspeedway, where anyone can win and a single mistake can ruin a title contender’s chances. This levels the playing field for teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, or even Penske, who typically dominate on traditional tracks.

On this note, Dale Jr in the podcast said, “I think they (underdogs) go into Atlanta going. it’s when we got to win it yeah. If I’m like, you know Suarez he will do that because he won Atlanta earlier. He’s going in there in his mind thinking I can win.” Atlanta is the only track where the Trackhouse team has secured a win this year. The uncertainties of Atlanta automatically make the top teams cautious, providing drivers like Burton or Briscoe to bag an early win.

Dale Jr too thinks that the top contender won’t risk it all at Atlanta, He added, “All of the people that they’re (underdogs) battling, all the guys on this first half, first eight let’s say from Brad Keselowski to Larson. They look at Atlanta and go let’s just not screw up bring it home let’s not crash out. Let’s not have something happen. Let’s not put ourselves anywhere near any dangerous situation.” 

Capitalizing on tracks like Atlanta and Talladega would be key for the lower teams. Talladega, in the second round of the playoffs, is another unpredictable track that can cause major upsets. Newcomers to the playoffs can use these drafting tracks to their advantage, avoiding crashes and even winning races to advance to the next round. To their advantage, former Cup Series champions like Kyle Larson have never won on a drafting track. In fact, Larson has a long history of DNFs on the Atlanta track. In his last 13 starts at a drafting track, he finished outside the top 10. Similarly, Denny Hamlin ranks 32nd in the series in points scored this season on drafting tracks. Elsewhere, regular season champion, Tyler Reddick has an average finish of 24th at the reconfigured Atlanta.

According to Jr, the lower teams should have this clear mentality – “Don’t go in there and think you’re going toe to toe with these guys at these other racetracks. So go to Atlanta and go, hey, they got a lot to lose. And they’re going to try to shelter that. They got a little you know 40-point lead, 28-point lead, 22-point lead whatever. They’re going to try to, oh we got to protect that. We got to come out of here in a decent position. So they’re going to be driving cautiously, not taking risks, not taking chances. That’s your opportunity to counterbalance that.” 

More advantage to the underdogs, the Charlotte ROVAL will also be a wild race. As road courses generally are! This could have an unexpected winner. The road course king, Shane Van Gisbergen, will also most likely be part of this race, making things interesting. All these factors are going to make the playoffs a wild battle. Denny Hamlin also agrees!

Denny Hamlin on the wild 2024 playoffs

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Even outside the top 16, many drivers will be looking for wins. For the field outside of the playoffs, it’s a battle of prestige. Kyle Busch will look to defend his win streak, as there has never been a season where he’s been winless in his career. On the other hand, the #23 driver has not won a single race since 2022. And luck for him his two career victories so far have come on Talladega and Kansas. Both are in the playoffs.

Some drivers are fighting for their racing careers. Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith, and Ryan Preece might not be racing next year as they have signed no contracts yet. The upcoming 10 races can prove to be the ultimate opportunity for them to attract some eyeballs and secure a ride. Like Harrison Burton, who parted ways with the Wood Brothers Racing, but his unexpected Daytona win has put him on the radar. Overall, the playoffs are going to be wild, as Denny Hamlin has predicted.

He said, “The field is kind of spread out. You do have all four Hendrick, all four JGR cars and then you got some one or two from each organization hear and there, a couple Penske cars. It’s going to be a wild playoff, no doubt about it. I think the schedule more lends itself to being pretty wild playoffs more than anything.” 

Are you excited about the level of wildness in the playoffs? Let us know in the comments below.