NASCAR's playoffs begin with no clear favorite, Larson as top seed, Reddick happy just to make field

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nobody cheered Ryan Blaney louder to win NASCAR's regular-season finale than Alex Bowman, who vowed to buy Blaney 7 million beers for the Daytona victory that saved Bowman's spot in the playoffs. Bowman had wrecked out at Daytona very early Saturday night and had to watch on television as Blaney won a four-wide race across the finish line to stop a gaggle of long shot drivers from snagging Bowman's spot in the 16-driver field. His relief was a contrast to the frustration shown by Tyler Reddick, last year's regular-season champion, who limped into the playoffs this year. Like Bowman, he also wrecked early, but his points total was better, so once Bowman was out of the race, Reddick was locked in. But his 23XI team heads into the playoffs in a slump, a year after making it all the way to NASCAR's championship-deciding season finale, and Reddick hasn't had the consistency it will take to race again for the Cup title. Who has? Well, no single team has emerged as the favorite as NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for Sunday's playoff opener. Kyle Larson is the top seed, just ahead of regular-season champion William Byron. Lurking right behind the Hendrick Motorsports teammates is Denny Hamlin, one of only two drivers with a Cup Series-high four wins this season. There are two first-time playoff participants in the field, including rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who dominated street and road courses to match Hamlin with four wins. The front of the pack Larson is the top seed but hasn't won a race since early May, before he ran the Indianapolis 500, when his Kansas victory gave him three wins in seven races. It's been up and down since, but Larson starts the playoffs coming off back-to-back six-place finishes. Byron has two wins, including the Daytona 500, and hasn't ranked lower than second the entire season. He is trying to make it to the championship race for a fourth consecutive year. Hamlin does have four wins but is coming off a bad night in Daytona: His car was damaged in an early crash and he finished 25th, dropping from third to sixth in the season standings — which cost him five playoff points, the equivalent of a victory. Hamlin has never won a Cup title and hasn't even made it to the championship four since 2021. He'll try to get there this year at the same time as 23XI Racing, the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, fights NASCAR in federal court over antitrust claims. The two sides are due in court Thursday, four days before the playoff opener. Blaney's victory at Daytona boosted him to fourth in the playoff seedings and gave him the momentum to potentially be considered the favorite. Team Penske gets hot this time of year and has won three consecutive championships with Blaney's title in 2023 sandwiched between a pair of Joey Logano triumphs. Logano is seeded a distant 12th, but as NASCAR's only active three-time champion, he can't be counted out. Drivers in the middle Christopher Bell is the fifth seed and his three wins are tied with Larson, but he won three straight after the season-opening Daytona 500 and hasn't been to victory lane since March 9 at Phoenix. Van Gisbergen is seeded sixth for his playoff debut based on four victories, all on street or road courses. If he can make it out of the first round, the New Zealander could be a spoiler — the hybrid road course/oval Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway is in the second round and a win there would vault van Gisbergen into the final eight. Chase Elliott is the seventh seed, but the 2020 champion needs to start winning. His victory at home track Atlanta is his lone win this season and only one of two victories since 2022 — the last time he made it to the championship four. One win club Elliott is the highest-seeded driver among eight who made it into the playoffs with a single victory this season. The group includes Bubba Wallace, who won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to make the playoffs for just the second time in his career. Austin Dillon earned a berth with his victory at Richmond this month, but Richard Childress Racing hasn't shown to be a consistent contender and he enters the playoffs as the 15th seed. Austin Cindric won at Talladega Superspeedway to put all three Team Penske cars in the playoffs, but Cindric has only one top-five finish since that victory 16 races ago. Ross Chastain joins teammate van Gisbergen in the playoffs to put two Trackhouse Racing entries in the field. He won the Coca-Cola 600 in May but has just three top-10 finishes since. Josh Berry makes his playoff debut with Wood Brothers Racing because of his early season victory at Las Vegas. His performance picked up in the final two weeks of the regular season, and he heads into the playoffs with consecutive top-10 finishes. He's the 13th seed. Reddick and Bowman are the only two drivers in the playoff field without a win this season.