Should Ryan Blaney Be Concerned About Missing Cup Playoffs?

Of the five first-time winners this NASCAR Cup Series season, which will go the furthest in the playoffs?

Mike Neff: Any of the five could catch fire and make a run to the Championship 4. Having to spitball from here, my guess is either Ross Chastain or Tyler Reddick. Both have shown speed all year long, and they both can win at any type of track.

Josh Roller: Even if he doesn’t win, Chastain’s grit will get him to the Round of 8 and may even take him to the Championship 4. He’s the only one of the first-time winners in 2022 I can see advancing all the way to Phoenix Raceway. Chastain had to have a lot of determination in his 2019 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title fight. That will prove helpful in the Cup Series.

Stephen Stumpf: Chastain is currently third in regular season points, and he has the most playoff points and race wins of the five. And while the other four drivers have had inconsistent stretches and periods of slow speed, Chastain has been one of the few drivers to have run in the top 10 in almost every race this season. Of course, there are no guarantees for the playoffs come September, especially when the allotment of playoff points has been evenly spread out among drivers this season. One bad finish would be enough to do almost anyone in. But if Chastain can avoid the trouble, he has a great chance of making the Round of 8 and even the Championship 4.

Jared Haas: If this question was asked before the season, Austin Cindric would have looked like the favorite to make a deep playoff run out of the five drivers. But Chastain has proved that he is contender for wins and can quietly score good runs under the radar. In the last four races, Chastain has led zero laps yet scored a top 10 in all four of those starts. Consistency gets drivers far while wins lead to championships. Chastain has the ability to do both late in the season.

Joy Tomlinson: Chastain will likely go the furthest. He is known for his aggressive driving, but that can actually be beneficial as long as he doesn’t make mistakes. A good finish at Kansas Speedway is not unlikely, and he can contend for the win at both Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. He’s good at pretty much all track types; at Martinsville Speedway he scored a fifth-place finish in a race dominated by two Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Chastain may just make it to the Championship 4.

Should Ryan Blaney be concerned about the possibility of missing the Cup…