DARLINGTON, S.C. - Austin Dillon loves his position entering Sunday's Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway: planning for how to handle the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs rather than trying to make sure he's invited.
Dillon was the first to lock up a spot in the 16-driver field thanks to his win at the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. He has largely felt free of pressure ever since, something he expects will change after the series wraps up its regular season next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Two weeks from now, we are going to be thinking about points again," said Dillon, 19th in the point standings. "So you've got to race these last two races like the playoffs have started."
Twelve drivers have clinched berths in the playoffs, and most of the other spots could be wrapped up after Sunday's race, which will start at 6 p.m.
Denny Hamlin needs to earn eight points in the race to make the playoff field for the 12th time in 13 years. Aric Almirola and Jimmie Johnson could get in if one of NASCAR's nine drivers already with a victory this season wins at Darlington.
Many drivers will need a great run if they're to race for a title. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 16th in points but on the outside looking in because of Dillon's victory at Daytona. The Memphis native stands 79 points behind Alex Bowman, who is on the bubble as the final driver for the playoff.
Stenhouse's approach this weekend is clear: win and you're in.
"We've got to go out and do our job and get to victory lane," he said.
Stenhouse, a Roush Fenway Racing driver who qualified for the playoffs for the first time a year ago, acknowledged strategies change and more risks are taken when it comes to making the playoffs. He said crew chief Brian Pattie might try an unconventional setup or tinker with the team's race plan to get the No. 17 Ford up front.
"It's like that for a lot of us," Stenhouse said.
Kyle Larson secured his playoff spot in the series' previous race with a runner-up finish two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver never really concerned himself with his positioning, believing his consistency (13 top-10 finishes in 24 events) and performance was better than several other playoff contenders.
Hamlin, who will try to repeat as the Southern 500 winner, has struggled in recent weeks to find the form that has made him a regular playoff participant since 2006.
"Winning is the only thing I care about," Hamlin said. "Running better is very, very important to us at this point, so we're doing everything we can to work hard and get to that level we want to be at."