Cut to the chase: who is still standing entering the regular-season finale at Daytona?

Here we are, folks. After 25 punishing races, five drivers are left throwing everything they have at the final three spots inside The Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. The madness reaches its absolute fever pitch on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Three of these racers will walk away with a shot at the 16-driver, 10-race battle for the title, while two are going to be left fighting for 17th place in the points standings for the rest of the year. Let's look at the wild math and machines standing on the edge.

Bubba Wallace sits 75 points to the good, needing a mere two points to lock himself into The Chase. Realistically, he just has to bring his machine home 35th or better on Saturday night without even scoring a single stage point. That sounds simple, but Daytona is a beast that bites hard — Wallace was right at the center of a Lap 27 wreck in last year's summer race here, finishing 37th and scraping together just one point. Still, his track record on the Florida high banks is strong, his average points per race sits at 25.2, and anyone chasing the No. 23 Toyota needs a near-miracle. Wallace is all but locked in.

Further down the line, Austin Cindric holds a 44-point buffer to the cutline after a stellar points day at Richmond Raceway just two weeks ago. Cindric knows how to dance on superspeedways, piloting his No. 2 Team Penske Ford near the front and pacing 92 combined laps across his last five Daytona starts alongside formidable teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Whether they choose an aggressive stage-hunting strategy or play the long survival game, the fifth-year driver is in a secure spot with an average of 23.96 points per race.

Then there is Shane van Gisbergen sitting 31 points above the drop zone. Stellar wins at Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway got him here, but don't overlook his massive growth on ovals this year, featuring top-five runs at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway alongside dual sixth-place finishes at EchoPark Speedway. A 31-point cushion for the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing team is decent, but it is hardly a safety blanket with hungry drafters lurking right behind him.