The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have reached the halfway point this weekend with the fifth race in the postseason – the YellaWood 500 – this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Heading into this Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway only one of the 12 postseason challengers (Kurt Busch) has clinched a spot in the Round of 8, leaving seven spots still up for grabs with two races to go (Talladega and the Charlotte Roval).
Already Clinched
The following driver has clinched a spot in the 8-driver field of the next round: Kurt Busch.
Can clinch via Points
If there is a new winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the 6th winless driver in the standings.
o Kevin Harvick: Would clinch with 52 points
o Denny Hamlin: Would clinch with 54 points
o Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help
If there is a repeat winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the 7th winless driver in the standings. They would also clinch if there was a new winner among Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano or Chase Elliott and being 56 points above the 6th winless driver in the standings.
o Kevin Harvick: Would clinch with 48 points
o Denny Hamlin: Would clinch with 51 points
o Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott: Could only clinch with help
o Alex Bowman: Could only clinch with help (and cannot clinch if Joey Logano or Chase Elliott win)
Can clinch via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:
o Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 30 | |||||||
Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts from Cutoff |
1 | Kurt Busch (P) | 3,041 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 6 | In On Wins |
2 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 3,104 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 67 | 61 |
3 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 3,101 | 30 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 58 |
4 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 3,059 | 30 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 16 |
5 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 3,058 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 15 |
6 | Joey Logano (P) | 3,054 | 30 | 2 | 6 | 22 | 11 |
7 | Chase Elliott (P) | 3,053 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 10 |
8 | Alex Bowman (P) | 3,052 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
9 | Kyle Busch (P) | 3,043 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -9 |
10 | Clint Bowyer (P) | 3,032 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -20 |
11 | Aric Almirola (P) | 3,025 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -27 |
12 | Austin Dillon (P) | 3,020 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -32 |
13 | Ryan Blaney | 2,098 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 13 | Eliminated from the Playoffs |
14 | Matt DiBenedetto | 2,092 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
15 | Cole Custer | 2,088 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
16 | William Byron | 2,075 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 7 |