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 |
