With 11 races left to go in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, it’s time to start focusing on the battle for the playoffs. Only 16 drivers will make it when the field is finalized on Aug. 23 at Daytona International Speedway — also known as the “World Center of Racing” but perhaps more aptly the “World Center of Chaos” when it comes to setting the final playoff field.
There are just 20 points separating the seven drivers who are stacked tightly around the elimination line, and there are plenty of chances for the field to be shaken up by a surprise winner with Mexico City, EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) and the Chicago Street Course among the tracks coming up on the schedule.
Let’s check in on the playoff race as we exit Michigan International Speedway and get ready to head to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday in Mexico City, Mexico (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM).
Stats courtesy of Racing Insights.
Drivers provisionally qualified for playoffs with a win (nine): Kyle Larson (three wins), Denny Hamlin (three wins), Christopher Bell (three wins), William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry and Ross Chastain.
Winless drivers more than 100 points above the elimination line (two): Chase Elliott (+142) and Tyler Reddick (+138).
With 11 spots filled by the above drivers, there are five spots open for the rest of the field to fight over, including these drivers closest to the elimination line:
| Rank | Driver | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Bubba Wallace | +61 |
| 13 | Chase Briscoe | +41 |
| 14 | Chris Buescher | +20 |
| 15 | Alex Bowman | +13 |
| 16 | Ryan Preece | +0 |
| ELIMINATION LINE | ||
| 17 | Kyle Busch | -0 |
| 18 | Carson Hocevar | -18 |
| 19 | AJ Allmendinger | -18 |
| 20 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | -20 |
Bubble analysis: Michigan runner-up Chris Buescher was the biggest beneficiary this week as he gained 12 points to the elimination line and moved up a spot in the standings. Buescher picked up his first stage win of the season, and it was his first top-five finish since March in Phoenix. Next week sets up well for him because of his success on road courses.
Buescher’s RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece also moved up a spot in the standings and gained two points to the line. He hangs onto the final playoff spot over Kyle Busch because he holds the tiebreaker of best finish this season: Preece’s third-place result at Las Vegas vs. Busch’s fifth-place finish at Circuit of The Americas.
Alex Bowman, who crashed out at Michigan and finished last, lost 32 points against the elimination line and fell a spot in the standings.
And in a case of two guys who just can’t seem to get away from each other in the news, Carson Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were the next biggest losers after each of them fell 14 points against the elimination line at Michigan.
Off the charts: Lurking lower is Ty Gibbs (-52), who moved up three spots in the playoff standings to 24th and gained three points to the elimination line after his third-place finish.
And while Shane van Gisbergen lost 12 points to the elimination line after Michigan and sits 33rd in the playoff standings at minus-130, everyone in the playoff race is probably shuddering at the thought of the road courses coming up in the summer schedule that could pop SVG right back into the picture.
Read the full article here