The NASCAR Cup Series has reached the halfway mark of the regular season! Find out who would be in and who would be out if the playoffs started today.
Welcome in, NASCAR fans! Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend and some great racing all weekend long! Glad to have you back for another week of NASCAR discussion!
With the Coca-Cola 600 in the rear view, the NASCAR Cup Series is at the halfway point of the regular season. It’s time for teams to gear up for a run at the playoffs. In today’s post, I’ll give you an updated look at who’s in and who’s out of the 16-driver playoff field. Let’s get started!
First, let’s look at who’s in. Through the first 13 points races of the season, six drivers have managed to find victory lane, locking themselves into the playoffs, assuming there will not be more than 16 different winners, which there likely will not be.
Those winners include Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon. No update is needed for these six drivers considering they are locks to make the playoff bracket, but let’s see who would join them if the regular season ended today.
Here is a short list of where drivers sit currently. This list will include each driver’s playoff standings position, name and point margin above the cutoff line. Afterwards, I will lay out the first four drivers out and discuss what they need to do to make it in the 16-driver playoff field.
7. Brad Keselowski (+141)
8. Kurt Busch (+133)
9. Denny Hamlin (+133)
10. Kyle Larson (+86)
11. Aric Almirola (+80)
12. Ryan Blaney (+79)
13. Jimmie Johnson (+31)
14. Erik Jones (+18)
15. Alex Bowman (+3)
16. Chase Elliott (+0)
Click here to check out full drivers standings. Now, here are the first four out.
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-0)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 team find themselves in solid position to make a run for the playoffs. Through 13 races, Stenhouse Jr. has scored just three top 10 finishes, resulting in an average finish of 17.7. For him to make the final cut, he needs to remain on the solid streak he’s been on over the last month.
Stenhouse Jr. has scored four consecutive top 15 finishes and can truly test the experience of drivers such as Erik Jones and Alex Bowman down the stretch. The series also travels to Daytona and Bristol before we kick off the playoffs, giving him two legitimate chances to score a win before we head to Las Vegas to open up the playoffs in September.
18. Paul Menard (-33)
Paul Menard and Wood Brothers Racing are sitting in prime position to shock the garage and snag a playoff berth. I’ve said for months that this year gives Menard his best chance to show he belongs at the Cup level. While he hasn’t proven that yet, making the playoffs on points for the second time could go a long way.
In order for the 2011 Brickyard 400 winner to become relevant in the No. 21 car, Menard will need to use his veteran experience to build consistency over the next 13 races to close out the regular season. The good news for Menard is that he has some of his more solid tracks coming up on the schedule. With Pocono, Michigan, Daytona and Indianapolis still to come, don’t count out the Neon Knight just yet.
19. Daniel Suarez (-51)
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If you’re a Daniel Suarez fan, do not fear, as the No. 19 team are growing. While Suarez struggled to start the season, there are signs of success on the horizon. First off, he has steadily climbed the standings all season long. For the bulk of the season, he has surfaced around the early 20’s in points, but he recently broke into the top 20 and currently sits 18th.
Speaking of points, Suarez is higher in the standings now than he was at this time last year (19th in 2017). Lastly, he has scored five top 15 finishes in his last six starts. All the No. 19 team need to do is keep trucking and continuing on their path of consistency.
20. Jamie McMurray (-65)
Jamie McMurray still has a shot at winning this year’s championship. Though I don’t buy in to the idea of him making the playoffs, the 16-year veteran is still in the thick of the battle. He showed some speed at Charlotte, so the next few races will be interesting.
With an average finish of 20.2, the No. 1 team have progress to be made if they want to save McMurray’s season. Looking ahead on the schedule, Daytona and the road courses present the best opportunity for the McDonald’s Chevrolet to land in victory lane. Otherwise, Kyle Larson will be carrying the banner for Chip Ganassi Racing through the playoffs.
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Well, thanks for reading, and best of luck to your driver(s) as they attempt to land a spot in the playoffs. With 13 races left in the regular season, expect some new winners, hard racing and a few surprises along the way. All stats and numbers were gathered from racing-reference.info.