With his 10th place finish in the Bojangles’ Southern 500, Denny Hamlin has clinched a berth in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has clinched a berth in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after finishing in 10th place in the 25th and penultimate race of the regular season, the Bojangles’ Southern 500, at Darlington Raceway.
Following the 367-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped Darlington Raceway oval in Darlington, South Carolina, the driver of the #11 Toyota sits in 10th place in the championship standings with 738 points.
However, with 11 races left in the 2018 season, Hamlin has still not yet won a race this year. In fact, his most recent victory came in last year’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. However, because there is no way by which he can fall below the playoff cut line in the final race of the regular season, he has secured a playoff berth.
More from NASCAR Cup Series
- NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
- NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
- NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
- NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
- NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500
The playoff cut line is currently between Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman and Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 15th and 16th place in the championship standings, respectively. With one race left in the regular season, a maximum of one driver currently below the playoff cut line can win to qualify for the playoffs, meaning the highest position to which the playoff cut line can rise is between 14th and 15th place in the standings.
The driver who currently sits in 14th place in the championship standings is Jimmie Johnson. He has earned 605 points this season, which is 133 points smaller than Hamlin’s point total.
Because Johnson can only make up a maximum of 54 points on Hamlin in the regular season finale assuming Hamlin races in it (55 points if he doesn’t) and Johnson doesn’t win it, Hamlin cannot fall below the playoff cut line no matter how high is rises. In fact, he can’t even come close.
Even Johnson winning the regular season finale, which would earn him a maximum of 60 points, would not be enough to knock Hamlin to outside of the playoff picture, as Johnson is currently above the playoff cut line to begin with, meaning no one would get bumped out by him winning it.
A total of 14 drivers have clinched playoff berths so far this season, leaving two playoff spots open for the other drivers to fight for in the regular season finale. Of those 14 drivers, 10 have clinched playoff berths because of the fact that they have earned at least one victory so far this season and four have done so because of their respective point totals.
The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are set to begin on Sunday, September 16 with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, the regular season finale, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, also known as the Brickyard 400, is still scheduled to take place before then. That race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 9 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.