The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are right around the corner. What do the 16 drivers in the playoff field need to do to advance deeper into the playoffs?
Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski closed out the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series regular season with two consecutive victories in the penultimate and final races of the 26-race regular season at Darlington Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, respectively.
Keselowski and 15 other drivers are set to compete in this season’s Cup Series playoffs. Of these 16 drivers, 10, including Keselowski, qualified for the playoffs by winning at least one race throughout the regular season.
The other six drivers who qualified for this season’s playoffs qualified for them as a result of their regular season point totals.
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But getting into the playoffs is only the first of many battles that these drivers must win in order to be crowned 2018 Cup Series champion. There are still four rounds of playoffs, which include a total of 10 races, before this champion will be crowned. These 10 races are spread out over the course of just over two months.
What do the 16 playoff drivers need to do in order to position themselves to advance from the first round of the playoffs, the round of 16, to the second round, the round of 12? What will the 12 drivers who advance to the round of 12 need to do in order to position themselves to advance from the round of 12 to the third round, the round of 8?
What will the eight drivers who advance to the round of 8 need to do in order to to the fourth and final round, the Championship 4, and finally, what will the four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 need to do to win the 2018 Cup Series championship?
Here are the four rounds of the playoffs, the races in each round of the playoffs and what drivers need to do in order to advance from one round to the next throughout the playoffs.
Round of 16
| Race # | Race | Track | Date | Time (ET) | Channel |
| 27 | South Point 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Sunday, September 16 | 3:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 28 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Richmond Raceway | Saturday, September 22 | 7:30 p.m. | NBC Sports Network |
| 29 | Bank of America Roval 400 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Sunday, September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
After these three races in the round of 16 are contested, four of the 16 drivers in the playoff field will be eliminated. The 12 remaining drivers will advance to the round of 12.
The 12 drivers who advance to the round of 12 will have their point totals reset to 3,000. At this point, the playoff point totals that they will have earned throughout the course of the regular season and throughout the three races of the round of 16 will be added to their respective point totals.
A win in the round of 16 automatically qualifies a driver for the round of 12.
Round of 12
| Race # | Race | Track | Date | Time (ET) | Channel |
| 30 | Dover 400 | Dover International Speedway | Sunday, October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC Sports Network |
| 31 | 1000Bulbs.com 500 | Talladega Superspeedway | Sunday, October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 32 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway | Sunday, October 21 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
After these three races in the round of 12 are contested, four of the remaining 12 drivers in the playoff field will be eliminated. The eight remaining drivers will advance to the round of 8.
The eight drivers who advance to the round of 8 will have their point totals reset to 4,000. At this point, the playoff point totals that they will have earned throughout the course of the regular season, the three races of the round of 16 and the three races of the round of 12 will be added to their respective point totals.
A win in the round of 12 automatically qualifies a driver for the round of 8.
Round of 8
| Race # | Race | Track | Date | Time (ET) | Channel |
| 33 | First Data 500 | Martinsville Speedway | Sunday, October 28 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC Sports Network |
| 34 | AAA Texas 500 | Texas Motor Speedway | Sunday, November 4 | 3:00 p.m. | NBC Sports Network |
| 35 | Can-Am 500 | ISM Raceway | Sunday, November 11 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
After these three races in the round of 8 are contested, four of the remaining eight drivers in the playoff field will be eliminated. The four remaining drivers will advance to the Championship 4.
The four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 will have their point totals reset to 5,000. However, unlike in previous rounds, no playoff point totals will be added to their point totals of 5,000.
The playoff point totals that they will have earned throughout the course of the regular season, the round of 16, the round of 12 and the round of 8 will NOT be added to their respective point totals.
A win in the round of 8 automatically qualifies a driver for the Championship 4.
Championship 4
| Race # | Race | Track | Date | Time (ET) | Channel |
| 36 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | Sunday, November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
The highest finishing driver of the four drivers who compete in the Championship 4 will be crowned the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion. To ensure that this is the case, the four drivers who compete in the Championship 4 will not be eligible to earn stage points in it.
Be sure not to tune in to each and every one of the 10 races in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, beginning with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on NBC Sports Network next Sunday, September 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET.