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NASCAR Cup Series: 8 playoff pretenders in 2018

By William Richard

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 10: Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 10, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 10: Erik Jones, driver of the #20 buyatoyota.com Toyota, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 10, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – SEPTEMBER 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – SEPTEMBER 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are upon us! Which eight drivers are pretenders when it comes to winning this season’s championship?

Get loud and rowdy race fans, it’s the best time of season: playoff time! With the 2018 Brickyard 400 in the books, it’s time for 16 drivers to focus their attention on the biggest prize of all, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

This years playoff field includes 10 race winners, six former champions and two drivers making their playoff debuts. Among the 16 competitors, there are a total of 322 combined Cup Series wins. In addition to race wins, this year’s 16 championship competitors have won a total of 12 titles, with seven coming from Jimmie Johnson.

Joining Johnson in the championship mix are Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman.

In this post, my goal is to set the field apart. I have divided up the playoff field into two categories, contenders and pretenders. Today we’ll cover the eight pretenders in the 2018 NASCAR Cup playoffs.

A pretender is a driver who made the playoff field but doesn’t have much of a chance to hoist the championship come November. Performances at specific tracks, consistency and past track records will help define these drivers.

As a disclaimer, I want to state that just because a driver is labeled a pretender doesn’t mean I don’t believe they can make it to Championship 4. It means that I believe a championship is out of the realm. Now, let’s get to the nitty-gritty.

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