NASCAR Cup Series: 8 playoff contenders in 2018

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are ready to kick off this weekend! Find out who the eight true contenders are.

Welcome in, folks! We are one day closer to kicking off the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!

With the 16-driver playoff field set, I’m here to let you know who the serious contenders are for this year’s championship! This post is all about setting apart the boys from the men and naming the true contenders for the title.

If you haven’t read my previous piece on this year’s “pretenders”, click here. That article discusses who I believe will miss out on hoisting the big trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For my first piece, I set a few disclaimers as to why I made my specific picks. In this piece I’ll do the same.

Drivers on this list aren’t necessarily my championship favorites, but they are drivers who I could envision winning it all in mid-November. Common sense will lead you to realize that these guys should be your title favorites, and I’ll help tell you why along the way!

Just like the first piece, I will discuss two drivers at a time. Each slide builds to stronger and stronger drivers. For instance, the first two drivers are guys who could win but likely won’t. The last two drivers will be the strongest contenders in the field.

Enough chit chat. Let’s get cooking!