With one race down and two races remaining in the round of 16, the first of four rounds in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, how does the playoff picture look?
Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski stayed hot in the opening race of the 10-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the South Point 400, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after winning the final two races of the 26-race regular season at Darlington Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Keselowski won the 272-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada to become the first driver to clinch a berth in the round of 12. He entered the race sitting in fourth place in the playoff picture.
Of the 16 playoff drivers, 12 were involved in some kind of incident throughout the wreck-filled playoff opener. Of those 12 drivers, eight managed to finish the race while four were unable to do so.
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Three of the four playoff drivers who failed to finish the race are currently below the round of 12 cut line. Those drivers are Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin. They sit in 14th, 15th and 16th place, respectively, in the playoff picture following the first race of the round of 16.
The one playoff driver who failed to finish the race but is still above the round of 12 cut line is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, who is actually still well above the round of 12 cut line as a result of the fact that he entered the playoffs in a first place tie in the playoff picture thanks to the 50 playoff points that he earned throughout the course of the regular season.
But while 75% of the playoff field were involved in some kind of accident throughout the South Point 400, seven of the 16 playoff drivers managed to finish the race in the top seven. Of the five playoff drivers who finished the race but did not do so in the top seven, only one finished on the lead lap.
Here is how the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture looks with one race completed and two races remaining in the round of 16. The totals in the “behind” column show where each driver currently stands in relation to the round of 12 cut line.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer | Points | Behind | Playoff Points (Rank) |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford | 1 WIN | 1 WIN | 25 (4th) |
| 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota | 2087 | +65 | 36 (3rd) |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 2085 | +63 | 50 (T-1st) |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 2060 | +38 | 50 (T-1st) |
| 5 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford | 2056 | +34 | 14 (T-6th) |
| 6 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 2046 | +24 | 14 (T-6th) |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford | 2042 | +20 | 7 (9th) |
| 8 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet | 2041 | +19 | 5 (T-10th) |
| 9 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 2034 | +12 | 1 (14th) |
| 10 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet | 2031 | +9 | 5 (T-10th) |
| 11 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 2029 | +7 | 15 (5th) |
| 12 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 2028 | +6 | 0 (T-15th) |
| 13 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 2022 | -6 | 0 (T-15th) |
| 14 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 2019 | -9 | 8 (8th) |
| 15 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 2009 | -19 | 5 (T-10th) |
| 16 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 2008 | -20 | 3 (13th) |
The next NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 22. That race, the Federated Auto Parts 400, is the second of three races in the round of 16. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.