NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture after 2018 AAA Texas 500

Following the second race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series round of 8, where are the eight round of 8 drivers positioned in the playoff picture?

Following the victory of Team Penske’s Joey Logano in the opening race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series round of 8, the First Data 500, at Martinsville Speedway, three spots remained open in the Championship 4, as Logano became the first driver to clinch a berth in the Championship 4 with his thrilling victory.

Now just two spots remain open in the Championship 4, as Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick became the second driver to clinch a berth in the Championship 4. He did so by winning the second of three races in the round of 8, the AAA Texas 500, at Texas Motor Speedway.

Harvick’s dominant performance in the 337-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas means that either one or two drivers will clinch a berth or berths in the Championship 4 based on his point total or their point totals.

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If one of the six round of 8 drivers who has not yet clinched a berth in the Championship 4 wins the final race of the round of 8, the Can-Am 500, at ISM Raceway this Sunday, November 11, that driver will clinch a berth in the Championship 4 and one other driver will do so based on his point total.

If any drivers aside of these six round of 8 drivers wins the Can-Am 500, including Logano or Harvick, then the remaining two Championship 4 spots will go to the two round of 8 drivers not named Logano or Harvick who have the highest point totals upon the conclusion of the race.

Two of the round of 8 drivers not named Logano or Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer, cannot mathematically clinch berths in the Championship 4 based on their point totals. Winning is their only option when it comes to getting to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a chance to win the championship.

Here is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture with one race remaining in the round of 8. The totals in the “behind” column show where each driver is currently positioned in relation to the Championship 4 cut line.

Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Kevin Harvick, #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 1 WIN (1 WIN), 61 (1st)
2nd – Joey Logano, #22, Team Penske, Ford: 1 WIN (1 WIN), 21 (4th)
3rd – Kyle Busch, #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 4128 (+28), 55 (2nd)
4th – Martin Truex Jr., #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota: 4125 (+25), 38 (3rd)
5th – Kurt Busch, #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 4100 (-25), 15 (T-6th)
6th – Chase Elliott, #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 4086 (-39), 18 (5th)
7th – Aric Almirola, #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 4068 (-57), 6 (8th)
8th – Clint Bowyer, #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 4052 (-73), 15 (T-6th)

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The Can-Am 500 is the final race before the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4. This race is scheduled to take place at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona on Sunday, November 11, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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