NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture after 2018 Can-Am 500

The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 field is set following the Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway. Who is set to compete for the championship next Sunday?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch ended the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series round of 8 with a victory in the ninth race of the 10-race playoffs and the 35th race of the 36-race season, the Can-Am 500, at ISM Raceway.

However, the driver of the #18 Toyota clinched a berth in the Championship 4 even before he won this race. As other round of 8 drivers were knocked out of competition, it became mathematically impossible for him to drop below the Championship 4 cut line regardless of where he ended up finishing.

Busch’s victory in the 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona and the rest of the action in it resulted in the four drivers who entered it above the Championship 4 cut line being set to advance to the Championship 4.

Aside of Busch, these drivers were Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick.

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Logano was involved in a single-car wreck early in the race, resulting in him finishing in 37th place in his #22 Ford. However, he clinched a berth in the Championship 4 with his victory in the opening race of the round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway, so this wreck did not matter much for him. He was the only driver who was locked into the Championship 4 coming into the Can-Am 500.

Truex Jr. finished in 14th place in his #78 Toyota. Harvick finished in fifth in his #4 Ford, which marked a huge comeback for him after a flat tire at the end of stage one put him one lap down.

The four drivers who entered the Can-Am 500 below the Championship 4 cut line all failed to advance to the Championship 4. These four drivers were Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer as well as Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott.

Almirola finished in fourth place and had a great chance to win it and steal a berth from Harvick after he restarted in second on the final restart of the race, but he was unable to do so. However, the other three drivers were involved in accidents that ruined their respective championship hopes for the 2018 season.

Elliott and Busch were involved in a wreck with one another late in the race. This wreck, which was started by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, caused Elliott to finish in 23rd place in his #9 Chevrolet and Busch to finish in 32nd in his #41 Ford.

Elliott appeared to be in a position to win the race as the laps wound down before a pit road speeding penalty sent him to the back of the field. He worked his way back up toward the front, where Busch and Harvick were battling for the final position above the Championship 4 cut line on points, before he was involved in this wreck with Busch and Hamlin.

As stated, Bowyer was also involved in a wreck that ended his championship hopes for this year. The wreck in which he was involved was a single-car wreck that took place before the race’s halfway mark. He finished in 35th place in his #14 Ford as a result.

Here is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture with the Championship 4 field set.

Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Kyle Busch, #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 4000 (-), 56 (2nd)
1st – Joey Logano, #22, Team Penske, Ford: 4000 (-), 21 (4th)
1st – Martin Truex Jr., #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota: 4000 (-), 38 (3rd)
1st – Kevin Harvick, #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 4000 (-), 61 (1st)

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Be sure to tune in to the live broadcast of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4. The Championship 4 race, the Ford EcoBoost 400, is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 18, and it is set to be broadcast live from Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida on NBC. Who will be crowned the 2018 champion?

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