NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Picture: Martin Truex Jr. in familiar territory

The first of 10 races on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule is in the books. How do the 16 playoff driver stack up against one another?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. opened up the four-round, 10-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a victory in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his series-high fifth victory of the season.

Truex has now won the playoff opener in three of the last four seasons, and the last time he did so was in 2017. He entered the 2017 playoffs having secured four victories in the regular season as well, and he went on to collect four victories throughout the playoffs en route to winning the championship.

So after entering the playoffs without a victory since late June at Sonoma Raceway and having not been a factor at all in any of the final three races of the regular season, the driver of the #19 Toyota is back in very familiar territory.

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Each of the 10 top 10 finishing positions in Sunday’s 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada were occupied by playoff drivers, of whom only Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman, who finished in 10th place, ended the race as one of the four drivers below the round of 12 cut line.

The other six playoff drivers, of whom three are still above the round of 12 cut line despite finishing outside of the top 10, finished anywhere from 13th through 39th (last) place. With finishes of 13th, 15th and 19th, respectively, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch find themselves above the round of 12 cut line, with Hamlin and Busch still fairly comfortably above it.

The three drivers who finished in 25th place or worse, however, all find themselves below the round of 12 cut line along with Newman.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer started the race from the pole position but finished in a disappointing 25th place. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones had his race ruined by an early mechanical issue, relegating him to a 36th place finish, 13 laps off the lead lap. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch was the only driver of the 39 drivers who competed in the race but failed to finish it, and he finished in last after crashing.

Here is the playoff picture following the 2019 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: IN (1 WIN), 35 (2nd)
2nd – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2079 (+52), 28 (5th)
3rd – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 2075 (+48), 29 (4th)
4th – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2063 (+36), 45 (1st)
5th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford: 2058 (+31), 24 (6th)
6th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2057 (+30), 18 (7th)
7th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2056 (+29), 30 (3rd)
8th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 2044 (+17), 5 (9th)
9th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2040 (+13), 1 (13th)
10th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford: 2039 (+12), 4 (12th)
11th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2037 (+10), 5 (9th)
12th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2033 (+6), 1 (13th)
————————— ROUND OF 12 CUT LINE —————————
13th – Ryan Newman – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford: 2027 (-6), 0 (15th)
14th – Kurt Busch – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 2019 (-14), 11 (8th)
15th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2012 (-21), 0 (15th)
16th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2007 (-26), 5 (9th)

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The Federated Auto Parts 400 is the next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule, and it is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 21 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.

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