NASCAR Playoff Picture shifts as Erik Jones is disqualified from Richmond

The NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture has changed quite a bit with Erik Jones having been disqualified from the second round of 16 race at Richmond Raceway.

By scoring nine stage points and additional 33 points by finishing in fourth place in the second of three races in the first of four rounds of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones lessened his deficit to the round of 12 cut line by 23 points.

Entering this race, the Federated Auto Parts 400, at Richmond Raceway, he sat 26 points below the round of 12 cut line following a disappointing result in the round of 16 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that came about as a result of a mechanical issue.

Following Saturday night’s 400-lap race around the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virginia, he sat just three points below the round of 12 cut line with only the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval remaining on the round of 16 schedule.

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Now he sits 45 points below it.

Jones’s #20 Toyota failed post-race inspection, and he was stripped from his fourth place finish, the 33 points he earned because of it and the nine points he earned as a result of his finishes in the race’s first two stages.

Instead, he was awarded just one point, as he was officially scored in 38th (last) place, and he has now effectively in a must-win situation heading into the round of 16 finale next Sunday.

How did Jones’s disqualification affect the overall playoff picture?

Here is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture following the 2019 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway.

NOTE: Drivers who have clinched spots in the round of 12 are listed in italics.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: IN (2 WINS), 41 (2nd)
2nd – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2120 (+69), 28 (5th)
3rd – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2117 (+66), 29 (4th)
4th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford: 2106 (+55), 46 (1st)
5th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2105 (+54), 24 (6th)
6th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 2101 (+50), 18 (7th)
7th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2088 (+37), 30 (3rd)
8th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 2076 (+25), 5 (9th)
9th – Ryan Newman – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford: 2065 (+14), 1 (13th)
10th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford: 2059 (+8), 4 (12th)
11th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2054 (+3), 5 (9th)
12th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2053 (+2), 1 (13th)
————————— PLAYOFF CUT LINE —————————
13th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2051 (-2), 0 (15th)
14th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2049 (-4), 11 (8th)
15th – Kurt Busch – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 2039 (-14), 0 (15th)
16th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2008 (-45), 5 (9th)

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Aside of the three drivers who have mathematically secured spots in the round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, who will advance to the second round following the round of 16 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval this Sunday, September 29? NBC is set to broadcast this race, the Bank of America Roval 400, live from the Concord, North Carolina track beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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