NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Picture: Kyle Larson finally breaks through
By Asher Fair
Kyle Larson snapped a two-year win drought at an opportune time in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. What does the playoff picture look like?
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson could not have picked a more opportune time to end his 25-month, 75-race win drought. After having not won a race since the 2017 regular season finale at Richmond Raceway, he won the opener of the three-race round of 12 of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
In winning this race, the Drydene 400, at Dover International Speedway, he locked himself into the round of 8 for the first time in his career, and he locked Chip Ganassi Racing into the round of 8 for the first time in team history.
The top six finishers in this 400-lap race around the four-turn, 1.0-mile (1.609-kilometer) high-banked Monster Mile oval in Dover, Delaware were all round of 12 drivers, and three of the other six were hampered by mechanical issues.
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Those three drivers, Team Penske teammates Joey Logano, the reigning champion, and Ryan Blaney and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, are three of the four drivers currently below the round of 8 cut line as a result of these issues. Logano and Elliott, however, are only right below it while Blaney could very well be in a must-win situation before long.
The other driver who sits below the round of 8 cut line is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer, who finished this race in 10th place and ahead of two of the eight drivers who are above that cut line. He currently sits between Logano and Elliott, as he sits only a few points below this cut line as he seeks his second consecutive appearance in the third round of the playoffs.
Here is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture following the 2019 Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 1 WIN (IN), 11 (8th)
2nd – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 3095 (+63), 42 (2nd)
3rd – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 3080 (+48), 46 (1st)
3rd – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 3080 (+48), 31 (3rd)
5th – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3074 (+42), 28 (5th)
6th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford: 3052 (+20), 24 (6th)
7th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3049 (+17), 5 (9th)
8th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3032 (+0), 1 (11th)
————————— ROUND OF 8 CUT LINE —————————
8th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 3032 (0), 29 (4th)
10th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3028 (-4), 0 (12th)
11th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3025 (-7), 24 (6th)
12th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford: 3010 (-22), 4 (10th)
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The 1000Bulbs.com 500 is the next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule. It is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 13, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama.