Four drivers enter the round of 12 finale below the round of 8 cut line. Here’s why each of them will win at Kansas Speedway to advance to the third round of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Just one race remains in the second round of the four-round, 10-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, which were halfway complete upon the conclusion of this past Sunday/Monday afternoon’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson already punched his ticked to the round of 8 by winning the round of 12 opener at Dover International Speedway, and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney did the same by winning this past weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Larson has never competed in the round of 8 before while Blaney hasn’t done so since the 2017 season.
As a result, there are still six remaining open spots in the round of 8. Six drivers currently occupy those spots, while four drivers sit below the cut line.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch as well as Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano are in positions to advance while Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and William Byron and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer are not.
In fact, none of the four drivers below the round of 8 cut line are even within 18 points of the eighth and final transfer spot, which is where defending champion Logano currently sits.
So while none of them are technically in “must-win” situations, a win is by far the simplest way for any of them to jump about that cut line.
And all four of them are capable of pulling off a victory.
Here’s why Bowman, Elliott, Byron and Bowyer will win this Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas Speedway oval in Kansas City, Kansas.