NASCAR: Crucial to win in round of 8? History shows not necessarily

By Asher Fair | Oct 25, 2019

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 28: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota, in the finals laps of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 28, 2018 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

With three round of 8 races to lock up four spots in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4, is winning in the round of 8 as crucial as it seems? History shows that this isn’t the case.

The first two rounds of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the round of 16 and the round of 12, feature three races each. The winners of these three races, provided they are still championship eligible, automatically qualify for the next round, meaning that a maximum of three of the 12 round of 12 spots and three of the eight round of 8 spots can be automatically clinched.

The round of 8 follows the same format in that it also features three races, but the field is halved after the round ends, as only four drivers advance to the Championship 4 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway from there.

The same criteria apply; win a round of 8 race, and you’re into the Championship 4.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

Given the fact that only four drivers from three races advance to the Championship 4, is winning a round of 8 race as crucial as it seems?

Let’s take a look back from the 2014 season through the 2018 season, the first five seasons of the modern-day playoff format.

In the 2014 season, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano were the four Championship 4 drivers. Of these four drivers, only Harvick won a round of 8 race, although he did go on to win the championship with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The following year, Harvick was joined by Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr. in the Championship 4. Of these four drivers, only Gordon won a round of 8 race, and it was Busch who won the championship with a victory in the season finale.

In the 2016 season, Logano, Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards competed in the Championship 4. Busch was the only one of these four drivers who did not win a round of 8 race, and Johnson won the season finale to clinch his record-tying seventh championship.

The following year, Busch, Harvick and Truex all returned to the Championship 4 along with Brad Keselowski. Busch and Harvick both won a race in the round of 8, but Truex won the championship without winning a race in that round. He did win the season finale.

Last year, the Championship 4 consisted of Busch, Harvick, Truex and Logano. Busch, Harvick and Logano all won a round of 8 race, although Harvick’s win was effectively encumbered after his #4 Ford failed post-race inspection. Logano went on to win the championship with a victory at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Homestead, Florida.

In total, 10 of the 15 round of 8 races have been won by drivers who have competed in the Championship 4, but only three of the five rounds of 8 have featured a race won by the driver who went on to win the championship. Only twice have all three round of 8 races been won by a Championship 4 driver.

So while yes, winning a round of 8 race is important and is certainly the simplest way of advancing to the Championship 4, it is by no means absolutely necessary, not in terms of advancing nor in terms of actually winning the championship.

The Championship 4 is another story for another day; all five Championship 4 races have been won by a Championship 4 driver and thus the champion, and four of them featured 1-2 sweeps by Championship 4 drivers, with one of them even featuring a 1-2-3-4 sweep.

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

The round of 8 of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is scheduled to consist of races at Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and ISM Raceway over the next three Sundays before the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 17.

The First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled to get the round of 8 underway at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 28. NBC Sports Network is set to broadcast the race live from the track in Ridgeway, Virginia.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series