NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Picture: Kevin Harvick makes it 5 for 6

Kevin Harvick became the second driver to clinch a spot in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 with his AAA Texas 500 victory at Texas Motor Speedway.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick entered the second of three races of the round of 8 of the four-round, 10-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs below the Championship 4 cut line.

But at the end of the day, that didn’t matter, as for the third consecutive season, it was the 2014 champion who took the checkered flag to win the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Harvick’s victory in this 334-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas made him the second driver to secure his spot in the Championship 4, as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. did so by winning the round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

Both Harvick and Truex have been in both of the last two Championship 4 rounds. They were also both in the Championship 4 back in the 2015 season.

Since the Championship 4 was introduced back in the 2014 season, Harvick has only missed it in the 2016 season, when he ironically still finished as the highest point-scoring driver throughout the entire 36-race season.

The other two drivers who currently sit above the Championship 4 cut line, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, were in last year’s Championship 4. Busch has been in every Championship 4 since the 2015 season while Logano was also in it in the 2014 and 2016 seasons.

As for the four drivers below the Championship 4 cut line, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney are all within 23 points of that cut line, meaning that they are not necessarily in must-win situations heading into the round of 8 finale at ISM Raceway.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, however, is in a must-win situation after experiencing issues in both of the first two races of the round of 8 that have caused him to finish in 36th and 32nd place at Martinsville Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, respectively.

Here is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture following the 2019 AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 1 WIN (IN), 49 (1st)
2nd – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 1 WIN (IN), 34 (4th)
3rd – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 4113 (+22), 46 (2nd)
4th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 4111 (+20), 30 (5th)
————————— CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE —————————
5th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 4091 (-20), 37 (3rd)
6th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 4088 (-23), 11 (7th)
6th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford: 4088 (-23), 9 (8th)
8th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 4033 (-78), 24 (6th)

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

ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona is the lone remaining track on the schedule in the round of 8 of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and it is scheduled to host the Bluegreen Vacations 500 this Sunday, November 10. NBC is set to broadcast this race live beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series