NASCAR Cup Series: Final 2019 playoff picture

Three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and a Stewart-Haas Racing driver are set to advance to the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 despite a Team Penske driver ending the round of 8 in the top three in points.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano ended up in third place in the point standings in the round of 8 of the four-round, 10-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

But because three different round of 8 drivers won one of the three round of 8 races at Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and ISM Raceway and Logano wasn’t one of them, he needed to lock up his spot in the Championship 4 on points.

He couldn’t do it, and he will not get to defend his championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Sunday afternoon.

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It was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch who locked up his spot in the Championship 4 for the fifth consecutive season based on his point total. He finished the round of 8 in second place in the point standings, but two drivers lower than him, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and teammate Denny Hamlin, won at Texas Motor Speedway and ISM Raceway, respectively.

As the laps wound down in the 312-lap round of 8 finale, the Bluegreen Vacations 500, around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona, it became clearer that Hamlin needed to win the race to advance, as his round of 8 point total was only good for fifth highest.

The other driver who is set to compete in the Championship 4 is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. He has been locked into the Championship 4 for the last two weeks after winning the round of 8 opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This year’s Championship 4 is the sixth; Harvick and Busch were in four of the first five, Truex was in three of the first five, and Hamlin was in one of the first five. Harvick, Busch and Truex have been in each Championship 4 together since the 2017 season.

Here is the full NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami 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 – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 1 WIN (IN), 43 (3rd)
4th – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 4163 (+7), 46 (2nd)
————————————— OUT —————————————
5th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 4156 (-7), 31 (5th)
6th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford: 4132 (-31), 9 (8th)
7th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 4130 (-33), 11 (7th)
8th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 4051 (-112), 24 (6th)

Truex, Harvick, Hamlin and Busch will have their point totals reset to 5,000 ahead of the Championship 4, and the highest finishing driver in the Championship 4 race will be crowned 2019 Cup Series champion. Truex is the 2017 champion, Harvick is the 2014 champion and Busch is the 2015 champion. Hamlin has never won a championship.

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Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled to host the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race, the Ford EcoBoost 400, on Sunday, November 17. NBC is set to broadcast this race live from the track in Homestead, Florida beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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