NASCAR: 6 open playoff spots with 8 races remaining

Just six spots in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs remain open following Austin Dillon’s win at Texas Motor Speedway with eight races left in the regular season.

For the second consecutive week, a driver who had not yet won a race in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and entered the week below the playoff cut line secured an upset win at a 1.5-mile oval to clinch his spot in the playoffs.

After Stewart-Haas Racing rookie Cole Custer shook up the playoff picture with his first career victory at Kentucky Speedway, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon ended an 88-race win drought with his first victory since February of 2018 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Dillon’s win didn’t shake up the playoff picture as much as Custer’s, since he is now in the top 16 in points anyway; he sits in 14th place in the championship standings. Custer, meanwhile, sits down in 22nd and is 103 points out of 16th, a deficit that may be insurmountable from a pure points perspective.

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Following the victories earned by these two drivers, 10 drivers have now clinched playoff spots this season, leaving six spots open with eight regular season races remaining.

Aside of these drivers, the eight drivers who have clinched playoff spots this season are Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., Team Penske teammates Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick. Hamlin and Harvick lead the series with four wins each while Logano and Keselowski have each won twice. Truex, Blaney, Elliott and Bowman have each won once.

Several big-name drivers are now left battling for the remaining six playoff spots, and a number of them are going to leave Daytona International Speedway disappointed following the regular season finale.

Here is the playoff picture as it pertains to the six drivers above the playoff cut line and the drivers below it who are within a one-race striking distance on points.

Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind)
11th – Aric Almirola, #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 534 (+109)
12th – Kurt Busch, #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet: 533 (+108)
13th – Kyle Busch, #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 520 (+95)
14th – Matt DiBenedetto, #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford: 476 (+51)
15th – Clint Bowyer, #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 461 (+36)
16th – Jimmie Johnson, #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 427 (+2)
————————–PLAYOFF CUT LINE————————–
17th – William Byron, #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: 425 (-2)
18th – Tyler Reddick, #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 413 (-14)
19th – Erik Jones, #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 403 (-24)

The 20th place driver, who ranks 19th in points, is Richard Petty Motorsports’ Bubba Wallace. He sits 76 points behind the playoff cut line.

However, these nine drivers are not the only drivers vying for these final six playoff positions. While it is highly unlikely that Wallace or anybody below him will qualify for the postseason on points with just eight races remaining in the regular season, several of them could be factors to win races down the stretch.

In fact, several of them have already come close to being victorious, most recently 28th place Matt Kenseth of Chip Ganassi Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he finished in second.

Throw in the fact that two of the remaining eight races on the schedule can be considered wild card races, with one scheduled to take place at the Daytona International Speedway road course and the other set to conclude the regular season at the track’s always unforgiving oval, and it is clear that none of the six drivers above the cut line are safe.

Aric Almirola has already been clear that his goal is simply to enter the season finale having already clinched a playoff spot.

READ: Mathematical insight: How to clinch before Daytona without winning

Mathematically speaking, that is doable without a victory, but as playoff spots continue to fill up, it becomes much more of a challenge. In fact, if enough new winners emerge over the next seven races, it could technically become impossible.

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The next race on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Super Start Batteries 400, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 23. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Kansas Speedway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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