NASCAR: How Joey Logano’s win shook up the playoff picture
By Asher Fair
Joey Logano’s victory at Kansas Speedway shook up the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture because of where he sits in points.
The first driver to clinch a spot in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 is a driver who, even after his victory, does not rank in the top four in points.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano locked up his second Championship 4 berth in the last three seasons and his third in the last five by winning the first of three races in the round of 8 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
Logano entered the round of 8 just five points below the Championship 4 cut line in fifth place in the standings. Even after winning, he still only sits in fifth in the standings, and he now sits twice as far away from the top four as he did.
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However, the win changed everything, not just for him but for the rest of the field.
The four drivers ahead of Logano in the standings are all closer to the Championship 4 cut line than they would have been without a victory for the driver of the #22 Ford, with one falling from above it to below it, and the three round of 8 drivers behind him in points all fell even further below the Championship 4 cut line.
Here is what the playoff picture actually looks like following the Hollywood Casino 400.
Rank – Driver: Points (Behind)
1st – Joey Logano: 4064 (CLINCHED)
2nd – Kevin Harvick: 4115 (+41)
3rd – Denny Hamlin: 4094 (+20)
4th – Brad Keselowski: 4082 (+8)
————CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE————
5th – Chase Elliott: 4074 (-8)
6th – Alex Bowman: 4055 (-27)
7th – Martin Truex Jr.: 4051 (-31)
8th – Kurt Busch: 4009 (-73)
Without a Logano victory to lock himself into the Championship 4, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott sat 10 points above Logano for the fourth and final position above the Championship 4 cut line.
As a result, the three drivers ahead of Elliott in points, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, are all 10 points closer to the Championship 4 cut line than they would have been.
Because Elliott now trails Keselowski for the fourth and final Championship 4 spot by eight points, he effectively lost 18 points relative to the Championship 4 cut line, and the three three drivers below him are all now eight points farther away from the cut line than they would have been had Logano not won the race.
On points alone, here is where that cut line would be.
Rank – Driver: Points (Behind)
1st – Kevin Harvick: 4115 (+51)
2nd – Denny Hamlin: 4094 (+30)
3rd – Brad Keselowski: 4082 (+18)
4th – Chase Elliott: 4074 (+10)
————CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE————
5th – Joey Logano: 4064 (-10)
6th – Alex Bowman: 4055 (-19)
7th – Martin Truex Jr.: 4051 (-23)
8th – Kurt Busch: 4009 (-65)
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The round of 8 is scheduled to continue on Sunday, October 25 at Texas Motor Speedway with the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, and it is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, November 1 at Martinsville Speedway with the Xfinity 500. The Championship 4 race is scheduled to take place at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 8.