NASCAR: The only winner not locked into the playoffs
By Asher Fair
Of the 15 drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series race so far in 2022, 14 have clinched a spot in the upcoming playoffs.
There are just two races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, but with 15 drivers having already won this year, there is still a chance that there will end up being more winners (17) than playoff spots (16).
The regular season’s final two races are scheduled to take place this Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International and next Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.
In the event that there are more winners than playoff spots, the winner who misses the playoffs will be the single-race winner who ranks lowest in the point standings.
Right now, that driver is 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch.
Of course, there could end up being a new winner (or new winners) who finish the regular season below Busch in the point standings. However, it is now guaranteed that Busch will finish lowest among the current eight single-race winners, as he has confirmed that he won’t compete in the final two races of the regular season.
Busch will miss Sunday afternoon’s Go Bowling at The Glen as well as next Saturday evening’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 as he continues to recover from the concussion-like symptoms he suffered following his qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway last month.
He has missed the last four races, and Ty Gibbs, his replacement for those four events, is set to replace him in these next two as well.
As a result, there is no way for any of the other seven single-race winners to finish the regular season outside of the top 16 in the playoff picture, since none of them can drop below Busch.
Because of the possibility of two more new winners emerging, Busch, however, can still fall outside of that top 16, meaning that he is the only driver with a win to his name who hasn’t yet officially secured his spot in the postseason.
The 44-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native won the race at Kansas Speedway back in mid-May, making the 2022 season his ninth consecutive winning season. A postseason berth would be his 10th straight, going back to 2013.
Notable omission from Watkins Glen entry list. dark. Next
The Go Bowling at The Glen is set to be broadcast live on USA Network from Watkins Glen International beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, August 21, while the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 27. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today!