Cards take a break this week for a new, currently-ongoing series here as we take a look at who’s where with a Playoff round finale coming up.
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The last elimination race was the Charlotte Roval, a track unilke any other. Now we have Kansas, a track exactly like about six others. Thankfully we have plenty—well, some…um, well, a small sampling of Playoff drama. With that in mind, here’s where the twelve Playoff drivers stand:
CLINCHED: Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. RB & KLar—not just the name of a cheesy crime show coming this fall, but also the only two drivers who are locked themselves in with wins.
GOOD BARRING DISASTER: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick. This foursome, in addition to being a good choice for the final four, would need something bizarre to happen to not advance on Sunday. Sorry, NBC, but you’re not getting much drama this year.
GOOD BARRING A BAD DAY OR A “WIN AND YOU’RE IN”: Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano—Keselowski (20 points above the cutoff) and Logano (18 points) are in to the next round with two caveats—they probably can’t afford a DNF and one of them could fall out if someone “pulls a Jeremy Mayfield” and wins their way in (hopefully without the decade of controversy to follow).
ON THE BUBBLE BUT IN CONTROL: none
ON THE BUBBLE AND NEEDING HELP: none
NEEDS HELP: none
NEEDS A WIN: Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer, William Byron. While Bowman’s in the best shape of these four if BKes or JoLo implodes, all of them realistically need to win in order to advance. And considering how Chevys have run this year on intermediate tracks, Bowyer might be the actual favorite of this quartet to race his way in.