Playoff Points: Atlanta Edition

By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

Following each regular season points race, Kickin’ the Tires takes a deep look at the current playoff grids for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, evaluating each team’s postseason odds and highlighting those that made steps in the right direction, as well as those who dug themselves into a hole. 

Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Event: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick

Stage Winner(s): Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski

Who Won Big

• Kevin Harvick: Finally Harvick can celebrate again after Atlanta. The 2014 Cup Series champ topped 100 laps led for the fifth-straight year at the track, but for the first time in that stretch he brought home the victory on Sunday night. As a result the vet finds himself locked into the postseason after just two weeks – the earliest he’s managed since the elimination playoff era began in 2014.
• Joey Logano: Last season Logano missed the playoffs and struggled to season’s end in the midst of his worst year to date with Team Penske. Through two races in 2018 the 2015 Daytona 500 winner leads the points standings. That doesn’t necessarily matter this early in the year, but Logano’s early success has been promising if nothing else.
• Clint Bowyer: He didn’t have the dominant pace of his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, but Bowyer had a strong piece nonetheless on Sunday, running inside of the top 10 for nearly the entirety of the event en-route to a third-place result. The run elevated the Kansas native to fifth in the standings, with an early 28-point edge on the playoff cutoff.
• Brad Keselowski: The 2012 Cup Series champion has won his way into the playoffs during each year of the elimination format era, but teammate Joey Logano’s slump last year proved that a terrible season can come at any time in NASCAR’s top level. So for Keselowski, a second-place run at Atlanta leaves plenty to smile about.
• Denny Hamlin: Only one driver in the Cup Series field has managed a top five in each of the season’s opening two races – Hamlin. He’s yet to turn it into a victory, but the Virginian’s early pace is promising nevertheless.

Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Jimmie Johnson: It’s been a tough open to the season for NASCAR’s third seven-time Cup Series champion. Johnson crashed for the fourth time of the year including the Advance Auto Parts Clash and Can-Am Duels, relegating himself to a 27th-place finish. As a result Johnson sits just 35th in the championship standings, trailing a host of drivers including Daytona 500 one-off runners Mark Thompson and DJ Kennington.
• Kasey Kahne: The first year for Kahne with Leavine Family Racing is off to an inauspicious start. One week after he was collected in a mid-race incident at Daytona International Speedway, Kahne was set back again after smacking the wall early. The Washington native finished 21st, leaving him tied with Jeffrey Earnhardt for 28th in the standings.
• Darrell Wallace Jr.: If Daytona was a dream weekend for Wallace and Richard Petty Motorsports, then Atlanta was a crushing return to reality. Wallace struggled early in the day, falling multiple laps down. The team rebounded in the second half of the race, but saw it all fall apart in the end when the rookie sustained heavy damage in the smoke behind a blown motor for Trevor Bayne. Wallace finished 32nd, which dropped him to 14th in points.

Playoff Standings: 

Where They Stand

(All But) Locked In

• Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon
  • Race Winners

Safe (For Now)

More Work to Do

• Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin

On the Bubble

• Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Darrell Wallace Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman

Within Reach 

• Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Trevor Bayne, William Byron, Daniel Suarez, David Ragan, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kasey Kahne, Gray Gaulding, Ty Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, Cole Whitt

Likely Need to Win

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals