Playoff Points: Bristol 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: Bristol Motor Speedway

Event: Food City 500

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Stage Winner(s): Brad Keselowski (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Kyle Busch: The last six races have gone about as well as possible for Busch. His 1.83 average finish during the stint is easily the best in NASCAR, and his two wins and points lead mean he’s positioned as well as anyone to enter the postseason with a host of playoff points.
• Brad Keselowski: Early hopes for a victory ultimately faded as Keselowski dropped to a 23rd-place finish. But beforehand the Michigander tallied two stage wins, earning a pair of playoff points to carry into the postseason.
• Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson: The Hendrick Motorsports pair of Bowman and Johnson each managed impressive top-five showings at Bristol, rising to 13th and 17th in the standings, respectively. Bowman holds a 21-point edge on the playoff bubble, while Johnson finds himself within a lone point of the top 16.
• Aric Almirola: A sixth-place finish – his highest to date with Stewart-Haas Racing – helped Almirola jump up to 11th in the standings, with a 42-point edge on the bubble.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Much like Almirola, Stenhouse helped his cause with a strong Bristol run. The Mississippi native finished fourth at The Last Great Colosseum, rising up to 18th in the standings as a result.

Who Hurt Their Odds

• Chase Elliott: Now in his third year, Elliott is going through his toughest stint to date in the Cup Series. The Georgian dropped to 23rd in the standings after his involvement in a Lap 3 crash at Bristol, and he sits a full 34 points outside the top 16. The season is still young, but Elliott needs to bounce back soon if he wants to overcome two early penalties and rise back into the top 16.
• Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr.: Both Blaney and Truex figure to be playoff contenders this season, which makes runs like their crash-outs in Bristol more painful. The pair fell to sixth (Blaney) and seventh (Truex) in the standings after the DNFs, a drop notable due to the loss in potential playoff points.
• Kasey Kahne: The Leavine-Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet looked strong early on, with Kahne running inside of the top 10. That made it all the more heart-wrenching when the Washington native fell out of the race early and finished 24th, dropping him even further away from the playoff grid in 29th. He’ll likely need a win to make the playoff field for a second-consecutive season.

Playoff Standings: 

*Technically ineligible due to missed races. Would require a waiver.
**One or more race wins ineligible due to post-race inspection failures.

Where They Stand

(All But) Locked In

• Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon
  • Race Winners

Safe (For Now)

• Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch

More Work to Do

• Aric Almirola, Erik Jones

On the Bubble

• Alex Bowman, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard

Within Reach 

• Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., William Byron, A.J. Allmendinger, Darrell Wallace Jr., Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez

Likely Need to Win

• Chris Buescher, David Ragan, Michael McDowell, Trevor Bayne, Kasey Kahne, Ty Dillon

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals

*One or more stage wins ineligible due to post-race inspection failures