Playoff Points: Bristol II 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: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

Race Winner: Kurt Busch

Stage Winner(s): Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano

Who Won Big

• Kurt Busch: A summer of consistent progress finally yielded a victory for the elder Busch brother at Bristol. With that comes a guarantee into the postseason – though he was going to make in on points anyhow – and five playoff points that the 2004 Cup champ needed.
• Alex Bowman: Another serviceable run for Bowman without a surprise winner means the Hendrick Motorsports show is within two races of his first playoff appearance.
• Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano: They largely faded out of contention before the race ended, but the Team Penske teammates each earned stage wins and playoff points in Thunder Valley.

Who Hurt Their Odds

• Everyone outside of the current playoff grid: A week without a win is a failed outing for any team outside of the playoff grid. So while Busch’s breakthrough might have been positive to some, drivers outside of the Field of 16 gained little from it. Most notable among this group is Ricky Stenhouse Jr., whose average finish at Bristol led active drivers entering the night.
• Aric Almirola: A 31st-place finish at Bristol meant Almirola dropped 49 points behind 10th-place Denny Hamlin at Bristol. With just two races left before the playoffs, that means the Floridian likely won’t get bonus points for his regular season finish.

 Playoff Standings: 

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

Where They Stand

(All But) Locked In

• Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson
  • Race Winners
  • Drivers up 100+ points on the playoff bubble

Safe (For Now)

More Work to Do

On the Bubble

• Alex Bowman

Within Reach 

Likely Need to Win

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Paul Menard, William Byron, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher, A.J. Allmendinger, David Ragan, Darrell Wallace Jr., Kasey Kahne, Michael McDowell, David Ragan, Ty Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals

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