Playoff Points: Indianapolis Motor Speedway 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: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Event: Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400

Race Winner: Kasey Kahne

Stage Winner(s): Kyle Busch (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Kasey Kahne: Talk about asking of events. Kahne spent the better part of the season dropping down the standings as rumors of his potential exit from the No. 5 Chevrolet buzzed. One fortuitous caution and a tremendous drive later Kahne’s in the playoffs with previously stale career suddenly full of life.
• Matt Kenseth: Kenseth lost a large part of his cushion on the playoff bubble with Kahne’s surprise win, but the Wisconsinite’s good day proved enough to keep him on the right side of the cutoff by 33 points.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Clint Bowyer: Bowyer took more than just a big hit on-track when he crashed off of Turn 4 on Sunday. The Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver also suffered a major blow in the standings, falling 33 points out of the playoff grid after Kahne’s win shortened the openings on points by one spot.
• Chase Elliott: He still has a decent cushion in the standings, but Elliott’s first engine failure – partnered with teammate Kahne’s win – have the Georgian feeling the playoff heat for the first time of the summer.
• Kyle Busch: Starting on pole after back-to-back wins at the Brickyard, ‘Rowdy’ was the obvious favorite entering the day. So when Busch crashed out – continuing his winless streak beyond a year – his frustration was understandable. Still, it’ll likely take 16 or 17 different winners to keep the 2015 MENCS champion out of the playoff field.

Playoff Standings: 

Where They Stand

(All But) Locked In

•  Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,  Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon
  • Race Winners
• Kyle Busch

Safe (For Now)

More Work to Do

• Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott
  • McMurray and Elliott fall closer to potential elimination as the number of available playoff spots on points decreases.

On the Bubble

• Matt Kenseth
  • Back-to-back strong runs have kept Kenseth afloat. Can he navigate the final stretch of the summer without any issues or another surprise winner?

Within Reach 

• Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano
  • Bowyer’s had a strong debut year with SHR, but

Likely Need to Win

• Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Trevor Bayne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, A.J. Allmendinger, Danica Patrick, David Ragan, Matt DiBenedetto

Playoff Points

Playoff Points if Playoffs Started Today
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	Martin Truex Jr.	44
2	Kyle Larson	23
3	Brad Keselowski	18
4	Jimmie Johnson	17
5	Kevin Harvick	16
6	Kyle Busch	14
7	Denny Hamlin	13
8	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	10
9	Ryan Blaney	8
10 (tie)	Chase Elliott	5
10 (tie)	Kurt Busch	5
10 (tie)	Ryan Newman	5
10 (tie)	Austin Dillon	5
10 (tie)	Kasey Kahne	5
15 (tie)	Jamie McMurray	4
15 (tie)	Matt Kenseth	4

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals