Playoff Points: Kentucky 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: Kentucky Speedway

Event: Quaker State 400

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Stage Winner(s): Martin Truex Jr. (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Martin Truex Jr.: Are we sure it’s not 2017 again? Truex gave the field an old-fashioned beatdown for the second-straight year at Kentucky, winning both stages and the race. He’s now won three of the last six races, and is within five playoff points of tying Kyle Busch for the most in the series.
• Ryan Blaney: Now that’s more like it. Blaney returned to his early-season form in the Bluegrass State, finishing second and holding 10th in the standings heading into New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Paul Menard: A quiet (of course) night proved beneficial for Menard and Wood Brothers Racing. They cut their playoff gap in half, and head to New Hampshire just 23 points removed from the postseason grid.
• Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott: Neither Hendrick Motorsports driver had a stellar night in Kentucky – they finished 13th and 14th – but the troubles of teammate Alex Bowman and playoff hopeful Ricky Stenhouse Jr. helped them both move a full race clear of the playoff bubble.

Who Hurt Their Odds

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Early tire woes proved disastrous for Stenhouse in Kentucky, dropping him three laps down before the end of Stage 1. Stenhouse battled back and actually gained on his playoff deficit by race’s end – oh, we’ll get to that – but he could have emerged with a spot in hand had he not had such an early letdown.
• Alex Bowman: The show ended early for Bowman in Kentucky. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s successor suffered his first DNF of the year after blowing a tire and smacking the wall, resulting in a 39th-place finish and a massive loss of points.

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, Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola
  • Race Winners
  • Drivers up 100+ points on the playoff bubble

Safe (For Now)

• Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott

More Work to Do

On the Bubble

• Alex Bowman

Within Reach 

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Paul Menard

Likely Need to Win

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

Playoff Points

Playoff Points Earned On-Track

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals

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