Playoff Points: Pocono 2 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: Pocono Raceway

Event: Overton’s 400

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Stage Winner(s): Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer

Who Won Big

• Kyle Busch: After a year of close calls ‘Rowdy’ and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team finally delivered. The group stamped their postseason bid, and earned six playoff points in the process. Not bad for a driver that had never conquered the Tricky Triangle entering the weekend.
• Clint Bowyer: He’s still searching for his first win, but Bowyer made steps towards rejoining the playoff field with his first stage win of the year and a sixth-place finish.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Jamie McMurray: After a strong start to the year, McMurray’s gap to the playoff bubble is shrinking slightly with each passing week. A 26th-place run on Sunday brought the 2010 Daytona 500 champion to within 38 points of the postseason cutoff.
• Joey Logano: After making the Championship 4 in two of the past three years, Logano is in serious danger of missing the postseason altogether due to a poor summer stretch and an encumbered victory. The Team Penske shoe’s 27th-place run at Pocono have him trapped 69 points out of a playoff spot.
• Jimmie Johnson: He’s already guaranteed into the playoff field with three early wins, but Johnson’s third crash in four weeks have the El Cajon, California native outside of the top 10 in points – a notable drop considering the bonus playoff points that will accompany the top 10 at the end of the regular season.

Playoff Standings: 

Where They Stand

(All But) Locked In

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

Safe (For Now)

More Work to Do

• Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray
  • These two continue to drift closer to the playoff bubble.

On the Bubble

• Matt Kenseth
  • Kenseth was lucky to escape his Lap 1 crash without any debilitating damage. Crisis averted.

Within Reach 

• Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano
  • Bowyer made small gains with a strong strategy play in Stage 2 and a good run to the finish.

Likely Need to Win

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

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals