Playoff Points: Pocono 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: Pocono 400

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Stage Winner(s): Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick

Who Won Big

• Martin Truex Jr: Race winner – MTJ. Truex secured a much-needed second victory in Pocono, adding himself to the “domination” conversation with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.
• Kevin Harvick: It’s hard for this team to consider anything less than a win a successful venture with the strength they’ve shown lately, but Harvick still notched a top five and tallied a playoff point in Pocono. His stage two win tied Harvick with Kyle Busch for the most playoff points (25) earned to date.
• Aric Almirola: He enjoyed a fairly quiet Pocono outing, but Almirola left it with a seventh-place result, pushing him 96 points clear of the current playoff bubble. With the summer approaching, Almirola’s first postseason berth on points seems feasible if he can’t make it to victory lane.
• Chase Elliott: He wasn’t dominant, or even truly a contender. But Elliott did what he needed to do for his playoff pursuit in Pocono, securing a top 10 and keeping himself on the right side of the bubble.

Who Hurt Their Odds

• Erik Jones: Pocono was a disaster for Joe Gibbs Racing’s newest Cup driver. Jones qualified 25th, ended the day 29th after a restart crash and fell to within 12 points of the playoff bubble. It was this time last year that Jones suffered a summer slump that dropped him out of postseason contention. The Michigander will try to right the ship on his home track to keep the same from happening again.
• Alex Bowman: Mid-race contact with Denny Hamlin ruined Bowman’s day, relegating him to a 27th-place result that dropped him to 16th in the standings. Because 18th-place Austin Dillon has a race win, Bowman currently finds himself on the wrong side of the playoff grid.

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., Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon
  • Race Winners

Safe (For Now)

• Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola

More Work to Do

• Jimmie Johnson

On the Bubble

• Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Within Reach 

• Alex Bowman, Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Ryan Newman

Likely Need to Win

• Darrell Wallace Jr., A.J. Allmendinger, David Ragan, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Kasey Kahne, Ty Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals

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