By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
Following each 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: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Event: Ford EcoBoost 400
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Stage Winner(s): Kyle Larson (Won Both Stages)
Who Won Big
- Martin Truex Jr.: Championship winner, MTJ. In an reversal of the year-long trend, Truex didn’t have the best car on Sunday, but he and Furniture Row Racing put together a drive befitting of a champion to give the New Jersey native an emotional first Cup Series title.
Who Hurt Their Odds:
- Kyle Busch: Blame it on the blown strategy. Point a finger at Joey Logano. Regardless of how it happened, Busch lost out on his second Cup Series title in as many years after having arguably the best car of the title contenders throughout the night. This one’s likely going to sting for a while.
- Kevin Harvick: The Closer did everything in his power on Sunday, but fell just shy of living up to his nickname. Harvick surged to within a car length of Truex during the early stages of the race’s final run, but he couldn’t make his way around the eventual champion. As the run went on, he faded back to a fourth-place result that left him third in the championship standings.
- Brad Keselowski: After benefitting from attrition in the Round of 8, Keselowski entered as the underdog of the Championship 4. But while an early strategy play lifted the 2012 Cup Series champion into contention, the lengthy green-flag runs over the majority of the event kept him from additional strategy plays to keep his title hopes alive.
Playoff Standings:
| Rank | Driver | Playoff Wins | Points | Points Behind |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 4 | 5040 | 0 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 3 | 5035 | -5 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 1 | 5033 | -7 |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 5030 | -10 |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | 0 | 2377 | -2663 |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 0 | 2353 | -2687 |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth | 1 | 2344 | -2696 |
| 8 | Kyle Larson | 0 | 2320 | -2720 |
| 9 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | 2305 | -2735 |
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | 0 | 2260 | -2780 |
| 11 | Austin Dillon | 0 | 2224 | -2816 |
| 12 | Jamie McMurray | 0 | 2224 | -2816 |
| 13 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 0 | 2222 | -2818 |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 0 | 2217 | -2823 |
| 15 | Kasey Kahne | 0 | 2198 | -2842 |
| 16 | Ryan Newman | 0 | 2196 | -2844 |
Where They Stand
Safe (For Now)
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Congrats, champ.
More Work to Do
On the Bubble
Within Reach
Likely Need to Win
Playoff Points
| Potential Playoff Points Earned On-Track | ||
| Rank | Driver | Playoff Points |
| 1 | Martin Truex, Jr. | 59 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 39 |
| 3 | Kyle Larson | 28 |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 23 |
| 5 (tie) | Jimmie Johnson | 16 |
| 5 (tie) | Kevin Harvick | 16 |
| 7 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 10 |
| 8 (tie) | Ryan Blaney | 9 |
| 8 (tie) | Denny Hamlin | 9 |
| 10 | Matt Kenseth | 8 |
| 11 (tie) | Kurt Busch | 5 |
| 11 (tie) | Ryan Newman | 5 |
| 11 (tie) | Austin Dillon | 5 |
| 11 (tie) | Kasey Kahne | 5 |
| 15 | Chase Elliott | 2 |
| 16 (tie) | Joey Logano | 1 |
| 16 (tie) | Clint Bowyer | 1 |
| 16 (tie) | Daniel Suarez | 1 |
Stage Points
Previous Race Results
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 | ||||
| Pos. | Driver | Points | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 10 | 1 | Kyle Larson | 10 |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | N/A (Championship 4) | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | N/A (Championship 4) |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | N/A (Championship 4) | 3 | Kevin Harvick | N/A (Championship 4) |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | N/A (Championship 4) | 4 | Kyle Busch | N/A (Championship 4) |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | N/A (Championship 4) | 5 | Brad Keselowski | N/A (Championship 4) |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 5 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 5 |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 4 | 7 | Matt Kenseth | 4 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | 3 | 8 | Joey Logano | 3 |
| 9 | Joey Logano | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 2 |
| 10 | Clint Bowyer | 1 | 10 | Denny Hamlin | 1 |
Playoff Totals
| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Stage Points | ||||||
| Driver | Playoff Stage Points | Championship 4 | Round of 8 | Round of 12 | Round of 16 | Playoff Stage Wins |
| Kevin Harvick | 98 | 0 | 35 | 41 | 22 | 3 |
| Kyle Larson (e) | 98 | 20 | 27 | 11 | 40 | 5 |
| Kyle Busch | 97 | 0 | 29 | 24 | 44 | 3 |
| Chase Elliott | 95 | 7 | 27 | 31 | 30 | 1 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 90 | 0 | 39 | 10 | 41 | 1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 89 | 4 | 33 | 29 | 23 | 2 |
| Brad Keselowski | 83 | 0 | 20 | 27 | 36 | 4 |
| Matt Kenseth (e) | 70 | 4 | 25 | 21 | 20 | |
| Ryan Blaney | 58 | 0 | 20 | 30 | 8 | 1 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 42 | 0 | 9 | 20 | 13 | |
| Kurt Busch (e) | 40 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 3 | |
| Jamie McMurray (e) | 27 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 4 | |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (e) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | |
| Austin Dillon (e) | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Ryan Newman (e) | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kasey Kahne (e) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Season Totals
| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stage Points | ||
| Driver | Totals | Stage Wins |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 440 | 19 |
| Kyle Larson | 377 | 8 |
| Kyle Busch | 360 | 14 |
| Kevin Harvick | 321 | 6 |
| Brad Keselowski | 292 | 8 |
| Matt Kenseth | 251 | 3 |
| Denny Hamlin | 248 | 4 |
| Chase Elliott | 236 | 3 |
| Ryan Blaney | 226 | 4 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 179 | 1 |
| Erik Jones | 164 | |
| Joey Logano | 160 | 1 |
| Jamie McMurray | 159 | |
| Kurt Busch | 119 | |
| Clint Bowyer | 94 | 1 |
| Ryan Newman | 53 | |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 44 | |
| Kasey Kahne | 40 | |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 36 | |
| Austin Dillon | 33 | |
| Daniel Suarez | 25 | 1 |
| Danica Patrick | 24 | |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 21 | |
| Trevor Bayne | 20 | |
| Michael McDowell | 11 | |
| David Ragan | 9 | |
| Paul Menard | 6 | |
| Ty Dillon | 5 | |