NASCAR Cup Playoff Spots Are Disappearing By The Week

Just like DJ Khaled has famously exclaimed, ‘Another one!’ – the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has added another driver to its 16-contender field for the second straight week, after Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who was teetering the postseason cutline, won at the Chicago Street Course claiming the 12th different Playoff spot by virtue of a win this season. Now, with just six races to go to decide the final four Playoff positions before the postseason gets underway at Atlanta (Sept. 8), the series heads to Pocono Raceway for The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com on Sunday, July 14 at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Bowman’s win has him joining an already exceedingly competitive Playoff field that includes race winners from this season – Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric. Then holding the final four postseason spots currently on points are Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. (+125 points above the cutline) and Ty Gibbs (+84), Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain (+53) and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher (+45).

Currently, seven former Cup Playoff drivers are below the cutline heading into Pocono Raceway this weekend, including 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace in the 17th position in the Playoff outlook, -45 points behind RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in 16th. Wallace made the postseason for the first-time in his Cup career last season, and in 11 starts at Pocono, he has posted one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe is in Wallace’s (17th) tire tracks in the driver standings Playoff outlook in 18th, -88 points from Buescher in the 16th and final postseason transfer spot on points. Briscoe last made the Playoffs in 2022. Looking to Pocono, the 2.5-mile track has been a challenge for Briscoe, in four starts he has put up a best finish of 15th.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch is ranked 19th in the driver standings Playoff outlook following the 20th race of the season – the lowest in the standings he has ranked since 2015, when he was injured in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race and missed the first 11 Cup races of that year. Ironically, he went on to win his first of his two titles that season with Joe Gibbs Racing. The Las Vegas native has made 16 Playoff appearances in his career. Busch heads to Pocono this weekend looking for his first win of the season, riding a 41-race winless streak. In 36 Cup starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ Busch has posted four wins (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021), 11 top fives and 18 top 10s.

Michael McDowell (-156 points), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-182 points), Erik Jones (-231 points) and Austin Dillon (-265 points) make up the remaining four drivers that are former postseason contenders currently below the Playoff cutline this season.

NASCAR prepares for Pocono Raceway’s one-of-kind Tri-Oval

Unique in its design, the three-turn, asphalt paved 2.5-mile tri-oval, known as Pocono Raceway, will host the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend for The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPa.com on Sunday, July 14 at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90), the 21st event of the 26-race regular season.

Originally named Pocono International Raceway, the facility opened as a three-quarter-mile track in 1968. Located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway, as what it is known as today, is operated by the family-owned Mattco Inc., started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971 and the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was on August 4, 1974. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, driving the famous Petty Enterprises’ No. 43 Dodge. The 500 mile race was shortened to 480 miles (192 laps) due to rain and took 4 hours, 9 minutes and 9 seconds to complete with an average speed of 115.593 MPH. Petty started third and led 152 of the 192 laps on his way to his 161st Cup Series victory in his illustrious 200-win career.

Since 1974, there have been 90 NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two races per year from 1982-2021. The 2012 season marked the first year the NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012, all of the NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 500 miles in length.

The 2020-2021 seasons were the first time the NASCAR Cup Series held doubleheader weekends at Pocono Raceway with the races running at 325 miles and 350 miles in length on consecutive days.

This season will be the 91st-time the NASCAR Cup Series has visited Pocono Raceway. The prior 90 Cup races have produced 46 different pole winners and 40 different race winners.

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com

The Place: Pocono Raceway

Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Tri-Oval

The Date: Sunday, July 14

The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $7,776,907

TV: USA, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 400 miles (160 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 95), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)

Starting from the pole at Pocono gives you the best chance to win

A total of 23 different starting positions on the grid have resulted in wins in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway, but the pole or first starting position is the most proficient starting position producing more wins (16) than any other start spot on the grid – winning percentage of 17.78%.

In total, 46 different drivers have won the pole at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series and nine of them are active this weekend, led by Kyle Busch (Spring 2010, Fall 2015, 2017 sweep) and Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep, 2014, 2022) with four Pocono poles each.

While the pole has its perks, starting from the outside front row (11.11%) or even third (12.22%) are also decent odds in winning percentage at Pocono Raceway. The top three starting positions have attributed for 41.11% of the race wins in the 90 NASCAR Cup Series events at the Tricky Triangle.

Make sure to check out all of the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity this weekend from Pocono Raceway, with practice directly followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday, July 13 from Noon ET – 2 p.m. ET. Both events will be televised on the USA Network starting at Noon ET.

Not so tricky of a triangle for some

Among the 40 different drivers to visit Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway, no one has done it more than Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin with seven victories to his credit (2006 sweep, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2020, 2023), including last season’s race.

A total of nine of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Raceway winners are entered this weekend, and three of them – Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher – are looking for their first win of 2024.

Busting Out The Calculator: Mathematically drivers are clinching their postseason spots

While the NASCAR Cup Series drivers can ‘earn’ a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of their wins, but they technically have not ‘clinched’ a spot until they are mathematically ineligible to fall out of the Playoffs on points and have competed in all 26-races of the regular season or have been granted a waiver. With all that said, below are the clinch scenarios heading into Pocono Raceway this weekend, with six races left in the regular season.

Already Clinched

The following four drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Christopher Bell.

Can Clinch Via Previous Wins

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano:

• Chase Elliott: Could only clinch with help
• Tyler Reddick: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

• Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric

The hunt for the Regular Season Championship

Despite completely missing the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and finishing 39th at the Chicago Street Course last weekend, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson still holds onto the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings lead by 11 points over HMS teammate Chase Elliott in second. With just six races left in the regular season, both drivers are shooting for the title and the additional 15 Playoff bonus points that come with it.

Larson is one of seven different drivers to occupy the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings lead this season, along with William Byron, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott.

Both Larson (2021) and Elliott (2022) are former NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship winners, and if either of them wins this season, they will join Martin Truex Jr. (2017, 2023) and Kyle Busch (2018, 2019) as the third multiple regular season title holder.

Regular Season Championship Clinch Scenarios:

Kyle Larson (or whoever’s first in points) needs to be up by the corresponding number after the race to clinch:

Pocono – 300 or 301 points, depending on tie-break

Indianapolis – 240 or 241 points, depending on tie-break

Richmond – 180 or 181 points, depending on tie-break

Michigan – 120 or 121 points, depending on tie-break

Daytona – 60 or 61 points, depending on tie-break

Darlington – 0 or 1 point, depending on tie-break

NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.

Milestone Watch: Pocono Raceway – Below are the possible milestones that can be achieved this weekend at Pocono Raceway or in coming weeks in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Starts

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, from Mooresville, North Carolina, is expected to make his 100th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Pocono Raceway this weekend. The 25-year-old made his first Cup Series start in 2021 and has since won two races, including Gateway this season and the 2022 Daytona 500. He has also put up eight top fives and 17 top 10s in his career.

Kyle Busch is expected to make his 700th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Harrison Burton is expected to make his 100th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Brad Keselowski is expected to make his 550th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Wins

Denny Hamlin currently has 54 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th on the all-time wins list with 55 victories each.

Brad Keselowski currently has 36 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie Bobby Isaac for 23rd on the all-time wins list with 37 victories each.

Joey Logano currently has 33 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. for 25th on the all-time wins list with 34 victories each.

Track Specific

If Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep, 2014, 2022) or Kyle Busch (2010, 2015, 2017 sweep) win the pole this weekend in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono, they will tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott (1984, 1985 sweep, 1995 and 2002) and Ken Schrader (1989, 1992, 1993 sweep and 1995) for the NASCAR Cup Series lead in poles at Pocono Raceway with five poles each.

Crew Member Spotlight: Pocono Raceway Weekend – This weekend at Pocono Raceway we wanted to highlight several of the team’s crew members that are from the surrounding areas of the track in Pennsylvania.