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Bubble watch: Who’s safe, not-so safe heading to Darlington?
By Marissa Fuller | Published: August 29, 2019 10
Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
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Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
Darlington. Indianapolis.
There are only two races left in the regular season, and the pressure is on. The playoff bubble got scrambled after the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and some drivers are left fighting for their playoff lives, as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for a weekend full of throwbacks, excitement and aggressive driving. Take a look at the drivers currently fighting for their spot in the 16-driver playoff field.
There are only two races left in the regular season, and the pressure is on. The playoff bubble got scrambled after the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and some drivers are left fighting for their playoff lives, as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for a weekend full of throwbacks, excitement and aggressive driving. Take a look at the drivers currently fighting for their spot in the 16-driver playoff field.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Kyle Larson +76 points above cutline
Where he stands … Larson has had four top-10 finishes in a row, which is exactly what the driver of the No. 42 needed. At Bristol, Larson finished sixth and was the highest-finishing playoff bubble driver. He bumped himself up in the standings and created a nice cushion for himself.
Lady in Black: Larson has five career starts at Darlington with two top fives and four top 10s. Last season, Larson finished in third at the 1.366-mile track. Heading into Throwback Weekend, Larson should have momentum on his side and will be in pursuit of another top 10, or even top-five finish.
Where he stands … Larson has had four top-10 finishes in a row, which is exactly what the driver of the No. 42 needed. At Bristol, Larson finished sixth and was the highest-finishing playoff bubble driver. He bumped himself up in the standings and created a nice cushion for himself.
Lady in Black: Larson has five career starts at Darlington with two top fives and four top 10s. Last season, Larson finished in third at the 1.366-mile track. Heading into Throwback Weekend, Larson should have momentum on his side and will be in pursuit of another top 10, or even top-five finish.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
William Byron +75 points above cutline
Where he stands … Byron still sits in 12th in the playoff standings. Last weekend at Bristol, Byron finished 21st but did manage to accumulate some stage points during the race. His points gap should still make him feel relatively safe, but he can’t afford any mistakes or bad finishes.
Lady in Black: Byron will be making only his second career start at Darlington. Last year, he finished 35th. There will probably be a lot of strategy and game plans heading into the weekend for the No. 24 team, as Byron doesn’t have enough past performances at the track to tell if he’ll be good or not. Expect the team to play it safe and smart come race time.
Where he stands … Byron still sits in 12th in the playoff standings. Last weekend at Bristol, Byron finished 21st but did manage to accumulate some stage points during the race. His points gap should still make him feel relatively safe, but he can’t afford any mistakes or bad finishes.
Lady in Black: Byron will be making only his second career start at Darlington. Last year, he finished 35th. There will probably be a lot of strategy and game plans heading into the weekend for the No. 24 team, as Byron doesn’t have enough past performances at the track to tell if he’ll be good or not. Expect the team to play it safe and smart come race time.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Aric Almirola +65 points above cutline
Where he stands … Almriola is making his first appearance in bubble watch since his not-so-great race at Bristol pushed him down in the playoff standings. Almirola now sits in 13th when, prior to Bristol, he was never anywhere below the 10th spot. The driver of the No. 10 faced a lot of difficulties at Bristol and ended with a 29th-place finish. His points are still strong, but he needs to have good results in the next two races.
Lady in Black: Almirola finished last season’s race 14th. Of his seven career starts at the track, he has never finished in the top 10. The weekend could be considerably difficult for Almirola, so he and his team should strive to play it safe and look to maintain their points position.
Where he stands … Almriola is making his first appearance in bubble watch since his not-so-great race at Bristol pushed him down in the playoff standings. Almirola now sits in 13th when, prior to Bristol, he was never anywhere below the 10th spot. The driver of the No. 10 faced a lot of difficulties at Bristol and ended with a 29th-place finish. His points are still strong, but he needs to have good results in the next two races.
Lady in Black: Almirola finished last season’s race 14th. Of his seven career starts at the track, he has never finished in the top 10. The weekend could be considerably difficult for Almirola, so he and his team should strive to play it safe and look to maintain their points position.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Erik Jones +57 points above cutline
Where he stands … Jones is still lingering around the 14th spot in the playoff standings. Last weekend at Bristol, Jones finished 22nd after a really strong run came to an end with a tire problem at the end of the race. Jones will ideally stay on the same strategy as before, which would be stage points and a decent finish.
Lady in Black: Jones only has two career starts at Darlington, but the numbers show he’s pretty good at the 1.366-mile track. Of his two starts, he has one top five and two top 10s. Last season, he finished eighth, and in 2017, he finished fifth. Hoping to keep that positive momentum close to him, Jones and the No. 20 team will continue to make smart decisions and hope nothing out of their control goes wrong.
Where he stands … Jones is still lingering around the 14th spot in the playoff standings. Last weekend at Bristol, Jones finished 22nd after a really strong run came to an end with a tire problem at the end of the race. Jones will ideally stay on the same strategy as before, which would be stage points and a decent finish.
Lady in Black: Jones only has two career starts at Darlington, but the numbers show he’s pretty good at the 1.366-mile track. Of his two starts, he has one top five and two top 10s. Last season, he finished eighth, and in 2017, he finished fifth. Hoping to keep that positive momentum close to him, Jones and the No. 20 team will continue to make smart decisions and hope nothing out of their control goes wrong.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Ryan Newman +14 points above cutline
Where he stands … Newman had a solid 11th-place finish at Bristol last weekend and kept himself on the good side of the playoff cutline. Although his points cushion isn’t huge, the veteran driver of the No. 6 has done everything right to keep himself there. Heading to Darlington, expect Newman to have the same approach.
Lady in Black: Last year, Newman finished 19th at Darlington and will hope to have a better finish than that come this season’s race. Newman has 20 career starts at the South Carolina track with seven top fives, 13 top 10s and one pole. His experience and knowledge of the track, as compared to the other bubble drivers, might give him the upper hand. He knows what he needs to do to stay safe in the playoff hunt.
Where he stands … Newman had a solid 11th-place finish at Bristol last weekend and kept himself on the good side of the playoff cutline. Although his points cushion isn’t huge, the veteran driver of the No. 6 has done everything right to keep himself there. Heading to Darlington, expect Newman to have the same approach.
Lady in Black: Last year, Newman finished 19th at Darlington and will hope to have a better finish than that come this season’s race. Newman has 20 career starts at the South Carolina track with seven top fives, 13 top 10s and one pole. His experience and knowledge of the track, as compared to the other bubble drivers, might give him the upper hand. He knows what he needs to do to stay safe in the playoff hunt.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Daniel Suarez +2 points above cutline
Where he stands … Suarez has improved tremendously in the last two races, just in time with only two regular season races left in the Monster Energy Series. After Suarez’s eighth-place finish at Bristol, he now sits on the positive side of the standings for the first time in weeks. Suarez and his No. 41 team have worked on making no mistakes and keeping the car clean throughout the weekends, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Their strategy has helped Suarez put himself above the cutline.
Lady in Black: Suarez only has two career starts at Darlington, meaning he doesn’t have much experience to go off when it comes to comparing stats. Last season, he finished in 29th and will certainly be striving for a better finish than that this season. Hopefully his gained confidence from the last two weekends will help him shine at Darlington.
Where he stands … Suarez has improved tremendously in the last two races, just in time with only two regular season races left in the Monster Energy Series. After Suarez’s eighth-place finish at Bristol, he now sits on the positive side of the standings for the first time in weeks. Suarez and his No. 41 team have worked on making no mistakes and keeping the car clean throughout the weekends, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Their strategy has helped Suarez put himself above the cutline.
Lady in Black: Suarez only has two career starts at Darlington, meaning he doesn’t have much experience to go off when it comes to comparing stats. Last season, he finished in 29th and will certainly be striving for a better finish than that this season. Hopefully his gained confidence from the last two weekends will help him shine at Darlington.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Clint Bowyer -2 points below cutline
Where he stands … Bowyer’s luck had fluctuated throughout the last few weeks. The driver of the No. 14 has found himself on the positive side of the cutline and on the negative side. Right now, he’s on the negative but only by two points. Bowyer had a seventh-place finish at Bristol, but others on the bubble were able to grab more points than he did pushing him below the line. Lucky for him, with two more races, these points can easily change, but he needs to play smart.
Lady in Black: Bowyer has 13 career starts at Darlington with only one top 10 and one pole. He will look to do much better than that this year considering his playoff hopes depend on it. Last season, he finished 36th, so there’s not much positive momentum there. But he might be able to learn from previous year’s mistakes and get his first top five at the track.
Where he stands … Bowyer’s luck had fluctuated throughout the last few weeks. The driver of the No. 14 has found himself on the positive side of the cutline and on the negative side. Right now, he’s on the negative but only by two points. Bowyer had a seventh-place finish at Bristol, but others on the bubble were able to grab more points than he did pushing him below the line. Lucky for him, with two more races, these points can easily change, but he needs to play smart.
Lady in Black: Bowyer has 13 career starts at Darlington with only one top 10 and one pole. He will look to do much better than that this year considering his playoff hopes depend on it. Last season, he finished 36th, so there’s not much positive momentum there. But he might be able to learn from previous year’s mistakes and get his first top five at the track.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson -26 points below cutline
Where he stands … Johnson can’t seem to catch a break each weekend. He and the No. 48 team will look strong, then something happens and takes them out of the running. Johnson finished 19th at Bristol, but it wasn’t for lack of on-track incidents. Seven-Time knows time is running out and he either needs to win or gather all the points he possibly can and finish in the top 10.
Lady in Black: Last season, Johnson finished 39th at Darlington, but that’s not an accurate representation of his talent at the track. Johnson has 20 starts with three wins, nine top fives and 12 top 10s. He’s the only driver on the bubble to have ever won at Darlington.
Where he stands … Johnson can’t seem to catch a break each weekend. He and the No. 48 team will look strong, then something happens and takes them out of the running. Johnson finished 19th at Bristol, but it wasn’t for lack of on-track incidents. Seven-Time knows time is running out and he either needs to win or gather all the points he possibly can and finish in the top 10.
Lady in Black: Last season, Johnson finished 39th at Darlington, but that’s not an accurate representation of his talent at the track. Johnson has 20 starts with three wins, nine top fives and 12 top 10s. He’s the only driver on the bubble to have ever won at Darlington.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Paul Menard -71 points below cutline
Where he stands … Menard knows his only guarantee of making it into the playoffs is with a win. He has been lingering around 19th in the playoff standings for weeks now, and after finishing 23rd at Bristol, his points gap has stayed pretty much the same.
Lady in Black: Menard finished in 17th last season at Darlington, and that won’t make the dent he needs to reach the playoffs hunt with only two races left. He has 12 starts at the track but has never finished inside the top 10. The only way Menard is going to put the No. 21 in the playoffs is with a win.
Where he stands … Menard knows his only guarantee of making it into the playoffs is with a win. He has been lingering around 19th in the playoff standings for weeks now, and after finishing 23rd at Bristol, his points gap has stayed pretty much the same.
Lady in Black: Menard finished in 17th last season at Darlington, and that won’t make the dent he needs to reach the playoffs hunt with only two races left. He has 12 starts at the track but has never finished inside the top 10. The only way Menard is going to put the No. 21 in the playoffs is with a win.