Meet the 2019 Monster Energy Series Playoff field

The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are here with 16 drivers vying to become the champion. We break down the full NASCAR Playoffs field to offer a look at what you can expect heading into the 10-race, four-round elimination format.

1. Kyle Busch: 2,045 points


Elimination playoff history: Won Championship in 2015; Reached Championship 4 in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2014.


Favorable track: Richmond with six wins and an average finish of 7.0 in 28 starts.


Outlook: Busch enters the playoffs with the most playoff points in the entire field. Despite no wins since the June Pocono race, it would be stunning if he isn't part of the Championship 4 at Miami.

2. Denny Hamlin: 2,030 points

Elimination playoff history: Reached Championship 4 in 2014; Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2016, 2017; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2015; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2018.


Favorable track: Martinsville with five wins and an average finish of 9.6 in 27 starts.


Outlook: A blistering summer stretch has Hamlin looking primed for his first Cup title. Self-inflicted wounds have been minimized under first-year crew chief Chris Gabehart and the Round of 8/Championship 4 tracks are some of his best.

3. Martin Truex Jr.: 2,029 points


Elimination playoff history: Won Championship in 2017; Reached Championship 4 in 2015, 2017, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2016; Did not make playoffs in 2014.


Favorable track: Dover, with three wins in 27 starts. He also has five top-four finishes in his last six starts there.


Outlook: While Truex has not won since Sonoma, don't sleep on the 2017 champion. He has racked up plenty of points and strong finishes since then. The Round of 8 will be the tipping point -- Truex has yet to win at any of those tracks (Martinsville, Texas and ISM), and may face a must-win scenario.

4. Kevin Harvick: 2,028 points


Elimination playoff history: Won Championship in 2014; Reached Championship 4 in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2016.


Favorable track: ISM Raceway (Phoenix), with nine wins and an average finish of 9.3 in 33 starts.


Outlook: Much like Hamlin, Harvick also closed the regular season strong with three wins in his last seven races. "Happy" is an expert at navigating through the eliminations and he is peaking at just the right time of year to be a title threat.

5. Joey Logano: 2,028 points

Elimination playoff history: Won Championship in 2018; Reached Championship 4 in 2014, 2016, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2015; Did not make playoffs in 2017.


Favorable track: Richmond, with two wins in 21 starts. He also has four top-four finishes in his last five starts.


Outlook: The reigning champion snapped a cold spell at Indianapolis and the Round of 16 tracks should keep up that momentum. His up-and-down record at the Round of 12 and Round of 8 tracks are cause for concern.

6. Brad Keselowski: 2,024 points

Elimination playoff history: Reached Championship 4 in 2017; Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2014, 2015; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2016, 2018.


Favorable track: Las Vegas, with three wins in 12 starts. He has eight straight top-seven finishes there and is the defending race winner.


Outlook: Since winning three of the season's first 12 races, Keselowski has not visited Victory Lane. He is still scoring top 10s, but as we get deeper in the playoffs, that won't be enough to advance. The Round of 8 tracks outside of Martinsville should be a major concern for him.

7. Chase Elliott: 2,018 points

Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2017, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2016.


Favorable track: Dover, with one win and a 4.4 average finish in seven starts.


Outlook: Elliott has come on strong in the playoffs the past two years and this season he enters with a solid accompaniment of playoff points at his disposal. He now has wins at every Round of 12 track and has snapped out of his summer swoon just in time to make some noise.

8. Kurt Busch: 2,011 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2015, 2016, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2014, 2017


Favorable track: Charlotte (Roval), with a top-five finish in last year's first race there.


Outlook: The 2004 champion has been feast or famine in the elimination playoff format. The results since his Kentucky win indicate it could be more of a famine this go-'round. An additional fact: Of his 31 career Cup wins, only eight have come on tracks in the playoffs.

9. Alex Bowman: 2,005 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2018; Did not make playoffs in 2014, 2015.


Favorable track: Kansas, with three top 10s in four starts with Hendrick Motorsports -- including a runner-up finish in the spring.


Outlook: Bowman notched his first Cup win at Chicagoland but the results since then have the look of a driver who won't make it past the Round of 12 -- if he gets that far. The Las Vegas race will set the tone as he has three 40-plus points runs in his last four 1.5-mile races.

10. Erik Jones: 2,005 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2018; Did not make playoffs in 2017.


Favorable track: Texas, with three top fives and an average finish of 9.3 in six starts.


Outlook: A win at Darlington served notice that Jones is more than capable of making a run in these playoffs. He has shown an ability to rack up top fives in bunches. The consistent speed on the 1.5-milers (four top-seven finishes in 2019) makes him a particular threat for those races.

11. Kyle Larson: 2,005 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2017, 2018; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2016; Did not make playoffs in 2014, 2015.


Favorable track: Dover, with five top fives and an average finish of 8.0 in 11 starts.


Outlook: It's long been said that if Larson could reach the Championship 4, he'd be the favorite because of his success running the top at Homestead. With how he’s come on of late -- seven top-eight finishes in his last 10 races -- Larson is very much THE sleeper to make it to Miami.

12. Ryan Blaney: 2,004 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2017; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2018; Did not make playoffs in 2016.


Favorable track: Charlotte Roval, with a win in the lone race there so far.


Outlook: Blaney is going to need to add to his career-best of nabbing three straight top 10s three different times in 2019. The Round of 16 shows how difficult that is: Las Vegas and the Roval are solid tracks for YRB, but Richmond is his worst (no top 10s; average finish of 26.7).

13. William Byron: 2,001 points


Elimination playoff history: Did not make playoffs in 2018.


Favorable track: Texas, with two top 10s in three starts but both of those came in the spring race.


Outlook: The rookie has made steady and noticeable gains under veteran crew chief Chad Knaus. Still, a deep run is unlikely considering Byron has never notched three straight top 10s. But don't overlook the potential for a victory once he's eliminated from the playoffs.

14. Aric Almirola: 2,001 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2018; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2014; Did not make playoffs in 2015, 2016, 2017.


Favorable track: Talladega with six straight top-10 finishes. He is also the defending race winner of the playoff race.


Outlook: Much like last year, Almirola racked up a host of top 10s early in the regular season. Last year, he raised his game in the playoffs and nabbed a win at Talladega. Could the same happen in 2019? Perhaps, but recent results indicate an earlier exit this postseason is much more likely.

15. Clint Bowyer: 2,000 points


Elimination playoff history: Eliminated in Round of 8 in 2018; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2015; Did not make playoffs in 2014, 2016, 2017.


Favorable track: Martinsville, with one win and four top-seven finishes in his last five starts there.


Outlook: Bowyer reached the postseason for back-to-back years for the first time since 2012-13. That said, he seemingly had everything that could go wrong, go wrong in the second half of the regular season -- and that makes us skeptical he'll get past the Round of 16.

16. Ryan Newman: 2,000 points


Elimination playoff history: Reached Championship 4 in 2014; Eliminated in Round of 12 in 2015; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2017; Did not make playoffs in 2016, 2018.


Favorable track: Talladega, with three top 10s in his last four starts.


Outlook: Newman's 14.0 average finish is his best since 2015 when he was with RCR. The veteran has by and large been a top-15 machine all year and kept it clean with no early exits due to wrecks or incidents. The downside -- top 15s won't be enough to get past the Round of 12.