Bubble Watch: William Byron next driver to clinch Round of 8 spot?

William Byron clawed his way out of a hole in the Round of 16, so he can do it again, right? The Hendrick Motorsports driver once again finds himself on the wrong side of bubble, but there's reason to hope — he could be one of the sneakiest sleepers to win this weekend. If the Round of 8 started today, these upcoming drivers would be the first four out and the last four in. Fortunately for the Round of 12 playoff drivers, they control their own destiny in the hunt for a championship. Monday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (1 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could shake things up even further. Take a look at who's on the bubble.

Christopher Bell: FIRST FOUR OUT

Points below eighth: 25
Full standings
Trending: Cold — Las Vegas was an all-around not great race for the No. 20 team, resulting Bell's second straight finish of 24th or worse and sixth of 13th or worse in the last seven races.
Talladega outlook: Cold — anything can happen at Talladega, but having never finished higher than 17th in three starts there, a win probably isn't the most likely scenario this weekend.

Alex Bowman: FIRST FOUR OUT

Points above ninth: 13
Full standings
Trending: Hit or miss — Bowman has two finishes of seventh or better and three of 12th or worse his last five races.
Talladega outlook: Cooling off — Bowman had a strong runner-up there in spring 2019, but he has three finishes of 14th or worse in the last four and triggered a wreck in this race last year.

Kevin Harvick: FIRST FOUR OUT

Points below eighth: 7
Full standings
Trending: Warm — Harvick still has yet to win, but he has four straight top 10s to open the playoffs and six in the last 11.
Talladega outlook: Hit or miss — Harvick can win anywhere so don't rule him out, but he has three top 10s and four finishes of 17th or worse the last seven races here.

William Byron: FIRST FOUR OUT

Points below eighth: 4
Full standings
Trending: Cold — Byron had a rough race at Vegas (and all things considered, 18th wasn't horrible) but now has four finishes of 18th or worse in the last five weeks.
Talladega outlook: Warming up — here's an unexpected spot where it all could turn around. Byron has led laps in six of his seven 'Dega starts and picked up his first runner-up there in the spring for his second-straight top five.

Brad Keselowski: FIRST FOUR IN

Points above ninth: 4
Full standings
Trending: Warm — Keselowski is continuing to stay alive, and now he has three finishes of seventh or better in the last four, while putting together 11 finishes of 11th or worse in the last 19.
Talladega outlook: Win or cold — this truly sums up Keselowski's recent history at the Alabama track, as he has either won (twice) or finished 13th or worse (six times) in the last eight races there.

Joey Logano: FIRST FOUR IN

Points above ninth: 6
Full standings
Trending: OK — nothing catastrophic, but Logano has just three top 10s in his last 11 races, though his most recent two were just shy of that (both 11th).
Talladega outlook: Cold — Logano looked like a Talladega master for a period with three wins a handful of years ago but since has four straight finishes of 11th or worse.

Chase Elliott: FIRST FOUR IN

Points above ninth: 22
Full standings
Trending: Warm — Elliott had a strong showing at Vegas with a runner-up for his second top five in the last four, but the other two were 23rd or worse.
Talladega outlook: Hit or miss — Elliott has a win amid four finishes of eighth or better there over the last seven, but the other three results were 24th or worse.

Ryan Blaney: FIRST FOUR IN

Points above ninth: 24
Full standings
Trending: Hot — Blaney has three straight top 10s, six in his last seven and just collected a top five at Vegas.
Talladega outlook: Warm — the Team Penske driver has won a pair of races there in each of the two previous seasons but turned in a DNF last year after an incident-filled race.