With four races remaining in the regular season, 10 drivers have clinched a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, assuming each start the remaining races.
The 10 clinchers: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
Everyone who has a win this season is locked in — except for Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher, both of whom have yet to clinch a top-30 spot.
A number of drivers who currently have no wins can clinch this weekend, but only if they win at Bristol Motor Speedway and leave the race with at least a 136-point lead over Stewart and Buescher. There’s also the potential for the points leader to be a guaranteed winner after race No. 26 at Richmond, the final regular-season race. If that’s the case, the below drivers would only need to have a 136-point lead over Buescher.
The XFINITY Series clinch scenarios follow as well.
Possible to clinch:
Tony Stewart: (1 Win, 389 Points, +97 Points Ahead of 31st) — Could clinch a Top 30 position with help
Possible to clinch at Bristol with a win:
Ryan Newman (0 Wins, 562 Points, +270 Points Ahead of 31st)
Chase Elliott (0 Wins, 561 Points, +269 Points Ahead of 31st)
Austin Dillon (0 Wins, 559 Points, +267 Points Ahead of 31st)
Jamie McMurray (0 Wins, 550 Points, +258 Points Ahead of 31st)
Kyle Larson (0 Wins, 520 Points, +228 Points Ahead of 31st)
Trevor Bayne (0 Wins, 512 Points, +220 Points Ahead of 31st)
Kasey Kahne (0 Wins, 509 Points, +217 Points Ahead of 31st
Ryan Blaney (0 Wins, 502 Points, +210 Points Ahead of 31st)
AJ Allmendinger (0 Wins, 486 Points, +194 Points Ahead of 31st)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (0 Wins, 475 Points, +183 Points Ahead of 31st)
Dale Earnhardt Jr.* (0 Wins, 461 Points, +169 Points Ahead of 31st)
Paul Menard (0 Wins, 422 Points, +130 Points Ahead of 31st)
Possible to clinch at Bristol with a win plus help:
Greg Biffle (0 Wins, 416 Points, +124 Points Ahead of 31st)
Danica Patrick (0 Wins, 413 Points, +121 Points Ahead of 31st)
Clint Bowyer (0 Wins, 397 Points, +105 Points Ahead of 31st)
Aric Almirola (0 Wins, 379 Points, +87 Points Ahead of 31st)
*Not currently entered at Bristol
XFINITY Series
The following drivers have already clinched a spot in the top 30 of the points standings, so a win would lock them into the Chase field — Ty Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan, Brennan Poole, Brandon Jones, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Reed, Ryan Sieg, Blake Koch, Ross Chastain, Dakoda Armstrong and Jeremy Clements.
Ryan Preece would clinch a top 30 spot in the points with a win, so he’d be in the Chase, too, if that happened.
With a win, and some help in the points, Ray Black Jr. and BJ McLeod could qualify for the Chase.