Playoff Bubble Watch: Darlington

The track dubbed 'Too Tough to Tame' is the scene of the 25th (of 26) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season races. We present a detailed look at how drivers on the playoff bubble perform at the 1.366-mile track; drivers are ordered by their position on the bubble.(Editors' note: Ranking is compared to fellow bubble drivers)

Chase Elliott

Points above cutoff: +69
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: 16.5 (Rank: 3 of 7)
Average finish: 25.5 (Rank: 6 of 7)
Notable: Sunday's race will be Elliott's third start in the premier series at Darlington. He scored an XFINITY Series win at the South Carolina track in 2014.

Matt Kenseth

Points above cutoff: +61
Darlington wins: 1
Average start: 20.3 (Rank: 7 of 7)
Average finish: 15.8 (Rank: 2 of 7)
Notable: Kenseth has finished inside the top six in four of his last five Darlington races -- with a 21st-place finish in 2015 as the only outlier.

Jamie McMurray

Points above cutoff: +58
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: 14.5 (Rank: 2 of 7)
Average finish: 15.9 (Rank: 3 of 7)
Notable: After a pole in 2010 and a top-10 finish in 2011, McMurray has failed to finish inside the top 10 in his last five Darlington starts.

Clint Bowyer

Points below cutoff: -58
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: 20.2 (Rank: 6 of 7)
Average finish: 20.0 (Rank: 5 of 7)
Notable: 'The Lady in Black' has not been kind to Bowyer throughout his career with just one top-10 finish in 11 starts.

Joey Logano

Points below cutoff: -117
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: 12.1 (Rank: 1 of 7)
Average finish: 18.4 (Rank: 4 of 7)
Notable: In a must-win situation, Logano enters Darlington with two straight top-five finishes in the Bojangles' Southern 500.

Erik Jones

Points below cutoff: -126
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: N/A (Rank: N/A)
Average finish: N/A (Rank: N/A)
Notable: Sunday's race will be Jones' first at Darlington in the Cup Series but he does have a top-10 finish in his lone XFINITY start at the track.

Daniel Suarez

Points below cutoff: -163
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: N/A (Rank: N/A)
Average finish: N/A (Rank: N/A)
Notable: Suarez is another rookie who will see Darlington for the first time this weekend in the Cup Series after finishing third in back-to-back years in the XFINITY Series.

Trevor Bayne

Points below cutoff: -230
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: 18.5 (Rank: 5 of 7)
Average finish: 37.5 (Rank: 7 of 7)
Notable: In two starts at Darlington, the Roush Fenway Racing driver has finished no higher than 35th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Points below cutoff: -284
Darlington wins: 0
Average start: 17.5 (Rank: 4 of 7)
Average finish: 14.0 (Rank: 1 of 7)
Notable: After missing this race last year because of symptoms related to a concussion, Earnhardt will look to pick up where he left off with three top-nine finishes in his last three races.