NASCAR Cup Series 2020 Playoff Watch

By Terrin Waack | Monday, August 10, 2020

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

1 of 18

View Fullscreen

From now until the scheduled regular-season finale Aug. 29 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR.com will offer weekly analysis of the playoff picture. Here's how the postseason looks through 22 regular-season races (out of 26) after this past weekend’s doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway.

A few reminders:
-- All point totals are reset to 2,000 for the 16 eligible playoff drivers.
-- Drivers earn 5 playoff points for each of their regular-season wins.
-- Drivers earn 1 playoff point for each stage win.
-- The top 10 finishers in the regular-season standings earn playoff points on a sliding scale, starting with 15 points for the Regular Season Champion and ending on one point for the 10th-place finisher.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

2 of 18

View Fullscreen

Missing the cut:

Erik Jones, Jimmie Johnson (pictured) and Tyler Reddick.

The race for the final few playoff spots is one to watch for the remaining four races, especially with two drivers outside of the top 16 in points -- Austin Dillon (17th) and rookie Cole Custer (21st) -- set for the postseason battle. The cutline now lies at William Byron's spot in the point standings -- 14th – with Jones, Johnson and Reddick within 36 points of him, ranking in order. The schedule has several potential wild cards -- especially Daytona, both the road course and the oval layout.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

3 of 18

View Fullscreen

16. Matt DiBenedetto: 2,000 points

Qualified by: Points
Stage wins: 0
The scoop: DiBenedetto increased his advantage on the cutline by 17 points, going from a 40-point cushion to a 57-point cushion, mainly with the help of a top 10 at Michigan (seventh Sunday but 15th Saturday).

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

4 of 18

View Fullscreen

15. William Byron: 2,002 points

Qualified by: Points
Stage wins: 2
The scoop: A 14th-place finish Saturday and a 12th-place finish Sunday at Michigan padded Byron’s hold on the final spot to 26 (from 15) now over Jones.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

5 of 18

View Fullscreen

14. Kurt Busch, 2,002 points

Qualified by: Points
Stage wins: 1
The scoop: The elder Busch dropped a spot in the regular-season standings from Saturday to Sunday, despite adding two clean top-10 finishes at Michigan to his resume.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Christian Petersen | Getty Images

6 of 18

View Fullscreen

13. Clint Bowyer: 2,003 points

Qualified by: Points
Stage wins: 3
The scoop: Bowyer snagged himself a stage win Sunday at Michigan after starting on the front row, which certainly helped, boosting him to 60 points above the cutline -- even though he finished 14th in the second race and 19th in the first.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

7 of 18

View Fullscreen

12. Kyle Busch: 2,003 points

Qualified by: Points
Stage wins: 1
The scoop: Two top-five finishes (fifth Saturday, fourth Sunday) at Michigan pushed Busch back ahead of his brother in the regular-season standings and increased his gap on the cutoff line from 111 to 140 points.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

8 of 18

View Fullscreen

11. Aric Almirola: 2,005 points

Qualified by: Points
Stage wins: 2
The scoop: Almirola ended his nine-race top-10 streak Saturday with a 16th-place finish at Michigan but returned to normal Sunday with a sixth-place showing.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Rob Carr | Getty Images

9 of 18

View Fullscreen

10. Cole Custer: 2,005 points

Qualified by: 1 win (Kentucky)
Stage wins: 0
The scoop: Custer is lucky he’s already locked into the playoffs after two finishes outside the top 20 at Michigan (34th Saturday, 25th Sunday) and a 21st standing in the regular season.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

10 of 18

View Fullscreen

9. Austin Dillon: 2,005 points

Qualified by: 1 win (Texas-1)
Stage wins: 0
The scoop: Dillon’s results at Michigan were split -- 31st Saturday and eighth Sunday -- which dropped him out of the top 16 in the regular-season standings (17th).

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Stacy Revere | Getty Images

11 of 18

View Fullscreen

8. Alex Bowman: 2,009 points

Qualified by: 1 win (Auto Club)
Stage wins: 4
The scoop: The gap between Bowman and the top 10 in the regular-season standings widened after his 21st and 36th runnings at Michigan.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Christian Petersen | Getty Images

12 of 18

View Fullscreen

7. Martin Truex Jr.: 2,011 points

Qualified by: 1 win (Martinsville-1)

Stage wins: 2
The scoop: Truex continues to trend upward with four top-three finishes in his last four races – literally third in all of them, too. Michigan is now home to his most career top fives (10).

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Matt Sullivan | Getty Images

13 of 18

View Fullscreen

6. Ryan Blaney: 2,015 points

Qualified by: 1 win (Talladega-1)
Stage wins: 3
The scoop: Blaney may have wrecked out of the second Michigan race, but he had a fourth-place performance in the first race.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

14 of 18

View Fullscreen

5. Chase Elliott: 2,016 points

Qualified by: 1 win (Charlotte-2)
Stage wins: 5
The scoop: Two top-10 finishes at Michigan (seventh Saturday, ninth Sunday) give Elliott three top 10s in a row now.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Christian Petersen | Getty Images

15 of 18

View Fullscreen

4. Joey Logano: 2,019 points

Qualified by: 2 wins (Las Vegas-1, Phoenix-1)
Stage wins: 4
The scoop: Logano notched two top 10s at Michigan -- eighth (Saturday) and fifth (Sunday) -- a track he has had a career-best three wins.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

16 of 18

View Fullscreen

3. Brad Keselowski: 2,031 points

Qualified by: 3 wins (Coca-Cola 600, Bristol-1, New Hampshire)
Stage wins: 6
The scoop: Keselowski holds steady as the third seed with a runner-up finish Saturday and a 39th-place finish Sunday (wrecked out).

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

17 of 18

View Fullscreen

2. Denny Hamlin: 2,037 points

Qualified by: 5 wins (Daytona 500, Darlington-2, Miami, Pocono-2, Kansas-1)
Stage wins: 4
The scoop: Hamlin has dropped from the top seed to the second seed after a top 10 (sixth Saturday) and a top five (second Sunday) at Michigan.

Saved to `My Liked Photos`

Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

18 of 18

View Fullscreen

1. Kevin Harvick: 2,050 points

Qualified by: 6 wins (Darlington-1, Atlanta, Pocono-1, Indianapolis, Michigan-1, Michigan-2)
Stage wins: 5
The scoop: Harvick swept the Michigan races, giving himself a huge points boost, and now boasts a series-best six wins. His projected total is boosted by the 15-point bonus as the points standings leader.

Presented By: