Playoff Bubble Watch: Bristol

By | Published: August 15, 2017 10

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

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Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Bristol's high banks and intense action set the scene for the 24th (of 26) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season races. We present a detailed look how drivers on the playoff bubble perform at the half-mile oval; drivers are ordered by their position on the bubble.

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Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Chase Elliott

Points above cutoff: +62
Bristol wins: 0
Average start: 9.0 (Rank: 2 of 9)
Average finish: 8.7 (Rank: 1 of 9)
Notable: Elliott has finished in the top seven in two of his three of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts here.

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Jamie McMurray

Points above cutoff: +52
Bristol wins: 0
Average start: 16.5 (Rank: 6 of 9)
Average finish: 16.4 (Rank: 5 of 9)
Notable: Save for a 38th-place finish in the 2014 spring race, McMurray has finished inside the top 20 in 11 straight Bristol races.

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Matt Kenseth

Points above cutoff: +31
Bristol wins: 4 (2005, 2006, 2013, 2015)
Average start: 14.9 (Rank: 4 of 9)
Average finish: 13.9 (Rank: 3 of 9)
Notable: After his 2015 win, Kenseth has recorded three straight finishes of 36th-or-worse before a fourth-place run earlier this year.

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Clint Bowyer

Points below cutoff: -31
Bristol wins: 0
Average start: 20.8 (Rank: 7 of 9)
Average finish: 15.1 (Rank: 4 of 9)
Notable: Bowyer certainly has his sights set on this weekend, as the runner-up in the spring race.

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Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Joey Logano

Points below cutoff: -98
Bristol wins: 2 (2014, 2015)
Average start: 7.6 (Rank: 1 of 9)
Average finish: 16.8 (Rank: 6 of 9)
Notable: Arguably the best driver at Bristol since the summer of 2014 and in need of a win, Logano can't afford to come out of this race without a spectacular finish.

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Erik Jones

Points below cutoff: -130
Bristol wins: 0
Average start: 14.0 (Rank: 3 of 9)
Average finish: 17.0 (Rank: 7 of 9)
Notable: Jones hung in there in his first Bristol start earlier this year, but likely needs a win to make the playoffs. He was darn close to one at Michigan.

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Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Daniel Suarez

Points below cutoff: -139
Bristol wins: 0
Average start: 23.0 (Rank: 9 of 9)
Average finish: 18.0 (Rank: 9 of 9)
Notable: Suarez was unremarkable in his first Bristol start, but has improved tremendously since then. A win may be a stretch, but he should be competitive.

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Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Trevor Bayne

Points below cutoff: -214
Bristol wins: 0
Average start: 19.3 (Rank: 7 of 9)
Average finish: 17.5 (Rank: 8 of 9)
Notable: After two subpar finishes to open his career at Bristol, Bayne has notched four straight top-15 results.

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Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Points below cutoff: -252
Bristol wins: 1 (2004)
Average start: 20.9 (Rank: 8 of 9)
Average finish: 13.3 (Rank: 2 of 9)
Notable: Junior last won at Bristol more than a decade ago. He needs a win, but thinking it could come this weekend may be too big of an ask for how poor this team is running.