After Sunday night's thrilling finish in the Southern 500, just one race remains before the start of NASCAR's playoffs and the 16-driver playoff field is set after Saturday's race at Richmond.
Thirteen drivers have won a race that counts toward playoff eligibility, leaving 12 drivers fighting for the final three spots.
Here’s how the Cup Series playoff grid shakes out now after Denny Hamlin's win at Darlington:
Martin Truex Jr. (four wins, 52 playoff points), Kyle Busch (2, 20), Kyle Larson (3, 18), Jimmie Johnson (3, 16), Brad Keselowski (2, 14), Hamlin (2, 12), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2, 10), Kevin Harvick (1, 8), Ryan Blaney (1, 8), Kurt Busch (1, 5), Ryan Newman (1, 5), Kasey Kahne (1, 5), Austin Dillon (1, 5), Chase Elliott (94 points ahead of Clint Bowyer on the cutoff line, 2 playoff points), Matt Kenseth (+92, 3), Jamie McMurray (+91, 0).
Truex clinched the regular-season title with an eighth-place finish Sunday, earning him an extra 15 playoff points. The remaining playoff points for regular-season standings have yet to be allotted but second-place will earn 10 playoff points, third will recieve eight, and the remaining top 10 will be awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.
Bowyer saw his slim chances of racing in on points alone go up in smoke Sunday after blowing an engine under caution early in the race.
“It just blew up. It’s a pretty inopportune time to have it happen, but it’s never a good time," Bowyer told NBC Sports in the garage. "Obviously, the way the playoffs look right now, we’re not out of this thing. We’ve still got a good race track coming up for us. We’ll just go there and do the best we can and put all the cards on the table over there.”
Bowyer needs a win at Richmond to crash the playoffs as does Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr., among others.
Assuming there is no first-time winner this season at Richmond on Saturday, the 16 drivers currently holding playoff spots will clinch. With a myriad of additional playoff points up for grabs before the postseason starts Sept. 17 at Chicagoland Speedway, Saturday's race should provide fans with an amazing spectacle.
