Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Playoff spots are disappearing each week

Just 15 races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season and nine drivers have already visited Victory Lane this year securing their spot in the Playoffs, leaving just seven spots open for the postseason as the series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney currently has the largest points cushion (+109) between himself the Playoff cutline among drivers without a win this season following Dover. Blaney has been close to winning this season leading 370 laps and posting four top fives and six top 10s. But this weekend could be tricky for Blaney, as he has made 10 series starts at Darlington posting just one top-10 finish. His average finish at the track is 19.3.

At the other end of the Playoff outlook sits Petty GMS Motorsports driver Erik Jones in the 16th and final postseason transfer spot on points; just three markers ahead of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in 17th. This weekend could be a big points gainer for Jones as Darlington is one of his best tracks. The Byron, Michigan native has made eight starts at Darlington posting one win (2019), four top fives and six top 10s. His average finish at 1.366-mile track is a stout 10.1 (third best among active drivers).

 

2022 Driver Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 11 - Drivers Without Wins

Rank

Driver

Points

Wins

Stages

Playoff Pts

Pts From Cutoff

10

Ryan Blaney

368

0

4

4

109

11

Martin Truex Jr.

336

0

3

3

77

12

Joey Logano

316

0

0

0

57

13

Christopher Bell

284

0

0

0

25

14

Aric Almirola

283

0

0

0

24

15

Kevin Harvick

280

0

0

0

21

16

Erik Jones

262

0

0

0

3

17

Austin Dillon

259

0

0

0

-3

18

Tyler Reddick

249

0

2

2

-13

19

Daniel Suarez

241

0

1

1

-21

20

Chris Buescher

230

0

0

0

-32

21

Kurt Busch

224

0

0

0

-38

22

Bubba Wallace

214

0

1

1

-48

23

Justin Haley

209

0

0

0

-53

24

Michael McDowell

201

0

0

0

-61

25

Cole Custer

189

0

0

0

-73

26

Ty Dillon

180

0

0

0

-82

27

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

169

0

0

0

-93

28

Corey LaJoie

159

0

0

0

-103

29

Todd Gilliland #

151

0

0

0

-111

30

Brad Keselowski

150

0

0

-10

-112

 

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