Race To The Playoffs: Four races to go, four open postseason spots

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 13 different Cup winners, which is tied with the 1988, ‘00, ‘01, and ’21 seasons for the third-most winners through the first 22 races of a season in the Modern Era (1972-Present). With Shane Van Gisbergen not eligible for the postseason, 12 drivers have earned a spot in the Playoffs leaving just four positions still up for grabs as the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for race No. 23 of the year.

Just four races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season and tensions are running high in the garage for the competitors that haven’t secured their spot in the postseason. Currently, the final four remaining transfer Playoff spots on points are occupied by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (13th, +182 points above the cutline), RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (14th, +151 points above the cutline), 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (15th, +54 points above the cutline), and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell (16th, +18 points above cutline).

Heading into Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, several former winners at the track will be looking to return to Victory Lane this weekend, especially those that are winless this season. Of that group, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick bolsters the most success at the two-mile track with wins in all three of NASCAR’s national series; including the series-most among active drivers (six) in the NASCAR Cup Series. He also has a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2003) and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011). Harvick and Kyle Busch are the only two active drivers with wins in all three NASCAR national series at Michigan.

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (two wins), Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (one win), Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (one win) and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (one win) each have NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at Michigan International Speedway, and all four need a win this season to get into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. In last season’s Cup race, Keselowski finished 15th, Dillon finished 13th, Ty Gibbs finished 10th and Allmendinger did not compete in the event.

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola each have NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins at Michigan and are looking for their first wins of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. In last year’s Cup race, Almirola finished 34th due to an incident and Wallace finished runner-up to Kevin Harvick.