The NASCAR Cup Collection playoff race received a lot tighter Saturday evening.
After the Bass Professional Outlets Night time Race at Bristol, the sector went from 16 drivers right down to 12.
This yr’s first spherical was unpredictable. Non-playoff drivers Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace took the checkered flag at Darlington and Kansas, respectively, within the first two races, stopping playoff drivers from cementing their place within the subsequent spherical with a win.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell clinched a spot by the use of factors previous to Bristol. He snagged a pair of top-five finishes within the opening two races.
That left 15 drivers to duke it out for the remaining 11 spots Saturday. After which one other non-playoff driver, Chris Buescher, received the race.
MORE: Watch NASCAR playoff racing dwell with fuboTV (free trial)
This is what it’s good to know concerning the playoff standings because the Cup Collection gears up for the Spherical of 12.
NASCAR playoff discipline 2022
Driver |
Playoff factors |
|---|---|
1. Chase Elliott |
3,040 |
2. Joey Logano |
3,025 |
3. Ross Chastain |
3,020 |
4. Kyle Larson |
3,019 |
5. William Byron |
3,015 |
6. Denny Hamlin |
3,013 |
7. Christopher Bell |
3,013 |
8. Ryan Blaney |
3,013 |
9. Chase Briscoe |
3,009 |
10. Alex Bowman |
3,007 |
11. Daniel Suarez |
3,007 |
12. Austin Cindric |
3,006 |
Which drivers had been eradicated from the Cup Collection playoffs?
Kevin Harvick
Fortune wasn’t fairly on Harvick’s facet. The 2014 Cup Collection champion was knocked out early at each Darlington and Kansas. He was operating within the high 10 at Darlington earlier than his automotive burst into flames.
MORE: Harvick rips NASCAR, ‘crappy components’ after automotive bursts into flames
On Saturday, he ran an impressed race. He received himself into the highest 4 at one level, competing alongside the likes of Bell, Brad Keselowski and race winner Chris Buescher. However a mechanical difficulty in Stage 3 was simply an excessive amount of to beat — Harvick completed tenth, which wasn’t ok to get him to the following spherical.
Kyle Busch
Busch’s will not cap his Joe Gibbs Racing tenure with a deep Cup Collection run. He dropped out after one other irritating efficiency Saturday.
The 2-time Cup Collection champion suffered his personal stroke of dangerous luck at Darlington; he was pressured to the storage after holding the lead with lower than 40 laps to go.
The problems continued at Kansas. Busch may solely end twenty seventh after encountering tire issues partway by way of the race.
An engine failure at Bristol accomplished a hat trick of poor finishes. Busch completed thirty fourth and missed the lower line by two factors.
Busch will be a part of Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 season after 15 years at JGR. The playoff elimination will likely be one thing of a black mark — Busch had by no means dropped out after the opening spherical of the postseason earlier than this yr.
Tyler Reddick
Reddick is among the rising stars in NASCAR, however he’ll have to attend to check himself within the later rounds of the Cup Collection playoffs.
Reddick was in a precarious place previous to Saturday’s race. He held only a two-point edge over the primary driver out. Regardless of his efforts, he could not fairly get going at Bristol — the Richard Childress Racing driver positioned twenty fifth. That was sufficient to barely knock him out of a playoff spots. Higher luck subsequent yr.
Two factors shy of advancing.#NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/KpNOShvz15
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 18, 2022
Austin Dillon
Dillon earned his spot within the Spherical of 16 in dramatic style, successful at Daytona within the final race of the common season.
Lightning did not fairly strike twice for the No. 3 automotive, which received knocked out of Saturday’s race in Stage 2.
It was a kind of nights for Dillon, who positioned thirty first. Extra time for him to document actuality tv episodes.
NASCAR schedule 2022: Playoff races
Spherical of 12
Date |
Race |
Monitor |
Begin time (ET) |
TV channel |
Radio |
Winner |
Sept. 25 |
AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 |
Texas Motor Speedway |
3:30 p.m. |
USA |
PRN |
TBD |
Oct. 2 |
YellaWood 500 |
Talladega Superspeedway |
2 p.m. |
NBC |
MRN |
TBD |
Oct. 9 |
Financial institution of America ROVAL 400 |
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL |
2 p.m. |
NBC |
PRN |
TBD |
Spherical of 8
Date |
Race |
Monitor |
Begin time (ET) |
TV channel |
Radio |
Winner |
Oct. 16 |
South Level 400 |
Las Vegas Motor Speedway |
2:30 p.m. |
NBC |
PRN |
TBD |
Oct. 23 |
Dixie Vodka 400 |
Homestead-Miami Speedway |
2:30 p.m. |
NBC |
MRN |
TBD |
Oct. 30 |
Xfinity 500 |
Martinsville Speedway |
2 p.m. |
NBC |
MRN |
TBD |
Championship 4
Date |
Race |
Monitor |
Begin time (ET) |
TV channel |
Radio |
Winner |
Nov. 6 |
NASCAR Cup Collection Championship |
Phoenix Raceway |
3 p.m. |
NBC |
MRN |
TBD |
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