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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings after Daytona: Who’s in, who’s out

By Nick Tylwalk

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 01: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, celebrates winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 1, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 01: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, celebrates winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 1, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
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The Coke Zero 400 winner makes a huge leap up the playoff standings, and the rarest or rarities in NASCAR might actually happen before the end of the regular season.

Hope all of you have had time to catch your breath after the Coke Zero 400. Daytona is always a special place for racing, but this year’s mid-summer night race was borderline insane.

A bunch of wrecks, including one that forced overtime. Big names forced out early and some unusual names contending for a win. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader off the ground and flying over the 17.

In the end, it proved a huge night for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Not only did his second win of the season cement him as this year’s king of restrictor plate racing (his first victory was at Talladega), it also enabled him to make a huge leap up the playoff standings leaving Daytona International Speedway.

With less than 10 regular season races remaining, here’s how the NASCAR Cup Series playoff field looks right now:

In on wins

  1. Martin Truex Jr. – 21 playoff points (2 wins, 11 stage wins)
  2. Jimmie Johnson – 16 playoff points (3 wins, 1 stage win)
  3. Kyle Larson – 13 playoff points (2 wins, 3 stage wins)
  4. Brad Keselowski – 13 playoff points (2 wins, 3 stage wins)
  5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 10 playoff points (2 wins)
  6. Ryan Blaney – 8 playoff points (1 win, 3 stage wins)
  7. Kevin Harvick – 8 playoff points (1 win, 3 stage wins)
  8. Kurt Busch – 5 playoff points (1 win)
  9. Ryan Newman – 5 playoff points (1 win)
  10. Austin Dillon – 5 playoff points (1 win)

A few weeks ago, we noted that there appeared to be only four real contenders for the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship, the drivers who had multiple wins. Does Stenhouse belong in that group?

Probably not, because only the second Talladega race remains as a plate race in the playoffs. He’d need to win that to even be in the conversation, or give fans reason to believe by winning somewhere else before the regular season ends.

In on points

  • 11. Kyle Busch, 559 points, 4 playoff points
  • 12. Chase Elliott, 524 points, 2 playoff points
  • 13. Denny Hamlin, 498 points, 2 playoff points
  • 14. Matt Kenseth, 445 points, 2 playoff points
  • 15. Jamie McMurray, 504 points, 0 playoff points
  • 16. Clint Bowyer, 469 points, 0 playoff points

Here’s where things get a little confusing with the new rules. McMurray and Bowyer are currently the last two seeds since neither driver has won even one stage.

But those two (and especially McMurray) have enough points that they aren’t in big danger of losing their spots in the field. The guy who needs to be careful is Kenseth, as he’s just three points ahead of the man chasing him.

Speaking of which …

Outside looking in

  • 17. Joey Logano, 442 points, -3 from playoff field
  • 18. Erik Jones, 386 points, -61 from playoff field
  • 19. Daniel Suarez, 354 points, -91 from playoff field
  • 20. Trevor Bayne, 351 points, -94 from playoff field

These are the only four drivers within 100 points of the playoff cutoff, so we’re saying they’re the only four with a chance to get in on points, and they’d need a lot to go right for it to happen — except for Logano.

But the fact that the 22 is even in this situation is because that car’s race win earlier this year was declared encumbered after post-race inspection violations. In simple terms, it doesn’t count for playoff eligibility, and while Logano was fine on points at the time, he isn’t any more.

Making matters even more frantic is that if someone below Kenseth but at least 30th in points wins a race, that means Bowyer is the last man in, and he’s got another 24 points as a cushion. That’s hardly an obstacle that can’t be overcome, but it would be much better for a driver in this group or lower (see also: Dale Earnhardt Jr.) to win a race and let everyone else do the worrying.

Next: Coke Zero 400: 5 takeaways from Daytona

With the exception of Kurt Busch, Newman and Dillon, the current system does a nice job of satisfying the eye test if you watch the NASCAR Cup Series week after week. Everyone else that would currently be in the playoffs definitely deserves to be racing for the championship this fall, and that’s really what any such system should strive to accomplish.

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