With his back against the wall, no driver in recent history has been more clutch than defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. Either way it shakes on Saturday, this debate looks to be on pace to continue all the way to Phoenix Raceway. And Christopher Bell (eighth) and Kyle Busch (10th) are both currently in position to make the Round of 12. If you stay with Kyle Larson as your championship pick, that’s fine. has won six of the last 12 at this track type. After failing to win in his first 80 short-track starts, Martin Truex Jr. Denny Hamlin has led 343 laps in the first two playoff races - the most ever. Short-track success throughout JGR’s history has placed them in a perfect position in the opening round. It isn’t outrageous to assume the veteran stable at JGR has caught up. Playoffs, so far? Joe Gibbs Racing has been up to the challenge. Regular season? Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance. We have yet to see a playoff race where all 16 eligible drivers have finished the race, and as we know, anything can happen at “The Last Great Colosseum.” See the current playoff standings.Ģ. A solid day from Reddick could potentially advance the first-year playoff driver to the Round of 12. Title underdogs, Tyler Reddick (5 points below the elimination line) and Michael McDowell (38 points below the elimination line), are also down but not out. A pair of Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Alex Bowman and William Byron, find themselves unexpectedly below the initial line to advance after a historically dominant season from the organization. Six-time Bristol winner Kurt Busch holds the final transfer spot, even after bowing out of Richmond Raceway with a heavy crash in Stage 1 just one week ago. It is something that we’ve kept an eye on since the beginning of the NASCAR Playoffs and now we finally have a chance to see who advances through the Round of 16.

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