With 10 races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, 10 drivers have clinched a berth in the playoffs.
Those drivers have done so, naturally, through winning a race before the one and only off weekend on the schedule. There have been 10 different winners in the Cup Series through 16 races.
Martin Truex Jr. added a second win last Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. In doing so, Truex took the points lead and is in contention for the regular season championship. Truex has a 13-point margin on William Byron.
Truex is the fourth different point leader since the race at Talladega Superspeedway at the end of April. Others who have led the standings in recent weeks include Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell.
Although he’s led the points, Chastain is winless. It’s been over a year since the Trackhouse Racing driver has visited victory lane, although he is still holding a post-season spot going into the summer stretch.
Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman are also winless. Those four drivers won races a year ago and currently hold down spots inside the playoff grid.
A win is what it’s going to take to get Chase Elliott into the postseason. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is thinking as much after missing nine races because of an injury and then a suspension. Elliott is 27th in the point standings, 84 points out of the playoff grid.
Here is the playoff grid after Sonoma Raceway (before reseeding with bonus points):
1. William Byron: 3 wins
2. Kyle Busch: 3 wins
3. Martin Truex Jr. 2 wins
4. Kyle Larson: 2 wins
5. Ryan Blaney: 1 win
6. Christopher Bell: 1 win
7. Denny Hamlin: 1 win
8. Joey Logano: 1 win
9. Tyler Reddick: 1 win
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 1 win
11. Ross Chastain: +173
12. Kevin Harvick: +172
13. Chris Buescher: +102
14. Brad Keselowski: +96
15. Bubba Wallace: +26
16. Alex Bowman: +3
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17. Daniel Suarez: -3
18. Ty Gibbs: -11
19. Michael McDowell: -14
20. AJ Allmendinger: -33
The Cup Series returns to action on June 25 at Nashville Superspeedway.