The NASCAR Playoffs haven’t started yet, but Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 is sure to be the wildest Cup Series race of the year in 2020.
The Cup Series regular season will conclude at one of the most unpredictable tracks in racing, and half the field will be battling for the final three available Playoff spots at 200 miles per hour. 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson is outside of playoff position and needs to race his way in – but a surprise winner at Daytona could change everything.
Who’s already in, and who can clinch a spot on Saturday? We’re here to help make sense of the Playoff bubble.
The 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona will begin at 7:30 ET on NBC.
13 drivers have clinched spots in the 2020 Playoffs:
- Kevin Harvick
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Blaney
- Chase Elliott
- Aric Almirola
- Kyle Busch
- Kurt Busch
- Alex Bowman
- Austin Dillon
- Cole Custer
There are three remaining open spots in the 2020 Playoff field. Any driver who has not already clinched a spot and finishes the regular season in the top 30 in points can secure a place in the Playoff by winning on Saturday night – and since this is Daytona, the door is wide open for a surprise winner. If there is a repeat winner at Daytona, the final three spots will be decided on points.
The Playoff points bubble:
- 14. Clint Bowyer: +57 points (needs 3 points to clinch spot)
- 15. Matt DiBenedetto: +9 points (needs 51 points to clinch spot)
- 16. William Byron: +4 points
- 17. Jimmie Johnson: -4 points
- 18. Erik Jones: -50 points
- 19. Tyler Reddick: -69 points
Clint Bowyer is all but locked into the playoffs, and could likely clinch his spot before the race ends by accruing stage points. The battle between Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson, though, could likely go down to the final lap.
Johnson is currently outside playoff position, and to be safe, will likely need to assume there’s a first time winner that earns an automatic spot. His objective for the race will be to finish ahead of DiBenedetto and Byron, while also making sure to pick up more stage points over the course of the race than either of his rivals. An accident at some point in the race is sure to happen, though, and all three drivers cannot afford to be knocked out of the race early.
Erik Jones can still mathematically clinch a spot on points, but it’s very, very unlikely that he will. For Jones, Reddick and Christopher Bell, who sits 20th in points, a race win is the ticket to the playoffs. The same is true for Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell and others, who will be taking every risk to try and win their way into the Playoffs.
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