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NASCAR playoffs: Where the drivers rank in points ahead of Saturday's elimination race

Ellen J. Horrow   Paste BN

Two NASCAR Cup Series playoff races are now in the books, and two drivers will not have to sweat out the first elimination.

Tyler Reddick continued his hot start to the playoffs, scoring the win Sunday at Kansas Speedway one week after finishing second at Darlington. The 23XI Racing driver joins Darlington winner and Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson with automatic berths into the second round.

But Kansas proved extremely costly to regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver cut a tire moments after the race began, and the resulting crash left his car unrepairable and out of the race – and dropped him from sixth in the playoff standings to 13th and below the cutline.

Teams will now head to Bristol Motor Speedway for a night of short-track racing to determine which drivers move on and which get eliminated.

How do the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs work?

The playoffs consist of 10 races, starting with 16 drivers. The first nine races are broken up into three rounds with three races apiece, with winners automatically advancing to the next round. Four drivers will be eliminated after the third, sixth and ninth races, leaving a final four to battle for the championship on Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.

What are the standings after the second playoff race?

Here are the points following the race at Kansas (*-former champion; x-clinched berth in second round):

  1. x-Kyle Larson*, Hendrick Motorsports — 2,117 points
  2. x-Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing — 2,111 points
  3. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing — 2,105 points
  4. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports — 2,097 points
  5. Brad Keselowski*, RFK Racing — 2,089 points
  6. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske — 2,081 points
  7. Kyle Busch*, Richard Childress Racing — 2,080 points
  8. Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing — 2,074 points
  9. Chris Buescher, RFK Racing — 2,069 points
  10. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing — 2,069 points
  11. Joey Logano*, Team Penske — 2,068 points
  12. Kevin Harvick*, Stewart-Haas Racing — 2,063 points
  13. Martin Truex Jr.*, Joe Gibbs Racing — 2,056 points
  14. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing — 2,044 points
  15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing — 2,041 points
  16. Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports — 2,023 points

What TV channels are the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on?

The first four races will be televised on USA Network while the final six will be on NBC.

Will there be live streams of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff races?

All 10 races can be live streamed on the NBC Sports website and the NBC Sports app.

What is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule?

With dates, track, time and TV network; All times Eastern.

Sunday, Sept. 3: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval). Winner: Kyle Larson

Sunday, Sept. 10: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval). Winner: Tyler Reddick

Saturday, Sept. 16: Bristol Motor Speedway (0.533-mile oval), 7:30 p.m., USA

Sunday, Sept. 24: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval), 3:30 p.m., USA

Sunday, Oct. 1: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval), 2 p.m., NBC

Sunday, Oct. 8: Charlotte Motor Speedway (2.28-mile road course/oval), 2 p.m., NBC

Sunday, Oct. 15: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval), 2:30 p.m., NBC

Sunday, Oct. 22: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval), 2:30 p.m., NBC

Sunday, Oct. 29: Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval), 2 p.m., NBC

Sunday, Nov. 5: Phoenix Raceway – championship race (1-mile oval), 3 p.m., NBC

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