Joey Logano is in. The villain won yesterday at Kansas, successfully blocking Kevin Harvick over the final 42 laps to clinch a spot among the four drivers racing for the championship at Phoenix in three weeks’ time. Here’s how the remaining playoff field finished, and where they stand looking ahead to the next two races:
1. Joey Logano (won, locked into Championship)
Logano’s pit crew gave him the lead on the final caution of the race, and Logano held it. Having been on the near-outside, looking in, his qualification for the Championship raises the pressure on the rest of the field more than, say, a Kevin Harvick win would have.
2. Kevin Harvick (finished second, 33 points ahead of Brad Keselowski)
Harvick is still in no real danger, and should be able to points race his way to the Championship, but he also isn’t exactly “safe,” even after finishing second.
3. Denny Hamlin (finished 15th, 12 points ahead of Keselowski)
Hamlin slid up into the wall with under 100 laps to go, falling two laps down. He got back on the lead lap, though, and salvaged a few points. Coupling these with the ten points from winning Stage Two (playoff points don’t roll over into the Championship, but stage points are still helpful in the immediate term), Hamlin’s fine, though he’d like to be more secure than he currently is.
4. Brad Keselowski (finished fourth, last driver in as things stand)
Keselowski was, as he often is, right around the front all day. Logano’s victory means he may need a win to advance, but it’s not impossible that he’d move on by points alone.
5. Chase Elliott (finished sixth, 8 points back of Keselowski)
Elliott had a bizarre day, with radio issues making communication with even his spotter impossible at times. Somehow, he stayed in the top ten, keeping Keselowski within arm’s reach.
6. Alex Bowman (finished third, 27 points back of Keselowski)
Bowman was solid all day. Unfortunately for him, solid probably won’t be enough. He needs a win as badly as these next two.
7. Martin Truex, Jr (finished ninth, 31 points back of Keselowski)
Truex had to start at the back of the field after failing the pre-race inspection two times. He got back into contention, but wasn’t able to do anything to change his status as far as Championship qualification goes.
8. Kurt Busch (finished 38th, 73 points back of Keselowski)
On the one hand, Busch’s engine blew up, knocking him out of the race early. On the other, he was going to have to win anyway barring a really odd series of events.
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Next up: Texas, followed by the semifinal race at Martinsville. Five drivers likely need a win. One needs to hang on. One is between those two strata.
