There are 10 races in the NASCAR post-season. There are 16 drivers that can win the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. It all begins this weekend with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Just like other sports, only the teams that qualified for the playoffs can win the championship. However, unlike other sports the teams that did not qualify will still be competing. Those teams will be going for individual race wins giving the playoff teams more to deal with than in any other sport.
The NASCAR Playoffs are structured with four rounds: The Round of 16, The Round of 12, The Round of 8 and The Championship 4.
There are three races in the first three rounds. If a playoff driver wins a race in one of those rounds they automatically advance to the next round. At the end of each round the four drivers with the lowest point total and no win in that round will be eliminated from the playoffs.
The final round, The Championship 4, is a one race, winner-takes-all round. The driver that finishes that final race first wins the championship.
Here is what the playoff drivers and non-playoffs drivers will be facing this weekend equally.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Data
Track Size: 1.5-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 20 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 20 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 9 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 2,275 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,572 feet
South Point 400 Data
Season Race #: 27 of 36 (09-15-19)
Race Length: 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 80 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 107 laps
These are the active drivers with the best resumes in NASCAR’s top division at Las Vegas.
Top 10 Active Driver Ratings at Las Vegas
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 104.6
Kyle Busch…………………………. 103.7
Kevin Harvick……………………… 102.5
Joey Logano……………………….. 101.6
Brad Keselowski……………………. 96.1
Martin Truex Jr.…………………….. 95.7
Kyle Larson………………………….. 93.3
Chase Elliott…………………………. 91.3
Ryan Blaney…………………………. 90.2
Erik Jones……………………………. 87.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2019 races (16 total) among active drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Driver names in RED above are currently in the playoffs.
These are the active drivers who have won in the Cup Series during their careers.
Jimmie Johnson – 4 Wins
Brad Keselowski – 3 Wins (including this race in 2018)
Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins
Kyle Busch – 1 Win
Martin Truex Jr – 1 Win
Joey Logano – 1 Win
Driver names in RED above are currently in the playoffs.
Jimmie Johnson has made the playoffs in the past 16 years in a raw prior to this year. The seven time champion is currently in an 87-race winless drought. Jimmie is at the top of both the driver ratings and the wins list among active drivers at Las Vegas. Winning the race this week would not give him a chance at the championship, but it would show his career is not over yet.
Will it be Jimmie or another driver not in the post-season playing spoiler by winning this weekend? Will it be one of the playoff drivers securing their advance to the next round by winning?
You can bet that some of the drivers and teams will take big gambles to be the winner in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, September 15th starting at 6 PM central time (7 PM eastern time).
By: Buck Stevens
