The NASCAR drivers will face four more races in 14 days to complete the 2020 Cup Series regular season. That makes this weekend’s GoBowling.com 235 a wild card for the Playoffs.

There are a few reasons this weekend’s race is a wild card. To begin with it will be the first time the NASCAR Cup Series has ever raced on the road course at Daytona International Speedway. That means there are no driver ratings or previous wins for drivers to rely on to help them. The crew chiefs have no notes to assist in setting up the cars.

There will be no practice and no qualifying for this weekend’s race. The first laps any driver takes around the Daytona International Speedway Road Course will be in the race Sunday. They will literally be learning how to race around the 14 turns, including a newly added chicane, by the seat of their pants in the race.

With all of the unknowns for the GoBowling.com 235, anybody could find they are at the right place at the end of the race to score the win. There are six places in the top 16 currently filled by driver points, not wins. With just four races remaining at least two of those spots will be filled by driver points for the post-season. However, anybody who cannot point their way in could win to get in. This weekend’s race is the perfect opportunity for a driver currently under the radar for the Playoffs to race into the picture.

The drivers locked in the post-season will be looking to add to their Playoff Points total. Those points can assist them throughout the post-season. They will immediately have an impact on the ranking when the Playoffs begin. The points for the 16 drivers that make the post-season will be set at 2000. Their Playoff Points will then be added to their total and the drivers will be ranked based on the new total. That is why you see some drivers with less points currently ranked higher in the outlook above.

This weekend will depend on three things in my opinion. Strategy, skill and desire. The driver and team that have all three of those will have the chance to claim the win in the end.

We will find out who that driver is (or those drivers are) starting at 2 P.M. central time (3 P.M. eastern time) in the GoBowling.com 235 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course Sunday, August 16th.

By: Buck Stevens