The second round of the Cup playoffs ends this weekend at the Charlotte Roval.
Four drivers will be eliminated. Those below the cutline are Joey Logano (-13 points), Daniel Suarez (-20), Austin Cindric (-29) and Chase Briscoe (-32).
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams going to Charlotte (2 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC).
23XI Racing — Good news: Tyler Reddick has an average finish of 7.0 in four Cup starts at the Roval. … Bubba Wallace has finished in the top 10 in seven of the last 13 races. Bad news: Reddick has finished 20th or worse in each of the last four races. … Reddick has scored the fewest points (103) among the remaining playoff drivers in the postseason.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three road course events, the longest active streak. Bad news: McDowell’s average finish in six races at the Roval is 22.8. … Todd Gilliland has finished 23rd or worse in six of the last eight races.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: William Byron is the only driver who has secured a spot in the next round heading into Sunday’s elimination race at the Charlotte Roval. … Chase Elliott has two wins at the Roval. He’s the only driver with multiple wins at that event. … Alex Bowman has scored 13 more points than any other driver in the playoffs. Bowman has scored 189 points in the playoffs. … Bowman’s 58 stage points in the playoffs are the most among all drivers, … Bowman has an average finish of 6.4 in five starts at the Roval. … Kyle Larson needs to score only 16 points at the Roval to clinch a spot in the next round. … The organization has won four of the last six road course races. … Bad news: While Elliott has seven road course wins, which ranks third all-time, he is winless in his last 18 road course starts.
Talladega crash changed fortunes for some playoff drivers ahead of Charlotte Roval race
Chase Elliott finished 29th at Talladega and holds the final transfer spot going into Sunday’s elimination race at the Roval on NBC.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Christopher Bell needs only to score 11 points in the race to clinch a spot in the next round. … Bell has finished seventh or better in six of the last seven races this year. … Ty Gibbs has four top fives in his last six road course starts, including a fourth-place finish at the Roval last year. … Martin Truex Jr. has five road course wins, tied for second most among active drivers. Bad news: Truex has finished 20th or worse in 10 of the last 13 races this season. … Denny Hamlin has one top 10 in 16 road course races with the Next Gen car.
Christopher Bell maintains top spot in NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings
William Byron and Denny Hamlin are the biggest movers in this week’s rankings.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won at Talladega, giving him victories in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his Cup career. Bad news: Stenhouse has never finished better than 17th in six Cup starts at the Roval.
Winners, losers after NASCAR Cup playoff race at Talladega
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had much to celebrate, but he wasn’t the only driver to leave Talladega feeling good.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger won last year’s Roval race. … Shane van Gisbergen will be in the No. 13 car at the Roval, joining Daniel Hemric and Allmendinger in a three-car effort for Kaulig. Bad news: The organization has had 11 DNFs through 31 races this season. The team had eight DNFs in the same span last year.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Team announced this week that crew chief Ben Beshore will move from John Hunter Nemechek’s team to Erik Jones’ team, replacing Dave Elenz, who is no longer with the organization. Brian Campe, recently signed as the new technical director for the team, will serve as the interim crew chief for Nemechek. Bad news: Eleven times this season, the top-finishing car for Legacy MC placed outside the top 25.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch has finished in the top five in each of the last three Roval races. … Austin Dillon has two consecutive finishes of 12th or better. Bad news: Busch has four consecutive finishes of 19th or worse after a streak of four top 10s in a row.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Kaz Grala is in the No. 15 at the Roval. … Corey LaJoie has two top 10s in the last six races. Bad news: The organization has never had a car finish in the top 20 at the Roval in Cup.
RFK Racing — Good news: Chris Buescher won at Watkins Glen in the most recent road course race. … Brad Keselowski’s runner-up finish at Talladega was his best result since placing second in the Coca-Cola 600 in May. … Keselowski’s nine top-five finishes this season are more than he had all of last season. Bad news: Keselowski has one top-10 finish in the last 22 road course races. … Keselowski is winless in 47 career road course starts.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Justin Haley finished seventh at Talladega in his second start since rejoining the organization. .. Spire had all three of its cars finish in the top 10 at Watkins Glen in the most recent road course event. … Carson Hocevar has finished 11th or better in four of the last nine races. Bad news: Hocevar has never competed at the Roval in NASCAR. … Zane Smith finished 30th in his lone Roval Cup start.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Chase Briscoe has five starts in the top 10 in the last seven races. … Briscoe has finished eighth or better in three of the last six races. … Ryan Preece has finished 12th or better in four of the last eight races. Bad news: Josh Berry has failed to finish four of the last seven races. … Noah Gragson has failed to finish three of the last seven races due to an accident.
NASCAR explains decisions with late-race caution that confused some at Talladega
NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer said: “We wanted to err on the side of the competitor.”
Team Penske — Good news: Austin Cindric has eight top 10s in 19 career road course starts. … Ryan Blaney has four top 10s in six Cup starts at the Roval. … Joey Logano has five top 10s in six Roval starts. Bad news: Cindric has one top 10 in his last seven road course starts.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has four top 10s in the last six races. … Chastain has four top 10s in the last five road course starts. Bad news: Daniel Suarez has one top-10 finish in the last 11 road course races. … Suarez has not finished better than 13th at the Roval.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton’s best finish on a road course is third at Indy in 2022. Bad news: Burton has one top 10 in 16 starts on a road course.
