The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are winding down to the final race of the second round which will dash the hopes of four drivers chasing the championship.
After winning the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Ryan Blaney punched his ticket, joining Willam Byron as the only two drivers guaranteed to move onto the Round of 8 following Sunday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
With only five races remaining before the NASCAR champion is crowned, FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds at +350 that co-favorites Byron and Denny Hamlin would capture the title, for the second consecutive week..
Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain both suffered a gut-wrenching blow to playoff hopes when they were involved in separate crashes at Talladega causing them to not finish the race.
Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford is currently just above the NASCAR playoff standings’ cutoff line holding a two-point lead over Tyler Reddick. Chastain on the other hand is 10 points below the line and will most likely need a win or another driver to have a horrible showing to make it to the next round. Chastain has never won or finished in the top 10 eight tries at Charlotte. Keselowski has two wins and six other top-five finishes in his career.
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Here’s how the field of drivers shakes out heading into Charlotte:
William Byron +350
Denny Hamlin +350
Kyle Larson +450
Ryan Blaney +650
Martin Truex Jr. +650
Chris Buescher +850
Christopher Bell +1000
Tyler Reddick +2000
Brad Keselowski +2500
Ross Chastain +3000
Kyle Busch +3500
Bubba Wallace +6000
Reddick, Busch and Wallace join Chastain currently on the bubble and would risk elimination from the NASCAR playoffs if they cannot make it into the top eight with points or win the final race in the second round.
At the end of the Round of 12, the eight remaining drivers are reset to 4,000 plus their playoff points.
