A Tale Of Two Drivers & NASCAR’s Playoffs

The white flag is in the air.

OK, maybe that was a little dramatic, but the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season has just one race left, and because that race is at Daytona International Speedway, the playoff field is far from set.

What makes that different from a year ago is the fact that thanks to the Next Gen car and the parity it has brought, there is just one single spot not already locked in by a race winner. That means that there are three possible outcomes after Daytona: a new winner makes the show and nobody makes it on points, Ryan Blaney takes the last spot on points, or Martin Truex Jr. makes up 25 markers on Blaney and gets in on points instead.

By the numbers, no driver has really had a breakout season. Chase Elliott is the closest with four wins, but he’s had enough struggles to really keep him from being on any kind of a roll.

As it stands now, the playoff reset has a clear winner … and an even clearer loser. If the field was set right now, two drivers would gain six positions. That jump would mean a much nicer cushion between the round of 12 and elimination.

But another stands to slide 13 spots, to last in the field, already on the brink of elimination before the first race even starts. That gives enough pause to look a little closer.

Without names (though they’re easy to guess), take a look at these two drivers, both currently in the title hunt. One is clearly having a better season in every possible statistical category except for the only one that counts: wins.

Is either driver here having a championship-caliber season? Certainly Driver A is closer to that designation than Driver B, whose numbers beyond the wins are fairly mediocre. Driver B spent most of the regular season outside the top 16, Driver A spent most of it in the top four. By most standards, he’s having an excellent season.

And he’s still in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.

Driver A is clearly Ryan Blaney. Driver B?…