And then there were 12.
Given the time of year, the NASCAR playoffs appropriately resemble a slasher horror film more than any other sport. However, instead of Michael Myers, the Thing or Pazuzu exacting doom upon someone, it’s mechanical failures, hard racing and bad decisions knocking these pilots out of the postseason. Although the bad decisions aspect is probably applicable to both.
That all said, just 12 competitors remain in contention for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series title, and with the oft-dreaded Texas Motor Speedway ahead of the field this weekend, it’s time to look at how the remaining dozen stack up.
Chase Elliott
Chase Elliott, of course, ended up as the 2020 Cup champion after a comeback win at Martinsville Speedway in the penultimate race landed him in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. He’s made the championship round twice, has four wins this season and could be on track to make his third final playoff round.
That’s all well and good, but the No. 9 suffered misfortune at Darlington Raceway last round in a crash and finished just outside the top 10 at Kansas Speedway. His runner-up at Bristol Motor Speedway was the bright spot, but his last win not awarded post-race was nearly two-and-a-half months ago.
More consistency is needed for them to move past the Round of Chaos.
Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin has a trio of triumphs at Texas, leading all current playoff drivers, with the most recent in spring 2019. He’s also made the past three championship rounds and four overall, seemingly the driver most overdue to finally break through and win a title.
The Chesterfield, Va., native also feels like a playoff relic, and that’s not a comment on his age. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., plus perennial contender Kevin Harvick, have been constants in the postseason for pretty much the entirety of the playoff era. Busch and Harvick were just eliminated at Bristol while Truex didn’t even make the playoffs. Hamlin’s one of the few recurring competitors remaining.
Eight playoff years thus far means 32 Championship 4 spots, and just 11 of those were taken by drivers still in the 2022 playoffs: Hamlin with four, Joey Logano with four, Elliott with two and Kyle Larson with one. All the others were by drivers who have since retired, didn’t even make the playoffs this year or have already been eliminated. Notably, 2015 and 2017’s title quartets are entirely excluded from 2022 contention at this…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Frontstretch…