Who Will Advance to Cup’s Championship 4?

Which four drivers will advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4?

Luken Glover: This is a very well-rounded group of eight and this round in particular is a strong slate for several drivers. It would be criminal to exclude Kyle Larson at the present moment, and he’s won at all three of the Round of 8 tracks. A 33-point cushion should help his cause to advance. This round also lines up well for Ryan Blaney. Martinsville Speedway is the only track he has won at among the three, but he’s shown speed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he’s been in contention for the win the past two years at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His stats and feast-or-famine playoffs may look worse than last year, but Blaney may be in a better spot than his title run a year ago.

Christopher Bell also has a strong chance to make it. Bell has quietly been the most consistent driver of the playoff competitors and he’s a former winner at both Homestead and Martinsville. Finally, Chase Elliott is my sleeper. He’s already behind, sitting nine points below the cut line. However, Elliott has proven to be one of the best at earning points this season, and he’s been flying under the radar this postseason.

Andrew Stoddard: Well, let’s start with the obvious. Larson enters the Round of 8 with a 33-point margin above the cut line and he and the No. 5 team have looked 2021-esque going back to the win at Bristol Motor Speedway. He will be back in the mix at Phoenix Raceway. Larson will be joined by Bell, who has been quietly impressive in the playoffs with five top 10s in the past six races. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick will break through to make his first Championship 4. Last, but certainly not least, Joey Logano will make the most of his second chance to continue his streak of Championship 4 appearances in even-numbered years.

Mike Neff: At least two drivers will advance with a win. Larson should win at Vegas, while Reddick will run the rim to the win at Homestead. Martinsville could be an upset winner, but Denny Hamlin will advance from there — maybe by a win, maybe not. Bell will point his way into the final four.

There have been zero back-to-back race winners in Cup in 2024. What do you take away from that?

Tanner Marlar: Not having back-to-back winners is a good thing. When a driver goes out and just dominates two races in a row, that third race can have a lot of fans entering with some preconceived notion that, “well, (insert driver…