Bottom four NASCAR playoff rebound hopes, desperation at the Glen

As expected, the opening race of the NASCAR Cup playoffs really jostled the order of things in the championship standings. Most notably, top seed Kyle Larson shockingly crashed on his own in the first stage of the race. The result erased half of his points cushion, leaving him tenth in the standings and just 15 points away from the cut-line. Denny Hamlin is another title contender who endured a dreadful day, riding in the back in hopes of avoiding a wreck — only to be in the race-ending crash on the final lap. He’s now just two points up.

But these drivers are still *above* the elimination zone. Four drivers find themselves in the red and will be forced to make ground over the next two weeks, including two champions of the sport.

Brad Keselowski is one point below the cut-line, so his situation is not nearly as dire as some of the others here. He entered the playoffs as the eighth seed, but now sits 13th — just behind playoff debutant Ty Gibbs. However, Keselowski has notoriously struggled at road courses in the Next Gen era with Watkins Glen just ahead. His most recent finishes on tracks that go both left and right are all 13th or worse. The drivers he is chasing have had far more success at road courses as of late, so the RFK Racing co-owner is in a far more precarious position than the points situation currently suggests. The 2012 NASCAR Cup champion will need to step it up this weekend or face a potential must-win at Bristol.

Harrison Burton’s heroic drive at Daytona was a wonderful moment for the Wood Brothers, but in truth, no one ever thought the No. 21 would go very far in this title fight. He was last in points among full-time drivers before that win, and while Atlanta was an opportunity for him to gain ground, he lost it instead. He was collected in a last-lap crash, leaving him with a 31st-place finish and 16 points behind the other contenders. It’s unlikely he’ll be able to make up that ground in the weeks ahead now that Burton has fallen behind.

Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, DEX Imaging Ford Mustang

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

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