NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Driver?s, Owner?s & Manufacturer?s Championship Breakdown Heading Into Homestead

3 championships, 3 winners, 3 races to go. The entire year?s thrill, drama, clashes, and penalties come down to the next three weeks of the season. What we have next is the Homestead-Miami Speedway, the track which, for 18 seasons, declared the fate of the season as the final Championship 4 race of NASCAR?s Cup Series. Now relegated to the Round of 8, the upcoming race will still play a crucial role in determining the top drivers, owners, and manufacturers to set their sights on the winning trophy in Phoenix. After 33 action-packed races, here?s a look at the season?s standings after the South Point 400 in Las Vegas.

1) NASCAR Cup Series Driver?s Championship

Kyle Larson secured an early Phoenix berth with his dominating performance at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports‘ #5 driver sits atop the playoff standings with 4084 points, 14 Top 5s, and an incredible 1031 laps led this season. 9 points above the cut line, his teammate in the #24, William Byron, is a close second with 4077 points and 6 sensational wins, the highest among all participating drivers.?

The next three places are taken by Joe Gibbs Racing stars. The regular season champion Martin Truex Jr continues to benefit from his earlier performances and carries 4070 points. Tying for third place but without the advantage of his #19 teammate, Denny Hamlin comfortably takes the fourth spot 2 points above the cut line. Just 2 points shy of his teammates, the six-time pole winner Christopher Bell lands 5th on the playoff bubble with 4068 points.

The last three spots are occupied by the lone flag-bearers of their respective teams. Only one point separating the two, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick (-16) and Team Penske?s Ryan Blaney (-17) find themselves in the 6th and 7th positions, respectively. At the bottom, RFK Racing?s Chris Buescher (-23), having lost 20 points in the South Point 400 last weekend, caps this year?s championship standing at 4074 points.?

Their owners, however, find themselves in an interesting predicament this year.

2) NASCAR Cup Series Owner?s Championship

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In the world of NASCAR, the owner?s title gets far less limelight than it deserves. The fan-favorite drivers stealing the spotlight is understandable. However, the sponsorships and the funding affecting drivers? future seasons are decided on the basis of their teams? standings. Ordinarily, the Top 8 drivers qualify with their racecars for the owners? championships. This year, tells an entirely different, albeit interesting tale.

The Top 4 spots are similarly taken by Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, but not quite with the same racecars. The #5 and #24 HMS teams are first and second, but the JGR teams have dramatically shifted. Martin Truex Jr?s #19 team could not qualify for the Round of 8 of owners? playoffs due to Truex?s disappointing playoff season. This brought the limelight to his #11 and #20 teammates who are now 14 and 16 points behind Kyle Larson?s #5 team.?

This also created the opportunity for a non-playoff driver to contest in the owner?s playoff season. Consequently, the racing community enthusiastically welcomed popular HMS driver Chase Elliott into this year?s playoff fold when his #9 team qualified for the owners? Round of 8. However, Elliott was forced to start at the bottom after missing the qualifying laps. Combined with the restart penalty in Las Vegas, the #9 team could not recover enough to improve their playoff standing.

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77 points below the #5 team, the #9 HMS team is now positioned 8th, at the bottom of the owners? standing behind 23XI Racing?s #45 (-30), Team Penske?s #12 (-31) and RFK Racing?s #17 (-37) in the 5th, 6th and 7th places respectively. Where does that leave the three racing manufacturers?

3) NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer?s Championship

Chevrolet and Ford, both manufacturing giants, are fielding two cars each in the Round of 8 race in Homestead. The Japanese manufacturer Toyota can boast of the majority of front runners with four of their cars in the driver?s playoffs. The owners? playoffs have a slightly more even playing field with 3 Chevrolets, 3 Toyotas, and 2 Ford cars.

With 17 wins and 1224 points, Chevrolet currently leads the table. 81 points behind, Toyota?s 9 wins awarded 1143 points to the manufacturing company. Finally, sitting at the bottom with 7 wins and 1129 points, Ford is 95 points behind Chevrolet. The last two Homestead races were also won by Chevrolet drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron.

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The top two Cup Series drivers along with their team Hendrick Motorsports and manufacturer Chevrolet can look forward to ending the season on a championship high. Unless the Homestead-Miami Speedway overturns the tables through an underdog victor. Who do you think will lead these standings after the upcoming race this weekend?