There are only three more races before the NASCAR Cup Series Championship, and eight drivers are fighting for the final four spots. The Round of the 8 for the playoffs begins on Sunday with South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race will start at 2:30 p.m. ET and air on NBC while streaming on the NBC Sports App.
The eight drivers who have qualified for the next round of the playoffs are Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Bryon, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. Of the eight drivers, Elliott won the most races this season with five, while Blaney is the only one who has yet to claim a checkered flag this year. Elliott and Logano are the only two who have won a Cup Series title.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I think it just shows the competitiveness across the whole field,” Blaney said. per NASCAR.com. “There’s a lot of guys who have not made it — have ever been in the playoffs, number one — and have never made it to the Round of 8. … I think it just shows the depth of talents across the whole field. You know, you’ve seen champions get eliminated from the playoffs already, and there’s a lot of new faces here that are not champions right now that have a shot to go to Phoenix and contend.
Hamlin is a driver to watch on Sunday as he enjoys competing in Vegas. In his last four starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hamling has three top-five finishes including a win in last year’s playoff race. It would not be surprising to see Hamlin win on Sunday and put himself in a position to claim his first Cup Series title.
“I feel great about all of them,” Hamling said about the next round of the playoffs. “All of them are just perfect for what our strengths are. I’m excited. We have been very strong on the intermediates all year and we tested Homestead a few weeks ago. We had a good test at Martinsville and even though we finished bad there in the spring, I feel good about what we have learned since then. We’re going to have to qualify well there, and track position is going to be huge. It’s time to go to work, but yeah, we’re really excited about our prospects in this next round.”
