The third phase of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs starts today with the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. There are now eight drivers competing for the championship, and if one of the playoff competitors wins today’s race, a spot in the Championship finale at Phoenix Raceway has their name on it. The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 will start at 2 p.m. ET and will air on NBC. It will also stream on the NBC Sports App.ย
Kyle Larson has put together a strong year and is on top of the playoff standings.ย As mentioned by NASCAR.com, Larson won at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year in the All-Star Race. However, the speedway has not been too kind to Larson overall, finishing outside the top 35 in the last five points-paying races.ย
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If Larson can’t hold on to the playoff lead, could Denny Hamlin be the guy? The three-time Daytona 500 winner didn’t win a regular-season race this year. But the playoffs are a different story, taking home the checkered flag in two playoff races, leading to him to get one step closer to his first Cup Series Championship.ย
“It’s been interesting. We’ve had after today six playoff races and only two of them have mattered to me,” Hamlin said before last Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. “So it’s just different that we were able to, not take off, but really mentally take off for four weeks in the middle of our playoffs. But that’s the way the format is, and we’ve been very fortunate to win the early races and that’s given us the liberty that we’ve got to go out there and enjoy today and really our focus has been shifted to the Round of 8 and how we can win at those tracks.” ย
Larson and Hamlin are No. 1 and No. 2 in the playoff standings. The rest of the playoff field includes Martin Truex Jr. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Brad Keslelowski. Elliott is the defending Cup Series champion, while Busch won the title in 2015 and 2019. Truex won it all in 2017, Logano won it in 2018, Keselowski won it in 2012, and Blaney is looking to win his first championship.ย
