Kicking off this weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will put 16 drivers to the test. Four rounds will lead to one driver hoisting the championship trophy at season’s end. However, this season’s playoffs are set to be thoroughly chaotic due to the schedule change. Two superspeedways and two road courses greet the competitors in the first two rounds. Bristol is also a wild card that wraps up the Round of 16. Until the Round of 8, the name of the game will be survival. Then, there is the mixed bunch of drivers competing. 4 drivers outside the Top-16 are in the playoff field. How will they fare? Same as the website did for Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, the Pit Pass Network crew did some bracketology for the Cup Series Playoff Predictions.
For the playoff predictions, each round is assigned an amount of points for each correct driver a member gets correct. The points per rounds are as follows:
- Round of 16: 1 pt (maximum of 12 points)
- Round of 12: 2 pts (maximum of 16 points)
- Round of 8: 4 pts (maximum of 16 poitns)
- Championship Four: 8 pts
Total available points: 52. Since there could be overlap and a tie, there are 3 main tiebreaker questions. Those are:
- Which playoff driver will win the most races? (1 pt)
- Which non-playoff driver will win a race? (2 pts)
- Will the eventual champion win Phoenix? (1 pt)
If there is still a tie after the questions, the final tiebreaker will be who guesses the closest amount of laps led by the champion at Phoenix.
Without further housekeeping, here are the Cup Series Playoff Predictions.
Zach Adams
Most Wins: Christopher Bell
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Kyle Busch
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: No
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 94
Andy Coffey
Most Wins: Kyle Larson
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Kyle Busch
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 200
Robert Cwick
Most Wins: Kyle Larson
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Shane van Gisbergen
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 45
Tiffany Faw
Most Wins: Joey Logano
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Chris Buescher
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 215
Griffin Fuller
Most Wins: Christopher Bell
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Kyle Busch
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 215
Robert Hill Jr
Most Wins: Tyler Reddick
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Todd Gilliland
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 74
Cash James
Most Wins: Kyle Larson
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Kyle Busch
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 119
Terra Jones
Most Wins: Christopher Bell
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Michael McDowell
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 34
Gregory Latham
Most Wins: Kyle Larson
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Josh Berry
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 122
Mark Matthews
Most Wins: Christopher Bell
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Kyle Busch
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 256
Daniel Smith
Most Wins: Denny Hamlin
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Ross Chastain
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 132
Jane Waldrop
Most Wins: Christopher Bell
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Kyle Busch
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 124
Marvin Wingfield
Most Wins: Kyle Larson
Non-Playoff Driver to Win: Bubba Wallace
Will the Champion Win Phoenix: Yes
Laps Led at Phoenix by Champion: 157
