NASCAR Cup playoff standings after Pocono
Michael McDowell and Bubba Wallace continue to hold provisional playoff spots heading into Sunday’s Cup race at Richmond Raceway (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).
McDowell kept his spot by scoring five points in stage 1 and finishing the Pocono race 19th. He also gained points after a crash collected Daniel Suarez at the start of stage 2.
Wallace entered Pocono with a two-point advantage over the playoff cutline. He scored points in the first two stages before finishing 11th. Wallace is 10 points ahead of McDowell and 27 points above the cutline.
AJ Allmendinger trails McDowell by 17 points with five races remaining in the regular season, and Suarez is now 23 points back. Ty Gibbs is 28 points back.
Suarez was one point below the cutline after the race at New Hampshire. The crash at Pocono led to him finishing 36th with only one point. He is not out of the playoff hunt, but he has another driver ahead of him.
Gibbs finished 27th at New Hampshire and fell 41 points below the cutline. He rebounded at Pocono with a career-best fifth-place finish. He gained 13 points and put himself back in the mix for a playoff spot.
Alex Bowman remained 20th in the standings after Pocono. He scored six points in stage 2 and ran inside the top five during the final stage. He finished 24th after spinning with 11 laps remaining in the race.
Five races remain in the regular season for the Cup Series. Eleven drivers have won this season. They are marked by the yellow box in the below graphic. That leaves five playoff spots via points at this time. None of the previous winners can lose their playoff spots with new winners.
