There’s a race left in the NASCAR Cup Series season before the playoffs begin, and Jimmie Johnson is just below the playoff threshold.
Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway is the seven-time champion’s last chance to qualify for the playoffs and look up a name in his final season before retiring from the full-time race. But if the playoffs started today, Johnson would be looking outside.
Ten drivers have already qualified for the 16- and 10-race qualifiers after winning at least one race so far this season. Those already caught in the playoffs based on race wins are: Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.
And after this weekend’s double name at Dover International Speedway (Hamlin won the first race and Harvick at the time), there are 3 of the 16 playoffs left with Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola winning their points-based playoffs.
Johnson finished third on Sunday at Dover and the 44-year-old now has four problems on the threshold.
And one of the drivers chasing for this position in the playoffs is his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who is 4 numbers ahead of the threshold. Clint Bowyer and Matt DiBenedetto are also lately over the threshold but are not officially blocked.
Johnson probably wants not only a forged finish at Daytona on Saturday, but also a particularly superior result than his other playoff competition to pass the cut. He and the other driving forces in the playoff bubble will also have to expect a new winner of the race, because if some other driving force wins their first race of 2020, it’s one less position for the playoffs.
But it’s also less difficult to say than to do it on a chaotic track like Daytona. After Sunday’s race at Dover, Johnson said:
“It’s so hard to know how things are happening in Daytona. If you get a single record and it’s the old track with the biggest tire wear, which probably wouldn’t be the case, you can paint with a teammate and visit create an opportunity. But if we all run in a big group, luck will play a bigger role in things for most of them.
“I mean, if you have a dominant car and you can lead the race and control the lanes in front, there’s an opportunity, obviously. But I have the impression that luck and fate will control the result.
The NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale will be held Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.
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Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has one more chance of reaching the playoffs in his final season.