How all 16 NASCAR playoff drivers fared at the 10 tracks this year
It's official: Tyler Reddick was the final NASCAR Cup Series championship contender in the 16-driver field.
By the end of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night - the regular-season finale won by Ryan Blaney - the playoff field was finalized. And the 10-race shootout for the 2021 title begins Sunday, September 5 at Darlington Raceway with the Southern 500, one of NASCAR's "crown jewel" races.
In addition to Reddick, the other 15 playoff drivers are: Blaney, regular-season champ Kyle Larson, defending Cup champ Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell and Aric Almirola. Either based on wins or points, these drivers had already locked up their playoff spots before Daytona's regular-season closer.
So ahead of the start of the playoffs next weekend, we're breaking down how the 16 drivers have performed so far this season, including how they've done at each of the 10 playoff tracks.
Note: Because the only races this season at Texas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval are in the playoffs, we're using stats from the respective 2020 playoff races.
16. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
2021 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 6
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington Raceway: 6th
Richmond Raceway: 24th
Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt): 15th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 20th
Talladega Superspeedway: 4th
Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (2020): 11th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas Motor Speedway (2020): 16th
Kansas Speedway: 2nd
Martinsville Speedway: 9th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix Raceway: 6th
15. Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
2021 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 1
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 12th
Richmond: 20th
Bristol (dirt): 7th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 22nd
Talladega: 7th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 12th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 15th
Kansas: 7th
Martinsville: 8th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 29th
14. Aric Almirola, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 2
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 37th DNF
Richmond: 6th
Bristol (dirt): 36th DNF
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 38th DNF
Talladega: 15th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 16th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 23rd
Kansas: 29th
Martinsville: 20th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 11th
13. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 2
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 27th
Richmond: 27th
Bristol (dirt): 12th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 17th
Talladega: 3rd
Charlotte Roval (2020): 32nd
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 26th
Kansas: 13th
Martinsville: 31st DNF
Championship 4 tracks
Phoenix: 23rd
12. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 4
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 14th
Richmond: 4th
Bristol (dirt): 34th DNF
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 7th
Talladega: 17th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 24th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 3rd
Kansas: 28th
Martinsville: 7th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 9th
11. Kurt Busch, No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 4
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 35th DNF
Richmond: 13th
Bristol (dirt): 16th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 19th
Talladega: 35th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 4th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 7th
Kansas: 15th
Martinsville: 21st
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 15th
10. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 7
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 24th
Richmond: 14th
Bristol (dirt): 11th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 2nd
Talladega: 1st
Charlotte Roval (2020): 18th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 6th
Kansas: 3rd
Martinsville: 33rd DNF
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 4th
9. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 8
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 13th
Richmond: 3rd
Bristol (dirt): 1st
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 9th
Talladega: 39th DNF
Charlotte Roval (2020): 2nd
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 10th
Kansas: 17th
Martinsville: 6th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 2nd
8. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2021 wins: 1
Top-5 finishes: 9
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 4th
Richmond: 7th
Bristol (dirt): 6th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 8th
Talladega: 2nd
Charlotte Roval (2020): 6th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 13th
Kansas: 9th
Martinsville: 4th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 8th
7. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2021 wins: 0
Top-5 finishes: 13
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 5th
Richmond: 2nd
Bristol (dirt): 3rd
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 4th
Talladega: 32nd
Charlotte Roval (2020): 15th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 9th
Kansas: 12th
Martinsville: 3rd
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 3rd
6. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2021 wins: 3
Top-5 finishes: 6
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 17th
Richmond: 1st
Bristol (dirt): 22nd
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 27th
Talladega: 38th DNF
Charlotte Roval (2020): 8th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 5th
Kansas: 18th
Martinsville: 34th DNF
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 13th
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2021 wins: 2
Top-5 finishes: 11
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 7th
Richmond: 12th
Bristol (dirt): 10th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 13th
Talladega: 24th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 1st
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 20th
Kansas: 5th
Martinsville: 2nd
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 5th
4. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2021 wins: 2
Top-5 finishes: 11
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 3rd
Richmond: 8th
Bristol (dirt): 17th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 3rd
Talladega: 18th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 30th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 1st
Kansas: 1st
Martinsville: 10th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 25th
3. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2021 wins: 3
Top-5 finishes: 8
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 1st
Richmond: 5th
Bristol (dirt): 19th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 6th
Talladega: 31st
Charlotte Roval (2020): 7th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 2nd
Kansas: 6th
Martinsville: 1st
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 1st
2. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
2021 wins: 3
Top-5 finishes: 8
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington: 8th
Richmond: 11th
Bristol (dirt): 8th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas: 5th
Talladega: 9th
Charlotte Roval (2020): 5th
Round of 8 tracks
Texas (2020): 4th
Kansas: 21st
Martinsville: 11th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix: 10th
1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2021 wins: 5
Top-5 finishes: 14
Playoff track performance in 2021
Round of 16 tracks
Darlington Raceway: 2nd
Richmond Raceway: 18th
Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt): 29th
Round of 12 tracks
Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 1st
Talladega Superspeedway: 40th DNF
Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (2020): N/A
Round of 8 tracks
Texas Motor Speedway: N/A
Kansas Speedway: 19th
Martinsville Speedway: 5th
Championship 4 track
Phoenix Raceway: 7th
The first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 5 (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN).
