Playoff Projections: Kurt Busch & Post-Atlanta 2

 

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

    With Kurt Busch becoming the 12th different winner of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, does a playoff field of 16 different winners look any closer? 

I think that we will reach 13 to 14 different winners before the playoffs, but not 16. There is not enough time or races to make that possible. Currently, there are only 5 races left before 16 drivers move on to the playoffs:

• New Hampshire Motor Speedway
• Watkins Glen International
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
• Michigan International Speedway
• Daytona International Speedway

So this last 5 races will maybe bring out 1 or 2 new winners for 2021, but 4 seems a bit out of reach.

Here is a look back at the Top 16 after Road America last week:

Liam Marshall-Stark/Stock Car Media

And now for this weeks Top 16 after Atlanta:

1. Denny Hamlin [No. 11 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] 836 Points [5 Stage Points]
2. Kyle Larson [No. 5 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] 826 Points [4 Wins, 12 Stage Points]
3. Kyle Busch [No. 18 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] 739 Points [2 Wins, 4 Stage Points] (+1)
4. William Byron [No. 24 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] 733 Points [1 Win, 3 Stage Points] (-1)
5. Chase Elliott [No. 9 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] 704 Points [2 Wins, 1 Stage Point] (+1)
6. Joey Logano [No. 22 Ford / Team Penske] 700 Points [1 Win, 1 Stage Point] (-1)
7. Martin Truex, Jr. [No. 19 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] 671 Points [3 Wins, 4 Stage Points]
8. Ryan Blaney [No. 12 Ford / Team Penske] 639 Points [1 Win, 3 Stage Points]
9. Kevin Harvick [No. 4 Ford / Stewart-Haas Racing] 626 Points
10. Brad Keselowski [No. 2 Ford / Team Penske] 623 Points [1 Win, 3 Stage Points]
11. Alex Bowman [No. 48 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] 609 Points [3 Wins]
12. Austin Dillon [No. 3 Chevrolet / Richard Childress Racing] 571 Points
13. Tyler Reddick [No. 8 Chevrolet / Richard Childress Racing] 563 Points [1 Stage Point]
14. Kurt Busch [No. 1 Chevrolet / Chip Ganassi Racing] 530 Points [1 Win, 3 Stage Points]
15. Christopher Bell [No. 20 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] 492 Points [1 Win]
16. Chris Buescher [No. 17 Ford / Roush-Fenway Racing] 467 Points [1 Stage Point]

 - Who has moved around inside the Top 16?

Well for one thing, Denny Hamlin is still hanging on to the points lead, by now 10 points over 2nd place Kyle Larson. Kyle Busch is creeping up the leaderboard and creeping closer to Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson's points lead over the rest of the field.

No one left or moved up and into the Top 16, so I'll skip that section this week.

The current Playoff field looks like this:

1. [No. 5] Kyle Larson / 4 Wins / 826
2. [No. 19] Martin Truex, Jr. / 3 Wins / 670
3. [No. 48] Alex Bowman / 3 Wins / 609
4. [No. 18] Kyle Busch / 2 Wins / 739
5. [No. 9] Chase Elliott / 2 Wins / 704
6. [No. 24] William Byron / 1 Win / 733
7. [No. 22] Joey Logano / 1 Win / 700
8. [No. 12] Ryan Blaney / 1 Win / 639
9. [No. 2] Brad Keselowski / 1 Win / 623
10. [No. 1] Kurt Busch / 1 Win / 530
11. [No. 20] Christopher Bell / 1 Win / 463
12. [No. 34] Michael McDowell / 1 Win / 436
13. [No. 11] Denny Hamlin / 836 [Points Leader]
14. [No. 4] Kevin Harvick / 626
15. [No. 3] Austin Dillon / 571
16. [No. 8] Tyler Reddick / 563