Just three spots remain in the Championship 4 after Joey Logano's win at Martinsville Speedway last week. The remaining seven drivers in the Round of 8 have just two races to prove their worthy of a shot at the title.
If the championship were to take place this week, Logano would be up against former Cup Series title winners Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick, otherwise branded "The Big Three" this season. Busch is currently 46 points above the cutline while Truex and Harvick are 25 points to the good.
In that same scenario, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola would be the four drivers to miss out on Homestead. Kurt Busch is the only former champion besides "The Big Three" in the field.
This week, the series heads to Texas where Harvick secured his trip to Homestead last season.
Below is a list of events for the NASCAR's Cup Series Playoffs.
Next Race: AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway
Location: Texas Motor Speedway
Date: Sunday, November 4
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Length: 500 miles/334 laps
Stage 1: Ends on Lap 85
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 170
Final stage: Scheduled for Lap 334
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule
| DATE | LOCATION | EVENT | TIME | NETWORK | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb. 18 | Daytona International Speedway | DAYTONA 500 | 1PM | FOX | |
Feb. 25 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | 1PM | FOX | |
Mar. 4 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube | 3:30PM | FOX | |
Mar. 11 | ISM Raceway | TicketGuardian 500 | 3:30PM | FOX | |
Mar. 18 | Auto Club Speedway | Auto Club 400 | 3:30PM | FOX | |
Mar. 26 | Martinsville Speedway | STP 500 | 2PM | FS1 | |
April 8 | Texas Motor Speedway | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | 2PM | FS1 | |
April 15 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Food City 500 | 2PM | FOX | |
April 21 | Richmond Raceway | Toyota Owners 400 | 630PM | FOX | |
April 29 | Talladega Superspeedway | GEICO 500 | 2PM | FOX | |
May 6 | Dover International Speedway | AAA 400 Drive for Autism | 2PM | FS1 | |
May 12 | Kansas Speedway | KC Masterpiece 400 | 8PM | FS1 | |
May 19 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway | 8PM | FS1 | Kevin Harvick |
May 27 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Coca-Cola 600 | 6PM | FOX | |
June 3 | Pocono Raceway | Pocono 400 | 2PM | FS1 | |
June 10 | Michigan International Speedway | FireKeepers Casino 400 | 2PM | FOX | |
June 24 | Sonoma Raceway | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | 3PM | FS1 | |
July 1 | Chicagoland Speedway | Overton's 400 | 2:30PM | NBCSN | |
July 7 | Daytona International Speedway | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | 7PM | NBC | |
July 14 | Kentucky Speedway | Quaker State 400 | 7:30PM | NBCSN | |
July 22 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | New Hampshire 301 | 2PM | NBCSN | |
July 29 | Pocono Raceway | Gander Outdoors 400 | 2:30PM | NBCSN | |
Aug. 5 | Watkins Glen International | GoBowling at The Glen | 2:30PM | NBC | |
Aug. 12 | Michigan International Speedway | Consumers Energy 400 | 2:30PM | NBCSN | |
Aug. 18 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race | 7:30PM | NBCSN | |
Sept. 2 | Darlington Raceway | Bojangles' Southern 500 | 6PM | NBCSN | |
Sept. 9 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Big Machine Vodka Brickyard 400 | 2PM | NBCSN | |
Sept. 16 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | *South Point 400 | 3PM | NBCSN | |
Sept. 22 | Richmond Raceway | *Federated Auto Parts 400 | 730PM | NBCSN | |
Sept. 30 | Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course | *Bank of America 500 | 2PM | NBC | Ryan Blaney |
Oct. 7 | Dover International Speedway | *Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Dover | 2PM | NBCSN | |
Oct. 14 | Talladega Superspeedway | *1000Bulbs.com 500 | 2PM | NBC | |
Oct. 21 | Kansas Speedway | *Hollywood Casino 400 | 2PM | NBC | |
Oct. 28 | Martinsville Speedway | *First Data 500 | 2:30PM | NBCSN | |
Nov. 4 | Texas Motor Speedway | *AAA Texas 500 | 3PM | NBCSN | TBD |
Nov. 11 | ISM Raceway | *Can-Am 500 | 2:30PM | NBC | TBD |
Nov. 18 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | *Ford EcoBoost 400 | 3PM | NBC | TBD |
*indicates NASCAR playoffs race
