Key Cup drivers still searching for playoff spots as summer arrives

Many NASCAR Cup drivers are wandering the globe this week, enjoying some vacation time in the only off week of the long and winding season.

When the schedule resumes June 26 at Nashville Superspeedway on NBC, the first race of a long, hot summer, some key drivers face a considerable workload. The Nashville race is the first of a 10-event run to the end of the regular season, and numerous top drivers, including Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski, remain in precarious situations relative to playoff qualifying.

The season to date has seen 12 different winners, and those drivers are virtually guaranteed to be in the playoffs. That list includes four first-time winners (Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez), and the victory lane success of those drivers has made life more complicated for others generally considered playoff regulars.

If the regular-season victory list contains less than 16 drivers, points will be used to determine those who join seasonal winners in the search for the Cup championship, but winning a race remains the smoothest way to the playoffs.

The next 10 races include action on road courses, superspeedways and one short track. Here’s a look at 10 of the season’s winless drivers and what could be their best routes to joining the playoff group:

Kevin Harvick — Harvick has had a frustrating season with no wins and only 13 laps led, but his record at tracks hosting the final 10 races of the regular season is excellent. He has won at seven of the 10 speedways and has five victories at Michigan, four at New Hampshire and three each at Atlanta and Richmond. But Harvick needs better cars and more consistent pit road performance.

Martin Truex Jr. — The final