Viewer guide to the 10-race playoffs
FIRST ROUND
Chicagoland Speedway Sept. 17
3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
1.5-mile layout Last year’s winner: Martin Truex Jr. Fast fact: First of five 1.5-mile tracks on the slate. New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sept. 24
2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
1.058-mile layout Last year’s winner: Kevin Harvick
Fast fact: This is the last time this venue will host a playoff race. NASCAR gave the fall date to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, starting next year. Dover International Speedway Oct. 1
2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
1-mile layout
Last year’s winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Fast fact: Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with 11 wins here. Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman are the next closest, with three. Elimination race: Four of the 16 drivers will be ousted.
SECOND ROUND
Charlotte Motor Speedway Oct. 7
2 p.m. ET, NBC
1.5-mile layout Last year’s winner: Jimmie Johnson
Fast fact: Next season, the playoff race will be held on Charlotte’s road course, helping satisfy drivers’ and fans’ request for more variety in the postseason. Talladega Superspeedway Oct. 15
2 p.m. ET, NBC
2.66-mile layout
Last year’s winner: Joey Logano Fast fact: Always the wild-card race, many talented drivers with points leads have been eliminated from title contention here. The restrictor-plate track leads to unpredictable outcomes and some nail-biting racing. NASCAR moved this race to the middle of the round this season. Kansas Speedway Oct. 22
3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
1.5-mile layout Last year’s winner: Kevin Harvick
Fast fact: There have been 23 Cup races here, and 12 have been won by drivers in this year’s field. Truex won the spring race. Elimination race: Four of the 12 drivers will be ousted here.
THIRD ROUND
Martinsville Speedway Oct. 29
3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
.533-mile layout Last year’s winner: Johnson Fast fact: Johnson leads all active drivers with nine victories at the paper-clip shaped venue. Texas Motor Speedway Nov. 5
2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
1.5-mile layout Last year’s winner: Carl Edwards
Fast fact: Johnson has won six of the last 10 races here. If he needs a victory to advance to the final four, there might be no stopping him in Fort Worth. Phoenix Raceway Nov. 12
2:30 p.m. ET, NBC
1-mile layout Last year’s winner: Joey Logano
Fast fact: NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver didn’t qualify for the playoffs, but Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last Cup win came here in a rain-shortened affair in 2015. Elimination race: Four of the eight drivers will be ousted here and points will be reset, setting up the winner-take-all finale.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 19
2:30 p.m. ET, NBC
1.5-mile layout Last year’s winner: Johnson Last year’s champion: Johnson
Fast fact: In the last three years, this race has been the gateway to the title. Harvick, Busch and Johnson all had to win here to claim the crown.