Where the rubber meets the road: predictions for the NASCAR playoffs

So, you win some, you lose some.

Before the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season began, I ventured to make some predictions about how the year would shape up. Naturally, some turned out better than others. On the whole though, I can live with them — and the same applies to these post-season predictions.

At your own risk, our 2018 playoff predictions:

First out: We’ll go for the only driver who absolutely, no way, flat out could not have qualified for the playoffs without winning a race this season. Actually, it’s been the same situation for this driver in back-to-back years, with an unlikely victory pushing him into the playoffs when he otherwise might not have deserved it. And like last season proved, the strategy Austin Dillon employed isn’t effective for making a long playoff run.

Chase Elliott did finally win his first Cup race, and it was as celebrated as you might imagine for the incoming Most Popular Driver. Other wins didn’t follow, but generally good runs did. It’s the sort of progress and quantifiable growth, not to mention his previous playoff experience, that makes it easy to see how young Elliott could go on a run come October and November. So he’s my dark horse.

Best race: With the current clamouring for NASCAR to revise its schedule, there was one answer that rose above the rest, the Roval race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Truth be told, the “best” race is sort of a subjective thing. While this race might end up being one of the more enjoyable for fans to watch (see: destruction; wrecks; chaos), the one using Charlotte’s oval and an infield road course very well could be the drivers’ least favourite of the entire season. But if this race turns into the wreck-fest most of the industry is expecting, it’ll be must-see TV.

Championship 4: For all the crazy finishes this season, ultimately this NASCAR season comes down to naming a champion. Last season, it was Martin Truex Jr. completing his storybook season and winning the first Cup title of his long career, beating Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski to do so.

This season, it should be ... the exact same foursome. Might seem unlikely, but there was a reason they all made it last year. Truex, Harvick, and Busch are as close to locks as it comes, and Keselowski is arguably the hottest driver in the series today. Pencil him into that fourth spot, with the potential for someone to steal it away at a later date.

Series champion: Being asked to pick one of the Big 3 to win the entire Cup Series title is as difficult a selection as there is.

Kevin Harvick has been the fastest driver and he has the most wins of anyone this to date. Kyle Busch has won races by a country mile and a slim margin. Truex took some time before he caught up to last season’s pace, but he was every bit as dangerous from then on as Harvick or Busch. And Keselowski, the winner of two straight, has all the momentum on his side.

But in the end, with the season on the line and 10 laps to go, there’s one driver I want more than any other driving my car. I want a fast car, but I also want a team with a high-functioning pit crew, the ability to adjust to adversity on the fly, and an absolute non-negotiable drive to win at any cost. Only one driver has been that desperate this year, and in the fight for a title, he’s the one willing to do whatever it takes to win. And that is Kyle Busch.