Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski suddenly far from NASCAR playoff locks
Michael McDowell's win at the Indianapolis road course may have shaken up NASCAR's playoff picture much more than originally thought.
With two races remaining before the playoffs begin, 13 full-time Cup Series drivers have won a race to lock themselves into the 16-driver field. Should there be two more new ones in the next two weeks — which is highly possible — there's a chance that a big name could end up on the outside looking in.
Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski, both former Cup champions, are comfortably inside the playoff field on points right now. However, with the next two races being another road course at Watkins Glen, and then the always unpredictable Daytona, they may not be so safe after all.
The story all Summer has been whether or not Chase Elliott, who missed seven races earlier in the year, can fight his way back into the playoffs. Without question, Watkins Glen will be his best chance to win his way in. Elliott has won twice at the track in 2018 and 2019, and with better luck, he might have done so in each of the past two years as well.
Elliott had his best run of the season at Indianapolis, and he's not the only driver who could turn the playoff field upside down. Daniel Suarez and A.J. Allmendinger are among other potential threats, and it's worth noting that Suarez may have won at Indianapolis if not for a slow final pit stop.
Then there's Daytona, which is anyone's guess. Bubba Wallace, who would be knocked out of a playoff spot should someone outside the current field win at Watkins Glen, may be the best bet to win his way back in during the regular season finale at a track type he greatly excels at. Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon could be other names to watch.
Should any combination of those drivers (or any others currently outside the playoffs) win the next two races, only one slot would be available for the taking on points.
It would be down to Harvick and Keselowski to duke it out, and one of them would be forced to watch their once nearly certain playoff hopes vanish into thin air in less than a month.
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