Erik Jones needs a win to qualify for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. He, along with more than 20 other drivers, has just two weeks to grab four remaining spots. It’s a result of modern NASCAR’s cutthroat championship format, where no driver can win the title before the last lap of the year.
Jones sits a distant 27th in points after a growing season with his team, Legacy Motor Club, and an injury that sidelined him for two races. Jones and his competitors have only two races left to make it happen—Daytona and Darlington—and he has more than an outside chance: His three-career Cup Series wins came at those two tracks.
