As expected, the opening race of the NASCAR Cup playoffs really jostled the order of things in the championship standings. Most notably, top seed Kyle Larson shockingly crashed on his own in the first stage of the race. The result erased half of his points cushion, leaving him tenth in the standings and just 15 points away from the cut-line. Denny Hamlin is another title contender who endured a dreadful day, riding in the back in hopes of avoiding a wreck -- only to be in the race-ending crash on the final lap. He's now just two points up.
But these drivers are still *above* the elimination zone. Four drivers find themselves in the red and will be forced to make ground over the next two weeks, including two champions of the sport.
