Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to NASCAR Cup Series playoff field, predicts first eliminations

After a dramatic weekend in Daytona, the NASCAR Cup Series field is set for the playoffs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ready for all of the action, and he’s predicting who will be eliminated in the Round of 16 ahead of Darlington.

It wasn’t easy for Earnhardt Jr. to come up with the four wheelmen who won’t advance to the Round of 12, and the hardest one to gauge is certainly Shane van Gisbergen. Although he’s amassed a nice cushion heading into the playoffs, the NASCAR Hall of Famer thinks SVG’s chase for a title will be cut short.

“I do not believe that SVG (will advance),” Earnhardt Jr. stated, via the Dale Jr. Download. “It’s going to be tight. He’s got 16 points to sort of cushion the blow. He has been running better at the ovals, but man, this will be tough. I like the guy. SVG’s awesome. I just have a hard time seeing him escape the Round of 16.

“I’m looking at the other competition. It’s not a knock on SVG, but when he doesn’t make it, it’ll be by the slimmest of margins. It’s not a knock on SVG, but I think he barely misses it. I just feel like he’s going to just barely miss it. But it’ll be dramatic to watch.”

SVG will be a tough out, but he’s one of Earnhardt Jr.’s picks to be eliminated. Who else will join him? The two-time Daytona 500 winner also predicted Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric won’t make the Round of 12.

Earnhardt Jr.’s picks are similar to Denny Hamlin’s. During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman also named the four drivers he believes won’t be advancing to the Round of 12.

“Darlington, Gateway, Bristol. I’ll say [Austin] Dillon, [Josh] Berry, Austin [Cindric] and SVG,” Hamlin stated. “… Versus guys like Bowman, Reddick, Logano, Chastain, Bubba — I think they all overtake (SVG). Just on speed, you know. I don’t know if that’s a wild prediction or not, but my first four out — SVG, Cindric, Berry, Dillon.”

While SVG’s four wins rival Hamlin’s atop the Cup Series standings, he just doesn’t believe it’s likely he’ll advance: “It’ll definitely be a challenge,” Hamlin said, regarding the New Zealander. “But I mean, he earned, you know, he’s got 22 — something like that, actual bonus points. So, he’s not in a bad spot.

“All he needs is a few of these guys to have lackluster days and he just somehow, you know — he goes in there, finishes top 20 and he’ll find himself in a decent spot going into that last cutoff race.”

All told, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin have locked in their picks, and all that’s left to do is let the next three races play out. We’ll see if they’re right in the end, but there’s certainly a ton of debate to be had moving forward into the Round of 16.