Cold Buds And Bad Blood: NASCAR Playoffs Are Here

The NASCAR Cup Series' 16-driver playoff field is set for the 2021 postseason after last Saturday’s race at Daytona.

The four-round postseason consists of eliminations after the Round of 16 (Darlington, Richmond, Bristol), the Round of 12 (Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte Roval) and the Round of 8 (Texas, Kansas, Martinsville). The Championship 4 will then compete for the title at Phoenix.

In true NASCAR fashion, there’s already plenty of bad blood between racers headed into the opening round of the playoffs.

Joey Logano led a race-best 37 of the 165 laps Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, including the 7th to last lap of the race, but finished 23rd once the checkered flag came out. And it certainly wasn’t because he dozed off at the wheel.

“We had a shot to win there and the 11 just threw a late block and fenced me and then I had a right rear down,” Logano said. “Luckily, I didn‘t take out the whole field that time, but that got taken care of the next lap, so it probably wouldn‘t have mattered.”

That No. 11 Toyota belongs to none other than Denny Hamlin, one of Logano’s most bitter rivals. Their feud began all the way back in 2013 at Bristol, and was then cemented a week later at Auto Club Speedway. In 2019, the two even fought on pit road at Martinsville.

When asked whether he’ll have hard feelings toward Hamlin once the playoffs start, Logano kept it short and sweet.

“Absolutely.”

The playoffs begin next Sunday at Darlington Raceway with the Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

On FanDuel Sportsbook, you can grab Hamlin at (+800) or Logano at (+1800) to win the Cook Out Southern. No word on whether FanDuel will offer any post-race TKO odds, though.

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