2017 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results

Originally published on Apr. 10, 2025

By Zane Miller

First round

(8) #20 Matt Kenseth v. (1) #78 Martin Truex Jr.

(7) #24 Chase Elliott v. (2) #42 Kyle Larson

(6) #2 Brad Keselowski v. (3) #18 Kyle Busch

(5) #11 Denny Hamlin v. (4) #4 Kevin Harvick

At New Hampshire, Kyle Busch started off the 2017 playoffs with a commanding race win, leading nearly two-thirds of the event along the way. Brad Keselowski took the fourth spot, but still found himself behind in the series. Martin Truex Jr. was right behind Keselowski in fifth, but Busch’s teammate Matt Kenseth had a strong run of his own, claiming the third position to take the early lead. Kyle Larson added to his breakout season with a second-place finish, well ahead of Chase Elliott in 11^th. Denny Hamlin had a somewhat underwhelming 12^th-place after winning at New Hampshire earlier in the year, but this proved inconsequential after Kevin Harvick was involved in a multi-car crash on lap 148.

Dover would see a similar result to the previous event, as Kyle Busch once again took home the race victory. This time, he got by Elliott with two laps to go to claim the win, while Keselowski was eliminated with a 10^th-place finish. With the runner-up finish, Elliott’s sophomore campaign would continue as Larson ended the day in the fifth spot, as Truex Jr. also staved off elimination with a fourth-place run to beat out Kenseth’s 11^th. Finally, Harvick bounced back from his New Hampshire DNF to finish 17^th at the Monster Mile, as Hamlin found misfortune of his own with a broken axle leaving him in 35^th.

The battle continued into the last fall oval race at Charlotte Motor Speedway thus far, which proved to be right up Truex Jr.’s alley as he scored the race victory following 57-lap stint at the point. Kenseth again struggled to keep pace with the 78, taking 11^th even with a green-white-checkered finish. Elliott grabbed his second straight second-place finish, which was enough to knock out Larson in 10^th. Meanwhile, Harvick and Hamlin had an intense battle to the end, culminating in Harvick edging Hamlin by a car length to move on to the semifinals.

Semifinal

(7) #24 Chase Elliott v. (1) #78 Martin Truex Jr.

(3) #18 Kyle Busch v. (4) #4 Kevin Harvick

The opening race at Talladega Superspeedway saw all four of the remaining playoff drivers have difficult days, as each one ended the race in the garage. Elliott was the highest-running of the four, as he was credited with 16^th after getting taken out in a crash with six laps to go. Truex Jr. was involved in a separate crash 11 laps earlier and placed 23^rd, putting himself behind the 8-ball once again. Busch was eliminated in the same crash as Truex and got 27^th, while Harvick managed to survive a few more laps before inevitably crashing and left Alabama in 20^th.

In stark contrast to the chaos at Talladega, Truex Jr.’s afternoon at Kansas Speedway was a walk in the park, claiming his second race win of the playoffs after leading the last 57 laps. Busch looked as though he would be continuing his fight for back-to-back championships after leading 112 laps on the day, but ultimately faded late and finished 10^th. Harvick led a chunk of laps himself and was able to make his way into the finals for the first time in his career.

The bout for the remaining finals spot was on at Martinsville, which started with Elliott leading over 100 laps as he appeared poised to win not just his first career Cup Series race, but also punch his ticket for the finals against Harvick. However, Denny Hamlin was in second place and had other plans. In a controversial move with two laps to go, Hamlin put the bumper to Elliott in an effort to move him up and out of the way. While this did indeed happen, this resulted in Elliott spinning and slamming into the turn three wall. Although Truex Jr. did not lead a single lap during the race, he still managed to grab the runner-up spot to Kyle Busch on the ensuing green-white-checkered for the series victory.

Final

(4) #4 Kevin Harvick v. (1) #78 Martin Truex Jr.

Both Harvick and Truex Jr. took turns at the front at Texas, but the back-and-forth clash would come to a head with 10 laps to go. As Harvick followed right behind leader Truex, the latter’s car got loose and briefly slid up the track in turn one. This provided just enough of a window for Harvick to get a run on Truex, eventually passing him by on the backstretch. Although Truex attempted to stay in the Harvick’s draft, it was too late as Harvick picked up the race win and the early lead in the series.

At Phoenix International Raceway, it didn’t take long for the battle to heat back up in the Arizona desert. Neither led a lap in the race, but both were solid top-five contenders all afternoon. Truex was firmly ahead of Harvick at the final restart, with Truex maintaining the third spot and Harvick needing to make up eight spots in 30 laps of regulation. Harvick rapidly began tearing his way through the field and made great progress, but it wasn’t enough as he took the checkered flag in fifth with Truex still holding down third.

The newly-redesigned Cup Series championship trophy (later known as the Bill France Cup) would be handed out at Homestead, and both competitors made a strong case throughout the evening. Harvick finished just one spot ahead of Truex in stage one, but Truex returned the favor in stage two. With 51 laps to go, Truex reclaimed the lead from Kyle Busch and began to distance himself from Harvick. Even after a caution with 38 laps to go, Harvick was no match for the matte black Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. as he took the victory in both the race and the finals with Harvick in fourth for Truex’s first career Cup title after 12 years in the series.

Martin Truex Jr.’s stats for 2017 were eight victories, 19 top-fives and 26 top-10s, taking the real-life championship as well.