Harvick locked in to Cup Series playoffs grid

Kevin Harvick is no longer best of the rest when it comes to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid. He’s now locked in.

Harvick finally broke through for his first win of the season Sunday afternoon in New Hampshire. He makes it nine drivers locked into the postseason as the playoffs draw ever closer.

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With Harvick in on wins, Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola is now leading the way for drivers on points. William Byron, meanwhile, continues to add to his advantage over the cutline with strong performances and stage results.

But behind them, there is bubble trouble: New Hampshire third-place finisher Erik Jones jumped further up the grid and now has breathing room, but his move came at the expense of Clint Bowyer, now last on the grid after a rough day where he finished 20th.

Ryan Newman picked up another top-10 finish and is also now on the playoff gird as Jimmie Johnson fell out after finishing 30th. Johnson has made the playoffs every year since they started, so fighting for the postseason is new to the No. 48 team.

Here is the playoff grid as it stands with six races to go, with a reminder that it will be reseeded at the end of the regular season when additional points are awarded to the top 10. Currently Joey Logano is the overall championship point leader.

Kyle Busch: 4 race wins, 27 playoff points

Martin Truex Jr.: 4 race wins, 22 playoff points

Brad Keselowski: 3 race wins, 19 playoff points

Joey Logano: 2 race wins, 17 playoff points

Denny Hamlin: 2 race wins, 13 playoff points

Kevin Harvick: 1 race win, 9 playoff points

Kurt Busch: 1 race win, 6 playoff points

Chase Elliott: 1 race win, 7 playoff points

Alex Bowman: 1 race win, 5 playoff points

Aric Almirola: +98 on cutoff, 1 playoff points

Ryan Blaney: +84 on cutoff, 2 playoff points

William Byron: +61 on cutoff, 1 playoff point

Kyle Larson: +31 on cutoff, 3 playoff points

Erik Jones: +28 on cutoff, 0 playoff points

Ryan Newman: +21 on cutoff, 0 playoff points

Clint Bowyer: +17 on cutoff, 0 playoff points

Below the cutoff line are Jimmie Johnson (-17), Daniel Suarez (-17), Paul Menard (-60), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-77).