It’s said all the time that playoffs, no matter the sport, are different from the regular season.

In NASCAR, it’s even more so because the 16 playoff drivers in contention for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title will still be driving in those final 10 races with 24 other drivers with nothing on their minds except trying to win on that particular day.

This is like the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers playing for the NBA title while the other teams are dribbling around the court.

Erik Jones understands the format because he experienced virtually the same thing during his tenure in the Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. Still, this is the first time the driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing will be in the playoffs at the highest level of NASCAR.

Starting with the South Point 400 on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jones says he is curious to see how he will react during the three three-race elimination rounds that will leave four drivers in a winner-take-all race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18.

“It’ll be interesting, for sure, to see how much pressure gets put on you through these first few rounds and how guys react,” said Jones, 22, who earned his first Monster Energy career win this season. “I’m interested to see how everybody drives, if the aggression is higher, what people are willing to do, and risks they are willing to take.”

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The final playoff field was set Monday with the completion of the delayed Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, who have dominated the regular season with a combined 13 wins, lead the playoff field after the reset with 2,050 points each. Reigning champion Martin Truex Jr., who has won four races, is third with 2,035.

XFINITY SERIES: Ross Chastain held off Justin Allgaier for his first Xfinity victory Saturday, pulling away on the final restart.

Chastain led 180 of the 200 laps, but had to dig in on several restarts to stay in front of Allgaier, the regular-season champion. Cole Custer was third.

INDYCAR: Ryan Hunter-Reay snatched the pole from championship contender Scott Dixon in the final seconds of qualifying at Sonoma Raceway in California.

Hunter-Reay crossed the timing line in 1 minute, 17.6277 seconds to earn his first pole of the season and deny Dixon (1:17.7599) the top starting spot.

FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton set a blistering time in his Mercedes and beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by .3 seconds and title rival Sebastian Vettel by .6 to take the pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix – his record-extending 79th pole in Formula One.


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