The NASCAR Cup Series postseason round of 12 kicks off on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

The first three races of the playoff circuit ended with winners that were not in the playoff field: Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.

None of the 12 drivers still alive in the NASCAR playoffs advanced automatically through a win. All of them made it into the round of 12 on points.

Chase Elliott comes into Texas on top of the reset playoff standings. He carries a 15-point lead on Joey Logano. Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric begin the round of 12 outside of the bubble to get to the round of eight.

The Hendrick Motorsports cars may have an advantage over the rest of the field at Texas. Kyle Larson won at the track last season and William Byron took second.

Ryan Blaney won the All-Star race at Texas in May, but that was a much shorter race with a smaller field.

If one of the 12 playoff drivers wins on Sunday, they will automatically move on to the final eight and not have to worry about collecting points nor wins at Talladega nor the Charlotte road course.

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Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Denny Hamlin (+550; bet $100 to win $550)

Kyle Larson (+600)

Christopher Bell (+700)

Chase Elliott (+800)

Kyle Busch (+900)

Ryan Blaney (+1000)

Ross Chastain (+1000)

Martin Truex Jr. (+1000)

William Byron (+1200)

Tyler Reddick (+1500)

Kevin Harvick (+2000)

Joey Logano (+2000)

Bubba Wallace (+2000)

Will A Playoff Driver Win A Postseason Race?

The round of 16 carried so much drama with it because none of the playoff drivers secured automatic qualification to the round of 12 through a race victory.

Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher stole the wins from the playoff drivers, and that forced them to compete down to the final point last Saturday night at Bristol.

Austin Cindric eked through in 12th place despite being multiple laps down, but he was able to stay on track longer than Kyle Busch and other wrecked cars to make up points.

Texas Motor Speedway was dominated by Chevrolet cars last October. That could be a promising sign for the four Hendrick Motorsports and two Trackhouse Racing cars left on the playoff grid.

Kyle Larson is the reigning champion at the track. William Byron took second behind his teammate last October. Chase Elliott was seventh in that race.

Daniel Suárez landed 10th at Texas in the last points race there. That could be an important result for Trackhouse to build off to allow Suárez and Ross Chastain to earn a high point total.

Ryan Blaney took his Ford to Victory Lane during the All-Star race in May. That event is not as long as the typical points races at Texas, but it could serve as a confidence boost going into Sunday's race for the No. 12 team.

How Will Bubble Battle Shake Out?

Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suárez and Austin Cindric start the round of 12 outside the playoff bubble.

Briscoe is four points back of Blaney. Suárez and Bowman are six points back. Cindric is seven points off the cut line.

Suárez had the best finish between him, Bowman and Briscoe at Texas last season. Cindric is a Cup Series rookie.

Cindric could find confidence in the pair of top 10 finishes earned by Penske Racing through Blaney and Brad Keselowski, who was the former driver of his current No. 2 car.

Of course, each of the four drivers outside the bubble would love to win, but a strong run inside the top 10 could go a long way in determining their fate.

The tiebreaker for the final playoff spot is best finish in that round. With a superspeedway in Talladega and the Charlotte road course ahead, Texas may be the best spot for some drivers to record that best finish.

The unpredictability of the next two tracks on the round of 12 slate should provide some urgency for results within the four teams beneath the cut and the trio of Blaney, Bell and Denny Hamlin, all of whom are points above the bubble.

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