While everyone in the NASCAR industry was busy drooling over the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway _ and to be fair, the early indications of TV ratings say they had every right to be _ something else got lost in the shuffle.
We're just seven races away from crowning the next Cup Series champion.
And while Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon were all eliminated Sunday during the first round of playoff cutdowns, there are still 12 very capable, very hungry drivers gunning for that title.
Which of those 12 are true contenders? And which are merely hanging on for dear life?
We'll excuse the Big 3 of Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick for the purpose of this exercise, as it's clear from their performances this season that they're all worthy of a second Cup Series championship. But as for everyone else? Well, let's sort through some of the biggest names:
