Where this year's playoff drivers would be during the Dream Season

Believe me, at some point I will return to race-by-race summaries of the season, as "NASCAR goes west" to Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Auto Club Speedway.  But I feel that at this point I have what amounts to more timely information to give you at this point.

The three real-life seasons of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series are all well underway with their playoffs.  The MENCS second round will end on Sunday at Kansas Speedway, at which the field will be reduced from 12 drivers to 8.  The NXS second round, which has 8 drivers, is to begin Saturday on the same track.  The NCWTS has also gone from the second round to the third with 6 drivers left standing for the title; the playoffs there resume on Oct. 28 at Martinsville Speedway.

In all, 36 drivers qualified for the combined playoff fields this year.  However, the introduction of all-time greats to the starting fields in all of the series will cause a ripple effect that will cause so many of these to have to seek rides elsewhere.

When the music stops, in what chairs will they sit?  Let's find out.

(Drivers' names are listed in the order of their original playoff seedings.)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

• Martin Truex, Jr. - #1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet in Xfinity Series (Truex won the series championship in 2004 and '05 driving for stepmother- and son Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.; Dale Jr. himself now owns the team)
• Kyle Larson - #12 Chevrolet in Camping World Truck Series (Larson has won races in all three series; his truck wins have come at Rockingham in 2013 and Eldora in 2016)
• Kyle Busch - #18 Toyota in NXS; he won the 2008 series title in that car prior to joining the Cup series and taking the championship in 2015
• Brad Keselowski - #22 Discount Tire Ford in NXS; he won the 2010 series title in that car prior to joining the Cup series and winning the season trophy in 2012
• Jimmie Johnson - #48 Lowe's Chevrolet; the only one of these 16 drivers to be in the same car, with same owner, sponsor, and crew chief in this simulation
• Kevin Harvick - #2 Chevrolet in NXS; he is another champion of both NXS (2001, '07) and MENCS (2014)
• Denny Hamlin - #20 Toyota (Hisense for most races) in NXS
• Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. - shares #6 NXS car with Mark Martin; another two-time series champ (2011, '12)
• Ryan Blaney - #66 Ford in NCWTS; Blaney was once a series full-timer and held the record for youngest race winner (age 18 at Iowa in 2012)
• Chase Elliott - #52 Chevrolet in NXS; in 2014, he became the series' youngest champion ever, having turned 18 just two months before the Daytona season opener
• Ryan Newman - #7 in Whelen Modified Series; has occasionally raced in the series with four career wins.  I have him going there when a reshuffling of teams ended up with the late Harry Scott, Jr. as owner of the version 1.0 team in what is now NXS; Newman was then "replaced" by Harry's son Brian.  Newman will have a limited NXS series as of the Las Vegas race in and around his modifieds schedule.
• Kurt Busch - #97 Monster Energy/John Deere Ford; "reunion" with former car owner Jack Roush
• Kasey Kahne - #21 Allegiant Air Chevrolet in NCWTS; I had Kahne winning the title in version 1.0 of the truck series; has five wins in six starts in real life
• Austin Dillon - #21 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet in NXS; won 2013 series title despite having no wins that season; was NCWTS champion in 2011
• Matt Kenseth - #34 Ford in MENCS; was with Roush Fenway Racing in version 1.0, but was cut due to limits as to team size (yet another new wrinkle of version 2.0); RFR retained Martin, Busch, Ned Jarrett, and Jeff Burton
• Jamie McMurray - #42 ENEOS Chevrolet in NXS

Xfinity Series

• William Byron - K&N Pro Filters East Series; he was series champ in 2015
• Justin Allgaier - #19 Ford in NCWTS
• Elliott Sadler - #01 Chevrolet owned by Johnny Davis in NXS
• Daniel Hemric - cut his teeth in Legends cars, so probably ends up back there
• Brennan Poole - ARCA Racing Series, where he won six races and finished third in the final 2012 standings
• Ryan Reed - has experience in both ARCA and sports cars, so he'll find a ride in one of those
• Jeremy Clements - would be another ARCA driver; his 2008 win in that series was his last in national competition before his improbable triumph at Road America in 2017
• Blake Koch - K&N Pro Filters West Series, which he ran full-time in 2009
• Cole Custer - KNPSW, which he ran full-time in 2013 as a 15-year-old
• Matt Tifft - K&N Pro Filters East Series, which he ran full-time in 2013
• Brendan Gaughan - #62 South Point Chevrolet in NCWTS
• Michael Annett - nothing full-time; may jump in for occasional NXS or even MENCS runs

Camping World Truck Series

• Christopher Bell - full-time in dirt racing
• Johnny Sauter - part-timer in series; I have had him in the #23 and #99 trucks for various races
• John Hunter Nemechek - "independent" late model sanctions
• Matt Crafton - #88 Menards Toyota in NCWTS
• Chase Briscoe - ARCA; was 2016 series champion
• Ben Rhodes - KNPSE, which he ran full-time in 2014
• Austin Cindric - I understand he has lots of sports-car experience, so he'll end up there somehow
• Kaz Grala - KNPSE; he was a full-timer there for two years (2014 and '15)