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Five to Watch: Who can win their way in?
By Pat DeCola | Published: August 1, 2019 6
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It's hard to believe, but you can officially count on one hand the number of regular-season races left in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. With just five races remaining before the playoff field is set, see which winless drivers have the best shot to win at each track.
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Race: GoBowling at The Glen (Aug. 4, 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Track: Watkins Glen International
Driver: Daniel Suarez
Best finish: 3rd (2017)
Average finish: 3.5
Comment: Suarez has taken to the New York road course exceptionally well, notching a pair of top-four finishes in his first two outings. As desperation sets in with Suarez on the outside looking in, look for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to race aggressively as he aims to punch his playoff ticket.
Sleeper: Erik Jones
Track: Watkins Glen International
Driver: Daniel Suarez
Best finish: 3rd (2017)
Average finish: 3.5
Comment: Suarez has taken to the New York road course exceptionally well, notching a pair of top-four finishes in his first two outings. As desperation sets in with Suarez on the outside looking in, look for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to race aggressively as he aims to punch his playoff ticket.
Sleeper: Erik Jones
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Race: Consumers Energy 400 (Aug. 11, 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Track: Michigan International Speedway
Driver: Kyle Larson
Best finish: 1st (2016, twice in '17)
Average finish: 13.3
Comment: Larson popped off three straight wins at Michigan from 2016-17, so it's obviously a possibility he could win again next weekend. It's a slight concern he's in the midst of an up-and-down year and hasn't found the top 10 there since those wins, but it's crunch time. He'll have a shot.
Sleeper: Ryan Blaney
Track: Michigan International Speedway
Driver: Kyle Larson
Best finish: 1st (2016, twice in '17)
Average finish: 13.3
Comment: Larson popped off three straight wins at Michigan from 2016-17, so it's obviously a possibility he could win again next weekend. It's a slight concern he's in the midst of an up-and-down year and hasn't found the top 10 there since those wins, but it's crunch time. He'll have a shot.
Sleeper: Ryan Blaney
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Race: Bristol Night Race (Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Driver: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Best finish: 2nd (2014, '16)
Average finish: 13.0
Comment: Stenhouse has long listed Bristol among his favorite tracks and one of a handful of venues where he could land in Victory Lane. It's also not known as a track where you make friends, which is basically the story of Stenhouse's 2019 season as well. Expect the Roush Fenway Racing driver to race aggressively in his last real shot to make the playoffs.
Sleeper: Jimmie Johnson
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Driver: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Best finish: 2nd (2014, '16)
Average finish: 13.0
Comment: Stenhouse has long listed Bristol among his favorite tracks and one of a handful of venues where he could land in Victory Lane. It's also not known as a track where you make friends, which is basically the story of Stenhouse's 2019 season as well. Expect the Roush Fenway Racing driver to race aggressively in his last real shot to make the playoffs.
Sleeper: Jimmie Johnson
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Race: Bojangles' Southern 500 (Sept. 1, 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Track: Darlington Raceway
Driver: Erik Jones
Best finish: 5th (2017)
Average finish: 6.5
Comment: Given its notoriously tough reputation, Jones has yet to bow down to "The Lady in Black," with finishes of fifth and eighth in two tries. Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated drivers have won four Southern 500 crowns since 2013, and Jones could certainly make it five later this summer.
Sleeper: Kyle Larson
Track: Darlington Raceway
Driver: Erik Jones
Best finish: 5th (2017)
Average finish: 6.5
Comment: Given its notoriously tough reputation, Jones has yet to bow down to "The Lady in Black," with finishes of fifth and eighth in two tries. Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated drivers have won four Southern 500 crowns since 2013, and Jones could certainly make it five later this summer.
Sleeper: Kyle Larson
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Race: Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (Sept. 8, 2 p.m. ET, NBC)
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Driver: Jimmie Johnson
Best finish: 1st (2006, '08, '09, '12)
Average finish: 15.4
Comment: There's a strong possibility -- especially given the fact that he'll need to spend the next five races getting used to a new crew chief, again -- that Johnson will have no choice but to win at Indy if he wants to make the playoffs. Recent performance be damned, I'm not sure there's another driver out there more capable of pulling off such a feat than "Seven-Time."
Sleeper: Clint Bowyer
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Driver: Jimmie Johnson
Best finish: 1st (2006, '08, '09, '12)
Average finish: 15.4
Comment: There's a strong possibility -- especially given the fact that he'll need to spend the next five races getting used to a new crew chief, again -- that Johnson will have no choice but to win at Indy if he wants to make the playoffs. Recent performance be damned, I'm not sure there's another driver out there more capable of pulling off such a feat than "Seven-Time."
Sleeper: Clint Bowyer