Fill-in-the-blank: 2017 NASCAR Playoffs edition
9 years ago
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
I can’t wait for this year's NASCAR Playoffs to begin.
Even though
-- Clint Bowyer Erik Jones Joey Logano Daniel Suarez Trevor Bayne Dale Earnhardt Jr. Paul Menard Ty Dillon Michael McDowell Chris Buescher AJ Allmendinger Danica Patrick David Ragan Aric Almirola Matt DiBenedetto Cole Whitt Landon Cassill Corey LaJoie Gray Gaulding Reed Sorenson Jeffrey Earnhardt Derrike Cope Geoff Bodine I my favorite driver
somehow didn't make it, I'll still be pulling for
-- Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray his teammate rain tires at Talladega the Air Titan to win a race an upset by a non-playoff driver Dale Jr. to win all ten races Gray Gaulding to win Rookie of the Year my boss to let me have off to go to a race whoever’s on my fantasy team more Truex stage wins yellow flags precisely when my bladder’s full a perfect playoff grid Dale Earnhardt Jr.
— or, better yet,
-- Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray any Toyota any Ford any Chevrolet someone over the age of 40 someone under the age of 25 Brett Bodine winning races in the pace car a rule change that puts Dale Jr. in the playoffs Reed Sorenson to pull off his first win getting the TV to myself for one weekend my neighbors to not realize I’m stealing their cable Dale Earnhardt Jr. .
I'm calling it now. The real wild card race will be
-- Chicagoland New Hampshire Dover Charlotte Talladega Kansas Martinsville Texas Phoenix Homestead
because
-- it is very windy Denny Hamlin is afraid of lobsters Jimmie Johnson is probably going to win we don’t race there very often anything can happen there there will be a lot of close-quarters racing the recent repave everything’s bigger in Texas the track has been reconfigured last year’s race was wild a tiny genie whispered it into my ear Cole Pearn’s notes say so that&rqsuo;s what they always say on TV some drivers might forget to show up because of the time zone difference .
In the Round of 16, there's Chicago, New Hampshire, and Dover. I'm not sure
-- Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray will make it past that round, because he'll probably
-- choke hit the wall on the way to the front complain about something let his brother drive the car be too busy getting the right amount of gray in his beard run into problems when his spotter drops a sandwich off a building refuse to win at New Hampshire lest he’s required to handle a lobster have a bad pit stop and complain about his pit crew crash after a bird flies into the cockpit of his car be preoccupied trying to prove the moon landing was a hoax be too worried about what’s going to happen next year lose a race after a late-race caution have a bad pit stop blame someone else for not being fast enough .
After that, there's Charlotte, Talladega, and Kansas. If it were up to me,
-- Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray would
-- draft with tangle with spin out help out complain about fight with make fun of play a prank on impersonate bear hug win the race over win by a lap over win in a photo finish with -- Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray Clint Bowyer Erik Jones Joey Logano Daniel Suarez Trevor Bayne Dale Earnhardt Jr. Paul Menard Ty Dillon Michael McDowell Chris Buescher AJ Allmendinger Danica Patrick David Ragan Aric Almirola Matt DiBenedetto Cole Whitt Landon Cassill Corey LaJoie Gray Gaulding Reed Sorenson Jeffrey Earnhardt Derrike Cope .
Then, there's the Round of 8 — or, as I call it,
-- the Round of Great the Round of Bait the Round of Fate the Round of Hate the Round of Mate the Round of Skate the Round of Wait the Round of Debate the Round of Irate the Round of Polyvinyl Acetate the Round of Alexander the Great the Round of 8 the Round of Ocho the second round of the Playoffs Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix the races where you shouldn’t goof up
. Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix may prove to be
-- unique diverse challenging race tracks the Round of 8 Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix called “The MTP” very different racetracks
tracks, but I believe
-- my driver will win them all something unexpected will happen Phoenix is located in Arizona the earth is flat and the moon landing is a hoax Jamie McMurray probably gets a great discount at McDonald’s Chip Ganassi will accidentally injure one of his drivers before then Martinsville will change everything stage points will be a major factor Dale Jr. will announce he’s not really retiring these will be the best races of the season it’ll be too late for Reed Sorenson’s season .
Finally, we’re off to Homestead, where I’m certain
-- Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray
will hoist the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and claim
-- the earth is actually flat he’s really thirsty his eighth championship Rookie of the Year even though he’s ineligible he’s retiring, effective immediately he’s actually Brian Scott in disguise two dependents on his taxes “Wow, this trophy is really heavy!” the wrong luggage at the Miami airport, how awkward .
Honestly, I wish NASCAR would just
-- hand Jimmie Johnson the trophy hand Martin Truex Jr. the trophy ban the drivers I don’t like let the Air Titans race get rid of all the rules during the Playoffs make post-race inspection optional change the rules so my driver wins confiscate my least favorite driver’s cars Add Dale Jr. to the Playoffs grid Add a fan vote element to the Playoffs make the Playoffs 36 races long make each race contain 200 stages use my idea of calling the off-season the Round of 1 give participation trophies let me drive a car let a lucky fan ride in their driver’s car at Homestead
already.
It'll also be a
-- tearful sad joyous memorable sorrowful heartfelt tough refreshing long-awaited
goodbye to
-- Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Logano-less Playoffs 2017 this darn year Matt Kenseth, probably Kasey Kahne, probably Derrike Cope, probably racing
at the end of the season, but I certainly think
-- Alex Bowman will get the job done in 2018 Dale Jr. will come back and race in 2018 Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne will team up to create Team Kahneseth Reed Sorenson was an underrated talent autonomous cars shouldn’t be allowed in NASCAR Jimmie Johnson will win ten championships Martin Truex Jr. won a lot of stages this year William Byron is too young to be able to race next year NASCAR should grant me a license for 2018 the racing will be even better next year .
Bring on the Playoffs! I'm already starting to
-- get antsy pressure @nascarcasm to get a Darrell Waltrip tattoo chug cans of Monster Energy in preparation grow my playoff beard grow my playoff armpit hair win stages because I am Martin Truex Jr. write letters to Dale Jr. imploring him to reconsider retirement share my opinions about NASCAR on social media think Martin Truex Jr. has enough playoff points to win the next three championships paint pictures of Ryan Blaney holding the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup decide which driver I’m going to say has been my favorite the whole time see holiday decorations in stores and it’s only September miss Dale Jr. already get a Chase Elliott No. 9 tattoo already polish up my best NASCAR hot takes on Twitter write NASCAR Playoffs fan fiction picture Jimmie holding No. 8 grow out my hair like Erik Jones fabricate an elaborate NASCAR conspiracy theory .
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