Fill-in-the-blank: Halfway through 2019

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It’s been quite a season in NASCAR so far. At the halfway mark, 2019 is clearly the year of --dominancefootball tossinga return to greatnessimprovementdisappointment from --Joe Gibbs Racing and Team PenskeBubba WallaceDenny HamlinHendrick Motorsportsmy fantasy team . Watching back-to-back first-time winners Alex Bowman and Justin Haley makes me feel so --excited for the futurejealous because my driver hasn’t won yetexcitedimpressed by Dale Jr.’s eye for talentold ! I bet the next first-time winner will be --William ByronDaniel SuarezDaniel HemricMatt DiBenedettoRyan PreeceBubba WallaceJimmie Johnson because he’s --overduemy favorite driverthe coolestracing fast carsgot cool paint schemesa seven-time champion — oh yeah, he’s won 83 times .

Speaking of winning races, it has been a --shocknormal expectationdisappointmentnew traditionwhirlwind of emotions we haven’t seen any victories from 2018 race winner --Kevin HarvickKurt BuschAric AlmirolaRyan BlaneyClint BowyerErik JonesAustin Dillon yet. There’s --no wayno doubta pretty good chanceno way of knowing ifa lot of money riding on the fact he wins one before the end of the year.

Still, it’s hard to believe we’re halfway through the season. It feels like just yesterday --Denny Hamlin returned to Victory Lane in the Daytona 500Corey LaJoie drove a car with his face on itwe lamented the separation of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knausthe Ford Mustang made its debutJoey Logano shut down the whole “Big 3” narrativeSpire Motorsports was formedStewart-Haas Racing was still winning races . My --favoriteleast favorite race was when --Denny Hamlin won at DaytonaBrad Keselowski won at AtlantaJoey Logano won at Las VegasKyle Busch won at ISM RacewayKyle Busch won at Auto Club SpeedwayBrad Keselowski won at MartinsvilleDenny Hamlin won at TexasKyle Busch won at BristolMartin Truex Jr. won at RichmondChase Elliott won at TalladegaMartin Truex Jr. won at DoverBrad Keselowski won at KansasKyle Larson won the All-Star RaceMartin Truex Jr. won at CharlotteKyle Busch won at PoconoJoey Logano won at MichiganMartin Truex Jr. won at SonomaAlex Bowman won at ChicagolandJustin Haley won at Daytona because --that’s my drivermy driver didn’t winmy fantasy lineup was excellentmy fantasy lineup was awfulit was a fantastic raceI was there to see it happenpersonal reasons— well, I don’t know where to begin .

There have been plenty of surprises in the first half of 2019, like --Ty Dillon winning two stagesKyle Busch winning 200 national series racesAlex Bowman completing the All 40 ChallengeJustin Haley winning at DaytonaStewart-Haas Racing going winless and --Daniel Suarez taking down Michael McDowellRyan Blaney’s pit crew finding a five-dollar bill during a pit stopKevin Harvick’s #MillennialCarBubba Wallace, the football expertpretty much the entire All-Star Open race . I wonder if we’ll ever see something like that again!

And how about this Rookie of the Year battle? --Ryan PreeceDaniel HemricMatt Tifft has looked strong, but I think the biggest thing standing in his way is --Ryan PreeceDaniel HemricMatt Tifft . My prediction is --Ryan PreeceDaniel HemricMatt Tifft comes out on top in the end.

As the defending champion, Joey Logano has truly --impressedsilenced the criticssliced the breadnot missed a beatfrustrated me because he’s beating my favorite driver . I believe this year he’s going to --defend his titlecome up short at his second championshipwin a lot of racessquint at the haterssave my fantasy season , and maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll even see --him put Hudson in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup againhim try a backflip, Carl Edwards-styleanother sweet throwback paint schemeJoey Logano literally slice some breadJoey Logano at the grocery store — OMG! .

I think --Aric AlmirolaRyan BlaneyAlex BowmanClint BowyerChris BuescherKurt BuschKyle BuschWilliam ByronMatt DiBenedettoAustin DillonTy DillonChase ElliottDenny HamlinKevin HarvickDaniel HemricJimmie JohnsonErik JonesBrad KeselowskiCorey LaJoieKyle LarsonJoey LoganoMichael McDowellPaul MenardRyan NewmanRyan PreeceDavid RaganRicky Stenhouse Jr.Matt TifftMartin Truex Jr.Bubba Wallace will win the championship. If not, it’ll totally be --Aric AlmirolaRyan BlaneyAlex BowmanClint BowyerChris BuescherKurt BuschKyle BuschWilliam ByronMatt DiBenedettoAustin DillonTy DillonChase ElliottDenny HamlinKevin HarvickDaniel HemricJimmie JohnsonErik JonesBrad KeselowskiCorey LaJoieKyle LarsonJoey LoganoMichael McDowellPaul MenardRyan NewmanRyan PreeceDavid RaganRicky Stenhouse Jr.Matt TifftMartin Truex Jr.Bubba Wallacebecause I am --a geniusalways rightentitled to my own opinionable to predict what happensa time traveler from the future

And if I’m wrong, --I would be shockedI’ll make SO MANY tweets about itthat’ll be the first timeat least I still have my personalitythere’s always next yearI’m out of a lot of moneyI will throw Michael McDowell to the ground, Daniel Suarez-well, we’ll just cross that bridge when we get to itI promise to paint my street car to match the #MillennialCar style .