Expect this week’s Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 (Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Dover International Speedway to be a highly pivotal moment in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as it’s the final race in the Round of 12 to settle which eight drivers move onward to settle the season championship.
Points leader Christopher Bell is the only full-time Xfinity Series driver to earn a playoff win so far (at Richmond, Va., two weeks ago), and that gives him an automatic ticket to the next round of the playoffs. The bad news for his competition is that Bell has also won the last two races at Dover, Del. He beat fellow championship contenders Justin Allgaier in May and Cole Custer in this race last October.
Going into Saturday’s opening round cutoff race, Bell, Custer, Austin Cindric, Allgaier, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson and Michael Annett are ranked among the top eight in the standings. Annett holds an 11-point edge over ninth-place John Hunter Nemechek and 10th-place Brandon Jones. Only the top-eight ranked drivers after Saturday’s race remain championship eligible in the next three-race playoff round at tracks in Kansas, Texas and ISM Raceway near Phoenix.
Both drivers closest to the cutoff line – Nemechek and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones – have solid records at Dover. Nemechek has a pair of top-10 finishes in three starts and is coming off a career best eighth place in May. Jones, 22, has seven starts – starting on pole in May 2018 and earning three top 10s. His best work is a sixth place last year.
Annett has only a pair of top-10 finishes in 15 Dover starts. His best is a third-place run in 2012. The JR Motorsports veteran was 10th at the track in May.
Among current drivers, only the two-time defending winner Bell and Allgaier (2018) have hoisted trophies at Dover. The veteran Allgaier has the most experience at the one-mile, high-banked concrete venue, nicknamed “The Monster Mile” for its tough reputation. He has that victory last year, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 17 starts. The JR Motorsports driver is looking for his first win, however, since last season when he won five races. He is one of two drivers ranked among the playoff top eight – also rookie Noah Gragson – without a victory this season.
Bell, Custer and regular season champ Tyler Reddick – who announced this week he will join Bell in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2020 – have accounted for 18 wins through the first 28 races.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begins the Round of 12 this weekend at Dover International Speedway with the Drydene 400 on Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The first race of the second round of the playoffs is on a 1-mile, high-banked track and sees Kyle Busch lead the standings by five points over fellow Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. as the round begins.
Here is the rest of the need-to-know information for Sunday’s race at the home of Miles the Monster.
Dover International Speedway hosted its first race on July 6, 1969 and the event was won by Richard Petty — who won three of the first four races there. Since 1971, the “Monster Mile” has held two races a year — typically one in the late spring and one in the fall.
The 1-mile track has 24 degrees of banking in all four turns as well as nine degrees of incline on the straightaways at the concrete oval. The straightaway length is 1,076 feet and measures 48 feet in width, while the turns measure 58 feet in width. Dover’s pit road measures 1,580 feet long and 47 feet wide. Jimmie Johnson has the most wins at the venue with 11 Cup wins.
RULES PACKAGE
The race at Dover will feature the 2019 rules package with no aero ducts and a tapered-spacer engine generating a targeted 750 horsepower.
Each team will have three sets of tires for practice, one set for qualifying and 10 sets for the 400-mile race — nine race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying or practice.
Steep banking at tracks such as Dover creates higher loads specifically on the right-front tire. Due to that, Goodyear will be working with teams to stress the importance of set-ups as well as air pressures on the right-front tire. Goodyear performed additional simulation work for this track to give teams the most current information on how air pressure affects both durability and performance.
“When we went to Bristol for the second time in 2019, we saw exactly how many gains these teams have made with this package since the first race there in the spring, and we expect the same at Dover this week,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said. “Right-front durability at Dover is always on our radar because of the speeds and loads generated by these cars in the high-banked corners. … We certainly understand that in the teams’ efforts to gain as much grip as possible, being aggressive on air pressures is one of the tools they use.”
STATS
—Sunday’s race marks Dover 100th Cup race. It is the 10th track to host at least 100 races.
—The last 21 races at Dover were won by 10 different drivers—nine of which are all Cup champions. Defending race winner Chase Elliott is the lone non-champion to win in that span.
—Elliott holds the best average finish at Dover among all drivers — 4.43 in seven starts. Learn more about why Elliott is a favorite in the Round of 12 here.
—Kyle Larson’s eight top 10s at Dover are his most at any track.
—Kevin Harvick will make his 676th Cup start — matching Dale Earnhardt’s number of Cup starts. Dover is also the track where Harvick has led the most laps with SHR — 1298.
Source: Racing Insights
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend’s race will air live Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and streamed on the NBC Sports App. Radio coverage can be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Also, follow along on NASCAR.com for live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the live leaderboard, Drive (featuring in-car cameras) and RaceView (subscription: in-car audio, stats, more). Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the Props Challenge.
2018 RACE WINNER
A year after giving up the lead to Kyle Busch with two to go, Chase Elliott wrote his own redemption song by staying out under a late caution to take the lead and then leading the final 11 laps for the win over Denny Hamlin. The victory locked him into the Round of 8 in the playoffs.
ACTIVE DOVER WINNERS
Jimmie Johnson (11 times); Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. (three wins each); Kevin Harvick (twice); Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski (one win each)
Hendrick Motorsports is sitting pretty heading into the Round of 12.
Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are the sole drivers in the NASCAR Playoffs to place not only in the top 10, but the top five, at the next three tracks – Dover International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway – earlier this season. Elliott actually won at Talladega, was fourth at Kansas and came in fifth at Dover. Bowman ended up second at each.
Bowman’s claim to fame is the second-place average this year alone at the three venues. It’s the best mark among his postseason competition. The next closest is Elliott with his 3.3 average. Third drops out of the top five with Brad Keselowski averaging an 8.7 finish.
Reverse the order of impressiveness among the teammates: Elliott earned the most points out of the three events earlier this season with 156. Bowman was next on the list with 143. Again, Keselowski comes third with 108.
OK, but what about an overall look?
Elliott’s career average finishes at Dover and Talladega dominate the playoff-field charts. Through seven starts, he has managed to average a 4.4 finish at Dover and a 14.0 finish at Talladega. His 12.9 average finish at Kansas also looks good but isn’t the top mark when compared to others.
Bowman doesn’t have the nicest record at any of those tracks, averaging a 22.1 finish in eight Kansas starts, a 24.9 average finish in eight Talladega starts and a 25.6 average finish in seven Dover starts. But he also had a less straightforward career than Elliott, who has been with Hendrick Motorsports since joining the Cup Series full time in 2016.
From 2014-15, the first two years of his career, Bowman raced for BK Racing (2014) and Tommy Baldwin Racing (2015). He did 10 races part time for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016 (filling in while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined with a concussion), was absent from Cup Series competition in 2017 and then started competing full time with Hendrick in 2018.
Pre-Hendrick Motorsports seasons saw average finishes worse than 30 – 32.6 in 2014 and 31.6 in 2015. Post-Hendrick numbers were much improved – average finish of 19.7 in 2016 and 17.0 in 2018. He’s at an average finish of 13.8 this year.
So, safe to say, Bowman’s career averages at Dover, Talladega and Kansas aren’t representative of what he’s capable of now.
All right, what about last season’s Round of 12?
The 2018 Round of 12 featured the same tracks 2019 will. Elliott won the opener at Dover and the eliminator at Kansas. Bowman was 28th and ninth, respectively, in those events. Elliott and Bowman then finished 31st and 33rd in order at Talladega.
Elliott’s wins automatically advanced him to the Round of 8, while Bowman was booted from the playoffs after finishing the three races 12th in the standings – 69 points below the cutline – after the Kansas elimination event and before the points reset.
One of the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers survived the Round of 12 last year. This season’s fight begins Sunday with the Drydene 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Both look like they should be fine, but only time will tell.
Greetings, and many thanks to all who sent in a submission for the ‘Casm Caption Contest, even those who sent really bad ones. The winners, of course, will receive free codes for the brand new NASCAR Heat 4 game for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. After much deliberation, the winners are as follows! Read on to see if you won or if you’re now very disappointed. Winners will be individually notified via Twitter direct message. Thanks for playing along!
The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.
The first three races of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) playoffs are in the books, with Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Aric Almirola failing to advance to the Round of 12.
The postseason continues Sunday at Dover, where Martin Truex Jr. earned a victory back in May.
To make this week’s NASCAR Props Challenge picks, I’ll rely on betting odds to project expected driver performance, as well as race trends from the season’s previous race at Dover, which is the only event at the track using the current MENCS aero package.
1. Will a Hendrick Motorsports driver finish in the top four: Yes or No?
While Alex Bowman, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson can work their ways into the top four, Chase Elliott is the Hendrick driver with the best chance.
But “expecting” one of these drivers to crack the top four over Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., etc. is too rich for my blood.
Pick: No
2. O/U 7.5 playoff drivers finish in the top 10?
Eight current playoff drivers scored top 10s back in May. In addition, Erik Jones is the only non-playoff driver with better than 30-1 odds to win Sunday’s race, so I’m taking the over.
Pick: Over
3. Which playoff driver will finish higher: Denny Hamlin or Joey Logano?
At the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, Hamlin’s 12-1 odds are slightly better than Logano’s 14-1.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 2, 2019) – NASCAR and ARCA announced today a new championship format for 2020 that will see the continuation of three historic regional championship series and the coronation of a new fourth champion, all under the ARCA Menards Series banner.
The series provide an integral development step for young drivers who aspire to move up to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series; as well as a highly-competitive professional level for short-track veterans.
They will also provide continuity to three of the longest running high-level regional stock car series in the United States.
The four championships will be:
• ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West will continue the traditions established by the Busch North Series (founded in 1987) and Pacific Coast Late Model Series/Winston West (1954) and currently competing as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West. The series will feature an annual schedule of six to eight races and crowning of separate regional champions.
• ARCA Menards Series – The 20-race ARCA Menards Series, founded in 1953, a mix of national-series combination events at venues such as Daytona International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as short tracks like Madison International Speedway in Wisconsin and the Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile dirt tracks.
• ARCA Racing Series Showdown – Ten races within the larger ARCA Menards Series championship will feature the best of the three series coming together to crown a Showdown champion.
“We cannot be more excited about 2020,” said Brandon Thompson, Managing Director, NASCAR Touring Series. “Both NASCAR and ARCA have worked extremely hard over the last year to provide a rules package and schedule that will serve as the foundation for the preeminent series for racing at this level. It was important for us to move the series forward while creating an environment inclusive for both the current long-term owners and drivers in the series as well as aspiring competitors.”
“What first started as a friendship between Bill France Sr. and John Marcum nearly 70 years ago took a momentous step forward today,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “The amount of history and tradition these series are bringing together to form four elite championships for drivers is an amazing testament to the strength of this sport.
“We are proud and honored to be able to bring the ARCA sanction to the East and West Series; and we are looking forward to working with the race teams, tracks, media partners, fans, and sponsors that have helped those series achieve their long term success.”
NASCAR also announced if an East, West or current ARCA Menards Series car owner has a car that meets the 2019 rulebook, there will be a rules package that will allow them to compete in 2020.
“We’re pleased that we’re able to extend our racing sponsorships to include the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West,” said Menards President & CEO John Menard. “We hope that race fans throughout the country will further enjoy great racing action while also becoming familiar with the Menards brand by shopping at our home improvement stores located in the Midwest or at Menards.com”.
ARCA and MAVTV also announced today an extension of its telecast rights agreement for select ARCA Menards Series races. This important partnership, together with events covered by FOX Sports, ensures that all 20 ARCA Menards Series races will be available live to race fans, including the 10-race Showdown. NBCSN will continue to carry the ARCA Menards Series East and West as part of their extensive NASCAR coverage.
The 2020 ARCA Menards Series will officially begin on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Daytona with the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire. It will mark the 57th annual ARCA visit to Daytona.
The Showdown will take the green flag with ARCA’s inaugural visit to ISM Raceway on March 6 as part of the national series’ event weekend in Phoenix, while the West will kick off the Las Vegas weekend with a return to the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
West dates also include traditional events at Irwindale Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., and will crown its champion at ISM Raceway in November. The East will race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, as well as Toledo Speedway, Watkins Glen International, and again be part New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s annual Full Throttle Fall Weekend. The East season will culminate with the championship race at Dover International Speedway.
In addition to Daytona and Charlotte, the ARCA Menards Series schedule will include Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Pocono Raceway, and finish the season at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 16.
The Showdown 10-race schedule features Salem Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Minnesota’s Elko Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and will crown its first Showdown champion at Memphis Motorsports Park on Sept. 26.
Complete schedules for all four championships will be announced shortly.
The slate of races across the country provide an opportunity for drivers to focus on their regional championships or expand their racing plans and chase bigger prizes.
From Jimmie Johnson to William Byron, the path to the top of NASCAR has long gone through ARCA and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
In 2020, that path will take on a new look.
With an announcement Wednesday, NASCAR and ARCA unveiled the new ARCA Menards Series, which will encompass the three long-running regional stock car series, while also providing a new combined championship series.
What has been known as the K&N Pro Series East and West will become the ARCA Menards Series East and West. The current 20-race ARCA Menards Series will remain in place. And a 10-race slate within the latter will serve as a crossover for all three series, and crown a fourth champion of the ARCA Showdown.
The news is the next step that began with an announcement in April 2018 that NASCAR had acquired ARCA. Over the ensuing months, hours of research, on-track testing and meetings with stakeholders were poured into the process to come up with a series that would serve as one strong pathway for drivers aspiring to reach the next level of the sport while at the same time becoming a place where veteran short-track racers could find a home.
While they competed as separate series throughout 2019, both sides worked together to create the common platform.
“Both NASCAR and ARCA have worked extremely hard over the last year to provide a rules package and schedule that will serve as the foundation for the pre-eminent series for racing at this level,” said Brandon Thompson, managing director, NASCAR touring series. “It was important for us to move the series forward while creating an environment inclusive for both the current long-term owners and drivers in the series as well as aspiring competitors.”
“What first started as a friendship between Bill France Sr. and John Marcum nearly 70 years ago took a momentous step forward today,” ARCA President Ron Drager said. “The amount of history and tradition these series are bringing together to form four elite championships for drivers is an amazing testament to the strength of this sport.”
NASCAR also announced if an East, West or current ARCA Menards Series car owner has a car that meets the 2019 Rule Book, there will be a rules package that will allow them to compete in 2020.
Count Hailie Deegan among the young up-and-coming stars in the 2020 ARCA Menards Series. | Photo: Meg Oliphant
DRIVING SUCCESS AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL
In recent years, both the NASCAR Pro Series and ARCA Menards Series have become instrumental in developing the next crop of NASCAR Cup Series superstars. Like Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick before them, the likes of 2018 Cup Series champion Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson raced – and won – at this level.
Of the 12 remaining drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, 10 of them have won races in either series – accumulating 43 victories and four championships. The top eight NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff drivers have won races in either the NASCAR K&N Pro Series or ARCA Menards Series, with Justin Allgaier and Chase Briscoe being former champions.
With series that feature historic names such as Frank Kimmel, Hershel McGriff and Andy Santerre, the ability to create an environment where drivers can compete at this level for an extended period of time was equally important in the process.
From NASCAR to the Indianapolis 500, John Menard has found success supporting motorsports in the United States, and the opportunity to serve as the entitlement sponsor for this new broader entity fit perfectly into his desire to support grassroots racing.
“We’ve been a long-time racing sponsor at various levels including NASCAR, IndyCar and ARCA and are pleased to take our partnership with ARCA to the next level,” Menard said. “We like doing business together and share many of the same values and standards that have helped us survive and thrive through the years.”
K&N Engineering, which took over as the East and West entitlement sponsor in 2010 and helped further elevate the two regional series as a cohesive national stage, will remain a key entity in the sport as the “Official Performance Filter of NASCAR.”
NEW ERA EXTENDS RICH HISTORY
The new series provides continuity to three of the longest running high-level regional stock car series in the United States.
• The ARCA Menards Series West began in 1954 as the Pacific Coast Late Model Series. In what became more widely recognized during the NASCAR Winston West era, it produced short-track legends such as McGriff, Ray Elder and Roy Smith. Harvick won the championship in 1998, and in recent years, powerhouse Bill McAnally Racing and southern California car owner Bob Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Racing have clashed in championship battles under the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West banner.
• ARCA Menards Series East was founded in 1987 as the NASCAR Busch North Series, a companion to the Charlotte-based NASCAR Busch Series. Northeast stars like Andy Santerre, Mike Stefanik and Ricky Craven dominated the Expanding to the East Series in 2006, it became a proving ground for the sport’s next top stars, beginning with Logano’s championship run in 2007 as a highly touted 16-year-old. Drivers such as Larson, Byron and Tyler Ankrum won East titles to kick off their ascent up the NASCAR ladder.
• The ARCA Menards Series, founded in 1953, is a mix of national series combination events and Midwest short tracks. Frank Kimmel won a record 10 championships between 1998 and 2013, while current Cup Series drivers Ty Dillon and Chris Buescher and 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Regular Season Champion Grant Enfinger took home championships in recent years.
Jay Alley @alleygroup
While the complete 2020 race schedules for all four championships are still to be announced, Thompson and Drager confirmed a number of key events for the upcoming series.
• The 2020 ARCA Menards Series will officially begin Saturday, Feb. 8, at Daytona with the Lucas Oil 200 Driven By General Tire. It will mark the 57th annual ARCA visit to Daytona. The 10-race superspeedway portion of the schedule will include Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Pocono Raceway, and finish the season at Kansas Speedway in October.
• The ARCA Menards Series West will begin the season as part of the national series weekend at Las Vegas, with the return to the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The West slate will also include traditional events at Irwindale Speedway, All American Speedway in Roseville and Sonoma Raceway, with the championship culminating at ISM Raceway in November.
• The ARCA Menards Series East schedule includes events at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, as well as Toledo Speedway, Watkins Glen International and again be part of the annual Full Throttle Fall Weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It will have its championship decided with its traditional fall visit to Dover International Speedway.
• The Showdown will take the green flag with ARCA’s inaugural visit to ISM Raceway on March 6 as part of the national series’ event weekend in Phoenix. The Showdown’s 10 races, which will also count as part of the 20-race ARCA Menards Series schedule, features events at Indiana’s Salem Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Minnesota’s Elko Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Both Iowa and Gateway have hosted K&N Pro West combination races as well as ARCA events annually, and this in an opportunity for those tracks to bring all three series together. The first Showdown champion will be crowned at Memphis International Raceway in September.
In addition, NASCAR and MAVTV announced a three-year extension of its telecast rights agreement for select ARCA Menards Series races. The partnership, combined with the races covered on FOX Sports, means that all 20 ARCA Menards Series races — including the 10-race Showdown portion — will be available via live or same-day broadcast. NBCSN will continue to carry the ARCA Menards Series East and West as part of their extensive NASCAR coverage.
Tyler Reddick will move up to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing for the 2020 season, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Reddick will replace Monster Energy Series rookie Daniel Hemric following the Sept. 17 announcement that Hemric would be released from the team at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
The defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion has competed in two full-time seasons in the second tier of NASCAR’s national division, earning the 2018 title while piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
Reddick is currently in the thick of the Xfinity Series Playoffs battle, sitting third in the postseason standings with a 52-point cushion on the cutline heading into Saturday’s Round of 12 elimination race at Dover International Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“It means a lot to me that Richard, his team, and Caterpillar believe in my ability to represent them both on and off the racetrack,” Reddick said in a team release. “My goal was always to get to race on Sundays, and I’m so excited to achieve that next year with RCR, ECR and Caterpillar. I’m excited to take this next step in my career with their support, but also realize I’ve still got a lot of work to do this year with my No. 2 team to bring home the Xfinity Series Championship. I can’t think of a better way to end RCR’s 50th celebration and kick off next year than by capturing that trophy.”
Entering Dover, the 23-year-old from Corning, California, had earned five victories this season, along with 21 top-five and 24 top-10 results. Reddick has recorded eight triumphs in 79 races spanning three seasons in the Xfinity Series.
Reddick competed in a pair of full-time seasons for Brad Keselowski Racing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2015-16, earning three victories during that span.
Through three weeks of the NASCAR Playoffs, there’s a question we must answer ahead of the Round of 12: Is Kyle Busch in trouble?
Busch’s most recent string of shaky performances started at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he brought home at 37th-place finish. That was followed up by a 19th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, second place at Richmond Raceway and a 37th-place effort at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval.
NASCAR.com’s Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver are here to debate: So, what does all that mean?
Jonathan Merryman: Absolutely nothing. Over the past four seasons, no one has been better than Kyle Busch. While the Round of 16 didn’t go as planned for the No. 18 team, it doesn’t matter. Points reset, and he is again the points leader heading into the Round of 12 that comprises races at Dover International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway.
Busch has managed to win three times at Dover, Talladega is a wild-card, and Kansas saw a string of eight consecutive top 10s from Busch end this spring.On top of the natural talent, Busch also has a 41-point cushion to the cutline. In other words, he has one mulligan left and three races to dial it in before the heat is on in the Round of 8.
Even then, the Candyman should be fine. After all, M&M’s do well in the heat – “They have a thin candy shell.”
Alex Weaver: Momentum needs to be in his favor. While Busch is one of the best drivers in the field — and ever — momentum has to be in your camp when fighting for a championship. The team has been stricken by mistakes on pit road, wrecks and mechanical issues over the last few weeks and hasn’t found Victory Lane in the past 15 races. That’s a slump for Kyle Busch.
Do I think he needs to be worried in the Round of 12? Absolutely not. Do I think he needs to be worried about the Round of 8? Again, no. He came in with enough playoffs points, including the 15-point bonus for being the Regular Season Champion, his points cushion will continue to help his cause.
Does Busch need to be worried about adding another championship? Yes. It is time for Busch to turn on the heat and show his dominance in the next two rounds of the playoffs. To quote the Candyman himself, “It’s pathetic to have to lean on insurance. My premiums are going to go up.”
Sure, a cushion is a soft place to land. But when running for a championship, an average finish of 19.3 in the Round of 16 sure does jack up insurance prices.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s lone NASCAR start of the 2019 season came in last month’s Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway. A fifth-place finish capped his first start in about a year, as he drove a paint scheme first driven by his seven-time champion father in 1975.
The weekend was captured by Dirty Mo Media for a short film, “Time Machine.” From Earnhardt’s thoughts and nerves before practice and the race, fan reaction to his great run, handling questions about the plane crash he was in two weeks earlier outside of Bristol Motor Speedway to the joys of having wife Amy and daughter Isla experience the throwback weekend with him, “Time Machine” takes you inside the race weekend as the driver himself experienced it.
