Editor’s Note: Racing Insights’ playoff projections use a combination of current standings and historical performance at upcoming tracks to determine the probability of each driver winning or making the playoffs on points.
With the Cup Series Playoffs on the mind throughout the season, what if there was a way to project how the 16-driver field could look before each race weekend?
It now exists via Racing Insights. From now until the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, “The Field of 16” will give fans a weekly look at where their favorite drivers could potentially land in the postseason field — and the likelihood of having a shot at the Bill France Cup.
Here’s this week’s update on the projections heading into the Coca-Cola 600.
NOTABLE PROBABILITY SHIFTS POST-DARLINGTON
Driver
Before Loudon
Entering Nashville
Difference
Chris Buescher
67.32%
85.72%
+18.40
Ty Gibbs
85.47%
90.08%
+4.61
Bubba Wallace
29.21%
22.11%
-7.10
Alex Bowman
86.37%
70.11%
-16.26
PROBABILITY CALCULATED BY RACING INSIGHTS AHEAD OF COCA-COLA 600, MAY 26, 2024
DRIVERS SOLIDLY IN PLAYOFF PICTURE
Eight drivers are provisionally locked into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, with three of those guaranteed as Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and William Byron have all won multiple times this season. Larson, who is attempting to complete the Indy/Charlotte Double this weekend, is the current points leader by 30 points above Martin Truex Jr.
Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suárez and most recently, Brad Keselowski have all snagged a victory. Keselowski’s rousing Darlington win snapped a 110-race drought and applies even more pressure to those who have yet to visit Victory Lane in 2024.
Of those without a win yet, Ty Gibbs and Truex are in the best shape heading into Sunday’s 600-miler (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with probabilities over 90%. Truex is second in points while a big points day for Gibbs at Darlington sees him seventh currently in the Cup standings.
LAST 4 IN
While Keselowski went winless last year and made the playoffs, Alex Bowman was not in the picture. The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is currently playing spoiler for a handful of drivers as he continues to quietly have a great season with four consecutive top-10 results.
For two consecutive races, Chris Buescher has been on the verge of the winner’s circle and has received the short end of the stick both times following contact with his fellow competitors. After confronting Reddick post-race at Darlington, the driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford will be on a mission to finally break through in 2024 in the Coke 600.
Bubba Wallace re-enters the right side of the predicted elimination line after a top 10 at Darlington. While he sits 16th in Cup points, Sunday could be the big payout for Wallace given 23XI Racing’s well-known prowess on intermediate tracks.
After a fiery evening at North Wilkesboro, it may give Kyle Busch a shot in the arm to go for his second Coke 600 win. Busch has finished fourth or better in six of the last eight Charlotte oval events.
FIRST 4 OUT
Who would’ve thought a two-time champion would be on the outside looking in of the playoffs? That’s Joey Logano’s predicament now in what has so far been a season to forget for the No. 22 team. Logano hasn’t scored a top-10 finish since Martinsville.
Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell and Josh Berry round out those near the projected playoff bubble and all saw their probabilities rise after respective top-10 results at Darlington.
WHO CAN SHAKE UP PLAYOFF PICTURE AT CHARLOTTE?
This weekend might be the toughest to pick a driver to really boost their playoff hopes. 600 miles is grueling and the cream usually rises in this event. However, the last two seasons have seen unpredictable Coke 600s and the likes of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon have themselves close to the front, not to mention, Dillon, is a one-time winner of NASCAR’s longest event back in 2017.
Briscoe also comes to mind after he was battling with Larson for the Coke 600 checkered flag in 2022 until a full send into Turn 1 with two laps to go caused the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to spin. Given that SHR is coming off two top-five results at Darlington, don’t be surprised if a Briscoe, Berry or Noah Gragson could throw the playoff picture for a loop on Sunday.
Before each race weekend, check back into The Field of 16 to see the latest projections of the 2024 Cup Series playoff field.
At this point in the season, “six” is the magic number in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
There are six playoff spots remaining and just six regular-season races left to fill them, starting with Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Corey Heim, who has won three of the last six Truck Series races, is locked into the postseason. So is two-time winner Christian Eckes. Rajah Caruth and Nick Sanchez are the only other two series regulars with victories this season.
Accordingly, the playoff grid is still wide open to any driver who can either find Victory Lane or score enough points to qualify on that basis.
There’s an extra incentive involving Friday night’s race. It’s the first event in the Triple Truck Challenge, which pays a $50,000 bonus to the winner of any of three designated races. If one driver wins two of the three, the bonus increases to $150,000.
Should a driver win all three designated races, the bonus grows to $500,000. After Charlotte, the next two races in “The Trip” are scheduled for World Wide Technology Raceway (June 1) and Nashville Superspeedway (June 28).
Defending Charlotte race winner and defending series champion Ben Rhodes is one of the drivers who has yet to clinch a playoff berth. The driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford is currently ninth in the standings, just four points above the current cutoff for the postseason.
Teammate Matt Crafton, a three-time series champion, is the first driver currently out of a playoff-eligible position, two points below the cut line.
Kyle Larson occupies his familiar spot atop the NASCAR Cup Series odds board for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio), but he has more than usual to overcome to deliver for bettors this weekend.
Weather pending, Larson is slated to compete in the Indianapolis 500 before boarding a plane and flying to North Carolina to race 600 miles around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Fatigue, both mental and physical, will be a factor.
While some bettors believe Larson is just the guy who can win in Charlotte on the same day he races in Indy, others see potential value in betting against the No. 5 Chevrolet.
A respected bettor in Las Vegas saw an opportunity when Larson’s odds were lengthened at the Westgate SuperBook early in the week.
“I opened Larson at five (+500) and then they went up to six (+600), and someone bet him immediately at six, so I went back to five,” said Ed Salmons, vice president of risk management at the SuperBook. “The bettors, they just handicap and ignore the other stuff.”
Sharp NASCAR bettor Blake Phillips, though, anticipates value in fading Larson in matchup props, especially once the betting market reacts to what is seen on the track Saturday. If Larson looks good in practice and qualifying — which he usually does — his betting prices will likely inflate even further.
“I’d make him a favorite, too, if I was setting the lines for a book, but my intuition says (the fatigue factor) is not priced in,” Phillips said. “In the outright market (betting a driver to win), it’s hard for that value to trickle down to the other drivers just because the vig (the edge the bookmaker prices into a betting market) is so high, but in the matchups, I think you’re going to find a lot of good bets against Kyle Larson.”
One potential matchup prop to circle is DraftKings’s pricing of Denny Hamlin at -105 vs. Larson (-125), a better number for Hamlin than the SuperBook’s -110.
Always check your sportsbook’s rules, but in most cases, drivers must start for action. In other words, if you place a bet on Larson, or against him in a matchup prop, bets would be refunded if he does not start in the race.
Buescher rising
It’s been a tough season for Fords, but the manufacturer has put cars in the winner’s circle in two of the last three Cup events — Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 at Darlington and Joey Logano’s No. 22 in the All-Star Race.
Bettors are biting, as there have been early wagers on Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney and Keselowski to win the Coca-Cola 600.
“The Fords have shown a ton of speed of late,” Salmons said. “Buescher could have won two straight races, Keselowski wound up winning (at Darlington), and even (Noah) Gragson and (Josh) Berry have shown some speed. Blaney looked decent in Darlington, and he dominated this race last year. So, it’s hard to forget about him for here.”
Phillips added of Buescher, “RFK (Racing) has had some really good progress recently. If you’ve been paying attention to it, it’s not really a surprise. Buescher’s been moving his way up for the last couple seasons. He’s been really good in the Next Gen car.”
Nothing to see here
With Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s promise to wreck Kyle Busch after the fracas that ensued between the two last Sunday night at North Wilkesboro, some bettors may be inclined to stay away from the No. 8 in Charlotte.
Does Stenhouse’s threat make it more likely that Busch will not finish the race?
“I look for (situations) every week if there are drivers that I think are going to cause each other trouble on the track. But I think it’s a lot of talk (this week),” Phillips said. “The amount of media attention that’s being given to the incident is much higher than normal, and it makes it less likely that there’s any follow-through on the track. And with Stenhouse being hit with penalties, too, I just think that nobody’s really going be eager to exacerbate this problem.”
“Charlotte’s not the track to wreck someone on purpose,” Salmons added.
Around the track
Here are the names of some other drivers who came up during our conversations with the bookmaker Salmons and bettor Phillips:
• Tyler Reddick was bet early from +1000 to +800 at the SuperBook, per Salmons. Phillips said Reddick tends to be undervalued in the outright market, and if he can find the No. 45 at +900 or better this week, he’d be interested.
• Salmons was impressed with Ty Gibbs at Darlington, where he led 34 laps, accumulated 52 points and finished second. “He’s a guy that seems like he’s ready to win at any point,” Salmons said. “Could this be the week? Sure. I thought he showed a ton at Darlington.”
• Bubba Wallace was offered at +3300 on the odds screen Phillips was watching while we spoke on Wednesday, an enticing price for the No. 23 Toyota. “I doubt I’ll play it, but I feel like this season we’ll probably see him get a win on a mile-and-a-half, or at least have a couple really tight top-three finishes. He’s right there, and if his pit crew can clean up their act a little bit, I think we’ll see him as a contender somewhat frequently.”
INDIANAPOLIS — In his indomitable way of making the extraordinary seem easy, Kyle Larson downplays his greatness with virtually every flick of a steering wheel among the countless vehicles he races.
“It’s honestly pretty relaxing doing it like this,” Larson said during his Indianapolis 500 qualifying debut — a typically pithy statement that he could apply to any motorsports challenge that he has accepted (and conquered) in an illustrious career.
“If he’s nervous, he doesn’t show it too much,” team owner Rick Hendrick said about the superstar who will start fifth in his Indy 500 debut. “He just believes in his ability. Once he gets in the car and gets comfortable, he wants to race.”
James Black | Penske Entertainment
Said 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi, who has known Larson for 20 years dating to their California racing origins and now as his teammate at Arrow McLaren: “In terms of working with him, it’s pretty straightforward because everything for him is just ‘good.’ It’s kind of weird.
That nonchalant excellence is the essence of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion’s greatness.
But there’ll be no escaping the greatness at stake Sunday when he will attempt to become the fifth driver to race the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
The echoes of auto racing immortality are omnipresent everywhere Larson has been the past two weeks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
An interview session was held in the former Formula One garages where seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher was based for his record five victories on the IMS road course.
The iconic pit lane where Larson has climbed into his No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet and ripped off 230-mph laps is the same place that minted household names such as Andretti, Foyt and Unser over the past 113 years.
On what’s labeled “The Greatest Day in Motorsports,” Larson, 31, can take a massive step in affirming he’s the premier talent of his generation.
In nine previous tries at racing an Indy car and a stock car back-to-back on the country’s two biggest circuits, no one has come close to victories in either.
If Larson manages to win at the Brickyard, and even more so if he then triumphs at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he can lay claim to being one of the greatest drivers of all time and certainly one of the best currently on Earth.
After winning what’s generally considered the world’s biggest sprint car race (Knoxville Nationals), biggest midget event (the Chili Bowl) and some of NASCAR’s biggest crown jewels, an Indy 500 victory decisively would put Larson in the same breath as Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt.
Andretti has lobbied for years that Larson deserves a shot at Indy and believes that “he’ll be a factor for sure” Sunday at the Brickyard. The only man to win the Daytona 500, Indy 500 and a Formula One championship said an Indy 500 win for Larson would be the apex of racing versatility.
“What really always motivated me was that our sport is rich of different disciplines at the top level,” Andretti said. “And to be able to move over from where technically your specialty is and go on the other side and win, that’s the ultimate satisfaction in my book. And that’s what he’s been doing. Wherever he has gone, he brings back the results. And that tells the story, quite honestly.”
Justin Casterline | Getty Images
Since moving into NASCAR’s premier series 10 years ago, Larson proudly has carried the flag of being “The Last Real Racer,” a nod to being known for turning laps until the wee hours on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere and then winning a Cup race the next day on a few hours’ sleep.
It’s a testament to his boundless passion for racing but also indicative of a vast ambition.
In a 2021 interview with NBC Sports’ Dustin Long, Larson said “I don’t want to be just referenced as the greatest NASCAR driver of all time or the greatest sprint car driver of all time, I want to be known as somebody who could climb into all different types of cars and be great at what they do.”
And what does racing the Indy 500 do for those crossover credentials?
Larson has said it would mark “a big step” toward deservedly being compared with his racing heroes.
“I probably strive to do this race even more just because of those guys that people try to compare me to — A.J., Mario, Tony (Stewart) — that race everything,” Larson said while at the Brickyard to attend last year’s Indy 500. “I haven’t raced as many cars as they have. Being able to add an Indy 500 to the resume gets me closer to being compared to them and feeling like I should be compared to them in a way.
“I love racing all types of cars. I feel like the more you can challenge yourself as a driver, the more it helps you grow as a driver, too. So no matter what the results end up being, I think I’m going to be a much better all-around race car driver throughout this experience.”
Stewart has set the gold standard for results in “The Double,” as doing the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 has become known.
In a club that also includes John Andretti, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch, Stewart is the only driver to have completed all 1,100 miles across both races. That was in 2001 when he led 13 laps of a rain-delayed Indy 500 on the way to sixth and then placed third in the Coke 600 after zipping over to Charlotte Motor Speedway and starting from the rear for missing the drivers meeting.
A longtime champion of Larson since he tore up the vaunted Eldora Speedway (which Stewart owns) in his first visit 13 years ago, the three-time Cup champion known as “Smoke” believes Larson, whom he describes as “a racing unicorn,” can surpass him in “Double” lore.
“Yeah, absolutely, no doubt, he’s got a shot to outperform me,” Stewart said. “To run sixth and third in the two events, he absolutely can blow that record out of the water. He can have a shot to win the Indy 500, and he absolutely has a shot to win the Coke 600.
“He has the potential to do what’s never been done and win both of these races. … He’s just one of those naturally talented guys that you can put him in anything, and he can drive it.”
Busch, the 2004 Cup champion who was named the 2014 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year for finishing sixth in a backup car, was teamed in NASCAR with Larson at Chip Ganassi Racing.
“He’s the guy for the job,” Busch said of Larson. “All of us are fans at some point. And when you hear a guy like Larson running all these different races, he’s the most versatile type of guy that our generation will ever see. Similar to the days of A.J. Foyt or Andretti jumping into anything and having success. So I’m rooting him on.”
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
In addition to his world-beater ability, Larson will have other advantages over Busch and Stewart. The most obvious is preparation: Nearly 18 months will have passed between announcing his bid at history and the green flag on the 108th Indy 500 — far more lead time than any “Double” driver has enjoyed.
Larson also will have the full-fledged support of the most successful team owner in NASCAR history. Rick Hendrick has supplied the planes and helicopters necessary to shuttle Larson between Indianapolis and North Carolina with regularity while also ensuring a seamless sponsor transition.
Chevrolet and Hendrick Cars are backing both entries, helping eliminate the hassles of potential conflicts (Busch’s Indy-Charlotte foray was complicated by racing a Chevy in NASCAR and a Honda in IndyCar) while also creating a clever branding element (“The H1100” as it’s been dubbed by Hendrick Motorsports).
James Gilbert | Getty Images
“What we’ve learned over time is that you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and that’s true with the NASCAR teams,” Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon said. “And I think that’s the same way that we look at this at Indianapolis, especially if Rick’s involved and Hendrick Cars is a sponsor. We just want to make sure that it’s done at the highest level and give Kyle the best opportunity to have a great finish and maybe even win the race.”
The support system in Indianapolis also includes Arrow McLaren sporting director Tony Kanaan. The 2013 Indy 500 winner also is an IndyCar driver whisperer who is helping Larson sift through which data and information is most important for adapting to an Indy car that’s nearly twice as light as his Cup car.
Brian Campe, Hendrick Motorsports’ technical director, is spearheading Larson’s Indy 500 effort. Campe was a Team Penske engineer for Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2015 Indy 500 victory and the 2017 championship by defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden.
By speaking fluent IndyCar and NASCAR, he can ensure good communication in the fresh marriage of Larson and Arrow McLaren. “I’ve been there on the radio as someone who can answer, ‘Hey what does this mean?’ and give him some guidance if he gets confused,” Campe said.
In another example of racing symbiosis, Larson does his simulator prep for NASCAR and IndyCar in the same location — the Chevrolet Technical Center that literally is steps from the Hendrick Motorsports campus on the outskirts of Charlotte.
If all this sounds as if the driving might be the easiest part for Larson, Stewart agrees.
“For him to be in the car is where he’s going to be the happiest,” Stewart said. “ It’s all the other things — the tugging, the pulling, the media attention that he’s going to have — those are the roadblocks. As much as it’s for a great purpose, those are the things that weigh on you. He’s not going to have a moment to himself. That’s the hard part.”
Of course, the racing side still will be difficult and also likely require some luck.
Andretti (whose family knows all about misfortune at Indy) has said “The Double” is “a momentous job. It’s so much to ask of a driver to be able to perform 100 percent in both races on the same day. Somewhere along the line, I think you’re going to leave something on the table. It’s impossible to really do both of them well, being realistic, because you have to put so much time into the practice and qualifying and everything else on both sides.
You’re giving up something.”
Fair enough, but …
“If anybody can do it, it’s Kyle Larson,” Gordon said.
Larson’s thoughts about getting what his racing buddies and family view as the chance of a lifetime?
It’s about what you’d expect.
“Because I don’t get too excited about anything, I think for everybody else, it’s a way bigger deal to them than it is probably to me as far as a legacy or whatever,” he said. “So friends and people around me definitely know it’s a bigger deal than I probably realize.
“But I don’t think about any of that right now.”
History of the Double
Driver
Year
Indy 500 finish
Coca-Cola 600 finish
John Andretti
1994
10th
36th
Davy Jones
1995
23rd
DNQ
Robby Gordon*
1997
29th
41st
Tony Stewart
1999
9th
4th
Robby Gordon**
2000
6th
35th
Tony Stewart
2001
6th
3rd
Robby Gordon
2002
8th
16th
Robby Gordon
2003
22nd
17th
Robby Gordon***
2004
29th
20th
Kurt Busch
2014
6th
40th
* In 1997, the Indianapolis 500 was run on Monday and Tuesday due to rain. **In 2000, Robby Gordon was unable to start the Coca-Cola 600 due to a weather delay in Indianapolis. PJ Jones started Gordon’s Cup Series entry, with Gordon taking over after a red flag for rain on Lap 254. ***In 2004, Robby Gordon raced the first 27 laps at Indianapolis until a red flag came out for rain. Gordon chose to leave Indianapolis for Charlotte and was relieved by Jaques Lazier. (Source: Racing Insights)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCARtook home honors for “Sports Event of the Year” for the first-ever Chicago Street Race during the 2024 Sports Business Awards, a ceremony hosted by Sports Business Journal in New York City last evening to celebrate the best in sports business over the past year.
The award, which highlights the most outstanding events in sports, was recognition for one of the most ambitious events in NASCAR history. The Chicago Street Race, a first-of-its-kind two-day sports and entertainment event, saw stock cars take to city streets for the first time in the sport’s 75-year history, resulting in extraordinary levels of fan engagement, including more than 80% of ticket buyers attending a NASCAR event for the first time; the most-watched Cup Series race on NBC in six years; and an economic impact of more than $108.9 million for the local Chicago community.
“We’re incredibly proud of the first-ever Chicago Street Race, and we’re honored to have Sports Business Journal recognize it as the ‘Event of The Year’,” said Steve Phelps, President, NASCAR. “Following the leadership of Ben Kennedy, Julie Giese and many others, the entire NASCAR industry and the city of Chicago banded together to pull off something truly extraordinary that has opened up an entirely new world of possibility for this sport moving forward. We can’t wait to get back to Chicago for the second running this July.”
In approximately 12 months lead-time, NASCAR established an event that was not just a race in Chicago but was an event about and for Chicago — an opportunity to showcase the best of one of the world’s most recognizable cities on a global scale. From local artists designing the race-winning trophies to becoming ingrained in the community through local partnerships with organizations like Chicago Public Schools, Special Olympics of Illinois, the Art Institute of Chicago, After School Matters and All Kids Bike, NASCAR quickly became a pillar of the community and invested nearly $2 million in local initiatives throughout Chicago.
What’s more, NASCAR immediately established a new, permanent Chicago office in Nov. of 2022 immediately following the announcement that NASCAR would be coming to the city. Led by longtime executive and track president Julie Giese, the office currently has nearly 20 full-time employees, all of whom live and work year-round in the community.
The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will once again take to the streets of Chicago, along with musical performances by Keith Urban, The Chainsmokers, The Black Keys, Lauren Alaina, and a special House Music 40th Anniversary Showcase, for year two of the event on July 6-7, 2024.
Joining the Chicago Street Race as finalists for the “Event of the Year” award were the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, NHL Stadium Series, Super Bowl LVIII, U.S. Open Tennis Championships, and the World Baseball Classic.
As part of the ceremony, NASCAR was also recognized as a finalist for “League of the Year,” and NASCAR’s new media rights deal was a finalist for “Deal of the Year.”
Here’s what’s happening in the world of NASCAR with the All-Star Race in the rearview and the Coca-Cola 600 (Sun., 6 p.m. ET, FOX) right around the corner.
1. Joey Logano dominated North Wilkesboro — what does it mean?
The two-time champion was looking for a spark to ignite the hunt for his third title and just might’ve gotten it with his All-Star Race win.
It wasn’t the beatdown that had everybody talking Monday morning, but Joey Logano sure put a hurtin’ on the rest of the field in Sunday’s showing of All-Star dominance at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The No. 22 Team Penske driver turned in an all-time performance at the North Carolina short track, pacing the field for a record 199 of 200 laps en route to his second career All-Star Race win.
A laps led count of 199, you say? That is, coincidentally, the exact same amount of laps at the front of the field that Logano has to date this season — in the other 13 races. In fact, that’s all the laps led he’s had dating back to Talladega during last year’s playoffs.
So, with a $1 million payday and all the momentum right now, is the two-time champ … “back?”
Big time.
Sort of lost in the mix of last year’s enthralling postseason (along with more spotlight on his eventual 2023 champion teammate, Ryan Blaney) Logano’s slump really extends back to about the midway point of last year. In what was a title-defense season for him, the veteran won early in the year at Atlanta before treading water over the summer and completely petering out in the playoffs with just 48 total laps led across them — stemming from just one race (Talladega).
Generally speaking, despite all the attention on his atypically subpar 2024 stats, Logano has actually looked and performed much better than the results sheet shows, and certainly better than he did at the tail end of last season. If you’ll recall, Logano started on the front row in each of this season’s first three races and actually led multiple laps in seven of 2024’s first 10 races. While he hasn’t turned in a top 10 since Martinsville, you got the sense around then that the ship had been righted and a trip to Victory Lane was right around the corner.
It was indeed; it’s just that it came in an exhibition race. Still, he’d rather be the one holding the giant check in the air at North Wilkesboro than not, and this might’ve been just what the doctor ordered to really turn things around and push for a playoff spot.
All the pieces are still there, too. He’s still, you know, Joey Logano — a titan of the NASCAR Cup Series for going on two decades and one of just two active multi-time champions. Paul Wolfe is still calling the shots atop the pit box, and Logano is still driving a car brought to the track by Roger Penske. That’s always going to be a recipe for wins.
A driver with those resources and his level of skill and stock-car acumen isn’t down for long, and it feels completely evident that Logano will follow his former teammate Brad Keselowski’s footsteps and snap his points-paying-race winless streak much sooner than later.
Slumps happen, but they certainly don’t last forever when the driver is this talented and this driven, with the extensive track record and history of winning that Logano boasts.
We’re entering a portion of the season where he could really do some damage and click off not just one win, but a few in bunches.
Hope you weren’t too quick to write off Logano’s season as being toast, because this Sliced Bread is most definitely still rising.
James Gilbert | Getty Images
2. Did Ricky Stenhouse Jr. awaken the beast that is Rowdy Busch?
Sunday’s North Wilkesboro brawl saw two drivers at their wits’ end come to blows — but could it spark a second-half resurgence for either?
At the halfway point of the regular season, teams and drivers generally know where they stand among the field; whether they’re going to be contenders or pretenders down the stretch run.
Sunday’s post-race scuffle after the 2024 All-Star Race involved a pair of NASCAR Cup Series veteran mainstays on the back nine of their respective careers yet each further away from “contender” status than they’d like to be.
Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s All-Star fight felt as much about what happened on Lap 2 of the exhibition contest, when contact between the two ended the No. 47 Chevrolet’s night early — on the track, at least — as it did the fact that it’s just been a frustrating period of stagnancy for each, at a time when they individually probably feel like they’re at the height of their respective talent levels. Instead, neither appears to have anything resembling a clear path to the 2024 title at the moment — for instance, Busch and Stenhouse have just 38 more points combined than series points leader Kyle Larson’s 486 total. No. 8 is currently in the projected playoff field, but as one of the “last four in” and certainly not in a comfortable position.
Needless to say, there was a lot of truth behind Busch’s exclamation of “I don’t give a [expletive]. I suck just as bad as you!”
But where do things head now? Setting aside any talk of retaliation, how does this shape each of their individual seasons the rest of the way?
Rowdy’s immediate start to his Richard Childress Racing tenure was excellent, turning in three wins in his first 15 races last year. It’s been nothing since but oscillating three-to-four-week stretches that either leave you scratching your head or claiming, “Oh, there he is. He’s back.” But still no wins.
It feels unlikely this trend will just continue per usual the rest of the way after what just transpired; this was either the low point of the season for the No. 8 team and it’s going to be a slog the rest of the way, or it’s the catalyst that saves its season and Busch fights for title No. 3.
Given what we’ve seen out of Rowdy for two decades now, you can assume the latter.
I’m not sure there’s another driver in the sport that can fuel themselves on pure emotion and alchemize the adrenaline to unlock a new level of driving talent like Busch can, and it’s possible we see vintage Rowdy band together with a supremely fired-up Richard Childress to figure out what hasn’t been working and fix it — immediately.
The Coca-Cola 600 has been one of the Las Vegas native’s best races in the past several years, finishing in the top 10 in each of the last seven runnings (all of which were in the top six), tying the all-time record for most consecutive top 10s in the race. He won the 2018 edition of NASCAR’s marathon crown jewel, leading 377 of 400 laps and sweeping every stage. His 1,061 laps led in the race rank third all time, too.
Wouldn’t it be the most Kyle-Busch-thing to just come out and stomp the field, reminding everybody this weekend why he’s NASCAR’s all-time winningest driver? That scenario feels like it’s extremely on the table despite his unsavory season to date.
Turning to Stenhouse, he could actually surprise some people this weekend as well. Coming off a 2023 playoff appearance, the Mississippi native probably wasn’t anticipating being outside the top 25 in points and essentially in need of a win before we hit June to make the playoffs, but there has to be some degree of optimism at the JTG Daugherty Racing shop, at least — he signed a multiyear extension with the team just three weeks ago.
Stenhouse has finished seventh in the last two Coca-Cola 600s, landing in the top 15 in seven of the previous eight runnings of the 600-mile endurance contest. Maybe he’s not a lock to compete for the win, but personally I wouldn’t rule out a driver that has been hanging around the front of the field that consistently — it’ll break his way eventually, you’d think — and the only guy in the field that once exclaimed “America, 1776, we are the champs!” after winning at Daytona on Fourth of July Weekend.
The Coca-Cola 600 is NASCAR’s most patriotic race, after all.
We’ll find out how it all shakes out this weekend under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway — and it’ll be interesting to see if any barbs are traded before then as everyone piles back into the track — but, man. This season just continues to deliver fresh story lines week after week and it’s likely over 600 miles that we’ll see some more jaw-dropping moments that’ll have everybody talking Monday morning yet again.
CONCORD, N.C. — Ahead of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jockey and Folds of Honor teamed up Wednesday to unveil Ross Chastain’s commemorative paint scheme at the NASCAR Productions Facility.
The scheme dons the red, white and blue of the American flag and honors United States Marine Corps Master Sergeant Aaron Torian, who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the country.
“What this is going to do for their family and for so many families that lost somebody is absolutely incredible,” Chastain said. “Hopefully it does exactly what live sports is so great at. It gives everybody else a chance to take a break from the real world to just kick back and enjoy the race and think about the good times. Remember all the great times and remember Aaron for what his sacrifice means to this world.”
Anchoring the race weekend is the powerful 600 Miles of Remembrance tribute, where all Cup Series entries feature the name of a fallen service member on the windshield.
Torian’s son, Elijah, honored his late father by creating a piece of artwork that is displayed on the decklid of Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
Cameron Richardson | NASCAR.com
Chastain’s scheme is set for its first laps Saturday afternoon during practice and qualifying to prepare for Sunday’s 600-miler in front of a soldout crowd for a third consecutive year.
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NASCAR officials issued penalties Wednesday morning stemming from an altercation after Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race, fining Ricky Stenhouse Jr. $75,000 for punching fellow Cup Series driver Kyle Busch and suspending two crew members from the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team.
Stenhouse’s knock set off a post-race fracas between his crew and Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team in the Cup Series garage at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Officials handed down multi-race suspensions to two crew members and also indefinitely suspended Richard Stenhouse — Ricky’s father — for violations of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.4.D in the NASCAR Rule Book).
Team mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for the next eight Cup Series races (through events at Pocono Raceway on July 14) for his role, and tuner Keith Matthews was suspended for the next four Cup Series events (through Iowa Speedway on June 16).
“I think it’s fair to say that when you have crew members and family members that put their hands on our drivers, we’re going to react,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer said Wednesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “There’s not a lot of detail I’m going to get into due to the fact that these are appealable penalties, and I want to make sure that we’re fair to that process.
“With that being said, and we’ve been consistent about this, when crew members and family members get involved, we are going to react. That’s exactly what we did.”
Stenhouse and Busch tussled on track shortly after the green flag in Sunday’s non-points event, and Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet took the brunt of the damage after a bump from Busch’s No. 8 Chevy. Stenhouse was sidelined after completing just two of the 200 laps, and he parked and left his wrecked car in the No. 8 team’s pit stall to show his displeasure.
Stenhouse signaled that a post-race confrontation was approaching in interviews after he was checked and released from the infield care center. “I’ll handle it,” Stenhouse said, elaborating on what that meant by later adding, “Eh, you can just watch afterward.”
Stenhouse was waiting for Busch’s arrival at the No. 8 hauler after the event. After a brief discussion, Stenhouse threw a quick right hand that caught Busch in the side of the face. Both drivers went to the ground, and the elder Stenhouse intervened in a face-to-face square-off with Busch as both crews scuffled.
“When you wait 198 laps and you make those decisions that were made, again, we’re going to react to that,” Sawyer said. ” … Once we get to the point where it gets physical, we want the two drivers to be able to have time to express their differences. Once it escalates to a physical altercation, we are going to react.
“Granted there was no tunnel, granted there was no crossover bridge (to allow Stenhouse Jr. to leave the track), better decisions could have been made throughout that period of time between the incident on the race track and the incident in the garage post-race.”
Also on the penalty report, competition officials issued two penalties after the Craftsman Truck Series’ most recent race at North Wilkesboro. Officials gave a one-race suspension to crew member Dawson Backus, rear tire changer for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team, for violating the rule book section on crew protective clothing/equipment, specifically helmet straps. Officials also fined crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz $2,500 after the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Grant Enfinger was found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check.
Lastly, NASCAR officials also handed an indefinite suspension to Rowan Mason for a behavioral violation of Sections 4.1 and 10.1.A in the Rule Book (Substance Abuse Policy). Mason was last listed on NASCAR’s team roster portal as a mechanic for the No. 5 Our Motorsports team in the Xfinity Series.
Editor’s note: NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert is among the 63 voting members — plus the fan vote — casting ballots to elect the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025. This year marks his sixth time participating in Voting Day. Here, he shares an explanation of his three choices on his ballot, a handful of honorable mentions and his pick for the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Class of 2025 selections
Ricky Rudd — In his eighth year on the ballot, this one feels like a long time coming. Rudd was regarded as one of stock-car racing’s toughest competitors and set a high bar for his peers with his longevity with 906 Cup Series starts. Rudd delivered at least one Cup Series win each season in a remarkable 16-year stretch and drove for Hall of Fame team owners in Richard Childress, Bud Moore, Rick Hendrick, Robert Yates and the Wood Brothers. That list now includes himself, a nod to his six-season run as an owner/driver.
Carl Edwards — Like Rudd, Edwards earned recognition last year as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. His merits are many, but the 28 Cup Series wins ranked as the most among the Modern Era driver nominees. He also came as close to winning a premier-series championship as one could get, famously coming up short in a tiebreaker to Tony Stewart in 2011. The only question now is whether he’ll do his traditional victory celebration with a backflip off the Hall of Fame stage next February.
Banjo Matthews — The Pioneer Ballot was as crowded as ever with worthy candidates, but Matthews was the pick this year for his enduring proficiency as a car builder. Think of him as virtually the original single-source supplier because the Cup Series field was often packed with his masterfully built chassis — a benchmark in performance and safety. He also made his mark as a driver with scores of short-track wins and occasional Cup starts.
Honorable mentions: Harry Gant was the next choice on the Modern Era ballot, and his popularity and ageless record of success should be recognized in future votes. … Ralph Moody was a deserving selection from the field of five on the Pioneer list in his sixth year on the ballot, and he nearly got my vote in a toss-up. … Ray Hendrick was also a superb first-year nominee and should get his due in ballots to come.
Landmark Award
Dr. Dean Sicking — This is a perfect spot for a nominee with a lasting effect on safety, and Sicking’s invention of SAFER barrier technology has saved lives. It was a difficult choice here, with Alvin Hawkins’ pioneering efforts to launch the sport and Lesa France Kennedy’s work to advance it. But Sicking’s contributions made a major leap in a crucial area that should be duly recognized.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carl Edwards and Ricky Rudd were elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday as the top vote-getters from the Modern Era Ballot. They will be inducted as part of the Class of 2025 along with Ralph Moody, the top choice from the Pioneer Ballot.
Dr. Dean Sicking was selected as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Sicking, who was instrumental in advancing motorsports safety through the development of the SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, will be honored along with the other 2025 electees on Feb. 7, 2025 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Rudd received 87% of the Modern Era ballot votes, and Edwards got 52%. Harry Gant finished third, followed by Jeff Burton and Harry Hyde. Ralph Moody received 60% of the Pioneer ballot votes. Ray Hendrick finished second.
Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote were: Ray Hendrick (Pioneer); Carl Edwards and Harry Gant (Modern Era).
Rudd was NASCAR’s original “Iron Man” for more than a decade and held the record for consecutive starts in the Cup Series with 788 before Jeff Gordon broke it in 2015. The Chesapeake, Virginia, native’s 906 starts in the Cup Series rank second all-time to Richard Petty.
During his 33-year Cup Series career, Rudd posted 23 wins, 194 top fives and 29 poles. He recorded victories driving cars for owners such as Richard Childress, Bud Moore and Rick Hendrick. Rudd was also named the 1977 Rookie of the Year.
Known for his hard-nosed style, Rudd won at least one race in 16 straight seasons (1983-98) and is one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. This was Rudd’s eighth year on the ballot.
Rudd got word of his election while he was raking leaves at his home in Cornelius, North Carolina, north of Charlotte.
“Today I got an anonymous text (saying) ‘You might want to be in Charlotte downtown,’ ” Rudd, 67, told the NASCAR Wire Service. “I was thinking, ‘Downtown Charlotte — that’s Hall of Fame day. Are you serious?’
“It didn’t take long. I hopped in the shower, jumped into some clothes, and here we are.”
Edwards had 72 NASCAR national series wins, including 28 in the Cup Series. The Columbia, Missouri, native punctuated many of those victories with his signature “backflip” celebration.
Edwards started in the NASCAR national series in 2002 driving part-time for Mike Mittler in the Craftsman Truck Series, but his first win in the Trucks came in 2003 for Jack Roush.
Edwards also began his Cup career for Roush in 2004 and broke through in his first full-time season in 2005 with four wins and a third-place finish in the standings.
In the Xfinity Series, Edwards had a run from 2005-2010 when he finished no worse than third in the standings. This era also included an Xfinity Series championship in 2007.
However, Edwards never did punch through for a Cup Series title, despite coming close. He finished second in the Cup standings twice, including in a battle with Tony Stewart in 2011 that came down to a tiebreaker.
Edwards was named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in the sport’s 75-year anniversary celebration in 2023. This was Edwards’ fourth year on the ballot.
Moody, who was from Taunton, Massachusetts, started out as a driver in 1956 and had five Cup Series wins. But known as a mechanical whiz, Moody paired with John Holman in 1957 to create Holman-Moody, a dominant team that claimed two championships with David Pearson and scored Daytona 500 wins with Fred Lorenzen (1965) and Mario Andretti (1967).
Moody was also an adept strategist and driver coach, and Holman-Moody racked up 96 Cup wins and 83 poles. This was Moody’s sixth year on the ballot.
