2017 NASCAR Week 29: Dover

Apache Warrior 400

Dover International Speedway 

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Will Jimmie Johnson Add to His Dover Legacy?

• JJ already has the most career wins of any NASCAR Cup driver (11) so his legacy is set in stone here, but can he add to it? On top of that he has lead the most career laps here (3,100 total), is tied for the fifth most top fives (16), and the 6th most top tens (22). Each stat he can add to and move up the ranks in what will be his 32nd career Dover start. You may say you dislike JJ, but it's important to realize what we're watching historically while it is happening.

Playoff Cut Line

• Right now the cut line looks like this: Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Austin Dillon trail Jamie McMurray by 9 points (Jamie is safe as of now). Ryan Newman trails JMac by 10, Kurt Busch trails JMac by 26, and Kasey Kahne trails JMac by 30 points. That's five people trailing McMurray and only four get cut. On top of that fact, Jamie isn't even safe, nor is anyone above him. However, the likely outcome is that the four drivers cut this round come from this list: McMurray, Stenhouse Jr., Dillon, Newman, Busch, or Kahne. Being the first round the focus will be on the cut line and not show advances.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Chase Elliott- Three Dover starts and three Dover top fives. Not bad, but can he finally get to Victory Lane?
• Jimmie Johnson- Jimmie won here at Dover earlier this year, can he sweep 2017? The last time he swept Dover was 2009.
• Martin Truex Jr- In Martins last five Dover races he has led a lap in four of them and a total of 467 laps. He won this playoff race last year and is running strong to finish the season.

The Middle

• Kyle Larson- Larson finished runner up to Johnson earlier this year, but had a winning car. A few more bonus playoff points would go a long way into getting the No. 42 to Homestead.

The Bad

• Ryan Blaney- Small sample size alert: but Blaney's last two finishes here have been marred with poor luck. He also hasn't qualified very well here, either.
• AJ. Allmendinger- Seems like we haven't talked about AJ in awhile, but after the stats coming that might be better. In 19 career starts here AJ has three top 10's and only four top 15's.
• Kurt Busch- Dover is not a good spot for Kurt to need a strong finish. Since he lone win here (11 races), Kurt has one top ten, three top 15's, and only six top 20's.

About the Track: Dover

Track Stats

• Richard Petty won the first 3 of 4 races at Dover, including the first two in 1969 and 1970
• The race has been won from the Pole 13 times.
• Kyle Petty won after starting 37th in 1995, the furthest back a Dover race has been won
• The most cautions was 16 in 1993, Rusty Wallace eventually won the race
• Current drivers with more then 1 Dover win (Jimmie Johnson-10, Ryan Newman-3, Matt Kenseth-3, Kyle Busch-2, and Martin Truex Jr-2)
• Current drivers with one Dover win (Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Derrike Cope (Part Time)-1, and Kurt Busch)
• Most career wins at Dover: Jimmie Johnson (11), Richard Petty (7), and Bobby Allison (7).
• Most career top 5's at Dover: Mark Martin (24) followed by Dale Earnhardt (19)
• Most career top 10's at Dover: Mark Martin (33), Richard Petty (26), and Ricky Rudd (26)
• Most career pole awards at Dover: David Pearson (6), Rusty Wallace (5), and Mark Martin (5)
• Most career starts at Dover is Ricky Rudd with 56.

Track Info

• Surface: 1995-Present: Concrete
• Was Asphalt from 1969-1994
• Length: 1 mile
• Banking
• Turns: 24 degrees
• Straight: 9 degrees

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 28: NHMS

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

ISM Connect 300

By Richard Tix

Guess who is back? Yeah, I know I have been slacking lately on NBTW, but this week we're back on track. My busy Fall is winding down so the content hopefully will get up and running again. In the NASCAR world, this weekend marked the second race of the first round. This is the final Power Rankings that will have 16 drivers. After NASCAR cuts to 12 drivers, so will Behind the Wall so don't get to comfortable with the bubble drivers here, they could be gone next weekend!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 28 (Week 26)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Even after some bad luck, this team fought back and finished 5th just one week after winning. Book him to Homestead now.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- The win at NHMS locks him into round two, not that he needed it.
3. Kyle Larson (LW-3)- Larson was the only one who had something for the Toyotas at NHMS, that something was worth one whole led lap..
4. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- DH was a bit off at NHMS this weekend, but he has been rolling as of late so its safe to assume he keeps it going.
5. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- BK is locked into next round with a solid regular season of bonus points and a 6th and 4th place finish in the playoffs.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- Finishing the year strong looks to be helping Kenseth on his start this year.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW-8)- JJ has at least looked better so far in the playoffs, other drivers you're on notice.
8. Kevin Harvick (LW-5)- This is a rough fall after a nice start to the playoffs last week. "Thanks Austin!"
9. Ryan Blaney (LW-12)- So far Blaney has shaken his inconsistency of the regular season, can it last another race? Another round?
10. Chase Elliott (LW-9)- Chase overcame his practice crash and put up what was almost a top ten on Sunday. 
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-13)- JMac has a finish of 10th and 16th so far. Another top 15 and he should advance.
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-15)- Stenhouse and Dillion hold the 12th spot as of right now, but the cut line will get heated this weekend at Dover.
13. Ryan Newman (LW-11)- Newman fought back from a bad day on one of his better tracks for a quality finish, which leaves him with a chance to advance.
14. Austin Dillon (LW-16)- AD pretty much booted Harvick on Sunday, so its easy to say he isn't making friends right now.
15. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- Kurt can't find any luck. I mean, he had a small shot at the championship anyways, but bowing out this early is rough.
16. Kasey Kahne (LW-14)- It's not looking good for KK. Kasey is behind 21 points from the cut line (12th) and has two poor races in two playoff weeks.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 26: Richmond

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Federated Auto Parts 400

By Richard Tix

Hey! The regular season is done and y'all are still here? NASCAR heads into the final ten races which now has a new name. The Playoffs Chased away the old name - see what I did there? - and with that it brought in some new wrinkles. We now have playoff points included that roll over round to round up until Homestead.

So, now that we're heading to the "post season" Behind the Wall is going to do a complete reset of the Power Rankings. Just like last year, we're opening it back up to 16 spots in the rankings. However, those 16 spots are only going to be made up of the current playoff drivers. After three races the field gets cut to 12 and so will the Behind the Wall power rankings. Again, only playoff drivers will be of those 12 spots. Once we get to the third round (eight drivers left), the power rankings will still be 12 spots, but the top 8 spot will be the remaining divers and the last four can be made up of ANY driver, regardless of if they made the playoffs. Same will happen at Homestead, 12 spots in the rankings, the top four will be the remaining drivers, and the rest of the spots will be made up of anyone else. Just keep that in mind when your favorite driver who is on a hot streak sits in 9th because 8 other playoff drivers are ahead of him/her.

So, lets get it started!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 26 (Week 25)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-2)- Truex is already up 20 points on Larson (second) and has 38 playoff points after the reset. He can book it to the second round right now.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Rowdy finished strong with six straight top tens including two wins to finish the regular season. He also has 21 playoff points (third most) to help him move along in the final ten races.
3. Kyle Larson (LW-4)- Well, thats a nice way to finish off the regular season. Larson's win gave him four in 2017 and really helped by giving him an extra 5 playoff points.
4. Denny Hamlin (LW-3)- Hamlin has come on strong late in the regular season (even with an encumbered win). With Toyota still rolling, I expect Hamlin to be strong these final ten races.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- Harvick is my top Ford going into the playoffs and most of that is because he has been so consistent. 
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Kenseth was the one of the last one's into the playoffs, but don't let that fool you, he has been running very well as of late. He has some ground to make up, but should advance a round or two and then all it takes is a win.
7. Brad Keselowski (LW-11)- BK is not entering the playoffs like he would want to I am guessing. Sputtering in, BK really has run into a ton of poor luck. He still has two wins and 11 top fives this year, so they could get it together.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-NR)- Last year I had JJ ranked 9th going into the Playoffs..... Just keep that in mind if he starts advancing this year again.
9. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Consistent? Yup. Championship contender? Probably not. Lets be honest, barring some crazy story-lines most these guys aren't in line for the Championship this year. However, Chase has had a great year that just needed a bit of late race closing. Maybe he gets Stage Three figured out and makes a run to Miami?
10. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- Kurt has been running strong late in the season. Maybe they have found something? But, is it enough to make a long run?
11. Ryan Newman (LW-9)- Winning speed? Nope. But the No. 31 team has been putting a bunch of quality runs together and not many have noticed.
12. Ryan Blaney (LW-NR)- Winning speed? Yup. But this team can not find any consistency which will burn then in the playoffs.
13. Jamie McMurray (LW-12)- His teammate is going off, meanwhile JMac has been riding steady. Making the playoffs on points is not easy and Jamie just keeps doing it year after year.
14. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- One last run with HMS. Let it sink in for awhile and enjoy it while you can.
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-NR)- Hey, at least Ricky gets Talladega in the playoffs. However, it's in the second round and he will most likely already be kicked out.
16. Austin Dillon (LW-NR)- I had AD pegged for a much better season, boy was I wrong. However, he is here and gave himself a chance.

2017 NASCAR Week 26: Richmond

Federated Auto Parts 400

Richmond Raceway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Final Regular Season Race of 2017

• It's everyone's last chance to steal the show in the regular season. After Richmond NASCAR will basically reset the points (minus some playoff points and seeding). So, Richmond is now the last chance to help improve your playoff odds. So, the focus this weekend (other than the cut line) will be who can grab a few extra point for the playoffs and how will they effect each round going forward?

Matt Kenseth vs Jamie McMurray

• The cut line, or bubble line as some may say, will be all the talk this weekend at Richmond. This is the final race until the playoffs start and guys like Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Daniel Suarez all need wins to get into them. While those guys will be fighting for a win, Kenseth and McMurray will be doing the same, but with a twist. See, a win locks them in, but they're both currently in on points. The kicker here is, that if one of the other mentioned guys like JoLo gets a win, than Kenseth and McMurray would be fighting for the final spot and one would miss out on the playoffs. What's even better? Well, currently only one point separates the No. 20 and No. 1 in the standings so literally the most points at Richmond (almost straight up) would advance. Things could get dicey if the No. 77 finds himself leading late and Kenseth and McMurray are near each other in running order.

Richmond Raceway

• How many time will someone say RIR or Richmond International Raceway? If you want a drinking word that isn't elimination, bubble, or cut line so that you can still remember the race afterwords, it would be something to do with RIR. This is the drinking word to get a buzz, but not go overboard. All of this because the track is re-branding and renaming to Richmond Raceway and this will be the first race under its new name. So, get used to it because it isn't going away.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Kyle Busch- Four total wins here at Richmond for Rowdy, but none since 2012. He still has three top 10's (two seconds) in the last four trips here.
• Denny Hamlin- Fresh off a win at Darlington, Hamlin heads to another one of his best tracks (Martinsville and Darlington are also in his top 3). Last year he won from the pole at this race heading into the playoffs.
• Joey Logano- Boy, does Joey need this. Richmond is the spot of his all too famous encumbered win earlier this year. NASCAR may have taken his win from counting, but he still has seven straight top tens here (though he will need the win).

The Middle

• Kevin Harvick- This is more like the "Good" sections extra credit. "Happy" has three straight 5th place finishes here and five top fives in the last six.

The Bad

• Ryan Blaney- In three starts Richmond has not been Blaneys track. Although, he did start on the front row (second) earlier this year, so things could turn around.
• Paul Menard- 21 starts, 1 top ten. Worse yet? In his last seven he has one top 15 and only two top 20's.
• Austin Dillon- AD has a sole top 15 in his first seven Richmond starts, however he does have four top 20's.

About the Track: Richmond

Track Stats

• Richard Petty once won 7 RIR races in a row, 9 of 10, and 12 of 17. All were from 1967 to 1975
• In 2013 Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards won from the 17th and 26th positions. Joey Logano won in 2014 (Spring) from the 17th position as well. 
• In 2009 and 2010 Kyle Busch won both early season races and Denny Hamlin won both late season. Kyle also won the early season RIR race in 2011 and 2012 making it 5 straight Toyota wins and 6 in 7 (actually 7 of 8 because Bowyer won late in 2012).
• Richard Petty has the most career RIR wins with 13.
• Of current drivers Kyle Busch has the most total wins with 4.
• Richard Petty also has the most career top 5's (34), top 10's (41), and Poles (tied with Bobby Allison with 8).

Track Info

• Surface - Asphalt
• Length - 0.75 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 14 degrees
• Frontstretch: 8 degrees
• Backstretch: 2 degrees

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 25: Darlington

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Bojangles' Southern 500

By Richard Tix

The Week 25 NASCAR Power Rankings after Denny Hamlin's win at Darlington.

 

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 25 (Week 24)

1. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- He's been on fire in his last five races. Five top tens, three top fives, two wins, and 271 laps lead. The last time he didn't lead a lap in a race was eight races ago (Daytona).
2. Martin Truex Jr (LW-2)- Truex has been just as hot (and for the whole season), but as of late Kyle has just nudged him out. That doesn't mean Martin isn't the favorite going into the Playoffs, though.
3. Denny Hamlin (LW-3)- Getting hot is a trend so far in these rankings, and getting hot at the right time can get you all the way to Homestead. DH quietly has two wins and six top 4's in his last eight. Don't overlook him because of the 78 and 18.
4. Kyle Larson (LW-4)- Larson led 124 laps on Sunday and is still one of the fastest non Toyota's week to week in the field.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Kenseth has made life a bit easier on himself by getting on a roll as of late. Six top tens (four of them top fives) in seven races have improved his playoff odds, but he still has work to do at Richmond.
6. Erik Jones (LW-6)- Erik needs a win at Richmond to get in (which probably wont happen), but he could play spoiler in the playoffs, the kid has been on fire (three straight top fives and five straight top tens).
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- Harvick is still fourth in points and knocking out top tens weekly, but the winning speed seems to just keep escaping the No. 4 team. With how well he has ran, he could point his way to Homestead if the cards fall the right way (that's a huge IF).
8. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Speaking of lacking winning speed, Chase just can't keep it together for a whole race. We keep waiting for that first win, will it happen before 2018?
9. Ryan Newman (LW-9)- This is the first time in 2017 that Newman has put together three straight top tens (its the first time since 2015 races 10, 11, and 12). 
10. Kurt Busch (LW-12)- Kurt now has back to back top fives and three top tens in his last four races.
11. Brad Keselowski (LW-10)- Once again the No. 2 team seemed to have some speed (which the 22 never finds), but fell off late when things went wrong. Even with this "speed," it isn't Toyota speed so they have to be in the right place at the right time.
12. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- McMurray needed this top ten at Darlington. He is currently the last driver in the playoffs and only a point behind Kenseth (15th).

Dropped Out: Trevor Bayne (LW-11)

Just Missed: Austin Dillon