2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 32: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Hollywood Casino 400

By Richard Tix

One more round to go until NASCAR heads to Homestead for the finale. If this round is anything like last round than we're in for a huge outcry from the fans. What do I mean? Well, if you missed Sundays race at Kansas you would have missed the fact that Kyle Larson, one of the top drivers of 2017, is now out of contention for the Championship. One hit of bad luck at the wrong time can do that to you now, and it's what all of social media was talking about. 

I 100% get it as well. But, one bad key race if you didn't lock it up earlier is also a threat to any driver including the No. 78. So, the complaints will only get larger if the No. 78 gets knocked out this round.

This does bring back into play out important the regular season was, because maybe a win or two more (or winning the regular season points) would have been enough extra points to keep Kyle Larson in the hunt. Most likely the engine failure still would have done the No. 42 in on Sunday, but it's not like they also didn't have other times in this season, in these playoffs, to lock themselves in. It sucks, its a downfall of this format, but it isn't the end all be all and Larson handled it like a vet.

Not that this makes a difference, but to anyone wanting to go back to straight up points on the season should realize Larson would be all but out of it already as well (143 points back) and this would have been a huge blow to his Championship contention either way.

Anyways, lets move onto the Power Rankings. Remember, this week NASCAR cut down to eight drivers which means the top eight below are all playoff drivers. The remaining four spots are fair game to anyone!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 32 (Week 31)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Personally I am pulling for my favorite driver, however I would be disappointed if the 78 doesn't at least get to the Championship and it would be a format fail if he doesn't.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-8)- Kyle went from the edge of elimination to back in the hunt with just one race and one set of eliminations. 
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Chase is the last remaining zero win driver in the playoffs. However, he has finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 16th, and 4th in his last four to get him this far.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- In a season of transition from Chevy to Ford, Harvick is just hanging around. That's all it may take until Homestead.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-5)- Hamlin keeps riding around to nice finishes week after week. Sunday marked his third straight top 10 (two of them top 5's).
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK's win at Talladege locked him into this round, but he will need more speed to make a push for Homestead.
7. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- What a crazy weekend for the No. 21. Everything had to fall into place the right way for them to advance, and it did.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-9)- Here we are again, JJ just lurking in the back... Can he do it again?
9. Kyle Larson (LW-2)- I'm at a loss for words. We knew something like this could happen, but we never thought it would. The odds, especially in this day in age where engine failures are few and far between, had to have been so small.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- A wreck ended Kenseth's playoffs, but he left a lot on the table in 2017 that put him in this spot. He fought hard to hang on this long. So, here's to hoping he can find a decent ride in 2018.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- Under the radar, Kahne has been running well in his last rides in the No. 5. 9th, 8th, and 15th round out this round.
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-NR)- Junior has three seventh place finishes in his last four and somehow it feels overlooked. I am not sure how that happens with Junior, especially in his final season, but it kind of has.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 31: Talladega

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Alabama 500

By Richard Tix

2017 NASCAR Week 31 Power Rankings after Talladega

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 31 (Week 30)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Everyone gets a pass at Talladega, including the best team in 2017. Truex might just go into Kansas and grab another win on the year.
2. Kyle Larson (LW-2)- After such a cluster, Larson can take a safe 13th place finish onto Kansas and the next round. 
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Chase made his move late and Suarez was late to fill the hole. I get it, it was aggressive, but who wouldn't be? Suarez shouldn't have been clear to come down so I don't blame it on the No. 24.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-9)- How BK made it through a few of those wreck and to the end unscathed is beyond me. He now has five career wins at Talladega and is locked into the round of eight.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-5)- Hamlin was one of about three cars to not be involved in an incident heading into the last restart, amazing. This round he has finishes of 6th and 4th and should move on.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- 9th, 3rd, 11th, 11th, and 14th are Kenseth's playoff finishes. Yet, he finds himself at the moment on the outside looking in because of his regular season and lack of playoff points (3 playoff points. 10th in points).
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-10)- It's weird, Harvick is fourth in points but doesn't feel safe for the next round yet. He actually has a 22 point lead on 9th so he should be ok, but anything can happen.
8. Kyle Busch (LW-4)- What a round difference makes. Kyle can't catch a break right now, but luckily we're heading to Kansas and he has been very good here lately (five straight top 5's including a win).
9. Jimmie Johnson (LW-8)- JJ is currently sitting 8th, and would be moving onto the next round, however he will need a strong run at Kansas to make sure he advances.
10. Ryan Blaney (LW-11)- Blaney is actually in a transfer spot by 9 points over Kyle Busch and two points over Jimmie. Luckily the No. 21 has shown speed at 1.5's, unlucky he is up against Kyle Busch and JJ and only two of them get a spot in the next round.
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-7)- Did I jinx JMac? He was out before most of the craziness started after wrecking. This comes just a week after having back to back nice finishes. 
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-12)- I'm not sure Ricky will be able to get it done at Kansas to move on, but it was a nice run to get here.

2017 NASCAR Week 31: Talladega

Alabama 500

Talladega Superspeedway 

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

The Big One

• I won't be watching this because I want to see the big one, because honestly I don't watch the race for wreck. However, at Talladega it is almost a given a wreck of at least a decent size will happen. What that means at this time of the year is playoff hopes can be lost and won during this race. From start to finish it will be interesting who can get out front and stay there (the safest spot) or who falls back and rides around for 80% of the race, which doesn't always work out. 

Jamie McMurray's Run at the Next Round

• Yeah, I will be watching Jamie McMurray all day. Do I think he will win? Probably not. But he has (2009 and 2013) and can run up front on a good day. Jamie has back to back top tens and three top tens in the four playoff races so far, so basically I'm watching him to see if he can keep it going and make the last eight drivers in the playoffs. If he makes the final eight I would be surprised if he isn't the shocker of the playoffs this year (doubt Stenhouse makes it to next round). So, keep and eye on the No. 1 and what his strategy is all day long.

The Toyota's and if Someone Will "Steal" a Win

• 78, 18, 18, and 78. Obviously I don't have to tell you that's how the playoffs have started. Those two Toyota's have dominated the playoffs and much of the 2017 season. Talladega gives other drivers a new life which means some aggressive moves will be made throughout the race, including the final stage. Their is a catch, some Toyota drivers are also good at Talladega. However, everyone elses odds go up of beating the No. 78 before we head to Kansas where he will probably dominate again (led 104 laps on his way to a win at Kansas earlier this year).

**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

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr- We know this story. Stenhouse won here earlier this year after taking the pole. He also has back to back top fives and an average finish of 10.4 in eight career races.
• Brad Keselowski- This is one of BK's better tracks considering how inconsistent the nature of Dega is. He has four career wins here in 17 starts (including his first ever) and normally rides out up front.
• Joey Logano- Up and down, up and down. JoLo has won two of the last four, but also finished 25th or worse in tow of the last four...

The Middle

• Kurt Busch- Four straight top tens, five top tens in his last six, and all six were 12th or better. He has been running well at Taladega as of late, can it continue?

The Bad

• Matt Kenseth- I typically think of Kenseth as a good plate driver, but lately his luck hasn't been very good at Dega. In his last five he has zero top twenties, and in his last eight he only has one finish better then 20th (second in 2014).
• Kasey Kahne- 22.1: Kasey Kahnes average finish at Dega. It just has been a mixed bag of bad finishes for Kasey lately.
• Ryan Newman- When you think of waiting in back at Daytona and Dega you think of Newman. Ok, maybe you don't, but I do. Lately, it hasn't paid off in many top tens. He has four straight races outside the top ten at Dega.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 30: Charlotte

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Bank of America 500

By Richard Tix

2017 NASCAR Week 30 Power Rankings after Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 30 (Week 29)

1. Martin Treux Jr (LW-2)- Just when you put Kyle ahead of him, Truex shows back up and locks himself in to the next round (as if he needed to). He came alive late on Sunday for this win and is easily the one to beat in 2017.
2. Kyle Larson (LW-3)- Larson was the victim of Kurt Busch getting loose on a late restart, but he stayed out and his left rear didn't go down (he had damage from the 41). It could have been a better day, but it could have ended much worse too.
3. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- One day he will win and not finish second. It. Will. Happen. It was cool to see the crowd get up when he charged to the lead.
4. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- What a day. Kyle went thru it all on Sunday. He hit the wall multiple times and ended the day laying next to his car. Thankfully he is fine and he will try and battle back at Dega.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-6)- Hamlin took the pole and then followed up with a nice run. He has a twelve point cushion on the cut line.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Kenseth rounds out the Toyota stable. After an 11th place finish he is a point out of 8th place.
7. Jamie McMurray (LW-9)- That was a great run by JMac and it leads into Talladega where we have seen him compete. A clean round at Dega could mean advancing to the round of eight.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- Nice run by JJ at CMS. The top ten Sunday makes in three in four playoff races.
9. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- What a mediocre day for BK. Every time I looked he was sitting in 13-15th with most of the playoff field in front of him.
10. Kevin Harvick (LW-10)- Harvick shed his two poor finishes in a row to a nice bounce back on Sunday. He could be higher, but those finishes linger into this round a bit (for me). 
11. Ryan Blaney (LW-11)- Blaney actually had a really strong day, fighting thru a bad car to finishing 8th, but he will need more of that to advance.
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-12)- One race into the second round and Ricky is in a ten point hole to eighth place already.

2017 NASCAR Week 30: Charlotte

Bank of America 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For

Battle of the Toyota's

• After the first round Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch once again asserted their dominance by winning all three races. The No. 78 and 18 have been the story of the season especially during the second half and will continue to be a focal point moving forward as they set the pace. The one hitch? Homestead is a straight up race so whomever makes the final four has a small shot to take them down.

Hendrick Motorsports

• Was it a one week thing? HMS brought some quality cars to Dover all around which seems to be a first in 2017. Heck, up to this point the only real title contending Chevy was Kyle Larson (CGR). Granted it was Dover and not a 1.5 D oval that makes up most the schedule, it was good to see some life in the four HMS cars. This week at Charlotte will be a bigger proving ground on if HMS is ready to compete now that the season is coming to a close. We all know you can never count out Jimmie Johnson, so it's even scarier to think that he could finally be getting some speed as well.

Cut Line

• This is an every week thing, but it's always a must watch. Each race that goes by the line gets more intense as the playoff field narrows. Truex has an 18 point lead on second, and a 56 point lead on 12th, but even two bad races by him could get him worrying a bit. The eight spot will be heated for the next three races and getting a good start at CMS is very important.

**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

• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth has back to back top fives, four top fives in his last five, and two poles in his last five Charlotte starts.
• Kevin Harvick- Since joining SHR (seven CMS starts) Harvick has a win, four top fives (three of them second place finishes), six top tens, and two poles. If he is going to get back on track, this weekend is the time.
• Jimmie Johnson- Way back when this was a lock for JJ, but lately he has been much streakier. Still, tough to argue with the guy who won this race last year.

The Middle

• Austin Dillon- AD won the first stop at CMS this year that got him into the playoffs, but his other finishes brought a 16th place average finish.

The Bad

• Joey Logano- JoLo is actually really good here, but the fact remains that he has had some poor luck and runs as of late. He is the most likely spoiler of this race and could go from this section to race winner...
• Kasey Kahne- Kahne has four career wins at CMS, but those days are long ago (so is the track surface). Since the start of 2014 (seven races), he has two top tens and an average finish of 19.86.
• Ryan Blaney- Small sample size, but Blaney has not been very good so far at CMS. He has one top 15 and two top 20;s in his first five career starts here.

About the Track: Charlotte

Track Stats

• Martin Truex Jr was the first driver not named Jimmie Johnson to win from the pole early in 2016. The last time someone won a Charlotte race from the Pole not named Jimmie Johnson was 1998, Jeff Gordon. JJ has won 2 from the Pole since then (2004 and 2009)
• JJ won 4 straight from 2004 to 2005, sweeping both times. Four straight is also a track Cup record
• In that same stretch he (JJ) won 5 of 6 from 2003-2005 dropping the only race to Tony Stewart
• The most cautions was 22 during the 2005 May Charlotte race, which JJ ended up winning.
• In Jimmie Johnson's 8 wins, he (JJ) won 3 from the Pole, including this race in 2014.
• Those 8 wins are the most by any driver in a career.
• Bobby Allison has the second most wins with 6 total in 43 attempts
• Of current drivers Ryan Newman has the most poles (9). 
• David Pearson has the most career poles at Charlotte with 14.
• Jimmie Johnson has led 1,930 of 11,089 career laps he has run at Charlotte. That is enough for second most behind Bobby Allison (2,338 total).
• Richard Petty has the most top 10's in a career with 31 in 64 attempts. He is also tied with Bobby Allison for the most top 5's (23 total).

Track Info

• Surface: Asphalt
• Length: 1.5 mile
• Banking
• Turns: 24 degrees
• Straights: 5 degrees 

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 29: Dover

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Apache Warrior 400

By Richard Tix

NASCAR leaves Dover as four drivers drop out of the 2017 Playoffs. We say goodbye to Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, and Ryan Newman (not really, they will still be around...). However, Behind the Wall is also dropping back down to it's usual 12 drivers in the power rankings and for the next three races the 12 drivers will only consist of the playoff drivers. It won't be until the next round where the last four spots are up for grabs to anyone (top eight will still be playoff drivers). So, "Happy Trails to You" for now... Let's get one with it below!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 29 (Week 28)

1. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Even though Truex will have a 19 point cushion on Kyle, Rowdy gets the nudge here for winning back to back races while also collecting two poles this first round. These two are the head of the class right now.
2. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- 1st, 5th, and 4th, not bad considering during that 5th place finish he was involved in a wreck. Barring a meltdown, or terrible luck, the No. 78 should be locked into Homestead.
3. Kyle Larson (LW-3)- Larson led 137 laps (one less than Chase Elliott) on Sunday.Larson hands down has been the biggest threat to the Toyota duo above all season.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- Overlooked? Probably. Still starting 39 points behind Truex in the first round? Yup. It truly is a fight to just get to the last race where it's 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 straight up.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- Kenseth may reset 11th after the first round, but he had a nice first round to get him here (9th, 3rd, and 11th). 
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- Sunday was bad luck, but Hamlin has seemed to have been fading a bit while Busch and Truex are surging. Luckily, all it takes is one race if you can get to Homestead.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- JJ is just laying in the weeds once again. Since Richmond he has finishes of 8th, 8th, 14th, and 3rd. He isn't setting the world on fire, but he has done what it takes to move on.
8. Chase Elliott (LW-10)- What a run Sunday by Chase. It was another strong run that came up short of a win, but it was still good to see a finish like that from the No. 24.
9. Jamie McMurray (LW-11)- McMurray did what he had to in round one, finishing 10th, 16th, and then 9th at Dover while on the cut line. This round does have Talladega, so could JMac surprise?
10. Kevin Harvick (LW-8)- A forgettable round other than race one for Harvick. He can bounce back and resets 6th in the standings 12 points above 12th (McMurray).
11. Ryan Blaney (LW-9)- Consistency has evaded Blaney and the No. 21 all year and it might be what does them in during the playoffs. For now, they made it to the second round. It's always nice to see a team like the Wood Brothers still fighting.
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-12)- That was not a good round (25th, 15th, and 19th) for Ricky, but he squeaked by and gets a fresh start. Thanks to his playoff points he is eight in the standings, but its only a ten point lead on 12th at the moment.