2018 NASCAR Week 4: ISM Raceway

Ticket Guardian 500

ISM Raceway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Kevin Harvick's Three Peat

• Harvick has already won back to back races and we now head to one of his best tracks of the last five years. He has six wins in his last 12 starts here including 11 top tens, ten top fives, and two second place finishes. He had a five race stretch where he led 1,064 and won four of those. So, can Harvick win back-to-back-to-back races to kick 2018 off? Oh, and don't forget to watch out for his (and others) right rear window. Last week his dominance left a huge spotlight on his back window when it looked partially collapsed. So, this week it is sure to continue. Was it on purpose? Was it as Rodney said and it was a part failure? If it was on purpose I can bet the No. 4 team won't have it happening this weekend.

Last Time ISM Will Be Configured This Way

• That's right, almost everyone has heard that Phoenix, now ISM Raceway, will be re-configuring. The start/finish line will be moving and the grandstands have already started shifting to not only be in better position for the new start/finish, but also to help shade fans from the hot desert heat. So, soak in the current start/finish line because when we come back for the playoffs it will be a new way of looking at ISM.

Chase Elliott

• Chase Elliott and HMS have had a rocky start to 2018. Elliott has easily been the best HMS driver early in the year, but he still hasn't had the finishes to show for it. Last year in the playoffs Chase finished 2nd here and has a shot at a top 5 (maybe a win) if he and his team can bounce back finally.

**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

• Kevin Harvick- His winning streak is broken, but his transition to Ford only provided a small speed bump (finishes of 6th and 5th last year). Harvick is basically a lock for a top ten at ISM (nine straight).
• Kyle Busch- Kyle has five straight top tens and and seven in his last eight races here. He hasn't won since 2005, but he has been knockin
• Chase Elliott- Small Sample Size Alert: Chase has four starts here with three top tens (one top five). Last time here he finished 2nd during the 2017 playoffs.

The Middle

• Jimmie Johnson- JJ has four wins here at ISM, but none since 2009. JJ is good here, but in his last seven he has three finishes of 38th or higher. So, bad luck has followed him around at ISM lately.

The Bad

• Kasey Kahne- Five straight races without a top ten and only one of those was a top 15. Not ideal and life could get harder now that he isn't at HMS.
• Martin Truex Jr- Ok, being labeled as "bad" is a stretch, but this section always is. However, Truex has one top 10 in his last five starts here. For how fast he has been in the last two years, its surprising to see how he has finished here.
• Paul Menard- In his last ten starts at ISM Menard has one top ten and just four top 15. Maybe things will turn around now that he is with Wood Brothers?