2017 NASCAR Week 36: Homestead

Ford EcoBoost 400

Homestead-Miami Speedway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For

All Eye's on the Championship Four

• This is a no brainer, of course we're watching to see who round's out the 2017 as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Champion. Will it be a first time Champion who has absolutly dominated the field most of the year (Martin Truex Jr) or will it be one of the other three all trying to become multi Champions? Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski have all each won just one Cup Championship and want to make sure no one thought their first was a fluke. Busch, Harvick, and Keselowski are the only drivers not named Jimmie Johnson (2013 and 2016) to have won a Championship since 2012 when BK won. So, you have the most dominate driver of 2017 up again three of the best drivers in the last five years, so it should be fun.

Dale Earnhardt Jr

• Even for a star that is as bright as Junior, this final season hasn't seemed to be as focused on him as I thought it would be. Part of that is because he spent the early season trying to get speed for the weekend. However, all the tributes have been a nice touch (including the Budweiser video that hits you right in the feels). If you haven't watched "One Last Ride" by Budweiser, go do it now (Follow the link), trust me you won't regret it. No words can truly describe the impact he has made on the sport whether you're part of Jr Nation or not. He is one of those rare drivers that actually transcended the sport and has actually been a main stay in pop culture during his entire career. Thankfully we will still see him (and hear him) around a ton, but he will still be missed wheeling around a Cup car on Sundays.

Matt Kenseth and Danica Patrick's Final Ride?

• We know it's Junior's last Cup race (at least in a full time season, time will tell if he gets an itch to run a one off), but not as certain future days lie ahead for Kenseth and Patrick. Kenseth has all but said he most likely won't be back in 2018 because he just can't find a good offer with a quality team. It's a sad reality in today's NASCAR where opportunity, sponsors, and teams trying to cut cost's all play a larger factor than a Championship driver who still wants to drive does. If it is his last ride, it was a fun career and we got to see him go out with a win at PIR last week. 
• Danica's future is even murkier. We know for a fact she will not be in the No. 10 in 2018, as that ride it being taken over by Aric Almirola next year. So, that also means we know she won't be back with SHR. What we do know is she has made a huge impact to the sport of NASCAR and it's diversity in the fan base that is hard to actually quantify. She has been a polarizing figure and if it is her last run on Sunday, it will be a big loss especially considering we may already be losing Kenseth and are losing Earnhardt Jr on the track. 

Championship Preview

Martin Truex Jr. - No. 78

• Martin hands down had the best season as anyone did in 2017. Coming into Homestead he has seven wins (a NASCAR best), 18 top fives (a NASCAR best), 25 top tens (a NASCAR best), three poles (third best in NASCAR), and he led 2,175 laps (a NASCAR best). Not a bad season if I'd say so. In the first two rounds he locked himself into the future rounds by a win (Charlette in round one and Kansas in round two). Last round Martin proved just how important all the bonus race win and stage win points really were all season as they easily helped him advance on points. In fact, they were such a help he was locked into the finale at Homestead on points before Phoenix even dropped the green flag last Sunday. He is the favorite this weekend just because of how hot his season has gone and because Miami is a 1.5 mile track. Last year he finished 36th (wreck) in this race and this hasn't always been his best track so the other drivers do have a glimmer of hope.

Kevin Harvick - No. 4

• Harvick won Texas and posted two other top fives in the final round just to remind people he is still a Championship caliber driver. Now he heads to Homestead and people are finally talking about him. However, all season he has been hanging around posting consistent finishes while SHR got adjusted to it's new manufacturer in Ford. Going into the finale Harvick still has two wins, 13 top fives, and 22 top tens in what most would call a down season for him. Sometimes I laugh at his "closer" nickname some people have given him, but this weekend it really might be a legit thing. His last three finishes at Homestead are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd so Harvick isn't a "dark horse" this weekend, but rather a legit championship contender.

Kyle Busch - No. 18

• Rowdy posted his second season with five wins in the last three years and it's the third time he has 5 or more in his career (eight in 2008). 2017 also marked the 13th straight season he posted a win (at least one in every full time season he has run in Cup). Last year he finished 6th at Homestead and the year before that he won the race and the Championship, so we know Kyle can get it done. He has had a bit of consistency issues during the Playoffs, but at Homestead it won't matter. This No. 18 team has been one of the fastest teams all year so just like the two above, they have a legit shot at becoming the 2017 Champions.

Brad Keselowski - No. 2

• Keselowski may be the only true underdog of the four Championship drivers, but that doesn't mean he doesn't belong to be here. BK is limping in after and up and down day at PIR that included being out, in, out, and back in the Championship four, but the 16th place finish was by far his worst finish and run all playoffs so the No. 2 can still get it going. BK still goes into Homestead with three wins, 15 top fives, and 20 top tens this season which isn't too shabby considering how dominate Toyota was compared to Ford. Last year BK ended his day at Miami in a wreck finishing 35th, but in the three races before that here he finished 3rd, 3rd, and 6th. BK has yet to win at Homestead, but in 2015 he led 86 laps and showed he can be a front runner here when it matters most.

2017 NASCAR Week 35: Phoenix

Can-Am 500

Phoenix International Raceway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Can Kevin Harvick go Back-to-Back?

• It was a relatively good thing for a guy like Brad Keselowski that Harvick and not a guy like Hamlin or Elliott won at Texas. Why is that? That's because Harvick is a power at PIR and if Hamlin (for example) would have won Texas it would pit Harvick vs BK at PIR where Harvick is really good. Now, Harvick has a shot to go back to back and if that happens BK is practically a lock for Homestead (as long as BK doesn't completely collapse on Sunday). In the next section we talk about BK, so lest focus on Harvick for a second. It's true, in Harvick's first PIR run in a Ford he didn't seem as dominant as he did with Chevy, in fact Chevy ended up finishing first and second while Kevin finished 6th. But, Harvick is still Harvick and still has Rodney Childers at the helm so a win at PIR is never out of the question. On top of their previous success here they're coming in on a hot streak. If Harvick doesn't win at PIR or Homestead, it would be only the second time he didn't win at least three races in a season since  2010 (2012 he only won one race). 

Can Brad Keselowski Close?

• All season the Ford headline have been about struggling while Toytoa dominates and all that time BK was just riding around towards the front still running strong. BK has been outspoken all year about the advantage Toyota, which was basically him trying to politic as much as possible, because Ford and Chevy were getting beat weekly. But, most of BK's poor runs were ended because of bad luck. Most weeks he was putting up quality finishes, but because of Toyota's dominance and his teammate Joey Logano falling off the map statistically, BK's demise was over exaggerated. It's never been more apparent how overlooked his season has been until now, when BK sits in the drivers seat for the fourth and final spot at Homestead because of a run of quality finishes where he added some extra playoff points. I'll be watching to see if he can cap it off with a shot next week, or if another driver will win there way to Miami by driving right by him.

Ford vs Toyota

• As it stands before PIR, the Championship has two Toyota's and one Ford. I maybe jumping the gun here, but in all likely hood the Championship will either come down to three Toyota's and a Ford, or Two and Two with Chevy being left out. That storyline will be much bigger next week depending on the outcome this weekend. Earlier this year Ryan Newman (Chevy) won and Kyle Larson (Chevy) came in second, but Ford took three spots in the top six (17, 2, and 4) and Toytota finished 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 10th (18, 19, 77, and 11). To top that off Joey Logano (Ford) took the pole and Ryan Blaney (Ford) also started on the front row. So, with the Championship at Homestead next week on the line and a bunch of drivers from both manufacturers trying to seal there spot, which one wins? 

**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, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch
• We all know Kevin Harvicks past here, but he hasn't been as good the last few stops at PIR as he once was. Hamlin and Busch both have exactly one win here (Hamlin in 2011 and Busch in 2005). 

The Middle

• Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Dale Earnhardt Jr
• Larson was runner up to Ryan Newman earlier this year and also has another finish of 3rd to his name. He seems to be taking over where Harvick left of for Chevy, but still hasn't found the win. 

The Bad

• Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, and Kasey Kahne
• JJ has lacked consistency here at PIR as of late (two top tens in his last six starts). Same goes for Kenseth who has just two top tens in his last seven PIR starts. Kahne's last top ten came five races ago and has an average finish of 20.25 in the four races since.

About the Track: Phoenix

Track Stats

• Chevy won 10 straight races from 2005-10
• Kevin Harvick has won 6 of the last 10 races
• Alan Kulwicki only started 5 races at PIR, but has 1 win, 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's, and an average finish of 5.2
• Jeff Gordon retired with the most career top 10's of any driver at PIR (24 total)
• Kevin Harvick has the most led laps in PIR Cup history with 1,484 total.
• Ryan Newman still has the most career poles at PIR with 4 total

Track Info

• Surface - Asphalt
• Length - 1 mile
• Banking
• Turns 1/2- 10-11 degrees
• Turn 3- 8 degrees
• Turn 4- 8-9 degrees
• Frontstretch- 3 degrees
• Backstretch- 10 degrees

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 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 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 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 Week 23: Michigan

Pure Michigan 400

Michigan International Speedway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

NBTW at MIS

• Seriously folks, I'll be in Michigan this weekend and will be at the track at least a couple of the days, if not all three (Fri, Sat, Sun). This is one of the top weekends every Summer for me because I get to travel from Minnesota to Michigan to not only catch the race, but hang out with some pretty awesome friends in the process who I normally only see once or twice a year. So, follow along on Twitter if you have one (@NASCARBTW) because I'll be posting throughout the weekend while at the track. It won't just be NASCAR related by the way, we also may hit up a brewery or two, check out the Twins taking on the Tigers, and some local town day's festivities. 

Brad Keselowski vs Kyle Busch

• The chances of these two actually having a run in at MIS are about as high as Kyle Busch actually confronting BK after WGI last week (hint: he didn't). However, I still like focusing in on things like this because they're an interesting storyline that even casual outsider fans can get into. If you missed it, these two once again got into a tangle at WGI and some "things" were said by Kyle Busch in frustration. I am sure much of it was heat of the moment, but lets be honest these two aren't exactly friends while they're on the track. So, watch for some hard racing when they're near each other this weekend.

The "Underdogs"

• Ok, some of these guys are big names so it's tough to classify them as underdogs, but without a win counting towards the playoffs and most of them on the outside looking in, they're underdogs for the playoffs in my mind. First up, Joey Logano: cucumber win and all, JoLo runs well at MIS and really, really needs a win because he is in win or go home mode. Next up, Dale Earnhardt Jr: Another driver who has a good track record here at MIS that is win or go home mode. Seriously, how huge would a Junior win be this weekend and how much would the crowd love it? Matt Kenseth: yeah, he is in as of right now on points, but not safely. A win this weekend would lock that up and he has done it three times before at MIS. Chase Elliott: Chase is also currently in on points, but Kyle Larson showed off last year at MIS in August with his first career win in Cup, can Chase do it this year? Each of these guys are fighting for a playoff spot and have a ton of success at MIS in the past, so will one of them get it done?

**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- Is it finally his time? Chase has three straight second place finishes in his first three MIS starts.
• Kyle Larson- Who was Chase second to the last two MIS races? Yup, Kyle Larson who has won back to back times here.
• Joey Logano- Guess who Chase was second to in his other second place finish, yup JoLo.

The Middle

• Brad Keselowski- BK, a Michigan native, has yet to win at MIS his "home track." BK does have six top tens in his last seven starts here, though.

The Bad

• Kyle Busch- I expect Kyle to turn this around as he started to do so earlier this year when he finished seventh here, but before that he had seven straight without a top ten and only one top 15 in that same time.
• Aric Almirola- Zero for ten on top tens here at MIS in his career. More telling is that Aric only has one top 15 in those ten races and only six top 20's.
• Austin Dillon- Austin does have two top tens in ten career starts at MIS, but he also has an average finish of 17.6 in that same time.

About the Track: Michigan

Track Stats

• Cale Yarborough won the first race at MIS in 1969 and also two of the first three.
• The furthest back a driver has started a race from and won was 32nd in 2009 by Mark Martin.
• A MIS race has been won 20 times from the Pole position including the last race in 2015 at MIS by Matt Kenseth and the first stop in 2016 by Joey Logano.
• A MIS race has been won from the pole five times in the last eight races
• Most cautions was 10 in 2006 and the race was won by Matt Kenseth. This is also the only MIS race that had double digit cautions in 89 races.
• David Pearson has the most career MIS wins with 9. Cale Yarborough follows with 8
• Cale Yarborough has the most top 5 finishes with 21 followed by Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon (19).
• Mark Martin has the most career top 10's with 31, followed by Bill Elliott with 29.
• David Pearson has 10 career Poles at MIS (Cup leading)

Track Info

• Length: 2 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 18 degrees
• Start/Finish: 12 degrees
• Backstretch: 5 degrees

2017 NASCAR Week 22: Watkins Glenn

I Love New York 355 at the Glen

Watkins Glen International

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Can A.J. Allmendinger Get it Done at WG?

• The header says it all, can Allmendinger join the Playoff party? Is biggest shot to do so is this weekend at WG where he has won before and shown off his road course prowess. If he does win Sunday he would mark the 15th different driver to win in 2017 and the 14th to have a win counted towards the playoffs (Joey Logano has an encumbered win).No doubt a win by the No. 47 team would set off chaos in the NASCAR community and the playoff picture.

The Cutoff Line

• I was interested in the points championship for the longest time and really wanted to focus in on it, but since pointing it out Truex has taken off from the struggling Kyle Larson. So since that fell apart, onto the biggest storyline for the remaining regular season races, the Playoff cutoff line.With five regular season races left we have thirteen different winners that qualify for the Playoffs (14 if you include Joey Logano's encumbered win), which means the cutoff line is already tight. If someone new wins (say AJ this weekend), the heat will be 150 degrees in the kitchen for win-less drivers. Right now Matt Kenseth is the 16th driver and the final guy to get into the playoffs if they started today. MK is in the clear by only 17 points over Clint Bowyer (17th) and 69 over Joey Logano and his encumbered win. Elliott, McMurray, Kenseth, Bowyer, Logano, Jones, Suarez, Allmendinger, Bayne, Earnhardt Jr, and Menard are all win-less with the hot seat getting hotter each week. I don't believe even Elliott or McMurray are safe just yet because one win by someone below them puts immense pressure on them and one step closer to the bubble spot. 

Will Kyle Busch Continue to Heat Up?

• Kyle Busch finally locked up his first win of 2017 at Pocono last weekend after seemingly starting to pick up the pace in the last couple months. In 2014 Brad Keselowski started to heat up right around this same time on the way to his first Championship, so could Kyle do the same? BK had six top fives and two wins starting at WG in in 15 races (12 top tens) and KB is just as capable, if not more so, to take off on a hot run for his second Cup Championship. Even with only one win and a slow start for he and JGR, Kyle is still fourth in points and tied for third in playoff points behind Truex and Johnson. Look this weekend for Rowdy to have another strong run at WG and to help catapult him going into the Playoffs.

**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

• AJ Allmendinger- A win, two top fives, and 50 laps lead in his last three races at WG. He could again shock the NASCAR world.
• Kyle Busch- Rowdy's name can be considered up there with AJ's as one of the best at WG. He has two wins and many memorable moments here.
• Joey Logano- JoLo is the overlooked of the three, but shouldn't be. He has four straight top tens, including a win, and five top tens in his last six (involved in a wreck in the other). 

The Middle

• Brad Keselowski- I wouldn't exactly call this the typical middle I use, but it still counts. Why? Well, first BK has been really good here with five top tens in seven tries (normally too good for me to consider for this section). However, he also just can't close in on a win here so I am throwing him in here to spotlight coming up short.

The Bad

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr- Here is a trend that should change Sunday: In his four starts here, his finish position has gotten worse each year (18, 20, 34, and 38th). He also doesn't qualify well here either.
• Paul Menard- 13 starts, zero top tens. Also, only two top 15's in that same time.
• Kasey Kahne- Kasey also has 13 starts and zero top tens. Unlike Menard, KK has four top 15's, but his average finish in his last four is 27th with two finishes outside the top 30.

2017 NASCAR Week 21: Pocono

Overton's 400

Pocono Raceway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Same Day Qualifying and Racing

• This has to be the biggest thing to watch for this weekend in my opinion. For the first time in a long time NASCAR is running Cup Qualifying prior to the race on a Sunday. Yes, both on Sunday (Weekend Schedule here). I am not sure how it will all work out but I am interested to see it unfold on Sunday. I know some race fans love their long drawn out weekend while staying at the track and soaking it all in, but for me I wouldn't mind seeing it condensed down into two days (for Cup). Fans still get Friday truck action, but starting the Cup series on Saturday and ending on Sunday with Qualifying and the Race on Sunday helps those who want more bang for there buck and can only make it a day or two days tops. It may or may not work, but I am glad someone is trying it out, for the fans, drivers, teams, and crew, a shorter weekend could be a good thing (or backfire).

Can a Win-Less 2017 Driver Win at Pocono?

• Just like IMS, Pocono is a track that has opened itself up to surprise winners and young guns. Earlier this year Ryan Blaney won his first career Cup race at Pocono and Chris Buescher won on a fuel mileage/weather call the year before. On top of that Erik Jones and Kyle Larson have both done very well here in their short sample sizes (same with Blaney). Twelve current drivers have at least one win here, but seven of them were their only win here. So, you can win one random one here and never win again, but either way it will get you into the Playoffs.

Kasey Kahne Watch

• With his ride for 2018 potentially looming on a small thread, KK won last weekend at IMS in dramatic fashion. The first question? Does that mean he is going to still be in the No. 5 in 2018? Kahne is under contract next year, but with sponsor woah's hitting him and HMS rumors have been flying around on if he will be back with HMS. I still think he will be in the seat one more year and then William Byron will move up and take the fourth HMS car, but it will be interesting to watch going forward including Pocono. Pocono is a track he has won at before in 2008 and 2013 and it would be a good sign for him and his sponsors if he had a strong showing just one week after his IMS win.

The Next Step in Silly Season

• We now know that Alex Bowman will fill the 88, Erik Jones will leave the 77 for the No. 20, and Brad Keselowski will stay with the No. 2 team (as will Paul Wolfe). The big moves peopled rumored have been squashed so far (Kenseth and BK to the 88). Now that those moves are in place, what is the next pawn to fall? My guess is pieces start moving soon so a ton of focus maybe on 2018 already this weekend at Pocono. Will Kahne be back with HMS? Will Kenseth be forced to retire without a competitive ride? Where will Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray end up? Will the 77 get enough sponsorship to field a car (Maybe Kenseth?). I doubt anything as shocking as Carl Edwards stepping away will happen, but I do think some interesting things that pertain to charters and team structure will break soon.
• Edit: After this was writen but before it was released the next set of Silly Season News broke. Paul Menard is heading to the Wood Brothers No. 21 and Ryan Blaney will be joining Team Penske in a third car, the No. 12. 

**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- In the last six races at Pocono Harvick has finished runner up 50% of the time. Yup, 2nd three times in six races without a win. Harvick actually has never won at Pocono, but with those types of numbers it's hard to count him out for his first.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Junior needs a strong run and a win this weekend at Pocono. In the last six he has two wins and a runner up finish.
• Kyle Larson- Small sample size alert, but Larson has never finished worse than 12th in his seven career starts at Pocono and has four top tens.

The Middle

• Clint Bowyer- Since 2008, Bowyer has finished outside of 18th just twice (18 total races in that time). He also has only seven top tens in that time, which puts him right in the middle of things.

The Bad

• Paul Menard- First, congrats to Paul on the No. 21 ride in 2018. However, that can't hide the fact that he has just two top 10's in 21 races at Pocono and only six top 15's.
• Jamie McMurray- JMac only has seven top tens in his 29 career starts here with the last one coming five races ago. In the last four races he only has one top 15.
• Joey Logano- JoLo has a win here and has produced in the past, but in his last four he has one top 5 and only two top 20's. I would bet he turns it around, but his recent struggles needed to be noted.

About the Track: Pocono Raceway

Track Stats

• Of current drivers (full time), Denny Hamlin has the most wins (4)
• Of current drivers (full time),  Kurt Busch has the most top 5's (14)
• Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin have the most Pole's of current drivers (3)
• Jeff Gordon has the most career Pocono wins (6) followed by Bill Elliott (5)
• Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have the most career Pocono top 5's (20)
• Ricky Rudd has the most career Pocono starts (55) followed by Mark Martin (54)
• Of drivers with at least 10 Pocono starts, Davey Allison has the best average finish (9.8 in 13 starts).
• A Pocono race has been won from the Pole 15 times in 76 Cup races
• Chevy has won the last 7 of 10 races 8 of the last 13. Including Dale Earnhardt Jr sweeping in 2014.
• The furthest back anyone has started and won was 29th in 2005 when Carl Edwards won in the first Pocono stop of the year.

Track Info

• Surface: Asphalt
• Length: 2.5 Miles
• Banking
• Turn 1: 14 degrees
• Turn 2: 8 degrees
• Turn 3: 6 degrees

2017 NASCAR Week 20: Indianapolis

Brickyard 400

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Can Kyle Busch Go Back to Back to Back?

• Kyle Busch had four wins last year and five wins in 2015. I don't have to tell you that Kyle doesn't have a win yet this year. So, what am I getting at? What I want to note here is his last win at the Cup level was last season at IMS. I want to make a second note that in the last two years the only win he has had after IMS is Homestead in 2015 (which made him a Cup Champion). Heck, 9 of his 10 total wins since Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2013 (after IMS) were at IMS or before in that given season (2014, 2015, and 2016). So, its now or never for Kyle to get a win in 2017... Ok, I am just kidding about that, but it is worth watching to see if he can get three straight at IMS this weekend with how fast he has been here lately AND if he will win again after IMS for the first time since 2013.

Will a Surprise Winner Please Stand Up?

• It's not just that Paul Menard won here in 2011, but also that Jamie McMurray did it here the year before. Add in Ryan Newman in 2013 and Jeff Gordon's final win and you can see why it could be unpredictable. It isn't crazy to think that if Kyle Busch doesn't get it done for a third straight time that someone else doesn't win on fuel mileage or a bold late race call. The odd's are against someone considered a "surprise" to win, but it isn't out of the question and that is a crazy thought for race No. 20 and its implications going forward as things heat up.

Wednesday Action at Eldora

• Short and sweet, on a weekend that will be full of track "action" at IMS, getting your entertainment on Wednesday night is the best way to get your racing fill this week. Heck, watch Eldora on Wed. and head to a local track on Saturday! In all honesty it will be interesting to see how IMS goes this year because the interest seems to be waning in NASCAR, which is evident by them moving it to the 26th race in 2018 and trying to juice back up it's importance. But what needs no extra hyping is the Truck Series on dirt mid week, so look for Fox Business on your TV listing and settle in mid week for some fun racing.

**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- Not much needs to be said here, Rowdy has won and kissed the bricks the last two years. He also has seven straight top tens at IMS.
• Kyle Larson- Small sample size alert, but Larson has three top ten's in three career Cup starts here including a top five last year.
• Jimmie Johnson- Want to bet on someone not named Kyle to win IMS? Well, JJ might be your guy with four career Brickyard wins.

The Middle

• Brad Keselowski- In seven starts BK has just three top tens, but six finishes inside the top 20, and all seven were 21st or better. 

The Bad

• Kurt Busch- Unlike his brother, Kurt has yet to win at IMS. In fact, Kurt only has one top five in 16 starts here and only five top tens (only two in his last 12).
• Kasey Kahne- In his last seven Kahne has two top tens, which isn't ideal.
• Trevor Bayne- In six career starts Trevor has one lone top 20 (17th) and four top 30's... That's it. Sure, RFR not bringing the power (2 years) and Wood Brother being under funded (4 races) of those years hurts, but still Trevor hasn't shown much here.

About the Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Track Stats

• A race has been won from the Polefour times in 23 NASCAR races (Kyle Larson 2016, Newman 2013, Jimmie Johnson 2008, and Kevin Harvick 2003).
• Chevy had won 12 of the last 13 races and 16 of 22 races total before Kyle Busch (Toyota) won the last two years. Ford- 3, Toyota- 2 Pontiac- 1, and Dodge- 1 
• Jeff Gordon won the Inaugural Cup race in 1994
• Most cautions was 13 in 2004
• Gordon has the most career wins here with 5. Jimmie Johnson is next in line with 4
• 13 drivers have won at Indy including 9 that only won once.
• Only five drivers have multiple wins (Busch, Gordon, JJ, Tony Stewart, and Dale Jarrett).
• Gordon also has the most poles (3), top 5's (12), and top 10's (17) of any driver.

Track Info

• Surface- Asphalt
• Length- 2.5 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 9 degrees
• Straights: 0 degrees

2017 NASCAR Week 19: NHMS

Overton's 301

New Hampshire Motor Speedway 

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

Once again, the battle for the regular season points champion

• This one might continue to be a headline every week, as it should. I don't think it gets enough attention by the NASCAR media and should be pointed out as a "rivalry" even though neither side really has a ton of bad blood for each other (past the small Dover incident). I mean, this is one of the better points battles we have had in awhile and the regular season points winner gets an extra 15 points to carry through the playoffs (second gets 10, so the winner will get 5 extra). Heading into Loudon Truex cut the difference on Larson to 1 point. The way it stands Larson needs to keep the top spot since Truex is racking up tons of playoff points already with stage and race wins. Keep an eye on the top spot for the rest of the season, it should play a big factor in who makes it to Homestead the easiest.

Joey Logano v Matt Kenseth

• Yeah, yeah, yeah, the rivalry has pretty much passed and cooled down. But, both drivers head into NHMS needing a win to solidify a spot in the playoffs at the track where the pile drive into the wall was heard around the world. Kenseth is currently 16th and if the regular season ended today "in" the playoffs, however a win by JoLo would actually knock him out. Joey is technically outside the playoff picture right now because his encumbered win doesn't count to lock him into them. What's even more interesting is that Loudon is a pretty good track for both drivers so I am sure they're ready to do whatever it takes to get to VL.

Laying down a "traction compound" at NHMS

• The bottom lane has been a freight train at NHMS for years now, which has really frustrated some because it's all the luck of getting a bottom restart (luck if you're not number one coming out that is). In response, NASCAR and NHMS are once again going to try a compound to try and open up another lane to race and pass with. The word is that they will place it on the middle groove in the hopes it helps open up the track. As it was with Bristol and CMS, this compound and how it effect the race will be a main focal point of the weekend.

**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- Two wins and a second place finish in his last three NHMS starts, not bad huh? Kenseth needs a good run this weekend to give him a better playoff outlook so NHMS is a welcomed sight.
• Kevin Harvick- Guess who Kenseth was second to in that lone race he didn't win in the last three? Yup, Harvick. Happy also has four top fives in his last five races at Loudon.
• Joey Logano- Another driver who badly needs a good race is JoLo. Joey has four top fives and a win in his last five starts here.

The Middle

• Jimmie Johnson- JJ has won three times here, but none since 2010. He has been pretty solid for top ten's, but just hasn't run as strong as he did prior to 2010.

The Bad

• Paul Menard- 20 career starts. Zero top tens. To make it worse, Paul only has three top 15's and seven top 20's in that same time.
• Clint Bowyer- Five straight races here without a top 10, four of them outside the top 20. 
• Kurt Busch- In the last 13 races here Kurt has three top tens and only five top 15's.

Track Info

• Surface- Asphalt and Granite
• Length- 1.058 miles
• Banking
• Turns- variable, about 12% grade
• Straight- 1 degree

2017 NASCAR Week 16: Sonoma

Toyota/Save Mart 350

Sonoma Raceway

By Richard Tix

15 down, 11 to go. 11 more races until the NASCAR Playoffs get started. This weekend is as important as any for drivers still looking to lock in a spot in the top 16. Road courses open up opportunities for a few drivers to peak into the spotlight for a bit, but will it end up with a surprise trip to Victory Lane? The odds are we won't see a crazy winner, but you never know. So, buckle up and get ready for this weekend at Sonoma. Take a look at a few things worth following this weekend.

What to watch for?

Will Truex Jr. or Larson create some separation in the points?

• Only five points separate the 42 and 78 (42 with the lead) heading into Sonoma. Both drivers have been the head of the field in 2017 and will look to keep it going. Truex Jr. has recently won here (2013) and Larson has steadily shown improvement (28th, 15th, and then 12th). The perfect storm could be coming if these two can battle for the lead late on Sunday.

The battle for 16th place in the standings

• The battle for number one isn't the only one to watch. "But if you're not first, you're last!" (pipe down in the back Ricky Bobby) As it stands right now, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth are in a tie for the 16th spot with Bowyer just missing the cut. Even though it is for 15th and 16th (not 16th and 17th), it will be fun to watch two drivers with a past history try and stay off the bubble spot at number 16.

Can AJ Allmendinger tame Sonoma?

• Allmendinger's name is always the first one brought up when NASCAR heads to road course and for good reason as he has won at Watkins Glenn (Cup), Elkhart Lake (Xfinity), and Mid-Ohio (Xfinity). However, Sonoma hasn't been his track yet at the Cup level. AJ has managed a pole and two other front row starts in his last three races here, but the finishes haven't come as easy. With the Playoffs quickly coming up on the horizon, it is go time for the No. 47 team this weekend.

**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- Rowdy has back to back top tens here at Sonoma including a win in 2015. He also runs really well at Watkins Glenn, so he know hows to wheel it to the left and right.
• Clint Bowyer- Eight top tens in eleven career starts at Sonoma. Bowyer also has a win here in 2012. Bowyer could really use a win as he sits 17th in points right now.
• Martin Truex Jr- Truex won here back in 2013, had a couple rough finishes, and then finished fifth last season.

The Middle

• Jimmie Johnson- When you think of JJ you don't normally think of road course racing, but he actually has fared really well here at Sonoma. In his last eight starts here he has seven top tens, three top fives, and a win (2010).

The Bad

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr- Ricky only has one top 20 in his first four career starts here at Sonoma. He also has the same amount of top 25's, not, good. 
• Denny Hamlin- Last year Hamlin finished second, but before that he had zero top 15's in his previous six races and only one top 20.
• Matt Kenseth- 17 career Sonoma starts and one top ten, Kenseth's struggles here have been well documented. His last top 15 was 2012.

About the Track: Sonoma

Track Stats

• 18 total drivers have won a Cup race at Sonoma. Only six have multiple wins (Gordon, Stewart, Busch, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace, and Ernie Ervan).
• Of those six, two have more than two wins (Jeff Gordon- 5 and Tony Stewart- 3)
• Gordon also has the most top 5's (14) and top 10's (18) in a career
• Gordon has the most career poles (5) and Ricky Rudd the second most (4)
• Gordon has the best career average finish (8.3) followed by Dale Earnhardt (8.6)
• Rusty Wallace had an average start position of 6.9 over 17 career starts
• Sonoma has been won by the Pole 5 times in 28 Cup races
• The last Pole win was 2004- Jeff Gordon (11 races ago)

Track Info

• Surface- Asphalt
• Length- 1.99 miles
• Turns- 12

2017 NASCAR Week 15: Michigan

FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan International Speedway

By Richard Tix

We are at race 15 of the 2017 season which means we're closing in on the final ten races of the regular season. With that in mind (and Blaney's first Cup win still fresh on our minds), let's take a look at how crazy the playoff picture is shaping up to be.

As most of you know 16 drivers get into the NASCAR Playoffs and anyone with a win (that isn't a cucumber, um, I mean encumbered) gets an automatic spot as long as they're in the top 30 (everyone will be). Already this year we have had surprise and/or first time wins by guys like Newman, Stenhouse Jr, A. Dillon, and Ryan Blaney which clouds the Playoff picture. At this point even Kurt Busch's Daytona 500 win looks like a surprising one since he hasn't spent much time up front since that race one win.

That leaves us with ten 2017 winners currently and only nine of those win's count for the playoffs (Joey Logano's win was penalized and does not count as an automatic playoff lock). So, after 14 races we're left with only seven spots open for the taking.

Seven seems like a decent number until you start looking at the drivers without a win. Still win less in 2017 are guys like Harvick, Logano (win doesn't count), Ky. Busch, Elliott, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr, Kenesth, Jones, McMurray, Kahne, and Suarez. At this point I don't thing guys like Suarez, Jones, and Kahne to win, but Jones has shown the speed (similar to what Blaney showed previous to his win) so it isn't out of the question he takes a trip to VL as a rookie.

Above I listed 20 drivers if you include winners and the list of key names that haven't won yet. That isn't even mentioning A.J. Allmendinger, which get's to the next point of previewing how crazy this regular season finish could be.

If just looking at the drivers and wins wasn't enough to spotlight how fun 2017 has been, taking a closer look at the tracks left will really get your head spinning with "what if's."

This weekend at MIS poses an interesting spot for guys without a win (as will the same MIS stop in August). Last year Kyle Larson got his first Cup win at MIS in the Fall and a well known win less driver by the name of Chase Elliott finished second twice. MIS could be the spring board into full out insanity when it comes to the Playoff picture if Elliott or a guy like Jones wins this Sunday (or August). The 77/78 camp has been very fast all year and MIS can be won by fuel mileage and HP so its not out of the question as I stated above.

After MIS is Sonoma, Sonoma isn't a lock for "Dinger," but it has given us wins by Smoke, Bowyer, and Kahne since 2009. It can be a wildcard, but really hasn't played out that way much as of late (past Smoke's last win last year).

Another stop at Pocono is left as well as Indianapolis (could be fuel mileage) and some short tracks (always a small chance). But, the two biggest races which could be wildcards not mentioned yet are Daytona and Watkins Glenn. We have seen it time and time again that Daytona can open it's hand to a wildcard winner and spring someone into the Playoffs. Daytona brings in names like McMurray, Bayne, Ragan, and Almirola (doubtful to be back by then, INJ). Stakes will be high when NASCAR runs the Firecracker 400 because drivers know they all have a shot during the closing laps.

As always, the biggest question mark on the schedule still is WG and if A.J. Allmendinger can dominate and win. Once WG is over we will have a four race sprint to the playoffs so it could turn the standings into a wildfire depending on who wins at Daytona and WG.

As you can see even the simplest scenario of AJ winning WG and someone surprising at Daytona creates a ton of chaos and would give us 11 different winners (not even including the races between them). With all this considered it will be a fun finish to the season even before the playoffs start and have drivers and fans of the 1, 4, 11, 14, 18, 20, 22, 77, 88, etc on the edge of their seats.

**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- Small sample size alert: Chase Elliott has a career average finish of 2nd here at MIS. Yup, that's in only two career starts, but this has been one of his most promising tracks to get his first career win at.
• Joey Logano- JoLo might need a good finish this weekend more than anyone and MIS is the spot to get it. He currently has eight straight top tens here, including two wins.
• Kyle Larson- MIS, the home of Larson's first career Cup win. Last year Larson win here and finished third. I think he builds on it again this year.

The Middle

• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth has a long track record of running well at MIS. Part of that mixed with the old RFR dominance here, but even after that he still has a win since joining JGR. Still, in his eight races with JGR at MIS he only has three top tens, but seven top 15's.

The Bad

• Kyle Busch- MIS just isn't Rowdy's track. Last time I said something like that and tagged Kyle in it I was blocked, no seriously, just over something not even directed at him but at fans... After I was blocked, he went on to figure that track out and run well there (you're welcome). That track was Kansas, so I now fully expect Kyle to figure out MIS and dominate it (though I can't tag him on Twitter this time).
• Clint Bowyer- Three straight finishes of 23rd or worse (two of them in the 40's), but to give him a break two of those three were with HScott. Before that stretch he ran pretty well while with MWR, so he could have a big bounce back this weekend.
• Ryan Newman- In Newman's last ten races here he has only two top tens (both 8th's). 

About the Track: Michigan

Track Stats

• Cale Yarborough won the first race at MIS in 1969 and also two of the first three.
• The furthest back a driver has started a race from and won was 32nd in 2009 by Mark Martin.
• A MIS race has been won 20 times from the Pole position including the last race in 2015 at MIS by Matt Kenseth and the first stop in 2016 by Joey Logano.
• A MIS race has been won from the pole five times in the last eight races
• Most cautions was 10 in 2006 and the race was won by Matt Kenseth. This is also the only MIS race that had double digit cautions in 89 races.
• David Pearson has the most career MIS wins with 9. Cale Yarborough follows with 8
• Cale Yarborough has the most top 5 finishes with 21 followed by Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon (19).
• Mark Martin has the most career top 10's with 31, followed by Bill Elliott with 29.
• David Pearson has 10 career Poles at MIS (Cup leading)

Track Info

• Length: 2 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 18 degrees
• Start/Finish: 12 degrees
• Backstretch: 5 degrees

2017 NASCAR Week 14: Pocono

Axalta Presents the Pocono 400

Pocono Raceway 

By Richard Tix

Last year we left the second Pocono race (which happens to be right after the first one) talking about Chris Buescher's fuel mileage win. This year we have already had two such strategy calls end in trips to victory lane for surprise winners (Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon). So, could it happen again?

Pocono and the way it runs does leave us with a high probability of a fuel mileage finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr beat out Brad Keselowski in 2014 when BK ran short. Just this week The Morning Drive on Sirius spoke about how sometimes Pocono ends up being run like a road course were a driver will make an early pit stop to change a fuel window and come out with a larger lead than they had before.

However, this year will also give us stages for the first time at Pocono and figuring out how that will play is intriguing. The last stage will still leave plenty of room for fuel strategy but how the field decides to pit around the end of stage one will also bring it's own strategy.

All in all Pocono seems to be shaping up to be a bit more interesting then in years past and give fans plenty of strategies to watch. For me, the strategies alone are enough to tune in, but hopefully we also get some quality racing as well.

**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

• Brad Keselowski- BK has finished in the top three here three straight times and four times in the last six. He also has a win in 2011 and came up just short to Junior in 2014.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Speaking for Junior, he could use another good run here at Pocono. In his last eleven starts here he has two wins, six top fives, and nine top tens.
• Kyle Larson- We're still waiting for Larson to knock off a win here, but he has been fast in the past. In Six career starts Larson has finishes of 5th, 11th, 8th, 12th, 11th, and 6th.

The Middle

• Ryan Newman- The Pocono consistency king. Newman has 25 top 20's, 23 top 15's, 14 top tens, nine top fives, and a win here in 30 career starts. Not too bad, huh?

The Bad

• Kyle Busch- Pocono is a track Rowdy hasn't won at yet and in 24 starts has just four top fives and nine top tens. The two poles show he can be fast here, but he just has to finish.
• Jamie McMurray- If you were to bet on McMurray having a good run at Pocono, 2017 would be the year. However, he has only seven top tens in 28 tries here.
• Paul Menard- In the last eight races, EIGHT, Paul has finished better then 30th just twice (he has three top 30's in that same time). That's flat out embarrassing. 

About the Track: Pocono Raceway

Track Stats

• Of current drivers (full time), Denny Hamlin has the most wins (4)
• Of current drivers (full time),  Kurt Busch has the most top 5's (13)
• Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have the most Pole's of current drivers (3)
• Jeff Gordon has the most career Pocono wins (6) followed by Bill Elliott (5)
• Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have the most career Pocono top 5's (20)
• Ricky Rudd has the most career Pocono starts (55) followed by Mark Martin (54)
• Of drivers with at least 10 Pocono starts, Davey Allison has the best average finish (9.8 in 13 starts).
• A Pocono race has been won from the Pole 15 times in 76 Cup races
• Chevy has won the last 7 of 9 races 8 of the last 12. Including Dale Earnhardt Jr sweeping in 2014.
• The furthest back anyone has started and won was 29th in 2005 when Carl Edwards won in the first Pocono stop of the year.

Track Info

• Surface: Asphalt
• Length: 2.5 Miles
• Banking
• Turn 1: 14 degrees
• Turn 2: 8 degrees
• Turn 3: 6 degrees

2017 NASCAR Week 13: Dover

AAA 400 Drive For Autism

Dover International Speedway

By Richard Tix

The Monster Mile where Miles roams. I might be in the minority here, but Dover is up there on my list of favorite tracks on the schedule (RIR, Martinsville, NHMS, Bristol, Auto Club, and WGI all also included in that list). Part of it is that Dover is a mile track on a schedule filled with 1.5 mile tri-ovals. The other part is that it is a unique track that isn't exactly like everything else we see (also why I like NHMS). 

All that being said Dover has been getting a bad wrap lately. Some say it's the racing, some say it's the change back in the 90's from asphalt to concrete, and others say it has been Jimmie Johnson's dominance. Dover has a ton of reason's people don't like it, but I think what has lacked at the track is just a mix of all of those things.

If I have learned one thing in NASCAR it is that fan's don't love watching one driver dominate a certain race on Sunday, which leads me to believe they also don't love a guy dominating one track over, and over, and over, and over again year after year.... Sure, I think some of the races have missed the mark, but that's going to happen from time to time. When you mix in one guy being better than everyone else for such a long period of time, people get turned off.

However, JJ hasn't won here in three straight races and the 400 miles will be broken down into stages. With the new points rules the Monster Mile may start to breath new life and turn peoples opinion around about the racing here. The first test? This Sunday.

**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- It's only been two career starts but both resulted in 3rd place finishes. Elliott really needs a strong run this weekend to get back on track.
• Jimmie Johnson- Not much needs to be said about JJ here at Dover that most don't know, he's been just that good here.
• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth would be one of the best current drivers here at Dover if it wasn't for JJ. He won this race last year and also has three straight top tens.

The Middle

• Brad Keselowski- BK does have a win here (2012) but just hasn't closed the deal as much as he would have liked (two runner ups and four top fives).

The Bad

• Austin Dillon- Last time out he finished 8th here, but the six before that he had only one top 20 and three top 25's.
• AJ Allmendinger- 18 starts and only three top tens. Worse yet, only seven of those 18 starts resulted in top 20's.
• Denny Hamlin- Hamlin's finishes have been all over the place here at Dover. He currently has back to back top tens, but before that he had three straight outside of the top ten, and then before that he had a top ten and two non top tens. What will we get this time?

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 (10), 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 Week 12: Charlotte

Coca-Cola 600

Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

NASCAR returns to racing for real wins and real points this weekend at the very same track that gave us a mixed bag last weekend in the All Star Race. Sure, the final stage in the "open" was tons of fun with Chase Elliott, Danial Suarez, and Erik Jones, but past that the memories of the weekend have already faded. Why is that? Well, because the ASR once again gave us more memories for the changes (softer tire option that didn't have much effect) than the actual on track racing.

People tend to remember changes that didn't go as planned and good quality racing over most thing's in this sport and unfortunately lately they changes have outweighed the racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Some changes once again are needed for the ASR, but maybe CMS shouldn't be included in them? One thing we know is that in 2018 we will still be at CMS for the "All Star" event.

But, onto the 600 this holiday weekend. This is one of those races I either catch 50% of, or almost none. Every Memorial and Labor Day weekend my immediate family, about three sets of Aunts and Uncles, about four/five sets of cousins plus kids, and a handful of friends go camping together (typically around 25-30 close family and friends). Now, I am talking more about "glamping," which is otherwise known as camping in a nice camper (fifth-wheel), at a place with water, electric, and a pool. However, we spend most of our time around the fire, playing cards or yard games, taking the kids fishing, golfing, or taking the kids to play mini golf (all including cold refreshments).

Which brings us to actually catching the race at CMS. Most years we get a large group of us on a bike ride into the small nearby town and we find a local "refreshment" establishment. The years we do make it there on race day we find the time to enjoy a few extra refreshments while watching the race. However, anyone who knows kids (I don't have any but plenty in this group do) knows that you aren't going to entertain them forever with quarters and popcorn. So, eventually we pack it in and leave.

As much as I love NASCAR, I wouldn't trade a single one of these moments with them to see any end of a 600 if I had to choose between the two.

So there you have it, I may or may not see the 600 but I should be around the ole twitter machine from time to time this weekend sharing my "whatcha drankin" or anything else we might be up to. Hopefully we get a better product for the 600 with an extra stage and hopefully everyone has a great holiday weekend. Remember to think about those who have lost their lives serving this country to allow us to watch the race, go camping, or so anything this weekend in peace and thank a veteran whenever you find a chance.

**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

• Jimmie Johnson- Most of his career stats here were racked up between 2002 - 2005 (five wins), but JJ won last fall here and has back to back top fives.
• Brad Keselowski- Four straight top tens, a win and five top tens in his last six, and a fast start to the season are all reason's BK could run well here this weekend.
• Kevin Harvick- This wasn't always his track, but lately it has been. In the last thirteen races he has eleven top tens, six top fives, and three wins.

The Middle

• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth may have a car to beat (five top tens in his last seven) or a middle of the pack car (three 14th or 15th place finishes in the five races before that). 

The Bad

• Paul Menard- One top ten since 2011, only two in his career, and worse yet only six top 15's in 20 races at CMS.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Only three top 10's in his last ten starts at CMS which includes finishing in the top 15 only 50% of that time as well. Will his last 600 go any better?
• Clint Bowyer- Bowyer has seven straight starts here without a top ten. In the last 13 races he has only two top tens (but one was a win).

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 1,895 of 10,689 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 Week 11: Kansas

GoBowling 400

Kansas Speedway

By Richard Tix

This weekend NASCAR leaves the short tracks and plate tracks behind for another look at the predominate 1.5 mile tri-ovals on the schedule. The topic of schedule make up when it comes to track sizes has become a hot topic lately (even though we have been all talking about it including on here for years). No matter the side of the debate you're on this weekends race location won't be changing.

After a surprise first career win from Ricky Stenhouse Jr at Talladega last weekend and a season that has brought us eight different winners in ten races we are entering the discussion of, "how many winners will we have in 2017?" Even bigger, could we have more then 16 winners and a race winner misses the Playoffs?

Season's have started out like this before, but not many times does the winners list not include such fast cars like the 4, 24, 88, 11, 18 and 20 with guys like the 1, 47, 21, and 14 also being threats to win at some point. That same list also includes a guy like Ricky Stenhouse, Ryan Newman, and a struggling Kurt Busch. With eight winners the playoff window is closing pretty early and a focus on more wins/points will be a hot topic.

I can't see this season not ending with the 4, 11, 18, 20, and 24 not getting a win. That is 13 winners so we would still have three open spots, but that's not including the 88, 14 (strong cars), 21 (young gun with good equipment), or 47 (short track and Martinsville pro). None of that even mention's Daytona or Mother Nature who can throw wrenches into a race.

I still think we will be just short of 16 winners (before the Playoffs), but the idea is starting to creep into my mind. The fact remains that only 16 races remain before the playoffs and squeezing eight more first time 2017 winners in that span only get's harder the more first time winners we have (smaller sample of strong cars left) especially with guys like the 2, 22, 48, 78, and 42 running so strong and looking for even more wins.

**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

• Jimmie Johnson- A win and three top fives in his last four, JJ has a long track record hear of good finishes. In his last 16 starts here he has 14 top tens, nine top fives, and three wins.
• Kevin Harvick- Harvick is the last Cup winner here at Kansas and has two wins and three runner up finishes since 2013.
• Joey Logano- JoLo didn't notch a single top ten while he was with JGR at Kansas. Since joining Team Penske he has 6 top tens, 6 top 5's, and two wins in eight races.
• Kyle Busch- Yes, a fourth driver this week. This is a special occation because this track and stating facts is why I am Twitter blocked by Kyle. I happened to tag him in a stat about his poor finishes and his occational spin outs awhile back... Apparently that was enough to get the D. Mutombo on Twitter. Well, its only fair to point that he has turned that luck around and has four top fives in his last four including a win in this race last year.

The Middle

• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Juniors avaerage finish of 16th here at Kansas says it all for the most part. Looking at his finishes from 2016 on back to 2011 it shows even more incosistency (15th, 21st, 3rd, 39th, 5th, 8th, 16th, 7th, 14th, and 7th). Which Junior will finish on Saturday?

The Bad

• Jamie McMurray- It's tough not to think JMac will turn it around here after his hot start to 2017. But the simple fact remains he has one top 15 in his last seven starts here including only three top 20's, rough.
• Kyle Larson- Small sample size alert, but JMac's CGR teammate has three straight finishes of 29th or worse here at Kansas. His other three career starts are a 12th, 2nd, and 15th respectfully.
• Trevor Bayne- One way to look at this is Bayne and RFR have creeped into my mind enough to be brought up in these sections....Bayne will be looking for his first top 15 at Kansas in his seventh try on Saturday after only having two top 20's in six starts here.

About the Track: Kansas

Track Stats

• Kansas has 13 different career winners in 22 Cup races
• Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for most career Kansas wins with 3
• In 2011 Kansas started to have two races a year.
• Manufacture win count: Chevy 11, Ford 6, Toyota 3, and Dodge 2
• Brad Keselowski won after starting 25th in 2011, the furthest back a winner has come from
• JJ, Harvick, Kenseth and Kahne are tied for most career Poles at Kansas (3)
• Most cautions in a Kansas race was 2013 in the Fall Chase race (15)

Track Details

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