2017 NASCAR Schedule: Michigan

Pure Michigan 400

By Richard Tix

All Times are Eastern (ET)

Friday August 11th, 2017

• 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice- NBCSN
• 1-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice- FS1
• 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice- FS1
• 5:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- NBCSN

Saturday August 12th, 2017

• 8:30-9:25 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice- CNBC
• 9:30 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
• 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice- NBC Sports App
• 1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series LTI Printing 200 (100 laps)- FS1

Sunday August 13th, 2017

• 3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 (200 laps)- NBCSN

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 22: Watkins Glen

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

I Love New York 355 at the Glen

By Richard Tix

The Week 22 NASCAR Power Rankings after Martin Truex Jr's win at WGI.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 22 (Week 21)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Truex must have heard Rowdy coming for the top spot because he put in another strong performance on Sunday at WGI. 34 playoff points before the 15 he will get for being regular season champion.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- I missed the scuffle with BK (step away for ten min and miss a huge chunk of the storyline...), but from what I heard it seemed more like a racing deal. Either way, Rowdy had a winning car and let the emotion over take him (took it out on BK and his CC later for not having a plan). This is still a Championship caliber driver who could get hot going into the Playoffs.
3. Denny Hamlin (LW-6)- Past the 78 and the 18, it's a mixed bag of drivers headlined mostly by Toyota's. Hamlin has a fourth or better finish (including a win) in four of his last five races and six of his last eight.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK screwed himself on a late pit by (barely) going thru too many boxes, but if not for that he was setting up for a top five after leading a bunch of laps.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-7)- Another Toyota getting it going at the right time. Kenseth has four straight top tens (three top fives) and escaped WGI without a new winner. 
6. Daniel Suarez (LW-10)- ANOTHER Toyota driver turning it on, Suarez is starting to get the hang of things as of late. He has four straight top tens and notched his first top five of his career on Sunday.
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Rough day for the No. 4 team. Not a bad car, but some poor luck.
8. Chase Elliott (LW-9)- Fast car all day, but again faded. Almost every time it has been on a mid to late race strategy call (or sometimes lack of call). They have to realize soon that Stages aren't going anywhere for awhile and they need to adjust.
9. Clint Bowyer (LW-11)- Another quality run, but this team has to find winning speed or a winning call and the way Toyota's are running it needs to be a winning call.
10. Erik Jones (LW-NR)- Throw out to wreck at Loudon and IMS and Jones has Four straight top tens... Yup, another Toyota.
11. Kyle Larson (LW-5)- It's been one heck of a slide for Larson. He was so close to first just weeks ago and now Kyle Busch has passed him in the battle to catch Truex.
12. Jimmie Johnson (LW-8)- JJ is getting one more pass because I still can't count him out of any season, but holy crap has he been struggling to find good finishes.

Dropped Out: Kasey Kahne (LW-12)

Just Missed: Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell

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 Pit Road Week 21: Pocono

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Overton's 400

By Richard Tix

The Week 21 NASCAR Power Rankings after Kyle Busch's win at Pocono.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 21 (Week 20)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Rowdy in inching closer, but the number one spot is still Truex's to lose. He was strong again at Pocono after finishing third and leading 31 laps.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- With the win-less monkey is finally off his back, will Rowdy start to really roll?
3. Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- It might be overlooked but Harvick is putting up some consistent runs right now and could get hot at the right time.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- For all the struggles he has gone thru, BK still is tied for the most top tens (14) and has the most top fives (11) all season (plus two wins).
5. Kyle Larson (LW-2)- I think the regular season points Championship is now gone (-85 behind Truex). The battle was fun while it lasted, now eyes on the bigger prize.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-9)- Hamlin just keeps sticking around. Another fourth place finish at Pocono gives him a win and three top fives in his last four.
7. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Three straight top tens are nice, but Kenseth needs a win to get off the bubble hot seat.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-5)- Seeing this many poor finishes and crashes next to JJ's name is weird. Bad luck has a bunch to do with it, but will it turn around?
9. Chase Elliott (LW-6)- These guys can be fast at any given moment, well, except when that moment is closing a race during the third stage.
10. Daniel Suarez (LW-NR)-Speaking of closing, Suarez typically finds himself mid-pack until he learns a few things and eventually gets to the top ten. He now has three straight 7th or better finishes.
11. Clint Bowyer (LW-12)- Bowyer is in a win or go home situation unless Kenseth starts putting up 30+ finishes every week. Even then, nothing is guaranteed without a trip back to VL.
12. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- It was great to see Kahne win two weeks ago and it was just as nice to see him follow it up with a decent run at Pocono on Sunday. 

Dropped Out: Jamie McMurray (LW-10) and Joey Logano (LW-11)

Just Missed: Ryan Newman