The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Kyle Busch wins again

Kyle Busch makes his way by Chase Elliott on lap 399 of the Apache Warrior 400. Busch goes on to win, Elliott gets his fifth career 2nd place finish.

     He came ever so close, but it was once again heartbreak for Chase Elliott. The 21-year-old led 138 laps but failed to win his first career Cup series race, passed by Kyle Busch with only two laps to go. Busch had been working to reel in the #24 car for several laps, but finally caught Elliott thanks to lapped traffic. For Busch, it's his fourth win of the year, and second in a row. In the last nine races, Kyle Busch has 4 wins, 8 top-tens, and 4 poles. His hot streak has propelled him from 4th in "classic" points to 2nd, only 15 points behind Martin Truex Jr... Jimmie Johnson came home 3rd, Truex 4th, and Larson 5th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an impressive run, coming home 7th for his first top-ten since June... Dover only saw two cautions that weren't stage finishes, one of which was for Jeffrey Earnhardt's crash into the pit-road entrance, causing a brief delay while crews repaired the barrels.

Jeffrey Earnhardt crashes on lap 88 of the Apache Warrior 400. Earnhardt was able to get back on track and finish 37th, 32 laps down.

     For Chase Elliott, it's another close call. In 70 career Cup starts, Elliott has five 2nd place finishes, and 18 top-fives. The runner-up finishes include two blown opportunities at Michigan in 2016. They don't even account for this year's Daytona 500, where Chase led in the closing stages only to run out of gas with three laps to go and finish 14th. Regardless, a win couldn't be closer for Elliott, whose consistent good runs have secured him a place in the "classic" top 10.
     Looking at the updated standings, Busch's win helped gain him a few extra points on Truex Jr... The gap is now 15 with seven races to go. Larson is 3rd, 38 points back... Harvick lost ground with a 17th at Dover, and Denny Hamlin dropped to 35th because of an axle problem, costing him even more. Chase Elliott's 2nd at Dover helps him keep 7th in points...

     Now let's talk "real" standings... With the "Round of 12" set in place, four drivers have been kicked out of the NASCAR playoffs: Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, and Ryan Newman. Newman's ouster is unfortunate, as you can see above. Under the old format, Newman's effort is much more apparent than that of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who held on to advance into the next round... Plus, I really thought Newman would have a good playoff run, with four-straight top-tens after Richmond. But his playoff finishes were 23rd, 13th, and 13th... I feel no disappointment watching Kurt Busch, Dillon, and Kahne be eliminated from the playoffs, thanks to their lackluster consistency. You'll notice Kahne isn't even top-20 in classic points, are you surprised he's being replaced next year?

Kyle Busch celebrates his 3rd win at Dover, and first since 2010.

     Next week, the Cup drivers return to Charlotte, for the Bank of America 500... This is another track that favors Jimmie Johnson, he has a record 8 wins there. A fun fact, Charlotte remains the only track Kyle Busch has never won on in Cup competition. We'll see if 'Rowdy' can gain any ground on Truex Jr.'s point lead...