The 2018 Winston Cup Series: Bowyer snaps his winless streak

Clint Bowyer burns it down after winning the STP 500 at Martinsville.

     Finally, the stars aligned for Clint Bowyer. After 190 winless starts, Bowyer returned to victory lane, winning Monday's STP 500 at Martinsville. It's his first win since the fall race at Charlotte in 2012. Bowyer led 215 of 500 laps, dominating stage 3 of the event. His main challenger, Kyle Busch, finished 2nd, followed by Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick... AJ Allmendinger had a great run, finishing 8th, and Alex Bowman got his first top-10 of the year, finishing 7th... Stewart Haas Racing has won 4 of the season's first 6 races...

Snow blanketed Martinsville Speedway and southern Virginia Saturday night, leading to a delay that bumped both the Truck and Cup races to Monday.

     The race was delayed due to snow over the weekend in southern Virginia, but it was well worth the wait. This set up a doubleheader, with an exciting Truck series race starting in the morning, followed by the Cup drivers. In the Truck race, 21-year-old Ben Rhodes had the fastest truck early on, but a poor pit stop shuffled him back to an eventual 12th place finish. John Hunter Nemechek took the lead late from Kyle Benjamin, and held on to pick up his first win of the season. The action was great to wake up to, before the Cup drivers hit the track...

Clint Bowyer leads over Kyle Busch in the late stages of the STP 500. Bowyer led 215 of 500 laps.

     Monday's STP 500 had only four cautions, the fewest at Martinsville since 1978. This helped Bowyer drive away from the pack, during a 109-lap green flag run to the finish. His 190-race drought between wins is one of the longest ever. Only Bill Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. had longer droughts between wins, at 226 and 218...
     Taking a look at the standings, not much changed up top, with the same drivers making up the top-5. Truex Jr. now leads Busch by 8 points, and Hamlin by 14... Bowyer's win helps him jump to 6th overall, and Bowman has entered the top-10 after a good Martinsville run. Kevin Harvick sits just outside the top-10 in 11th... Jimmie Johnson is 18th, and Chase Elliott has some work to do, currently back in 22nd.

     Up next, NASCAR takes this coming weekend off for Easter, before heading to Texas Motor Speedway. If there's any track for Jimmie Johnson to make his triumphant return to victory lane, this is it. Johnson holds a record 7 wins at Texas, including last year's spring race. Other drivers to watch include Truex Jr., and Chase Elliott...

The 2018 Winston Cup Series: No four-peat in California

Kevin Harvick crashes on lap 39 of the Auto Club 400, after contact with Kyle Larson. Harvick would finish 35th, nine laps down.

     After all the hype and storylines of a possible "four-peat," it wasn't meant to be for Kevin Harvick. The #4 car crashed early in Sunday's Auto Club 400 at California, after contact with Kyle Larson while trying to side-draft. Harvick's Ford suffered damage, and he finished the race in 35th, 9 laps down. It was a shame for Harvick, who appeared to have one of the fastest cars in the field.

Martin Truex Jr. celebrates after winning the Auto Club 400.

     Instead, California turned into a battle between Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch. The two exchanged the lead throughout the race, but a late pit stop made the difference. Kyle Busch's pit crew gave the #18 Toyota the incorrect wedge adjustment, which allowed to Truex Jr. to assume the lead and surge ahead in the final 30 laps. Truex Jr. wins his first race of 2018, and begins his run towards a possible 2nd straight championship. Rounding out the top-5 were Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano. Only one car failed to finish the race, Trevor Bayne, who crashed in turn three with a flat tire on lap 110...

Jeffrey Earnhardt drives at Auto Club Speedway. Earnhardt would finish 36th, 11 laps down.

     A minor, but interesting development is the news that StarCom Racing and Jeffrey Earnhardt parted ways after California. This is disappointing for Earnhardt fans, but not much of a surprise. StarCom's #00 Chevrolet has been considerably slower than the field at the last four races, after a 21st in the Daytona 500. With bigger tracks like California, it's clear to see StarCom just doesn't have the speed to compete yet... Landon Cassill will replace Earnhardt in the #00 this coming weekend at Martinsville, but it's unclear what Earnhardt's immediate plans will be. He will, however, keep his sponsor, VRX Simulators, which could help him land another ride (although who that would be is unclear).

     Here's a look at the classic point standings after five races... Truex Jr. now holds the point lead, ahead of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Kevin Harvick's poor finish at California dropped him to 14th in the standings... Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola continue their respectable start to 2018, sitting 7th and 8th in points. Dillon's RCR teammate Ryan Newman sits in 13th.
     Up next, the Cup drivers head to NASCAR's oldest remaining track on the schedule, Martinsville Speedway. It's the first of six short track races we'll see this year, and is a welcome sight after four races begging for action, and close racing. Watch for Brad Keselowski on Sunday, as well as Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. The three have the best average finishes at Martinsville among active drivers. For NASCAR Fantasy players out there, it also might be a good week to pick a mid-pack driver, as this race doesn't totally rely on speed and aerodynamics. I think I'll be using AJ Allmendinger...

The 2018 Winston Cup Series: A statement win for Harvick

Kevin Harvick celebrates his 40th career win, in the Ticket Guardian 500 at ISM Raceway

     Kevin Harvick has done it again, this time at his signature track. Harvick fought off the likes of Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch at ISM Raceway, to win his third straight race of 2018... It's the first time since 2015 a Cup series driver has won 3-in-a-row, and the first time since 1991 a driver over 40 has done it.
     It was a statement win for the #4 team in many ways. A major storyline this past week was the penalty issued to Harvick's team after his win at Las Vegas. Harvick was docked 20 points, and all playoff points from Las Vegas, due to a rear window issue. A rear window brace reportedly failed, causing the window to fold inward at full speed. Whether or not this caused an advantage, Harvick was penalized. But that didn't stop him from showing up the same way, and taking the checkered flag at Phoenix... Harvick even gave his window a symbolic slap after the race, this time keeping its intended shape...

Harvick burns it down after his win at ISM Raceway. He led 38 laps en route to his 9th win at the track.

     Rounding out the top-5 were Kyle Busch, Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr... Aric Almirola had another impressive run, finishing 7th. Paul Menard had the race's sole accident, with a single-car crash on lap 192. Aside from a fairly dull Stage 1 and 2... the race featured a long green flag run to the finish, and a great battle for the lead between Harvick, Busch, and Elliott... Ryan Newman tried to stretch his pit cycle and wait for a caution, but finally surrendered the lead with about 20 laps to go and finished 11th. After two wide open races at Atlanta and Las Vegas, Phoenix proved much more fun to watch. Harvick practically coasted to victory the last two weeks, but this time he had to earn it.

     Here's a look at the updated classic standings after the first 4 races... Hamlin has had the most consistent start, leading Truex Jr. by three points, and Kyle Busch by seven. Harvick is tied for 6th after his 20-point penalty at Las Vegas, otherwise he would be on top. Almirola and Austin Dillon have both had nice starts to the season, and are both in the top-10... To find a Hendrick driver, you have to go back to 13th, where Alex Bowman currently sits. His teammates, William Byron, Elliott, and Jimmie Johnson sit 18th, 19th, and 25th.

The final race at Phoenix to feature the original layout, with the start-finish line on the frontstretch.

     Up next, the Cup drivers head to California, for the Auto Club 400... For me, Kyle Larson is an easy favorite. He's won the last four races at the 2-mile oval tracks, Michigan and California, which are nearly identical (including three straight at Michigan). Look for him to dominate this coming Sunday, unless Harvick makes it four in a row...

The 2018 Winston Cup Series: Harvick goes back-to-back

Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas. It's Harvick's 39th Cup series win, and 100th overall between the top three series.

     "NASCAR Goes West" has begun, and Kevin Harvick is just getting started. Harvick smoked the field in Sunday's Pennzoil 400, leading 214 of 267 laps en route to a second straight win. While it was a fairly boring race, the best part was seeing the #4 car's dominance continue. Only nine cars finished on the lead lap. Harvick now looks for a third straight win when the Cup drivers head to Phoenix next week... he's certainly a favorite, with a track record eight wins there. Rounding out the top five in Sunday's race were Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Ryan Blaney. Both Paul Menard and Aric Almirola posted good runs, finishing 9th and 10th. The Ford surge continues as well, with the blue oval taking six of the first 10 positions.

Chase Elliott finished the day 34th, after a crash with Kurt Busch on lap 184.

     NASCAR has 11 races this season at 1.5 mile tracks. Of those, Las Vegas is the first of six "cookie cutter" races, which also include stops at Kansas, Kentucky, and Chicagoland. These four tracks are, essentially, exactly the same. Sunday's race, aside from the enjoyment of watching Harvick dominate, was incredibly boring for fans. The only major incident of the race involved Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott, when Kurt got loose and the two collided coming off of turn 4, wrecking both cars... Otherwise, the Pennzoil 400 had hardly any drama. If NASCAR thinks Las Vegas is worthy of hosting the opening race of the 'playoffs', I sure hope they'll be better action than we saw Sunday.

     After the first three races, here's a look at the classic standings, which I'll keep track of all year long. Harvick's back-to-back wins help make up for his DNF at Daytona, putting him in 4th. Team Penske is having a strong showing, with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney running 1-2 in points, and Brad Keselowski running 12th... Meanwhile it's been a rough start for the Hendrick cars; Alex Bowman is the best of the four teammates, with 15th... Aric Almirola, riding the consistency train, has finished 11th, 13th, and 10th in the first three races, good enough for a top-10 in points... Drivers Daniel Suarez, William Byron, and Jimmie Johnson all have a lot of ground to make up early...
     Up next, the Cup drivers head to Phoenix, now renamed ISM Raceway... This will be the final race on Phoenix's old layout, before the start/finish line is moved to the backstretch. Harvick will look for a staggering 9th win at the track, and try for his third straight win.