The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Larson does it again

Kyle Larson celebrates after winning the Pure Michigan 400. Larson led only 2 of 200 laps to sweep MIS in 2017, the first season sweep at Michigan since Bobby Labonte in 1995.

     Kyle Larson has done it again. Just when he needed a win to rebound from a rough summer, he got it at Michigan. He did in style too, with a late restart pass that was nearly 4-wide with Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, and Matt Kenseth. Larson's win at the Pure Michigan 400 is his third of the season, and third straight at Michigan. He now joins David Pearson and Bill Elliott in distinction; they are the only drivers who have won three straight at the track (Elliott won four straight). It's hard to believe one year ago, Larson went to victory lane for the first time. He's really proved he can master these fast, wide-open tracks. Martin Truex Jr. settled for 2nd, Erik Jones finished a career-best 3rd at his home track, and Trevor Bayne came home with a nice 5th place finish. Brad Keselowski, who dominated much of the race, wound up in 17th.

Cars line up on pit road Friday for Pure Michigan 400 qualifying

     Being a Michigan native, I was looking forward to seeing some live NASCAR action again this year. I unfortunately had to work Sunday, so I thought practice and qualifying on Friday would be a good substitute. Watching qualifying live, my picks for the win Sunday were Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. Blaney actually held the fastest times in the first two rounds of qualifying, but lost speed in the last round. From what I remember, I actually wrote off Kyle Larson because he only qualified 9th... Guess I was wrong!
     Aside from an rough crash involving Kasey Kahne and Daniel Suarez, this year's Pure Michigan 400 was a fairly clean race. The first two stages ran caution-free, and if not for two late cautions, Truex Jr. was looking at his 5th win of the year. Keselowski led 105 laps and dominated early, but once again finished outside the top-10.

     Here's a look at the "classic" standings after Michigan. Truex Jr. widened his lead on everyone except Larson. Suarez's crash cost him a spot in the top-10, replaced by his teammate Matt Kenseth. If you're wondering where Jimmie Johnson is, he's back in 15th, well out of Winston Cup title contention. Whether Johnson is sandbagging because he's qualified for the playoffs or just having a bad summer, he's hardly been consistent. Since his last win at Dover, he's picked up only two top-10's.
     Heading into Bristol this week, points-leader Truex Jr. is at a disadvantage. It's not his favorite track; he only has three top-10's there in 23 starts. A driver to watch will be Kyle Busch, he has 5 wins at the short track. Also, watch for Larson to be fast; he won the pole at Bristol back in the spring.
     As an extra treat, here's some more photos I took at Friday practice at MIS... click on the images for a closer look!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads out for practice Friday at MIS, next to a special tribute to him in the infield. It reads "Thanks Dale Jr."

Jeffrey Earnhardt prepares to head on-track for practice Friday at Michigan

Jeffrey Earnhardt during Friday practice at Michigan

Michael McDowell heads on-track for practice Friday at Michigan

Chase Briscoe, Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell and others during first Truck series practice Friday at Michigan. The truck drivers made things interesting, driving in packs and making passes, something no Cup drivers did during practice.

One of my favorite sites during Cup qualifying was Jeffrey Earnhardt helping push his team push the #33 car to the garage. Earnhardt is on the front nose of the Hulu Chevrolet.

Brad Keselowski on-track for qualifying at Michigan. Keselowski would go on to win the pole for the Pure Michigan 400.

A look from up high at Michigan International Speedway

The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Truex Jr. masters the Glen

Martin Truex Jr. celebrates after winning the I Love New York 355 at the Glen. Truex led 24 of 90 laps to grab his fourth win of 2017.

     Martin Truex Jr. did it again Sunday, using strategy to pull off a win at Watkins Glen. Holding off a charging Matt Kenseth, Truex Jr. won his fourth race of the season, and extended his "classic" point lead. Kyle Busch dominated before getting shuffled back after a problem on pit road, then collided with Keselowski in the inner loop on lap 45. While Busch rebounded to finish 7th, Keselowski took a penalty on a late pit stop, ending up 15th. It was unfortunate for 'Rowdy,' having the same bad luck that he's had all season. Other finishes include Daniel Suarez with a career best 3rd, Kevin Harvick in 17th, Kyle Larson in 23rd, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought up the rear in 37th. Road course ringer Boris Said made his final Cup start, finishing in 30th.

Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski make contact and spin on lap 45

     This year's races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen reminded me of how great road course races are to watch on a Sunday afternoon. They bring some variety, don't take too long to complete, and this year cautions were at a minimum. Stage 3 ran virtually caution-free in both events. The last time there was only 3 cautions in a Watkins Glen race was 1995 (and not counting stage ending-cautions, there was only one, for Landon Cassill's blown tire). This helped create a clean, raw finish, and a great strategy race. Truex had to give up first and second, to run the rest of the race without a pit stop. It showed how prepared and accomplished the #78 team really is. They're well on their way to a championship, whether it's the real one, or the "classic" title.

     So here's a look at the classic standings after Watkins Glen... With the win and leading the most laps, Truex Jr. jumps out to a 27 point lead over Harvick. The big loser this week was Kyle Larson, dropping to 6th in points with his third straight finish outside the top-20 (and to think, a month ago he led in classic points). Daniel Suarez remained in 10th, but gained on everyone except Truex.

Hendrick Motorsports confirmed in an announcement Monday that Kasey Kahne will not return to the 5 car next season

     Another development since Sunday's race, is Hendrick Motorsports' announcement that Kasey Kahne will not be back in the #5 car next season. The news wasn't all that surprising, but still disappointing for the veteran driver. Kahne has driven for Hendrick since 2012; with six wins in those six seasons. 2017 has been his poorest season with the team, with only four top-10's so far. With the "classic" points system, Kahne hasn't had a top-10 finish in the standings since 2006, when he won six races. I would not be surprised if Kahne ended up leaving Cup like several other veteran drivers, but I'm confident an offer will come along. Kahne is 37, and likely has plenty of racing left in him.
     The Cup series now heads to Michigan, for the Pure Michigan 400. This race is Kyle Larson's best chance to rebound after a rough patch; he's won the last two races at MIS, and his other Cup win came at California, a very similar track. Points leader Martin Truex Jr. has never won at Michigan, but in his last five starts there, he has three top-10's...

Martin Truex Jr. leads Matt Kenseth to the final turn at Watkins Glen. Truex got his fourth win of the year, Kenseth remains winless.

Jeffrey Earnhardt: A family legacy at stake

Jeffrey Earnhardt in the AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover in June, his first race with Hulu as sponsor

     At the end of the 2017 NASCAR season, things are certainly going to be different. Multiple veteran drivers have recently left the track: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and soon Dale Earnhardt Jr. will hang up the helmet. This is Dale Jr.'s 19th season in Cup, he's been very successful, and extremely popular among fans (including myself). We have yet to see what the series will look like in his absence.
     While a lot of the subject matter of Jr.'s retirement deals with his replacement in the #88 (recently announced as Alex Bowman), fans are being asked who they'll root for in 2018. If Earnhardt Jr. is your favorite driver, what's next? I have a feeling a lot of longtime fans are either thinking Bowman, another young driver such as Chase Elliott, or another veteran driver. Or, Junior nation could lose interest in the sport, something NASCAR is surely dreading, considering they've already lost several well known names since 2015.

Jeffrey Earnhardt

     With the family history, I'm surprised more fans aren't saying they'll cheer for Jeffrey Earnhardt. Jeffrey is the son of Kerry Earnhardt, meaning he is Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s grandson, and Dale Jr.'s nephew. Jeffrey is 28, and is in his first full-time season of the Cup series. He is a 4th generation Cup series drier, only the second ever. While Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jr. have seen incredible success, Jeffrey is 1) relatively unknown, and 2) a bit of an underdog.
     Jeffrey drives the #33 Hulu Chevy for Circle Sport/TMG, an underfunded team compared to powerhouses like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. He's also had a lot of bad luck. In Earnhardt's 20 races so far this season, he's failed to finish 10. His best finish was 26th, twice, at Daytona and Indianapolis. Mechanical problems have plagued the team, including most recently at Pocono, where Earnhardt made several trips to the garage, only completing 24 laps before retiring for good. The team's cars are substantially slower than the front-runners; Jeffrey's often seen battling drivers like Reed Sorenson, Grey Gaulding, and Timmy Hill for about 35th place. Unfortunately, the best chance to see Jeffrey on TV is when he's being lapped. In the current NASCAR standings, Jeffrey Earnhardt is in 37th place, essentially last among drivers that have been full-time this season. A turning point for Jeffrey was getting sponsorship from Hulu, starting at Dover. Not only does it mean money, but that bright green Chevy is impossible to miss on the track. But so far, the extra support hasn't equated to success.

Jeffrey Earnhardt wrecks at Texas on lap 11 of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

     For a lot of fans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. retiring is the nail in the coffin for their interest in NASCAR. But for diehard fans, having no Earnhardt in the field would be heartbreaking. There have been a lot of families in the sport, and seeing them fade out was a turning point. The Allisons for example: Legendary driver Bobby Allison had a career ending crash at Pocono in 1988, before his son Clifford was killed in a practice crash in 1992, and son Davey died from injuries in a plane crash in 1993. From that moment, the Allison name, and the "Alabama gang" were essentially gone from NASCAR.
     The Pettys had the same heartbreak. Following in the footsteps of Lee, Richard, and Kyle; Adam Petty was the only other 4th generation Cup driver in the sport's history. His first and only Cup race came at Texas in 2000... A promising future ahead of him, Adam died a month later in a practice crash at New Hampshire. After his father Kyle Petty retired in 2008, the Petty name was gone from the track.

Dale Jr. and Jeffrey together before a race in 2016

     There was obviously a lot of pressure on Earnhardt Jr. to succeed when he came to NASCAR. But with Dale Jr.'s retirement in the near future, it can't be much different for Jeffrey. From where he is now, there's a longer road to success. Plus, with his on-track performance this season, who knows if Jeffrey will even have a ride in the 33 next year? You know he doesn't want to be the one to end the Earnhardt legacy.
     If anything though, Jeffrey is certainly not a pretty boy. NASCAR has lost much of its "good ol' boy" aura, that drivers like Earnhardt Sr. brought to the table. The southern stars have been mostly replaced. But Jeffrey is anything but a California kid. In a 2016 interview, Jeffrey sits on his 19-acre property, with not a mansion, but an 800 square foot house. He spends his spare time riding his side-by-side, fishing, even hunting out of helicopters. If not a successful race car driver, Jeffrey is nothing short of a pure outdoorsman, something I'm surprised more fans can't get behind. You can watch the interview here:

     In the end, if things don't work out for Jeffrey, there is one last hope for Earnhardt fans. Last Saturday, Jeffrey's older brother Bobby Dale Earnhardt was on-track at Iowa, qualifying for his first Xfinity race. He didn't make the show, but things look promising for Bobby. He's competed in three ARCA races this season, and is working his way up. Regardless of what happens with Jeffrey's career, my support is certainly there. I'm waiting for my #88 and #33 car decals in the mail right now... They're going side by side on my back bumper.

The Earnhardts who have raced in Cup: Ralph, Dale, Dale Jr, Kerry, and Jeffrey (click on the image for a closer look)

The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Rowdy gets redemption

Kyle Busch takes a bow after winning the Overton's 400 at Pocono, his first win since July 2016. Busch led 74 of 160 laps

     Kyle Busch finally pulled through today, and got his first win of 2017. His car was near the front, or leading all day long at Pocono. In the closing stages, strategy was easily the winning move of the race for Busch; pitting late gave him the best tires on the track. While I'm not a Kyle Busch fan, it's good to see him get a win, it's been awhile, and he won it fair and square. After coming far too close at Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, Charlotte, Pocono in June, last week at Indianapolis (the list goes on), Busch deserved a victory this year. He punctuated it by bumping Kevin Harvick out of the way to grab the lead, and drive to a six-second margin of victory, the largest for a race this season.

Cars pile up trying to avoid a spinning Matt Kenseth, on lap 1 of the Overton's 400. Aric Almirola and Matt Dibenedetto wrecked out in the only true dust-up of the race

     Aside from a small pileup on the first lap, the Overton's 400 ended up being a fairly clean race. I was very impressed watching the final stage run caution-free, it was nice to see strategy decide the race, and not a late restart. Notably, rookie Daniel Suarez had another 7th place finish, his third straight top-10... Dale Earnhardt Jr. fared well in his final Pocono race, coming home in 12th... Several front-runners ran into trouble: Jimmie Johnson's crash left him in 35th, his third DNF in four races... A broken drive shaft forced Kyle Larson to the garage for repairs, he finished 33rd... Ryan Blaney had tire problems, finishing 30th... two pit road penalties for Joey Logano dropped him to 27th, and Jamie McMurray finished 26th.

     In the classic standings, Kyle Busch's win at Pocono moves him up to third place, ahead of Kyle Larson, who took a big hit this week. With my scoring, Harvick and Truex Jr. both got 39 points for finishing 2nd and 3rd, since Harvick didn't get an extra point for leading a lap. Therefore, the gap between the two remains at six points. The big mover was Suarez, who cracked into the top-10 this week. Jimmie Johnson took a big hit, dropping four spots to 14th in the classic points (Remember that if he wins an eighth title this year).
     Next week we head to Watkins Glen, a track that could play into Busch's favor again. Among active NASCAR drivers, only five have won at the Glen, and Busch is the only one who's won there twice, in 2008 and 2013. And it only gets better for "Rowdy." In 12 starts, Kyle Busch has 10 top-10's at the road course. Qualifying will be key though; no driver has ever won Watkins Glen with a lower starting spot than 18th, when Steve Park did it in 2000. Stay tuned!

Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane at Pocono

The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Indy proves unpredictable

Kyle Busch leads Martin Truex Jr. in the Brickyard 400. The two dominated until crashing out of the race together on lap 111

     With all the talk of how boring the Brickyard 400 has become to watch, this year's edition was pretty wild. Kyle Busch dominated and looked unstoppable, until the last thing I expected, him and Martin Truex Jr. crashed while battling for the lead. As much as I don't like Kyle Busch, I legitimately felt bad to see him robbed of a win like that. The best two cars in the field were suddenly gone... What followed was a battle of everyone else, a series of crashes, and a surprise win for Kasey Kahne. It's his first trip to victory lane since 2014, and his first win at Indianapolis.

Kasey Kahne led 12 laps at Indianapolis en route to his first Brickyard 400. It's his first win since August 2014, and only his 4th top-10 this year

     Several other front-runners did not finish the race. While Chase Elliott had an engine failure early on, Earnhardt Jr's bad luck continued, blowing a radiator when he plowed into a car in turn two. Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer had their cars destroyed in a spectacular crash, and Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, and Ricky Stenhouse wrecked out in separate incidents. Only 20 cars were running at the finish, and a few underfunded teams had a surprisingly good finish. Matt Dibenedetto came home in 8th, Cole Whitt finished 12th, and Timmy Hill came in 14th. Jeffrey Earnhardt tied his season best of 26th.
     It was disappointing to see the grandstands at Indianapolis so empty for a NASCAR event. Only an estimated 35,000 fans were in attendance. It will be interesting to see if the Cup series adopts a new rules package, and tries to improve competition. If not for an untimely wreck, Kyle Busch was well on his way to driving away with another race at the Brickyard, and putting the few fans there to sleep...

     The jumbled results played into this week's "classic" points. Kyle Larson gained virtually nothing on Truex Jr., but Harvick gained on both with his sixth place finish. This puts the three of them only seven points apart. Brad Keselowski's good finish helped him jump from ninth in points to sixth. Off to Pocono!

The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Hamlin wins at New Hampshire

Denny Hamlin gets his 30th career at New Hampshire, and his first of 2017. Hamlin becomes the 8th driver to win at least three Cup races at New Hampshire.

     It was another great race for Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson, but Denny Hamlin held on during the race's final laps for his 30th career win. Larson seemed to have a real shot at catching Hamlin but couldn't reel him in, and finished runner-up for the second straight week. The Overton's 301 was overall a clean race, aside from a wreck by rookie Erik Jones early on. It also featured a 35-lap green flag run to the finish, something I love to see. 

     Notable finishes include Daniel Suarez, with an impressive 6th place. Kyle Busch had a great car but came in 12th, blowing his chance with two pit road speeding penalties. Earnhardt Jr. led briefly, but was passed by multiple cars with fresh tires and ended up 18th. Dale Jr.'s nephew, Jeffrey Earnhardt finished four laps down in 33rd. Joey Logano suffered mechanical problems and finished 37th, the only driver doing well in points to have a bad day. 

Hamlin leads the closing laps of the Overton's 301, in front of Kyle Larson.

     It's a real shame that New Hampshire is about to lose one of its two race dates on the schedule. The Cup cars have been making two trips there since 1997. New Hampshire doesn't have the most action-packed races, but the flatter turns give the track a different feel than everywhere else. It's almost like a big short track. There's been some great races here, and it'll be a shame to only see it once a year. But the decision is obviously based on money.

     Here's a look at the standings after New Hampshire. The big loser this week was Kyle Larson, taking a 35-point hit in the standings for a penalty after the Kentucky race. This is where points get a little tricky... In a setting where drivers can reach as many as 60 points per race, as opposed to 45, a 35-point penalty isn't as debilitating. I have a feeling NASCAR wouldn't have given Larson a 35-point penalty under the "classic" point system, more likely it would've been 25. For now I'm counting it here as 35, we'll see later on if those 10 points make a difference. Either way, it cost Larson the point lead to Martin Truex Jr. Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Hamlin round out the top five.

     Now it's on to Indianapolis next week! Jimmie Johnson has four wins at Indy, only one behind the Cup record of five, held by Jeff Gordon. Several veterans have never won the Brickyard 400, including Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Truex Jr., and Hamlin.

The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Truex Jr. wins at Kentucky

Martin Truex Jr. gets his 10th career win at Kentucky Speedway. Truex Jr. dominated, leading 152 of 274 laps

Martin Truex Jr. continued his stellar season last night with a solid win at Kentucky. It was nearly a heartbreaking finish for him, when the caution came out with two to go, thanks to Kurt Busch’s blown engine... It’s only fitting Truex Jr. held on for the win, after leading the field by over half a lap in the closing stages. Even though Truex was on old tires, he got a good enough jump on the final restart to secure his 10^th career win. The dominant car won the race, something that we don’t always see. Other notable finishes include Darrell Wallace Jr. with an 11^th, Danica Patrick in 15^th, and Jeffrey Earnhardt with a decent finish of 29^th.

Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Brad Keselowski (not visible) bring out the caution on lap 88. The accident takes out Keselowski and Johnson, they finish 39th and 40th

The biggest surprise/disappointment was the accident that took out Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. Keselowski has dominated at Kentucky, winning three of the six previous races here, only to lose control under Clint Bowyer in turn three. A third of the way into the night, he was done.

This was actually the first time I watched the Kentucky race (it’s a fairly new track on the schedule). Aside from the accidents on restarts, it felt like a pretty clean race… I know it’s another cookie-cutter, but being only 5-6 hours away in Michigan, I’ll have to make my way down there sometime to see it in person. The grandstands look high enough where you’d probably have a great view of the whole track.

Here’s a look at the classic points after Kentucky, the official halfway point of the season. With the win and the most laps led, Truex Jr. gains some points on Larson, but not as much as he does with stage wins (Truex actually got 60 points last night winning all three stages, here I only score him for 45). Chase Elliott’s third place helped him jump four spots to fifth in the classic points… Both Johnson and Keselowski drop substantially because of their crash.

Next week the Cup series heads to Loudon, New Hampshire. A fun fact: Kenseth, Newman, Johnson, and Kurt Busch all have three wins at New Hampshire. Jeff Burton holds the Cup series record with four. Another fun fact, of all active drivers, Dale Jr. holds the title of most starts at New Hampshire without a win, with 33. Let’s see how he does on his 34^th and final visit...