The Biggest NASCAR Storylines to Watch Ahead of Sprint Cup Series at Bristol
Fox Sports NASCAR analyst Darrell Waltrip put it best during a recent broadcast when he said that the circuit passed through its west coast swing and is now in its short track swing. With the exception of Texas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval, there’s a stretch of short tracks that are a bit more appealing to the eye than the speedways.
Denny Hamlin won the first short track race at Martinsville and, after a brief trip to Texas, NASCAR heads to legendary Bristol.
Such platitudes have echoed in the NASCARverse asking, in essence, is it time to worry about Dale Earnhardt Jr. being winless in seven races? No, but the circuit officially has fewer than 20 races remaining in which to qualify for the Chase.
Only five drivers don’t feel that looming sense of urgency: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin. Everyone else needs to turn from donkey to thoroughbred.
Read on for some Bristol storylines.
To Block or Not to Block
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It was Hamlet who once said, “To block, or not to block, that is the question,” or something.
Blocking, in some racing circles, is taboo. You block, you get burned. This is just a manner of boxing out. If your car is that much faster, then get by the driver instead of giving him the full-on Harvick.
At TMS, Harvick bumper-carred Logano late in the race and took the No. 22 out of contention.
"He blocked and I knocked him out of the way," Harvick said in Pete Pistone’s MRN.com story. "I’m tired of him blocking."
The two drivers have grabbed a fistful of each other’s flame retardant onesies, but isn’t blocking just a strategic form of racing?
Pistone wrote on MRN.com:
"I’ve never understood the uproar over blocking and why some drivers get so upset. The idea of racing is to finish ahead of everyone on the track and keeping cars behind you is the only way to accomplish that goal.
Moving over in polite fashion because the car behind you is faster, rather than fighting for the spot in every possible manner, is contrary to the spirit of "racing."
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Heading to Bristol, don’t be surprised if Logano has something in store for Harvick. Come Richmond, don’t be surprised if Harvick has something else for Logano.
Boring Big Dogs?
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Harvick and Johnson account for four of the seven wins so far this season. With some of their strongest tracks still in play, there’s no reason to think the two won’t win another three races apiece.
Johnson owns Dover and Harvick still gets another crack at Phoenix (the penultimate race in the Chase). Who’s the best? It may be a matter of timing.
Harvick has had the most average speed and his only finish outside the top two in 2015 is at Martinsville, which we all know is a wild card of sorts. By the time the circuit heads to Martinsville again, it will be the first race of the Eliminator Round (the same round that ends with Phoenix).
Should Johnson and Harvick reach the Eliminator Round, they won’t have an issue. Texas falls in between Martinsville and Phoenix.
"It all started last October in Charlotte where Harvick won. Johnson then won at Texas last November. Kevin came right back and won at Homestead. Jimmie won at Atlanta Motor Speedway this year with Kevin winning then at Las Vegas. As we all know, this back and forth continued with Jimmie winning Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. The other ironic thing has also been that in all those races that Jimmie won, Kevin was right there in his rear-view mirror.
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Dominance can, on the one hand, bore most people. Then again, seeing two drivers in peak form make a mockery of those behind them is, in its own way, a form of entertainment.
When Will Dale Earnhardt Jr. Win?
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Junior earns the title of 2015's Best Driver Yet to Win a Race. It’s not the type of shingle a driver wants hanging outside of the garage, but at least it illustrates his week-to-week relevance.
Earnhardt said on his weekly podcast "The Dale Jr. Download" on Dirty Mo Radio (h/t FoxSports.com):
"I think our restarts have been better this year. The cars are just different for whatever reason, and I've aways told people this: Sometimes I'll have a race where we run really good and they'll come to me and say, 'Man, you were real aggressive this race. That's what we need every week.'
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In seven races, Junior has four top-fives for an average finish of 14th. Finishing 36th at the STP 500 and 43rd in the CampingWorld.com 500 marred an otherwise spectacular start to his season.
Earnhardt has one career win at Bristol, three at Richmond and five at Talladega. The odds of getting his first win—and a spot in the Chase—are awfully good over the next three stops.
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NASCAR's Biggest Suprise of 2015 Is...
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Who’s in third place through seven races this year? He’s ahead of Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards.
Martin Truex Jr.
He started the season making top 10s and it had the makings of an early-season, feel-good story. Truex is one of only three drivers with top-10 finishes in all seven races, alongside Harvick and Logano.
"After a disastrous 2014 campaign that saw him finish a career-worst 24th in points, Truex has been both fast and consistent, posting top-10 finishes in all seven races so far this year. That's two more top 10s than he had all of last year and it's moved him to third in points. New crew chief Cole Pearn has been a huge asset in Truex's resurgence.
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Truex isn’t going away and he may win one of these races. He has just two career wins, one at Dover and one at Sonoma, but hanging around the top 10 as he has means he’s one lucky break or a two-tire pit stop away stealing one of these races from the big dogs up top.
The Second Best Hendrick Motorsports Driver Could Be...
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With all the talk of Johnson’s recent dominance, Earnhardt sitting on a breakthrough and Gordon waving goodbye, Kasey Kahne cruises right along and sits in fifth in the Chase standings ahead of every one of his teammates in points.
Johnson’s two wins ensured him a spot in the Chase, so points no longer matter for him, but Kahne has been the most quietly consistent driver for Hendrick Motorsports.
"I thought we would excel right off the bat. I worked with (crew chief) Keith (Rodden) a lot over the offseason and we both were excited to get started. He’s done a great job with the team and working with the guys. They’re preparing really solid race cars so it’s been really enjoyable to drive. We just have to stay after it, keep communicating and doing the right things to win a race. I think we’re getting closer. We haven’t finished great in all the races, but we’ve run well in most of them, been consistent and got the best result we could in the ones that we weren’t as good in.
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Kahne has just two wins over the next three tracks, but the way he’s been driving, he may be the Ryan Newman of 2015: consistent and hard to pass.
Kahne just has to ensure 16 different drivers don’t win a race, unless he’s one of them.
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