AJ Allmendinger is on a quest to prove he belongs in NASCAR, and he keeps showing his grit week in and week out. While he may not be an ace on the ovals yet, he is definitely an ace on the road courses. He proved that again with a tough-it-out win on the Charlotte Roval.
Ryan Blaney came into the Talladega race needing to win one of the next two races and he did just that. He did it by staying in the Top 10 most of the race, avoiding a couple of wrecks and battling Kevin Harvick right to the very end.
Hello race fans. Since we last met, Denny Hamlin won at Bristol to a chorus of boos usually saved for Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick was eliminated from the playoffs, Sherry Pollex passed away after a brave battle with cancer, and now Byron Williams wins at Texas to secure his position in the Round of 8.
Last week Denny Hamlin led a lot of laps and left without a win. This week the same thing occurred, but at the end saw him win as an owner with Tyler Reddick leading just two laps, but the most important two laps.
It looked like this was a race that had Denny Hamlin written all over it. He signed a nice extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, he started on the front row, won both Stages and he led 177 laps. I mean, you could just write this one early and go to bed, right?
Nope.
It was a must win for many drivers Saturday night at Daytona as the hunt to make the NASCAR Cup playoffs entered its final race. A lot of potential scenarios were in play for a number of drivers. But in the end, a driver already in the playoffs won and ended the playoff hopes for the rest.
William Byron didn’t lead all the laps at Watkins Glen but he sure led the most. In a simply dominating fashion, Byron schooled the field with this performance.
Michael McDowell led a race high 54 laps on his way to his second Cup win, but a win that puts a lot of pressure on several bubble drivers. While securing his place in the playoffs, he leaves Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman wondering what’s next with just two races to go in the regular season.
After a day-long rain delay, the race finished in a great battle between the two fastest cars on the track, as it should be. Chris Buescher backed up last week’s win at Richmond with a stout performance holding off Martin Truex, Jr. who arguably had the fastest car all day. But as we all know, the fastest car doesn’t always win.
On a day that saw RFK teammates leading a combined 190 laps, Chris Buescher kept the field at bay as he won at Richmond and solidified his playoff hopes. Teammate and owner Brad Keselowski showed what strength the team had by leading a race high 102 laps and winning Stage 2.
