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Well… As you can tell, I’m back for at least one more NASCAR Cup race and this one is at Indy. I’m not sure if it will be the same without the fans in the stands but I am sure it will be the same NASCAR that competed last weekend at Pocono. Well… there is one exception. Jimmie Johnson won’t be there for what was supposed to be his final Indy 400 at the famous track at Indianapolis. Covid and the NASCAR process for those that test positive for this disease has seen to that.
For the kind of year it has been for NASCAR and Jimmie Johnson, you can’t help but feel a little bit of his pain. This was supposed to be his year of farewell to the sport he has had such an impact on and it has been one setback after another. After all, Jimmie is a seven-time NASCAR Cup champion and definitely bound for the NASCAR Hall of Fame at some time in the future. As a fan of NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie Johnson, I would have really liked to have seen him win that eighth Cup Championship. Not because I didn’t or don’t like the other two that have seven but because I would just liked to have seen it. Of course, the season isn’t over yet and there is still a long-shot possibility he could pull it off but, I just don’t think it is in the cards for him.
It is unfortunate that he hasn’t had stellar years over the last few but he has still left a fine legacy in the sport. As many have stated over time, he is probably the one of the most underrated drivers in the sport. He has accomplished a lot in his time in NASCAR and his record tells part of the story. The rest is told by the way he has represented himself and the sport on and off the track.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is well known for more than just NASCAR. The Xfinity cars ran the road course on Saturday after the Indy cars that same day and I imagine that may open the door for the Cup cars to run that course someday in the future. I guess it would be similar to the Roval at Charlotte. Whatever the case, that’s not what will be happening Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon Will be a normal NASCAR race at the historic Speedway except there will be no fans no practice and no qualifying. That in itself could make it a very interesting afternoon or a very boring one.
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea have which drivers, teams and makes will win this one. I really think it will come down to strategy plays and track position. From this fans view, I am sure the Fords Will show the strength they have recently and of course, Joey Logano will be starting on the pole or, at least was supposed to when I started writing this, So I’m sure he will be a player unless something goes wrong. His teammate, Brad Keselowski, usually makes a good showing at Indy however I’m not gonna put all my stock in the Penske teams, including Ryan Blaney.
The Stewart Haas teams always seem to show up ready to race at Indy and they could be the contenders this weekend for taking the checkered flag. I’m not saying they’re the only ones that might win; I’m just saying they’re are the ones to watch, (well, at least as far as the Fords go.)
Just taking a quick look back at Pocono, Chevy fans may not have much too celebrate at the end of the day. They just didn’t run that well at Pocono. I think this will be a good test for the Hendrick Chevy’s. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron could finish at or very near the front; but not unless they and their teams figured out what they did wrong at Pocono. Yeah, I know the Chase Elliott finished very well last weekend but I have seen Him and his team struggle in the past and sometimes the struggle becomes quite hurtful in loss of points and positions. Fortunately, for him he already has a win and that kind of guarantees him being in the playoffs.
I’m really questioning what kind of racing we will see this weekend. Indy is a fantastic track but it wasn’t made for stock cars even though they do very well there. So I guess I’ll just have to wait and see the end result.
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© July 5, 2020 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated