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Well, there is at least one good thing about NASCAR racing at Kentucky this weekend and that would be Jimmie Johnson’s to return to competition. When it was discovered he had tested positive for the covid virus, many were wondering if he would or when he would be coming back to race and still have a shot making the playoffs. Personally, I think he would rather win a race or two before worrying about whether or not he’s going to make the playoffs. I think there are a lot of his fans that feel the same way. That being said, this fan is happy he tested negative to the virus so quickly two times in a row.24 hrs apart. I wonder what that says?
Taking a quick look at the starting lineup, Kyle Busch is starting on the pole. In some ways I can’t help but think that would be a relief to him. Lately, he’s been struggling to do much of anything positive even though the results that he has attained haven’t been that bad. There are two ways for looking at him starting on the pole and the front row. One is he could run away and dominate the race since he will be in clean air as long as he’s out front. Another is that he can’t blame it on having to start at the rear. No, I’m not saying that Kyle Busch makes excuses for any of his performances but, I am saying he has struggled recently and I’m sure he would like to have a really good performance, possibly even a win.
Another thing I see when I look at the starting lineup is how many Fords seem to be starting at, or near, the front. That could mean trouble for the seemingly struggling Chevys that, just a few weeks ago, looked so strong. From this fans view, The Ford driven by Kevin Harvick is hard not to rate for finishing near the front, possibly marking up another win. I’m not gonna give him the race yet, but his performance recently has been very impressive. Along with him are his other teammates on the Stewart-Haas race team. I’m not saying that they are dominating, I’m just saying that they look pretty strong and show up every week very competitive off the truck. To give credit where credit is due, I would say that the prep crew and the crew along with the crew chief are able to adapt very quickly to the tracks that they frequent recently. To me, that says a lot about how prepared they are and the possibility of Kevin Harvick, in particular, being the one to watch to win the championship this year.
Although Denny Hamlin is looking very strong this year, I’m not sure that he’s gonna be the one to take on Kevin Harvick. Of course it is possible that he could surprise me and take it all the way to the end and be in the final four and it be a race to the checkered flag for him and Kevin Harvick at the end of the year. That’s another scenario I’m not saying will happen, but I am saying it could happen.
If you would have asked this fan several weeks ago what his opinion of the Chevys was, he would have told you then it looked like they had turned things around and it was going to be a wild ride to the end of the season. Unfortunately, it appears the Chevys have stumbled and not just the Hendrick Chevys. All of the Chevys just don’t seem to be running all that well. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I think the Chevys will underperform this weekend. In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see one of the Hendrick Chevys win at Kentucky or possibly even a Chevy from the Richard Childress camp. Of the Hendrick Motorsports teams, any one of the four could take home the win. Chase Elliott has been the fastest on a regular basis but then again, William Byron and Alex Bowman have had their shining moments also. Maybe that will surprise some of you that I say that but, there has to come a point where the Chevys put it all together again.
Personally, I would really like to see and Jimmie Johnson win on his first trip back from a weekend off and take a trip to Victory Lane for the first time in a long time. Will it happen? Well, probably not… well that is unless his luck takes a turn around…
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© July 11, 2020 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated