Nascar Fan's View

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s more than just another Saturday Night under the lights. It’s more than just a catch phrase of, “It’s Bristol, baby.” It’s even more than just another elimination race. This one is important in so many ways it’s even hard to put into words – although many have tried and will try. This one is a testy, five hundred laps at one of the toughest tracks on the NASCAR circuit and anything can happen in the playoff part of the whole thing. When it is over, it will have four less drivers moving on to the round of twelve in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the Championship.

There’s a lot riding on this race. Well, that is, for one driver in particular. His name is Kevin Harvick and, so far, this first round of the 2022 playoffs hasn’t been kind to him. In fact, if it could go wrong, it has for him and it has put him in a must win situation for this Bristol night race. I agree with his statement saying when asked what he thought his chances for winning at Bristol this weekend. He said, “Better than most…” That is more true than even the fact his car caught on fire at Darlington or that he finished dead last, last weekend at Kansas. He is one of the drivers that knows what it takes to run well at Bristol and he usually has run strong there. If he wants to move on in the playoffs, he has to win Saturday night.

Harvick isn’t the only one in a tight situation if moving on is in the cards for several others. The obvious ones are already below the cut line but, if the last two races have made anything at all clear, no one is really safe other than Christopher Bell IF they have a bad night at Bristol. Now I’m not saying every one of the remaining fifteen drivers are in trouble but, it is pretty obvious to this fan, a really bad night could spell trouble for just about any of them.

Kyle Bush seems to be the name heard most when it comes to which driver might win Saturday night. A lot of people seem to think because of his many previous wins and the fact that he has now a place to settle in for next season at Richard Childress Racing, he is the obvious choice to end up in Victory Lane. Personally, I’m not so sure about that. He might win and it would definitely move him on to the Round of Twelve but, I’m just not as firmly convinced as some are. After what happened to Tyler Reddick last weekend, something like that could happen to any of the drivers and the only one of them it wouldn’t really affect is, once again, Christopher Bell. In my opinion, even someone with the number of wins in all of NASCAR like Kyle Bush, anything can happen and keep both him and Kevin Harvick from moving on.

Looking back at the last two weeks, it is obvious that many of the playoff drivers are struggling, at least a bit. The first week, at Darlington, the top drivers coming into the playoffs found themselves moved down the list and kind of appearing dumfounded. I’m not saying they were but the circumstances of that first race in the playoffs was, in my opinion, a definite wake up call for all of them. It showed just how little could be assumed in this 2022 NASCAR Cup season.

I mean, look at Chase Elliott. He was in the same place that Christopher Bell is right now just two race into round one and can’t afford another race like Darlington, at least not this weekend. Whose to say the same thing can’t happen to Bell at Bristol?

Look, I know this has been a very unpredictable season, especially with the introduction of the Next Gen car, the lack of practice time and all of the unforeseen things that have happened with the new car. There have been tire problems that have surfaced several weekends and even as recently as last weekend that took out the dominate car of Tyler Reddick. I don’t blame everything on the Next Gen car but it has been a challenge for the drivers and teams no matter which of them we mention.

Yes, it’s true, the Chevys have consistently been running strong almost every week but, they have also had their problems. It seems that a few weeks the Chevys have the upper hand and then next the Toyotas for a week or two and then the Fords. Personally, it has been frustrating for me and, if it has been that way for me, I can only imagine how it has been for the engineers, crew chiefs and drivers throughout the season. Even now there are unanswered questions about the engines, the tires and the cars in general.

Bristol is said to be short track racing at it’s best and I don’t necessarily disagree with that. It is a tough track and 500 laps around it can be emotionally and physically draining. Because this is an elimination race, I expect the emotions to be high and the tempers to be short. With what we have all witnessed this season, there is no doubt in this fan’s mind that this is going to be a wild night and there is definitely going to be some bumping and rubbing, pushing and shoving. But then, according to many, that’s just Saturday night short track racing. In other words, “It’s Bristol, Baby!!!”

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© September 17, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

To this fan, this has been a different year all round and it has been a difficult one to figure out. Well, at least in my opinion. I do believe the Next Gen car ahs a lot to do with that but I can’t blame everything I see on the car itself. I know everyone started out at the same place and it appeared some seemed to get up to speed faster than others but, now that we’re in the playoffs, things seemed to have changed again. What I mean by that is, those that seemed to be struggling to get up to speed are now much faster and those that seemed like they had the others covered are struggling to get that little extra bit of speed they need to run up front.

Now that I’ve said that there is no doubt the pressure is ramping up on the sixteen playoff drivers to make up for what they lost last weekend at Darlington. So, Kansas is a make-or-break weekend for at least nine drivers and teams that had bad finishes last weekend.

According to the practice and qualifying, one of those that appears to still be struggling is Chase Elliott. He entered the first race at Darlington with a commanding lead over the field and left Darlington licking his wounds and having to make up a lot ground at Kansas. Another race like the one at Darlington and one has to wonder whether he will even be around for round two let alone the final four.

He wasn’t the only one struggling last weekend. A total of nine of the playoff contenders had problems of some sort. Chase wasn’t the worst of all of them but he did drop from first to ninth just fourteen points above the cut line for making it to the next round. Kevin Harvick’s fire cost him greatly and kind of quenched his momentum from his two wins late in the season. Kyle Larson made up three laps to move into the top ten last week but lost a bunch of spots when they had to pit a second time for a possible loose wheel. Kyle Bush looked to have the race won until his engine blew before the last restart. That’s just a few of the ones that struggled to make points last week.

At one time this season, the Chevys looked to be the ones to beat moving towards the playoffs. Now, the Toyotas and the Ford of Joey Logano are definitely looking like the ones everyone will be chasing, at least for now. I guess that is a fairly bold statement seeing as how we’re only coming to the second race of round one and maybe I am jumping the gun a little bit. After all, Kansas can be tricky and qualifying may not have anything at all to do with the final results of the Hollywood Casino 400.

All of the sudden, the Fords and Toyotas seem to have the upper hand as far as improving their performance compared to the Chevys here at the end of the season and entering into the playoffs. The Chevys are still showing speed but their gains seem to be less than the Toyotas and Fords and everything seems to have tightened up competition-wise.

Does that mean I’m counting the Chevys out? Not at all. I mean just look which driver took the pole. That’s right, Tyler Reddick in a Chevy. Of course, right next to him on the front row is Joey Logano in a Ford. Right after them are Alex Bowman in a Chevy and Christopher Bell in a Toyota.

Admittedly there are three of the Hendrick Teams starting in the top ten but the one missing is the 2022 season champ, Chase Elliott. I’m not counting him out at this point but he is starting in the twenty-second position Sunday afternoon and has a lot of ground to make up IF he wants to move up in the points or even win. At this point, and from my view, it just looks like the number 9 team is struggling a bit. It could be that everything could turn around for Elliott and all the Hendrick teams this weekend but that doesn’t mean it will and it could make next week’s race all the more of a “must win” situation.

So, from this fan’s view, it could be day Tyler Reddick dominates the field since he is starting on the pole and has the number one pit stall. He has been running very consistently at the end of races even when they may have struggled during a race. It could also be a race that those that struggled last weekend have great trouble-free days and the others struggle from lap one to the final lap. I’m not saying it will go that way… I’m just saying it could. There’s just no way of knowing since no one expected what happened last weekend and the way the standings were shaken up.

In the end, there very well could be another non-playoff driver that wins this one and it could mean just another shakeup in the points no matter how they lineup from the qualifying sessions. I’m not really expecting a really unexpected finish or winner but, it could happen and, considering just how the 2022 season has gone, that wouldn’t be unexpected…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© September 10, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

As the playoffs kick off at Darlington, there has never been a season, at least in my memory, quite like this NASCAR season of 2022. What with the Next Gen car, all of the unknowns and the unexpected happenings with tires, pit stops and wrecks of all kinds, it’s just hard to determine which of the drivers and teams may have the upper hand as they start the round of sixteen. I think there are a couple of drivers that are confident of their chances here at the start but there is a lot of skepticism for most of them. It’s like their wanting to get this first race under their belts before they want to commit to any hard facts about their chances.

I think there is another reason it gets complicated. That is because, even though there are sixteen drivers competing for the Championship and able to win this first race, all of the drivers in the field are there to win every weekend whether they are in the playoffs or not. With the state of the competition with the Next Gen cars, there are a lot of possible winners almost every week. From my view, that makes everything a bit more complicated, don’t you think?

I mean just look at the ones that didn’t quite make the cut. There’s Martin Truex Jr. that missed the cut by just three points. Since he almost made it in by points and no wins, it is possible he could go on a tear and win several races during the playoffs. Should that happen, it could make the first round even more interesting than it might be anyway.

Hey, Truex Jr. is only one of the possible non-playoff winners. There are a bunch of drivers with cars that are competitive enough to win one or more of the playoff races. Shucks, there’s Chris Buescher, Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse, Cole Custer and Brad Keselowski. Need I go on? Okay, I will name at least one more. It is even possible that Ty Gibbs could take a win. It is just so difficult to pick one out of all the possible winners.

Even though I hardly ever put a lot of stock in qualifying, it is awfully hard to overlook the speed of Joey Logano this weekend. He had the fastest time in qualifying and did win the pole. He also made a clean sweep of the poles for this year at Darlington since he also won the pole in the spring. As long as he is out front, he may be hard to beat this weekend and he could very well dominate the race.

Since this is the playoffs and a lot of strategy goes into the mix, it is also possible that he may not be around at the end to take the checkered flag. I’m not saying he will have mechanical problems or anything like that; I’m just saying, much like most of the other races this season, “it ain’t over till it’s over” and he may not be leading when it comes down to the final checkered flag. Sometimes it has more to do with luck and timing than having the fastest car.

It does appear the Fords have shown up with some speed this weekend. There are four of them starting in the top ten and others that are likely not going to be happy just running in the middle of the pack. I can think of three right off and that would be Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe. Any of these three could make their way to the front and win the Cook Out Southern 500.

Two of the Hendrick cars qualified in the top ten and that is William Byron and Kyle Larson. The surprise from the Hendrick camp was Chase Elliott. He qualified twenty-third and didn’t even brush the wall like his teammate Alex Bowman and Alex qualified sixteenth. Now I’m not going to make any negative statements about how that looks for the NASCAR regular Cup season champ. I am almost willing to bet that he and crew chief Alan Gustafson can and will make the necessary adjustments to put them in contention to be at or near the front at the end.

Christopher Bell and Kyle Bush both qualified in the top five and either of them could have an impact at the end of the night. The same goes for Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon even though Dillon did qualify in thirteenth. Another possible winner (without naming everybody, of course) is Austin Cindric.

Like I said, there are a lot of drivers that could win this one and some are in the playoffs and some are not. There are a lot of fast cars and there is always the possibility of something going wrong or a driver or crew making an error on pit road. After all, this is a 500 mile race and just about anything that can go wrong, could and likely will…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© September 3, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

All eyes are on the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona and it is expected to be a real barn burner. With the announcement of Kurt Bush withdrawing from the playoff picture opening up another available spot in the final sixteen, the intensity has quadrupled. Fourteen of the spots are already set for the playoffs but now there are two spots available to fill out the final two places for the top sixteen. Kurt’s decision has made an already intense situation even more dramatic for this, the regular season finale leading into the playoffs.

Even though there are fourteen drivers and teams that don’t need to worry about winning this one or even really finishing, it is awfully hard for someone to just sandbag and move on to the playoffs. I just don’t recognize any of the top fourteen that aren’t competitive enough to not go for the win at Daytona. I just don’t think it’s in their blood to be content to just go out and run around. In fact, I’ll just say, if anything, this could make them even more willing to take chances and press the envelope since they’re already in. At Daytona, one of the most prestigious tracks to win at in NASCAR, a win there is something that everyone of them wants to have.

I have the utmost respect for the decision Kurt Bush made about his recovery and unknown time of being able to return to driving his racecar. Actually, it was something I didn’t quite expect to happen. Kurt has been in NASCAR for a long time and, it goes without saying, to do what he has done week in and week out for the number of years he has been doing it had to have been a very hard decision to make. I think he made the right decision and I’m sure it was his own decision and not some pressure from NASCAR. I may not have agreed with everything he has ever said or done in the series but, I do have the highest regard and respect for him and his abilities and also this decision to not continue with his health waiver.

The real race is between Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. At the time if this writing, Blaney has a twenty-five-point lead over Truex Jr. That means, unless Blaney has big time problems, he just needs to stay ahead of Truex Jr. and he will be in the playoffs. If Truex wins or outpoints Blaney by more than twenty-five he could be in. The real problem is that there are a bunch of drivers that could knock one of the two drivers out of the playoffs just by winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400. That can’t do anything but add pressure to Blaney and Truex Jr. and add to all they have to think about during tis one.

It is unfortunate that qualifying was rained out and there was absolutely no time on the track for any of the drivers and teams. That could either make for a very interesting start or a big swap of positions after the first few laps. This is another one of those races that this fan doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in where everyone starts. That’s mostly because this is the type of race that just about everyone has a chance of winning. In other words, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish and this one usually isn’t over until the final checkered flag waives.
I’m not sure whether or not starting up front on the front row like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will be an advantage or not. I’ll be interested to see which of the drivers intentionally drop back in the field just to hopefully stay the slightest bit safer from possible carnage. It remains to be seen if dropping back turns out to be plus or a minus, if for not other reason, out front is usually a bit of a safer place of staying out of other peoples’ problems. That is unless something happens like a flat tire or a spin because of the unruly characteristics of the Next Gen car.

You see, I think there is going to be added intensity for the whole race simply because everyone wants to acquire as many points as possible and then there is that unquenchable desire to win at Daytona. Whether it will be a Ford, a Chevy or a Toyota that ends up in Victory Lane won’t make a whole lot of difference other than the obvious possibilities of “winning and you’re in” scenario of making the top sixteen if you’re not already qualified. This one thing I know for sure. At the end of this race, it won’t matter where Chase Elliott finishes because he has already locked himself in as the Regular Cup Season Champ. As for the rest, well, we’ll pick that up again when the playoffs start and the eliminations begin…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© August 27, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Say… has it registered with you yet that there are only two more races before the playoffs start? Yeah, that’s right. This season is coming down to the final weeks and it just isn’t clear which of the drivers and teams might have the best chance at walking away with the 2022 Season Championship. I’m serious, after these next two races, the playoffs begin and the next ten races will happen at a speed faster than the lap times at The Glen this year.

There is still one spot left to qualify for to fill the top sixteen and two weeks left to make it. That means a lot to Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney even though it appears Blaney has the upper hand at the moment. Neither of them has a win yet this season and either one of them, or both, could end up with a win either of these next two weeks. (And wouldn’t that make things interesting, depending on which of them wins first and which of them has the most points.)

All of what I just said may not mean a thing if someone else wins for the first time and qualifies to make the playoffs because of that. There is a lot riding on this race at the Glen and the one next weekend at Daytona. We all know that the time is short to qualify and, depending on what happens, the sixteenth spot for the playoffs may not be actually settled until the race is over at Daytona. That’s another thing that could make for a very interesting situation. This has been the kind of season that has been full of unknowns and it could still end up that way, depending on how things go for the next two races and then the playoffs.

I hate to bring this up but, the Toyotas seem to be struggling this weekend. Not to say that they haven’t struggled at road courses for most of the season but one of them needs to win or do extremely well. Of course, that would be Martin Truex Jr. that really needs a good finish tomorrow. Ryan Blaney would much rather things go as they did last weekend and he, at a very minimum, gains more points on Truex Jr. I’m sure it wouldn’t bother him at all if he wins the race and makes it extremely hard for anyone else to gain a spot in the playoffs.

Of course you know what I think about qualifying and how races generally go but, this weekend might be different. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the top qualifiers will run up front all day and there is no way of knowing for sure the Next Gen won’t show up with challenges for strong performing cars. It’s not that we haven’t seen someone lead a bunch of laps and end up either not finishing or having a problem that puts them out of contention. Unfortunately, with this car, there just is no way of knowing whether it can take the grind of the extremely fast road course at the Glen. I’m not thinking there will be any major problems but, judging from past experience with this car, nothing is beyond belief as far as performance goes.

Along with the unknowns of the Next Gen is the matter of strategy. This is likely going to be a race decided by strategy and a lack of errors on pit road by the crews or the drivers. Of all the things that can’t be foreseen, errors on pit road are generally the most damaging to someone’s finish and it can either be a driver error or a crew error.

It is a fact there are nine Chevys starting in the top fifteen. On top of that, four of them are in the top six and three of those are Hendrick Motorsports cars. To top it all off, three of the top four are Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron. Chase has won twice at the Glen and Kyle won last year’s race. William is looking for his first win at the Glen but he has looked very strong this weekend, not only in Cup practice and qualifying but also in the Xfinity series, until he and Ty Gibbs got together… then it was a race between Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger and Kyle pulled off the victory. That may or may not bode well for the competition and, who knows, there could be four Hendrick Cars in the top four at the end of the day.

It is possible Chase Elliott could dominate the day but… I think it’s going to be battle right down to the wire AND it may be a Ford or a Toyota leading the way to the checkered flag. In fact, it could be Ryan’s Blaney’s Ford or Martin Truex Jr’s Toyota. I don’t know about you but, it could be a completely unexpected winner like, say, Michael McDowell…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© August 20, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

With three races left in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season, the race this week looms large in the whole playoff picture. It depends on whether or not there will be three different first-time winners for 2022 and shake up the whole thing, or, whether there will be at least one or two to really make things interesting. Naturally, depending on what happens this weekend, the next two weekends become even more important for those drivers not yet qualified for the playoffs.

Right at the outset, I can think of two drivers that are very interested in which of the other drivers win this week at Richmond, next week at Watkins Glen and at Daytona to end the regular season. The interesting thing about their situations is that they both could qualify for the playoffs by points IF there hadn’t been so many winners this season.

Just in case you don’t know which of the two drivers I’m talking about, I would think it would be very obvious. Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking about Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. Both of them were in by points last weekend until Kevin Harvick won last weeks race at Michigan. All of the sudden, one of them was in and the other one was on the outside looking in. That’s just how fast it can happen again this weekend. It all depends on who wins the race and whether or not it is either Ryan Blaney or Martin Truex Jr. After all, It could be either one of them since they both run good at this track.

I guess the problem is that there are a number of other drivers that would like to win this weekend and it could be anyone, or at least just about anyone. I say that because we’re talking about NASCAR Cup racing with the Next Gen car. Although it hasn’t shown itself to live up to all the hype as the great equalizer in Cup racing, it has just about done so in recent weeks. With the unknowns about tire wear, flat tires, loss of control for several on a regular basis and just about any other known equalizers you can name, just about anyone can win.

I have to agree with some of the talk going around this week that the Toyotas have finally found a speed advantage they didn’t have earlier in the season. Well, at least it looks that way so far over the last couple of weeks in particular. Shucks, even the Fords have actually sprung to life in recent weeks as shown by Kevin Harvick’s win last weekend.

I have to admit, I was at least a little surprised by his victory last weekend, if for no other reason than he just hasn’t been there at the end of a race. Oh sure, he may have been in position to win but he wasn’t actually pressing for the win at the end of a race. I’m sure there will be those that disagree with me on that but, that is the way I’ve seen it from my view.

Getting back to the Toyotas for a moment, one of the JGR drivers that has been struggling would be Denny Hamlin. Oh I know he finished in third at Michigan but, he has struggled on pit road quite often this year. Another would be Kyle Bush. He just seems to be in the wrong place at the right time to get into either his or someone’s mix up which either puts him behind or completely out for the day because of damage. It is so unlike both of them to “appear to be” struggling so often like they have been recently.

Just one more quick look back to Michigan from last week shows there were three Fords and four Toyotas in the top ten but only three Chevys. I don’t know what is going on with the Chevys but they had better pick up their game a bit or they just might not make past the first round of the playoffs.

Take Kyle Larson and William Byron for example. Both of them have had their problems over the last several weeks and, considering how they were running earlier in the season, they just haven’t been showing up with the usual Hendrick strength. Oh, they’ve had their moments but, they just haven’t been able to maintain consistency through to the end of a race lately.

The only one that has shown any real consistency from the Hendrick camp would be Chase Elliott but he hasn’t always been a contender week in and week out even though he has had several races finishing second or first. I understand he is the points leader but, from my view, he is either running close to the front or he just doesn’t have the finish at the end that he needs.

So, the race this weekend at Richmond is very important for some and, for others, well… let’s just say they want the regular season to be over so they can get after racing to make it through the playoffs to the final four for the Championship…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© August 13, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

So… this is the first time for the Next Gen car on the Michigan track and it looks like the Toyotas have shown up, ready to race. Since I wasn’t available for the qualifying sessions – for reasons beyond my control – I’ll just have to go with what I am told. There are six Toyotas in the top eleven and three of those take up the top three starting positions. The surprise to me of those top three is Bubba Wallace. I really just didn’t expect him to be on the pole for one thing and, for another, I really didn’t expect the Toyotas to all be in the top twelve.

The Fords look about the way they have lately. Of course, I can’t discount the fact that Logano and Cindric qualified in the top five and the first Chevys to show up are Tyler Reddick in sixth and Kyle Larson in eighth.

Two of the Ford drivers that need good finishes on Sunday afternoon would be Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney. Unfortunately, Harvick qualified sixteenth and Blaney twenty-fourth. If qualifying says anything about how their day might go, I would say they’ve both got their work cut out themselves. Martin Truex Jr, on the other hand, qualified seventh and was one of those faster Toyotas and, like Harvick and Blaney, really needs a win to pretty much assure himself to make the playoffs.

That’s what makes these next races so important and interesting. Even if one of them wins, there are still three races left for others to win and then, if I can add a little drama, that really makes it interesting for all of them.

Do I think we’re going to have three or four more, first time, winners this season over the next three or four weeks, this one included? To tell the truth, I do think it’s possible but probably not too likely. The problem is, there just aren’t that many drivers that have been running that strong compared to those that have been running at or near the front on a fairly regular basis.

Sure, I know on any given weekend, almost anyone has a chance to win and really mess up the playoff picture. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t stay the way it is right now with a couple of drivers that could actually point their way in or that one more first-time winner couldn’t do the same thing. When it comes to this season, just about anything can happen. That has been proven a couple of times so far. Not even the winner of a race can rest assured of their win until they pass post-race inspection.

I don’t know how you see it but, from my view it does appear the Hendrick teams are struggling a bit. Just look at what has happened to Kyle Larson over the last several weeks. That collision last weekend at Indy with Ty Dillon is just one example. The impact alone was scary and could have turned out much worse. As it was, it was still bad.

William Byron is another one that seems to be experiencing the Hendrick run of bad luck lately. Once again, from my view, when it comes down to whether or not it can happen to him, I’ll just say, if it can go wrong, it will and probably has for them lately. The same can be said for Alex Bowman, too. Even if he shows up with a fast car, (which he hasn’t recently,) something usually happens to either take him out of competition for that weekend or put him several laps behind.

And then that brings me to Chase Elliott. He is the one that can seem to do no wrong, at least on his own. First, he has a win handed to him when the first two cars that finished ahead of him are disqualified from either of them winning. Last weekend, he had a real opportunity to win clean over Tyler Reddick and then there was the ominous turn one at Indy in overtime. You saw how they all piled into one another, his teammate William Byron and Ryan Blaney got together (along with many others) and Chase didn’t even finish all that close to the front. Which was just a perfect end to a not-so-perfect day for the Hendrick camp.

So… when I think of how the race this weekend might go, I’m definitely expecting the unexpected. Whether or not that means a first-time winner or a surprise finish with a not so expected winner, I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that this could be an interesting day and the race won’t be over until it’s over…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© August 6, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Once again, it’s time for the Cup teams to take on the Indy road course. I don’t know about you but, I kinda miss the old race on the oval. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the road course race. I’m just saying I kinda miss the old Brickyard original. There was a lot of history to the oval part of Indy and I liked watching the cars compete on the oval where do many others had raced. You know, big name drivers and not just those in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Anyway, it does appear those days are gone for now and we have all settled in to the road course races. That doesn’t bother me so much either because I like them also. It is interesting how the Next Gen car seems to work best on the road courses and, along with other changes that NASCAR has made in these more recent times, the parity of the field and the drivers has changed the competition.

Although I never got to do any road course racing in my time racing, I do think I could have done well at it if for no other reason than I just liked driving racecars and the faster the better and the more challenging the more I liked it. Of course, that’s easy for me to say now. Heck, I used to stress over trying to be faster than the rest of the drivers in my class, and now, I don’t have any stress at all. (Well, that is now that I don’t own or drive a car anymore. Not that I wouldn’t like to, though.)

Judging from the practice and qualifying, it looks like the Fords might have a chance at winning. There were several of them running really fast laps and, admittedly, I was surprised. I expected the Chevys to sort of be the more prevalent ones at the top of the charts. However, that wasn’t the case.

Well… except for one Chevy that is. That would be the Chevy of Tyler Reddick. He was the fastest of all the qualifiers on Saturday morning. In fact he wasn’t just the fastest qualifier, he was the fastest by a long shot.

We all know that qualifying doesn’t always tell the real story of how the race will go but, if he has the advantage over the field during the race that he had during qualifying, he could be the dominating runaway winner of this one. We all know he is a good road course racer and seems to be clicking on all cylinders right now but will he manage to maintain an obvious advantage throughout the race on Sunday afternoon?

As a fan, I have been surprised at the performance of Kyle Larson this season. As of late, he has been struggling. Even when it looks like he may be in the hunt for the win, it seems something happens to put a damper on his performance. Some of it is his fault and some of it is his crew’s fault but they just haven’t been at the top of their game in recent weeks. It is my opinion, he is struggling somewhat with the Next Gen the way those that spent a several years in the old car have. That may not be a fair assessment of what’s going on but, it is a possibility. I know he is very talented and can drive just about anything well but it is definite, at least from my view, he just isn’t on top of his game like last season.

Chase Elliott, on the other hand, is just consistently showing himself to be a contender in the playoffs and, even though he was handed a gift last weekend when both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Bush were disqualified after finishing first and second. That gives him four wins this season and he has also finished in the top two several weeks in a row.

It has been an interesting year so far and it is winding down to the final weeks before the playoffs. I’m not sure that we have seen all of the winners yet and I’m not sure that all of the “win and you’re in” drivers will make it to the playoffs. If there are three more winners that haven’t won yet this season and they are all high enough in the points to qualify for the playoffs, it could be another first for this playoff format. But then again, it is 2022 and it has definitely been a year of firsts in NASCAR…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© July 30, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Once again, it’s time for the Cup Teams to take on the Tricky Triangle at Pocono. Though it is a different style track, it is still a track that challenges even the most experienced drivers in Cup. One reason for the challenge is the shape of the track and the reason it is called “the Tricky Triangle,” is because of its shape. I don’t have to tell you this because I’m sure you all know but, it is pretty much the shape of a triangle with rounded corners. I do have to sort of agree with Brad Keselowski though. It should have more turns than just three.

I’m sure you’re well acquainted with the track at Pocono. If you’ve been around NASCAR for any time at all, you know all the reasoning behind its nickname and the way they number the turns. They only count the three corners as one turn each. However, I have always wondered why they do it the way they do. At just about any other track in NASCAR, they count each corner as a turn. That’s why, even on an oval, they have turns one and two and then three and four. That’s why I’ve always thought they should count each turn the same way they do elsewhere and, at least from my view, there should end up being six turns. Of course, I realize why Brad says there are only five and I don’t totally disagree with his view but, we do see it a little differently.

Since I do disagree, let me explain my view of his count and mine.

From his view, he counts turn three as a single turn probably because it is such a small radius (and believe me, I don’t claim to read his mind.) I can understand that but, all things considered and compared to most every other track, there is usually an entry and an exit to a turn. That is why I count the way I do. Turn three is the entry and what I count as turn four, is the exit. I’m not the only one that thinks this way because I’ve heard other drivers talk differently about the turns than the accepted count of three. They also count six turns and that’s the way they talk about them to their crew chiefs and spotters. (I know this goes against the marketing strategy for the Tricky Triangle but it is a valid point. Of course, I really don’t think it matters much at all to anyone but I did want to express my opinion of the turn count anyway.

So, the big talking points these days appear to center around how many winners there will be before the cutoff after Daytona. Since there are already fourteen different winners in the books, it could be that even those that have already won a race may not make it to the playoffs. It all depends on how many wins and points they have. If they won early in the season but haven’t performed all that well since their win, they could be on shaky ground. If there are two more winners in these next six races, there will be no drivers that point their way in. If there are more than two more different winners by playoff time, then points figure back into the mix again. From the look of things, there are definitely a couple of drivers and teams on very shaky ground and they my not make the playoffs.

Of all the possibilities, I can’t help but wonder what the rest of this season will be like especially with all the drama that can still take place. Sure, there are some that are comfortable with where they are and they really don’t have to worry about whether or not they will make the playoffs. What they do have to be concerned about is whether or not they have all their ducks in a row to advance as far as the final four and run for the actual championship. To have one or more wins and stage points to draw on for the playoffs and still get booted out in the first round and never even come close to running for the championship is a hard pill to swallow.

You may or may not be wondering why I’ve spent so much time talking about the track and other items instead of talking about the drivers and the possibilities for them this weekend. To be honest, there just isn’t a whole lot to say that’s new and important this weekend. What is important is race day and how things pan out during the race. Over the last several weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the Chevys, the Fords and the Toyotas. Of all the things happening in NASCAR this weekend, there just aren’t that many things as important as what happens as the race progresses. The questions raised are about whether or not there will be problems with the tires or the brakes which are things talked about every week. Another big conversation point is whether or not Kyle Bush will be back with JGR next season and that question is still unanswered.

I think this weekend it is more important to just watch the race and see how it turns out and whether or not the playoff picture changes a little or a lot…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© July 23, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Well, it’s that time again. Another weekend on a track with the Next Gen for the first time and it could be a race with a twist. What I mean by that is, there could be a very unexpected winner or at least one that hasn’t won in a while. From the practice and the qualifying, it did look like the Toyotas have come with speed and the Chevys, in particular the Hendrick Chevys again, are showing speed off the trucks also.

Everyone knows the track at Loudon is a track that will test the drivers throughout the afternoon and that part hasn’t changed all that much. What will really make it different will be the Next Gen car and what it brings to the racing since it has been introduced at the beginning of this season. You know what I mean don’t you? The way it has to be driven to make good pace on the track. Pace good enough to pass the competition and a car that is able to run just about any line to keep pace and pass without too many laps being wasted to advance.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well… so far it doesn’t look that easy from my observations. I saw struggles by drivers exiting turn two and entering into turn three. If you listened to the talk from the drivers and the talking heads, you heard the bumps going into turn three were making it difficult because they are in a braking zone and it was upsetting the entry enough to throw the drivers off as they entered it. Of course, qualifying is much different than the actual racing. In qualifying they can use the whole track. When it comes to the actual race, especially on starts and re-starts, there is limited space to maneuver around the turns. That means there could be trouble in several ways for the field as they try to advance their positions at the most opportune time.

At first glance looking at the lineup, it looks like it is going to be a race between the Toyotas and the Chevys. From my view, it looked like the Fords are struggling a bit for speed but, I caution that looks can be a bit deceiving. It could be that come time for the race Sunday afternoon, the Fords could end up being the strong ones and the other two makes could drop like rocks to the back.

Sure, I know that could be a totally false assumption and the Toyotas and Chevys could run away with the stages and one of them could end up in Victory Lane. To be totally honest, in my opinion, this race could go to just about any one of the expected contenders. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, it could go to an unexpected driver and team and totally mess up the playoff picture. After all, time is winding down for drivers and teams to make the playoffs and the picture isn’t totally clear yet.

It is clear that there have been thirteen winners so far this season. That only leaves three spots left to fill “IF” they are all filled by winners. There is still the possibility that one or two might point their way in but, in all honesty, it is possible that there could be more than sixteen winners and then the playoff picture would be delegated to the ones with the most wins and points to separate the ones in and the ones out.

There are those that need a win to make the playoffs. Some of the more obvious ones would be Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Eric Jones and Austin Dillon. To add to the drama for this weekend, anyone of these drivers can win this one. They all need a win, they all would like to take a win and they would all like to win. The question is, which one will pull off the victory and change the course of their playoff hopes.

There is a problem with the above-mentioned drivers, though. There are others that are performing better than they are this weekend. It is possible one of the expected ones like, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Bush and others starting in the top ten could end up in Victory Lane. Since several of them have at least one win, it is also possible any one of them could add to their win totals. Wouldn’t that add at least one new wrinkle to an already interesting season… ?

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© July 16, 2022 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions
All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated