From a NASCAR Fan’s View
Here’s some news I know you already know. Yeah, that’s right. The round of twelve comes to an end after this weekend’s race on the reconfigured Roval road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the pressure is on for those not yet qualified to move on. Some are in better shape as they enter into this weekend but some are needing either a win or a very good points day.
Here’s another fact I know you already know. The only one qualified to move on no matter what happens is William Byron in the number twenty-four from Hendrick Motor Sports. He is qualified by points and there is no way he can fail to move on.
If that sounds a little ominous, well… it is. There are eleven other drivers that want to qualify to move on to the next round and there are at least nine of those that have very little cushion and very little room for failure. I know how obvious that is to you fans out there but I have to admit, it is a little overwhelming especially to those drivers that need a win or a lot of points to move on.
Chase Briscoe is one that desperately needs to win or have the rest of the contenders have extremely bad days. In fact, his options are so limited that a win is the only way he can make it to the Round of Eight. You might say the pressure is on for him to have another unexpected win as he did earlier at Darlington and moved on to the round of sixteen. Can he do it? Well, he seems confident in his ability to do so and He just might. As for me… well… I’m not so sure.
Austin Cindric is just about in the same boat as he is only three points ahead of Briscoe. This could be one of the hardest fought battles on the track but unless they are both running for the win at the end, both can kiss their chances of moving on to the next round goodbye.
There are two that seem to have a speed advantage over the rest and that would be Tyler Reddick and Shane Van Gisbergen. Reddick needs a good points day or a win. He presently sits in the seventh spot in the playoff standings but he cannot afford another bad performance if he expects to move on to the next round. Showing a lot of speed in practice and qualifying second doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good finish at the end of the day. As for SVG showing good speed, his usual great road racing skills and taking the pole, well, he can win but he isn’t in the playoffs.
Another spoiler is AJ Allmendinger. He is also a great road racer, last year’s winner at the Roval and showed he could be a contender for the win at the end of the day today. Like SVG, he isn’t in the playoffs but, for every one of the possible spoilers like AJ, SVG and several others, their performance takes opportunities away from those trying to qualify to move on to the Round of Eight with a win.
Taking a good look at the way the points add up for the competitors, I see at least seven of the ones not already mentioned that cannot afford to have a bad day and two that hope they don’t have a bad day. Those two would be Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson. Both have had their challenges this season and in the playoffs and both are on many people’s list for making it all the way to the final four. Of course, the reality is they have to make it to the Round of Eight first. As for the others in the playoffs, well you can bet they will be pressing hard to either have a great points day or win.
This being an elimination race for the playoffs makes it even more pressure packed than it would be at another time and, with the reconfiguration, it makes the results at the end of the day even less predictable from this fan’s view. Of course, with the way things have been going this season, predictability hasn’t been a strong point. Expecting the unexpected would better describe things as I see them…
Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© October 13, 2024 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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