THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. Last chance
Trevor Bayne will get one more chance to put Roush Fenway Racing in a quandary this Sunday at Dover. If he wins the race, he would be eligible for the playoffs. He was hoping to nab the win at Talladega, but was crashed out on Lap 71. Matt Kenseth will wheel the No. 6 Ford at Kansas in two weeks. “It stinks,” Bayne said. “It is frustrating because Talladega is one of the ones you know you can win at and we wanted to do that.”
2. No-risk finish
Ford had Talladega Superspeedway conquered and none of the “Blue Oval” drivers in a position to win made a move on leader Joey Logano. They played nice. “I wanted to roll with him (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.),” said Busch, who finished second in his No. 41 Ford. “It didn't materialize. That's how we got all strung out, trying to be the one guy by himself.”
3. And Chase says
Chase Elliott continues to chase his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. In his last two outings (Richmond, Talladega), he has scored top-3 finishes. He never finished less than fifth in four Dover starts. Elliott was frustrated by his Ford rivals at Talladega. “I was trying to move forward and they (Fords) were not interested in advancing,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse, so we’ll move on to Dover.”
— Godwin Kelly, godwin.kelly@news-jrnl. com