‘Big 3’ engaged in tug of war to keep hands firmly on Cup

Kyle Busch, Harvick, Truex Jr. dominating through first 22 races

BROOKLYN, Mich. — NASCAR’s ‘Big 3’ has essentially lapped the competition.

Las Vegas native Kyle Busch (six), Kevin Harvick (six) and Martin Truex Jr. (four) have combined to win 16 of 22 Cup races and haven’t allowed the field to win consecutive races with points at stake this year. Of the other 56 drivers who have started a race, only Clint Bowyer has won twice.

That could potentially change Sunday in the Consumers Energy 400 because Chase Elliott won last week at Watkins Glen.

Chances are, though, one of the series’ top three drivers will finish first.

Busch and Truex drive a Toyota while Harvick is in a Ford. Clearly, it helps to have one of those manufacturers on your side this season.

Toyota drivers have won 11 races and Ford has nine first-place finishes.

“They got everything together,” Ryan Newman, who drives the No. 31 Chevy, said Saturday after practice. “They’ve got great downforce, horsepower, tires. Drivers are doing their job and collectively their organizations are strong.

“Stewart-Haas Racing as well as the Toyota camp seem to be strong right now and have been all year.”

Chevrolet, meanwhile, has won just two races and Kyle Larson, who is eighth in points, is its only driver among the top 10 in the standings.

“We’re trying to catch up,” said Newman, who will start sixth. We were prepared as well as we thought we needed to be.

“As it turns out, we needed to be more prepared and you can see the results across the Chevrolet camp.”

Bowyer, who will start 16th, has a chance to get closer to the Big 3 and create more separation from the pack. He won his second race at the series’ previous stop at Michigan International Speedway in June. Four other drivers have won one race this year.

“It is always exciting to go to any race track for the second time, especially when you have had some success to see how you will stack up when you load again,” Bowyer said.

Denny Hamlin, meanwhile, hopes to finish where he’ll start — first — to earn a victory for a 13th straight year. He is on the pole for a second straight week.

“We’re starting to turn back the other way and be pretty fast again,” Hamlin said. “We’ve really worked on the right things to get us to this point and nothing is more frustrating than working as hard as I have and the team has over the last two months and not getting any results.”

Hamlin won at Michigan in 2010 and 2011.

Paul Sancya The Associated Press Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, left, talks with his brother Kurt Busch before qualifying Friday for the NASCAR Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. Kyle Busch is tied with Kevin Harvick for most Cup wins this season with six.