The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
THREE THINGS TOWATCH
1. Truexwatch
Not wanting to get too technical, but did
NASCAR somehow wipe away Martin
Truex Jr.'s advantage he enjoyed in 2017?
Truex's No. 78 Toyota failed inspection and
did not qualify at Atlanta. His car chief
was expelled from the garage last Friday.
Seven of Truex's eight wins last year were
on 1.5-mile ovals, including the one Vegas
race last spring. Truex mentioned “these
new rules” in passing at Atlanta. Keep an
eye on this.
2. Vegas, Part 1
Las one-and-done Vegas Motor on Speedway the NASCAR used Cup to Series. be a
This year it has a second date, and that
race kicks off the Cup Series playoffs. Look
for race teams to gather as much data as
possible on their first visit as a prep for the
more important second date in September.
Vegas got the date at the expense of sister
track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
3. Weird stuff
Everything always feels a little different
at the start of a Cup Series season. Take
the driver standings as an example. Joey
Logano is leading with 89 points followed
by another 20-something driver, Ryan
Blaney, who has 83 points. Meanwhile,
Toyota has not won in its first two outings.
The highest finishing Toyota at Atlanta was
fourth-place Denny Hamlin. Hamlin was
the only Toyota among Daytona's top-10
finishers.