NASCAR
Who needs a win?
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is six races old, and drivers have competed on every category of speedway except road course, providing a solid look at teams’ progress to date.
Last weekend was the first of three off weeks this season, NASCAR’s schedule being one of sports’ longest (February-November). Cup drivers are scheduled to race for the next 10 weeks (including the non-points All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway) before taking another break in mid-June.
Teams return to the track this weekend for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Six races in, and there have been four winners: Kevin Harvick with three and Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon and Martin Truex Jr. with one each.
Drivers who haven’t won aren’t ready to push the big red panic button, but after six races there are six drivers who would be particularly receptive to the gates of victory lane opening for them at Texas.
Jimmie Johnson: No one needs a win more. The seven-time champion has raced in virtual no-man’s-land this year, scoring just one top-10 finish (a ninth) and failing to lead a lap. In fact, he hasn’t led a race since October at Martinsville, and he hasn’t won since June in Dover, Del. It’s uncharted territory for Johnson.
Kyle Busch: If the younger Busch doesn’t win soon, he might burn down an M&Ms factory in frustration. He has had a great start to the season, leading five of the six races and putting together finishes of 2-2-3-2 in the past four. Dozens of drivers would love that worksheet, but for Busch winning is the thing. To come so close and not cross the line first is particularly maddening.
Joey Logano: The driver of the Team Penske No. 22 Fords has five top-seven finishes this year and is fourth in points, but his last win came almost a year ago in Richmond, Va. And that victory was smothered by violations that led NAS- CAR to rule the win encumbered, a term that since has been removed from the NASCAR glossary.
Kyle Larson: Larson has finished half the races in the top 10, including a second at Auto Club Speedway and a third at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but, like the “other” Kyle, Larson needs a seasonal first win to lock into the playoffs and answer the “When?” questions.
Chase Elliott: Elliott started the season seeking to turn his mound of second-place finishes into his first career Cup win. He has avoided those secondplace finishes this year, although his top runs are a third (at ISM Raceway in the Phoenix area) and a ninth (Martinsville). Elliott has had a relatively steady start to the season with Hendrick Motorsports cars that have seemed to be solid, but he continues to fight the angst associated with not winning.
Brad Keselowski: Oddly, three of the top five points positions after six races are owned by Team Penske drivers — newcomer Ryan Blaney is third, Logano fourth and Keselowski fifth. But, al- though fellow Ford team Stewart-Haas Racing owns four victories, Penske rides into race seven winless. Keselowski has four top-10 finishes, evidence of strong cars but late-race shortcomings.