Gibbs’ drivers rate as favorites
Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Truex, Jones lead dominant force
LAS VEGAS — Joe Gibbs has a powerhouse lineup leading the NASCAR playoffs, with four drivers laser-focused on winning the overall title. If there is a favorite in this 10-race tournament, it would be one of Gibbs’ guys.
Only the championship isn’t decided on regular-season strength, and is instead a calculated series of three-race segments in which a driver need only advance. The goal is to qualify for one of the four slots in the Nov. 17 finale, where the winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway will claim the Cup.
Joey Logano was the dark horse spoiler a year ago, when he snatched away the title Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. had set their sights on as the strongest drivers of the regular season. The so-called “Big 3” walked away empty-handed, shocked that a season’s worth of work meant nothing in the final run of the year.
The domination this year has been at Joe Gibbs Racing, which combined for 13 wins in 26 races. Busch is the regular-season champion, Denny Hamlin the Daytona 500 winner and Truex is trying to win a second title in three years. Erik Jones, meanwhile, is fresh off a Southern 500 victory and a contract extension with Toyota’s flagship organization.
All four expect to be racing for the title at Homestead, and the organization will undoubtedly have fallen short if it doesn’t advance at least two drivers to the final four.
“If you don’t win a championship, it’s disappointing,” Busch said. “I’ve been to the Homestead race four years in a row and I’ve only won it once. I don’t know if that is a little LeBron James-esque (three NBA titles in eight chances), but it feels like I can get there and just can’t seal the deal.”
The playoffs begin Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 16driver field that is cut by four after every third race. The JGR group has some early breathing room based on bonus points earned in the regular season. For example, Busch opens the playoffs with a 45-point lead over Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman, the lowest-seeded drivers in the field.
The strongest challenger to Gibbs is likely Kevin Harvick, who was fast all season but couldn’t get to victory lane until late July. Harvick has since won three of the last seven races, including a Brickyard 400 victory last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But Stewart-Haas Racing, despite qualifying three of its four drivers for the playoffs, isn’t as strong as it was a year ago in part because it took the organization longer than expected to adapt to the 2019 rules package. Harvick, on a wave of momentum, believes his team is ready to race for a title.
“We want to just hammer away, race by race,” he said. “I think the backup plan is to survive and advance. But we want to win. We want to be racing for the lead and trying to win stages and be aggressive. You have to adapt and adjust as the weeks go by but it is definitely an aggressive, one week at a time approach.”
Clint Bowyer won just the third pole of his Cup career in time to open NASCAR’s playoffs.
Bowyer had to claw his way into the 16-driver field, then admittedly surprised even himself with his fast qualifying run.
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver had gone 431 starts between polewinning runs.
“I did not see this coming. This is a surprise to me,” he said. “If I just sat on the pole, that car is obviously a bullet.”
The entire Stewart-Haas Racing lineup was best of Saturday qualifying as the four Fords swept the front two rows.
Daniel Suarez qualified second, followed by Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola. Suarez is the only SHR driver not in the playoff field.