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Home , Brad Keselowski Racing, Consumers Energy 400, Dover 400, Federated Auto Parts 400, FireKeepers Casino 400, Herb Thomas

NASCAR THIS WEEK 8 - THE DERRICK. / The News-Herald Wednesday, July 31, 2019

SPEED FREAKS QUESTIONS & ATTITUDE A few questions we WATKINS GLEN Compelling questions ... and had to ask ourselves maybe a few actual answers

Denny Hamlin’s 34th career THREE THINGS TO WATCH Will Watkins Glen provide a surprise win moves him past ‘Fireball’ winner? Roberts. Where will he land? 1. Playoff points GODSPEAK: So the “delivery It’s tempting to suggest that someone out- man” has eight to 10 more The NASCAR Cup Series side the current top 16 could get the win wins in him with the new has all sorts of points and crash the playoff scene, but frankly package. lists. The most prominent the best current road racers are already KEN’S CALL: I say he’ll end up right now is the regular- playoff-eligible. You probably shouldn’t somewhere between Mark season driver points list, even consider , who badly Martin (40) and (44). led by , who needs a long-awaited win. His past five I suspect (48) is has amassed 824 points. Glen finishes tell you why: 28th, 10th, 40th, beyond his reach. Then there are the playoff 29th, 30th. points standings, which Are we officially worried about will kick in after Indy on What’s the holdup? yet? Sept. 8. leads GODSPEAK: Yes. Something that group with 28 points, Team owner Joe Gibbs has vaguely has done broke in that No. followed by Martin Truex explained the problems with getting Jones 9 team. Drastic measures Jr. with 22. Rounding out a new contract to stay with the No. 20 car needed, like a drum circle. the top-5 are Brad Kesel- next year and beyond. In the end, you have KEN’S CALL: Hasn’t had a owski (19), to get all the sponsors on board, since top-10 since early June. A (18) and Logano (17). they pay the bulk of the bills. There are a crash at Pocono means he’s lot of moving parts, and we’ll say it again: also mixing in some bad luck 2. 10 winners, When commercial interests play such an to go along with bad setups. 5 weeks Kyle Busch is all smiles because he leads all drivers in outsized role in such things, it’s time to There’s something amiss playoff points with the postseason on the near horizon. consider drastic changes to the business under that hood. The Cup Series has [AP/STEVE HELBER] model. produced 10 different winners in the first 21 reg- Johnson is 12 points to the The Glen got his team into — Ken Willis, ken.willis@news-jrnl. FEUD OF THE WEEK ular-season races. Since bad, as they say. the playoffs. And who can com Daytona’s summer winner forget Chase Elliott win- VS. RICKY Justin Haley doesn’t factor 3. The Glen list ning his first Cup Series STENHOUSE JR.: On a late- into the playoff equation, race at the 2.45-mile road NASCAR CUP STANDINGS race restart, Busch bumped nine drivers have quali- Watkins Glen International course last year with his Stenhouse out of the way and fied for postseason play has become something father, “Awesome Bill,” 1. Joey Logano 824 Stenhouse returned the favor based on race victories. of a wild-card race when spotting for him at the 2. Kyle Busch 818 moments later, sending Busch There’s a dogfight brew- it comes to the playoffs. bus stop area? 3. 739 to the garage. ing down at the cut line. The past seven years have 4. Denny Hamlin 722 GODWIN KELLY’S TAKE: Busch and Ryan produced seven differ- — Godwin Kelly, 5. Martin Truex Jr. 701 had nothing to say after the Newman are tied for 15th ent winners. In 2014, AJ godwin.kelly@news- 6. 695 incident. “It was disappointing place in points. Jimmie Allmendinger’s victory at jrnl.com 7. Kurt Busch 650 to get caught up in an acci- 8. Chase Elliott 616 dent with less than five laps, 9. 614 but everyone is racing really 10. 599 hard,” Stenhouse said. 11. 596 12. William Byron 582 13. Erik Jones 559 GODWIN’S PICKS POCONO 14. 557 FOR WATKINS GLEN 15. Clint Bowyer 532 15. Ryan Newman 532 WINNER: Martin Truex Jr. THREE THINGS WE LEARNED 17. Jimmie Johnson 520 REST OF TOP 5: Joey Logano, 18. Daniel Suarez 501 Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, Kurt 1. Redeem theme 19. 464 Busch 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 444 FIRST ONE OUT: Ryan Newman The redeem theme has DARK HORSE: Michael been played a lot this McDowell season. Kurt Busch WHAT’S ON TAP DON’T BE SURPRISED IF: Truex, lost Daytona, then won (All times Eastern) who lost in a last-lap shootout Kentucky. Denny Hamlin last year, won’t be denied this lost New Hampshire, then CUP SERIES: Go Bowling at The Glen time. won Pocono. “Proud of SITE: Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile this team for giving us yet road course) another winner two weeks SCHEDULE: Saturday, practice (NBC Sports MOTOR MOUTHS in a row,” he said. “We Network, 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.), qualifying PODCAST really fought for it last Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burnout after beating (NBCSN, 6:30 p.m.). Sunday, race (NBCSN, week and came up short.” Erik Jones on a gas-mileage run at Pocono. [AP/DERIK coverage begins at 2:30 p.m., green flag, 3 Still plodding and podding HAMILTON] p.m.) through summer, with August 2. Mileage racing knocking on the Pod door. having to save fuel,” he below the playoff cut line. XFINITY: Zippo 200 at The Glen Put Erik Jones in the said. The good news? Johnson SITE: Watkins Glen International Tune in online at “dislikes mileage- racing” has five more regular-sea- SCHEDULE: Saturday, qualifying (NBCSN, www.news-journalonline.com/ category. Jones was 3. Johnson’s son races to gather more 11:30 a.m.), race (NBC, 3:30 p.m.) daytonamotormouths soft-pedaling his No. 20 struggle points, or dare we say a in the closing laps win, to become playoff GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCKS: Eldora Dirt at Pocono not knowing Jimmie Johnson is bat- eligible. Derby if he had enough fuel to tling for his playoff life. SITE: Eldora Speedway (.5-mile dirt oval) finish in overtime. “Prob- The seven-time NASCAR — Godwin Kelly, TV SCHEDULE: Thursday, qualifying (Fox ably my least favorite part champion is 17th in godwin.kelly@news- Sports 1, 7 p.m.), race (Fox Sports 1, 9 of racing at times is just points, or one position jrnl.com p.m.)

2019 CUP SERIES (Denny Hamlin) June 23: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Bristol SCHEDULE AND WINNERS April 7: Food City 500 at Bristol (Kyle (Martin Truex Jr.) Sept. 1: at Darlington Feb. 10: Clash at Daytona (Jimmie Busch) June 30: at Chicago- Sept. 8: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Johnson) April 13: at Richmond land (Alex Bowman) Sept. 15: at Las Vegas Feb. 17: (Denny Hamlin) (Martin Truex Jr.) July 7: Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (Justin Sept. 21: at Feb. 24: Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta April 28: Geico 500 at Talladega (Chase Haley) Richmond (Brad Keselowski) Elliott) July 13: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Sept. 29: Bank of America 500k at March 3: at Las Vegas (Joey May 5: (Martin Truex Jr.) (Kurt Busch) Charlotte Logano) May 11: Kansas 400 (Brad Keselowski) July 21: Foxwoods 301 at New Hampshire Oct. 6: Delaware 400 at Dover March 10: TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix May 18: All-Star Race at Charlotte (Kyle (Kevin Harvick) Oct. 13: 1000Bulbs.com 500 Talladega (Kyle Busch) Larson) July 28: Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Oct. 20: at Kansas March 17: at Fontana (Kyle May 26: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (Martin (Denny Hamlin) Oct. 27: First Data 500 at Martinsville Busch) Truex Jr.) Aug. 4: Go Bowling at Watkins Glen Nov. 3: AAA March 24: STP 500 at Martinsville (Brad June 2: Pocono 400 (Kyle Busch) Aug. 11: at Nov. 10: Can-Am 500k at Phoenix Keselowski) June 9: FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan Nov. 17: Ford EcoBoost 400 at March 31: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas (Joey Logano) Aug. 17: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Homestead-Miami

KEN WILLIS’ TOP 10 NASCAR DRIVER RANKINGS

DENNY KYLE BUSCH MARTIN JOEY KEVIN ERIK JONES BRAD KURT BUSCH WILLIAM RYAN HAMLIN Winless TRUEX JR. LOGANO HARVICK Will current KESELOWSKI Eighteenth, BYRON NEWMAN Fifth, second streak at Not a bad Wrecked Two career roll ever Been 27th since Middle name Middle name and first in seven pick for this early at Glen road-course include a clunking Kentucky win is McComas is Joseph past three week last year wins win? along lately 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10