With only two regular-season races remaining in the season, drivers who have not clinched a spot in the Playoffs, have everything to gain and nothing to lose this Sunday in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Tradition. On Sunday, NASCAR returns to its traditional roots, to the track that was Daytona before Bill France replaced the beach-road course with his 2.5-mile architectural marvel. Before the Daytona 500, the marquee event was held in Darlington.
Officially, Saturday night’s race was not billed as the Bristol Busch Brothers 500. Those two boys are almost always front and center at the venue. Even when they do not want to be.
Kurt Busch: Busch took the lead on a restart with 23 laps to go and held off Kyle Larson to capture his first win of the season and sixth career win at Bristol.
Sometimes the news can be a little over-hyped. For example, no matter what you might hear, Kyle Busch is going to claim the bonus for the most points garnered by the time they leave Indianapolis. Kevin Harvick would need to close the gap by 21 points in each of the remaining three events to change that, and that is not going to happen. It is a done deal.
Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch. Kevin Harvick. Martin Truex, Jr. Denny Hamlin. Brad Keselowski. Kyle Larson. Chase Elliott. These men are NASCAR. These men, a few women, and so many others made the sport. Were the sport. Are the sport. Brian France is not NASCAR. There is a reason 97 percent of all family businesses do not survive as such into the fourth generation.
I believe one certain guy would agree with me “that was awesome, Bill from Dawsonville!” Watkins Glen was damned entertaining right from the start, thanks to the action and thanks to the best broadcast crew in the business.
1. Kyle Busch: Busch started second at Watkins Glen and led 31 laps before a fuel probe malfunction in the pits, necessitating an extra pit stop. Despite the issue, Busch recovered to post a third-place finish.
"We just didn't get enough fuel in the tank," Busch said. "In other words, I had a 'halfsie.'" Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
Joey Logano drove his No. 22 Penske Ford to Victory Lane Saturday at Watkins Glen in the Xfinity Series Zippo 200. This marked Logano’s 30th win in the series and his second Xfinity win this year.
