Sorry, but this column is arriving a day later than my usual Thursday date. Of course, it has something to do with the race that gives me the data to mess around with did not take place until Thursday. It is not my fault.
Ty Dillon met with members of the media at the 35th Annual NASCAR Cup Media tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway and discussed his thoughts about his first full season, being a member of a single-car team, and competing on a limited schedule in his Modified program. Dillon will be driving the Germain Racing GEICO-sponsored No. 13 Chevrolet in 2017.
Beginning in 2017, Ty Dillon will take over full-time driving duties of the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Germain Racing.
With more than a month left in the old year, talk about the new is already starting to dominate. Tony Stewart is now retired, with Clint Bowyer no doubt thrilled at the chance to get back into quality equipment as his replacement.
Usually, when a sport enters its playoff phase, there is news galore. While the Blue Jays, Indians, Cubs, and either the Nationals or Dodgers, continue in their quest for a World Series crown, the excitement seems a bit, well, subdued in NASCAR.
Erik Jones continued the dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing in the XFINITY series on Saturday by winning the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway in his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota. Jones won his third career race and his third of the season by passing Ty Dillon's No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for the lead with 16 laps to go and won the race having led 154 of 250 laps.
It was the Brickyard 400, presented by Kyle Busch. He led the first lap, he led the last one, and led most of the laps in between. If the focal point of a race is at the front, if the drama of a race is to see who is leading the way, this competition was pretty much done when they waved the green flag.
Five predictions going forward: 1) Tony Stewart wins the Brickyard 400 to solidify his spot in the Chase and add to his final season. 2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not make the Chase and because of that, he might not run for an extended period of time.
Kyle Larson battled competitors and the weather to score the victory in the inaugural Pocono Green 250 XFINITY Series race in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The driver of the No. 42 Cessna/NTT Data Group Chevrolet received the checkered flag after the race was rain delayed and then finally called.
Since they dropped the racing from 500 miles to 400 miles at Pocono, it has drastically improved. I can't explain why, but eliminating those extra 100 miles changed the way the drivers attack the track.
