NASCAR
Do Not Overlook These Title Contenders for the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship
14 races into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, many are painting the championship as a 3-way fight. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. have won 11 of the races so far in 2018. However, 4 drivers will make the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship finale race in November. Because of this, do not write any of the usual contenders off just yet. Without any further ado, ere are some of the drivers who I will have my eyes on over the next stretch of races before the Playoffs.
Jimmie Johnson
This season to date has been anything but pleasant for Jimmie and the 48 team. But, I still see them capable of mounting a Playoff surge. So far in 2018, Johnson has 2 top 5s, 6 top 10s. Jimmie also led his first 2 laps of the year last week at Pocono. These stats sound far from a 7-time champion’s expected results. Even so, team 48 has been gaining ground on the competition in recent weeks. 3 of the last 4 races have seen Jimmie run and finish inside the top 10. This is in spite of the new Chevrolet body that has an aero-deficiency compared to the other manufacturers.
In my opinion, Jimmie will find speed again before the Playoffs, and will be capable of 2-3 wins before then. At this point in 3 of his 6 championship-winning years, he had a similar deficit to the points leader. While Johnson is currently in his longest career winless streak, I believe he will soon return to his winning ways. Winning will hopefully be a foundation for this team to be a factor in this year’s Playoff battle.
Brad Keselowski
Perhaps the strongest driver of 2018 without a win, Brad Keselowski has had a very up-and-down season. 3 crashes go along with 4 top 5s, 8 top 10s, and 259 laps led for the 2 crew in 2018. However, 2 of those crashes were on restrictor plate tracks. This includes the Daytona 500, where Brad was wrecked from the lead. Overall, the Penske team has lacked some speed throughout 2018. However, their speed is not far from their dominant Ford counterparts at Stewart-Haas.
Brad and his crew chief Paul Wolfe are no strangers to pulling off incredible strategy calls to win races. This is exactly how they won the 2012 Cup Series championship. They also have 4 top 10s in the last 6 races. I believe the 2 team will find victory lane multiple times before the Playoffs start. I see no reason why their Playoff run to the finale a season ago could not happen again.
Joey Logano
The only driver I am mentioning today with a win so far in 2018, Joey Logano broke his year-long drought earlier this season at Talladega. Outside of the superspeedway win, Logano has 5 top 5s, 11 top 10s, and 220 laps led in 2018. These stats are oddly similar to his first-half performance in 2017. In 2016 however, Logano was able to make it to the championship race and would finish 2nd in points. As stated above with Keselowski, the Penske cars are currently searching for the speed needed in order to win consistently.
The 22 car has been in the top 10 in terms of speed for most of the year. Over the course of the summer, I foresee Logano and his team winning again. If not on raw speed, then the 22 will win again on a strategy call. 3 of the past 4 seasons have seen this team mount a solid championship run. I see that streak continuing in 2018 oncethis team finds more speed.
Denny Hamlin
1 driver and team who continue to surprise me, both positively and negatively, is the 11 team of Denny Hamlin. While winless so far in 2018, Hamlin has 6 top 5s, 8 top 10s, and 235 laps led. These stats for 2018 so far seem good for a veteran driver. However, they are dwarfed when compared to his teammate Kyle Busch’s impressive run in 2018. Busch consistently has a car with enough speed to lead laps and win, while Hamlin is mired back in the 3rd to 8th place region on speed.
No conversation about Denny Hamlin is complete without mentioning pit road though. Whether due to speeding or errors by the crew, this team seems to have more struggles than others in the pits. If these mistakes can be corrected, I do believe that the 11 team can be a multi-time race winner in 2018. 2017 saw Hamlin make an incredible surge for the Cup Series championship late in the Playoffs, but a feud with Chase Elliott ended the 11 team’s chance of making it to the finale.
Only time will tell if Hamlin and his team can clean up their self-inflicted errors and put together entire races. This did happen for Hamlin at the Coca-Cola 600, where he was ale to uneventfully finish in 3rd place. Was this effort a sign of things to come for Denny?
Summer Stretch Will Tell Who the Championship Players Are
By no means is this list complete or fully encompassing of every championship caliber team. These 4 listed drivers are all veterans of the sport who I had marked before the season as drivers to watch for in the Cup Series championship fight. While I do believe that many others are capable of battling with Harvick, Busch, and Truex, I would put my money on any of these drivers also making it to the season finale. 12 races remain before the Playoffs, as the summer stretch will have lots of great racing action.
