2017 - A Season of Surprises.
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup takes a week off to catch its breath this week. Drivers and crew are busy at work either readying their equipment for the Playoffs or preparing their equipment for the final two races of the regular season to get into the playoffs. The win and you’re in keeps the hopes and dreams of many teams alive.
Although the top of the standings finds many familiar names, the 2017 has not been without its share of surprises. Here are my top ones.
If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the playoffs could possibly contain 16 drivers not named Joey Logano I would have never had believed it. But here we are, with just two races remaining and Logano’s name is not found in the current list of 16 drivers in. It sure seems that his encumbered win at Richmond has turned his season around, in the wrong direction. The 22 Penske Ford team has not been the same since that May 4th win at Richmond was ruled encumbered because of a rear end issue. Of course that could all change with a win at Darlington or Richmond.
Ricky Stenhouse is a talented driver. There is no doubt about that. You don’t win the (now) Xfinity series Championship as Stenhouse Jr. did in 2011 by chance. But did anyone expect Stenhouse to win not one but two races with a struggling Jack Roush racing team? Roush Fenway, a once dominating NASCAR Cup team for many years had fallen on hard times the last several season, even shrinking their team to its current two car team of Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne. His wins at Talladega and Daytona have changed the outlook at the Roush/Fenway garage.
It seemed as though the entire NASCAR Nation was waiting in anticipation for Dale Jr. to leave one last impression for his legions of fans. Well the impression has been anything but positive for the retiring star and NASCAR’s most popular driver. He currently sits 22nd, yes I said 22nd, in the Monster Energy Cup Standings. It’s ugly. He has only one top-five, four top-tens and has an average finish of 21.7 in the 24 races thus far. This is not the story book finish to his career that many of us had hoped for. However, like Logano, he could still salvage his season with a win at Darlington or Richmond.
Another dominating regular season for Martin Truex Jr. has to be ranked in anybody’s list of surprises. Oh sure we all expected Truex Jr. to be among the top drivers in NASCAR but it seems week after week, no matter the track, the 78 Furniture Row Toyota is the car to beat. He’s accumulated a gazillion playoff points and unlike last season, thanks to the new points scheme, has all but assured his place in that final four group who’ll race for the trophy at Miami Homestead.
The emergence of Kyle Larson as a Star. Coming off a season which included his first NASCAR Cup victory, Larson has captured three checkered flags thus far. In addition, it seems most weeks you look out at the track and you see the #42 Chip Ganassi Chevrolet at the top of the field, more often than not providing the most competition to Martin Truex Jr. For my money Larson might just be the most exciting driver in the series today. A star has emerged.
We are still waiting for Chase Elliott’s first victory and I sure as hell thought we’d have seen that by now. It’s not that Elliott has been awful though. Very often he’s been the best of the Hendrick Motorsports foursome. He’s in a comfortable spot in the playoff standings and a win is certainly overdue. If anyone had bet that a struggling teammate, Kasey Kahne, would visit Victory Lane before Elliott they’d have made a ton of money on that wager.
Honorable mentions go to the struggles of Kurt Busch after his Daytona 500 victory, the victory by Austin Dillon, and the quick turnaround of Daniel Suarez. As we head down the homestretch in the 2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup season, many hopes and dreams can change drastically. The beauty of sports is, as Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.
Thanks for reading. Listen to WTBQ radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:45 as I join Frank, Taylor and the Morning Show gang to discuss all the current happenings in NASCAR. 1110AM 93.5FM or online at WTBQ.COM. You can also follow me on twitter @JimLaplante
