After IndyCar’s Alexander Rossi broke his 39-race losing streak at Indianapolis, Kevin Harvick must have said, “Hold my beer!”
Harvick shattered a 65-race dry spell on Sunday at Michigan, leading 38 of the 400 laps in his Stewart-Haas Ford. Pole sitter Bubba Wallace came home second, followed by his car owner Denny Hamlin, who tied Harvick for most laps led.
There are now 15 winning drivers occupying the 16 playoff berths with just three races to go in the regular season. With a short track, a road course, and a superspeedway yet to go on the calendar, we could see some interesting developments in the final makeup of the playoff field.
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This weekend NASCAR is at the ¾-mile Richmond short track. Since Harvick’s win last Sunday left just one slot filled on points, Martin Truex Jr. is out of the playoffs and Ryan Blaney is the only winless driver currently in, third in the point standings. Truex is just 21 points behind Blaney, so he could possibly out-point the Penske driver before the end of the regular season.
Truex has won three of the last six Richmond outings including last fall’s race. Hamlin won there this spring and in 2016. Other recent winners are Bowman, Larson, Logano, and Kyle Busch, who swept both race in 2018.
The oddsmakers favor the Gibbs Toyotas in Sunday’s race with Truex and Hamlin top picks at 6-1 followed by Kyle Busch at 7-1 and Christopher Bell at 9-1. Chevy drivers Chase Elliott (9-1), Kyle Larson (10-1) and Ross Chastain (12-1) are next with Blaney the first Ford driver at 12-1. If Blaney, Truex, or another non-winner takes Sunday’s checkered flag, we could be set up to see a winning driver bumped out of the playoffs for the first time since the system began.
Practice for the Cup cars airs Saturday at 2:05 p.m. with qualifying at 2:50 p.m. and the Federated Auto Parts 400 at noon Sunday, all on USA. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast Camping World Truck practice/qualifying Saturday at noon with the Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation at 5 p.m.
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The second annual Big Machine Music City Grand Prix for the NTT IndyCar series last Sunday was more a demolition derby than a race. The tight quarters on the street course contributed to multiple cautions and one red flag. The race began about 90 minutes late after a lengthy delay for rain and lightning, with the first caution on lap two. The carnage was so great that only 15 of the 26 starters were still running at the end, and a couple of them were several laps down.
The green flag waved for the final time with two laps to go, and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon held off pole sitter Scott McLaughlin to take the win. It was Dixon’s 53rd victory in the series, putting him one win ahead of the legendary Mario Andretti’s 52. It also moved Dixon into second place in season points, just six behind leader Will Power.
With only three races remaining in the season, the championship is very much in doubt. In addition to Power’s 450 points and Dixon’s 444, Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits at 438, two-time champion Josef Newgarden at 428, and defending champion Alex Palou at 417. McLaughlin at 392 and Pato O’Ward at 391 also have a strong mathematical chance at the title, given that each race awards 50 points for a win and 40 for second place.
The series is dark this weekend with the next race the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on the oval at Worldwide Technology Raceway.
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