(Photo Source : Twitter.com/KyleBusch) Written by AJ Appeal Appealing Opinions Kyle Busch is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion. He is one of only 16 drivers in the sport's history to have more than one cup title, and is the youngest on that list. Racing Refresh made a prediction at the start of the year that Kyle Busch (often known as 'Rowdy') would go winless in his 2020 campaign, and after 29 races he still has not found victory lane on a Sunday. We often joke on our radio show about the curse that was started on-air by saying that he would not win, but the reality of the situation is that things aren't adding up for him and the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. The season as a whole has been as up-and-down as the stock market and there are a million excuses as to why they are not in their usual form. Kyle in his interviews often times will mention that he feels the current package that is run in the cup series prohibits passing for lead position. While that may come with evidence at some of the tracks we see, it never stopped him from winning in 2019. The Covid-19 era of the world put a halt to so many things and we can only assume that every NASCAR team is having to regroup and re-organize their efforts as they return to the race track each week. It is certainly possible that the lack of practice and qualifying has hurt them the most. The #18 team is known for making great car and setup changes, and we saw that most recently at the Bristol race on Saturday night. Let's fast-forward a little bit and assume Kyle Busch's car doesn't finish first in the remaining 7 playoff events. He'll certainly lose the championship without a victory; only Matt Crafton's 2019 Truck title has been won without a race win. A streak of 15 consecutive seasons with at least one win in the Cup Series would also come to a finish. A rebuilding stage would start for Kyle, the #18 team, and their sponsors. They would have the most challenging off-season they've had since starting together in 2008. Some fans would look over the 2020 season and think Kyle has finally met his match. Rowdy Nation would mourn by the millions, while the other half of NASCAR's fanbase would dance in the streets celebrating the most infamous driver's lack of success. When driver's go winless, we often times consider it to be the beginning of the end to their career. For Kyle Busch, this is only the beginning. Busch's talent level and nearly 20 years in NASCAR have already made him go down in history as one of the sport's greatest drivers ever. He has won everything (except the elusive Daytona 500) there is to win in NASCAR. There are two recent drivers who are in a similar talent group as Kyle that had multiple winless seasons only to rebound. Let's take a look at some recent examples before we jump to any conclusions with Kyle's future. Jeff Gordon is the first driver that comes to mind. The 'Wonder Boy' as he was called for the first half of his career is now a Hall-of-Famer and a 4-time NASCAR Cup Champion. He's one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport and still remains involved in NASCAR in many different ways. Gordon's career wasn't all perfect, though. He had a couple of hiccups along the way. Gordon's first full season in 1993 was a year that came with no trips to victory lane. Once he started to win beginning in his sophomore season, though, his #24 Chevrolet was on top of the leaderboard more often than most. He earned at least two wins per season from 1994 to 2007. A total of 81 Career wins in that 14 year stretch. In 2008, Wonder Boy wasn't as fortunate. In 36 starts Gordon failed to win a race, despite 4 poles and 13 Top-5 finishes. Many wondered if Gordon had started to trend downward or if he had lost his stride. From 2008 to 2010, Gordon won only one race in total. As speculation increased that retirement may be near, Gordon assured fans and friends that he still had more to prove. In 2011, Gordon returned to where he had been for so many years. In his final 5 seasons of full-time racing, he earned 11 more wins. Only 58 drivers in history have 11 wins in their entire career...Gordon added 11 after a slump. He managed to make the playoffs every remaining season of his career as well, and finished third in the standings after making the finale with a surprising final career win at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon managed to prove that with hard work and talent, you can rebound from a bad season or two. The other driver that should be mentioned when it comes to amazing career rebounds is a young man named Kevin Harvick, ever heard of him? Happy Harvick's Cup Series career has been well documented for his succession to the iconic Dale Earnhardt following his tragic crash at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick was promoted into stardom and awarded a large portion of Dale's fanbase overnight. In only his third career start at Atlanta, Harvick won by passing above mentioned Jeff Gordon for the win. At the time of the feat, a win in his 3rd start was a modern-era record. Harvick won 5 races in his first 5 career Cup Series seasons, this included a winless season in 2004. In 2006, it appeared he was in championship form as the #29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team won 5 cup races, the most in a single season for the team since Dale Earnhardt won 5 in 1995. Unfortunately, the 2006 season was not the start of a magical dynasty. Between November of 2006 and April of 2010, Harvick found victory lane only one time in his memorable Daytona 500 victory from 2007. The winless streak ended at Talladega in the spring of 2010. Harvick defeated veteran Jamie McMurray by a margin of 0.11 seconds that day, his first win in over three years. This win started a trend that is still very alive today. Since the 2010 campaign, Kevin Harvick has won 3 or more races in a single-season 9 times. He switched teams from Richard Childress Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 and won the NASCAR Cup Championship that season with new crew chief Rodney Childers. He has won 47 career Cup races since the end of his 3-year winless streak. As of the time of this article, he has won 9 races in the 2020 season alone, a new career high. Kevin Harvick has shown along with Jeff Gordon that legacies can still be added to after moments of defeat. At the rate he is winning races, he may be the next driver to pass some key Hall of Famers on the all-time win list. So what does this mean for Kyle Busch? Kyle Busch is the most recognizable name on the race track. He may not have the most fans, but between his fans and his haters combined, he demands the most attention no matter what track or series he is running. He continues to win in the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck levels on a somewhat regular level where he holds the all-time win records in both series. As a driver in the Cup Series he has earned the respect of the media and most of his competitors for his charitable and interactive nature off the track. On the track, he is a fierce, and challenging personality with everything to prove in his own heart. If he cannot win, he is unsatisfied. This is what makes him a 2x Cup Series Champion. He is in an awkward part of his career, where as a reigning champion, he is expected to contend for victories. Unfortunately, his winless streak continues. There will be a day when we see Kyle Busch back in the Cup Series victory lane. Maybe in 2020, probably in 2021, and certainly by 2022. When that day happens, he will win more often than we have ever seen. Expect the number 18 to do unbelievable things once he gets that monkey off his back. Kyle Busch is a winner. He's a champion. He's the past, present, and future of NASCAR.

The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi, and Jeff Gluck released a breaking news story that NASCAR has another rumored 2021 schedule change. The schedule change is a wild one where Texas Motor Speedway loses one of its points paying races in favor of Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas. That's not all though, Texas Motor Speedway will get the All Star race to replace the points paying date, but keeping two race dates. As a NASCAR fan in Texas, who lives roughly 45 minutes from Texas Motor Speedway, it is incredibly exciting news overall. Let's begin with what this means for Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). Located in the northern part of Fort Worth, Texas is TMS. It is rather far from race fans in the three of the most populated cities in the state. Austin is roughly 210 miles from the track, San Antonio is roughly 285 miles away, and Houston is approximately 275 miles away. Race fans in these cities have a lengthy commute, especially for a track with a less than stellar on track product. Hosting its first race in 1997, Texas Motor Speedway had more than a few bad races in its early history. In 1997, and 1998 the track was nearly impossible to race. After a few repaves, and re-configurations TMS eventually hit its sweet spot in the early 2000's and became the fastest 1.5 mile track on the circuit. The prime era of NASCAR and TMS in the mid 2000's saw crowds exceeding the 150,000 thousand mark. Modern day NASCAR and TMS have declined quickly. The re-configuration going into 2017 in my opinion has almost ruined the track. In an attempt to make the track more challenging TMS dropped the banking in turns 1 and 2 by 4 degrees, and made the turn 20 feet wider. Due to a poor racing product they have been dousing the track with the synthetic grip additive called PJ1, but it has had relatively no positive impact on the racing with the amount they apply to the race surface. Attendance at Texas has declined to the point where the track is lucky to get 50,000 fans, which overall is great for most tracks, but when your capacity exceeds 100,000 it looks terrible. So what does it mean for Texas, a track regarded by many fans as one of the worst tracks on the circuit, so why does Texas get the All Star race? Besides track president Eddie Gossage being a true entertainer, losing a lengthy 500 mile race may help the racing product a bit. The recent tradition of the All Star race has been that of a glorified test session, and Texas being so bad leaves NASCAR plenty of opportunities to try new elements for future cars. I have quite a bit of faith NASCAR will go all out with the gimmicks and try to make the Texas All Star Race a once in a lifetime spectacle. I would expect Texas to keep their playoff race of the two that are currently on the cup schedule, but this move gives me some concern for the future of the track overall. I do not think Texas will be off the schedule entirely but it could easily go down to one race date, and be a shorter race too. Eddie Gossage will fight NASCAR for his track to keep two dates, and the longer races sighting maintaining fans value per ticket. The one redeeming quality Texas has at the moment is the fan experience with Big Hoss TV, and the local attractions across from the track. For the on track product Texas hosts both INDYCAR, and NASCAR races and it has been rumored we could see a double header between the two series. Now what does this mean for Circuit Of The Americas (COTA)? Having NASCAR could be a game changer for the future of the facility. COTA is centrally located within the state of Texas, and much closer to the state's most populous cities. With the track being more accessible to NASCAR fans in Central and South Texas, there is an opportunity for many Texans to attend more events, or even their first NASCAR race. Hosting F1's U.S. Grand Prix since its opening in 2012 COTA is a state of the art facility. It features a 251 ft. observation tower, a plaza with a pool, a concert venue, and a soccer stadium on the property. The course itself is a 20 turn 3.4 mile road course, and features multiple other possible configurations. Known for its drastic elevation changes COTA has proven to be a technically challenging track at times. Since its debut in 2012 fans, and NASCAR alike have been wanting COTA to make an appearance on the schedule. As recently as 2019 NASCAR has tested the road course with Hall Of Famer Tony Stewart who praised the road courses thinking it would be great for NASCAR. Assuming the rumor of the track getting a Cup date it would be the biggest thing to happen in the facility's short history. The future of COTA is a bit unclear with both of its major events the U.S. Grand Prix, and the INDYCAR Classic possibly not returning, they need NASCAR. Even if they retain both F1 and INDYCAR, NASCAR would still be a massive boost, and they'd almost certainly sell out the 120,000 seat facility. Assuming NASCAR replaces the Texas spring race, COTA could balance out the Cup schedule. On the 2020 schedule the first scheduled road course was Sonoma Raceway in mid June, followed by a trip to Watkins Glen in August, and the Charlotte Roval in October. Due to COVID19 the schedule obviously was not run as planned, but even then NASCAR goes roughly four months before their first road course race. Adding COTA early in the schedule would really help to balance the road courses in each part of the schedule. So what should the expectation for COTA be? I believe COTA will be a great show. I think NASCAR has absolutely nothing like it on their schedule, and that alone will make it a unique can't miss event. I think once COTA gets on the schedule it will peacefully coexist with Texas, and both tracks will thrive in the present day and the future.

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/NASCAR_Xfinity)

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/NASCAR_Trucks)

It's fair to say that 2020 will go down in history as one of the strangest years the world has ever seen. NASCAR has been no exception to this. So far this season, we've seen midweek races, no practice or qualifying, virtual racing events, a Bristol All Star Race and even the Daytona Road Course. None of us could've imagined NASCAR would be where it is now when we dropped the green flag for the Daytona 500, yet here we are. One of the most interesting aspects of NASCAR is what fans refer to as "Silly Season." For those who are unaware of the term, silly season is the offseason trading of drivers in NASCAR. Each year, silly season becomes a bigger and more entertaining part of the NASCAR season as a whole. This year, however, what if the glass is too full? What if certain drivers don't have a home for the 2021 season? I'd like to look at the free agents left on the market and the potential for them to get a ride for the 2021 season. Before we discuss what moves may or may not happen, let's look at the moves we already know will happen. As announced at the beginning of the season, seven time champion, Jimmie Johnson, will officially retire from the sport at the end of the 2020 season. This opens up his famed #48 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. Christopher Bell will move to the #20 for Joe Gibbs Racing after it was announced that Levine Family Racing would be shutting down at the end of the season. Two major puzzle pieces fell into place Monday as Ross Chastain was announced to be the driver of the #42 for Chip Ganassi Racing, and Bubba Wallace will be joining a new single car team started by current NASCAR driver, Denny Hamlin, and NBA Hall of Famer and 6 time NBA Champion, Michael Jordan. Germain Racing has also announced that it would be shutting down at the end of the season. Spire motorsports announced it's creation of a second Cup series team. A lot of cards are still up in the air, but not many have fallen down. The NASCAR free agency looks pretty stout at the moment. So let's look at the key factors still to be seen in the NASCAR silly season. Kyle Larson - This one is a very unique case to me because of all the drivers currently in the free agency, he's by far the most proven in a Cup car. However, Kyle lost his ride earlier this year after using a racial slur in an iRacing event. The results of this saw Kyle fired and suspended indefinitely from NASCAR. While Kyle still has not been reinstated with NASCAR, many believe Kyle is ready for a second chance. He has undergone a required sensitivity training and has worked with multiple African American charitable organizations in an effort to reconcile his inappropriate words. Among those advocating for his return is team owner and 3 time Cup champion, Tony Stewart. There is no debating Kyle's driving talents, but will sponsors be able to look past the controversial statements to help get him an opportunity. He's been rumored to be in talks with Stewart-Haas Racing as well as Hendrick Motorsports but nothing is certain at the moment. Erik Jones - Erik Jones is a young driver who sadly got the short end of the stick with Leavine Family Racing shutting down. When LFR made the announcement, Joe Gibbs Racing was left with a tough decision: Keep Erik Jones and lose out on the deal Toyota had with Christopher Bell, or let Erik Jones go. Sadly, the latter was the choice for JGR and for the first time in his young career, Jones finds himself going it alone. He's been in the Toyota pipeline for the entirety of his National Series career. Jones has found advice from a former JGR driver now NASCAR champion, Joey Logano. Rumor had Jones name with the 42 car, but since has proven not to be the case. Perhaps the best landing spot for Jones would be the 43 with RPM. Daniel Suarez - Suarez is another member of the 2017 rookie class that is once again looking for a new home. Suarez, like Jones, came into the series with Toyota. Suarez captured the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship in a Toyota as well. His overall performance in the Cup Series hasn't lived up to expectations. For his first two seasons, Suarez drove for JGR in the #19 Toyota. Suarez showed signs of talent, but never could muster up a playoff birth. In 2019, Suarez announced that he'd be moving to SHR to drive the #41 Ford Mustang. Once again in top tier equipment, Suarez still could not find his way into the playoffs. It was announced that SHR would bring in Cole Custer to pilot the #41 for 2020 and beyond, leaving Suarez to pilot the #96 Toyota for Gaunt Brothers Racing. While not nearly in the equipment he had been in his previous three seasons, Suarez has done decently well in the #96. His most notable performance this season would be at the regular season finale at Daytona where Suarez was able to lead 19 laps before getting caught up in a wreck later in the race. Suarez is a curious case in the NASCAR silly season. He has done fairly well in poor equipment, but has previously underperformed in top tier equipment. The #43 has also been rumored as a landing spot for him. Ty Dillon - The younger Dillon brother finds himself without a ride for the first time in his cup career. This happened somewhat surprisingly as Germain racing announced they were shutting down at the end of the 2020 season. Ty Dillon does have his name going for him. Dillon, like his brother Austin, is the grandson to NASCAR team owner, Richard Childress. Ty Dillon could be the most likely candidate for the 43 car, as Richard Petty Motorsports has a technical alliance with RCR. It has also been rumored that RCR could potentially be looking to add a third team as they have had in the past. Both options are viable candidates for Ty Dillon's future home. Corey Lajoie - Corey Lajoie is a people's driver. Many people may know him as the guy who puts his face on the front of his racecars. For the last few seasons, Corey Lajoie has been following in the footsteps of Matt DiBenedetto. Lajoie drove the #83 for BK Racing after Matty D left, and Lajoie continued to follow Matt signing with Go Fas Racing to drive the #32 after DiBenedetto went to LFR. Since then, Lajoie has been putting up decent finishes in the #32 car, but he feels like taking a leap of faith. Lajoie even quoted DiBenedetto's rise in NASCAR as something he'd like to see in his own career. Lajoie announced that he would not be returning to Go Fas in 2021, but no announcements have been made as to where he'll end up. Chase Briscoe - Briscoe has shot off like a rocket in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year. Heading into the playoffs, he has 7 wins and is tied for the top seed with his former truck series teammate, Austin Cindric. Briscoe has proven that he is the real deal at the lower levels of competition. Stewart Haas Racing already has a technical alliance with Go Fas Racing, so we could see Chase Briscoe pilot the #32 Ford Mustang next season. This could be part of a plan to give Briscoe some experience in a cup car before bringing him over to SHR. Austin Cindric - Like Briscoe, Cindric has really shown out this season in the Xfinity series. Cindric currently has 5 wins on the season, but is the 2020 Regular season champion for the Xfinity series. Cindric currently drives for Team Penske in the Xfinity Series. However, it is worth noting that Austin's dad, Tim Cindric, works for Team Penske. Family ties have been known to make deals for driver's in the past. If this were to happen, the most notable landing spots for Cindric would be either in a 4th full time Team Penske car or taking over the Wood Brothers #21. Matt DiBenedetto - This leads me to our last major free agent on our list: Matty D. Matt DiBenedetto's story in NASCAR has been a truly heart warming roller coaster for us all. He caught the fans' hearts at Bristol in 2019 when he got a close 2nd place finish to Denny Hamlin. LFR and the #95 team was slated to be the place where DiBenedetto could truly show his potential and maybe even build around. However, Christopher Bell took the #95 in 2020. This was not a bad move for Matty D, though, as he would get the call to drive the famed Wood Brothers #21 in 2020. It was a move that saw DiBenedetto get his first ever playoff birth and overall career highs across the board. However, once again DiBenedetto could be facing the threat of losing his ride to a young, up-and-comer. No move has been made official, but things are certainly not clear for him at the moment. He has stated that he must be notified prior to the end of September whether he will be picked up again or not. Only time will tell if his performance will be strong enough to keep him there. The 2021 NASCAR Silly Season class is potentially the most talent-filled in recent memory. There are plenty of talented free agents currently on the market, and currently not enough seats for them to fill. As the 2020 season draws to a close, it will be more interesting to see what the future has in store for these drivers. For the next seven races, these drivers will have to drive like there's no tomorrow. For these drivers, their performances might be what sets them apart from the crowd.

The Xfinity Series playoffs are finally here. Arguably the most competitive NASCAR national series. Seven different drivers won a race in the regular season, and all seven have at least two wins. The Xfinity Series Round of 12 includes Las Vegas, Talladega, and the Charlotte Roval. The Round of 8 includes Kansas, Texas, and Martinsville. The Championship Round is a single round event at Phoenix. Chase Briscoe - 7 Wins (Las Vegas, Darlington, Homestead, Pocono, Indy Road Course, Dover, Bristol), 14 Top 5s, 18 Top 10s, Average Finish 7.6, + 48 Points. Zach : The most dominant driver in the Xfinity Series enters the playoffs as one of the two favorites. He struggled by his standards this summer, but a rebound at Bristol has brought momentum back to the team. His points cushion, and performance this season makes him a virtual lock for Phoenix. Justin : Briscoe comes into the playoffs as a championship favorite. No practice or qualifying has seemed to help the SHR crew, just as it has his Cup teammate, Kevin Harvick. Briscoe fell off during the summer months but was able to prove he was still a contender with a win at Bristol. I’d be surprised if we didn’t see the #98 fighting for a championship in Phoenix. Austin Cindric - 5 Wins ( Kentucky, Kentucky, Texas, Road America, Daytona Road Course) 17 Top 5s, 21 Top 10s, Average Finish 7.5, Regular Season Champion, +48 Points. Zach : The most consistent driver in the series is rewarded with the regular season championship. A blazing hot summer earned Cindric 5 wins since July, and was dominant on almost every road course on the schedule. I expect Cindric's cushion to get him to Phoenix, but I worry about his chances to win it all. Justin : Cindric, like Briscoe, comes in as a championship favorite. Cindric has the best average finish of the playoff drivers, and consistency is key. A slow start to the season was met with dominance in the summer months and a regular season championship. I would expect to see the #22 battling in Phoenix if he can avoid something like what happened to his Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney. Justin Allgaier - 3 Wins ( Dover, Richmond, Richmond), 8 Top 5s, 15 Top 10s, Average Finish 13.2, +31 Points. Zach : The hottest driver in the series Allgaier has been turning his early season woes around. Allgaier's season has been one with several letdowns, and being so so close to winning. Allgaier has all the momentum in the garage, but I worry the luck could turn on him. If Allgaier gets to Phoenix he almost has to be the favorite. Justin : Allgaier comes in with a lot going good for him. He’s had the most momentum of anyone as of late. He has got 3 wins now and a handful of playoff points. He’s also got maturity and when the pressure of the playoffs gets heavy, maturity and experience might find Allgaier in the championship hunt. Noah Gragson - 2 Wins (Daytona, Bristol) 11 Top 5s, 19 Top 10s, Average Finish 9.2, +23 Points. Zach : Arguably the most interesting driver in the Xfinity Series Noah Gragson has been the streakiest driver in this season. A blazing start with wins at Daytona, and Bristol earned Gragson a comfortable spot entering the playoffs. Gragson has been quiet as of late, but I absolutely believe Gragson could win his way to Phoenix. Justin : Gragson has been a peculiar case. He started off very strong scoring 2 wins but hasn’t seen victory lane since. He has stayed consistent though with an average finish inside the top 10. I do not see Gragson fighting for a championship in Phoenix, but he could certainly put on a strong showing. Brandon Jones - 3 Wins (Phoenix, Kansas, Darlington) 8 Top 5s, 14 Top 10s, Average Finish 13.5, +18 Points. Zach : The luckiest driver in the Xfinity Series enters the playoffs with some luck on his side. Although luck is the reward for being in position to capitalize, and he could easily find his place at Phoenix. He now has two wins at Kansas a Round of 8 track, and a win in Phoenix against Kyle Busch. I doubt his luck will last that long, but if he makes it Jones can easily capitalize. Justin : Sometimes all you need is a little luck. That’s exactly what Jones has had this year. Jones has been able to capitalize on other driver’s mishaps and has accumulated 3 wins on the year. He very well could sneak into the final four. If he does, one of his 3 wins this season did come at Phoenix. Justin Haley - 2 Wins (Talladega, Daytona) 8 Top 5s, 16 Top 10s, Average Finish 10.1, +16 Points. Zach : A driver that's trending upwards Justin Haley has been trending towards a threat. Haley in combination with Kaulig Racing is arguably the best superspeedway racer in the series. Getting to Phoenix will be a challenge, but if Haley can get there he could spoil the championship party. Justin : I have been impressed with Justin Haley lately. Like Jones, he’s been able to capitalize on chaos by other drivers. We typically see Haley as a superspeedway racer as that’s where he’s accumulated his wins. However, Haley put up a strong showing at Richmond which could be an indicator for Phoenix. He will have an uphill battle getting to Phoenix though. Luckily, for him Talladega is a part of this round. Harrison Burton - 2 Wins (Auto Club, Homestead) 13 Top 5s, 18 Top 10s, Average Finish 9.5, +12 Points. Zach : Harrison Burton has impressed me throughout the season. Harrison, much like his father Jeff Burton, has been calm and consistent all season. His calming nature has made him under the radar, but I truly believe Harrison is a legitimate championship threat, and could even reach Phoenix without a win. Justin : I had high hopes for Harrison this year, especially after his two wins early in the year. He is still young, though, and he is a rookie in the series. He’s put up some good numbers though for a rookie campaign. However, I don’t see it being enough to get him to the championship fight in Phoenix. Ross Chastain - 13 Top 5s, 23 Top 10s, Average Finish 7.9, +8 Points. Zach : Although his consistency has been impressive Chastain's lack of wins makes his playoff journey seemingly perfect just to reach Phoenix. I think Chastain earns his elusive first win of the season, but his lack of wins will be the one thing keeping from Phoenix. Justin : Ross Chastain has been as consistent this year as Briscoe and Cindric. However, there’s one thing that finds him so far down on this list: lack of winning. Chastain was only able to muster up 2 stage wins. Being third in points does add 8 more playoff points. I would love to see the melon man in Phoenix, but it will be an uphill battle with little playoff points to help him out. Ryan Sieg - 4 Top 5s, 8 Top 10s, Average Finish 15.7, -8 Points. Zach : The best of an Xfinity Series littered with fun underdogs Sieg has been using strategy all season. Sieg's best chance to advance is Talladega, and I hope he can, but even that is a tall task. However making the playoffs again is another solid season for Seig, and his team. Justin : Every year Sieg and his team get a little bit better. The hard-working owner, driver has looked impressive, running top 10 at some point in quite a few races. However, the equipment inside the #39 just isn’t at the level of his playoff competitors. This team can use the publicity to look for more financial opportunities and perhaps we could see them in the championship hunt soon. Michael Annett- 3 Top 5s, 16 Top 10s, Average Finish 11.9, -8 Points. Zach : Annett's 2020 season has been a disappointment overall. Annett has struggled to be much more than a bottom of the top 10 threat. Considering he's already in a points hole I think he will be solid, but unable to elevate his performance to advance. Justin : Annett has had a slower year than last year, but solid year. His 11.9 average finish is higher than that of his JR Motorsports teammate, Justin Allgaier. However, like Chastain, Annett just hasn’t been able to get out front and get the wins and playoff points needed to advance. Riley Herbst - 4 Top 5s, 16 Top 10s, Average Finish 15.0, -9 Points. Zach : Riley Herbst has been a bit of a disappointment for me this season. I understand he's a rookie with very very limited success, but this is JGR equipment. I think Riley's youth and inexperience will show, but this playoff experience will serve him well in the future as he continues in the Xfinity Series. Justin : Herbst has had a hit or miss season in terms of performance. He’s shown signs of speed and potential, but he doesn’t have the record to show for it. Herbst is the least experienced in the field having the least amount of Xfinity starts in the field. I think the lack of experience and playoff points will see Herbst as an early exit in the playoffs. Brandon Brown - 4 Top 10s, Average Finish 16.5, -10 Points. Zach : Brandon Brown has been fun to watch. A consistently improving top 15 threat this team has made a massive improvement. Even with a financial push to make himself a bigger playoff contender I expect Brown to fall short considering the point in which he's starting. Brown like Seig needs to use this experience to make his team's future brighter. Justin : Brown, like Sieg, is an owner, driver for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. They were able to make it into the playoffs with consistent top 15 runs. Brown stated that they were acquiring some better equipment to make a run for the playoffs. However, the lack of playoff points will be extremely hard for Brown to overcome, and he’s in the biggest hole starting the playoffs. Zach's Picks - I'm excited to see how the Xfinity Series playoffs look. I see six legitimate title contenders, but my Championship 4 is Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, and Harrison Burton. I expect Briscoe, Cindric, and Allgaier to be relatively smooth sailing and cruise to Phoenix. Harrison Burton is my sleeper, and I think in a field that has plenty of aggressive drivers with Chastain and Gragson, Burton can sneak to Phoenix. My champion however is Chase Briscoe, and to me the best driver gets the championship. Justin's Picks - After everything that’s been said, I believe that the four drivers heading to Phoenix will be: Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones. The drivers that have the most wins will find a way to get up front again and punch their ticket to Phoenix. I believe that Allgaier will be able to win in Phoenix as well and clinch his first ever NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.

Several media outlets are reporting that Hendrick Motorsports has been penalized a $00k and docked a total of 10 of their allotted hours for win tunnel testing in the 2021 season after exceeding their allowance of 70 hours in 2020 season. Per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, the Chevrolet power-house team reported their own overage which was said to be my just minutes over 70 hours in total. No championship points or suspensions were announced by NASCAR in regards to this. Hendrick Motorsports currently has the drivers of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman in the 2020 championship playoffs; both drivers advanced into the round of 12 after last week's race at Bristol.

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs have officially advanced to the Round of 12, and its time to speculate where each remaining playoff driver could win, and advance to the Round of 8. The Round of 12 features races at Las Vegas, Talladega, and the Charlotte Roval. The Cup Series raced at Las Vegas before the pandemic, and Joey Logano was able to snag a win. I have four drivers who's best chance of winning is at Las Vegas. Las Vegas is Harvick's best chance because he can avoid the calamity of Talladega, and the Roval. Harvick's playoff points from his 9 wins has essentially already earned him a bye to the championship race. Brad Keselowski has been great at both Las Vegas and Talladega. Keselowski's best bet is to lock this up at Vegas so he can be as aggressive as possible at Talladega. Joey Logano the most recent winner at Las Vegas, has been fantastic here winning the last two spring races. Just like his teammate Brad Keselowski, Logano will be looking to win Vegas, so he can race for the win at Talladega. Las Vegas native Kyle Busch has had an awful season by his standards, but could he resurrect his season at his home track. Although he is not great at any of the three tracks in the round Las Vegas is a track where he runs well even though he only has one win there. In June the Cup Series raced at Talladega in June, and Round of 16 boot Ryan Blaney won. I have four drivers who's best chance to win is at Talladega. Denny Hamlin entered the playoffs as a championship favorite. After a rough first round where he easily could've won at each of those three tracks, this round sets up less than perfect for Hamlin. Talladega is Hamlin's best chance because of his prowess at Daytona. Hamlin's regular season success should help him easily advance. Austin Dillon's magical playoff run hinges on success at Talladega. Another driver who struggles at the Roval, and is average at Las Vegas leaving Talladega as his best bet to win. Kurt Busch has a horrible round setup for him, even as a Las Vegas native he has never won at his home track. A decent history at the Roval helps, but the wildcard of Talladega proves to be his best bet. Aric Almirola the winner of the 2018 fall Talladega winner is one of the best superspeedway racers in NASCAR today. Talladega presents an awesome opportunity for Almirola to win and advance to the Round of 8. Clint Bowyer a 2 time winner at Talladega is a solid superspeedway racer. Although he is good at the Roval Clint has not had race winning speed this entire season. The Cup Series returns to the Roval for the first time since Chase Elliott's win at the Roval in 2019. Although he didn't win in 2018 Martin Truex Jr, is one of the two best road course racers in the Cup Series. Truex has consistently been a competitor at both the Roval and Las Vegas, but I think the competition is a little easier at the Roval. Chase Elliott the 2019 Roval winner, and winner of the Daytona Road Course in August. Elliott is arguably the best road course racer in the Cup Series makes him the favorite in my opinion at the Roval. Clint Bowyer a 2 time winner at Talladega is a solid superspeedway racer, but he is one of two drivers with two top 5's at the Roval. The fact that others are not as competitive at the Roval makes this his best bet to win. The other driver with two top 5's is Alex Bowman, and finished second to Chase in 2019. Bowman is not seen as a good road course racer, but Bowman thrives here. Both Bowman and Bowyer are sleeper picks to win the Roval.

Saturday night was a throwback of sorts, a vintage-feeling Bristol Night Race that was dominated by Kevin Harvick. The bottom line returned to fame as the bump and run was the best method for passing, especially the first 400 laps of this race. Overall an underwhelming Bristol race considering modern day multi-grooved Bristol barely showed up, and the bump and run being a forgotten art, but the finish really saved this race. Chase Elliott won stage one, but Kyle Busch was in hot pursuit after he started in the back for failing pre race inspection. Stage one was fairly clean except for contact between Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while they were trying to pass a lapped car. Stage one felt like the calm before the storm. Spoiler alert...the storm never showed. Stage two was the Kyle Busch show. He put on a dominant performance, and the crazy part is, this was the best he's looked all season. There was an incident on track between JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. Truex was coming off of pit road after a tire issue. After getting back on track he slid up in front of Hamlin, making contact with both the #11 Toyota and the wall. Another incident occurred when Christopher Bell and William Byron got stacked up behind a lapped car ruining Byron's night and playoff chances. Stage three started off a bit dull, but after a caution with roughly 75 laps to go it was a battle between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Two of the best going head-to-head at arguably NASCAR's best track was amazing. The two champions navigated the constant flow of lapped traffic while battling each other at the same time. It was intense. They swapped the lead a few times, but in the end Kevin Harvick made the final pass for the lead. None of the four drivers that entered below the cut line were able to advance. William Byron and Cole Custer were involved in early race accidents that ended their chances. As for Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney they showed decent speed at times, but in the end the strategy just didn't work their way.

As the 2020 regular season for the NASCAR Xfinity Series drew to a close, we were treated with a solid race at the Last Great Colosseum. The young Xfinity drivers never cease to put on a show, and Friday Night was no exception. This is one of the few times this season fans have been in attendance at an Xfinity event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. These fans were definitely treated to a Bristol classic and were certainly not disappointed. While 11 of the 12 playoff drivers came into the race having already clinched a spot into the playoffs, the playoff drama did indeed add some excitement to the short track racing. NASCAR decided to add in the PJ1 Traction Compound to the track which did enhance the racing product. Fans have been extremely critical of the PJ1 at other tracks, but Bristol has seemed to be the exception. The compound helped to provide multiple grooves of racing while still keeping that old school Bristol feel to the race. Justin Allgaier led the field to the green flag and got an exceptional jump at the start of the race. It wasn't long, though, until Ross Chastain took the lead from Allgaier. The battle wasn't over. Chastain and his aggressive driving style proved to wear out the tires pretty quickly in the run, which combined with lap traffic allowed Allgaier to get back by Chastain for the lead. Stage 1 treated us to a classic Bristol wreck as well. The #0 of Jeffrey Earnhardt made contact with his teammate, the #6 of BJ McLeod, sending McLeod into the wall and back down into the #99 of Vinnie Miller. The #44 of Tommy Joe Martins also got involved trying to avoid the wreck. This incident proved not to matter much in terms of the leaders or the playoff picture, but it gave fans that classic Bristol feel. The race stayed under green through the end of stage 1. Allgaier carried his momentum from Richmond to grab his 11th stage win of the season. Haley, Briscoe, Cindric, Chastain, Gragson, Jones, Annett, J. Burton, and H. Burton rounded out the Top 10 in Stage 1. Stage 2 proved to be a two man show up front as Allgaier fought off the hard charging Austin Cindric to grab his 2nd stage win of the night and his 12th of the season. There was one caution for incident in stage 2 when Brandon Jones got together with Joe Graf Jr. on lap 121 which, in turn, sent Graf into Michael Annett who was on the outside of him. Annett was starting to figure his car out on the high side move through the field, but ultimately he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Later in the stage, we saw the two aggressive natures of Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson tangle. The two got together fighting for position. The contact didn't result in a caution, or change the outcome of either driver's race. The contact did show just how hard these two drivers were willing to fight for every position on track which could translate well to the playoffs. The battle for the lead was clearly between the #7 and the #22. It seemed like nobody was going to catch them in the second stage, and that ended up being true. Allgaier grabbed the green and white checkered flag with Cindric, Briscoe, Chastain, Gragson, J. Burton, H. Burton, Herbst, Alfredo, and Sieg all getting stage points at the end of Stage 2. While the first two stages proved to be Allgaier's for the taking, the remainder of the race wasn't the same. Allgaier lost the lead and drop out of contention. Austin Cindric took over the lead and had a steady battle with Ross Chastain for the large portion of stage 3. Another caution occurred on lap 255 when Dexter Bean in the #90 car got into the wall. The single-car incident allowed the drivers to come down pit road and get fresh tires. After that, it was a battle between Cindric and Chastain again for the win. However, with about 15 laps to go Chase Briscoe began to come to life. He was able to make it around Chastain for second and take advantage of Cindric's loss of power steering to grab his 7th win of the season. The win was Briscoe's first at Bristol and the 9th win of his Xfinity career. Chastain, Cindric, H. Burton, Allgaier, Alfredo, Jones, J. Burton, and Herbst completed the top 10. With no real change in the points situation, Brandon Brown locked up the final spot in the Xfinity Series playoffs. The Food City 300 at Bristol was a good race to cap off the Xfinity Series regular season. There was a lot of good, hard short track racing which fans love to see. Briscoe's win allowed him to tie former Truck series teammate, Austin Cindric, in playoff points. The win also reestablishes Briscoe as a championship favorite. After going on a major run at the beginning of the season, Briscoe fell off slightly in the summer months. This also allowed Cindric to clinch the regular season title. However, Briscoe has proven not to count him out of this championship fight just yet. Now that the points are reset, the fight is on for the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Only time will tell who has what it takes to be called a champion.

Denny Hamlin confirmed rumors that he and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan are indeed going to operate a single-car NASCAR Cup Entry beginning in the 2021 season. The announcement came late Monday night via Denny's Twitter feed. This comes after their mutual purchase of Germain Racing. Jordan will be listed as the principal owner. The two famed athletes have been friends for many years and Denny mentioned his relationship with the Jordan Brand as well in tonight's announcement. Their driver has been announced to be Darrell (Bubba) Wallace Jr. Further details regarding the purchase, sponsors, team name, and number were not mentioned. It will operate under the Toyota banner in conjunction with Denny and Joe Gibbs Racing's ongoing relationship with TRD. Denny states that he continues to be focused on his #11 FedEx Toyota in regards to his career as a driver. No comment from Michael Jordan at this time. Darrell Wallace on Twitter posted : "This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career. I’m grateful and humbled that they believe in me and I’m super pumped to begin this adventure with them" Refresh this post for updates as they become available.

First reported by Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, NASCAR's famed All-Star Event will be at its third location in three years. The event will move to Texas Motor Speedway in 2021. In exchange for the All-Star date, they will give up one of their regular season dates in the 2021 Cup Series schedule. The event was hosted by Charlotte for over 30 consecutive seasons before being hosted by Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020. All three tracks are owned by parent company Speedway Motorsports. The new opening in the schedule may allow for NASCAR's first event at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin. (Twitter.com/Jeff_Gluck)

After 19 seasons as title sponsor of the NHRA Drag Racing Series, parent company Coca-Cola shared with NHRA Drag Racing that they will ending their entitlement sponsorship agreement a year early, according to Sports Business Journal. "Recently, Coca-Cola had a change of heard, and told us they would walk away from their agreement to sponsor our professional series.." and NHRA spokesperson said. The agreement was said to last through 2023, but if halted will now end at the end of the 2022 season. At this time, Coca-Cola has not commented on the status of their relationship with the NHRA moving forward.

Kevin Harvick's #4 Busch Light Stewart-Haas Racing Ford held off Kyle Busch for the win at Bristol Motor Speedway's 0.533 mile oval Saturday night. Harvick led just under half of the 500 miles (226) while Busch led 159. Pole sitter Brad Keselowski led 82 laps and finished 34th after losing power steering and going several laps down. There were five cautions for 50 laps. 2 Cautions for stage breaks and 3 for on-track incident. This win is Kevin Harvick's 9th win of the 2020 season, second at Bristol Motor Speedway, and 58th total. Saturday night's event also happened to be the first elimination race of the playoffs, where they moved from 16 playoff drivers to 12 playoff drivers. The four drivers that did not make it were: Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, and William Byron. Top 5: 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Kyle Busch 3. Erik Jones 4. Tyler Reddick 5. Aric Almirola Notables 7. Chase Elliot 15. Kurt Busch 34. Brad Keselowski