The flurry of driver movement late last season was flurrier than usual, due largely to the shuttered windows at Stewart-Haas Racing.
SHR’s closeout sale included four drivers with varying amounts of experience and street cred. Noah Gragson ended up at Front Row Motorsports, Ryan Preece at RFK and Josh Berry with the Wood Brothers/Team Penske.
It was Chase Briscoe who got the most coveted seat — the No. 19 Toyota bequeathed by the retiring Martin Truex Jr. You know the story: With great opportunity comes great pressure.
“Such a big weight off my shoulders,” Briscoe said Sunday after collecting his third career checkered flag and his first as an employee of Joe Gibbs Racing. It also ends a shockingly long winless streak (68 races) for the No. 19 team.
Briscoe is the 11th different winner through 17 races and has now clinched his spot in the 16-team playoffs. Nine regular-season races remain.
Let’s review: 11, 17, 16, 9. We’re throwing around some numbers. Why? Explanation to follow as we go through the gears and speed along toward a place so new, it’s not yet on our GPS.
First Gear: Can we finally fill the NASCAR playoffs with winners?
You probably know the playoff deal. Win a regular-season race and you’re in, provided you’re a full-time driver who hasn’t had any unexcused absences during the season (Denny Hamlin got a “hall pass” two weeks ago due to the birth of his third child).
Assuming there are fewer than 16 winners, the playoff field is filled by turning to the points standings. And that’s what has always happened since the 16-team format began in 2014. They came close to filling the playoffs with winners two years ago when 15 different guys won.
And I’m here to tell you there’s a chance they’ll get to 16 winners this year. And while that chance might be as slim as Carson Hocevar, it’s not remotely out of the realm of possibility. Why?
Of the nine remaining regular-season races, five are wildcards — three road courses (Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen) and two plate races (Atlanta, Daytona).
Like Shane van Gisbergen in Mexico City, AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell will get legitimate shots at the road races. Frankly, given McDowell’s plate-race history, Daytona and Atlanta are also possible for him — and everyone else, more or less.
Mix in a surprise or two at one of the four “regular” races — say, Ty Gibbs or Carson Hocevar — and 16 becomes workable. Don’t be shocked if a 12th winner emerges Saturday night at … at … at … what’s it called again?
Second Gear: Atlanta Motor Speedway erased from the map
That’s right, the Motor Speedway formerly known as Atlanta now answers to EchoPark.
As we connect the dots, an historic connection will emerge and you’ll realize that the more things change, the more they remain the same — except this time they want to sell you a car instead of a cordless drill.
EchoPark Automotive is a chain of used-car dealerships. Oops: “A U.S.-based retailer of nearly-new pre-owned vehicles.”
It’s a subsidiary of Sonic Automotive. Sounding familiar yet?
Sonic was founded by the late Bruton Smith and now overseen by his son, David. Yep, the same Smith family that owns and operates several big-league speedways, including Atlanta.
They brought the naming rights game to NASCAR in 1999 when they rebranded their mothership as Lowe’s Motor Speedway — 10 years later, the Charlotte label returned.
Third Gear: Dale Earnhardt Jr. puts a warm body on the box
Kyle Busch is still out there in the wilderness, hoping to uncover a combination that’ll make his RCR Chevy faster. He hasn’t lost his ability to stir the pot, however.
Quick background: Dale Earnhardt Jr. filled in as crew chief for Connor Zilisch this past Saturday at Pocono, and wouldn’t you know it, Zilisch won the race. The usual crew chief was suspended due to a violation found in post-race tech at the previous race.
With modern technology, a crew chief can probably do his chiefing from the couch back home, which Kyle pointed out over the weekend. Just a cool way to garner some publicity, he said. Nothing but a “warm body” up there on the pit box.
Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to refrain from stating the obvious. The older, wiser Kyle knows that, which probably explains his next day’s apology of sorts. He suggested he was just pointing out the absurdity of suspending a crew chief when you know he’ll still be very involved through the marvels of modern telecommunication.
Either way, in the stat book, Junior is now 1-0 as a crew chief and Connor Z has his first NASCAR win on something without right-hand turns.
Fourth Gear: Amazon forwards NASCAR TV coverage from Prime Video to TNT
Tell your grandparents they’re back in business. Amazon Prime’s five-week run as the home of Cup Series racing has come and gone, and not a moment too soon for those who either …
A. Would rather tackle a Rubik’s Cube than try finding a streaming outlet on a TV that’s a little too smart for their liking.
B. Refuse to spend more money to watch TV since the cable company is already charging them over $200 a month for air.
C. Wouldn’t take advantage of the free month of Prime, even though it would’ve meant they could watch all five races, because they’re convinced they’d be unable to cancel in 30 days. I see you out there nodding in agreement.
Much to their relief, the next five races are on TNT, where they used to go to watch rasslin’. And they’ll get a feel for what they missed on Prime, since the main booth will still be manned by Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Junior Earnhardt’s warm body.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
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