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Become a Patron! (Photo Source : Twitter.com/RPMotorsports) With the Southern 500 now in the rear-view mirror, the NASCAR Playoffs are officially in full swing! There’s a different layer of excitement when it comes to the final 10 races of every NASCAR season; that is when the championship truly is on the line. Sixteen drivers are chasing a title and looking to live forever in the annals of NASCAR history. However, every year I can’t help but think “What are the non-playoff drivers chasing?” This article talks about 5 non-playoff storylines you should have your eye on. (Photo Source : Twitter.com/QuakerState) 1. Can Matt DiBenedetto get the 100th win for Wood Brothers Racing?   Let’s be honest, both team and driver need a win. The man affectionately known as Matty D is beloved by fans as an underdog. After Levine Family Racing announced it was replacing DiBenedetto with Christopher Bell in 2020 the narrative that Matt DiBenedetto is fighting for his Cup career became water co...

In case you missed it , StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500.  Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020.    5 th Place – Kevin Harvick – 2410 pts   By the Numbers:   13 Years – Not only was 2020 Kevin Harvick’s best season, it was the best season any driver has had for 13 years.  With his 7.33 average finish (Nearly two whole spots better than Denny Hamlin, who came in 2 nd in that category this year), Harvick made history.  Strangely enough, the last time something like this happened was in 2007, when Jeff Gordon scored an identical 7.33 average finish.  Even stranger still, just like Harvick, Gordon didn’t win the championship that year, either.   20 Top 5s – Kevin Harvick’s 2020 numbers are insane.  He scored 20 Top 5s, which is more than Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and William Byron have in their entire careers.  ...

  10. Kyle Busch returns with a vengeance – Kyle Busch was notably absent from victory lane for much of 2020.   Kyle only notched one win in 2020, at Texas in the 33 rd race of the season at Texas.   JGR, as a group, was off their game in 2020, with Martin Truex, Jr., also notching only one win.   Nothing was normal in 2020, and nothing was odder than seeing Kyle Busch running outside the top 5 in most races.   Look for the Gibbs camp to get things straightened out this offseason and look for a highly motivated Kyle Busch to return with a vengeance.   My prediction:   Kyle Busch gets the monkey off his back by winning the Daytona 500, ends the season as part of the Championship 4, and the over/under on his victories for the year is 5.     9. Matt D. gets the Wood Brothers their 100 th win – Matt D. has made a name for himself over the last two years.   First, with his impressive run at Bristol in 2019, where he led a ton of laps and...

       What a cutoff race!! NASCAR scheduling Martinsville as the cutoff race for the Round of 8 was genius. The race had drama, comers and goers, an incredible points battle, and exactly why NASCAR created this playoff format. NASCAR truly had a once in a season type of race.     Stage One was won by Denny Hamlin, but it was clear that early on the race seemed to be between Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Chase Elliott. Early on there was some strategy, and it was apparent a few guys were points racing based on late stage strategy. It would prove its value later on, but Denny Hamlin winning this stage would be all the difference between advancing to Phoenix, and not.      Stage Two showed that Elliott, and Truex were a little bit ahead of Hamlin, but concern started to set in for championship favorite Kevin Harvick. He had been running outside the top 10 all day, and looked largely irrelevant. If Chase Elliott, or Martin Truex we...

           A race that truly took days to get through was surprisingly underrated in my opinion. After several misty days in Texas Kyle Busch finally won his first Cup race of the season, and it greatly impacted the playoff battle. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick struggling plus a playoff driver not winning at Texas really makes Martinsville a must win situation for the bottom four playoff drivers.      Stage One started on Sunday afternoon, and it created the story lines for Wednesday including Denny Hamlin getting out of the groove losing valuable track position, and Kevin Harvick getting loose hitting the wall creating a consistent issue with damage. It was clear early on drivers recognized the value of track position, and Clint Bowyer held on to win stage one.     Stage Two lead to the rise of Martin Truex Jr., and after starting in the back from a penalty involving his spoiler he quickly made his way through the field, and looke...

      In a season filled with so many twists and turns it is sadly winding down. Eight drivers remain in the hunt and half of the final four is a compelling battle between six drivers. Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are essentially locked in on points, and the races in this round being at Kansas, Texas, and Martinsville really sets up well for them. Martinsville is the "wildcard" of the round, but even then the elite drivers there always rise to the top.     Kansas actually sets up as the most compelling in my opinion, and here's why six different active playoff drivers have won here. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick both have three wins at Kansas, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Joey Logano all have two wins at Kansas, and Chase Elliott has one win at Kansas. Denny Hamlin has won two of the last three at Kansas including the race this July, and last seasons playoff race. I think Denny Hamlin is the favorite coming into this race, but Kevin Harvick's 9.6 av...

      What an interesting story for a race. I rarely am down on competitive races, but I am down on this Kansas race. The finish resulted in fans watching Harvick almost helpless in his attempts to try to pass Joey Logano, and Logano used his master blocking skills to clinch a spot in the Championship Four.      Stage one was controlled by Chase Elliott largely, and seven of the eight remaining playoff drivers scored stage points. Stage one was the best racing of the day, and it is becoming more obvious this intermediate aero package works best in cool, cloudy, and wintery weather.  Stage two was won by Denny Hamlin, and it was an interesting battle in the closing laps of the stage, but it was at that point I realized passing for the lead was going to be a problem at the end of the race. It was another stage dominated by the playoff drivers, and it tightened up around the playoff cutline after stage 2.  Stage three was a mess. Playoff contender Ku...

  (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...

      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...

    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 wa...

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/StewartHaasRcng) 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 Keselow...

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/NASCAR)  

      NASCAR has given us fans a massive gift. The Bristol night race has been moved from a late summer classic to an early playoff must watch. I will preview each of the 16 playoff drivers and rank them into one of four categories. The categories are a favorite, a good bet, a long shot, and save your money.      Kevin Harvick -  The regular season champion enters Bristol having already advanced to the Round of 12 via his win at Darlington. Harvick has been one of the two dominant drivers this season. Bristol however is good but not great track for him. He has three wins, and an average finish of 13.8. Between the SHR short track program being less competitive than others, and Harvick already advancing via the Darlington win, but it's 2020 Harvick is a favorite.      Brad Keselowki - Keselowski has already advanced via his win at Richmond last Saturday night. Brad won the spring race through one of the craziest finishes in Bristol histor...

           Saturday night short trackin' under the lights! The traditional late season Richmond night race was an interesting one. It was a race with three cautions, but zero for incident. The Cup series stars put on a display of clean, competitive short track racing.      Saturday's race was refreshing in my opinion. A race that had actual strategy was a nice change of pace.       Although one driver dominated the entire back half of the event, the racing product still sufficed. To me a good race has the best cars in the front, and if they get stuck in the back they can recover. Richmond had that.  I would rate the race a 7/10. It wasn't a race I'll remember forever, but a good race in the moment.     Stage one was won by local favorite Denny Hamlin, however after a pit road speeding penalty at the stage break, he had to restart in the back. Unfortunately, Hamlin never really recovered. His team strugg...