Who… should you be talking about after the race?
Drivers on the playoff bubble breathed a sigh of relief as Chase Elliott took the checkers in the Ally 400, preventing a new winner at least this week. With nine races to go and 12 winners, it’s still possible that making the playoffs on points could be a lost cause, but the chances of a race winner being left out are shrinking.
Elliott found some Nashville magic in the No. 9, coming alive in the final 100 laps. He led twice for 42 laps, all of them in the final 60 of the race. He fought for the lead with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin during that segment, made the right call when the caution flew for Josh Bilicki with fewer than 10 laps remaining, and managed the final restart perfectly, holding off Kurt Busch for the last four circuits for his second win of 2022.
And don’t forget Kevin Harvick. He has been all but invisible for much of 2022, but he showed up on Sunday.
Harvick didn’t lead laps but laid down the fastest lap of the race. He’s not the Harvick of a couple years ago, who won nine times, but he’s still got the experience to get the most out of a race. He’s barely hanging on in the playoff fight, but he’s also awfully hard to count out before the checkers at Daytona International Speedway.
What… is the buzz about?
It’s the time of year when Silly Season starts to heat up, but if you were expecting any Earth-shattering announcements, it’s not your year so far. Two free agents announced new deals and both are staying exactly where they are.
Both Martin Truex Jr. and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are staying put at Joe Gibbs Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing, respectively. Stenhouse isn’t really a surprise, but Truex was the source of speculation about retirement. He hasn’t said how long he’ll stick around, but it wouldn’t be shocking if 2023 is his last full-time season.
There are still a few deals to be finalized, but so far, Silly Season looks to be only lightly jovial at best.
Where… did other key players wind up?
Polesitter Hamlin led the first 65 laps with a total of 114, the most of any driver, and had one of the strongest cars throughout the night. He had a chance to capitalize on a couple of late restarts but fell just short of the lead. On a night where the Toyotas shone, Hamlin helped carry the torch, but he fizzled the smallest bit when he pitted on the caution with just a handful of laps left. He came out deep in the field and while he passed car after car,…
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