1. Swelled bubble
Six drivers will be battling to advance into the Round of 8 at Kansas Speedway. Kurt Busch, who led the most laps at Talladega but finished 14th, is 30 points to the good ahead of ninth-place Brad Keselowski, who is 18 points behind bubble boy Martin Truex Jr., with Clint Bowyer sandwiched in between. Ryan Blaney is 22 points behind Truex, followed by Kyle Larson, 26 points from the cut line.
2. Truex watch
The Truex slide continues as the life of the defending championship team begins to flicker. The No. 78 Toyota has five races left in its history before it shuts down forever. At least Truex is talking a tough game. I think thats a good place (Kansas) for us even if we had to win, he said. I am not saying were going to go there and win. But anytime we can go to any of those tracks, I feel like we have a shot. Its racing.
3. Jimmies streak
NBC Sports has been making a big deal of Jimmie Johnsons streak of winning at least one race every season since 2002. The No. 48 Chevy is crumbling. Crew chief Chad Knaus and Johnson will separate in 2019. Its important to try to win this season, Johnson said. You guys rely on stats way more than what I do. But, yeah, contrary to what people believe, we go to the race track to win every week. That is kind of the goal.
Godwin Kelly, [email protected]
