Well, unfortunately, today’s race is at Texas, where little exciting ever happens but they make it seem like exciting things happen by just showing that Michael McDowell qualifying wreck from way back when on a loop. Worst of both worlds: Usually boring, if not it might kill you. I should try to make a race there sometime while I live down here.
Where It Is
Oh, sorry. Jumped the gun. It’s at Texas. Texas Motor Speedway. Up past Fort Worth.
When It Is
Green flag at 2:08 PM EDT.
How to Watch
NBC
Whom to Watch
Playoff standings, entering the Round of 8, along with their place relative to the championship race cutoff and their odds to win today:
1. Kyle Larson (42 points ahead of first driver out; 17-to-5)
2. Denny Hamlin (7 points ahead of first driver out; 6-to-1)
3. Martin Truex Jr. (6 points ahead of first driver out; 9-to-1)
4. Ryan Blaney (last driver in, 1 point ahead of first driver out; 9-to-1)
5. Kyle Busch (first driver out, 1 point behind last driver in; 13-to-2)
6. Chase Elliott (2 points behind last driver in; 15-to-2)
7. Joey Logano (11 points behind last driver in; 12-to-1)
8. Brad Keselowski (16 points behind last driver in; 18-to-1)
How NASCAR Should Script It
You’ve got Larson, Hamlin, and Elliott as the main characters—Larson by virtue of being this year’s best driver, Hamlin by virtue of being the most consistently good driver over the last few years, Elliott by being last year’s champion. You want either all three of those in the championship or a dramatic exit in the final race of the Round of 8 by exactly one of them. One route you could go, then, would be to have one of the three win today and lock themselves in. It’s probably going to be a fairly boring race, so this is a reasonable option. You could also, though, lock one of the others in, ideally Blaney, your most marketable asset outside of Elliott. It’s rare that Blaney’s in the power position. He’s always a sidekick. Giving him his Brutus moment (I don’t know what a Brutus moment is and yet I think this makes sense) isn’t a bad idea. Also, feel like there’s a cowboy hat involved with the trophy presentation (I should remember this) and he looks good in those.
Xfinity
John Hunter Nemechek—full-time Truck driver, therefore not playoff-eligible in the Xfinity Series—won it, keeping the door open with two races left in that series’s own Round of 8.
