NASCAR’s Cup Series is back in action today for the first time in what feels like a long time, though it’s only been a week. The cars will be going fast. Maybe not as fast as they sometimes go. But still very fast.
The race is at Atlanta, and while I don’t know who the favorite is (probably Chase Elliott, but I don’t know that for sure), I did have a dream last night in which Bubba Wallace won (in the dream, Bubba Wallace and I were friends).
Bubba Wallace hasn’t really been in the storyline this year. The storyline, if you need a refresher, is this:
Early in the season, the stories were small. Denny Hamlin continued to be elite. Joey Logano came out of the gate hot. Alex Bowman was on the rise.
Then, the coronavirus hit.
Since NASCAR’s returned, the stories have been bigger, and have involved six primary characters. Here they are, in order of appearance (kind of—I flipped Logano and Keselowski):
Kevin Harvick
The veteran. Former champion. Won the first race back from the season’s suspension, so is now locked into the playoffs. Something of a red herring, narrative-wise, but still around the story. Could come back into the mix.
Denny Hamlin
The exile. Also a veteran, and a comparable career to Harvick’s in quality, but no championship yet. Also picked up a win amidst the Elliott chaos. Somewhat peripheral to NASCAR persona-wise, given his friendship with Michael Jordan and general swagger. Already a great, as one of only six people to win three or more Daytona 500’s, but presumably desperately wanting a championship to avoid having an asterisk attached.
Chase Elliott
The golden boy. Young. Popular. A rising star. Elliott’s had the best car overall since the season resumed, and often had the best car before that. He’s twenty years younger than Harvick. In the second race back, he got into it with Kyle Busch, memorably flipping Busch off from the apron in a sustained salute after Busch wrecked him to cost Elliott a win. In the third race back, he narrowly missed victory again, this time due to either bad luck, a bad decision by his crew chief, or both. Finally, in the fourth race back, he got his victory, but last Sunday, he changed the script, wrecking Logano late in the race. Did the hero turn heel? Not exactly. Logano’s own history seems to make him something of a fair target. The possibility is on the table, though.
Kyle Busch
The monster. One of NASCAR’s best drivers (the reigning champion, with an additional championship lingering from 2015), Busch is unapologetically an asshole. No victories yet this year, but did really get into the spotlight with his Elliott incident.
Joey Logano
The villain. Also one of NASCAR’s best drivers (won the 2018 championship), Logano is also an asshole, but pretends not to be when he’s not on the track. Would assume he’s NASCAR’s most hated driver, which is why Elliott wrecking him got a lot more forgiveness than Busch wrecking Elliott (both Busch and Elliott owned their wreckings, with Busch saying publicly he made a mistake and Elliott allegedly saying privately—to Logano—that what he did was fine because it was Logano).
Brad Keselowski
The bystander. Also a former champion (2012), but not quite in the Logano/Busch tier. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really know how Keselowski’s perceived, but my impression is that he used to be disliked and now folks are neutral on him. Might be wrong about that, though. Keselowski’s picked up two wins in the last few weeks amidst all the conflict without really seeming to be drawn into it himself.
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The question for today, then, is whether there will be a new wrinkle to the story involving these six, or if NASCAR (or the fates, if NASCAR isn’t rigged, which I don’t think it is but hope it is because they need good storylines and those might not occur organically) will bring a side character into the main frame. Alex Bowman—the quiet rising contender? Jimmie Johnson—the once-great, now-grizzled man on his last lap? Tyler Reddick—the promising rookie? There are others it could be. Could even be Bubba Wallace. Maybe my dream was a prophesy.
We’ll find out soon.
