Running Out of Headlines for Larson Wins

Hollywood Casino 400:

"Ahhhhhhh!" - Kyle Busch, and my reaction when Larson won another race - going for his second three consecutive win streak of the season. A first since Dale Sr did it in 1987. Going into Sunday, I thought we would be in for a snooze fest and a heavyweight battle between Larson and Hamlin. Aside from Larson dominating and winning, I was off base for this race. Which is a good thing because there were plenty of story lines, plenty of on-track action, and several playoff contenders with issues. All in all, I'd give Kansas a 7.5 out of 10. A little higher than the Jeff Gluck Twitter poll (https://bit.ly/3jJpL7A). And this sets up for what should be an action-packed, thrilling Xfinity 500 at Martinsville this Sunday.

I was pleasantly pleased with the action on track this weekend. Kansas is truly coming into its own as one of the better 1.5 mile tracks. An aging surface that causes tire wear and falloff is really helping the racing at a track I used to dread watching races. I know it was still dominated by Larson (something we've seen a ton this season) but Kansas produced a solid race. Was some of it helped by intense wind that drivers attributed to causing their cars to step out of line and make contact with the wall? Absolutely. And that was great! Of course, you hate to see it impact the playoffs, but I loved it. It produced great race, had me keyed into the race completely, and added an extra layer of drama to the playoffs that we likely needed. The wall brushing from several playoff contenders, a crash by Blaney (off the bumper of the #3 car), and yet again another Larson win has the playoff cutoff line in an intense battle. This will without a doubt ratchet up the intensity of an already crazy Martinsville race. Love it or hate, that's the product of this playoff style run to the championship.

Another highlight of the weekend? The final race for this particular page. I cannot express how happy I am to see this package come to an end. While I am still holding out reservation about the NextGen car, I cannot imagine it'll be as bad as this package has been, especially on intermediate tracks. I now look forward to the last two races (although I hate the off-season) with the 750HP package, short track racing, and hard fought battles to the title.

Kansas Lottery 300:

Another phenomenal Xfinity race this weekend. Again, I don't know why NASCAR is building the NextGen car when, in my opinion, the Xfinity car is the perfect car for both Series. UGH! Either way, Saturday's race was great! Ty Gibbs once again won and proved he is one of the title favorites for the Xfinity series championship next season. He is dangerous on all sorts of tracks, he is in the best equipment in the field, and he is a wheel man. He will be dangerous next year and I genuinely think he will approach 8+ wins next season.

Beyond Gibbs stealing the win, there was great racing all day. As I said above, Kansas is aging and becoming a track with great tire falloff. Granted the cars were mainly around the top, they could move around, there was attrition and comers and goers. It made for a heck of race and a great battle to the finish.

Looking Ahead:

We finally get the trucks back as we head into the penultimate race for each series and the final chance to punch your ticket as a championship contender at Phoenix. Martinsville always puts on a show and is one of my favorite tracks. I wish I was going this weekend, but alas I am not! Hopefully I can get back there in the next few years. I believe this weekend will produce some great racing and each race will end up being in the top three of races for their respective series for the year. Here are my predictions:

Race winners:

Trucks:

• Winner - John Hunter Nemecheck

• Dark Horse - Josh Berry (weird calling him a dark horse at Martinsville)

Xfinity:

• Winner - Gragson

• Dark Horse - Brett Moffitt

Cup:

• Winner - Chase Elliott

• Dark Horse - Austin Dillon

Championship Four Picks:

Truck:

1. John Hunter Nemecheck

2. Ben Rhodes

3. Matt Crafton

4. Stewart Friesen

Xfinity:

1. Austin Cindric

2. AJ Allmendinger

3. Justin Allgaier

4. Noah Gragson

Cup:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

3. Martin Truex Jr

4. Kyle Busch

Header Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images