NASCAR in the Year: 1990

Dear sports, I miss you.... a lot. They say you never know how much you miss something until it's gone and I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that I'm feeling that way with sports right now. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasons behind the lack of sports and I agree with it, but it does not make it easier, especially not when you depend as much on sports as I do. 

Ask anybody who knows me and they'll tell you that I basically only watch, write, talk about sports. My late grandmother once asked me what I would do without sports in my life. I told her I didn't know. Well, Grandma, now I know and I don't like it. 

I'm currently sitting on my couch with a beverage in my hand, wing in the crockpot and the window open to soak in the nice weather on this fine Saturday. The only thing missing is a basketball game or NASCAR race on the television. 

I've tried to find ways to pass the time without having sports to watch (or cover), but I can only watch so many 30 for 30's/Chiefs Super Bowl highlights or play so much Playstation before I need to break away, so here I go. 

Yesterday, Derek Martin did his part to fill the void of this year's NCAA Tournament by taking a look back at the 1990 NCAA Tournament. He got me thinking about doing the same with NASCAR, so I'm stealing his idea. I'm sorry, DMart. You can write about the 1991 NASCAR season if you want. 

NASCAR was at its best in the 1990s. Anybody who thinks otherwise is an idiot. This decade had everything. Legends retiring, new legends coming of age, tragedy, thrilling finishes, great stories and so much more. This decade turned NASCAR in to must-see TV and put the sport on the map. 

1990 was a wild season that saw a cinderella Daytona 500 winner, a tight championship battle, a great driver suffering a near-fatal injury, tragedy, and some controversy. Let's dive in.

Race 1: Daytona 500 

This was Dale Earnhardt's race to win. One of, if not the greatest drivers in NASCAR history was almost unstoppable at Daytona and Talladega.....except for the Daytona 500. The Intimidator always seemed to have one of the fastest cars at Daytona, but never could get to victory lane. He entered his 12th Daytona 500 as the hands-down favorite. He showed everybody why, dominating the race and leading 155 laps. He seemed well on his way to winning the biggest race of his career until the final lap. 

In the waning laps, Earnhardt overpowered Derrike Cope on a late-restart to take the lead and tried th hold off charges from Cope and Terry Labonte. Earnhardt took the white flag and was less than a half-lap away from his first-ever Daytona 500 when he ran over a piece of debris that cut a tire and handed the victory to Cope, who had never finished better than sixth in his career. Cope won the race while driving for little-known Whitcomb Racing, a team that had never finished in the top five. Cope was an unknown at the time, having made 72 Winston Cup starts for a bevy of back-marker teams and yet he won a Daytona 500 before one of the sport's greatest. How about that? Here's the finish. 

Three final things about this race: 

1. what an awesome call by Ken Squier.

2. the movie "Days of Thunder" was scheduled to be released later in this year, so they actually allowed cars from that movie to be drove around for parts of the race for filming purposes, wild.

3. 62 cars attempted to qualify for the 42-car Daytona 500. That means 20 drivers had to sit and watch rather than race. Like I said, the 90s' were fun.

Points lead: Derrike Cope over Terry Labonte by five points

Race 2: Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond 

NASCAR used to run a race in Virginia...in February. As you can imagine, sometimes it's cold in Virginia that time of year. This race was one of those, regarded as one of the coldest in NASCAR history with a 40+ mph wind and a 5 degree wind chill. Woof, that's cold. Rusty Wallace and Alan Kulwicki dominated this race, but Kulwicki was caught up in a wreck on Lap 234 and finished in 24th. Wallace continued to dominate, but was passed by Mark Martin with 16 laps to go. Martin then held off Dale Earnhardt for his second-career win. However, it was not without a price. 

After the race, NASCAR officials determined that Martin had oversized carburetor spacer plate and was thus penalized 46 points (such an odd number), keep that in mind as we go along.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Ricky Rudd by five points 

Race 3: GM Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway 

Kyle Petty absolutely dominated this race by leading 433 of the 500 laps. Petty and second-place finisher Geoff Bodine were the only cars to finish on the lead lap. Ken Schrader finished third and was the only car to finish a lap down. Petty's also started from the pole and was able to win what NASCAR called "the Unocal 76 Challenge". It was actually pretty cool, if you started on the pole and won, you got a bonus. If you didn't win, the bonus rolled over to the next race. No driver had won a race from the pole in the last 29 tries, so Petty netted an extra $228,400. Wouldn't it be awesome if they did something like that today? 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Rusty Wallace by eight points. 

Race 4: Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 at Atlanta

Dale Earnhardt overcame a one-lap deficit, led 216 laps and edged Morgan Shepherd for the win by 0.32 seconds. Sadly, I cannot find video of this finish. This race also served as the breakthrough for young driver Ernie Irvan, who finished third in his first race with Morgan McClure Motorsports.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 58 points

Race 5: Transouth 500 at Darlington

Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine dominated this race. Bodine led 154 of the 367 laps while Earnhardt led 129, but ultimately captured the victory.  However, this race was marred by a terrifying 12-car accident that collected the likes of Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Geoff Bodine and Neil Bonnett. 

Bonnett, an 18-time NASCAR winner, suffered the worst from this injury. The accident left him with amnesia and severe dizziness. That crash almost ended his career, until he returned in 1993. 

Also, car owner Rick Hendrick entered two cars for this race that were from the film "Days of Thunder". Hut Stricklin and Greg Sacks drove those cars. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 78 points

Race 6: Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol

If a race name like "The Valleydale Meats 500" doesn't make you love 1990s' NASCAR, nothing will. A young hot-shoe from Alabama named Davey Allison won this race by leading 160 laps and beating Mark Martin by a whopping eight inches. Eight inches!. At the time, this was one of the closest finish in NASCAR history. Electronic scoring was not a thing yet (more on that in a minute) so this left ESPN broadcasters Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett guessing who won while they waited for NASCAR to make a decision. Here's the awesome final five laps.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 42 points.

Race 7: First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway 

One of the most controversial races in NASCAR history. Brett Bodine, a rather unknown driver from New York who had never won a Cup race was driving the race of his life, competing with the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Mark Martin. Drivers were in the process of making their final pit stops when Kenny Wallace spun out, bringing out a caution. 

As I mentioned earlier, NASCAR did not have electronic timing and scoring yet. Everything was done by hand. North Wilkesboro was a short track and could be easy to lose track of positions and laps. This is exactly what happened.

When the caution came out, NASCAR determined Earnhardt was the race leader. However, Bodine's wife (who was in charge of the timing and scoring for his time) vehemently argued that there was a scoring error and that he should be the leader. NASCAR burned 18 laps under caution to determine who the leader should be. They ultimately decided Bodine was the leader. He took advantage of his fresh tires and cruised to the victory, the only of his career. Waltrip, who finished second, protested the result, but NASCAR denied the protest. If you're looking for some more clarity on this confusing situation, here it is.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 57 points.

Race 8: Hanes Activewear 500 at Martinsville Speedway

A race sponsored by underwear was dominated by two cars sponsored by beer. Man, I love the 1990 season. Geoff Bodine led 270 laps and cruised to victory in his No. 11 Budweiser Ford, holding off Rusty Wallace in his No. 27 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 52 points.

Race 9: Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Like he usually did at Talladega, Dale Earnhardt dominated this race. He led 107 laps and held off Greg Sacks to capture his second win of the year. 

Side note: during this race, ESPN had an in-car camera in Dick Trickle's car. ESPN caught Trickle smoking a cigarette during a caution. Have I mentioned this was an awesome year?

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 90 points

All Star Race: The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway

The NASCAR All-Star Race is the best All-Star event in all of sports and I will fight anyone who disagrees. This one, however, was not great. Dale Earnhardt led all 70 laps and captured the $325,000 payday. 

Race 10: Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Rusty Wallace absolutely dominated this race, leading 306 laps to capture his first victory of the season. This would be the only "crown jewel" race that Wallace, the 1989 Cup Champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, would win in his career. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 21 points.

Race 11: Budweiser 500 at Dover International Speedway

Derrike Cope proved that his Daytona 500 victory was not a complete fluke by holding off Ken Schrader and Dick Trickle for his second and final career win. During this race Dale Earnhardt blew an engine, his team fixed the engine, and it blew again. Fixing a blown engine during a race has not happened since then, nor has blowing an engine twice in the same race. Legendary. 

Points lead: Morgan Shepherd over Mark Martin by 32 points

Race 12: Banquet Frozen Foods at Sears Point International Raceway

Rusty Wallace led 42 of the 74 laps for his second win in three races to put himself right into the mix of the championship hunt. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Morgan Shepherd by 62 points.

Race 13: Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Pocono Raceway

A race sponsored by beer was won by a driver sponsored by tobacco. "The Bandit" Harry Gant and his No. 33 Skoal Oldsmobile held off Rusty Wallace late for the victory. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Morgan Shepherd by 53 points

Race 14: Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway

Because 500 miles sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft was not enough. Bill Elliott dominated the race but blew an engine with 15 laps to go, handing the victory to Dale Earnhardt, who had to hold off a hard-charging Ernie Irvan.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Morgan Shepherd by 94 points

Race 15: Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway

Hey look, Dale Earnhardt dominating at Daytona. He led 127 laps and won his second consecutive race. Also, three-time NASCAR champion and future hall of famer Darrell Waltrip missed this race due to injuries suffered after a vicious wreck in practice.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 63 points

Race 16: AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono Raceway

Geoff Bodine led 119 of the 200 laps and held off Bill Elliott for his second win of the season. This race was ran in light of tragedy. Chicago native Rich Vogler had qualified for his first career Winston Cup start, but was sadly killed in a sprint car wreck in Salem, Indiana the night before.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 48 points

Race 17: DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

You guessed it, Dale Earnhardt dominated another superspeedway race, picking up his third in four races this year and created a dead heat with Mark Martin for the points lead.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by one point

Race 18: Budweiser at the Glen at Watkins Glen International

"The Rooster" Ricky Rudd took the lead with 10 laps remaining and never looked back, cruising to victory by 6.54 seconds over Geoff Bodine. Rusty Wallace blew an engine, severely hampering his championship chances. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 10 points. 

Race 19: Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway

Mark Martin gave himself a cushion in the points standings with his second victory of the season. Dale Earnhardt finished eighth. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 48 points

Race 20: Busch 500 at Bristol International Speedway

In case you're counting, this is the eighth of the race of the season to be sponsored by spark plugs, beer or tobacco. 'Merica!. Ernie Irvan put the NASCAR world on notice  by holding off Rusty Wallace to capture his first career victory. Dale Earnhardt led 350 laps, but faded and finished eighth. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 61 points

Race 21: Heinz Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

Dale Earnhardt took the lead with 54 laps remaining and held off Ernie Irvan for the victory. Earnhardt's victory also put him just 26 points back of Mark Martin with eight races remaining. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 26 points

Race 22: Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway

This is the third race that Miller Genuine Draft sponsored in 1990, plus they sponsored Rusty Wallace's car.  I can only imagine how much they spent on NASCAR that year. Dale Earnhardt led 173 of the 400 laps and held off Mark Martin for the victory, whittling Martin's points lead to just 16 points with seven races remaining. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 15 points 

Race 23: Peak AntiFreeze 500 at Dover Downs International Speedway

Bill Elliott dominated the race, leading 364 of 500 laps for his first victory of the season. Mark Martin finished second, followed by Dale Earnhardt in third. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 21 points

Race 24: Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway

Geoff Bodine led a nice 69 laps in a race that was extremely competitive with 16 lead changes. Bodine took the lead from Mark Martin with 42 laps remaining and held off Dale Earnhardt and Martin for the victory. Earnhardt gained five points on Martin, cutting the points deficit to 16 points with five races left. Maybe Martin wishes he had those 46 points that got docked at Richmond, right?

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 16 points

Race 25: Tyson Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway 

Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt just couldn't separate from one another. Martin held off Earnhardt for the victory by 3.63 seconds despite Earnhardt leading a race-high 291 laps. 

This was another race was unfortunately marred by tragedy, hours after the race, rookie Rob Moroso was killed in a drunk-driving accident. He was posthumously named NASCAR Rookie of the Year. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 16 points

Race 26: Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Another race where Bill Elliott dominated, but left empty-handed due to a blown engine. Davey Allison was the beneficiary of Elliott's woes and captured his second win of the year. It was a tough race for championship contenders Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt. Martin finished 13th while Earnhardt had an interesting race. He lost all four tires on pit road after his crew mixed up the lugnuts. His team was regarded as one of NASCAR's top pit crews, by the way. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 49 points. 

Race 27: ACDelco 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway

One of my favorite drivers I never got to see, Alan Kulwicki, took the lead with 55 laps remaining and held on for his second career victory. Dale Earnhardt managed to finish 10th, one spot ahead of Mark Martin, gaining four points in the process with only two races remaining.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 45 points. 

Race 28: Checker 500 at Phoenix International Raceway

Dale Earnhardt put together a championship-esque performance, leading 262 of the 312 laps and gaining the points lead after Mark Martin finished 10th. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Mark Martin by six points

Race 29: Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Morgan Shepherd closed the 1990 season by taking the lead from Bill Elliott with 29 laps remaining and holding off Geoff Bodine by 2.47 seconds. Dale Earnhardt entered the race with a six-point lead over Mark Martin and clinched the title with a third-place finish while Martin finished sixth. When the dust settled, Earnhardt held off Martin for the championship, the fourth of his career, by just 26 points. If Martin had not been docked 46 points at Richmond, he would have had a 20-point advantage over Earnhardt. Something in February prevented Martin from his first-ever title, wild. 

As you can see, the 1990 Winston Cup Series season was insane, just like most the decade. 

My NFL 10 Week Shakedown

I meant to do this at the halfway point, but work got in the way. Better late than never I suppose. The NFL season is 10 weeks in and we are starting to get a clearer picture of the contenders and, in some cases, the pretenders. So with that being said, I'm going to hand out some awards.

Most Disappointing Team: Many people will say the Browns, but that's because we (including myself) were stupid enough to believe the Browns were going to quit being the Browns when in reality, they still had flaws and have played the league's toughest schedule. I'm giving this honor to the Chicago Bears. Their defense has still been really good, but their offense has been putrid and the result has been a current 4-5 record. I know they beat Detroit yesterday, but what about that game makes you think they got their problems fixed?

Most Surprising Team: The popular pick would be the 49ers, but I've been on high them, not 8-0 high, but still high. In my opinion, the most surprising team to me has been their Bay Area rival. Jon Gruden is not a great coach, but Mike Mayock has shown he can build a team and Josh Jacobs is a grown man. They've compiled a 5-4 record with the league's second-toughest schedule and have a legit shot of making the playoffs and perhaps winning the AFC West.

Most Disappointing Player: This honor does go to the Browns. I was high on Baker Mayfield to begin this season and I still think it would be silly to pull the plug on him or consider him a bust. But he's struggled this season with 9 touchdowns and 12 picks. It's not uncommon for QB's to come out of sophomore slumps. Cam Newton was not good his second year, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees also weren't putting up MVP numbers in year two. But, the hype around Mayfield coming into this season has not been lived up to.

Most Surprising Player: Aaron Jones was the 19th running back selected in a talented 2017 draft class that includes Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffery, Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt and James Conner. Jones has been the complementary back that I can't recall Aaron Rodgers has ever had. He's rumbled to the tune of 11 touchdowns and has a pair of 3+ rushing touchdown performances to his name. A Packer team with one of the league's best QB's and a homerun hitting runner is terrifying come postseason.

The Coach Most Likely to Be Fired Next: It's been completely downhill for Dan Quinn and the Falcons since they butchered a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl 51. I know they beat the Saints yesterday, but let's not pretend one game will save Quinn's job. The Falcons have a former MVP QB and one of the league's top receivers, 2-7 is not ideal.

The Best Game: This one is tough because I have not watched nearly the amount of football that I usually watch. It could come tonight when Seattle plays San Francisco. I really don't want to get caught up in the "it just happened" syndrome, so I will bypass saying Panthers/Packers or Chiefs/Titans even though they might be the top two. I'm going to say Packers/Chiefs from two weeks ago because everyone thought they were getting Patrick Mahomes vs. Aaron Rodgers, but instead got Aaron Rodgers vs. Matt Moore. Moore went toe-to-toe with Rodgers, but Green Bay grinded out the 31-24 victory in a game that felt like a heavyweight fight.

The Most Exciting Upcoming Game: Whether you like it or not, it's got to be Chiefs/Patriots on December 8th. The two teams played TWO instant classics last season. The Chiefs are 6-4 behind a laundry-list amount of injuries and finding new ways to lose. Meanwhile, the Patriots have rode the 3rd easiest schedule to a 8-1 record, but got exposed by Baltimore last week. Let's not get carried away though, this is New England's conference until it isn't and this game could be a statement or a changing of the guard. Not sure which, but it will likely be one.

MVP: I think there's three obvious candidates and would be four if Patrick Mahomes hadn't missed two games. I'm going with Russell Wilson over Lamar Jackson, DeShaun Watson and Christian McCaffery. I'll eat my crow and admit I've been wrong on Jackson, but Wilson has been lights out this season, too. Wilson only sits ninth in passing yards, but that's the most overrated QB statistic there is. What is not overrated from Wilson is his 22-to-1 touchdown-interception ratio. That's absurd. He also has the league's best QB rating. Wilson has also led the Seahawks to a record of 7-2 despite having the 27th most efficient defense.

Defensive Player of The Year: At first, I was a bit skeptical of the Steelers surrendering a first round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick when it looked they could be in the market for a QB next year. They still could be, but Fitzpatrick has been worth the trade and then some so far. Fitzpatrick has five interceptions, two forced fumbles and to touchdowns since coming to Pittsburgh. He's guided a Steelers defense that is making up for it's beat up and inefficient offense with one of the league's most efficient defenses. I also think Nick Bosa, TJ Watt and Chandler Jones should be considered in play for DPOY.

Coach of The Year: It's Kyle Shanahan hands down. The offensive guru has quietly taken the 49ers to 8-0. The 49ers are currently the most efficient team in the NFL and it's really not that close. Their offense has been Alex Smith-esque, but productive, while their defense has been salty. I think you also have to consider Mike Tomlin because he's been without two of his superstars. Ron Rivera has hardly missed a beat with Kyle Allen, Matt LaFleur already appears more competent than Mike McCarthy ever was and Jon Gruden has the Raiders above .500, but this honor is Shanahan's to lose.

Offensive Rookie of The Year: Josh Jacobs is a grown man. He has been exactly what the Raiders and Derek Carr needed. The rookie from Alabama has pounded the pumpkin to 811 yards and seven scores. He's done so behind the league's most expensive offensive line, but still, it's great numbers, especially for a rookie. Redskins WR Terry McLaurin has also been really good, but he's on a bad team.

Defensive Rookie of The Year: Remember when people were actually dumb enough to think Nick Bosa sitting out at Ohio State last season would impact his NFL career? Well, it didn't. The second overall pick has been a monster for the 8-0 49ers, tallying 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble. Devin Bush also has a case for DROY, but I'm giving it to the better Bosa.

Predicted AFC Playoff Teams: Patriots, Chiefs, Ravens, Texans, Bills, Steelers
I think the Patriots, Chiefs, Ravens and Texans are essential locks to make the playoffs. The battle for the last two spots goes between the Bills, Steelers, Titans, Chargers, Raiders, Colts and perhaps even the Browns, whose schedule gets easier. Pittsburgh is improving and has a generous schedule. I also trust the Bills to grind out wins in ugly fashion more than I trust Ryan Tannehill, Phillip Rivers, Jon Gruden, Brian Hoyer and Baker Mayfield.

Predicted NFC Playoff Teams: Packers, 49ers, Saints, Cowboys, Vikings, Seahawks.
The NFC is way more competitive. I think the Rams, Panthers and Eagles could be playoff teams, but they've struggled to stay consistent and that will keep them out the playoffs.

AFC Championship Game: Patriots over Chiefs
This might not be the popular pick, but hear me out. The Chiefs are 6-4, but have lost those four games by a combined 23 points and have been ravaged by injuries. I firmly believe the Chiefs at their peak, along with the Texans, Colts, Ravens and maybe the Steelers are better than New England. Now I know somebody is going to ignorantly say "But Trevor, the Ravens handled the Patriots a few weeks ago,". Which, they did, but we've seen this before. The Patriots are my pick to win the AFC until they don't.

NFC Championship Game: Packers over Saints
Now I've been bragging on the 49ers, but I think they're still a year away. Instead, we finally get the Aaron Rodgers vs. Drew Brees NFC Title Game we all deserve. Don't let the Saints loss to the Falcons force you to take a trip to Ignoranceville. Losses like that happen in the NFL. The Saints are fine. I yearn for this matchup and hope it happens. Give me the Packers to win fair and square and give the Saints fan nothing to complain about. Although, it would be funny if they lost the NFC Championship Game on a pass interference call against them. Maybe I am just a bad person.

Super Bowl 54: Packers over Patriots
The NFL's 100th season concludes with two of the greatest QB's to ever play the game. Aaron Rodgers has yet to capture his second ring, but this could be his best chance. I'll also take whatever the over would be on ridiculously soft roughing-the-passer calls in this game.

A ranking of which tracks should host the NASCAR Championship race.

Thanks to a massive, and for the most part, awesome overhaul of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the championship race will be at ISM Raceway in Phoenix rather than Homestead, which has hosted the championship race since 2002. I am all for NASCAR rotating where the championship race is held. Personally, I am in favor of NASCAR having tracks bid on hosting the championship race much like the NFL does with the Super Bowl. This would bring a newfound energy to some tracks and could produce some exciting racing, which is the goal, after-all.

After watching yesterday's race at Phoenix, it's completely understandable to be skeptical about how entertaining the 2020 championship race will be. A lot of the entertainment could fall on if NASCAR does anything to the current rule changes, such as perhaps taking off the spoiler or lowering the downforce on short tracks, but that's an argument for another day.

There are 23 tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit and none of them are identical to each other. Sure, there are some similarities to each other, but each track is unique in its' own way. Remember my proposal for NASCAR to rotate the championship race yearly? Unfortunately, I don't think every track would put on a great show for the fans and that's what it's about. So, I thought it would be neat to rank the tracks 1 through 23 in terms of which tracks I would find the most intriguing as a championship race and which tracks I would find the least. For the sake of this, I am conducting this ranking under the 2019 aero package and am paying no attention to the potential weather problems that could arise in November. Let's begin.

#24 Sonoma: I enjoy road course racing as much as anybody, but this year, the top three finishers at Sonoma were separated by 30 seconds. The course is too technical and typically does not yield great racing.

#23 Indy: This is one of my least favorite races on the circuit. It has failed to garner much excitement in year's past and should have never been the regular season finale. I'm not sure how you make this race exciting.

#22 Pocono: I enjoy Pocono more than others, but aside from the thought of running Pocono in November in a potential snowstorm, nothing about Pocono screams exciting championship race.

#21 Michigan: The aero package was designed to make tracks like Michigan more exciting, the June race was a snoozer and the August race was OK thanks to fuel mileage playing a factor.

#20 Fontana: See Michigan, the restarts might be crazy, but that could be the only exciting part.

#19 Phoenix: This is what we have to look forward to next year.

#18 Dover: I didn't think the October race was as bad as many people, but the June race was not good. A softer tire could make this race intriguing.

#17 Las Vegas: This track has two races for some reason. It's a stereotypical cookie cutter track. Not great, but not terrible, so not championship worthy.

#16 Texas: Texas is not a good track. We saw this last week when Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin crashed. It's probably time to repave Texas, but seeing championship contenders battle a terrible track could be intriguing, too.

#15 Richmond: I love short track racing, but Richmond always has the possibility of a driver flat-out dominating.

#14 Martinsville: Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex. Jr combined to lead 910 of 1000 possible laps in two races this season. Part of this could be because of the giant spoilers and high downforce, but that's not changing and Martinsville might not be entertaining until it does.

#13 Watkins Glen: I like Watkins Glen more than most. It usually shapes up to be an entertaining race where strategies play a factor. Might not be a great title race, but would anything below it be either?

#12 Atlanta: The championship track until 2002, Atlanta has really been the only track this year where tires have played a factor. That could be exciting.

#11 New Hampshire: Completely throwing out the fact that it's New Hampshire in November, I like this track and it's kind of a short track, or at least sometimes races like one.

#10 Charlotte: If the All-Star Race is any indication, a championship race at Charlotte could dish out some exciting racing.

#9 Kentucky: The July race was extremely exciting. The 2019 package has benefited tracks like Kentucky.

#8 Chicago: See Kentucky, this track put on a great race. Although, it could have been because it was hot, rained and then cooled down.

#7 Homestead: For some reason, Homestead has been darn near perfect for a championship race. I would be fine if stayed there, but there's six other tracks I'd like to see more.

#6 Charlotte Roval: We've seen two races from the Roval and both have been exciting. It's served high drama as a cutoff race, so could it do the same as a championship race?

#5 Darlington: How about a throwback and championship weekend? That would be awesome.

#4 Talladega: Please save me the garbage take about how the big one could affect a championship. It already does, so your point is moot. It would be exciting to watch the championship contenders try to avoid the big ones.

#3 Kansas: This is undoubtedly the most exciting 1.5 mile track. It put on good shows in both 2019 races and the restarts were ridiculous. Not to mention, a championship in Kansas City would be awesome for once.

#2 Bristol: If you wouldn't be cool with seeing some hard racing and maybe a bump-and-run for the championship, then maybe you shouldn't watch NASCAR. Just the thought of tempers flaring in a championship race has me excited.

#1 Daytona: The season starts at Daytona, so why not finish it there? It would be a perfect way to bookend the season and would put on an exciting race. Again, the big one could happen, but you can't argue that it wouldn't be exciting, because it would be.

My Professional Portfolio

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I have had the opportunity to cover multiple events over the past few years on different platforms. My experience in the industry include working for KZLX Radio, the Northwest Missouri State University's student station from 2016-2019, where I served as sports director for a year. I have also been employed by KMA since 2016 and have covered a variety of high school sports. My experiences have required me to do multiple things such as game tweets, live play-by-play, post-game stories, game previews, coach interviews and player interviews. My portfolio consists of portions of my audio work, links to many of my game stories and a view of some of my work on social media. 

Links to my written work 

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/red-oak-overcomes-slow-start-advances-to-state-for-th/article_b0b70d48-ff84-11e9-93b5-17ad3c5e797c.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/pogge-baudler-claim-a-individual-titles-lo-ma-girls-repeat/article_76995a0e-fdd5-11e9-b198-334aa8f9839c.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/norwalk-comes-back-from---deficit-to-beat-glenwood/article_7d40ad36-fd2a-11e9-841d-a796296039ba.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/tj-trio-ready-to-take-state-xc-by-storm/article_095b07d4-fbe7-11e9-9c1e-3b4edb513e60.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/perfect-october-al-sweeps-again-advances-to-regional-final/article_2239c3b4-facd-11e9-b780-3bf986a80128.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/acgc-downs-treynor-in-five-set-thriller-advances-to-regional/article_6c8fbbfa-fa03-11e9-ad49-17c2aa8fb7b4.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/lamoni-scores-unanswered-to-claim-district-title/article_f96ff698-f7a6-11e9-a2e1-ff880ddc98e1.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/back-to-back-harlan-girls-lewis-central-boys-claim-hawkeye/article_c50aba16-f146-11e9-bce0-f346352f3d7f.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/nodaway-valley-dominates-claims-both-individual-and-team-titles-at/article_38bbbc44-efb7-11e9-8f3e-2b0564f3dd1d.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/senior-leadership-propels-sidney-to-sweep-of-east-mills-fifth/article_a0cb3aa4-e65b-11e9-9c34-4ba71e6239de.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/sw-valley-uses-familiar-recipe-in-win-over-red-oak/article_249be590-cb9f-11e9-9722-53625db9b7e5.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/bedford-holds-off-nodaway-valley-in-inning-classic/article_3be3d634-93de-11e9-9fe2-dbc2faac9655.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/state-soccer-lewis-central-wins-it-on-penalty-kicks-advances/article_02d4a30c-83fb-11e9-bcca-3f71be546173.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/shen-tennis-punches-ticket-to-state-for-fourth-time-in/article_00029dca-79a4-11e9-9d3d-5f445f0ee5ef.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/glenwood-girls-continue-hawkeye-ten-dominance-with-fifth-title-in/article_39ef1bf6-6d5d-11e9-b6a0-4b031dcb78de.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/jefferson-completes-the-gauntlet-wins-state-title-in-school-s/article_fcbbbd24-42dd-11e9-b29e-b79a9f381aa6.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/state-wrestling-tournament-thoughts-state-duals-the-seeding-mess-some/article_02290970-2e56-11e9-b8a0-d713c1a6a8da.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/underwood-pleases-home-crowd-with-state-qualifiers-at-class-a/article_31c48924-2ccc-11e9-ae46-9fe3edabf685.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/weight-by-weight-breakdown-of-the-th-annual-john-j/article_e6c21762-1b86-11e9-b4e2-0be8395c9c79.html

https://trevorstakeonsports.blogspot.com/2019/07/sw-iowa-high-school-football-look-at.ht

 Audio Work

1. The fourth quarter of a wild basketball contest between Atlantic and Treynor

2. A game preview with Glenwood Football Coach Cory Faust

3. The first two quarters of my call of a Class 3A Iowa high school football playoff contest between Glenwood and Norwalk 

4. Jacob Blair and I covered this year's NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway as part of NASCAR's College Media Program. Here is a link to one of the podcasts we recorded, that includes interviews with many drivers

5. A highlight package from my 2018 call of the Northwest Missouri State/University of Nebraska-Kearney football contest

6. A highlight package from my call of the 2018 football contest between Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern. 

7. This is one of my favorite interviews I've ever conducted, a state cross country preview with Doug Muehlig, the long time coach at Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson High School.

Social Media

I believe in having a strong presence in social media and promoting my employer's brand in the best way possible, so here is a look at some of my social media work from events I've covered.

Craziness in Kansas: Brandon Jones survives craziness for his first career Xfinity win

(KANSAS CITY, KS) -- It took him 134 races, but Brandon Jones made sure that his first career Xfinity win came in a fashion that fans will remember for a long time. The 22-year old Atlanta native survived the craziness and snagged the victory in Saturday's frantic Hollywood Casino 300 at Kansas Speedway, becoming the races' third consecutive first time winner.

"I've been a winner in a lot of different series, but this is the biggest one I've ever had. This is huge," Jones said of his victory.

This race had everything.

A surprise first-time winner, championship contenders plagued by misfortune, an unfortunate wreck involving the leaders and a lapped car, and a pit-road fight.

Jones took the lead from Cole Custer with 10 laps remaining, then had to hold off the field on a restart with five laps remaining. Jones stayed poised despite having never been in that situation

"I had confidence that if he got in clean air, he was going to be really solid at the end," said Jones' crew chief, Jeff Meendering. "We had really good speed most of that race even when we were back in traffic," Meendering added.

Jones' car definitely showed speed, more-so on shorter runs. However, the majority of the race belonged to Jones' teammate, Christopher Bell and Cole Custer. Bell, the pole sitter dominated stage one, leading all 45 laps and picking up another playoff point. Custer took the lead from Bell in stage two and won the second stage.

A long run ensued during stage three, allowing Custer to show the speed that he's had on 1.5-mile tracks this season.

Then things got weird.

Michael Annett ended the long-run when he got into the wall with 50 to go. Briscoe took advantage of Custer's miscues on the restart and grabbed the lead. John Hunter Nemechek spun out with 37 to go, bringing out another caution. Annett stayed out and assumed the lead, but was quickly overtaken by Briscoe. Bell methodically reeled Briscoe in as the laps wound down.

While battling for the lead, Bell and Briscoe both attempted to clear the lapped car of Garrett Smithley. However, Smithley made contact with Briscoe and collected Bell as well. The accident effectively ended Bells' chances of winning, ended Smithley's day and caused severe damage to Briscoes' machine.

Smithley's accident comes weeks after a highly criticized incident in the Cup Series, where Smithley made contact with Kyle Busch at Las Vegas.

"We were on like 70 lap tires, just riding," Smithley said, "I hate it. It was a big mistake, but we'll move on from it. He (his spotter) said he said something, but I didn't get the memo," Smithley added.

"It's frustrating," Briscoe said, "We're literally racing for our lives trying to win a championship."

Tyler Reddick capped off his entertaining day with second place, but a cut on his forehead due to a post-race altercation with Custer due to an on-track disagreement. The altercation also consisted of multiple crew members.

"I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed in his crew members not letting us handle it ourselves. It's just between me and him and that's the way it should have been," Reddick said.

Custer's topsy-turvy day concluded with an 11th place finish despite leading a race-high 85 laps.

Briscoe and Annett rebounded to finish third and fourth respectively, Justin Allgaier, the only playoff driver who did not have troubles, finished fifth. Jeremy Clements, Justin Haley, Nemechek, Ryan Seig and Ross Chastain rounded out the top ten.

Playoff driver Noah Gragson finished 13th. Bell led 69 laps, but finished the day in 14th following his accident with Smithley.

Austin Cindric, who came in fourth in points, found himself in an early race incident with Harrison Burton that caused significant damage. Cindric also battled tire problems throughout the day and finished 25th.

The Round of 8 will resume in two weeks at Texas Motor Speedway. Bell comes into the race as the points leader, 49 points above the cutline. Custer is second, 38 above the cut. Reddick still has a 37-point buffer and  Allgaier holds a two-point margin over Briscoe for the final transfer spot. Annett, Gragson and Cindric are currently on the outside-looking-in by 12, 17 and 30 points respectively.

Results: 1. Brandon Jones, 2. Tyler Reddick, 3. Chase Briscoe, 4. Michael Annett, 5. Justin Allgaier, 6. Jeremy Clements, 7. Justin Haley, 8. John Hunter Nemechek, 9. Ryan Seig, 10. Ross Chastain, 11. Cole Custer, 12. Chrsitopher Bell, 13. Noah Gragson, 14. Ray Black II, 15. Alex Labbe, 16. Dillon Bassett, 17. Gray Gaulding, 18. Brandon Brown, 19. BJ McLeod, 20. Matt Mills, 21. Josh Williams, 22. Kyle Weatherman, 23. David Starr, 24. CJ McLaughlin, 25. Austin Cindric, 26. Chad Finchum, 27. Stephen Leicht, 28. Tyler Matthews, 29. Josh Bilicki, 30. Vinnie Miller, 31. Bobby Earnhardt, 32. Joey Gase, 33. Garrett Smithley, 34. Harrison Burton, 35. Bayley Curry, 36. Landon Cassill, 37. JJ Yeley, 38. Ryan Truex.

Kansas Lottery 300: Playing the playoff lottery

(Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia)

It's fitting that this race is named the Kansas Lottery 300. The lottery benefits those who gamble. Gamble too much and it will hurt you. Gamble just right and the payoff could be huge. Will that happen in Saturday's Xfinity race, which will serve as the first of three races in the Round of 8? Time will tell. Win today and you're racing championship while also having two weeks to prepare your car for the grand finale at Homestead. Struggle today and you're playing catchup. I cannot overstate how important today's race is and perhaps most importantly, the start of today's race.

Lap 1 of last year's race was crazy and saw championship contenders Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric get caught up in an accident that ruined their days while John Hunter Nemechek went onto claim his first Xfinity Series victory. So what will the first lap look like?

"I think early in the race you want to try to make sure you can make it to the end," Custer said.

Last year, both Custer and Bell were put behind the eight-ball after Kansas and had to peel off respective wins at Texas and Phoenix. This year, two-thirds of the Xfinity Series "Big Three" come into today with near-full race worth cushions, but as they learned last year, that can change in a hurry.

"We have a really good buffer," said Custer, who comes in with a 36-point buffer, "At the same time, anything can happen."

So how aggressive will these playoff drivers be? That could depend on the situation. Custer sits +36, so he might not be overly aggressive and he might not need to thanks his recent speed on 1.5 mile tracks.

But how aggressive will Tyler Reddick be? The defending Xfinity champion comes in to Saturday with a 30 point cushion, but anybody who has watched Reddick knows that being conservative is not his forte.

"Instead of being 130 percent aggressive, I think I'll just be 100 percent aggressive," Reddick said.

While Reddick, Bell and Custer come into Kansas with the mindset of just not letting anything bad happen, five other drivers will be scratching and clawing for every single position. Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe, Michael Annett and Noah Gragson will begin this round with just 12 points separating them. If the "Big Three" do what they've done all year, that leaves room for just one of the aforementioned six.

So which one of those five drivers could be the one to watch to at Kansas?

Keep an eye on Chase Briscoe, who begins the Round of 8 four points below the cutline. The Stewart-Haas driver claimed a victory earlier this season at Iowa, a track, like Kansas, grip and tire wear usually plays a large factor. Briscoe, a dirt racer at heart, is keen to drive the cushion and attempt to make the topside work and Kansas tends to reward those who make the top side work.

"It's one of the places that moves around a lot, which is kind of my style. It's always a good racetrack because you have options and you can throw slidejobs here," Briscoe said.

Don't discount some of the non-championship contenders either such as Nemechek, Harrison Burton or Ross Chastain. Nemechek won last year's race and Chastain won the truck race at Kansas in May, so both know how to win in the Sunflower State.

Who will learn how to win here today?

The green flag for the Kansas Lottery will drop shortly after 2 p.m on NBC.

Xfinity Round of 8 Playoff Standings

1. 20 Christopher Bell 3062 (+48)

2. 00 Cole Custer 3050 (+36)

3. 2 Tyler Reddick 3044 (+30)

4. 22 Austin Cindric 3017 (+3)

5. 7 Justin Allgaier (-3)

6. 98 Chase Briscoe (-4)

7. 1 Michael Annett (-8)

8. 9 Noah Gragson (-12) 

Worst to First: Eckes overcome woes, claims ARCA title

(KANSAS CITY, KS) -- When Christian Eckes finally emerged from the confetti showered upon him, he emerged an ARCA champion. Eckes, the youngest series champion at just 18 years, 11 months and 8 days overcame a veterans' heap of adversity to claimehe 2019 ARCA Menards Series title with a second half surge in Friday night's ARCA Kansas 150 to win the race and edge teammate Michael Self by 25 points.

Missing a race earlier due to an illness? No problem for Eckes. Moving to the back of the field because of a post-qualifying engine change? That didn't phase him either.

"It's been a dream year," Eckes said, "We've been through some highs and some lows, but today has definitely been a high.

While Eckes wasted little time cracking the top ten, Self dominated the first portion of the race, collecting five bonus points. A Drew Dollar caution on lap 40 erased Self's lead, but a stellar pit stop put Self in front of Eckes' on the restart. Self once again checked out, only to have his lead erased, again, when Tim Richmond spun on lap 52.

Eckes' learned from his mistake on the previous restart and took the lead from Self with under 40 to go and never looked back en route to the title.

"I tried something different there at the first restart and it did not work at all. The second restart, I got through the gears really good, took the lead and never looked back," Eckes said.

Self settled for second, Ty Majeski finished third. Brett Holmes and Travis Braden also notched top five finishes. Tanner Gray, Drew Dollar, Hailie Deegan, Joe Graf. Jr and Gus Dean rounded out the top ten.

Self finishes his 2019 season just shy of his ultimate goal, but did compile four wins, 14 top fives and 15 top tens. Self hinted during his Friday afternoon media availability that his 2020 plans were up in the air.

 "I have a ton of respect for him and I really he races next year. He's a great driver," Eckes said of Self.

Eckes' finishes his championship campaign with four wins, 13 top-fives and 17 top tens. He also finished the season on a stretch of seven consecutive top-two finishes. Eckes' looks to be on the shorthand of candidates to replace Harrison Burton in Kyle Busch Motorsports' #18 Gander Outdoor Truck Series entry.

"I've got a couple things in the works, but nothing solidified yet. Hopefully this kind of helps that out a little bit, but you never know," Eckes said.

Results: 1. Christian Eckes, 2. Michael Self. 3. Ty Majeski, 4. Bret Holmes, 5. Travis Braden, 6. Tanner Gray, 7. Drew Dollar, 8. Hailie Deegan, 9. Joe Graf. Jr, 10. Gus Dean, 11. Sheldon Creed, 12. Harrison Burton, 13. Carson Ware, 14. Scott Melton, 15. Ed Pompa, 16. Riley Herbst, 17. Tim Richmond, 18. Eric Caudell, 19. Tommy Vigh. Jr. 20. Brad Smith, 21. Dick Doheny, 22 Wayne Peterson

Previewing the ARCA Championship Race at Kansas

                                                         (Photo Courtesy of ARCA.com)

The final race of the ARCA Menards' Series as we know it will happen tonight. No, the series is not folding, but the combination/consolidation of the ARCA and K&N Series' will change the layout of the ARCA Series. The series will focus more on tracks such as Bristol, Phoenix and Mid-Ohio. But let's not worry about what will happen in 2020. 2019 has to finish first and things are lining up for it to be an epic finish.

The 2019 ARCA season has been interesting one to say the least. Only five drivers have competed in all 19 races leading into Kansas and those five drivers have combined for just four wins. Granted, Christian Eckes, who has three wins, would have also been in that group had he not missed the race at Salem with an illness. The 2019 ARCA campaign also featured a youth movement of sorts. Seven ARCA races have been won this season by drivers under the age of 18. 17-year rising star Chandler Smith claimed five of those and the other two came from a then 16-year old Ty Gibbs, grandson of Joe. Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Ty Majeski also found spurts of success during their sporadic ARCA attempts. But, for the most the part, the 2019 season has belonged to two full-time drivers;  Eckes and Michael Self.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP DUEL 

(Photo Courtesy of arcaracing.com)

Eckes, the points leader made up for lost time after missing Salem and peeled off three wins and five second-place finishes. Perhaps the most impressive part of Eckes' season is recent his recent spurt of six consecutive top-two finishes.  Eckes trailed Self in points the entire year, but overtook the points lead with a runner-up finish two weeks ago at Lucas Oil, taking a 15-point lead over Self heading into the championship race at Kansas.  Eckes, 18, is a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) driver who has six starts in the Kyle Busch Motorsports' #51 truck with moderate success should be on a short list of drivers to move into the open KBM truck left by Harrison Burton's move to the Xfinity Series. 

(Photo Courtesy of arcaracing.com) 

While Eckes is the up-and-coming 18 year old hot-shoe, His teammate, Self, has had a substantial amount of success during his career but has not received quite the push or hype that Eckes, Smith or many other drivers have. During his career, Self has made seven Xfinity starts, 71 K&N starts and 39 ARCA starts. In his 109 combined ARCA and K&N starts, Self has 15 wins, 53 top fives and 72 top tens. Self has four wins, 13 top fives and 14 top tens in 2019.  While Eckes has showed his worth on the short tracks, Self has been super consistent on the circuit's larger tracks, with a win at Michigan, a fourth-place finish at Chicago and fifth-place finishes at Charlotte and Talladega. Oh, and one of Self's first career ARCA win came at Kansas in 2017. 

CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS

ARCA's point system is unique. A driver who wins a race receives 235 points, second place receives 220, third receives 215, fourth receives 210 and continues in five point increments. Five bonus points also awarded to the polesitter and any driver that leads a lap. The driver who leads the most laps also receives five more points. Do the math and that leaves the potential for 250 points at stake for either Eckes or Self. With a 15 point margin, Self could at worst, tie Eckes for the points lead and Self holds the tiebreaker via wins. If neither driver is to win or receive bonus points, Eckes must finish within two positions of Self to become the 2019 championship. I think it's safe to say that this points battle is going to be crazy. 

POTENTIAL SPOILERS 

There are a handful of non-championship contenders that I could see contending for the win. Ty Majeski has been near flawless in his five ARCA starts with three wins, a second and a fourth. All those victories have come on the bigger tracks and Kansas qualifies as one of ARCA's bigger tracks. Harrison Burton has also shown promise on the 1.5 mile circuits throughout his truck series campaign and is likely using this race to prepare himself for tomorrow's Xfinity Race. Gus Dean has been quietly competitive in his two most recent starts, including a third place finish at Charlotte. Defending ARCA champion, Sheldon Creed won this race a year ago, so expect him to be a factor. The wildcard tonight is Hailee Deegan. The 18-year prospect will be making her sixth career ARCA start and is likely using Kansas to comfort herself with larger tracks. Deegan has the potential to steal the show tonight. She also has the potential for her first race at Kansas to be a disaster. I guess we will find out. 

Why you should root for each driver still remaining in the NASCAR Playoffs

The NASCAR playoffs are the most intense playoffs in all of sports. There, I said it. It is the only sport where playoff participants still have to compete against non-playoff participants come crunch time. Just because you are not in the playoffs does not mean you do not race. It creates a whole new level of concern for the playoff drivers and another level of excitement for the fans.

I could go on and on about some other things that make the NASCAR playoffs the most exciting, the pressure that continues to build, the variety of different tracks on the playoff schedule, the awesome format that emphasizes winning, but also emphasizes taking chances. It's great. Anybody who does not like this system is a grump.

Yesterday, the field of playoff drivers was whittled from 16 down to 12. The next three races at Dover, Talladega and Kansas will separate the men from the boys and determine the "elite" eight.

The 12 drivers; Martin Truex. Jr, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are all unique in their own ways. This field of 12 consists of many different backgrounds, personalities, racing styles and fan reactions.

The majority of NASCAR fans already know who they're rooting for to claim the gold at Homestead. But, if you are still undecided, I have you covered.

Ryan Blaney 

Blaney has quietly become one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR. His approachable personality and willingness to promote the sport by doing virtually and PR event presented to him has led to that. But, don't underestimate his abilities to wheel a car either. Blaney is the only Penske driver to not have a win this season, but it's not for lack of good showings. Blaney has had a consistent top 10 car, but just hasn't caught the right breaks at the right time. He's out Ryan Newman'd Ryan Newman this season and has found his way into the Round of 12. Can he find a way to finally get a win is the big question.

Alex Bowman 

Everyone loves Matt DiBenedetto and his rise to a top-ride. Well, Alex Bowman did it first. The Tucson, Arizona native began his career with middle-of-the-pack in 2013 with RAB Racing in the Xfinity Series. Bowman then toiled with backmarker Cup teams, BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing before being fired after 2015. Bowman's big break came in 2016 when he was tabbed to replace an injured Dale Earnhardt. Jr in the 88 car. Bowman showed enough during his stint at Hendrick Motorsports to earn the ride full-time when Dale. Jr retired after 2017. Bowman has broke through in 2019, with four runner-up finishes and one win. His championship would be a remarkable rise given that you would not have pegged him as a championship contender four years ago. 

Clint Bowyer 

There are lots of reasons to root for Clint Bowyer. The Kansan is a fun-loving, energetic personality that is throwback to some of the personalities that originally made this sport so awesome. The vision of Bowyer celebrating a championship is all you need to root for him. But there's other reasons, too. Bowyer has had a solid career, but nothing spectacular. His 10 career wins have come at races that you tend to forget about (New Hampshire, Michigan, the fall Charlotte race) and he had a five-year drought. But Bowyer has shown spurts of contending for a championship throughout his career (2007, 2012, 2017). You could even make a point that he would already have a championship if Jeff Gordon did not intentionally wreck him at Phoenix. Bowyer's future for 2020 remains in peril, so a championship run should guarantee that his awesome personality stays in NASCAR for the years to come.

Kyle Busch 

This is undoubtedly the toughest driver to lobby for. Kyle Busch is the most polarizing driver in NASCAR, and perhaps the most polarizing athlete (they are athletes) in professional sports. Fans of Busch will root for him and people that aren't fans of him will root against him and there's very few people, other than myself, that are neutral on Busch. While many people might dislike him, nobody can devalue his raw talent and ability to wheel a race-car. However championships Busch finishes his career with will not be as many as it should have been. He currently has just one championship (2015) and that one has an asterisk by it because he missed the first 11 races of the season with a broken leg. If Busch were to claim a second title, it would detract the haters from the stupid narrative that he didn't earn his first championship. 

William Byron

William Byron was just six years when NASCAR developed "The Chase" in 2004. He is also the only driver in the playoff field that is younger than me. That's a first. Byron has been touted for the past few years as the next big thing. He should have won a Truck title in 2016 and did win an Xfinity Title in 2017 before moving up to the legendary 24 car. Byron struggled last season but shown signs of improvement this season. He's shown short-run speed and has qualified well, winning five poles. I don't think he's too far away from his first career win. Byron would also become the youngest champion in NASCAR history at just 21 years old. A championship for Byron would also mean an eighth championship for his crew chief, Chad Knaus, which would undoubtedly cement Knaus as the greatest crew-chief of all-time, if there was any debate to begin with. Which there shouldn't be.

Chase Elliott 

This is the easiest driver to make a case for. Elliott has been the most popular driver in NASCAR since Dale Jr retired. It took Elliott a long time to pick up his first career win, but they've piling up since he finally got the first win at Watkins Glen in 2018. Elliott could be the favorite in this upcoming round because three of his six wins in the past two years have come at Dover, Talladega and Kansas. The three tracks in the Round of 12. A championship for Elliott would mean that the two dominant teams this season, Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing, did not win it. Elliott's title would match his father, Bill's 1988 championship and would make the Elliotts the third set of father-son to claim titles. Wouldn't that be cool?

Denny Hamlin

Many people, like myself, wrote Denny Hamlin off after a winless 2018 campaign. He has proved the doubters wrong in 2019 with four wins, including the Daytona 500, his second victory in the Great American Race. If Hamlin's career ended today he would go down as one of the greatest drivers to never win a title. His 35 career wins is the second most among drivers without a championship. Hamlin has won essentially everything else there is to win except a championship. His candidacy for the NASCAR Hall of Fame is ignorantly debated by many. His statistics show that he should be a first ballot inductee, but not all see it that way. A championship for Hamlin should quiet the stupid argument of whether or not he's hall of fame worthy and cement his spot in Charlotte. 

Kevin Harvick already has won championship under his belt thanks to a magnificent run in 2014, the first year of the playoffs. Moving to Stewart-Haas Racing saved Harvick's career. His stint at RCR showed promise, but also lacked consistency. Harvick has been the most consistent driver over the course of the past five seasons. Harvick won eight races in 2018 and was the championship favorite coming into 2019. He struggled to find victory lane early, but has found some stride and has won three races this season. Harvick is a lock for the Hall of Fame, but many guys have won just one title (18 to be exact). A second title for Harvick would elevate him to a driver that should be regarded as one of the all-time greats. He's top 10-15 in my book. 

Brad Keselowski 

Like his rival, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski is a polarizing NASCAR driver. Many people don't like him, but he's honestly one of my favorites. If you listen to Keselowski talk, he is actually an incredibly articulate and intellectual human-being. But on the track, he has a no-damn's given attitude and will do whatever it takes to win regardless of who he upsets in the process. Kyle Busch might be the closest thing to Dale Earnhardt in terms of talent, but Keselowski, in my opinion, more resembles Dale Sr's attitude and you have to appreciate that. Keselowski is also a former champion, but I feel like his 2012 championship is the most forgotten about title in the history of the playoffs. It was nothing flashy or dominant, just consistent. Keselowski's 2019 title would not be that. He dominated the early part of the season, but struggled from June until the playoffs began. He's since shown strong performances in the three playoff races and is putting himself in line for a clutch-like run through the playoffs.

Joey Logano

"Sliced Bread" Joey Logano is another polarizing driver that I enjoy. Last year, Logano showed the world why the NASCAR Playoffs are so intense. He also showed them that he was willing to do whatever it takes. Which meant bumping Martin Truex. Jr out of the way in the final lap at Martinsville to win the race and secure his spot in the championship race at Homestead. Many people ignorantly didn't like Logano's tactics, but you cannot argue that it ultimately won him the championship. Logano shined in the early stage of 2019, but has struggled to stay consistent in the latter half of the season. However, Logano's 2019 season to this point extremely resembles his 2018 season, so you can't count him out. Plus, he's shown that he'll do whatever it takes to win and you have to appreciate that. A second title for Logano would also make him the first repeat champion since the inception of the knockout-style playoffs and would make him the first to repeat since Jimmie Johnson won five straight from 2006-2010. 

Kyle Larson 

Kyle Larson is sadly trending towards becoming one of the biggest busts in NASCAR history. Expectations were high for Larson when he made his cup debut in 2014. Larson does have five career wins, but he has not won in two seasons. We keep waiting for Larson to break through and show the world the raw talent that he has. Larson is extremely entertaining to watch, but unfortunately, he keeps getting derailed by untimely wrecks and costly pit road miscues. A championship for Larson would mean that he finally broke through and met the expectations that were put upon him when he made his cup debut. 

Martin Truex. Jr

Martin Truex Jr's 2017 championship campaign was one of the most unlikely championships in recent memory. If somebody would have said in 2009 that Truex was a future Cup champion, they might have been institutionalized. Truex has been the most dominant driver in NASCAR the past four seasons. Which is impressive when you consider that he spent the majority of it with underfunded Furniture Row Racing before they closed doors and he moved to Joe Gibbs Racing this season. Truex also has a reputation for racing guys clean, in a Mark Martin-like way. He is well-liked by the majority of his peers and is a driver that many fans have grown to like because of his unlikely rise from journeyman to championship contender.

These next seven races should be a ton of fun, who will you be rooting for?