Five questions to be answered during second half of the NASCAR Cup Series season
Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway will mark the end of era for NASCAR. The series has spent the July 4th or the Fourth of July weekend at its most famous track for more than 60 years, but the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will close the book on this stories tradition.
The race also marks the midpoint of the 36-race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season — the time in which playoff positioning moves to the forefront.
Even with a new package designed to create tighter racing packs and thus spark more competitive races, the big teams are still winning and contending, while teams like Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing are still trying to find their way back up to the elite tier.
What are the questions that will be answered in the next four months? Let's go through them.
1. Will the new package find its footing?
Kyle Busch tops the Cup Series with four victories in 2019 (tied with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr.), but even Busch has said he does not care much for the 2019 rules package, lamenting the inability for good cars to pass others.
The package limits horsepower and relies on aerodynamics and downforce more than ever before, and the series seems to be all-in with the package, despite some grumblngs from drivers.
Brad Keselowski has found success with the package — earning three wins in 17 races — but says the driving aspect is "definitely less challenging than it’s ever been. But that’s the rules that NASCAR wants and we just try to make the most of them.”
There's going to be some fans who want as much horsepower and minimal downforce as possible in Cup cars. Will there be enough fans and sponsorship dollars that are drawn into the series because of the change to make it worth NASCAR's while? That's the million-dollar question.
2. Can Jimmie Johnson make the playoffs?
Johnson is currently 14th in the point standings, 20 points ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing's Erik Jones, who is ranked 17th and just below the playoff cutoff line. Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, William Byron, Paul Menard and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are the other contenders below the cutline but within striking distance for the final playoff spots.
Though he has been more competitive this season than last (with two top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 17 races compared to two and 11 through 36 races in 2018), the seven-time Cup Series champion is a string of bad finishes away from running uphill toward a playoff spot. And should one of the other five drivers chasing him earn a win — say, Stenhouse, who won the Daytona summer race in 2017 or Jones, who won last year) — Johnson would be in a tough spot.
Johnson has never missed the playoffs in 17 full-time seasons in the Cup Series. His 83 career Cup wins are tied for sixth most all time.
3. Who is most likely to become a surprise winner?
Daniel Hemric is my guess. It wasn't all that long ago that Richard Childress Racing sported two championship-contending cars. (Remember Jeff Burton in the 31 and Kevin Harvick in the 29?) Hemric is a supreme talent, and his cars have shown some speed lately.
Another potential surprise winner could come from JTG Daugherty Racing. Chris Buescher has been competitive, scoring a season-high sixth-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600 in May.
Buescher sits 22nd in the standings heading into Daytona, while Hemric is ranked 24th.
4. Will a favorite pop up by the time the series gets to the Brickyard?
There is a short list, consisting of defending champion Joey Logano, 2012 champion Keselowski, 2015 champion Kyle Busch and 2017 champion Truex, with Harvick (2014 champion) and Chase Elliott close by. Elliott is the only one of these drivers who has not won a Cup Series championship.
Hendrick Motorsports gets better by the weekend, but Busch and Truex have been so strong for two-and-a-half seasons now. Those two will jockey for position throughout the summer before the regular season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
5. Who is going where for 2020?
Christopher Bell leads this question, as the 24-year-old is in his second season in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. The problem: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. all are firmly entrenched for JGR in the Cup Series. There's no room, and there's no Furniture Row Racing-type team that can be competitive and have an open spot available for a Toyota team.
Kurt Busch is doing fine in the No. 1 car for Chip Ganassi, but Ganassi will be looking for a spot for top driver prospect Ross Chastain after his Xfinity Series ride owned by Ganassi fell through in the 11th hour for this season. Busch may be inched toward retirement or another ride.
What about Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick? Will RCR add another Cup Series car for Reddick? Is Custer, who will be 22 next season, ready for the Cup Series?
REMAINING 2019 NASCAR CUP SCHEDULE
With day, race, time, TV and radio broadcasters (all time p.m. and Eastern unless noted):
Saturday, July 6: Daytona International Speedway, 7:30, NBC, MRN
Saturday, July 13: Kentucky Speedway, 7:30, NBCSN, PRN
Sunday, July 21: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 3, NBCSN, PRN
Sunday, July 28: Pocono Raceway, 3, NBCSN, MRN
Sunday, Aug. 4: Watkins Glen International, 3, NBCSN, MRN
Sunday, Aug. 11: Michigan International Speedway, 3, NBCSN, MRN
Saturday, Aug. 17: Bristol Motor Speedway, 7:30, NBCSN, PRN
Sunday, Sept. 1: Darlington Raceway, 6, NBCSN, MRN
Sunday, Sept. 8: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2, NBC, IMS
Sunday, Sept. 15: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7, NBCSN, PRN
Saturday, Sept. 21: Richmond Raceway, 7:30, NBSN, MRN
Sunday, Sept. 29: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 2:30, NBC, PRN
Sunday, Oct. 6: Dover International Speedway, 2:30, NBCSN, MRN
Sunday, Oct. 13: Talladega Superspeedway, 2, NBC, MRN
Sunday, Oct. 20: Kansas Speedway, 2:30, NBC, MRN
Sunday, Oct. 27: Martinsville Speedway, 3, NBCSN, MRN
Sunday, Nov. 3: Texas Motor Speedway, 3, NBCSN, PRN
Sunday, Nov. 10: ISM Raceway (Avondale, Ariz.). 2:30, NBC, MRN
Sunday, Nov. 17: Homestead-Miami Speedway, 3, NBC, MRN