There’s a lot to be said about the 25th running of the Brickyard 400 taking place Sunday at Indy. It is one race any NASCAR driver would like to win and it is one of four Crown Jewels on the NASCAR circuit. The biggest question many of us have is, “Who’ll be in when this one ends.”
Yeah, that’s right. This is it. This is the last race and end of what is called in these recent years, the regular season. Kyle Bush has already clinched the 2019 regular season championship and, when this one is done, the playoffs begin.
But wait. You already knew that didn’t you. What is unknown by both you and me at the time of this writing is which sixteen drivers and teams will be in the playoffs competing for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead in November. That’s another thing to be said about this 25th running of the Brickyard 400. It is where the bubble will burst for at least two of the four now sitting at a precarious place in the standings. Of course you know the main four I’m talking about. Barring a completely unexpected happening, the four I’m talking about are Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson.
At least three of these four drivers have been battling bad luck and bad decisions over several weekends of the racing in this last part of the season to bounce in and out of the top sixteen spots. After the race Sunday, there will be no more bouncing. The field will be set and, barring the unforeseen, two will be locked out of making a bid for the 2019 MENCS Championship.
I know the next things I’m going to say you’ve probably heard a hundred times over the last week or weeks. The four drivers on or around the bubble have to perform well in the Brickyard 400. Clint Bowyer is only eight points to the good and, from this fan’s view and the way his luck has been running, he can’t afford to have a bad day. In reality, he just needs to finish ahead of the other three and he should be in the top sixteen and on his way to the playoffs. That is by no means a given since he has been high enough in the points to not have to worry and now must perform well to definitely make it in.
Ryan Newman and Daniel Suarez are tied at the sixteenth spot with Suarez in the sixteenth spot because of the tiebreaker. This will be most dramatic part of the entire race in this fan’s opinion, since these two have a little history, in particular from the race last weekend at Darlington. There is no doubt Ryan Newman knows what it will take if the opportunity is there for him and, from past years experiences, we know he will do what it takes. He has been the most consistent finisher over the past weekends’ races compared to Johnson and Bowyer. That won’t mean a whole lot if he isn’t in position to take advantage of those in front of him in the standings. From this fan’s view, I expect him to be even harder to pass than usual and that won’t bode well for the other three.
There is no doubt, Daniel Suarez is a hard charger and, as we witnessed last weekend, he is not opposed to pressing the envelope on those he is competing against. He has speed and he has the will to press that envelope when necessary. I don’t expect this weekend to be any different than what he has shown much of the season and I don’t think he will let up even around Ryan Newman. It is the same for him as it is for the four I’m mostly talking about here. They all need stage points and they all need to finish ahead of those they are running against to make it into the top sixteen.
There is none of these four that has had a more up and down times at this critical time in the season than Jimmie Johnson. He was in, he was out, he was in and he’s out again. Even though we have seen the Hendrick teams improve throughout the season and two of the Hendrick drivers are in the playoffs by wins. Of course that would be Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman and William Byron is in by points. The only one not in is Jimmie Johnson and there is none that would like to be in from HMS more than him.
From this fan’s view, his best chance to make sure he is in the playoffs is to win. There is no other way for him to guarantee himself being in other than doing that. It’s the only way he can remove any doubt no matter what happens to the rest. So… do you think there is any pressure on him and his team for the Brickyard 400? Yeah, that’s what I thought you would say and I agree with you…
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© September 7, 2019 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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