There is one thing different about this weekend is it’s not about points. Another thing is nothing really matters except winning. Oh, did I mention winning is worth a million dollars. Yeah… I know you already knew that but, I just wanted to say it to see if I could get a reaction. It is true though, every one of the cars on the track could win and the rest mostly just go home and wait until the next race.
I don’t know about you but, I’ve heard a lot a talk this last week about the performance of the Chevys lately. In fact, I have to agree with most of what I’ve been hearing and what has been said about the Hendrick teams I totally agree with. Yeah, I know that sounds a bit biased but, if you’ve been hanging around this site much over the last several years, you already know I have always been a Hendrick fan. I’ve been one for a long time.
That may cause some of you to right now leave here and turn to somewhere else but, look; you have your own favorite team or teams and I think that’s great. I just happen to have been a fan of Hendrick MotorSports for longer that some of you might have been alive. I’ve been a fan of theirs when they were winning, when they were losing and when they struggled off and on over the years. Even when they were struggling over the last couple of years. I can’t begin to tell you how great it is to see them doing so well. I guess lately you could say they’ve been pretty much dominating the field over the last several weeks.
Okay now, that doesn’t mean I don’t have other drivers and teams I like. It just means when push comes to shove, a couple of things don’t change for me. I have always been a Chevy fan, (yes, even before I graduated High School), and I have been a Hendrick fan for a very long time. Yes, some of those other drivers drive Fords. I’m having a tough time thinking of a Toyota driver I could mention but, there may be one out there, somewhere. I do like Joe Gibbs and could give Martin Truex Jr. an honorable mention I guess.
That may be the reason I think the All Star race on Sunday night is going to be a good one. With the way they’re doing the stages and inversion and all associated items that usually accompany the All Star race, I don’t think anyone at this point can actually pick a winner. Admittedly, there are a bunch of possibilities unless the Hendrick Chevys have everyone as covered as they have in recent weeks.
The problem with trying to pick one winner of the million dollars and possibly picking a Hendrick team as the winner is that any one of the four HMS teams could win. Many have already given the nod to Kyle Larson as the likely victor but, I’m not so sure, only because of the way the stages are setup. The last stage being only ten laps makes it difficult unless the strategy is played just right. The inversion might be trouble for many but, even though someone may be fast, it doesn’t mean they will be in position to get to the front and take it to Victory Lane. Another reason I’m not so sure is because all four of the Hendrick teams have won races and all four have a chance to win the million.
Other possible winners that have been talked about a lot coming up to this weekend would be Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Both are winless so far this season but both could pull off a victory. Well… at least that’s what some are saying. When it comes to this fan’s view, I just don’t know if either of them can or will. Kevin Harvick just hasn’t shown that much so far this season. He isn’t running bad. I guess I would call what he is doing as mediocre, at least, compared to what they did last season. Denny Hamlin has also been finishing extremely consistent and just hasn’t been able to take it all the way to the end with a win, especially with the way the Hendrick teams have been running. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying he won’t win; I’m just saying I don’t think he will.
I suppose I have to mention the JGR teams of Kyle Bush and Martin Truex Jr. if for no other reason than they could be the ones to take it to the Hendrick teams. Truex has been struggling a bit lately but he could turn it around when comes to taking home a million dollars. I also noticed that Kyle Bush did take advantage of running in the Xfinity race. That really doesn’t surprise me since he seems to run better when the Cup teams have practice sessions. Running the Xfinity race gives him more track time and could very well improve his performance in the All-Star race. I realize there is quite a bit of difference between the two types of cars but the track time seems to help his performance. It could just mean he could take that cool million. After all, it is all about winning the money.
There are many drivers that could win this race and there are a lot of reasons there could be an unexpected winner. One of the biggest reasons is that they are running to win and running to win a million dollars. From previous experience, they have a tendency to be very aggressive and won’t hesitate to move someone out of the way to do it…
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© June 13, 2021 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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