What Cup team needs this weekend off the most?
Dustin Long: After spending last week with Richard Petty Motorsports and Bubba Wallace and seeing them collected in a crash at the start, this underfunded team can use the weekend off to catch its breath and prepare for the challenges ahead.
Daniel McFadin: Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing. After wrecking out at Bristol, its pit strategy backfiring at Michigan and the questions surrounding the team’s and Truex’s future after this season, they need a weekend out of the frying pan.
Dan Beaver: Hendrick Motorsports has a week to study its notes from the past several weeks and make some adjustments to its cars. They have been solid contenders for top 10s, but with a few tweaks, they can begin to challenge for more top fives with their three veteran drivers.
Kyle Busch’s weekend at Bristol was ______
Dustin Long: Shocking. You don’t expect Kyle Busch to make the mistakes he did on the track and then see a fan seek to go toe-to-toe with Busch after the race.
Daniel McFadin: GIFable. From his medical center “thumbs up” during the Xfinity race to a montage of his three incidents in the Cup race, Busch provided a lot of material to be used as Internet fodder.
Dan Beaver: Karmic. After blasting Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for driving over his head at Daytona in an attempt to win the Coke Zero 400 and make the playoffs, Busch was guilty of the same thing at Bristol. His three incidents in the Night Race could all have been avoided with a little more patience.
The Truck playoffs start this weekend. Does it matter that the Truck, Xfinity and Cup playoffs start on different weekends or should they all start at the same time?
Dustin Long: Let them start at the different times since they all end on the same weekend.
Daniel McFadin: I think they should start in consecutive weekends, giving each series its own special weekend. The Truck Series starts this weekend but then it goes silent until Sept. 14, the same weekend of the Cup playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and before the Xfinity opener.
Dan Beaver: If NASCAR wants to make a concerted effort to draw attention to their playoff system, all three series should begin at the same time and after an off-weekend to allow for the appropriate media blitz. Taking a week to hype the drivers and giving all three series a chance to cross-promote would increase coverage among mainstream, non-sports media.