Predictions and Wishes ~ Through a Hazy Crystal Ball
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We're
days away from another season of NASCAR racing. It's the time of year when many
predict what they think will happen in the months to come. Of course no one
really knows and I certainly have no special insight. Some of this might just
be wishful thinking although a lot of thinking has gone into it based on what
we saw in 2017 and what we've heard about drivers, cars and teams heading into
this season. Regardless, it might be fun to revisit in mid-November, so here's
what I see for 2018.
There's
been a lot of talk about the new Chevrolet's. I don't expect them to set the
world on fire right out of the gate. It might take several weeks for the teams
and drivers to get comfortable with them but be patient; they'll figure it out.
I heard from a reliable source that the Chevy teams who tested at Las Vegas
were very pleased with how the cars responded when adjustments were made.
That's a great start.
At
this point it seems like the Fords might be behind the curve. Everyone knows
what the Toyotas can do and Chevy has their new car. It might seem that the
Ford teams’ best chances for wins will be on the super speedways, where
horsepower is key and where they proved last year they can win. I have a hard
time believing someone like Roger Penske is going to stand pat, especially with
the addition of Ryan Blaney on his team. The blue ovals will find their share
of wins in 2018. As a matter of fact, I think we'll see a Ford driver
celebrating after the Daytona 500.
There's
a lot of debate over which if any of the new or newer drivers will win this
year. Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones return and now Alex Bowman,
Bubba Wallace and William Byron are joining the party. All are in top flight
rides although with Richard Petty Motorsports moving to Chevy, the 43 might be
behind the others. Any of those guys could win but I think one stands above the
others at this point. Chase Elliott showed last year he can run up front and be
a factor; he just never closed the deal. I do think his scuffle with Denny
Hamlin taught him something about himself and I expect it to payoff this
season. I will be shocked if Elliott doesn't wheel the 9 to victory lanes not
just once, but multiple times.
It
was great to see both Roush-Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing return
to their winning ways in 2017. They didn't just win, they both won twice. I
expect to see them continue that in 2018. I think both Ryan Newman and Austin
Dillon take the checkers at some point. For RFR though, I think Ricky
Stenhouse, Jr. is the only one capable of doing it for that team.
How
will the new engine rule affect teams? It should be interesting to see how it
develops, especially for Kyle Larson. He had multiple engine woes toward the
latter part of this past season. If not for that, it's safe to believe he
could've gone a lot deeper into the playoffs. That's one unknown factor that's
going to be fun to watch play out.
Speaking
of Larson, I'm saying now he'll be the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion.
With the playoff system, it seems harder than ever to predict who's going to
walk away as the champion. I just think he's such a pure racer, who gets
absolutely everything out of his car. He's certainly capable of getting the job
done and he'd make an excellent champion for the sport. Speaking of playoffs
though, don't bet against Jimmie Johnson. There's no way that team doesn't
bounce back after a three win season that only they could describe as a
disappointment.
Regardless
of how accurate or ignorant these thoughts look after Homestead, it should be a
fun season. There's an excitement and newness in the air that only comes around
this time of year. Now on to Daytona!