Uncle Max vs. Last Year’s Winners: Atlanta

EDITOR’S NOTE: Uncle Max wrote this before his training was cancelled

Another winless week.  This season is proving to be a little more difficult than I had anticipated.  Might need to switch strategies and break out the old restrictor plate dartboard next weekend.

Speaking of which, my picks will be quick and to the point for Homestead-Miami since I’ll be out of town from Thursday through the weekend for corporate training.  Its something we have to go through at my work roughly once every five years, and its a nice little change of pace.  With the hotel and complimentary meals its like being on vacation, except you have to sit in a stuffy conference room for eight hours with your smart phone off.

CUP SERIES Folds of Honor QT 500: 2019 Winner (2 WINS) is Brad Keselowski.  FAVORITE: Kyle Busch—the second two-time winner this year.  NEXT FAVORITE: Chase Elliott—and prepare to hear idiots claim it was fixed. DARK HORSE: Erik Jones—reminding everyone that HE’S the fourth driver at JGR, not Christopher Bell.

XFINITY SERIES (2 WINS) EchoPark 250: Chase Briscoe—making himself known in the SHR camp.

TRUCK SERIES (1 WIN) Vet Tix 200: Kyle Busch—shining brightest when the spotlight AND pressure is on him.

Bobby Isaac: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Bobby Hillin Jr.’s latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Bobby Isaac

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1970 Cup Series champion.  37 Cup Series wins.  Holds record for most poles in a single season (20).

LAST HURRAH: Isaac’s last win came in 1972, a season where he finished 19th in points despite missing several late-season races.  He remained competitive into 1973 until he infamously retired from the fall Talladega race for unconfirmed reasons (rumored to be that “a voice told him to”).

FINAL YEAR(S): Isaac would run a handful of races from 1974 through 1976, showing flashes of his past brilliance with a few top-ten finishes and a runner-up run at Bristol.  Sadly, he would die from a heat exhaustion-induced heart attack in 1977.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: Not really.  Isaac showed that he could still run near the front even after his mysterious departure from full-time driving, even though his race totals were in the single-digits per year.

Spade Racing: THE ROOKIES—March Rakings

New for 2020, Spade Racing will take a monthly look at the heralded Cup Series rookie class to determine who’s hot and who’s not.  Debuting with this entry is the brand new PRETTY grade: Performance Relative to Equating Team’s Typical Year (its pretty much how well each driver is doing considering their equipment).  Here’s how things look going into Phoenix:

1. Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Racing).  Best race finish: 11th (California).  PRETTY grade: A.  Reddick’s shown some real speed despite racing for a team that, well, has seen better days.  Here’s hoping my good review of the 8 team’s performance convinces them to run a Hut Stricklin Circuit City throwback car at Darlington.

2. Cole Custer (Stewart Haas Racing). Best race finish: 18th (California).  PRETTY grade: B-.  With stacked entry lists every weekend in Cup (…and RWR), a pair of top-twenties in your first two races is nothing to sneeze at.  Not that I have anything against sneezing with MY allergies lately.

3. John Hunter Nemechek (Front Row Motorsports).  Best race finish: 11th (Daytona).  PRETTY grade: B.  Buoyed by a near-top-ten at Daytona, JHN has been one of the most-sunrising rookies of the 2020 season, thus negating my usual bias against guys who always go by their full names.

4. Brennan Poole (Premium Motorsports).  Best race finish: 16th (Daytona).  PRETTY grade: A+.  While it DID come in a wreck-fest superspeedway race, Poole’s 16th place finish was like a top-five for the small-budget Premium team.  Learn more about it in my Team Finish Celebration Levels Conversion Chart, coming April 31st.

5. Christopher Bell (Leavine Family Racing).  Best race finish: 21st (Daytona).  PRETTY grade: D+.  Its been a rough start to the year for the presumptive ROTY favorite.  While the switch in manufacturers for LVR has to be taken into consideration, his performance pales in comparison to Matty D, likely convincing DiBennedetto’s fans that he should, oh, I dunno, get a lifetime contract with Joe Gibbs Racing and an automatic Hall of Fame induction?

6. Quin Houff (StarCom Racing).  Best race finish: 32nd (Las Vegas).  PRETTY grade: D.  StarCom is far from a front-runner, but not even breaking into the top-30 is a bad look.  And if there’s one thing team principal Derrike Cope is unfamiliar with, its looking bad.