Uncle Max vs. Last Year’s Winners: Dover


I’m back!

A week of wilderness seclusion really helped my mental state AND refreshed me for the pre-holiday push at work.  Some words of advice for any other outdoorsy novices like me:

—Bring bug spray.  Lots of it.  A good gauge is that however many cans you think is too much, bring about five more.

—Canned food is a must.  A can opener is a must.  Something to cook the food is also a must.  But cutlery is a must too—unless you want to be shotgunning ravioli.

—Take some time to blow off some steam, either by hiking, chopping wood, or screaming the name of your store manager into the mountains every morning.

—Fishing is a lot like riding a bicycle, in that if you were terrible at it as a kid, you’re probably terrible at it now.

—Remember to have fun.  And if you can figure out how to have fun with zero cell reception you’re a better outdoorsman than I.


Friday Afternoon TRUCK SERIES Race (3 wins) KDI Office 200 Brett Moffitt—back on track after last weekend’s near-miss.


Sunday Early Afternoon XFINITY SERIES Drydene 200 (4 wins) Austin Cindric—pretty hard to pick against him in Penske power ANYWHERE this summer.


Saturday Late Afternoon CUP SERIES Drydene 311.  LAST YEAR’S WINNER (6 wins) Martin Truex Jr.  FAVORITE: (2 win) Kevin Harvick—another dull pick of Happy, but I need to get back to winning and FAST.  NEXT FAVORITE: (2 wins) Chase Elliott—ring the sy-REENE.  DARK HORSE: (0 wins) Jimmie Johnson—depressing that any Jimmie win at Dover could be considered an upset, but here we are.


Sunday Early Afternoon XFINITY SERIES Drydene 200 (4 wins) Chase Briscoe—if I flip Cindric and Briscoe’s race wins I’m gonna be furious.


Sunday Late Afternoon CUP SERIES Go Bowling 235.  LAST YEAR’S WINNER (6 wins) Martin Truex Jr.*.  FAVORITE: (2 win) Denny Hamlin—FedEx DID used to sponsor races at Dover…sorta.  NEXT FAVORITE: (2 wins) Joey Logano—rebounding on concrete.  DARK HORSE: (0 wins) Erik Jones—staking his claim for the 48 ride in 2021.


*—last year’s winner was Kyle Larson, so the pick moves to last year’s runner-up, Martin Truex Jr.