Uncle Max 2021 Preview: Wins on Repeat

Hello, loyal Spade Racing readers, gambling aficionados, and Russian hit bots looking to redirect my nephew to a weight loss site!  The 2021 Nascar season is almost here, and its time to look ahead at what I have in store for this year’s challenge—but first, a quick look back:

Last Season: I took it on the chin against “Last Year’s Winners”, who will NOT be returning to fight me again.  And while I’d like to think its because my nephew is taking pity on his ol’ uncle, I know the real reason is because trying to match up Last Year’s Winners to this year’s revamped schedule would be like putting a square peg in a multi-dimensional infinitely-sided round hole.

The Offseason: I’ve been chugging along at work as usual—another Christmas shopping season is behind us (just as crazy, but not as busy), as is another post-Christmas return season.  Why is it that people will try to return ANYTHING to any store, even if its obviously something we don’t sell?  I swear, if one more old lady tries to bring back a radial tire…

The Pandemic: COVID-19 restrictions have been hard on all of us, especially retail workers like me.  There’s nothing like having to wear a mask when you’re trying to explain where something is to a customer who’s hard of hearing.  Its been getting rough at work with layoffs and closures, but I haven’t been affected—yet.  *knocks on particle board desk*

The 2021 Challenge: So this year I’ll be going up against a pretty simple opponent—Repeat Winners.  Whoever wins the previous points-paying race will be my challenger the following week.  So, for instance, Repeat’s first pick will be Chase Elliott.  I’ll be able to pick anyone I’d like EXCEPT the repeat winner, of course, and will still be making three picks a week for Cup—Favorite, Next Favorite, and Dark Horse (a dark horse pick being an unpopular “reach” of a pick with decent odds).  If the previous week’s winner isn’t entered in the following week’s race due to injury, suspension, or the flukiness of their win (aka The Justin Haley Rule), the previous week’s runner up will be selected.

With that out of the way, here’s the official Uncle Max 2021 Nascar Picks:

Truck Series Regular Season Champion: John Hunter Nemechek

Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion: Austin Cindric

Cup Series Regular Season Champion: Kevin Harvick

Cup Series Bounce Back Drivers: Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney

Cup Series Breakthrough Driver: Christopher Bell

Cup Series Disappointment Drivers: Matt DiBennedetto, Aric Almirola

Three Easy Predictions:

—Kevin Harvick and the four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers will dominate Cup throughout the regular season

—Kyle Larson will run consistently in the top-ten

—Austin Cindric will dominate the Xfinity Series at a level not seen in decades

Three Bold Predictions:

—All four JGR drivers will have multiple regular season wins

—Team Penske will have a quiet season (likely due to focus on the Next-Gen car in 2022)

—Kyle Busch will win his 100th Xfinity Series race, then hold himself to his promise to retire from that series

Three Wild Predictions:

—Austin Dillon will contend for a Cup championship

—Both Roush Fenway Racing cars will qualify for the Playoffs

—Either Trackhouse or Spire will win a race at Daytona or Talladega