With my fantasy football draft in the rearview (the secret is more running backs than receivers!) its time for the first of two previews twice. What does that mean? Well, MY Nascar Cup Playoff preview is here, while Mike will have something of his own this Sunday. Meanwhile, next Thursday (or Friday if I have to work on Thursday) I’ll have my annual NFL preview. But for now, here’s how I see the Playoffs proceeding:
ROUND OF 16 ELIMINATIONS:
Obvious Eliminations: Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez—Austin’s luck runs out sans teammate support, while Daniel just can’t break through.
“Bad Luck” Elimination: Tyler Reddick—and I can see a blown engine coming riiiight after an announcement that he’s being let out of his contract.
Heartbreaker Elimination: Christopher Bell—mediocre runs at Darlington and Kansas lead to him coming up just a bit short at Bristol.
ROUND OF 12 ELIMINATIONS:
Obvious Eliminations: Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe—two guys people forgot won earlier…and forgot advanced into the 2nd round.
Bad Luck Elimination: Kyle Busch—Falls just short at the Roval after a DNF at Talladega. But he re-ups with JGR, which is nice.
Heartbreaker Elimination: Ryan Blaney—he eeked his way into the Playoffs, but will fall a few points short in Round 2.
ROUND OF 8 ELIMINATIONS:
Not-so-Obvious Eliminations: William Byron and Denny Hamlin—top tens and challenging for wins aren’t usually good enough in this round, and this year is no exception.
Bad Luck Elimination: Ross Chastain—controversy comes back to bite him at Martinsville where he’s punted out of contention by…
Heartbreaker Elimination: …Kevin Harvick.
ROUND OF 4 ELIMINATIONS:
Bad Luck Elimination: Joey Logano—makes it through the first nine races unscathed, only to hit the wall with a flat tire at Phoenix. Sometimes these things happen.
Heartbreaker Eliminations: Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman—both of these HMS drivers come up just short at Phoenix. Sometimes these things happen.
AND YOUR 2022 CHAMPION IS: Kyle Larson—back to back championships for the comeback kid. Sometimes these things happen.
And, of course, here's this weekend's race picks:
TRUCK SERIES off
Saturday Afternoon XFINITY SERIES Sport Clips VFW 200 (6 wins): Noah Gragson—getting on a bit of a multi-series run.
Sunday Evening CUP SERIES Southern 500: LAST RACE’S WINNER (1 win) picks Austin Dillon. THE ROULETTE WHEEL picks 32nd in points Cody Ware. FAVORITE (2 wins): Denny Hamlin—no better way to lock up advancing to the next round. NEXT FAVORITE (2 wins): Chase Elliott—see above. DARK HORSE (2 wins): Martin Truex Jr.—heh.
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