NASCAR Crown Royal 400 2015: Preview and prediction
Who’s Hot?
There is absolutely no better driver at the moment than Kyle Busch. With an unusual season thanks to injuries, Kyle Busch’s chances at competing for a Sprint Cup Championship, do not go by the same rules as the rest of the other drivers who locked up a spot in “The Chase” by winning a race this season.
Simply put, Kyle Busch needs points and points in a hurry. With “The Chase” drawing near, Kyle Busch needs to be in the top-30 in points when it begins to qualify for a chance to compete for a Sprint Cup Championship. He currently sits at 33rd with seven races to go before “The Chase” begins.
Just starting and finishing in the upper half the rest of the way should get him there, but a wreck would greatly hurt his chances. As aforementioned, Busch knows better than to take it easy, and it is his understanding of not taking things for granted that has led him to winning three races this season.
At Indianapolis, Busch will be aiming for his fourth win in five races, and a fourth win would easily be the catalyst to put him over the top and have him competing for a Sprint Cup Championship. He’s never won at Indianapolis, but he came close in 2012, just falling short of the win.
In a season that is quietly creating what could be one of the best stories ever told on the track, Busch finally being able to kiss the bricks would add yet another moment to a successful season.
If there is one driver that has been swallowed up by the Kyle Busch machine the last few weeks, it’s Joey Logano. Logano finished second at Kentucky and third at his home track at New Hampshire last week. Logano after a hot start to the season, has been on a hot streak in recent weeks and is slowly maturing into one of NASCAR’s elite drivers.
Unfortunately for Logano, he’s been up against a driver who can’t sit back and take it easy with one win in Kyle Busch. Logano has been pushing hard the last two weeks giving everything he has, but Busch has been a fraction better.
This week at the Crown Royal 400, Logano will have a chance to add another milestone to a blossoming career as he has a chance to kiss the bricks for the first time in his career. This season, he finally won Daytona for the first time in his career. Imagine if he added a win at “The Brickyard.”
He will certainly be a factor if the past couple of weeks have been any sort of an indicator, and it’s likely he will be battling with Kyle Busch once again.
Much like his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski has also fell victim to the dominance of Kyle Busch in recent weeks. At New Hampshire, Keselowski was beaten for the lead on an incredible double move by Busch, and fought hard to catch up, but he simply ran out of laps.
Still, it doesn’t take away from how well that Keselowski has been running in the last couple of weeks. He led the most laps at New Hampshire, and led several at Kentucky as well. While the boys of Joe Gibbs Racing have been ruling the track, Keselowski and Logano have shown Team Penske can be just as good.
Keselowski isn’t afraid to take chances, and if the time comes again that he battles on the track with Kyle Busch, it’s highly likely he will try to make an incredible move of his own, much like the one Busch pulled on him at New Hampshire.
Like Logano, Keselowski has never won the Crown Royal 400, but this week could be a first and a big boost in his momentum as he competes for a Sprint Cup Championship.
Kevin Harvick has a wide points lead and is the defending Sprint Cup Championship, yet he is sailing clear under the radar. Having not won since he picked up two wins near the beginning of the season, Harvick has been the most dominant driver on the track this season.
Sure all the talk might be about Kyle Busch winning three out of four races at the moment, and it should, but Harvick is silently sitting their with 13 top-5 finishes on the year, and at New Hampshire he was there competing in fourth position when the race came to an end.
Harvick’s sneaky good at hanging around when other drivers get hot, so that they don’t get a jump on him in points and he can show that he’s just as good if not better. Harvick after finally winning his first championship last season, isn’t ready to give it up quite yet.
Kyle Busch passed him last week and took over second for most wins this season. Harvick no doubt will be looking to pick up his third win of the season as well. He has won the Crown Royal 400 before, and he will be one of the race favorites heading into Sunday.
Other drivers might be getting hot at the right time, but Kevin Harvick has yet to cool down since he hoisted his first championship last November.
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