Dover International Speedway put on the best NASCAR Cup Series short-track race since Bristol this weekend. The Wurth 400 was about as intense as it could’ve gotten and was far greater than its competition in Richmond and Martinsville. Denny Hamlin picked up his third win of the year. While Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing continue to go tit-for-tat on non-drafting tracks.
But nevertheless, some drivers are up, and drivers are down. Let’s try to pick up where we left off a few weeks ago. Here is the post-Dover edition of NASCAR “Three Up, Three Down”!
Three Up
#8 Kyle Busch
Embed from Getty ImagesI do a pretty good job of picking against drivers who then go on to have great days. Kyle Busch went and did just that from the start. Rowdy started on the pole and dominated most of the first stage. His car unfortunately could not keep up with the likes of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson, but Busch did just enough to net his first top-five since the photo finish at Atlanta in February. RCR also showed that they can give the 2x Cup Series Champion a car he can work with on a short track. I don’t want to say he’s back, but the #8 team is surely on the right track.
#10 Noah Gragson
Embed from Getty ImagesFord has been a bad manufacturer this year. No wins, Ryan Blaney continues to be the best guy out there. But Noah Gragson had a quality day. His teammates fell off quickly, but the #10 car netted P6 for his fourth top 10 finish on the year. Would it be a hot take to say that Stewart-Haas has been the best Ford team this year? I’m certainly taking them over RFK so far. While at Penske, it’s just the #12 car. Something to think about.
#11 Denny Hamlin
Embed from Getty ImagesI know, I know. Denny was a betting favorite and has been on a roll lately. Forgetting about a dumb bump from John Hunter-Nemechek last week at Talladega, he’s been one of the best drivers in the sport. Three wins ties him with William Byron for most of the year. He’s led laps in 15 straight races. And not this rinky-dink, staying out under pit cycles leading laps. Like driving through the field and leading the charge. I put him on the Up to make a larger point. Could it be the year? Could 2024 be the season where Denny Hamlin brings home the elusive Cup Series championship? The year that Denny Hamlin’s dad smokes the cigar gifted to him by Michael Jordan when he wins the NASCAR Cup Series Championship? The #11 car has been damn good, and close things have gone his way. Whether it’s getting away with a quick start at Richmond, or fending off Kyle Larson at the Monster Mile. Hamlin might just have it this year. There’s a lot of racing to go, but the #11 team is among the strongest week in and week out. They’ll look to repeat at the Advent Health 400 in Kansas this weekend.
Three Down
#6 Brad Keselowski
Embed from Getty ImagesIt seems as though Keselowski’s run on short tracks has come to a bitter conclusion. After spinning out early at the Monster Mile, the #6 car never got its juice back and finished with a brutal P30, multiple laps down. Ford as we explained previously has been a disappointing manufacturer for NASCAR this year. They’ll suit up and aim to get better next week in Kansas, as will the rest of the Ford teams.
#14 Chase Briscoe
Embed from Getty ImagesUnfortunately, nobody else in SHR could quite keep up with the efforts that Noah Gragson put out at Dover. Chase Briscoe finished P19 after starting P7 and didn’t collect any stage points. He’s had a quietly steady campaign with four top-10s but has yet to enter the top five. They have some work to do on this #14 team to catch their teammate Gragson and the #10 team next week in Kansas.
#20 Christopher Bell
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s been a brutal stretch for the #20 team and Christopher Bell. Dover was no different. After sliding up into the wall at practice, Bell was involved in an accident with 72 laps to go and got a DNF charged to his season-long resume. He’s not in any trouble, as he won the race at Phoenix earlier this season. But it hasn’t been a great month of April for him. His high finish of the month was P17 at Texas. This accident at Dover was the second in two weeks he couldn’t finish a race. If Bell intends on making it back to the Championship Four for a third straight year, they’ll have to get right in May. Kansas serves as a prime track to rebound and get a fresh start. Bell finished P8 in the fall race here last year but wrecked out in the spring edition. We’ll see if his luck gets any better this time around.
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