NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Notes

Can Earnhardt Earn A Charlotte Victory?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. got off to a blazing start at Kansas Sunday, displaying speed he hasn’t shown since his fifth-place finish at Michigan in August.

Unfortunately for Junior Nation, Earnhardt hit the wall while in the lead on Lap 122 after leading 45 go-arounds. He finished 39th and ranks 11th on the Chase Grid with two races left in the Contender Round, 25 points below his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon on the cutoff line.

Earnhardt will try to turn his fortunes around this Saturday at Charlotte. He has failed to capture a checkered flag at a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway since his 2005 victory at Chicagoland, but the NASCAR world has seen a rejuvenated Jr. this season, so a win is not out of the question. Earnhardt notched three wins this year, as many he accumulated in the last eight campaigns.

It’s been a mixed bag of results at Charlotte for NASCAR’s 11-time most popular driver. He hasn’t been great at the 1.5-mile quad oval, but he hasn’t been awful either. Earnhardt claims five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 29 starts at CMS. He has never placed higher than third and has failed to finish four times there.

Despite falling behind on the Chase Grid, Earnhardt is not in panic mode. He has already moved on.

“That’s the speed we need to give ourselves a chance to make the next round in the Chase,” Earnhardt posted on Twitter. “Charlotte Motor Speedway is next. Let’s go get it.”

Rowdy Readies For Charlotte After Finally Conquering Kansas

Kyle Busch placed third at Kansas on Sunday, but seemed happier after the race than Joey Logano and Kyle Larson who finished ahead of him.

“I won today,” he declared after the race. “I just didn’t get champagne and a trophy.”

Busch had every reason to celebrate. Kansas had been his Achilles’ heel his entire career and was set up to derail his Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup hopes as the first race in the Contender Round. Going into the contest, Busch had a lower average finish at Kansas than any other track (22.7) and posted DNFs in three of his last four races there prior to Sunday. Rowdy had every excuse to roll over, but instead left with a cushy 19 points ahead of the cut.

The road gets a little easier for Busch this Saturday in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC). Statistically, he is the best active driver to have never won at the 1.5-mile quad oval. In 21 starts, Busch claims a series-high 973 quality passes, as well as the second-best driver rating (106.3) and average running position (10.0).

Busch heads to Charlotte riding a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes, all in Chase races. Before his seventh-place showing at Chicagoland on Sept. 14, he had not registered a top-10 finish since his runner-up effort at Indianapolis on July 27. The No. 18 Toyota Camry driver’s third-place showing at Kansas gave him top-five finishes at every current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series track.

Larson Close, But Still Looking For First Win

Too bad Kyle Larson missed out on qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. If he made NASCAR’s playoffs, the 22-year-old would be sitting pretty in second on the Chase Grid.

Through the first four Chase races, Larson has accumulated the second-most points (164) and boasts an average finish of 3.25 (also second-best), posting two runner-up performances, one third-place showing and a sixth-place effort.

The consolation prize? He can play spoiler.

Larson will attempt to notch his first-career victory and erase an automatic Eliminator Round qualifying spot this Saturday at Charlotte. He finished 18th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, but won the companion NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the 1.5-mile quad oval.

The No. 42 Target Chevrolet driver has been the highest-finishing rookie 21 times this year and holds an 86-point lead over Austin Dillon in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year race. At Kansas on Sunday, he set season bests in driver rating (118.4) and number of fastest laps (49).

Larson believes he’ll finally break through soon and capture his elusive first victory.

“The wins will be coming,” said Larson following Kansas. “So I just have to be patient and with every time I am in the top three, it’s just going to make the wins feel that much better.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 

Testing Update: On Monday and Tuesday of next week (Oct. 13-14), Germain Racing and Richard Childress Racing will test at Martinsville Speedway. … On Tuesday and Wednesday of next week (Oct. 14-15), Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Leavine Family Racing will test at Phoenix International Raceway.