Nobody Can Handle the Truex; 8 Races Until the Playoffs, Logano in Danger; Despite 0 Wins, Kyle Busch Still Among Title Favorites; Kenseth’s Final Year at Gibbs. Martin Truex Jr. failed to finish back-to-back races at Sonoma and Daytona, but he turned it around last weekend at Kentucky, leading 152 of 274 laps to pick up his 3rd win of the season, all on 1.5-mile tracks. Truex has won 7 times in 54 races over the last 2 seasons, after winning 3 times in 369 career starts entering 2016. Joey Logano won the April race at Richmond, and usually that would be enough to lock up a playoff spot. However, due to rules violations found after the race, Logano’s win won’t count toward playoff consideration, and the playoff points he earned won’t carry over. Since then, Logano has struggled. 10 drivers have earned wins that will get them into the playoffs, meaning that there are 6 spots available now for the top non-winners in points, but those spots could dwindle if there are new race winners in the final 8 races before the playoff field is set. Logano, who led the series with 6 wins in 2015 and finished 2nd in points (with 3 wins) last season, is the 1st driver outside looking in. Despite leading 112 laps from the pole last week at Kentucky, Kyle Busch came home 5th, his 7th top-5 finish this season, with 0 wins. Busch sits 11th in the playoff standings because he’s yet to win, but is 3rd in the traditional points and 2nd in laps led this season. Last week in a surprise announcement, Matt Kenseth said that he didn’t expect to have the option to race for Joe Gibbs Racing next season. On Tuesday, Joe Gibbs Racing formally announced that Erik Jones would run the #20 car next season. Jones, a rookie driving for Furniture Row Racing, actually replaced Kenseth for 2 races in the 20 car in 2015, when Kenseth was suspended following an incident with Joey Logano.(ESPN)[Read Full Report Here]
