NASCAR America: Should Sprint Cup drivers be allowed in Xfinity races?

After a weekend that saw Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch win the Xfinity race at Kansas Speedway and Cup driver Kyle Larson hinder Xfinity title contender Erik Jones‘ chances of a win or strong finish, talk has again surfaced on if Cup drivers should be competing in the Xfinity Series.

Earlier this week, NASCAR executiveSteve O’Donnell told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that fans should “stay tuned” for an announcement “fairly soon” on the issue.

With all of that brewing, NBC Sports analysts Jeff Burton and Parker Kligerman debated the issue.

“It’s a very difficult solution,” Burton said on NASCAR America. “The reason I became a Cup driver is because of the opportunity to run in the Xfinity Series and race against Harry Gant, Mark Martinand Dale Earnhardt. Every now and then I could run with them. If none of them were there, I could win. But that propelled me, that gave me the opportunity to get to the Cup Series. A Cup owner, Billy Stavola and Mickey Stavola, they watched me run in the Xfinity Series, they said, ‘Hey that guy every now and then can run with Mark Martin, maybe he can be a Cup driver.’ Without that opportunity I don’t think I’m ever a Cup driver.

“I will say this, when I raced against Mark Martin, he didn’t drive (in the Xfinity Series) for Jack Roush. When I raced (against) Harry Gant, he did not drive for his Cup team. When I raced Dale Earnhardt, he ran his Xfinity team out of a small shop on his property. I wasn’t racing against Richard Childress Racing. I was racing against smaller race teams. As the Xfinity Series has evolved, they’re not miniature Cup teams.”

Burton also said that permitting Cup drivers to race in the series allows Xfinity drivers to stand out to show that they can compete in the Cup level.

Kligerman said: “I’m going to play some devil’s advocate with you and say, ‘OK, if tomorrow Kyle Busch and all the other Sprint Cup regulars could not run the Xfinity Series, then we would not evaluate drivers, young drivers coming up by saying ‘If they can beat Kyle Busch or beat Brad Keselowski.’ ”

Burton noted that “the way we’ve always done things doesn’t mean that is the right way to do it. Racing is always an evolution … and we need to be looking at better ways to do things.”

After top-10 finish, Jeff Gordon excited for ‘something better’ in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car at Martinsville

DOVER, Del. — Jeff Gordon climbed from his car after 400 miles at Dover International Speedway and exhaled.

“Whew.’’

His first top-10 finish since returning to fill in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided a sense of excitement and pride for the four-time series champion.

He had come close before, scoring an 11th at Bristol, but Sunday gave Gordon his 476th career top-10 finish and also marked the first time he’s led laps, leading seven circuits.

“I felt like we had a really good race car all weekend long,’’ Gordon told NBC Sports after the race. “I realized real early on we were going to have our work cut out for us, starting 18th. It was really tough getting through traffic. I kind of led them down a path. We were loose that first run and over-tightened it and that didn’t do us any favors. But we got it tuned up and had some great pit stops and got our way into the top 10.’’

With Earnhardt, who is out the rest of the season because of a concussion, watching from the team’s pit box, Gordon took the lead on Lap 373. Gordon climbed to the front when crew chief Greg Ives kept him out as the rest of the field pitted. When the team didn’t get a caution, Gordon had to pit. He returned 12th and gained two spots in the final laps.

“I loved the risk, I loved the play and the guys were really solid all day and all weekend long,’’ Gordon said.

Gordon’s run leaves him with one race left. He’ll return to Martinsville Speedway later this month, a year after his final Sprint Cup victory. Unless something changes, Martinsville will become the site of Gordon’s 805th and final Sprint Cup start on Oct. 30.

“I wanted to get a top-10 in this car before my time in the car is over,’’ Gordon said of the No. 88 Chevrolet. “We got that. Now let’s go get a top five or something better at Martinsville.’’

Upon Further Review: Mirror image with No. 24 car

JOLIET, Ill. — While rookie Chase Elliott’s third-place finish puts him in a good spot to advance to the next round of the Chase, it doesn’t put away any frustration with trying to score that first Sprint Cup victory.

For the second time in the last four races, Elliott lost the lead in the late stages of a race.

Sunday, Elliott was leading at Chicagoland Speedway when a caution came out for Michael McDowell’s blown tire, sending the race into overtime. Elliott went to pit but came out second. Three cars did not pit. That meant Elliott restarted fifth. Martin Truex Jr. restarted fourth and took the lead shortly after the green flag waved to win his third race of the season.

“There are some things you just can’t control with the amount of guys that stay out and where you line up on a restart,’’ Elliott said. “We played the cards we were dealt and came up short.’’

So when will Elliott win?

Maybe one should look at the driver he’s replaced in the No. 24 — Jeff Gordon.

Sunday’s race was Elliott’s 32nd career Sprint Cup race. Comparing his stats to what Gordon accomplished in his first 32 races (his 32nd career start was the 1994 Daytona 500), the results are eerily similar. Consider their totals:

Wins: Gordon 0; Elliott 0

Runner-up finishes: Gordon 2; Elliott 2

Top-five finishes: Gordon 8; Elliott 8

Top-10 finishes: Gordon 12; Elliott 14

Poles: Gordon 1; Elliott 2

Laps led: Gordon 237; Elliott 238

Gordon scored his first career victory in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600. That was Gordon’s 42nd career series start.

Will Elliott beat that?

RESOUNDING DAY

Although Hendrick Motorsports saw its winless drought reach 22 races — tying its third-longest drought in team history — there was much for the organization to feel good about.

Three of its four drivers finished in the top 10 and its cars led 193 of 270 laps.

Chase Elliott led 75 laps and finished third.

Kasey Kahne finished seventh for his third consecutive top-10 finish.

Alex Bowman, driving the No. 88 in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished a career-best 10th.

Jimmie Johnson led a race-high 118 laps but finished 12th after a speeding penalty on pit road late.

WHAT HARKENS AHEAD?

One of the fascinating aspects about the inaugural Chase in the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series is that no one is quite sure what to expect.

This weekend completed the 12-driver lineup for Xfinity and eight-driver field for the Truck series. Their playoffs begin this week (Trucks in New Hampshire and Xfinity in Kentucky).

While many competitors professed excitement about the tracks in their Chase, some talked about being leery of the aggression surely to be seen in the coming races — just as it has in the Sprint Cup Chase, leading to driver confrontations on and off the track each of the previous two seasons of the elimination-style format.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see how everybody races,’’ said two-time Truck series champion Matt Crafton. “It’s going to bring a lot of different characters.’’

Said Timothy Peters: “I guess the unknown is that the Trucks are already aggressive anyway and the Chase is adding that to boot. The unknown is how many people want to be play bumper cars.’’

There’s also that feeling among some in the Xfinity Series, especially with five of the seven races on 1.5-mile speedways. Track position will be critical.

“I feel like restarts are going to be really important,’’ Brennan Poole said.

Justin Allgaier said aggression could be a key in the Chase but not how much.

“The aggression level is really high right now,’’ he said. “I don’t think it will elevate a whole lot, but I think you’re going to have to manage that through the Chase. You watch a guy get too aggressive and get himself in trouble, then you’re going to have to back yourself down to make sure that you are going to capitalize.’’

Most drivers anticipate the aggression will increase as it gets closer to the championship in Miami.

“Most of these young kids understand the Chase format because they’ve watched it,’’ Brendan Gaughan said. “The problem is understanding it. They see John Hunter Nemechek do what he did a couple of weeks ago (vs. Cole Custer ). They see Ryan Newman at Phoenix (move Kyle Larson out of the way two years ago to reach the final).

“They see all the exciting things. You can make the Chase pretty exciting.’’

PIT STOPS

— Martin Truex Jr. had three wins in his first 369 Sprint Cup starts. He has three wins in his last 27 Cup starts.

— Denny Hamlin’s sixth-place finish extended his career-best streak of consecutive top-10 finishes to nine races.

— Trevor Bayne was Roush Fenway Racing’s top-finishing driver Sunday at Chicagoland. He placed 23rd.

— Clint Bowyer finished 22nd for the third consecutive race.

— Austin Dillon (14th) has placed between 12th and 16th in each of the last four races.

— Jimmie Johnson led 118 laps Sunday. He had led 120 laps in the previous 22 races combined.

— Through 27 races, Kasey Kahne has led 0 laps this season.

— Tony Stewart (16th) has failed to finish in the top 15 in each of the last five races.

Chase Grid: Ryan Blaney on bubble with 11 races left before playoffs begin

Joey Logano‘s win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway made him the 10th different winner this season, leaving six playoffs spots based on points. Ryan Blaney fell one spot to 16th — the final transfer spot — after finishing 17th in Sunday’s race. Blaney leads Kasey Kahne by 11 points for 16th.

Tony Stewart, who finished seventh on Sunday, is 45 points out of 30th place with 11 races to go before the playoffs start. He must be in the top 30 in points and win a race to make the Chase.

Here’s a look at the Chase Grid after 15 races:

Upon Further Review: Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Is it time to recognize Brad Keselowski as one of the best restrictor-plate drivers in recent years?

Sunday’s victory at Talladega Superspeedway was Keselowski’s fourth restrictor-plate win since his last-lap victory against Carl Edwards in the track’s spring 2009 race.

No driver has won as many Sprint Cup restrictor-plate races since. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has three wins during that time. So does Jimmie Johnson. And Matt Kenseth. And Jamie McMurray. With two wins each during that time are Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart.

Of course, some of those drivers have more overall restrictor-plate wins than Keselowski because they’ve been competing longer, but Keselowski is becoming a driver one can’t ignore when discussing favorites at plate races.

“I’d rather be the guy that nobody talks about who has won here 10 times than the guy that everybody talks about who won here twice,’’ Keselowski said after his 19th career Sprint Cup victory, which tied him with Buddy Baker, Davey Allison, Fonty Flock and Greg Biffle in career series victories.

“I never got into racing just to have somebody say my name real loud or the billboards or lights or anything like that. I got into it because I love it, I love the challenge. I love the reward of success, the reward internally.

“Look, I’m not out here trying to toot my own horn or showcase my own press clippings. I just want to win. Winning four times means a lot here. It doesn’t mean as much as winning another championship would be. That’s my main goal at the end of the day.’’

Keselowski was in contention after avoiding the numerous incidents Sunday. He led a race-high 46 laps and stayed near the front much of the race with strong moves.

“We had good enough speed where we could make those moves,’’ Keselowski said. “Today was a day where my spotter and I worked together very well and we were able to do just that.’’

— Thirty-five of the 40 cars in Sunday’s race were involved in accidents, according to NASCAR.

That isn’t even the most number of Cup cars in accidents in restrictor-plate races since 2014.

Six times in the last 10 plate races there have been at least 20 cars involved in accidents, according to NASCAR statistics.

The most during that time came in the rain-shortened Daytona race in July 2014 when 37 of the 43 cars were listed as in accidents.

Sunday’s race was run under the threat of the rain but went the full distance. While that contributed to the race’s intensity it wasn’t the only factor in the accidents.

“I think guys get a little bit aggressive when you get toward the end,’’ said Jamie McMurray, who finished fourth and was listed as being a part of two incidents. “It’s like slamming like we used to do. With the little amount of downforce that we have, it’s so easy for the car to get up on you.

“When we got down to the end there, I was like death-gripping the wheel and trying to hold it straight because every time you get hit, it gets turned a little bit in a different direction and you have to be a little bit lucky there. It’s not all ability.’’

Said Kyle Busch: “It’s just Talladega. These cars, you try to get a little bit aggressive, start bumping people and pushing people, they’re real easy to get out of control.’’

Of the 35 cars involved in accidents Sunday, 16 were listed as being part of one or both accidents within the last 10 laps.

“We all kind of raced to halfway, then all raced to the rain that was coming and all raced to the end,’’ said Danica Patrick, who was eliminated in a crash that included Matt Kenseth’s car getting airborne.

“The whole race we were racing like we were racing to the end. There were no moments to relax. I’m sure that expanded peoples’ comfort zone at the end of the race because we were used to running close. Then some people just took it to the edge.”

— Let’s review Hendrick Motorsports’ restrictor-plate performance this season:

At the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr., crashed and finished 36th. Chase Elliott spun and damaged his car when it dug into the grass. He finished 37th. Jimmie Johnson placed 16th and Kasey Kahne was 13th.

Sunday, Earnhardt was involved in two accidents and finished last in the 40-car field. Kahne was collected by Earnhardt and then spun in another incident before placing 39th. Johnson was involved in a wreck after contact from behind from Kurt Busch and finished 22nd. Elliott was fifth.

That’s one top-10 finish and four finishes of 35th or worse in two restrictor-plate races this season.

Last year, Hendrick Motorsports placed two cars in the top five in each plate race with Earnhardt winning the spring Talladega race and the July Daytona race and Johnson second both times.

— Only three drivers have finished in the top 10 in both restrictor-plate races this season.

Kyle Busch was third in the Daytona 500 and second at Talladega. Austin Dillon was ninth in the Daytona 500 and third at Talladega. Kurt Busch was 10th in the Daytona 500 and eighth at Talladega.

— The 37 lead changes in Sunday’s race were the most in a restrictor-plate race since there were 38 at Talladega in Oct. 2014.

— After NASCAR met with the Sprint Cup Drivers Council on Friday, series officials are scheduled to meet with team owners/representatives Wednesday in their quarterly meeting.

— Brennan Poole parked his car at the start/finish line and waited. He waited to see if he had won his first NASCAR Xfinity race. The 25-year-old who had never finished better than ninth in a series race waited to see if his dreams would come true.

After waiting about five minutes, Poole was told that Elliott Sadler was declared the winner by NASCAR and that Poole had finished third.

It would have been easy to have argued about NASCAR’s decision, confront officials or something else. As a series regular, had Poole won, he would have all but qualified for playoffs.

Instead, he handled the disappointment with a grace and class not all athletes show in such situations.

“I’m happy that NASCAR was able to get it right,’’ Poole said, standing by his car on pit road.

“I really wanted to take a picture this afternoon in victory lane at Talladega. What an awesome track. So much history. A lot of my heroes have been to victory lane there.’’

Poole admits a win would have been “really awesome for my career, but we were just short. We’ll get one. We’ve been in the hunt the last two weeks.’’