Will Race Look Better This Year Than Last?
Owner/driver Brad Keselowski firmly believes that the NASCAR Cup Series cars should be difficult to drive. However, this short track package with the Next Gen has been rough, especially at Martinsville.
When making this track an elimination race, most thought it would be must-see TV. However, the racing has been terrible.
In the spring of 2022, we saw just 5 lead changes among 4 drivers that night. There were just 4 cautions for 36 laps too. Then, there were 10 lead changes among 5 drivers this past spring with only 5 cautions for 50 laps. Last Fall, we saw just 6 cautions and 8 lead changes.
Conditions played a role in this too.
The spring race last year was at night. That and being 100 laps shorter is a factor. While the Fall race a year ago was a day race, it was still a cloudy day with temperatures in the upper 50’s. That’s not going to make the track slippery.
Under the lights, it was far too cold for the tires to wear. As a result, the lack of rubber in the track made this one that you couldn’t pass. Then, factor in the shifting due to this racing package and the cars that would even start to get wide, could downshift to straighten in out and power up off the corners.
It was impossible to pass.
With a day race this past spring, the new package didn’t help.
I struggle to think it drastically will this time around too. I mean Martinsville is Martinsville. It’s not like you can make a second lane for passing. The low lane is the low lane and anything above it just won’t work. The track was designed this way and you can’t magically change it no matter what package you run.
Even if the tires fall off more, they still have too much size in them to catch your car and you can always downshift in the corners in this Next Gen and upshift to get power off too. Martinsville is well, Martinsville.
The pair of 2019 races (3 lead changes each) and last year’s spring race (5) were the worst there since 1997. There were 18 and 15 respectively just one year prior.
In the past, Martinsville was a one groove race track and if you were on the outside in the corners, you were toast. That led to games being played on pit road to lineup on the inside on the ensuing restarts. Also, Martinsville was a track you worried a lot of about brakes. With two long straightaways kept together by two u-turn type corners, it led to a lot of brake failures too.
Over the course of 500 laps, it was a true test of man vs. car vs. track. Then, as technology has advanced and the car has gotten safer, the parts stronger and the drivers better, Martinsville has changed its character.
The brakes were all better and could easily last 500 laps if done right. The thing is, as the brakes got hotter, the tires would bust. Now, Goodyear has even brought a better tire to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Brakes and tires aren’t as big of a worry coming to this place anymore as they would have been a decade or two ago.
Then, the car is sturdier where you can bump and bang and not have as much catastrophic damage to it.
On top of that, the cars and downforce levels have allowed drivers to race side-by-side longer around the .526-mile track. While the low groove is the preferred line, you’re still able to make passes on the outside if you have a fast car.
Finally, the choose rule has changed this all too with the sense you don’t need to play any games on pit road anymore. You can choose which lane you restart in. That’s purely dependent on your preference.
As a result, Martinsville isn’t like the Martinsville of old but still races like it in the sense.
How Aggressive Will Drivers Get?
This has been a problem in NASCAR lately. With how these races are run and how aggressive you have to be, driver code is out the window. Martinsville is a place to where a lot of this can come to a head. But, will it?
We know the first couple of stages could be somewhat tame. Who wants to create early enemies that could cost you later? Plus, why risk damage to your own car when you may need a clean car in the final stage?
Also, this race could be hard to pass again. Can you even get to someone’s bumper?
Which is why the final laps could be chaotic in a way that if there’s a late race restart, watch out. Joey Logano admitted that he wished he could have moved William Byron here in the 2022 spring race. He said the restart was his only shot because once they got single file, he couldn’t catch him due to the dirty air and how these cars don’t close up as easily here anymore.
No one is making that mistake a second time? Or do they? Or does this new package allow for cars to get closer again.
NASCAR has also sent a message to this garage that “Boys Have At It” isn’t what they thought it was. Bubba Wallace intentionally wrecked Kyle Larson last year in Vegas. He was suspended for a week. We’ve seen Denny Hamlin penalized for his actions against Ross Chastain in Phoenix. Chase Elliott was suspended from his Coke 600 incident with Hamlin. Can NASCAR really look the other way if someone tries to do the same on Sunday?
The precedent is there. What’s the difference between someone crashing a driver in Martinsville than Vegas or Phoenix other than speed that these cars are traveling?
To win this race, you’re going to have to be aggressive in getting the lead. It’s just how far are you willing to go and what risk are you willing to take? Do you want to be Public Enemy No. 1?
Who Advances To The Championship 4?
Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell are the only ones who still know that they’ll be racing for a championship next week in Phoenix. William Byron (+30) and Ryan Blaney (+10) are each above the cutline. Does anyone bump them out?
Three times has the Martinsville Fall race winner not been a part of the playoffs and all three times they were Hendrick Motorsports drivers (2005 – Jeff Gordon, 2014 – Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2021 – Bowman). On top of that, five times has a non-playoff driver won the ninth race of the postseason (2005 – Kyle Busch, 2011 – Kasey Kahne, 2015 – Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2017 – Matt Kenseth and 2021 – Alex Bowman) too.
This Sunday’s race however could go either way.
There’s also been 8 straight different winners of this Fall race too (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell).
That’s an HMS win in 5 of the last 9 Fall races. They’ve also won 12 of the 19 years of this playoff race and a record setting 28 times ever here. That’s double (14 wins) for the next best by Joe Gibbs Racing.
HMS has also had the winner or 2nd place finisher in each of the last six Martinsville races.
Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports have won 17 of the last 18 Martinsville races including 4 of the last 6 belonging to HMS. Factor in the 9th playoff race and these three teams have combined to have won each of the last 8.
This will be tough to stop all 11 drivers on Sunday, especially in the fact that they have 6 of the 8 drivers left that are championship eligible too.
There’s just two spots up for grabs among the six remaining Playoff challengers and since the introduction of the ‘elimination-style’ format in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2014, racing your way into the Championship 4 Round in the ninth and final cutoff race of the Round of 8 has proven to be much more difficult than one might expect with only four drivers accomplishing the feat in the last eight seasons.
2014: Heading to Phoenix Raceway (the ninth race of the Playoffs) in 2014, Kevin Harvick was ranked eighth in the Playoff standings, six points back from NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in the fourth and final transfer position to the Championship 4 Round. Kevin Harvick won the race at Phoenix and automatically advanced to the final round. Jeff Gordon finished runner-up, but it was not enough and was bounced out of the Playoffs. Harvick would go on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title in 2014 by winning again the following weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the championship finale – it was the inaugural year of the elimination-style format in the postseason.
2015: The four drivers below the Championship 4 Round cutline heading into the ninth race of the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 elimination race at Phoenix Raceway – Carl Edwards (-7 points from Martin Truex Jr. in the fourth and final transfer position on points), Brad Keselowski (-19), Kurt Busch (-28) and Joey Logano (-63) – all failed to advance to the Championship 4 Round and were eliminated from the Playoffs following the Phoenix race. At Phoenix, Truex finished 14th, Logano finished third, Kurt Busch finished seventh, Keselowski finished ninth and Carl Edwards finished 12th.
2016: The four drivers below the Championship 4 Round cutline without a win heading into the ninth race of the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 elimination race at Phoenix Raceway – Matt Kenseth (-1 point from the cutoff), Denny Hamlin (-2), Kevin Harvick (-18) and Kurt Busch (-34) – all failed to advance to the Championship 4 Round and were eliminated from the Playoffs following the Phoenix race. At Phoenix, Harvick finished fourth, Kurt Busch finished fifth, Hamlin finished seventh and Matt Kenseth finished 21st.
2017: The four drivers below the Championship 4 Round cutline heading into the ninth race of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 elimination race at Phoenix Raceway – Denny Hamlin (-19 points from the cutoff), Ryan Blaney (-22), Chase Elliott (-49) and Jimmie Johnson (-51) – all failed to advance to the Championship 4 and were eliminated from the Playoffs following the Phoenix race. At Phoenix, Elliott finished second, Blaney finished 17th, Hamlin finished 35th and Jimmie Johnson finished 39th.
2018: The four drivers below the Championship 4 Round cutline heading into the ninth race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 elimination race at Phoenix Raceway – Kurt Busch (-3 points from the cutoff), Chase Elliott (-17), Aric Almirola (-35) and Clint Bowyer (-51) – all failed to advance to the Championship 4 Round and were eliminated from the Playoffs following the Phoenix race. At Phoenix, Almirola finished fourth, Elliott finished 23rd, Kurt Busch finished 32nd and Clint Bowyer finished 35th.
2019: Heading to Phoenix Raceway (the ninth race of the Playoffs) in 2019, Denny Hamlin was ranked fifth in the Playoff standings, 20 points back from Joey Logano in the fourth and final transfer position to the Championship 4 Round. Denny Hamlin won the race at Phoenix and automatically advanced to the final round. Joey Logano finished ninth, but it was not enough and was eliminated from the Playoffs. Hamlin would go on to finish the season fourth in the championship standings.
2020: Heading to Martinsville Speedway (the ninth race of the Playoffs) in 2020, Joey Logano had secured his spot in the Championship 4 Round by winning at Kansas Speedway in the Round of 8 leaving three spots up for grabs. The drivers ranked below the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4 Round cutline were Alex Bowman (-25), Chase Elliott (-25), Martin Truex Jr. (-36) and Kurt Busch (-81). Chase Elliott would go on to win the Playoff race at Martinsville Speedway clinching his spot in the Championship 4 and bouncing Kevin Harvick (17th-place finish) out of the final round. Kurt Buch (fifth-place finish), Alex Bowman (sixth) and Martin Truex Jr. (22nd) all failed to make the Championship 4 Round and were eliminated from the Playoffs following Martinsville.
2021: Heading to Martinsville Speedway (the ninth race of the Playoffs) in 2021, Kyle Larson had secured his spot in the Championship 4 Round by winning at Kansas Speedway in the Round of 8 leaving three spots up for grabs. Kyle Busch was ranked in the fourth and final transfer positions on points, and the drivers ranked below the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4 Round cutline were Ryan Blaney (-1 point from the Championship 4 cutline), Martin Truex Jr. (-3) Brad Keselowski (-6) and Joey Logano (-26). Alex Bowman, a non-Playoff driver would win the Playoff race at Martinsville Speedway and Martin Truex Jr. would race his way into the Championship 4 Round by earning more stage points during the race and finishing fourth at Martinsville Speedway eliminating his teammate Kyle Busch from the postseason. Kyle Busch (runner-up finish), Ryan Blaney (11th-place finish), Brad Keselowski (third-place finish) and Joey Logano (10th-place finish) all failed to make the Championship 4 Round and were eliminated from the Playoffs following Martinsville.
Tyler Reddick (-10), Denny Hamlin (-17), Martin Truex Jr (-17) and Chris Buescher (-43) are trying to get their ways in.
Reddick will admit this isn’t his best track. He has finished 16th or worse in six of his seven Martinsville starts with a best finish of eighth. On short tracks this season, he’s finished third (Phoenix), 16th, 22nd, seventh, sixth 16th, 15th.
Buescher also could struggle. With RFK Racing, he’s finished 13th, 38th, 13th, 9th, 15th, 24th and 14th.
That sets up a Byron, Blaney, Hamlin, Truex battle for the final 2 spots. Byron leads Blaney by 20 for the wildcard spot to Phoenix which sets him up nicely. Byron also picked up where Chase Elliott left off in last year’s spring race. He finished second in both stages and led the final 212 laps for the win. Byron also has six Top-8’s in his last eight Martinsville starts including a runner-up in the playoff race in 2019, fourth and fifth respectively in 2021 and a win in the spring race. My only concern is that he finished 23rd this past spring and has finished 21st or worse in four of his last six short track starts on the season too.
Blaney was fourth and seventh in the last two spring races, third in last year’s Fall race while also coming home runner-up in both races in 2020. He was fourth and fifth respectively in 2019. Blaney, has seven Top-5s in his last 11 tries on the Virginia paperclip overall. While he was 11th in both races in 2021, he did sweep both stages in the spring race. That’s the good. However, Blaney has been 14th or worse in four of his last six short track starts this season too.
Which could set up Hamlin vs. Truex for the win as they both have to realistically win on Sunday.
Hamlin was 5th in this race last year and 4th this past spring. He’s also won here five times, swept both stages last year in the Fall race and led 203 laps in the process. Last year’s test here between the spring and Fall races could have put him back on the right path. He has five straight Top-7 finishes on short track races on the season too including a runner-up in Richmond and win at Bristol in the last two.
Truex has won three of the last eight Martinsville races though. The only ones that he didn’t win was the last three Fall races to where he led 129 laps in the Fall of 2020 and was fourth in 2021. He was third this past spring too.
Truex, has eight Top-5’s in his last 12 tries on the Virginia paperclip and on a track with a tight turning radius similar to Martinsville (LA Coliseum), he won. He also has two points paying wins and four Top-7 finishes in his last five short track starts this season.
As far as who gets in, I think Hamlin wins to join Larson and Bell in clinching spots into the Final 4 via wins and Byron gets by on points setting up a Hendrick Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing battle for the title next Sunday.
Will Sunday’s Winner Win Championship Next Sunday
We’re down to one race left of the third round in the NASCAR playoffs. That will take place Sunday at the Martinsville (VA) Speedway.
Eight drivers enter the .526-mile short track with championship aspirations still, but realistically four of them are going to have to win Sunday’s Xfinity 500 in order to get themselves to the Championship 4 next weekend at the Phoenix Raceway.
The thing is though, the odds aren’t on their sides to win this weekend as well as next too. That could affect their hopes of winning the championship now.
Seven times the winner of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Martinsville Speedway has gone on to win the title that same season – the most of any track on the Playoff schedule. In fact, it occurred just 2020 for the 2nd time in a three year span as well as three times in the last six years.
o In 2006, Jimmie Johnson won from the ninth starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his first of seven NASCAR Cup Series championships. It was only win during the 2006 Playoffs.
o In 2007, Jimmie Johnson won from the fourth starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. The Playoff victory was the first of a record setting four straight postseason wins during the 2007 Playoffs (Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix).
o In 2008, Jimmie Johnson won from the first starting position at Martinsville Speedway (Qualifying was cancelled) and went on to win his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was his second of three victories during the 2008 Playoffs.
o In 2011, Tony Stewart won from the fourth starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his third NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was one of a record setting five Playoff victories for Stewart during the 2011 postseason.
o In 2016, Jimmie Johnson won from the third starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his record tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was his second of three Playoff victories during the 2016 postseason.
o In 2018, Joey Logano won from the 10th starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
o In 2020, Chase Elliott won from the eighth starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Also, five times the winner of the ninth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has gone on to win the title that same season.
o In 2007, Jimmie Johnson won from the sixth starting position at Phoenix Raceway and went on to win his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. The Playoff victory was the fourth of a record setting four straight postseason wins during the 2007 Playoffs (Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix).
o In 2008, Jimmie Johnson won from the pole at Phoenix Raceway and went on to win his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was his third of three victories during the 2008 Playoffs.
o In 2009, Jimmie Johnson won from the third starting position at Phoenix Raceway and went on to win his fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. The victory was his fourth during the 2009 postseason.
o In 2014, Kevin Harvick won from the third starting position at Phoenix Raceway and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was his second of three Playoff victories during the 2014 postseason.
o In 2020, Chase Elliott won from the eighth starting position at Martinsville Speedway and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. The win was his second of three Playoff victories during the 2020 postseason.
Sounds great for the winner Sunday, right? The thing is, in saying the stat above, the Martinsville-Phoenix two-step only moved to the final two races of the year just three years ago. They’re 1-for-3 in producing this feat. Prior to that, in this playoff era that began in 2004, only five times in 17 years did a playoff driver win the final two races of a season and only twice in the seven years of this new format did someone win both the penultimate race as well as the final race to take a championship.
Translation?
It’s not as likely as it sounds.
Is this a factor of putting all of your eggs in one basket for the current race and not focusing too much ahead to the final race? I mean, you have to look at this in the sole fact of why focus on Homestead in the past or Phoenix this year, early if you aren’t guaranteed to be competing for a championship there? You have to make it to the Championship 4 first. Why spend too much time making race cars and dialing in off the truck setups for the season finale if you’re not going to be racing for a championship there? Why not spend all of your waking hours focusing on how to make your race car good for the upcoming race that weekend in order to just win and guarantee your spot into the final round?
By not knowing that you’ll be a part of the final round until the final race of the round before, you’re really behind the eight ball in catching up to both Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell that have each already stamped their ways in via a win in the first two races of the round.
Just look at what Joey Logano said a couple of years ago following his win in the Round of 8 opener at Texas.
“Doesn’t hurt,” Logano said of this very exact subject. “I think it means a lot, if I’m being honest. I think it does. I’ve lived this story once where you really just kind of — you’re not last minute trying to throw together a championship car for Phoenix because you’re trying to build so many other ones. It just gives the team time to really start focusing on a car that can put us in the position to win.
“If you only have so much time in the day, you got to prioritize, you’re going to prioritize to get yourself in the Championship 4 first. Now that we did that, we’re going to have 100% of our time to Phoenix.”
He won again last year in Vegas in a similar spot.
“Doesn’t hurt,” Logano continued. “I think it means a lot, if I’m being honest. I think it does. I’ve lived this story once where you really just kind of — you’re not last minute trying to throw together a championship car for Phoenix because you’re trying to build so many other ones. It just gives the team time to really start focusing on a car that can put us in the position to win.
“If you only have so much time in the day, you got to prioritize, you’re going to prioritize to get yourself in the Championship 4 first. Now that we did that, we’re going to have 100% of our time to Phoenix.”
On how he approached the final two races?
“We approach them to win, just like we always do,” Logano said on his approach over the next two weeks. “Same meetings and prep like we always do. I just assume that we’ll probably focus a little bit more on Phoenix at this point.”
Cliff Daniels, Kyle Larson’s crew chief said the same thing last year following their Texas win to kick off the Round of 8. He also said a twist to the schedule this year with having practice now too, actually helps them in the sense the winner on Sunday in Martinsville as well as the wildcard driver won’t have a lot of time to turn their cars around for Phoenix.
“I think part of what helps the Phoenix focus is just the timing of the schedule,” said his crew chief Cliff Daniels. “Since it’s a Friday, Saturday, Sunday show, the truck is going to leave like Tuesday of that week, and the way these race formats go, our hauler didn’t leave until Friday morning this week, so you’re just going to have two less days that week.
“So now we are very fortunate that we have a little bit more time just to really plan out the way the next three weeks can go with emphasis on Phoenix where if you’re not locked in right away, you’re kind of giving everything you can for that week, and to not be talking out of both sides of my mouth, we have really good cars in the system already coming for Kansas, already coming for Martinsville. I looked at them with a lot of our guys last week. Both cars look great, so we’re going to finish those out like they are already in process to be, and then when our Phoenix cars get in the system, make sure that they’re top-notch and ready to go.”
All those Martinsville winners to win the title from above? Well the Martinsville race used to kickoff the Round of 8 or in some years, be in the second spot.
The winner of the first race of the Round of 8 has won the championship in three times in the last six years. They’ve finished second twice and third in the other years in that span.
The winner of the second race, has finished either second or third in 3 of the last 4 years and won the title in the other.
The winner of the third race has finished last for two of the last four years.
Elliott changed that in 2020.
“That’s a really good point,” Elliott told me. “I certainly think that the team that wins that very first race in the Round of 8 and gets locked in, you have more time to think about what car you want to take to the final race, more time to massage on it, so I definitely think that can be a slight advantage. I think that’s a great point. I do think that can be a slight advantage in car selection and time to tweak on those really, really small fine tuning items that can add up to make a difference.
“I can see that being a help.”
With the one spot likely going to a cast of five driver vying for it, I can honestly see one of them winning on Sunday. The question is, who and can they use this to propel them to a championship run next Sunday in Phoenix too? For those five drivers, they race for a championship this week and next. Is that any sort of an advantage?
There’s the role in this of the drivers not already locked in being in championship mode still this week while the few that aren’t are onto the Championship 4 have been relaxed the last few weeks. Can they flip that switch back on that easily or does being in a do-or-die mindset at Martinsville keep those drivers’ minds more focused a week later?
The wildcards that haven’t won in the Round of 8 though, have actually fared better than the guys that have won the final race itself. 6 of the 8 combined drivers in the last two Championship 4’s were wildcards. Kyle Busch won the championship in 2019 as one. Brad Keselowski was in 2020. So was Martin Truex Jr. in 2018 as a wildcard but won the championship in 2017 as one too. Kevin Harvick was also second in 2016 as a wildcard while Kyle Busch won the championship as one in 2015. Ryan Newman was a wildcard and finished second in 2014 too.
That’s a wildcard driver with a top two finish in all 8 years thus far. We will have one wildcard next weekend.
The reason behind that is, the wildcard drivers have shown speed throughout the entire season and didn’t necessarily need to win in the Round of 8 to get by.
Busch, won the regular season championship in 2019 and had well enough playoff points to get himself by. In 2018, Busch and Harvick were the top two in playoff points accumulated, but both won in the Round of 8. Truex Jr. had the next best with 38 scored, 13 more than anyone else. He had four wins that season and took the wildcard spot.
Truex, had 69 playoff points in 2017 and seven wins before the Round of 8. That’s why he didn’t need to win and as the top seed got into the Championship 4 by virtue of that.
But, in saying all of this, the last 4 years is also different in the sense that we’re using a similar racing package in the final two races of the season in general. Martinsville and Phoenix are the short track package.
From 2014 though 2019, the drivers went through two disciplines of tracks over the final two races in Phoenix (short track) to Homestead (1.5-mile track).
How much of a role does that play in this too?
“I can see momentum playing a role,” Elliott said of winning the last race of the Round of 8 and winning again a week later for a championship. “I can see winning Martinsville being a big momentum booster for that team to propel them to doing a really good job the following week. I think it’s really about how you ride the wave if you’re that team that can win that last race of the Round of 8.
“I definitely think that it’s great that we’re ending the season on two (similar package) tracks. I’m a bigger fan of that in deciding our champion on the final two races. That has my vote. Not that I get one. But I’m really looking forward to seeing that too.
“Could you potentially take your Martinsville car to Phoenix? You might. That might be a good thing performance wise as well.”
Elliott did in 2020 and he won the title.
It will be interesting this weekend to see if this weeks winner can win again next Sunday and take home a championship trophy as well.
Teammates
How much of a role will teammates play in Sunday’s race. Ryan Blaney can control his own destiny in a sense that he holds onto the 4th and final spot into the Championship 4. The only way he doesn’t is if Tyler Reddick can outscore him by 11 or more points or if Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin or Chris Buescher win.
But, maybe he can get some help from teammate Joey Logano who’s been great at Martinsville lately. What about Austin Cindric?
If they can take up spots up front, they can keep points away from those needing them. Similar to the Ford camp in general. With Blaney having a great shot of getting to the final round, you can rest assured that the blue ovals don’t want to let that slip. You don’t want to see Chevrolet and Toyota mixing it up for a title next weekend while you’re playing for 5th on back.
So you have the entire Ford camp at Blaney and even Buescher’s disposal.
What about Ty Gibbs (JGR) and Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing) helping their teammates too? Why wouldn’t they.
Which is why I’m watching the other drivers to see where they stack up and if they can take points away from those trying to get them too.
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