The favorites to win the Cup champion are clear. Thats Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.
Who could be the surprise to challenge for the title?
Said Kyle Busch of Almirola: “Hes one that could appear anytime being with the SHR guys and being as fast as theyve been each week.”.
” I dont know the number of final 4 brackets he might be in. I would say, if I needed to think, everybody that fills one out, hes probably in 5 percent of them perhaps. Legitimately, I think he has a much better chance at that of making it through.”.
MORE: Martin Truex Jr.s team makes pit crew modification.
Almirola is an intriguing choice. He had a five-race streak of top-five finishes. Those surfaces were a part his nine-race streak of top-10 outcomes.
” Theyve been regularly quick at a great deal of these tracks,” William Byron said of Almirola as his Cup playoff dark horse. “The only thing with that is I seem like a great deal of the tracks are going to be much different in the playoffs than the ones we ran in the summertime.
William Byron and Kyle Busch each were mentioned by multiple playoff drivers as their dark horse choice.
Busch is winless this season and seeded 14th, perhaps hes in the ideal area.
Almirola also had poor surfaces at some playoff tracks. Battery problems led to a 33rd-place surface at Martinsville, a race he led early.
Playoff chauffeurs were asked who their Cup playoff dark horse is.” I am thrilled about the playoffs,” said Almirola, who recently signed a contract extension. Weve made some errors along the way that we certainly have to clean up going into the playoffs to be a contender. Almirola likewise had poor surfaces at some playoff tracks. The win protected his playoff spot.
Byron is coming off his first profession Cup points win last weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The win protected his playoff area. Byron is the ninth seed.
MORE: Friday 5– Brad Keselowski tells group “Why not us?” for title.
Playoff motorists were asked who their Cup playoff dark horse is. More chose Aric Almirola than any other chauffeur. He is seeded 12th in the 16-driver playoff field.
KEEP AN EYE ON THIS PICK.
Winning your very first race is worth something. Having a crew chief like Chad Knaus is worth something.”.
” I believe he reveals the most speed when hes on speed, hes actually on,” Hamlin stated of Blaney. “I consider like Texas where I thought he was considerably faster than just everybody. … Hes just a guy that I take a look at as, he has the capability to make it through each round.
Busch came back to win the Cup title that season. He won his second title.
Said Alex Bowman about his Hendrick Motorsports colleague: “I think William Byron, just coming off of a win, might be really strong. I feel like as a team, everybody at HMS has gotten lately.”.
Amongst the intriguing choices for dark horse was Denny Hamlins choice of Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske driver is the seventh seed.
Almirola was 12th at the first Darlington Raceway occasion and seventh in the second race. The playoffs start Sunday with the Southern 500 at that track (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
” I am thrilled about the playoffs,” said Almirola, who recently signed a contract extension. Weve made some mistakes along the way that we definitely have to clean up going into the playoffs to be a competitor.
MORE DARK HORSE PICKS.
” Everyone is waiting on Kyle Busch to knock down that wall,” Harvick said. “We all understand that he might win on any given week and understand that hes had a lot of bad luck this year.”.
” Theyve had concerns,” stated Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition at Stewart-Haas Racing of Almirolas group. “Pit teams, restarts, speeding on pit roadway– things of that nature that have actually made him go to the back and have to race to the front. If we can clean all of those things up and not make any errors, I believe hell have a great opportunity.”.
