These are the dog days of summer, the part of the season most challenging for drivers. With the freshness of the new season gone, the Coke 600 and Brickyard 400 in our rearview mirror, we grind away at the schedule for another six weekends until NASCAR takes on a new meaning in Chicago.
I am in no way suggesting the next month-and-a-half have no purpose.
In fact, for a dozen drivers their seasons depend on something spectacular happening in this final handful of races. But even for them, it's a grind.
For those who have punched the ticket to the big dance -- the Chase -- most would just as soon the music begin now. These are the hottest months of the year and the hottest track temps. Track conditions confirm it. Nothing comes easy in these final regular-season events, but each of them are valuable.
Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Darlington and Richmond. None of these tracks have a presence in the Chase. None of them share any similarity to the 10 tracks in the Chase.
So let's just take the next six weeks off.
Just kidding!
But I promise you, there are a few wearing full-faced helmets who would embrace that, because that's the effect this time of the season has on some drivers.
How about those who have plenty to fight for? We'll start with Chase Elliott. This young man was nearly perfect in the previous Pocono event a few weeks back, and he has had a season deserving of a playoff spot. Another weekend at the tricky triangle like he had a short time ago would go a long way in solidifying one of those 16 spots.
Kyle Larson is equally deserving. My concern for Kyle is that he might try too hard. I do believe he feels some need to redeem himself after Dover, where he finished second with what appeared to be a superior car.
I don't think he has a darn thing to correct or redeem. But I also must tell you drivers are extremely hard on themselves -- I suppose like most competitors are -- and while the feeling in the moments after the race is that you will have plenty of shots for that first win, the reality is the longer you go without it, the more the pressure builds.
Larson is a lock for the Chase if he manages the next six events as well as he did last weekend at the Brickyard.
Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman have done a remarkable job managing the first 20 races of the season. Richard Childress Racing also appears to be gaining some momentum, which suggests Childress could have two of his three drivers in the playoffs. This team has a lot to race for.
Jamie McMurray has been stealth-like and has the experience, wisdom and knowledge to calculate his way into the playoffs. Of all the drivers I've mentioned, he is most qualified to control his own destiny.
All three Roush Fenway Racing drivers sit between 18th and 22nd, so I'm saying there's a chance. But for the chance to become reality, the organization needs to find another gear. Progress has been made, that's for certain. But having no cars make the championship battle would make any measure of progress a hollow feeling.
Kasey Kahne is, well, in the same place he seems to be year after year, on the edge of in or out.
While this has not been a typical Hendrick Motorsports-type season, Kahne has been doing this long enough and well enough at times for the expectations to be "Chase or bust." He is capable of elevating his game to the same place we've seen Martin Truex Jr. We need to see it in the next six weeks.
Last but not least is the driver who won the first race of the year, the biggest race of the year, but desperately needs a swing in momentum.
Denny Hamlin has had a solid year until you compare his numbers to his teammates. This is without question the best Joe Gibbs Racing has ever been.
Hamlin, who I believe is a championship-caliber driver, needs to capitalize on the moment. The moment is now. The place is Pocono.
Hamlin wins, and that, folks, is this week's bottom line!